RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes

Tiergan · **04-08-2014, 03:29 PM**

I'm just going to link the Handbook from the RP Discussion forum. It covers all the basics and you can refer to it whenever you feel confused about something.

Ciel · **04-08-2014, 03:29 PM**

/examine people for search messages. Many will encourage walk up rp. It's a good way to break the ice and start simple.

Ritual · **04-08-2014, 07:32 PM**

(04-08-2014, 12:01 PM)Elyscia Wrote:
(04-08-2014, 08:47 AM)Ritual Wrote: Thanks for the advice!Â

Yeah by RP group I meant what you said XD, I guess I'd be more comfortable just joining a Free Company, asking someone to RP with me just kinda... makes me feel uncomfortable I haven't got a clue as to why, probably because I haven't done this sort of thing before.Â .

I have a background set out for my character and her brother along with a personality for the two of them, my... plot I guess you could call it isn't really a big thing, the brother has some psychological issues and it's basically the story of the sister (Who I'll make a WHM when I can.) trying to "heal" him. This being set in a world were I don't think much has been done on psychology so it's basically her figuring it all out, so I guess my characters would be in the background to most RPs going on which works in my favour tbh.Â

It's good to know if the situation is a reasonable one then being OOC is acceptable.

I love the Super Saiyan form XD, this is what I was trying to clear up because whilst I understand being a "God" in RP and expecting others to bow to you or whatever if unacceptable, what about "Gods" like Algol from Soul Calibur, he doesn't do anything to the world around him he just observes and he isn't immortal just ageless, he doesn't have much to do with the story-lines at all, are those types of characters also unacceptable? He does do a few things in the later games but because of the story-lines just being arcade mode he doesn't affect more than a few characters at most.

You... you have to have IC clothing and what-not? Well thinking about it it makes sense to me I don't even know how I didn't think of that. You must teach me this ninja-clothes-changing-jutsu you speak of, I like that I can use my character out of RP, it would've probably become annoying if they could only level and things in RP.

Again thanks for the great advice.

I know what you meaaaaan about feeling uncomfortable and shy to get people to RP with you :/ I have a bit of social anxiety so I don't ask very much because I always feel like nobody has time for me. Though, it's even trickier to get people to RP with me because my character doesn't like talking to new people (she's cautious and wary of them) but when someone new talks to me, OOC I'm like "YAAY RP! ..But.. Goddamn my character's personality!" It takes awhile for her to build bridges with people, but I find that's fun

Your background story sounds good so far, though I personally don't know too much about the lore and how to incorporate things. Try reading about FFXIV's wiki - AFAIK WHM's are like.. druids, where they take healing energy from the earth's aether (energy) but can't do it so carelessly, or (in)experienced ones can heal from using their own life force, I think?

Well, as far as the whole 'God-playing' thing... people will tell you you can play whatever the Hell you want which is very true! Play whatever you want, personality, background etc. But just bear in mind that some people take their lore very seriously and will be apprehensive or just won't roleplay with you completely if you're doing something ominpotent like that.

Hehe, IC clothing makes sense! My character doesn't have much money and she has a signature green tabard (that her partner bought for her) so she's seen in that, or her work clothes which is a yellow vest and shorts Â She wouldn't be able to afford many other clothes, and sometimes some clothes just don't work out for your character's personality, you know? Like if you get some really weird armor that you wouldn't see her get caught wearing even when dead...!
The ninja-clothes-changing jutsu is very easy! When you're in game you have a character panel and you can create 'Gear Sets', and all you need to do is click one button and hey - presto! All your gear is changed with the touch of a button!

As for the whole pregnancy thing, yes! What Amyness said about it being progression: I know someone who OOC will say a month or two = the nine months of Eorzean times IG (timelines is very personal and up to you to decide when this or that happened.)
So, for my character... Amyness is actually my in-game sister. I'll try to explain quickly:

My character came from a rural, shanky middle-of-nowhere secluded village and left recently (In-game time six-seven months ago currently) and I discussed with Amy a quick history of our character's background, where our characters were estranged, but found each other again years, and years later in Ul'dah (one of the cities) and they've been trying to reconnect ever since.
So some brainstorming is needed!

Yeah I'm kind of seen as the do it yourself loner in my family with my two cousins so asking questions is easy but when it comes to asking someone to do something with me I get reaaal awkward fast, I just don't have the experience to feel comfortable.

I think from what I've read whilst WHMs are a combination of ACN and CNJ, they're seen as more of a... evolution of the CNJ class from what I've read. So I'd guess they would basically do what you've said, they use the Earths aether and change it into their desired spell, in-experienced ones that can't tap into the aether end up using their own life-force and they end up slowly killing themselves with every spell they cast.

I wasn't planning on creating God-like beings but I just thought there were... I guess niches to the idea, God-like beings that can still die just like any other person and so on were I guess different enough I just wondered how they would work.

I'm still working out clothing for my characters, I never gave it any thought XD. I kind of skip over the tutorials so I really didn't read about the Gear Sets I must confess, I'll definitely use those when I get the chance.

I'm used to writing stories and what not, I used to do em a lot but my problem was always the timelines and so on, like I'll really want to write a scene between two characters and I'd quickly gloss over some things to get to that point which isn't good story telling, it's like I would leave it barren then something interesting then barren againÂ Frustrated

.

I'll need to work on that for when I try RPing.Â

Thanks for the post!

Ritual · **04-08-2014, 09:34 PM**

(04-08-2014, 12:46 PM)Evie Wrote: There has been a lot of good advice here so far, I'm going to add a few things as well.

Free Companies and linkshells haven't really been mentioned in depth. So these are a good way to find an RP group. There are a lot that you can look at in the Linkshell Hall. These include Linkshells (both IC and OOC) as well as Free Companies.

Time for shameless plug as I'm a officer in my Free Company. You can check out more about Equilibrium on our website or in the linkshell hall. We're a dual sided RP FC, so we take both good aligned and evil aligned characters. We also have our own FC storyline that can be participated in as well. End shameless plug.

Free companies and linkshells are great places to find like minded people. Another good place to go are the adventuring guilds. I know the U'ldah one, the Quicksand, is always busy with RPers. And merely sitting at a table and emoting will get peoples attention. I know someone mentioned custom emotes, all you have to do is type something after /emote and it will appear as your action. /emote drinks from her mug while reading an immense tome would show up as Evelyn Strider drinks from her mug while reading an immense tome. Â

OOC is normally accepted at any time. If your in an IC linkshell, only speaks IC in the linkshell, you can denote OOC by putting things in parentheses. (( This would be considered OOC talk in most linkshells and RP areas.)) Though some people do different things, this is the style I've seen most often.

Some other notations you might run into is the use of the * which typically means an action, so like an emote. For example a person may emote in say and so the action would be bracketed with *s.

I've also seen > or -c- as meaning the RP is continuing. This is typically used on long posts where someone has hit the character limit and has to continue in a second post. This gives the RPers a clue that you aren't quite finished yet. Though I haven't seen this much in FF as it seems to have a larger character limit than the last MMO I played.

Too powerful is always a hard one. In my idea if your character is flawless...perfect at everything then yah, probably too powerful. Perfect characters are also frustrating to RP with, because they're always right and always win when it comes to RP fights. But again a lot of it depends on the people you RP with. However, I have seen some pretty OP characters played in a way that even though they are technically OP, that OP never really comes into the RP. It only happens in extreme circumstances, under very particular conditions.

I'm not sure I quite understand your question about god characters, I've never played soul caliber so going to go with how I'm interpreting it. I'm not sure about playing a literal god character...the pantheon is pretty set with no indication of whether or not there are additional gods or even demi-gods (think Hercules). From what I understand in lore the gods have essentially withdrawn from interfering in Eorzea. Though on that note I have RPed with a few Void-beings, which has been interesting, but they've been in no way OP. Actually had one defeated in our FC story recently.

RP clothes are up to you, what your character would like. But whatever you decide I would suggest saving those RP sets in the clothing sets that you get as you unlock more classes and jobs. I have my RP set saved so it's just a matter of selecting it and voila! I'm clothed appropriately for RP. Though these sets seem to be expanding and I've hoarded way to many clothes at this point >.>.

Hope this helps and sorry if anything has been repeated!

Good luck on your RP! And feel free to contact me in game if you'd like. My main is Evelyn Strider, though I have 8 other RP alts XD.

Thanks for the advice! I had a look see on your site, the information regarding the two factions was interesting I'd like to know how that dynamic would work in the same free company.

I was kinda using God characters/powerful characters interchangeably sorry about that, I was just meaning a being with immense power but by no means flawless, someone that could die, trying to get a God character to work with the lore isn't going to work very well I think just from reading what little I have of the lore so far.

I'll remember your name for when I do get the game soon! How in the world do you remember eight characters different personalities along with backstories and other important info? I might be writing a fanfiction along side my characters story just for kind of out of game things, that's the only way I'll be able to remember.

(04-08-2014, 01:53 PM)Eva Wrote: For once I'm going to try and avoid any longwindedness and say simply that your priority should be to make a character (or characters) that you enjoy and have fun playing. Â To every RPer this may mean something different and you may need to take some time actually experiencing it to figure out what that means to you individually.

Someone once told me [of jazz music] that "if you're thinking too hard about it, than you're thinking too hard about it." Â I think the same sort of applies to RP as well.

Good luck to you in finding your niche out there! Â

Being longwindedness is a good trait to have! You should exercise it often.Â Cool

I'm mainly going to create characters similar in nature to myself, whilst it is fun to act OOC from myself from time to time it would still be me behind the wheel so to speak. It is good advice thank you.

And thanks for the encouragement!

Ritual · **04-08-2014, 09:46 PM**

(04-08-2014, 02:09 PM)Amyness Wrote:
(04-08-2014, 01:53 PM)Eva Wrote: Someone once told me [of jazz music] that "if you're thinking too hard about it, than you're thinking too hard about it." Â I think the same sort of applies to RP as well.
It's so much this. A lot of people don't realize that they essentially have to -be- this person, so if you spend hours crafting a personality that you can't even relate to then it's going to make RP'ing harder and less enjoyable.

Yeah I figured that if say someone is a overly moral person IRL then crafting a particularly immoral character and trying to RP as them would most likely lead to a conflict of interest within the RPer themselves. This just being an example.

(04-08-2014, 03:09 PM)Apl_Juice Wrote: Be as social as possible (OOC of course, your character can be a grumpy-grump IC). Roleplaying is just writing without other participants. Don't be afraid to send /tells or PMs to people, ask about organizations you find interesting, or anything else. This is not a community that turns people down typically unless there's a significant clash or ideas or a bad fit. Its safe to say that every group would like another solid RP'er to write with.

This might be an issue for me as I expressed I'm kind of a loner XD, though I will try to get over this "hump", it's nice to know the community is an accepting one which'll make it easier for me.

Ritual · **04-08-2014, 10:16 PM**

(04-08-2014, 03:29 PM)Tiergan Wrote: I'm just going to link the Handbook from the RP Discussion forum. Â It covers all the basics and you can refer to it whenever you feel confused about something.

I did skim through it, I'll have to set aside time to read it extensively.

(04-08-2014, 03:29 PM)Ciel Wrote: /examine people for search messages. Many will encourage walk up rp. It's a good way to break the ice and start simple.

Walk up RP could be really useful for me thanks!

Mae · **04-09-2014, 09:38 AM**

Quote:How would I integrate myself into a RP group?Â

My tip, especially for a newbie... is to lurk. Even if you're rolling an alt so you're not associated with the creepy voyeur in the corner. You can read handbooks and check on LS/FC sites and view profiles until you're blue in the face, but what you can actually sit and observe is often the best tool. You'll get an idea of who you could be compatible with and what some of the IC topics/issues are.

(If you need a lurker buddy, hit me up. I'm new to the community myself and still doing the lurker thing a few times a week.)

Once you've gotten all the lurking out of your system, it's time to start taking chances. To quote a quasi-RP-leader I knew in another game, "Welcome to the Community, wallflowers need not stay". Don't just sit in a chair, waiting for people to 'click' on you like you're an NPC. Emote getting yourself a cup of coffee in whichever tavern you're in, have problems getting on your porter 'bo, lose your money purse and have to go find it... you don't have to think up something earth-shattering, just something do for ten-fifteen minutes to get yourself out there.

From there, you'll eventually cultivate a group of other players that you get along with (ICly, OOCly, or both), and likely from one of them you'll find an RP LS or FC that suits your style.Â

Quote:How does one progress their characters storyline?Â

I always like to base a character on, or give/assign, a goal to be achieved. Nothing huge or horribly specific, just something for them to work towards and can be achieved through multiple paths (for example, my main character has a goal of... finding a goal in life. She's spent her life so far 'surviving' and 'existing', which was fine for her before, but now that she's been introduced to the concept that there might be something better or maybe even special for her to do, she's struggling to figure out WHAT that something better or special is). Some people like to plot out/semi-script what their character is going to do from start to finish. Others make a character and just throw them out there, and what happens happens. It's all about your play style.

Knowing the extent of your morality is also important. Not just your alignment, but where your character sits on the greyscale and how far you're willing to move in one direction or another. Sometimes events will pop up that if you go by alignment alone, it seems you would have no reason to go/participate. Whereas if you look at the greyscale, it's within your limits. Don't cut yourself out of events just because you're strictly adhering to your alignment.

Quote:When is it acceptable to become OOC?

Â Easy. Whenever you don't feel like RPing. Don't push yourself to RP when you're not in the mood for it, or when you're doing something that needs your complete concentration or you're in a time crunch. Or when you're doing something that doesn't make IC sense.

Quote:How powerful is too powerful? (Even though my characters aren't really all that powerful anyway.)Â

You've already heard about godmoding, and a couple people have touched upon being too perfect/being the best at everything. Personally, I like to go on the idea of "if you can't use the ability normally, then you can't do it". Of course, that gets messy when you consider the game gives you the ability to change job/class at whim...Â

Use your best judgement and, when in doubt, ask.

Quote:Can I use my character for OOC stuff with my friends that have no interest in RP?

Of course. And, y'know... there's always the chance you might infect them with the RP bug...

Quote:Oh another question I have is how do families work? How do people have kids etc.?

Some people just make up family trees with names listed and mentioned from time to time. People who are prone to writing supplement stories to their RP often feature the family members that are 'off-screen'. Some people make siblings/spouses/cousins/whatever as alt characters and cameo them. Sometimes friends/RL couples will roll related/engaged/married characters.

I saw you asking questions about having relationships with other player-characters. Two tips: don't revolve your entire plot around having a relationship with someone, and if you get in a relationship, make sure you have good OOC communication going on. Oh, and keep things classy; if you are not one to go with 'fade to black', double, triple, and quadruple-check to make sure you're not about to throw some awkward MT's into one channel or another, and just emoting "/em gives <insert target of affection here> a passionate kiss." is just fine for a PDA, you don't have to go into description on how you're making out with someone.

Having kids... my honest opinion (from personal trial and a LOT of error) is to avoid having kids (unless you've got a character that's older and could have children that are at least in their mid/late teens, or you're basing your character's entire plot around finding your lost/missing child). Realistically, if you've got a female character, getting pregnant means you're not going on any fun adventures for a long, loooooooooooooooong while. Giving birth doesn't free you up; recovery time and... feeding... the baby will keep you homebound. MAYBE at this point, if you're a Keeper of the Moon, you can start leaving the baby home and have the father take care of it alone, but for the most part you now have a little NPC that, if not glued to your ti--hip, you really SHOULD be home with before dinnertime every night.Â When in doubt, save the babies for when you retire a character.

Quote:I'm used to writing stories and what not, I used to do em a lot but my problem was always the timelines and so on, like I'll really want to write a scene between two characters and I'd quickly gloss over some things to get to that point which isn't good story telling, it's like I would leave it barren then something interesting then barren again

I personally love short stories. They're little snippets and glimpses into character's lives, thoughts, and sometimes dreams that sometimes just aren't easily conveyed through RP. Even just typing up a section of chatlog is good reading, because it puts a special emphasis on an event that may have seemed insignificant to others, but to your character had a great impact.

I haven't had an opportunity to fully poke through the section, but I think the Town Square is for stories? Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that part. Anyways, there is a way to make a sort of timeline in a forum thread by using short stories and a few content tags. You could also use a blog site. So go ahead and write the short stories, just make sure you note down the date that an event happened ("Based on RP thatÂ occurredÂ on 4/2/14" or "Aftermath of RP on 2/27/13" or "Events that transpired before RP on 3/15/14"). Yes, the game has its own calender, but considering that one in-game day = 1 real-world hour... it can get confusing.

If I missed questions, I'm sorry; I skimmed the last couple posts. Just one other thing I'd like to toss out, though, since you're an RP newbie...

You're new, you're going through growing pains. That being said, you are likely to find (major) things about your character's design early on that you suddenly don't like (storyline, behaviour pattern, etc), or even can't RP. I know the Handbook here says to avoid retconning, though this is more in relation to events (if I'm reading the entry right) that effect others. If you need to retcon something out of your design to make the character something you want to continue to play, then do it.

Evie · **04-09-2014, 11:09 AM**

(04-08-2014, 09:34 PM)Ritual Wrote: Thanks for the advice! I had a look see on your site, the information regarding the two factions was interesting I'd like to know how that dynamic would work in the same free company.

I was kinda using God characters/powerful characters interchangeably sorry about that, I was just meaning a being with immense power but by no means flawless, someone that could die, trying to get a God character to work with the lore isn't going to work very well I think just from reading what little I have of the lore so far.

I'll remember your name for when I do get the game soon! How in the world do you remember eight characters different personalities along with backstories and other important info? I might be writing a fanfiction along side my characters story just for kind of out of game things, that's the only way I'll be able to remember.

It's very interesting and very particular to do. It requires a lot of people to work with some people in secret so that most of the company doesn't know what one is thinking and being able to keep OOC knowledge out of IC due to planning. But it started because the original members of the company moved here together from SWTOR. Where many of them had Sith/evil characters, so they wanted an evil aligned FC. The other part of us wanted a good aligned FC. So we just combined the two so the good side essentially already has a group of antagonist, though the way the RP has been going the evil aligned side might be winning XD. The evil characters are working together, mostly well, but it's an alliance out of convenience. But the conflict between the two allows for dueling and physical altercations. It's a lot of work for the officers, but it's a lot of fun when things come together.

As to the eight characters. Most of them start out with very small just backstories, just enough to get a feel for the character. And then I let a lot of character development occur in the RP. Only six characters have any type of story. The other two are just kind of small thoughts that I decided to make to hold a place and because I horde crafting materials. So I transfer mats between characters for storage. But I think that it's easier to keep things separated, because they are all so different from each other and because most of the character development occurred ICly. Though...I do love writing things out by hand, so I also keep a journal where I collect lore as well as writing out a character journal which I then post to our website for my main. I've seen similar character journals posted here in the Town Square area, if that's something your interested in doing.

naachyan · **04-09-2014, 11:13 PM**

Welcome to the community! I just joined too!Â Big Grin

Â I hear you about being new to roleplaying, I am the same way! I think the story of your character and her brother sounds really interesting! Contact me in-game any time if you'd like to make a friendÂ Blush

Zhavi · **04-09-2014, 11:29 PM**

(04-08-2014, 09:46 PM)Ritual Wrote: Yeah I figured that if say someone is a overly moral person IRL then crafting a particularly immoral character and trying to RP as them would most likely lead to a conflict of interest within the RPer themselves. This just being an example.

Hmm, I think it depends on the person playing. I'm certainly very err. . .well, let's just say that I have several characters who I would absolutely loathe if I ever met them in person, who do things I wouldn't even contemplate. Yet I love playing them, because I feel it's challenging for me to do so, and I love making such characters believable enough that other players are conflicted over, love to hate, or love in spite of their behaviors. It's the same with books -- I tend to fall in love with characters who I would, in all likelihood, not be able to stand if they existed and I met them.

Of course, everyone has different levels of what makes rp fun. I once had a person tell me that I shouldn't play a certain character (she's definitely at the edge of my comfort zone, though I find her interesting to write) because it was morally wrong to do so -- but to each their own, says I!

« Next Oldest \| Next Newest »
Pages (2): « Previous 1 2

Starting tips for an RP noob.

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes