Darien Cadell

I'm generally happy to have my character lose to stroke someone else's ego. It doesn't cost me anything and makes them happy? It's not like I'm going to kill and delete my character. But an abrupt and random confrontation with the presumption of outcome probably isn't something I'd pursue further.

I like "plots" based on this definition, I guess, but I actually clicked slice-of-life above, because like Nailah, I am not at all a fan of the railroad. As soon as I get a sense there's a script in the background, I get the cringe and want out. I don't much care for tavern/social RP generally. Once in a while, sure, but I can't do it often. Maybe what I like is better described as "event" RP? An initial situation with some kind of point to it beyond chatting with pals that may or may not lead to another event, depending what happens.

People were wanting it to show in the party UI like MP does, for things like using goad and the bard TP song. Right now it does not, and it seems like they're not planning on changing that.

Sabisu sabisu! I'd play it. ;_;

I already have 4. 4 more?! Gaddang, I might actually have room for all these armor sets that don't go in the armory chest for some reason.

Availability of the benchmark.

Only because this is your thread.

Somehow I'm starting to realize I can tell when it's a Kale thread just by the title, haha! I'm pale fishbelly white and a ginger. My character is black. Not dark-skinned. Actually black. Well, soft grey because they don't let the darkest possible skin tone be actually devoid of light. Or perhaps, like Verad, I should simply admit to also being blue. My previous character was also a ginger, but tanned. I like playing tanned gingers as a pattern. They're a fun kind of anomaly.

As someone who has been both popular and deliberately fled that popularity multiple times, I can say I much much MUCH prefer being unpopular. Being popular gets you accused of some very, very strange things by people who you've never interacted with and you have no idea how they know you at all. If I wanted to become popular on the internet, I know exactly how it's done, but I never really want it. I have never deliberately tried to enter someone's group or a clique I perceived. I have never tried to befriend a particular person in order to get in on a share of their fame. For me, popularity seems to be an unfortunate side-effect of enthusiasm. If I am really enthusiastic about something, I reach out to other people who are also enthusiastic, other people who are also enthusiastic reach out to me, and our enthusiasm becomes one big pile of positive happy enthusiasm that... negative unhappy less enthusiastic people see and react to on their own without ever reaching out to me personally. The sadness and accusations that result bother me and discourage future enthusiasm on my part. Whereas if I stay relatively quiet, I can enjoy my small contributions to small things in my small voice and not suddenly be told that I'm a vast unapproachable monolith of intimidating glory by someone who's never said a word to me otherwise. It's much comfier in the quieter corner, although the number of people I RP with these days can be counted on one hand.

I only read about half the thread. I'll go back and read it as I get bored enough and there's not enough new content elsewhere, but I doubt I'll see too much info that doesn't get rehashed. I'm just going to add my personal experience into this giant pot because I can, and I like to. I took a hiatus due to RL, from the game, from the forums, from everything, including scratching out my old character and making a "new" one. I thought I'd still be on hiatus, but it turns out babies are actually really boring when they sleep all the time. I don't really have any friends anymore. The FC and LSes that I'm in are all quite quiet. The few people I do talk to are generally friends I made... here, actually, and only within the past couple months, so... yeah. I came back to HRPC for one thing and one thing only: The Character Development forum. I wanted ideas to build the new thing I was playing. If Character Development was still the only part of the forums I ever visited, it would still make this place worthwhile in my book. It's exactly what it claims to be and it does it well. As far as the rest of the forum is concerned, I'm not actually seeing the aggression much. I'm guessing this must be due to elite moderation skills. I see some relentless negativity, but it only comes from a few directions, so I've figured out how to dodge it. I see some serious passion that I don't share, but I applaud it, even though I don't share it. I don't find it a negative thing to be passionate usually. Overall, as someone who doesn't expect much from strangers and probably qualifies as a lurker, as I can't RP much in-game these days, I find this place -- even this thread in the first half at least -- overflows with positivity and encouragement. It might be marked by shadows here and there, but my general response? What's with all what aggression? Edit: I've read the whole thing now, and yep, not much to add.

Two small rusty keys. She knows who they belonged to and theoretically what they unlock, but not how they came into her possession. Every time she tries to throw them away they do the whole creepy-doll-show-up-again trope, so she's just given up and they're usually pocketed or in the side of her boot. One knife, plain. She had plans for the knife and might still have plans for it, so it never gets far from her person. One dodo earring. Not a gift, but a memorial of sorts nonetheless. Plus, I love how its hilarity offsets her perpetual angry gloomface. One Tipping Scales ring. For her, it's like a sort of years-of-service award. She doesn't usually wear it and leaves it at home, but considers it a keepsake nonetheless.

I initially thought the FFXIV shot in the first gif /was/ the one in the new game. Now /that/ would be stealing. As it is, it's just MMO-fare. It's not even similar enough to make me raise an eyebrow.

If I recall correctly, before replacing them, they usually up the cap, but don't remove it until they bump it down? But an expansion isn't usual, so who knows.

Thanks for bringing back those nightmares. On a happier note, I found the reveals yummy and excited to see more. I still don't plan on playing an Au Ra with any seriousness, but I'll probably mess around with one as a new character once I can squeeze him in past creation locks because tidbits like these have made me increasingly curious. And of course I'm going to do all those class quests because... I need to! I always do. I doubt I'll change either of my main classes from what they are, but I need to see these new stories, even more now.

Not to mention the "Moegramm Had A Little Lamb" quest in Lower La Noscea. I had been all oh, teehee when Momodi was talking about escapades with menfolk or whatever, but then this quest gets all giddy about the constant implications of "attachment" to sheep. Yyyyep. It's right out there in the open. Never experienced that in another MMO, nope. And that has nothing to do with players whatsoever. I had always been of the mind that yes, miqo'te are culturally promiscuous, in different ways across the two clans, yes, but not at all of the monogamy set whatsoever. It wasn't until my miqo'te character's family (that had conflict not unlike the postmoogle quest) imploded that her mindset on that changed. Even then, she wouldn't expect other miqo'te to suddenly have a different culture simply because she's had ample reason to reject her own. But while there are some people who are exploring the culture, other people are going to be shallow or short-sighted and only interested in jubblies. C'est la vie.

I've roleplayed all kinds, and I mean all kinds. Okay, maybe not all, but if you made a list of categories, I'm sure I could claim to have dipped my toes in all of them. And I don't think ERP, such as it is, has ever caused me any problems. That's not to say it doesn't for others, obviously. I can see how it does and why it does. But anything IC hasn't really been the source of conflict on my end. (My IC has bothered others, but that comes part and parcel with roleplaying jerks generally.) When I do have RP problems, they've always come from somewhere OOC. That being said, I feel for the people who don't want any part of it and don't want to see it. I'm not a big fan of seeing public displays of affection in real life, either. If I'm doing such a thing I make frequent and immediate use of private channels, or even pull it out of the game altogether, and I do feel guilty when I go a bit over the top with affection before stepping out of the public eye. Ain't nobody got time for that.

What Domri said. She'd probably just let them wallow in their own filth and scream themselves into exhaustion until someone came to retrieve them, leaving a big pile of snacks in a bowl like dog food, depending on their age and capacity to feed themselves. Really little babies, she might actually be okay with, since they're just loud plants at that point, water them and prune their butts, repeat ad nauseam until parents return. But really, don't leave kids with Qhora. She's mighty likely to smother them to save them from the world and teach their parents a lesson.

I played an Elezen in the 1.0 beta before I decided it was a waste of my time. I played pretty much this character in the first ARR beta, a Roegadame in the second beta, and then at launch played a Midlander Ala Mhigan. Not sure why I'm babbling all this, except to say I like lots of things and I like playing lots of different things. After ditching the hyur for reasons, I went back to my first ARR beta character and mangled her backstory. I like to play characters that have a normal/normal-ish/normal appearing background, and then wreck it with all sorts of little details and incidents that make them very much a snowflake under a bread-and-butter facade. I have no problem whatsoever with miqo'te dragoons, especially if said people are willing to and do consider how it must have felt being a minority in a place known for its xenophobia. I was often praised in WoW for playing a blood elf mage, because blood elves should be mages, blah blah blah. Okay? He was pretty bread-and-butter on the surface, yep. But under that, he had all sorts of weird little tweaks that made him very much a snowflake, raised in a church, killed his best friend, etc. I actually felt a bit uncomfortable for being "noticed" for playing a "normal" character. As has been stated earlier I like playing the "normal" not at all normally. That being said, I have utmost respect for those who play the "abnormal" and own it, and love it, and respect it, and build on it. Even if at first I ask, like many might, "a miqo'te from where?!"

#4, but rarely makes use of it? I generally assume that player characters are "adventurers" and thus if not on the WoL's level, then are at least capable of standing next to him and contributing to any given task/fight he might undertake (he referring to Derplander). It's up to the players to show me their characters are not the "adventurers" I've assumed them to be, which is all lovely and good, but simply not my starting point. I assume PCs are between 3 and 4. If they go up from there, I eyebrow raise, but perhaps they have plot reasons to be uberpowerful, and they have a kryptonite somewhere, so I give benefit of the doubt and play along (until given reason otherwise). If they go down from there, I assume stylistic choice on the part of the player and respond accordingly and with respect.

W-what are they buying?! Whatever it is, it can't be good.

Qhora doesn't drink. Anymore. Even when she did, she didn't really like the feeling of losing herself in the buzz. If she were to get drunk/someone were to get her drunk, she'd a) realize and run for the hills, possibly expecting poison, then b) trash an inn room, brutally, and be paying for it on installments for months to follow. She definitely wouldn't stick around to show people what kind of drunk she is, angry and bitter. If she were stuck in public for some reason, she'd probably hide in a corner and sob into her stein until everyone went away or she passed out. So scared, then violent, then angry, then sad? Not pleasant.

Qhora's backstory is a jumble of angry ranting and outright lies, implausible and vicious. And she used to be such a nice girl. She's more likely to blatantly pour poison in a complete stranger's tea while maintaining eye contact with them than give them the time of day. And it's far more likely that she's in the middle of nowhere fishing to forget, a hat with a huge brim pulled low over her face.

What's being proposed isn't too far off from the Postmoogle stuff in terms of content, I'd imagine. Fluff quests for people who enjoy fluff, with some fluff rewards. In terms of UI, it's pretty messy, and seems to be wanting to be more important than it would be. I also don't like the idea of it taking some classes or concepts out of play for future expansions. They give us a dancer disciple of art, and then dancer's locked out of being playable? Several FFXI expacs went by before there was such thing as dancer in that game. No sense locking anything away from future possibilities. Fluff quests with emotes and decorative gear rewards are already in play. Would we like more? Of course. Could decorative gear and emotes be more flexible and user friendly? Yep. Do such things need to be pushed and organized in a class system? I don't think so.