Jaran

So, before playing on FFXIV (or WoW) I used to play on a few other games and with a number of other communities. The way that a lot of people broke down different RPing 'styles' (from an OOC/IC meshing perspective) in these communities was to classify it as one of three things: Social, Persona and Strict. Social was more or less playing as just yourself, but with an avatar or character that may not have looked like you outside the game or screen. The roleplay done was not so much intended to be you playing a character, but rather attempting to break the boundaries and limitations of distance and reach for deeper connections in a social/OOC way. Often these were kept short to things like *hugs* or whatever else. There are no backstories, no alternate stories, etc. Most people in MMOs, I find, do this sort of thing and don't really consider it roleplay. If anyone has seen that 'Father of Light' show, then that's a perfect example of what I'm talking about here. Strict RP was more or less what others have said, and there are obviously varying degrees of it, too. But for the sake of brevity it was putting a hard and defining line between OOC and IC. Some people who do this sort of thing don't bother with OOC connections between those they RP with (as was mentioned) while others hop back and forth between this and OOC interactions with their RP partners. Either way, this is very much the 'author vs the character' mindset, and there is at least an attempt made to define and differentiate the two. Persona was a lot like a blend of the two above (and more what you're talking about, I think, OP). There could be alternate backstories, characters that one made and emoted with and all of that, but the connections under all of that blended between strict and social for various reasons. One of the better examples that I can think of off the top of my head is a pair of friends of mine who are an OOC couple. They may dive into an RP world and play their characters as characters, but they also allow the lines of fiction and reality to blend, and happily so. Some characters may start out in a relationship together or they may have that as a goal, perhaps even with the intention being to strengthen the bonds they have OOC. I know a lot of people make blending OOC/IC out to be something undesirable, but really it comes down to just finding your people and everyone being on the same page. There's nothing inherently wrong with any RP style as long as all parties consent and agree to it. I've done all of these types of RP myself with varying degrees of success. I don't quite know how one would go about finding more of the 'Persona' type RPers on this game -- I've done a bit of searching on that myself, actually. I tend to keep my RP these days mostly on the strict side since that seems to be what most people are searching for, but you're definitely not alone!

Transfers will open up again after SB launches. Could be a month or two (maybe even three) but they will open up again when the active server numbers stabilize... and they have no choice but to do so now. SE is only taking preventative measures to soften the blow that will come with the launch of the expansion. If they didn't do these things and offer these incentives, then they would be asked why they did not make an effort in trying to rectify this situation. After the launch's hype, things will go back to normal. I'd bet gil on it. But since we are on the topic... To those wishing to establish a RP community on a smaller server, I sincerely wish you luck. I won't get into my own personal experience with the difficulties in undertaking such a phenomenal task; Kilieit's post summed it up perfectly and with an accuracy that I'd have difficulty in matching. I personally will not be transferring off of Balmung. Sure, I have all the 'typical' reasons for staying: a buttload of gil, a personal house/apartment/FC room or two, etc... but those aren't even my biggest reasons for staying. I can obtain all of those things again. But the RP community here is second to none in my eyes. I have been here since 1.0 beta, back when the server was still Besaid and we were all sitting around still debating on which server we'd be rolling on. It's my home. It's my friends' home. As random as its initial selection may have been, this server and its people mean a lot more to me than just an arbitrary choice now. The one thing that would make me reconsider a move is if we got a new server with all the benefits and a shiny RP tag on the end of it, as well as a large number of my friends on board with the move.

I'm also looking for an invite (Jaran Kha) but I can't seem to figure out who to turn to for one.

I'm confused by what you mean by 'book RP'. Do you mean a post made in the past tense as opposed to the present?

Jaran: 9mCTttJoTXo

What if it's to build proper subtext? This I can understand and I don't mind, to an extent. Sometimes it genuinely does come down to a person's RP style, and I won't fault anyone for that. However, I have seen people be pretty damn passive-aggressive in RP, and I've seen them use these 'internal monologues' or 'inner thoughts' to lash out at other people in an OOC manner with no IC repercussions... or at least not the same repercussions as if they'd actually said it out loud. As for my own RP pet peeves, it's mostly just the usual; metagaming, powerplaying, taking control of my character, etc. Also, as someone who enjoys all aspects of the game and often grinds to relax and does PvE to see the story and have fun, I really dislike it when someone expects me to RP with them every single day. Very often, it's IC couples/partners who do this (as has been mentioned earlier.) I've been guilted into near burn-out before just because my character wound up in an IC relationship. I'm rather cautious of RP relationships these days for this, and a few other, reasons.

Quick webcam picture with the half-sleeve (poor thing needs to be reworked so badly) and matching plugs I'm moving from Nebraska to Florida in two days and I'm stressed excited strescited! Maybe my pale, Irish arse will even get a tan.

It does sorta even itself out, doesn't it? Most PVEers get more exclusive shiny things to show off, most RPers have more people to show their shiny things off to. As much as I'd like to answer the initial question with an "it doesn't matter at all" ... it kinda does. I get where the other side is coming from (and I know that good RPers usually won't do this) but if I bust my ass to get something, I often do so because I'd like to use it IC or implement it into my character. It feels cheap, to me, to have a person say 'yeah, well me too!' when they didn't do the work to get there. This can be anything from levels to items to mounts to minions. Take your pick.

Real talk; coming from maining DRG, MCH's damage output feels like I'm caressing the enemy with a sack of warm kittens. I'm pretty sure AST does more DPS right now.

Omg, that's... terrible. As someone who worked for years in a boarding kennel, that is just completely unacceptable. We always ALWAYS made sure the dogs were hydrated and well cared for, and on very cold or hot days, we didn't let them stay outside for very long. It doesn't take a genius to realize that a dog needs constant access to water, especially in warm conditions. That kennel needs to be shut down or an investigation made into who was supposed to be looking out for the dogs that shift, and then that person needs to (at the very least) be fired on the spot. Sorry for the rant, but I have a real soft spot for animals, and this amount of neglect hits a strong nerve with me. Gahhh Most of all, please don't blame yourself. This wasn't anything you could've foreseen. My sincerest condolences to you and your family.

Not 'everyone' is legitimately nice. I'm really and genuinely glad to hear that your experiences have been positive, but not everyone has had the same. I've been nearly outted by people I trusted (who were not LGBTQA) on purpose and to blackmail me. It took me threatening legal action for it to stop. I've had a RP partner stop talking to me entirely when they found out. I've had another RP partner make snide comments about friends of mine (who are out) TOWARDS me that were very offensive, not knowing that I also was in that same predicament, but closeted. I've seen people call my closest friends anything from 'it' to 'he-she' to any other number of very transphobic things, and they'd absolutely refuse to call him by his preferred gender pronouns. All of these things happened on this very server, from people who are or have been on this server. No, not everyone is legitimately nice and some of us now have severe trust issues alongside it. Not everyone is the same, and not everyone will respond to hurtful things the same way. For one person, what they view as water off a duck's back may be a straw that broke the camel's back to another. You may be able to brush it off, but it may send another person into a spiraling depression.

+1. Amen to all of what Graeham said. I fall under a couple of the LGBTQA um... letters? One of which is that I'm bisexual. I also hate the stigma that I get from both sides about being bisexual. Like somehow that makes me someone who wants to sleep with every person I see or something (which could not be any further from the truth). I'm far more interested in the human being, not the genitalia. That said, I see nothing wrong with IC relationships and romance. In fact, I rather enjoy seeing two characters get to know each other and slowly fall for one another. It's cute and I'm not ashamed to say I get a little giddy when it does happen. Also, I really dislike 'outting' myself to the general public. It's not so bad here on the RPC, but in most spaces, people have no idea that I'm a part of the alphabet soup, and the fact that I am not mentioning what other 'letters' I may have in that group should be sorta telling. Some people just aren't comfortable discussing some things outside of safe spaces. These spaces are not a way to discriminate, they're a way of getting things off our chests and minds with others of the same mindset or understanding. I really don't understand why that's too much to ask.

Even though I didn't RP him much, I don't plan to actually kill my old character, but rather switch him to 'mostly inactive alt' status. Death is too finite for me, even if the character wasn't really RP'd. I suspect a lot of other people who picked that option on the poll are also in this same situation. Even so, I see nothing wrong with changing a character to suit your needs and wants (magical girl transformation or not). It's all for fun and if a change will make RP more fun for you, then I say go for it.

Thing is, they gotta cannibalize SOMETHING and it's probably better to cannibalize the most populous race then the least populous ones. I would actually hate to see a stark drop in, say, Roe females over the Au Ra, there's already so few. I personally don't think there will be a drop in Roe females over the au ra. Generally it's not based toward that 'genre' of rpers. But there may be some, yes I'm generalizing. But I think that the roe females will still be about what they are now. I personally like roe females they're super cool. Roe females are amazing. If I could ever be bothered to genderbend in RP, a Roe-gal would be my instant go-to. Back on topic, I'm really not shocked that most of the Reddit community will be trying out (with the intentions of staying) Au Ra. They're the shiny new thing. As was mentioned, I don't see them staying #1 for very long, though. Miqo's and even Hyur will beat them out again in the long run. I was actually 'cannibalized' from Miqo'te myself, but I really didn't RP much on him. When I saw the Au Ra, I started getting ideas that I actually wanted to RP, which led to me being more active in the RP community. People will play what they want to play; there's absolutely nothing wrong (or shocking, or bad) about that. Maybe it will even inspire a few others who identify as non-RPers (or barely-RPers) to come out of their shells and give it a(nother) try.

"So at this point, I have to confess: I consider all fans of the Au Ra to be my enemies. They are pushing the direction in places I don't want to be, so of course I am going to push back, as futile and fruitless as it may be." Uhh, what? I don't know exactly what we've done to incur your wrath by simply enjoying a race that SE brought to the table. I don't play females, so I probably don't have a horse in this particular race, but still I enjoy seeing what other people have poured their hearts into creating with what they've been given.

Pretty much this. I have zero fun playing 'nice guys', or even 'good guys' for that matter. Sure, they can be very adept at playing the part of 'good guy'... but I tend to play antagonists of any kind in a story, and even in the open world if I get an opportunity. Silver-tongued, stealthy and level-headed to bold-faced, fiery and diabolical. The former usually lives longer than the latter, though. Also I cannot play females. I just can't do it. Tried it several times on several platforms and it just doesn't appeal to me. As for physical looks, I have a thing for the monochomatic/greyscale and cooler colors like blue and purple. Like most people, I design my characters to, for the most part, be physically appealing, but not always in a conventional sense. I've had just as many 'sickly' looking males as I have bulky ones and just as many with gruesome, disfiguring scars (think teeth-constantly-exposed, perpetual snarl sorta scars) as I have ones with flawless skin. I tend to just 'design around' their physical flaws in ways I think make the bigger picture seem appealing. I constantly abuse my characters, adore in-character drama and tend to draw more blanks when it comes to giving my characters strengths as opposed to weaknesses. I'm starting to see a pattern here, actually...

My vote's for the brown, too.

Hey, it's the 9-5 dad haircut!

Now I'm just playing with the colors. I sorta like this combo, though.

Yeah, that's pretty handy. The males are waaay taller than I thought they'd be. I almost spit my drink out when I saw they could reach over 7ft.

I was originally going to go with darker hair, but then... Eh, still working on him either way. This is just what I have so far. When I saw the eyes, I knew I just HAD to design him after a bearded vulture, hence why his eyes are like that.