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Monadi · **07-20-2010, 05:29 PM**

Goliam Wrote:Never have planned one specifically for romance.

That wouldn't even make all that much sense, really. I mean, why plan a character whose end goals are things that really aren't all that achievable in the game without a huge investment on someone else's part? Roleplaying out marriage, or even worse kids... geez. I've seen it done well, but I've seen it go mostly horribly.

Goliam · **07-20-2010, 05:35 PM**

Monadi Wrote:
Goliam Wrote:Never have planned one specifically for romance.

That wouldn't even make all that much sense, really. I mean, why plan a character whose end goals are things that really aren't all that achievable in the game without a huge investment on someone else's part? Roleplaying out marriage, or even worse kids... geez. I've seen it done well, but I've seen it go mostly horribly.

I saw something like that during a trial in LOTRO. I ran screaming.

Hiname · **07-20-2010, 05:56 PM**

Actually, my priest in WoW, my main I kept playing since november 05 up until.. about two months ago.. was married and had a little girl.
She went through 9 real months of pregnancy, got married after knowing her love for over a year and always made sure her little girl was takenc are off when she left for duty.

So... your point? *giggle*

Eva · **07-20-2010, 06:05 PM**

Hiname Wrote:Actually, my priest in WoW, my main I kept playing since november 05 up until.. about two months ago.. was married and had a little girl.
She went through 9 real months of pregnancy, got married after knowing her love for over a year and always made sure her little girl was takenc are off when she left for duty.

So... your point? *giggle*

I did something like this as well - for awhile. The daughter stuck around (and has grown up into an adult character all her own for FF14). Of course the 'marriage' aspect didn't work out due to epic RL phail (oh the stories I could tell....) but suffice it to say, Eva knows very little about her mother, and that's probably a good thing.

So I guess there was drama there, which was interesting from an outsider perspective, and I cannot argue that it didn't make for some good RP, because it did. I guess it would have been nice if it didn't corelate with RL drama that was going on simultaneously.

Frustrated

Fortunately, a lot of good came out of that awfulness. :approve:

Monadi · **07-20-2010, 06:28 PM**

Hiname Wrote:Actually, my priest in WoW, my main I kept playing since november 05 up until.. about two months ago.. was married and had a little girl.
She went through 9 real months of pregnancy, got married after knowing her love for over a year and always made sure her little girl was takenc are off when she left for duty.

So... your point? *giggle*

Dedication, you has it. I salute you.

Zhavi · **07-20-2010, 07:04 PM**

My very first serious rp character was a failelf who was incredibly physically unappealing, as well as being very mentally disturbed. She functioned well as far as being able to keep herself alive, but due to her rather rare use of soap she was never once propositioned for a romantic relationship. I think that was the most effective way to stay out of any sort of rped romance, or to be the object of someone's ic/ooc desires. Though I've never been as extreme with any of my characters since, typically they're of a bent that romance just doesn't occur.

But I would do a romantic relationship if it did occur -- but only as long as I was comfortable with the player oocly. I have seen some freaking fantastic rp romances, and I long to try my hand at it just sort of as a 'Can I do this?' type of thing. However, I do believe you'd have to find a compatible writer to rp it out with to really do justice to such a rp relationship, and the chances of me finding such a writer. . .mmm, slim.

But even harder than that, I think, is finding another character who would mesh well enough with one of mine to rp out a platonic companionship -- and to have a player who would be interested in such intricacies. I've done a few, though due to the wearing nature of time these have all dropped off, and each time it was exhilirating.

For all of this though, it is very, very rare for me to find any romantic/platonic relationships rped out by other people that I am interested in. The one that really got me to thinking about rp relationships was always exciting or interesting to read, and the interaction between those two characters always *really* made me want to rp. I think that is something I strive towards as a rper, to uphold enough quality that it will inspire other rpers to want to engage in their own rp. Sort of a 'oh wow, that's really cool, I want to try something like that.'

I think I totally missed whatever point I was trying to make, hopefully someone understands. XD

In the end, I am very interested in rping quality relationships that are complex and realistic and completely, COMPLETELY IC, but it is very rare to see this happen, whether they are ic or ooc. I think the ooc aspect of it tends to make people shy away from doing anything but superficial or familial relationships. And yeah, I know, you'll probably say 'but I did this!' . . .and I know, but when I look at character interactions as a whole whether they're in mmos or on pbp, a lot of the time there's nothing deep to pick up on. D: Some of it is probably just that it takes time to develop rapport, both as characters and players learning each other's writing styles, but still. Something that I mull over.

Kashemia · **07-21-2010, 03:26 AM**

I've had many starting romances, and few relationships. It's probably because I usually don't play characters who are very prone to have a relationship, so when they start romance, it take AGES, and by the time they're actually close to being a relationship, something happen and one of us quit the game or something Tongue

Interestingly enough, I don't think I've ever had more than one public romance either, for one reason or another, someone always feel that the romance have to be kept hidden. That can be a lot of fun too, making subtle hint without making it obvious, etc. ^^

ArmachiA · **07-21-2010, 03:37 AM**

^ Second.

(Seriously you stole the words out of my mouth)

Averis · **07-21-2010, 07:32 PM**

Hmm... maybe we should start another thread on role-play relationships. Could be an interesting topic. Cool

Dreamer · **07-21-2010, 08:03 PM**

Sounds good to me.

Ellion Goto · **07-21-2010, 11:54 PM**

Verence Wrote:Sorry for the double post and doubly sorry for the wall of text, but as I'm sure you've all gathered by now this subject is something I've had loads of experience with and feel somewhat strongly about. I had to get the above out of the way before I shared my own examples. The following is straight out of the Canta Per Me character creation guidelines and are all things I've seen overdone or done poorly.

Canta Per Me's character creation guidelines Wrote:Some things that may seem like a great idea at character genesis turn out later to be potential pitfalls to roleplay. None of these are ironclad Ã¢Â€Âœdo not doÃ¢Â€Â rules, but are more presented to make new roleplayers aware of possible hurdles to their easy and enjoyable roleplaying. If you have a concept youÃ¢Â€Â™re dying to try out thatÃ¢Â€Â™s inseparable from one of these, by all means try it!

The Lone Wolf Ã¢Â€Â“ Who wouldnÃ¢Â€Â™t want a strong, independent character who could care less if the world around them went up in smoke? ItÃ¢Â€Â™s an appealing idea, and one that can lead to a very stand-out character if done well. On the other side of the coin it often leads to difficulty getting involved in roleplaying sessions as your character stands on the sidelines, being independent. Lone Wolves are often unfriendly, and chasing away other characters with a stern look is loads of fun right up until you realize that now you have no one to roleplay with.

The Dark Past Ã¢Â€Â“ Tragic, dark, or villainous pasts is a great way to add a lot of zest to a character in a hurry. ItÃ¢Â€Â™s also a potential way of making other characters uncomfortable, especially if your characterÃ¢Â€Â™s history is alluded to often. No oneÃ¢Â€Â™s life is idyllic, so donÃ¢Â€Â™t shy away from conflict or hard times if that's the angle you'd like to take; just keep a mind towards moderation. A character with loads of baggage can scare off others and become difficult to roleplay.

Vengeance Ã¢Â€Â“ A timeless theme, and a powerful one. It can serve as a very strong motivator for your character... And an obsession that keeps them from taking advantage of what is going on in the community. Other characters will probably not care about your characterÃ¢Â€Â™s vendetta unless it involves them too, or they come to care about your character as the result of roleplay interaction. Even then they may shy away from taking a direct hand in exacting payback.

Amnesia Ã¢Â€Â“ A popular choice; after all, it saves you the trouble of coming up with a backstory, generates an interesting quirk, and gives a motivation all at the same time! Three for the price of one, right? The difficulty is that no backstory can actually become a handicap as you attempt to flesh out your character, find reasons for why they are the way they are, and dig for things they can talk about. ThereÃ¢Â€Â™s a danger of it cheapening your roleplay, doubly so since as above mentioned, chances are nobody will care that your character is amnesic until they get to know them.

Other Origin Ã¢Â€Â“ This is the only one IÃ¢Â€Â™ll directly condemn. Saying that your character comes from another planet, another dimension, Everquest, or modern day Earth changes the world setting of VanaÃ¢Â€Â™Diel into something else. It means that either your character is insane or that VanaÃ¢Â€Â™Diel is part of a metaverse Ã¢Â€Â“ something beyond the scope of Final Fantasy XI. This is something to be avoided (unless your character is in fact a nutter and simply thinks theyÃ¢Â€Â™re from somewhere else).
To this list, I'd add:

The Orphan - I didn't add this to the CPM list because, well, wars kill a lot of people. Plenty of people are going to have dead family members in the wake of a massive, savage, years-long war. We had a lot of people with no real family to speak of in CPM and given the setting, it seemed appropriate enough. In other settings, though... It can be incredibly common and it gets a bit weird when more people had their entire family murdered/disappeared/etc than not. Generally speaking, most people 0-40 have living parents.

The Kleptomaniac - They are a Thief, and they steal things! They pick pockets and break into houses! Why? ...'cause they're a Thief/Rogue/analogous jobclass and that's what they do, right? Well, not necessarily... Job classes tend to describe fighting style, not define personalities (though it's true certain personalities are drawn to certain job classes). We've established that the character is a Thief, but why do they steal everything in sight? All characters of this type that I've seen never seem to quite think that far. Do they do it for the adrenaline rush? Did they have a hard upbringing and seize any and all opportunity they see? "Because they're a Thief" isn't a legitimate reason - stealing is risky and dangerous, not something to be done on a whim "just because". Plus, all the pickpocketing can grate on other players as everyone in the area has their pockets systematically rifled through.

The Walking Autobiography - Often coupled with The Dark Past. It's perfectly understandable and quite common among new RPers - Someone comes up with an interesting, in-depth background for their character and they just can't wait to share it! So their character shares, at length, their life story, hopes, and dreams with whatever random passerby strikes up a conversation. Now, some people are like this. If your character is, great! Talkativeness can be an endearing trait. A lot of people aren't, though. Someone you sit next to at random on the bus isn't likely to spill their entire life story to you just because you said "hi". Pace yourself, think about what your character would and wouldn't be comfortable sharing in the given situation, and how appropriate it is for them to talk about themselves at all.

The PokÃƒÂ©maniac - I want to be the very best, like no one ever was! Okay, okay, bad joke. But common concept. I've seen this done well nearly as many times as I've seen it done poorly. A character, for whatever reason, is obsessed with being the best. The most powerful mage and the most skilled martial artist are two of the most common. Okay, fine... why? If you can come up with an interesting, compelling reason for their obsession then congratulations on a dynamic, motivated character. If you can't... Well, people don't just suddenly decide "I'm going to be the best damn PHP coder EVAR!" for no reason.

The Spontaneous Savior - A new character arrives on the scene and brings a dire warning of impending disaster. For whatever reason, they are the key to resolving it safely. This can be an awesome jump-start to a plot... IF you run it by the community first, make sure it doesn't conflict with anything, doesn't contradict the setting, and that people are generally okay with it. Don't be surprised or upset if they aren't; people often don't like things getting shaken up out of nowhere by someone they haven't RP'd with before. You can easily wind up the following situation.
Char #1: "The world's suddenly in danger for a reason I just made up, and I'm the only one who knows how to save it!"
Char #2: "...Who are you and why wasn't it in danger before you showed up?"

I've only run into possession twice - one made a lot of awkward situations for the linkshell. The other was very subtle and interesting, surprising everyone when the truth finally came out. There have also been a couple of incarcerations in CPM history, but to my knowledge there was only ever one breakout and they faked it to look like a death, then the escaping character moved to a different city under an assumed identity until things were eventually resolved with some backdoor diplomacy. Not terribly cliche, and I had fun watching that plot develop since the char in question was my char's adoptive little sister.

We never had any halfbreed characters, but I was opposed to them until I read about Enid Ironheart. According to game lore, all the in-game maps were drawn by Gwynham Ironheart, a Bastokan hume... And his half-Elvaan daughter Enid Ironheart. With a halfbreed built right into the lore like that, the LS decided they were possible but rare due to low fertility rate to explain why so few of them are seen. We also decided Tarutaru and Galkan crosses weren't possible due to the former's stature and the latter's technical asexuality. I don't really accept WotG as precedent for canon since it contradicts the rest of the game in several places in ways not explainable by time travel.

I have to say, this post is full of win. To be 100% honest with each and every single one of you. I do believe I was guilty of doing 85% of this entire list all at once with my very first character... and it's so true. Ah.. memories.

Hayden · **07-22-2010, 12:12 AM**

Oh Eva! I was there for so much of that! Your awesome however its good to still have you around!

Lets see what I am guilty of.

Amnesia yea I did that to my character, I also did the having a baby thing and the romance thing but the person IC I did it was just happened to me my IRL wife!

One thing I REALLY get tiard of to no end is the dark complicated past dealie. Not that I am against dark complicated pasts...but it just so happens that people mostly pair THEIR dark complicated pasts with an angst filled steriotypical final fantasy eske hero, or a dark brooding lone wolf.

Gets old after a wile. I think I will make my character a bright happy and chipper fellow with a borring past! :afro:

ArmachiA · **07-22-2010, 06:40 AM**

Lt's see in FFXI Armi was:

The spontaneous savior - She was the only one who could defeat the Shadow Lord! (>.>)
Then, once I realized the Mary Sue-ness of it, she got amnesia and turned evil.

The Amnesia thing was actually pretty fun for a while though. Runnin around bein all evil. But it wasn't Armi, I was putting a square peg in a round hole and eventually had to follow my characters heart and not my own.

Iroh · **07-24-2010, 01:08 PM**

Honestly, what I'd like to see more in RP is well written villains. It's so rare to see great villains... you either get the "bullies" (who honestly really should be the GOONS and HENCHMEN of the villains, and they should lose more often and not god-mod so much as always being more powerful) or you get the anti-hero types that SAY they are bad but never actually DO anything because deep down their player wants everyone to like them.

I want more well-played villains.

BelovedHatred · **07-24-2010, 01:33 PM**

The problem often time with PC villians is that Eventually they have to get caught.
This poses a problem most of the time for one party or another, because either A) the villian has to get caught, put away, executed, whatever. B) He has to escape prison...alot...which begins to make the court system in teh game seem really fail, and in turn anyone wanting to play a guard/patrol type of chr seem the same C) Villian eventually has to die/kill of che, or suddenly see the light ans start skipping through daisies, after they just tried to bring the Lunatic Pandora down on your local tavern last week.

If the constant escape/never caught things happens, players eventually get worn down on the character in question. One can only be harassed with the same plot, same villian for so long without just going to autopilot/ignore mode around them.

Not to bash any ideas, these are just things to consider, because I've seen it happen many a time on Aion.

Everyone wants to be the Sephiroth of the story...but just remember guys...Spehiroth goes away in the end of the story~!

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Cliche RP Elements

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