Rodin

Psh, I think really the issue there was over complication. Fancy parties are nice and all, but I think most of us were drawn there for the sake of RP and meeting with folks or getting out together with friends. I think if you do it with less complication and outside of the organized groups and let mingle on their own, it could have worked MUCH better. Have a few events or some such about an hour after the event starts, use the group linkshell to announce it, and let people do their own thing. And that's really all that's needed.

[align=center][/align]

Ah...this thread. I was wondering when something of this topic would show up. Because it is a very tricky thing to really come to a general consensus. In my experience, I have to agree with the OP: what makes a character special is usually the character themselves; not necessarily what they can do. Initially, I thought it was the other way around. That is, I had characters who were unbelievably OP, but I did make sure they followed the setting they were in and ultimately fit. They just were a bit spotlight grabbing in many respects. However, that does not mean you can't have the 'special'. I know Shuck will be one of the first to argue that such things are superfluous, and I agree in many respects. But there are exceptions, and here's one of mine. When I made the transition from roleplaying on forums to MMOs, my perspective immediately changed, as I was able to see people making, writing, and roleplaying characters in real time, which made things pop out more and made my own flaws as a writer all the more apparent. The character I had written was noticeably OP, even for the setting he was in. But, at the same time, there was much about the character I liked, in terms of what shaped him to be the person he was and what could potentially change that character. So, I stuck with him with the intent of seeing him through to see what happened. Now, of all the characters I've made, he was (and still is by far) the strongest character I had written. Sure, part of it was the fantasy of it all; I'm as self-indulgent as most any other human being. But I also know people read about characters like this to {also} feel empowered or to escape in a fantasy. So, my focus shifted from the initial idea of toning him down to instead making him relatable to an audience or other RPers, and that meant focusing on the person he was, not that he could level a city in a few hours (not that he ever would, mind you). As I did so, what he did became less and less important and only really showed up when plot demanded it, and it was usually rigorously challenged because of how I played the character, so there was rarely ever a case of "Swing fist, enemy destroyed, world saved". What instead took precedence was the character. Why he did the things he did. Why he cared about others in the first place. How he saw the world. How he viewed what he could do. His fears. His desires. His vices. All of these things. And what ended up happening was making a character that would have been fine without the crazy OP crap. But, his character was also built AROUND said OP crap. It wasn't like "eh, whatever." What he did terrified him, excited him. It made him very wary to touch people or even interact with them. I mean, when you can crunch a car door inward by lightly tapping it, you'd be afraid to give someone a handshake, let alone hug them. So much of his development was based on him discovering himself, showing that even though he was immensely powerful, he was just as human as the rest of us. He had insecurities, and most importantly, he wasn't afraid to reach out for help. Many thought he was being weak. But the people that extended their hands back, knowing full well he could accidentally hurt him, became his closest allies. And the supposed 'good people' that snuffed him showed their true colors in reflection when, despite all of his fears, he wore them on his sleeve. And that's my experience with characters like this. I'm the kind of guy who can see how Superman can be a compelling character. It's hard, and it requires a different perspective, but it CAN be done. It's why you have some 'good' comic book writers and 'bad' ones. Of course, those terms have to be used sparingly, as such things are subjective. Now, as for THIS setting in particular, yeah. MOST of us are playing the roles of adventurers. But some of us (like myself) are playing the guy who wants to live a normal life, only to be continuously be reeled in by the fates with a large NOPE and smacking him into the wide world. He's got some bit of magic in him, both literal and figurative, that he refuses to accept he has. He says he likes the quiet. He says he likes safe. But in the end he's restless, and secretly he hopes his life means something outside of being the silversmith he became. And that's the springboard for Velkyron's character (yes, I know, non-roe name. There's a reason though, so shush). For the record? Velky here got a -5 on that test. He's not an anti-sue by any means. He just has some pretty nasty faults and issues. And unlike the aforementioned character, he's not as open about them, though he hides it well. It'll be an interesting change of pace for when I'll actually be able to log in. Maybe I should sing a song about that...

H'okay, so someone was kind enough to make some mock lyrics of Still Alive involving the recent error shenanigans. Some people did some versions. This one is mine. Thought I'd share it: [align=center]lg6U2EBW_Ik [/align]

Uh...them cat womens are hot?

No. I did not say it was pointless. That's an outright fabrication. Here is what I said: I said that I could not see the point, not that it did not exist. And from that I got opposite spectrums of responses: one which was incredibly insightful and helped me to see the point of the thread and the other chastising me for supposedly making a mandate that suggests everyone believes as such. I was, in fact, speaking for myself. I wasn't going to post in this thread after thanking Siobhain for some very interesting and insightful perspective, but when I'm called out like this, that is unacceptable. I've only JUST started participating in this community. I did not realize such hostility was par for the course.

See, THAT is the answer I was looking for! And THAT should be the focus here. I asked that out of sincerity; NOT out of jest. And I got the answer I was looking for in detail. The reason why I couldn't see it prior was because I come from different environments of RP where things are not taken into such detail. Taking the example from WoW that Sio was pointing out with the Kaldorei: I've unfortunately never seen anyone go to such lengths and detail to actually time all of the biological processes right and instead having wolf possessing-female orcs with 11 inch genitalia (This is an actual thing: Click at your own risk ). To those who put that much consideration into what you write: you are awesome. It was mostly my misconception of the RP expectations of this community. That is it. No flame wars. Nada. In fact, I'm mostly pleasantly surprised by the amount of thought going into people making their characters in this respect. It's a nice thing to see and read.

...no disrespect to anyone in this thread, but...what is the point of this? In a game where there is a pretty clear secular outlook on things (with a few notable exceptions, such as the Ishgardians), why does something that only have relevance to a rather personal part of Mi'quote life have such a rather lengthy and thorough thread on the subject which basically revolves around sex? While I can gather that a good foundation of their culture is partially based on this, I don't quite understand much point of it at all. I see this thread for no other race in this forum: only the Mi'quote. Why? Are us Roegadyn players not good enough? Would Lallafel be considered too weird? Hyur too mundane and elezen be having too much of the pointy ears? While some of the conjecture is interesting, I really don't see the point of it. Also: W-What?

I don't really have much to add to this. I just wanted to show you all what everyone else reading is doing. [align=center][/align]