Ingkko

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Hey guys! So earlier this year we saw the wonderful success of Menphina's Madness Blitzball tournament that was created by Aegir and was brought alive by him as well as all the people who helped create mechanics, polish the game, supported and advertised and most of all played and watched the matches! This time around I have been given the blessing to pick it back up and continue what was honestly one of my favourite RP events I was apart of since I started playing XIV. What exactly is Blitzball though? The game Blitzball is originally found in FFX and is played underwater with the aid of pyreflies which hold the the water into a sphere and features a specially designed ball and large circular goals at either end. Ok so, how exactly do you translate the game into RP? This was the most complicated part, and a group of people spent time working it out over the space of several days before calls for players even went out- even then the mechanics are being improved all the time. The teams are made up of 6 players with their own roles and their own areas they can traverse in on the 'field', and actions are decided, emoted out and in the case of blocks, passes through blocks or shots at goal they are dictated by /random. You can see a details of the mechanics here! (Credit to Aegir Hlerson & Co on Balmung for putting together.) Sounds cool, how do I get involved? For now we're looking at interest, so if this is something you'd like to be part of respond here or contact me directly! If however you have a character on Balmung as well you can join the IC blitzball lessons taking place on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at the long pier in Costa del Sol. Other than that, check back here for any additional updates! (For any details or questions contact me at: Teal Deer on Mateus, Ingkko Nalgi on Balmung, Ingkko#0420 on discord.)

Comedy really is something that is inherently there and a part of people, even if for some it can take a little thought to tap into properly. It's inside you all along! There are those that naturally are really good with it and can write things off the bat in general or into characters without a second thought. I like to think that when I write things like that it's pretty good? Admittedly I've made a ridiculous amount of characters over the years and some just did not work no matter how I tried to play them or what I tried to do. Really though it's up to those who I'm with whether it gels well with the situation, though having a knack for understanding and reading the RP, the plot and the inclinations of those that you're interacting with makes all the difference. By all means hit me up and throw me what you have and I'd be happy to see how I can help if you're up for it.

@DonpomOh by all means, two-dimensional characters have their place and I have used many, many of them as NPCs for the RP plots that I run- but the thing is as you said, that is the limit. It seems like a waste to spend the time to make a PC you know will not last and that may be excellent in certain scenarios but will otherwise limit you to where you can reasonably RP and what you can reasonably do. When it comes to things you don't know, the internet is your friend-- though as is imagination and a touch of improvisation. One of the characters I play is a character that is a respectably high ranking Garlean doctor, essentially that focuses largely on magitek prosthesis and augmentation. Before I started playing I had a little bit of an idea from medical training, though most of it? Google. Researching and learning more so I could not only figure out ways to do certain things but use it as inspiration to play with ideas and concepts that simply do not exist in the real world. Have fun with it! There were so many times in RP I ended up either looking something up in the middle of a post I was writing or just going "Screw it, we'll do it live!" It's created aspects of my character that I never thought of before. Plus, you can learn some really interesting things in general. When it comes to the 'jokester' characters they can be fun but I'm not sure if that should be your main focus for it. Don't make it the base, but figure out a way for it to mesh onto the side of what you already have. How old is he? What does he do? Why does he struggle to cope otherwise/what brought him to find that comedy was an effective way to play it off? I'll use my character above, Adlai, as an example as he can sometimes deal with things similarly: How old is he? He's 30. Why is it relevant? Because while he's seen a lot of things there is a whole lot more and he hasn't had the years behind him to help give him a wiser view and help him deal with such things. What does he do? He's the head of the medical side of a castrum. Why is this relevant? Because he has a stressful job looking after and developing new things while having to ensure the wellbeing of himself, his staff and his patients. Why does he struggle to cope otherwise? His nerves were shot from previous events and are overall an incredible anxious creature. Why is this relevant? When he doesn't have to be professional and serious it is easier to use comedy to write off something, distract from it or otherwise dissipate the tension. This is of course only the most basic of things to begin with for example's sake. It's all just a very tiny part of him. It's like a bonus feature that makes things more interesting but wouldn't destroy what my character what without it. I guess that's really what I'm going for here. If that is the only thing going for a character and it would fall apart without it? It's best to place it aside and then add it later when it has something to truly mix with. In regards to my second post, I feel that while they may have been wanting to tell a good story, it excludes those who are interacting with them at the time. If they wanted to tell those around them ICly what they did then by all means do so and give the characters a chance to listen and respond. Storytelling is a wonderful thing and it's something that we all do simply by RPing, but make it with the characters that yours is interacting with rather than despite them. Finally, what @Aegir said is pretty much spot on-- and having that variance and balance in plots types is incredibly important. Not having that flexibility can easily kill a plot or a group idea.

It depends, really. By all means narrate things that others could actually pick up: body language, how they speak (tone, pitch, is it booming or shaky?) or if they're fiddling with their clothes or other objects. As in the above example: I love doing this, it can be funny and adds something to the RP- and others around them would likely be able to see this with again, things like the sound of their voice or their body language. The problem comes with things like this: Sure this could be interesting, but it's not anything that anybody can actually use without godmodding or being able to otherwise read the character's mind. Personally, I'm not going to get on somebody I RP with if they're having fun with a little monologuing, however I do tend to caution too much because there will be those who will jump on you because you mentioned in it that you were from a certain place or a certain group (like Ala Mhigans or Garleans) that their character doesn't like or that you gave away that you were actually a wanted criminal in the area that was disguised so nobody would recognise you. Sure, you can just call them out on it, but it's generally easier to prevent it happening in the first place- especially if you come onto the game to RP and relax at the end of a difficult day.

If a character is well rounded you shouldn't need to decide whether it's funny or not- you shouldn't have to sit there and be like "I want to play a character that can be a jokester-- is he funny guys??? Tell me he's funny ahahahah." Well built characters have both; well-developed characters can play both sides without breaking who they are and what they do. Characters can be silly and entertaining around people, but have a quieter or more serious side out of the public eye- just take any introvert as an example. I know I'm a lot more vocal and 'out there' when I'm around people than the near silence I relax in whenever I take a break. Just the same you can have a relatively serious character that can have comical sides which don't even need to become across actively, but instead by situations they find themselves in that for them is perfectly serious but those oocly may find it the funniest thing all night. Characters can have bonds that bring out different sides of characters depending on who it is, where they are, what they're doing, etc. Again, like real people. If you know the player(s) of the character(s) oocly then even better, you can know what kind of thing they enjoy also and how you can play around where you'll both have a lot of fun with it. OOC communication is just as important in many ways when exploring your character; you can learn things about them and about how you want to play them without realising it. Attempting to actively deliberately make a specifically 'jokester' character for that specific intent is doomed to fall on its face, honestly. Those comedians who's jokes fall flat, and those youtubers that try too hard and create something that is either too niche to appeal to those around or end up running a joke into the ground. The characters that last the longest and are the most fulfilling are the ones that flow naturally, that you take from aspects of yourself and expand upon. This isn't to say make your character the very picture of you, but say if you're very extrovert or introvert, take it from that. If you have bad habits like staying away too long until you're a zombie walking, that's something you can play with. Artist or writer? Get creative. Have an interest in mechanics or biology or even something specifically in the world that you like to learn the lore around like aether? YOU GOT IT, that's a hook. Make them a being with dreams and flaws and things they're passionate about, and let it build around that. Let the character flow and build themselves as you play and before long they'll have fleshed themselves out without you even realising it. Let them be people, and you will be rewarded.