UnidessGaming

Hey! Welcome to the madclub! In regards to your generic Lore questions, usually regardless of the game/setting the majority of the RP community follows along with the timelime aknowledging world-changing events as they occur. Generally speaking, most people RP their characters as the Average Joe in the setting and build their backgrounds accordingly. Obviously, if a character has been RP'ed since before the events of Heavensward or Stormblood (to use your examples) their background would not involve them and the subject might be brought up in RP if said character has knowledge of those events, or if they were involved at some level with the events of the main story while they unfolded during the respective expansion. If it's a completely new character that enters the RP scene after those events instead, they might be incorporated or referenced in their background if the character is native to those regions the events took place in. All in all, it all depends on at which point of the timeline the character is introduced to the RP scene and how old they are.

I know the struggle, and as others have said wether there's a system in place or not some hands-on monitoring is always going to be required unfortunately. That said, recently I came up with a simple system based on character life experience with as little rolls as possible and encouraging creative emoting (either in combat or problem solution situations). Basically, what a character can do depends mainly on how old they are and on their background, so you don't necessarily end up with the issue of "never catching up" Yandros mentioned, because someone just joining could have a character as experienced as a long time member if they make them old enough and the background makes sense. The longer someone is in the guild/group/clan and the more active they are, they can unlock some perks giving them a small edge over others when it comes to perform certain actions. So far it has worked well enough to ground characters and avoiding power playing while at the same time leaving everyone enough freedom to depict their character as they envision them.

Welcome to the RPC! I wouldn't worry too much about your character not having a proper Highlander name. It's still a name perfectly suitable for RP, so you could always come up for a reason for him to have changed his name to one outside of Highlander conventions.

Hi, and welcome to the RPC!

I can't speak for FFXIV RP in general 'cause I haven't dipped in yet, but from my personal experience across multiple MMO RP such groups exist wherever. Doesn't mean the majority of people are like that, but they're present no matter the RP community. It's just a matter of getting to know who they are and avoid their usual hangout places if being around them makes you uncomfortable, although sometimes it might be unavoidable if your own RP brings you to the same place. Still, I've learned that's the best one can do to avoid unnerving situations.

Omega is still the most RP-pupolated server on Chaos, but as far as I have seen there's not much open world walk up RP happening about. It's mostly organized stuff. Speaking of which, you should join the Chaos RP Discord since most of the activity across the whole datacenter is organized and advertised there. As for the FC, linkshell, market restrictions, that's really up to you. But I've seen plenty of people from other servers (or guildless) participate in Omega based RP events so if it's just to have some RP it really shouldn't be a problem. If you find a group of people you're comfortable with, or your character really fits with their FC theme and want to join them I suppose you could always consider a server transfer down the road, but I wouldn't worry too much about it just now.

Pretty much, yeah. In my opinion, having all players emote in sequence following the Initiative roll results and the GM respond to all with a single post on how the NPCs react to the attack also adds to the hectic feeling of a group fight. Contrary to how it is portrayed usually on screen, one does not wait in line for the bad guys to dispatch their comrade: they attack at the same time once the fight starts. Also something to add, is that the same sequence can be used in a players vs. players situation. Unless it's a 1v1 fight, it works the same to express the chaos of a group fight. The only difference I've seen applied is another Initiative roll (a sum of the rolls for each group to keep it fair) at the start of combat to establish which group gets on the offensive first.

As an example of how much experiences can vary using even the same system: in my own 15 years of MMO RP now, 90% of the time Freeform combat was approached exactly the same way of your /random example. Meaning posting times were exactly the same both with or without rolls. I'll also add that your Freeform post order can be used even with rolls, wich brings me to my next point. The most expeditious and smooth way I have experienced of dealing with Combat RP was to use the succession of your second example BUT with the GM taking care of whether or not attacks hit or miss, both with Freeform and rolls+character sheets systems. So as far as my most enjoyable experiences, things have usually gone this way: Initiative roll by all players, both in Freeform and dice involved systems to help both GM and players to have a clear idea of the combat pace and avoid chat clogging. Each player emotes their attack as an attempt in turn following the initiative rolls results. (in case dice is involved, /roll after the emote is posted.) GM emotes NPC/s response/s to players attacks attempts and their eventual effects (in case of dice, following the rolls results) in a single post (or two if chat characters limit is reached). NPCs attack turn. Each player emotes their defensive in turn, followed organically by their next action in the same post. (usual /roll after post if dice involved). GM emotes NPC/s response/s as above. Rinse and repeat until the fight is over Which, as I said, is basically the same of your second example, but with a key difference: the GM is in charge of the hit/miss success ratio and can easily shape the combat pace according to how much smart the party is fighting.This way Combat can be dragged on (or kept short) at the GM discretion in most cases, even if the party hits a bad rolls streak for a bit. I will agree that smaller numbers are best in most occasions, but even up to 7-8 people it has been enjoyable in my experience. What usually makes a big difference is also how much well the people involved can write organically, and in my experience that is also something that gets better the longer people have RPed together and have known each other's usual pace and style. I have been part of some massive battles during the years (one time 60 people where inolved at the same time, both playing their characters and NPCs) and even then it can work right if well organized. As you said in your first post, the key there was knowing beforehand how many people would be present and having enough co-GMs taking care of smaller groups, keeping the overall combat flow organical alongside the main GM. Another simple trick (although I find it part of the basics) when dealing with situations in which more than 3-4 people are involved, is that regardless of your usual writing style emotes and attacks descriptions should be kept as simple and to the point as possible. That way it takes less time to type, and it's easier to read the important details for the GM and other players, keeping the flow of RP smoother. Overly descriptive emotes can be left for less hectic situations.

I have to say, in recent years I've found myself most often in situations where most of the people I was RPing with were playing characters of the opposite sex to their RL one. I have never had a problem with it even back in the days when it was more scarce, and I was fortunate enough to find myself in communities where it wasn't an issue. I daresay that the bigger the player population, the more likely one is to find people who are irked by such a thing, but there's not really much one can do about it. Just part of the law of big numbers. And unless it comes down to harassment, it's not really a problem either. Afterall everyone's entitled to their opinions and tastes. But again, in my personal experience it's not an issue at all, actually more the norm than anything else. ^This. So much this. It should really be the basis of common sense, and not just online. There's also something about the old saying that just being true to oneself you will surely end up among likeminded people, sooner or later. So, it really isn't worth worrying on what some might think. As Gerel said, do what you find fun and enjoyable, the people who won't mind and will want to share it will stick with you in the end.

Welcome to the RPC! ^-^ Having a low-key and still-in-the-learning character is always a smart move when starting in a setting one is not familiar with, as it gives you the chance to learn alongside as a player. Plus, adventurers are rather common in Eorzea and they come in all kinds and shapes, so that will surely leave you a lot of freedom to find interactions and a lot of options to shape up your character!

Great advice has already been given, so what I want to add is that after over a decade and a half of RP experience I can assure you most people RPing are on your same boat, or have been at some point. I myself used to be very shy and introvert, and still am to a degree. Getting out there and trying things actually helped me to open up a lot and feel more comfortable around people. As Tregarde put it, it's all a big game of "let's pretend" after all. And honestly, I find it the best way to keep in touch with the kid within ourselves. As others have pointed out, you don't have to. Actually, I personally find that fleshing out a character's background too much ends up complicating things when you start actively RPing, 'cause it can happen that too many situations won't fit with how you have written your character already. Same thing goes with planning ahead. RPing is a cooperative writing effort and you never know in which direction other's characters will pull or push yours (which is the beauty in it). What I usually do is define a character personality and have a very rough idea of how they got to the point where they enter the RP scene, leaving big loopholes on purpose so I have room to add things (or even connections with other characters) during the character's RP lifetime. Unless what you do is sit in a tavern all the time and tell stories left and right (which I'm not saying is bad, I've met a lot of great storytellers during the years), RP is not about the past of your character, but about present actions and adapting to what happens around them.

Welcome to the RPC!

Welcome onboard! ^^

Welcome aboard!

As for the Paladin and Dark Knight, they both rely heavily on aether and magical abilities. That said, nothing blocks you from having your character be simply someone who fights with sword and shield, or a greatsword, without necessarily be either of the jobs.

I would say that an evil DRK would at some point inevitably succumb to the abyss and go mad. For to be evil they would end up imbalancing their own emotions, much like Fray (as Kieron said) was starting to border on being an evil maddening presence with all his intolerance of others not standing up for themselves and only leaning on sentiments of anger and wrath. The whole DRK job storyline up to 70 is centered around the concept of not suppressing one's own emotions, but at the same time keeping them in balance while embracing them all. Which is not a mindset that lines up well with an evil character, since no matter how well written is a villain they need to be imbalanced in some aspect to be one. All of this directly links with your first question too, since balancing emotions and their powers go hand in hand for a DRK. Using a D&D alignment system, I'd say that a DRK that doesn't succumb to the abyss and follows the job's legacy would stay in a spectrum ranging from Chaotic Good to Neutral Good, since the premise of the first one to follow the path is one of righteousness unbound by man's laws. Maybe a not-so-righteous DRK could be pure Neutral at best, but I think any other inclinations outside of these spectrums would end up imbalancing the DRK and at some point drive them crazy and succumb to the inner abyss. All of this doesn't mean that if one was to experience the imbalanced aspect of the job it would be bad from a story or character development point, it would actually allow for a lot of character growth and depth if at the end they'd end up in the balance once again.

Welcome to the RPC!

Well, I can tell you from first-hand experience that whatever lore question, or character flashing out doubt you have, there's plenty of helpful people about in the Chaos discord. So don't be shy and ask about! Now, as for what concerns your character, I assume he (and you both) are at least knowledgeable on the very basics? There's plenty of ways to accomodate character growth alongside OOC learning the lore, ranging from young age to selective memory loss due to an extreme psychological shock. I don't know how old Thal is supposed to be but, without going into any memory loss complications, a simple approach could be that he grew up in a very secluded settlement in which people don't bother at all with the happenings of the bigger world, going about their lives thinking and knowing only about what happens in their close-knit community. That way Thal could know full well who he is, but have all the room to get to know the outside world and learn new things without impairing/complicating too much the character from the get go. Just my two cents, btw

Welcome onboard! o/ I'm gonna add another resource you can peruse to get a hang of the basics on a more technical level. ^^

Welcome back! :)

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to the RPC!

The /em channel is the custom emotes. I've put up a small guide on the basics, you can find it here: As for the typing speed, in small groups you don't have to worry about it. Everyone has their own speed, and if you make it known beforehand that you are not a fast typer you really won't have any issues ^^. Sometimes the chat can get hectic in large groups during combat situations or while in crowded places (taverns, plazas), but the latter especially is more an issue of scrolling through all the text since in most occasions you'll see the speech and emotes of people you are not actively engaging with, and will need to keep track of things with an overflow of text. I know it can sound incredibly overwhelming, but it's more a case of getting used to it. With time it'll get better!

As of late there has been a new influx of people who approach MMO RP for the first time and ask about how communication and writing is handled while ingame, so I thought of putting up a little basic guide on the general conventions used, regardless of MMO, for anyone to reference! While RPing ingame in real-time, usually two main channels are used: Say (/s) and custom emotes (/em). Say is mainly (more about it below) used for characters speech while custom emotes are used for actions and characters/situations descriptions. About using custom emotes, there really isn't anything complicated about it, it's more about getting used to it. Especially if one comes from written-only RP formats ^^. I'll give you some practical examples on the basics. Let's start with how one would describe a simple scene in a written-only format: As he walked on the doorsteps of the local watering hole, the Miqo'te dusted himself off. The trip had been a little too long for his own tastes. He was tired, and most of all his throat was so dry he felt like sand was grinding down it anytime he would swallow. He took a look about the room, then marched straight up to the counter. Now, to represent the same scene while RPing ingame, the real-time description would be a little different and of course mixed in with actual movements with the character. There's also a couple of ways to go about it. You could describe everything in one emote while standing on the doorstep and then walk up to the counter, or separate the description in two emotes giving time to people who might be there to notice your character and possibly interact with you before you move to the counter. I will give you both examples writing them as you would in chat: 1. /em dusts himself off on the doorstep, looking visibly tired and with a look of discomfort on his face. After a moment he takes a look about the room before heading for the counter. (at which point you actually walk up to the counter and continue on). 2. /em dusts himself off on the doorstep, looking visibly tired and with a look of discomfort on his face. (then wait a moment to see if anyone would react to that before typing the rest) /em takes a look about the room as he finishes dusting himself off, then walks up to the counter. (at which point you actually move). After you enter the emote, in chat it will read (using my char's name): 1. Jhuxohr Steelstorm dusts himself off on the doorstep, looking visibly tired and with a look of discomfort on his face. After a moment he takes a look about the room before heading for the counter. 2. Jhuxohr Steelstorm dusts himself off on the doorstep, looking visibly tired and with a look of discomfort on his face. Jhuxohr Steelstorm takes a look about the room as he finishes dusting himself off, then walks up to the counter. And that's pretty much how it goes every time you have to describe your character or something they're doing. If you have to type both action and dialogue, the convention to avoid clogging the chat is to type everything either in /say or in /em. For example, continuing the same scene once at the counter you could go either: 1. /em waves to the bartender to get his attention. "A pint of your best beer, thank you." or 2. /s *waves to the bartender to get his attention* A pint of your best beer, thank you. Which then in chat would read respectively: 1. Jhuxohr Steelstorm waves to the bartender to get his attention. "A pint of your best beer, thank you." (in the usual emote colour) 2. Jhuxohr Steelstorm: *waves to the bartender to get his attention* A pint of your best beer, thank you. (in white, in the /say channel) I myself mix both solutions depending on the situation. Usually, if I have to write more action than dialogue I use the custom emote channel, and type everything in /say if my character is speaking and then does something while talking. But it all boils down to personal preference at that point. That's pretty much the basics about it! If you have more questions, feel free to ask!