Lupo

I wish you the best of luck on this idea, however I'd like to make a quick warning that was expressed earlier. People can only be part of one FC and many RPers are already in the FC they want to be in. I think you'll be hard-pressed to get them to QUIT their FC and move to yours just for OOC Chat. These are very close and tight knit groups, who want to have their own house, and their own plots, etc etc. I think there is more to it than common interest and similar goals. I think its like a social unit, much like high school kids have their own circle of friends, and while they may carry the same interest as another group of friends, they may not want to have the two group of friends join forces so to speak. Its a terrible example, but I hope it gets my point across. Maybe instead of an FC start a linkshell? I think many more people would be on board for that, because it allows OOC chat with other people and is not binding - since you can have up to 8 linkshells? Maybe I'm just being obtuse.

Hi all! So my name is Lupo, better known as Balthazar Lupo on the Balmung Server. I started a Free Company that was focusing on plot based RP, called Crystallum Libraria, about 4 weeks after launch and sometime Mid-November had it added here on RPC. Currently, we are only 8 strong, with about 4 active players and a few active friends who left the FC in favor of larger and more organized FC. I just thought I'd share my thoughts and experiences up until this point - my hope being it helps any budding Plot Based RP FC get started and not make the same mistakes, etc etc. I'll admit I am also going to sound a tiny bit complainy, but I do honestly want the community's feedback. Anyway, without further ado: When I started the company, it was early enough in the lifetime of the game where it would be feasable to grab new members. Within the first day, I had the company established and about 6 members. Within 3 days, we were rank 5. However, this was not attained through any planning, rather it just worked out that way since people were running fates to Level. This was a fun time, but I wasn't able to focus on recruiting and therefore we didn't have any growth. Which brings me to the first Lesson. Lesson 1: Keep Recruiting! You want a fairly large FC to accomodate the many people who will want to RP at seemingly random times! It'll also make it much easier to get a good healthy group of RPers on for an event - THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR PLOTS. I'd recommend an FC size of 20 or so, with 10 or so active during events. So you can imagine, I was able to get a few great people to join up. They were on everyday, we would RP a little bit and we would also run dungeons together and help each other to lvl 50. It was fun, but I admit there wasn't enough interest in getting a group together. By this I mean, unless I instigated it, no RP usually started with our FC. This brings me to the next lesson. Lesson 2: A lot of people like RP, but many of them do not want to be the ones to start RPing. Its a good idea to find some officers who really love RP to help you, the FC leader, put groups together to get players comfortable with each other and get them RPing. Remember, a lot of people are playing the game to play not organize, so prepare to do a LOT of it for them until things get in the groove. And now I come upon the Plot Based RP. This was fun. I set up a plot and had everyone meet. We picked up a few random players for it, and away we went! There were very interesting characters but I ended up largely driving the plot myself, many RPers taking the back seat and not wanting to be too creative or surprising. This brings me to my next lesson. Lesson 3: Plot based RP needs to be organized and very active. People RPing in the Plot need to be interactive and not reactive, meaning they need to help drive the plot along. If only one guy is driving the bus it makes for very boring RP. With that being said, from then on it started dying. Its probably my fault as even though I was actively in game everyday, the people I had picked to join the FC didn't really want to have too much responsibility or help making the FC work. They wanted to play, which is fine. This brings me to the final lesson I learned. Lesson 4: Your FC Members are key! They make you're whole FC! Without a great core who is willing to share the ups, the downs, the work, and the fun with you, I think a Plot-Based RP FC is a little too much to get started. Find like minded players, and not necessarily the ones who just open RP all the time. Remember Plot based RP requires lots of thought - its like improv and acting - its not always fun but it is always rewarding and awesome at the end of the day. Aftermath: My FC still exists to this day, but it is my shear stubborness that keeps it alive. Even if it whittles down to only 3 members, I'll probably never disband it since this all started because I wanted to be a leader of my own FC and have my own FC house. That being said, I'll end with one word of warning and encouragement. Build an FC with Great Core Members! They are Essential! And even when the going is tough don't give up! Those of you out there attempting to do what I attempted, I wish you the best of luck and don't give in! I hope you succeed where I have failed. Thanks for readin' everybody!

Crystallum Libraria is still alive and recruiting!

Sure thing, Reginald. I PMed you with some info, and hopefully I'll see you online soon!

Hahaha. It took me 30 minutes to write it, but that's why I started with the TL;DR version first. The rest isn't necessary to understand the basic concept, and I wasn't expecting anybody to read the whole thing, but I wanted to show that I had the idea fleshed out properly, instead of just posting an idea without putting any work forward to show that I can make it happen. Trust me, I have a LOT more text written ;-P. That being said, I know my posts need to be shorter - its my biggest pitfall. For the plot question, I do have a plot in mind, but I'd like to gather a few like-minded people before I decide what plot we're going to do. At least 2-4 other people to keep me from meta gamingCurrent plot currently planned is: Ul'dahn Murder Mystery: Title Pending Basic Premise: A wealthy Lalafell merchant has been murdered for no apparent reason. His gold and belongings on his person ravaged by the refugees and the Brass Blades are stumped. I'd like to play the murderer, a Bard with a cracked harp, no longer singing the songs he's learned. He's a vigilante gone wrong, and may have partners in crime. Some crimes are well planned, but he makes mistakes or goes out of his way to send a message, as with the murder above. I'd like to have a small group of RP of sympathists (maybe?) for him and most of the RP'ers working to catch him, maybe even kill him (If it happens, so be it!), some groups differing in their methods, but working to similar goals. I'm open to all types, as I think our community is skilled enough at RP, no matter who the character might be involve. I am looking for some good aligned characters, but I have a good core of those participating already. In short, its RP, RP however you want! I'll work around it! Hahaha! Well, you can join us still, if you'd like, but I do know you're peak activity hours is probably right about now...dang European timezones. That being said, most RP will take place on the weekend, hopefully around 1:00pm PST, which is about 9:00pm in Madrid. Let me know if you'd like to give it a shot. No harm in trying :-).

Hi folks! So this topic comes at the risk of me seeing annoying, but I am attempting to be as proactive in my ambition as possible! Before I really get into this though, as per someone's recommendation (I forgot who sorry!), I'll start with the TL;DR version of the thread. [align=center]TL;DR Version[/align] I've been trying to get a group going for weekly, plot-based RP, that is of course, open to the public. There are some basic attendance and procedure requirements, but that is just so we have consistant characters (since it has a plot) and anyone can join at any time, as long as we have enough warning. Anyway, its been hard to get people to join up, whether to join the FC or the associated link-shells. So I want to ask if anyone is interested, and if so, how can I get you to join up? Meet me in-game tonight (I'll be on in half an hour), pm me here on the forums, or skype me at lynn.performance anytime if interested, or you would like to join the discussion. THERE IS AN OPEN FORUM SKYPE/MESSANGER/INGAME CHAT DISCUSSION WITH MY FC AND OTHERS TONIGHT, WEDNESDAY OCT 30, BETWEEN 7:00PM PST AND 10:00PM PST [align=center]TL;DR Expanded Version[/align] Background This effort started as part of the drive to supplement my FFXIV writing project, which was to write novelized text based on actual real-life RP. You can find more on that here: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=5018 However, that project has since stagnated due to the lack of RP that this past week has been a busy week for me. I've since passed on my duties and am going full steam on this until I can get a good group together. Needs to make it work First a personal, request. I've outlined a basic working of how I wanted to handle this on my FC page. However, I won't link that yet, since the FC itself is just taking off and I need officers first so I can properly focus on this. I plan for the FC to be the organization department/force behind the plot based RP as well as be the social group for leveling, dungeon crawling, events planning, and just cool stuff. Anyway, the real needs of actual plot-based RP is: I would like some people to help me plan the RP. These people will help guide the plots and schedule the weekly RP session. I'd like a historian. Someone who will copy the chat log of the RP into a text file with no formating and I'll slave through the text myself. I'd like RPers, and a health variety! I already have a planned plot, so I'd like to start on that first, but if you want to start your own let me know and I'll try to help make it happen. I'll be honest, I don't know if a LS or FC or other arbitrary group of RPers exist like this yet. However, I'd like to get some serious plot-based RP going. Let me first explain how plot-based RP works (in my mind), along with some challenges it faces as well as some ideas I am juggling. [align=center]Frequently Asked Questions[/align] What is Plot-Based RP? Plot-Based RP is role-playing to a player storyline. This may be driven by an individual, supplemented by the reactions of the participants, much like a Dungeon Master in Dungeons and Dragons, or by a group of people, as is often the case in online RP. As many of you probably immediately notice, there are a few challenges, which are addressed below. Got a plot yet? Yes I do! Its more designed as a starting point, and we'll have a discussion on the actual direction, but we have the premise of an Ul'dahn Murder Mystery/Crime adventure thing. You can find the premise in this post: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=5305&pid=66197#pid66197 How is scheduling handled? I'd like to make the plot-based RP a weekly event. Each week we have a meeting to decide the direction of the plot and on the weekend we RP the plot out. What about open RP? I'm about to suggest something that may put some people off, but I am planning on treating outside RP as "non-canon". I encourage open RP, but it makes it too hard to keep the plot intact if I have to keep track of all RP at all times. But there are ways to keep outside RP canon with the plot. Example: Say my char is going to war. Any RP outside of the plot of the war, I consider "shore-leave" or "leave" or a sidestory or something. Something along those lines. If someone cannot make the weekly RP sessions what happens if people RP on their own? I think our group of players is awesome enough to accommodate with at least some prior notice. :-) We can twist the plot that will allow for someone to not be there or just move the RP scheduled time. This doesn't really allow for Open RP and creates a closed RP group. How to deal with that? Honestly, I don't think that matters. I think before every RP session (as mentioned above), if we know before hand you want to join, we can find a way to insert a character in. There is always a way! Besides we are a very creative community! The only thing that is not allowed, mostly, is literally barging in DURING RP, which is hard for some folks, including myself. There is a plot barrier of entry. If you haven't been keeping up with the plot, how can you expect to join? After every planning session, I'll release a summary story board of the plot we have RPed and what we will RP. Think, "Previously, on 24..." style and "Next time on..." from television. After about 2 weeks of each RP session, I'll attempt to novelize the RP with all the gruesome detail as part of my writing project. How do you enable consistency and cohesiveness? Careful planning with the participants. There will be a weekday planning session, that will decide the plot by committee. BTW I don't mean the WHOLE plot. I mean, we'll talk about where we left on and where will begin the next session. From there we will go with the flow. Rinse and repeat. Why plot-based and not open? I have a fairly selfish reason for this, I'll admit. I mentioned earlier in this post that I want to write all the RP down in a novelized formats. That means proper sentences, full paragraphs, lore, etc. But most importantly, that means there needs to be a beginning, a middle, and an end. That can be really hard in free-form open RP. Thats the main reason. ARE YOU CRAZY? Some say I am, but I am inclined to disagree. :-) Anyway, I'd like your help on all this (you being the community). I'd like to gather participants, constructive criticism, and support for this effort and thanks for any feedback or replies to this post! See you all online! EDIT: Changed a section name and added more info. This post is already too long, but info is info...

[align=center]Table Of Contents[/align] Here I will link individual post and journals logging the RP adventures from this linkshell.

This is the official Crystallum Libraria Log and Content Management Thread for the Linkshell 1: Bards without Song storyline. Included here will be Admin information as well as the written, novelized version of the RP as a Journal for all to read. Enjoy! [align=center]Administration[/align] [align=center]Current Participants (By Character Name) [/align] Balthazar Lupo (LS Leader) - Male Miquo'te Runa Nethiket Florence Alberon Ravusa Evomere Rennaix Altroue Praerie Palmpyro [align=center]Meeting Times [/align] Weekly Planning Meeting - Skype/In-Game - Wednesdays 8:00pm PST - 10:00pm PST. (Dates and Times subject to change) Weekly RP Plot Advancement Event - In-Game - Thursday between 7:00pm PST and 10:00pm PST. (Dates and Times subject to change) [align=center]Synopsis [/align] [align=center]Plot Timeline [/align] An Ul'dahn Elite is murdered by a bard, but the Brass Blades cannot tell who or why.

Updated! A link is posted to the FC and LS info (listed under the FC post) in the News Section for those would like to join up! Feel free to also shoot a skype message over at lynn.performance OR send me a tell/moogle mail online at Balthazar Lupo. Cheers!

OOC: We are the Crystallum Libraria, the Crystal Library. A casual RP and get-things-done Free Company, on Balmung, we are offering guided and open Role-Play, and are planning a few structured RP events, that, with luck, will go down in (some) history~! The FC's purpose is mainly for community, with a few possible LS under its umbrella for Role-play. Please view the additional tabs for more info!

Update! I just added a new section. Basically setting a weekly online time for anyone to meet with me if they want to talk and chat or even RP! I'll be online tonight if anyone wants to talk about the project and help determine the direction of the project etc. Time: 6:00pm - 10:00pm PST Skype: lynn.performance Character: Balthazar Lupo See you all online!

Okay time to move this along! In the original post above, you will find an outline for an FC and Linkshell plan as well as some more details on how I plan on going about this. As I've said hundreds of times before, the hardest thing about this is keeping it going, so here is my commitment, even if I gotta do this all by myself! RAWR!

Character name: Balthazar Lupo Server: Balmung Time Zone: PST Crafting profession + level: Prof 1: Carpenter, LVL 50 prof 2: Goldsmith, LVL 37 Gathering: Botany, LVL 27 Great idea BTW!

Update! I've added the title of the RP project for 2.0 I am currently working on! I'll have details and such for a interest thread up later today. Suffice to say, I am looking for open RPers and those to help with events, ideas, and administrations!

That's a very interesting take on it! I'll admit too, that I don't fully understand the brainwashing and am taking it all at face value, but the issue certainly showed up when I was trying to decide who I was going to RP. I think then, it would be safe to assume the that you are more correct than I on this issue. I like your take on it better anyway and the parallels to RL you draw make it all the more convincing! If we're lucky, Gamer Escape will have a loretrain on it later on. They've been very good about getting official sponsored lore from SE on a fairly regular basis. A lot of the lore on their pages comes from the closest and best source!