Verence

A vote for bleeps is a vote for brot.

Posting to explain my selection - 'half the time'. I feel like there's a bit of difference between RPing in linkshell and RPing 'face to face'. My char is rather socially awkward and prone to roaming since his job requires first-hand travel experience. So, I RP in linkshell more than I RP face-to-face, since this supports my playstyle anyway. If LS RPing counts, I'd hop straight to the high end of 'often'. Though that being said, I do consider myself in-character nearly always - if someone randomly strolls up to me and starts RPing, I'll almost never say "Sorry, I'm OOC right now" and I tend to avoid /saying or /shouting OOCly. If I'm online, chances are I'm doing leves until a bit of RP catches my attention - I tend not to go actively hunting for and asking about it unless my "to-do" list is checked off, but I'll almost always roll by for some RP if I spot it and it'd be character-appropriate to hop in. Sometimes I'll even roleplay in LS as if Verence is doing something I'm not actually OOCly doing if it makes more sense for him. I try to keep that to a minimum though, since Verence is so easily distracted and far-ranging that it's not hard to see him doing just about anything on a lark. Anyhow, long answer short: If LS RP doesn't count, Half the Time. If it does, Very Often.

((Thanks to everyone who came, it really was a fun night (Even though all Verence did was stand around going "OMGOMGOMGOMG SOCIAL SITUATION WHAT DO I DO AWKWARD" ) Hopefully everyone had a grand time, especially where Illias is involved - though I do note he left the word 'enemy' out of his spiel on vanquishing giant crabs for the ladies. We'll have to have him work on that. I have to say, those of you I met for the first time, I'm very much looking forward to RPing with in the future, and thanks to everyone for making this a success.))

Bwuce Wiwwis, Chick Norris, and Who Dat. Three names that made me chuckle.

5'2" confirmed for Average Miqo'te, independent of tribe. Height difference seems to be 2", so: Miqo'te: Tallest: 5'6" Tall: 5'4" Average: 5'2" Short: 5' Shortest: 4'10" Confirmed by comparing Tallest Miqo'te to Average Hume F, heights match when hair volume is taken into account (as it was in all prior measurements), though not exactly - either there's an inch margin of error or Miqo'te proportions are simply a bit different. It's probably the aforementioned Hyur F half-inch throwing things off.

Borrowed my wife's beta account and machine to make several sample height characters and take in-game screenshots (which I can post upon request) but I can confirm that Average Midlander Hyur Female is 5'6". Or, at least with repeated measurements, I averaged 5' 5 & 1/2", always erring towards 5'6". Short is 5'3", so for Midlander Hyur, the 3" rule seems to be in effect regardless of gender. Thus: Midlander Hyur Female: Tallest: 6' Tall: 5'9" Average: 5'6" Short: 5'3" Shortest: 5' The danger in comparing between and not within images is that the point of reference and scale may have shifted; an image is only guaranteed accurately relative to itself.

Mooglespeak is presented as a rare and surprising gift, so if everyone and their dog runs around being able to speak to moogles, it kind of offsets things. It's probably best to avoid saying your char can speak to moogles as it would instantly make them a hugely important center of attention and it might get difficult explaining why they weren't/aren't more involved in Gridanian affairs.

Thanks for that. I'm actually curious about heights myself. IIRC, SE stated somewhere in an interview that Medium height male Humes in XI were 5'10", so it seems a safe enough assumption to use here. As a 5'10" Midlander Hyur Male IRL, a bit of measuring tape lets me figure out all sorts of things. :mrgreen: First off, the difference between heights for Midlander Hyur Male seems to be 3" per tier. Thus, For Midlander Hyur M: Tallest - 6'4" Tall - 6'1" Average - 5'10" Short - 5'7" Shortest - 5'4" Hyur F average: 5'6" Miqo'te average: 5'2" Lalafell M average: 3'1" Lalafell F average: 3' It's a bit harder for me to wrangle out Elezen and Roegadyn heights since it's hard to take precise reference points that are above your own head... Also I didn't list comparative heights for the other races 'cause I'm not positive the 3" rule holds for them. I really doubt it does for Lalafell.

Back on topic, I guess the crux of the issue here, to me at least, is this... And please don't feel I'm calling you out specifically Samus, this is more sort of my general views on the issue as a whole. If you don't want people to metagame, don't tell people things they shouldn't know. Everyone who roleplays with a character whose dark secret is public knowledge OOC will be forced to constantly second-guess themselves and weigh "Wait, should my character know as much as I do?" against "Well, could they have reasonably figured this out?" If you want to keep something a secret, the best way to do it is to... well, keep it a secret. Metagaming can be unconscious too, sometimes people simply aren't thinking and something slips out that, after the fact, they go "Oh crap, my char shouldn't know that." In the interest of keeping RP genuine, I prefer not to know things my character doesn't. I'm honestly hesitant to RP with any character who has a huge secret that I know OOCly but my character doesn't know ICly, because then the whole thing turns into a giant metagaming tapdance and I have the constant fear of cries of "metagamer" hanging over me if I slip up - or perhaps even make an IC discovery I feel is completely legit! It has the potential for drama and for reactions and that's just not something I want to willingly subject myself to. Part of minimizing metagaming is minimizing the opportunities for metagaming. Any RPer worth their salt can keep IC and OOC separate, but mistakes can be made, misunderstandings take place, and feelings can get hurt. It's better to build a fence at the top of a cliff than have an ambulance waiting at the bottom. If you have an idea that you'd like kept secret but need input and opinions on... Well, contact friends. Send PMs. Post a thread requesting discussion PMs with a general concept. There are also scholars, LS leaders, and knowledgeable people in the community whom I'm sure would be happy to help. I guess all of this simply to say "If people shouldn't know, don't tell them."

I won't say I'm down on the idea, so please don't take this post that way. There is the potential for interest, hilarity, and some serious character development here. I would, however, be very careful with how you approach and handle this. Anything that requires THIS level of OOC tap-dancing and even proposed godmoding to keep under wraps sort of seems like a headache waiting to happen. As the character continues to interact, it'd get harder and harder to keep the secret, as well. I won't say don't do it; we KNOW male Miqo'te exist, and nothing says they can or can't be adventurers - though for whatever reason, most don't seem to be. But, what will happen if someone, through the course of appropriate roleplay, legitimately discovers his secret? The longer it stays secret, the harder it will become to KEEP secret... And what happens when it gets discovered? Will he continue to crossdress simply for societal acceptance? Will he retire in shame? Come out as a male? If he does, will you just tell each new person you RP with "Ignore the boobs"? Just a few things you may want to consider before you make something requiring so much OOC orchestration a central, defining part of your character. If you can plan ahead and come up with appropriate ways to handle and explain all this, great! Congratulations on your character. If you're having trouble though, you may want to consider concept tweaks.

Oh yeah uh, I should probably post a warning: Even though it's cartoony, if you're not comfortable with the level of gore commonly seen in zombie flicks and don't like black humor, I wouldn't click.

Object to my left, object to my left... Well, I'd say "my wife" but I think she'd object to being objectified, so I guess my weapon of choice for the zombie apocalypse is the rather heavy old-fashioned metal base office chair she's seated upon. Let the beatings commence.

Verence = Verence Meillune [Gridania for OB, Limsa Lominsa for release] (Not sure how you'd want to categorize that)

No no, I'm not saying you made statements as to the tendencies of personalities of RPers.. I'm saying you did so for -other- people. Namely, 4channers, 3rd paragraph (can you believe I had to go back like 4-5 pages to find that? ). You defined their personality types from them being 4channers yet you do not define yourself (or any of us) from being RPers. That's the part I have trouble with. I could if you like, but I fear it would be terribly unflattering. :lol: My main point was that certain groups, on average, taken as a whole, tend to express certain tendencies. RPers are not exempt from this, and that is precisely why I am arguing against RPer pride - to avoid us, as a community, expressing a potentially divisive tendency. I tend to avoid herd mentality and think it would be wonderful if we could, or at least tried for that. Realistically it won't happen, but I reserve the right to dream. Anyhow, this being reality, I'd prefer it that the RPC evince positive ones. However, given that communities as a whole tend to BE communities in the first place due to similarities in the members that comprise them... It's no surprise that, overall, they have a tendency to be certain ways. There will always be exceptions on an individual basis, but I'm talking large scale. If the overall tendency of a community leans towards something that could be disruptive to our peaceable enjoyment of the game... well, why set ourselves up for that?

Since voting seems about to reopen, I hope you'll all forgive me for an attempt at summarizing some of the views and concerns I've had reading through this thread. I'll try to be brief, I promise, but for those not keen on wall-o-text, I'll have a handy dandy summary at the bottom. I see an attitude of "We're RPers! Be proud! We won't take shit from anyone!" Well, I guess that's alright, but it doesn't really jive with me. While I RP, it doesn't define who I am. I am a XIV player who RPs, not necessarily an RPer to the very core. I also read science fiction novels and enjoy the occasional movie, but I don't take pride in either of those 100% voluntary pastimes either. They're things I do, not what I am. The concept of "RPer pride" frankly confuses me and seems the first step on a path that ends in us-vs-them mentality. The line between RPer and non-RPer is not nearly so clearcut. "So then why bother trying to avoid certain groups at all", you ask? Because it's something much more basic: Wanting to avoid aggressive, elitist, or immature players. "But those will be on every server!" Why yes, they probably will be. But when faced with the prospect of a known quantity of prepackaged notably outstanding bad eggs or the uncertain prospect that there will PROBABLY be others of unknown number and severity... I'm taking the chance. It's not at all cowardly or "running away" or anything so idealistic, it's wanting to spend the next several years of my game time in as friendly and comfortable an environment as possible. It's way easier to be pleasant to people when they're nice to you in return, and which LS is going where is not a 100% reliable indicator - but it is one of the few we do have. This is also the case with my earlier 4chan comment - someone pointed out that they have a short attention span and likely wouldn't persist in any sort of organized group. Absolutely true. However, in my personal experience, the sort of personality that enjoys 4chan tends to be the sort of personality who revels in the anonymity of the internet and the opportunities it affords them to do whatever they please with little fear of backlash. Hence, "We are Anonymous." That sort of attitude doesn't NEED to be organized to be obnoxious, and unpleasant to share a server with. So, it becomes clear that it's not just a matter of which linkshell is going where, either. It's not just a matter of obnoxious people either - a server with a very dedicated, organized, hardcore and large endgame group will probably make casual enjoyment of those elements (if they're anywhere near as competitive as XI's) that much more difficult. I can sum up my views this way: Say you're hunting for a new apartment, and you have two prospects. One, you know is next to railroad tracks, and trains WILL go barreling by at 2am with their whistles blasting. The other, you're not quite sure where it is - it may be next to similar tracks, or it may not be. Why on earth would you choose the one that's guaranteed to be noisy? I don't think pride or cowardice or squeamishness or anything of the like enters into the picture at all. To me, it's simply a matter of looking at what server is most likely to provide an environment free from elements that would diminish our free enjoyment of the game - both in our roleplaying, and in our forays into the challenges the game has to offer us. One of the few indicators we have of what those servers may be... is which group is going where. I don't think it's wise to completely disregard that.

Looks like 4channers are headed for Lindblum, which results in a big ol' DO NOT WANT from me, alas. A shame, I love the name and the reference but... Yeah. I'm not so peachy keen on the notion. I'm eying Besaid.

Withholding vote until I know which endgame community is shaking out where. Don't really want to share a server with potentially elitist OOC communities... x.x

I'd be more interested in learning where Blue Gartr is headed. They're on my "avoid at all costs" list - whatever server they wind up on will likely have a very hardcore elitist endgame scene. I'm also leery of any server being populated by a large, established endgame group not due to overcrowding, I'm sure that'll sort itself out... but the type of temperament that thrives on endgame activity tends to be the type of temperament that's difficult to get along with. Yes, I realize I'm speaking in VERY sweeping generalities, but after 6 years of XI endgame, I'd just like to avoid that particular brand of epeen waving on our server. They'd also likely attempt to completely dominate the endgame scene, and if it's remotely as competitive as it was in XI, that'll be a whole lot of no fun for those of us who have things to do besides live in-game yet still wish to enjoy high level content.

Probably Male Elezen Forester, but I can't say for certainty until more race lore/history is known. Same goes for city.

If these factors don't have a direct impact on your stats, I welcome them as interesting and unique customization opportunities. If they DO, I find them incredibly obnoxious. It's a way to potentially shoot yourself in the foot before you ever even get started. What if you have your heart set on a melee powerhouse and choose a mage-oriented guardian and nameday due to lack of explicit info? If you want to maximize your potential, your only recourse is to restart your character.

Canta Per Me of Lakshmi is still kicking, though rather small. We have maybe 9 or so active members and tend to RP later at night due to player schedules. If we had active RPers on at other times, we'd probably start seeing more RP at other times, but at present we're mostly RPing the Wings of the Goddess missions after everyone's HNMLS events let out. Once we finish up there, it'll probably be back to more general RPs and player-run plot arcs. Canta Per Me probably falls in the 'casual' category, there's a lot of OOC in our channel but people shush up when people are roleplaying in /l. We've never really had problems with too much OOC disrupting RP. Canta Per Me forum link if anyone's interested. The forum's a bit dead since we do most of our talking and planning in-game, but it is still used. If you want to get ahold of us in-game, you can contact Xenedra, Blucian, Verence, Muirnin, Lyre, Rakuyu, or Sphinx.

The discussion on how job changes will affect RP brought another to mind. The One-Man Party - A jack-of-all trades with numerous different specialities... and completely different personalities to match. They may be shy, unassuming, and kind while a healer, and brashly boisterous with a foul mouth when wielding an axe. While this concept can be quite appealing - it's like a buffet line of characters all in one place - it can really disorient people who thought they knew your character. Why is it that they shift so dramatically simply by changing their clothes and grabbing new equipment? While it's true that what you're wearing, what you're doing, and who you're with can affect how someone behaves, it generally doesn't change who they ARE. Usually when people behave like this, it's called multiple personality disorder and considered a psychological affliction. If you'd like to play a character with multiple personalities, go for it! It could make for a very unique and interesting character. However, hinging it completely upon their current gear creates a sort of awkward and artificial division between personae - a little more thought into ordering a crowded head might produce some more rewarding results.

Pretty much everything I wanted to say has already been said by Kes and Mason, so I'll spare you all the wall o' text and leave you with this: I am probably the greatest offender here, if that's the term you'd like to use, but you'll note that the post listing all the stereotypes states the following: No one's trying to limit anyone's creativity, here. To me, this is if anything a friendly heads-up to new and inexperienced roleplayers to say "Hey, these are some things that lots of people try and here's how they have the potential not to work so well. If you want to do it, by all means, this is just here to make sure you know the potential difficulties of what you're getting into. Now that you're informed, if you accept them, great!" Also, it's become, to me at least, a very valid and useful forum to get a wide array of thoughts and opinions on what extent people are willing to diverge from the lore. So far, the results have been very encouraging for me since most people seem to share very similar views to my own. Allow me to restate in no uncertain terms that the purpose of my postings is not to tell people what they can't or shouldn't do. It's to share ideas that I've run afoul of in the past so that people considering them have a fuller view of how to handle them gracefully, or perhaps if they hadn't though them through enough, avoid them purely at their own volition. I will admit deriving a chuckle or two from the more outlandish tales of roleplaying, but mocking other RP styles isn't the reason I'm posting here, and I get the impression that holds true for nearly all of us. Closer-to-canon RPers often get accused of being stuffy, controlling, or unimaginative but as I've already said - that goes both ways. It's very hard for us "restrictive" types to go along with things and have fun if the "Wait, what?" alarm bells are going off in our heads because of arbitrary world setting alterations. To me personally, it's the inability to creatively work within the bounds of what's been given that shows a lack of imagination. It's just a question of different RP styles and differing opinions, and the RPC sounds like it'll be big enough for all of us. Anyhow, this thread has strayed off topic at the moment, and no offense to anyone but in the spirit of the thread I'd like to politely request that those choosing to post here need not defend themselves for the opinions they hold. If people would like to discuss the pros and cons of adherence to canon, fantastic, I'd be happy to chat about it. But in a different thread, please.

That is all that I will say. That is all that needs to be said.