Magellan

The deed is done, and the doors are open! Please direct any future inquiries over at this thread: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=10314 Many thanks, and look forward to meeting some of you!

[align=center][/align] [align=left]Crown: [/align] 1 - a reward of victory or mark of honor 2 - the aboveground portion of a plant or tree [align=left]Who has suffered more at the hands of the calamity than those who inhabit the Shroud? Entire clans uprooted at the destruction that tragedy wrought. Countless lives lost, a community wilted, a once mighty oak felled and decayed. The time to rebuild has come and passed. Time to seize the land, reshape it to its intended beauty, and raise high once more the banner which we so proudly serve; the banner of the Matron, Nophica, to honor her dedication to our realm, even in these most trying times. Disciples of the land, brave soldiers of the Serpent, Adventurers, healers, merchants and more... if you call Gridania and her surrounding lands home, than help us rebuild... to be her crown; to display her beauty for all Eorzea to see, so that she might in turn reward us, and bring peace to these bountiful lands. FAQ Is it an IC or OOC LS?: Both. If your character would accept a linkpearl from the 'Gridania Restoration Project', then by all means use the linkshell chat for rp purposes. If your character would not, then OOC lurking is accepted and strongly encouraged. Most of the time the chat will be used for ((OOC.)) If, however, an individual deems to use it for IC, then we ask you keep OOC chat to a minimum, out of respect. The main purpose of the LS is to connect characters who live in or around Gridania. So it's up to you to decide the best way to use it for your character. Who would be handing out these linkpearls?: To keep it simple, we will say they were handed out by Mother Miounne at the Adventurer's Guild. She is not in charge of the group, however, they were left, along with the letter above, by a mysterious donor. The answer as to who is in charge of this 'Restoration Project' is: You Are. What are the requirements ICly?: That your character either live in or near Gridania, or (not and) your character has a strong interest in seeing her prosper. You have a Nophica theme. Does my character have to be religious?: Nope. The only requirements are answered in the question above. What are the requirements OOCly?: That you read the rules and policies, found on the To Apply tab. Follow the instructions there, then get in touch with anyone who has invite privileges (listed at the bottom of this page). So... there will be events?: The plan is to have monthly events. Anything and everything from Market Days, to Hunting Parties, to Nature Walks, Fishing Clubs .... anything and everything that can highlight Gridania's natural beauty, and encourage others to explore her shady boughs and grassy knolls. What is the other RP like?: That is up to you. Consider it a Gridania Yellow Pages, if you like. You can use it to locate local merchants if you want to go shopping... archers or conjurers if you want to learn by their hand, or learn alongside them... fellow Twin Adder members... chocobo farmers... the point is, if you can create it... create it! I've given you the seeds, now plant them and watch them grow! - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - Any other questions, feel free to ask. After following the To Apply tab instructions, contact any of these people below: (Please speak to me if you wish to be added to this list) -Lyra Blueflower/Claire Fialo[/align] [align=left]-Kas'il Khur -Kiht Jakkya[/align]

I might take tomorrow off, but should be around Wednesday evening (US EST). I'll look for you then!

I need to meet this character. Add Lyra Blueflower in game. I don't know about the adoptive daughter bit, or even if they will hit it off, but dammit, I want to be able to say, when I'm old and gray, that just once... just ONCE, I met the Scarlet Hare face to face. ...and came away a better person for it.

Thanks for the encouragement all! If anyone wants to throw out suggestions for a name for the LS, that'd be a big help. Maybe I'll take a time-out from the game tomorrow to establish the house rules and draft them up in the LS section. Since.... it'll be patch day, and one hundred thousand people will be packed tightly onto Balmung like sardines in a can.... thereby relegating my cranky, old computer to a perpetual state of moan and groan.

Eh, I'm pretty flexible on the IC/OOC thing. If OOC makes more sense, then so be it. Now that I think of it, most of the more active LS's I've been in have been OOC. As for 'little fluff here and there' that's kind've the core concept of the LS. Establishing a base from which people can get to know locals through various day to day interactions. Things such as; 'I'm opening my shop if anyone would like to come place some orders ICly' or... 'anyone want to meet at the Canopy?' 'A couple of fellas are fishing/rping by the botanist's guild if anyone wants to join!' Any deeper storylines would come from the involved individuals themselves. There would be monthly events that would take some planning, but I feel like it'd be fun to highlight and showcase some of the many lovely areas Gridania and her surroundings have to offer.

I love it when characters bump up against the Fourth Wall (50 Shades of Roe ). My bard once composed a song called 'What does the Carby say?' that was eerily similar to 'What does the Fox say?' I say go for it. I may even have one of my characters read some of your titles, if that is permissible.

Oi, Claire would like to stop by, and possibly join your Linkshell. You know how to reach me in game :0)

Oh..... oh my. If our characters ever meet... well, you could have a permanent addition to your flower patch :0) Seems there's enough interest in this to warrant a go. I'll spend the week hashing out details, and try to have it up and running by the weekend. I know I have a character who is an aspiring playwright, so she'll make use of the amphitheater too.

Your character is awesome looking. So many epically good Lalafell this day c:

I know the feeling of having to start fresh, as opposed to returning to an established character. Luckily I had a lvl 11 character I could fantasia to get onto Balmung (+ the $10 rename fee) so that I could return to the story at an early enough point to get back into the swing of things when i returned a week ago. Don't know if that's an option for you. The other thing is to get up super early and try to sneak a new character on Balmung before the restrictions are put in place. I was able to do so at 7am one morning, though generally you're probably looking at 4 or 5 am. Chances of success might be pretty high right after Monday nights patch!

A lot of times I'll bring outside influences into a characters name, but in this particular case its her given name (Lyra) paired with a name she gave herself (Blueflower), as she does not remember her own name. She really likes blue flowers, and has blue hair, so she took to calling herself that.

You sir, have earned all of the wins on this thread.

Does your character live in Gridania? Are they a member of the Wood Wailers, Carpenter's Guild, Archery Guild, or even a server at the Carline Canopy? Do they work in one of the surrounding villages or farms sprinkled throughout the Shroud? Are they a Keeper who lives in caves with their clan? Are they (le gasp) a bandit looking for travelers to swindle? Or a conjurer learning to listen to the forest? Then perhaps you and I need to talk. The goal of this LS would be to add local flavor to the City-State of Gridania. To unite her everyday citizens, and set up connections between characters who most likely would see each other in passing day to day. Rather than just BEING a carpenter who owns a workshop in Gridania, according to your backstory, people would actually KNOW this. Visit your shop. Place orders. Rather than just declare yourself a Wood Wailer, but then have very little RP regarding that, you could patrol town, answer citizen's calls of distress. Try to ferret out crime. The ability to make those connections lies within you, but the LS would also host monthly events, ranging from Archery instruction, to Market Days, to Wilderness Walks/Tours, to Hunting parties. Perhaps even some hot Wood Wailer on Bandit action. The story would grow through your interactions, and Gridania would start to take on a inhabited, populated feel, where people actually lived their lives and in turn breathed life into the entire Shroud. Rather than making Carline Canopy an rp hotspot... why not extend that to all of Gridania? I have tried to anticipate some questions below (but feel free to ask away): Why Gridania?: Because my character lives there. So... no Limsa Lominsa? No Ul'dah?: The goal here is to promote local flavor. If the idea is successful, I see no reason why similar linkshells could not be created for those two city-states. But as stated, my character lives near Gridania, so that is where my current interests lie. Would the LS be IC or OOC?: Ideally, I'd be looking for IC. An enterprising (npc'd) individual would go about town, handing out linkpearls to agreeable citizens, in the interest of promoting a more unified Gridania, and by extension, trying to attract a tourism trade through the monthly events. Why would a bandit and a Wood Wailer share the same link pearl?: Good question! They probably wouldn't. But.... there are certainly ways around this. If you were playing a bandit, you could exist in the link shell OOCly, yet have some intel on where a particular trade route ran (as an example) and so show up accordingly. Maybe your character stole a link pearl so they could have that intel! Maybe they are friends with a corrupt Wood Wailer! Those are just some of the initial ideas I had. If there is enough interest, I'll push forward. And if not, I shall banish this thread to the sucking vortex of abject despair, aka; Archived. Interested parties can post to thread, PM me here, or send tell in game (Lyra Blueflower) ~Cheers

For my character to even be inside at all would most likely mean she was lost, confused... possibly got a bump on her head. She'd probably sleep on the floor, play a lot with my cat, and stab the UPS man in the chest for being a perceived threat. D:

Great! I'll be logging in after lunch I'm sure. I'll be hounding one of you to the ends of the Eorzean borders politely inquiring from one of you about an invite.

Though the wording is a bit strong, and I think you are guilty of sweeping generalizations, I'm glad you brought up a dissenting viewpoint. It's an idea with some merit, and one I've noticed myself. I would not say a lot of roleplayers, as you have, but I would certainly say some. The issue is time. For awhile now I've thought parts of the rp community can be similar to that of the PvE endgame community. For players like me, who level slowly, and rarely touch endgame (if ever) even trying to get involved can be a hurdle. I come to the game so late, that those who have been doing it forever expect certain things: a high level of gear. A thorough comprehension of how the dungeon is run. And an ability to adapt when the situation goes bad. Quite honestly? They don't have time to hold my hand and teach a noob like me. They want fast, efficient, smooth runs, and it is well within their right to expect as much. I won't fault them for wanting to spend their time in game to their level of enjoyment. Thankfully, there ARE those out there willing to take a new person under their wing, but they certainly aren't the majority. Not everyone LIKES helping others. We are all just human after all. Though I myself love to help out if able, I have flaws in other areas, so cannot get mad if someone else doesn't want to help me. The same thing kind of happens in RP. When someone takes the time to stop PvEing... takes the time to step away from their kids, their job, or whatever else they might have going on to RP; they EXPECT a certain level of smoothness. Of efficiency, and of enjoyment. After all, enjoyment is the ultimate aim of RP. I'll tie this in here: A lot of people have had extremely negative experiences trying to cater to others in RP, in trying to be inclusive, of opening up their characters to complete strangers who they don't know from Adam. Just like you irl, might ignore the stranger on the street who comes up to you and starts talking, because there isn't a level of trust there, so too, might this happen in RP. I once had a character almost get eaten by a cannibal, a complete stranger I decided to accept random RP with, and my character was in no position to keep this from happening. I had to put the kabosh on the whole scene, thereby making the entire thing moot. I have no problem retconning like that, but others do. *Shrug* People get jaded. They don't want to embrace ever new rper that comes along, because they don't want to end up in scenes like the one I just mentioned. It's nothing personal, it's that their wariness of outsiders has grown over time. That's why, to me, OOC communication is so important, because it serves as an icebreaker, AND reminds others that yes, there is a human on the other side of the computer looking for enjoyment through RP as well. However, as you yourself pointed out, no one is obligated to RP with anyone. If people want to RP in cliques, okay. No problem. It falls upon those who want a more open world environment then to make that happen. Establish events. Not big, hollywood produced events.... just a Shout in game 'Come RP at (X location)'. Or... as if often the case on these sites... I have seen 4 or 5 threads in the past week alone about people struggling to break into RP. I have to ask myself; have those people messaged each other on this site to set something up? You are clearly looking for RP, they are clearly looking for RP.... seems simple, yes? One more thing I'll add is; it takes skill to incorporate a stranger or walk-up into an ongoing scene. A DM's skill. Not everyone has it. A lot of people are flat out bad at it. They aren't really ignoring you per se, but either they OOCly, or their character ICly, or perhaps both at the same time, lack the skill and confidence to juggle the conversation they are currently engaged in, along with this new conversation coming in. They aren't necessarily being rude, they may just be overwhelmed. Long story short; there is no ONE reason why cliques and ignoring others happens in RP. There are lots of reasons. Some are legitimate, some are good, some are not. But my advice for those looking for RP and feeling shut out, is to look for others on this forum who have voiced the same thing, and schedule a meet-up! Also browse the linkshells and fc's forum. You can have up to 8 linkshells! That's a lot of opportunities to make contacts you might not make through random walk-up RP alone.

Conjurer is fun to level. *cough cough* Am I doing it right? D:

I'm still a ways off from reaching 50, but this is precisely the sort of thing I need ^^. You know... since the words END GAME always show up bold and caps locked in my head... with scary gothic lettering and a penchant for pointing and laughing in my general direction (and sometimes flinging cows.)

That is unfortunate to hear. It's probably because most of the cultural differences are vaguely alluded to, without being thrust to the forefront in any meaningful way. Certainly there are huge gaps in the lore and story, and what they cover, and it's up to the community to try and fill them. Visually, Eorzea comes across as a melting pot. There are people of every race in every city-state, and we get told very little about what an individual race's religion, philosophy, and life style would be like. But even if Eorzea truly is a melting pot, there is still plenty of room for traditionalists who adhere to the old customs. Why, even here in America we have the Amish, just as an example. Or Hasidic Jews. There would absolutely be smaller societies in Eorzea who would hold fast to, and practice the roots of their heritage. Why anyone would get blasted for this is an unfortunate byproduct of mob mentality.

Welp, this might sound like a copout answer, but it could be a case of tunnel vision. I've been rping with groups in which someone is trying to get our attention, and more often than not, I am the only one who responds. Why? Because I was the only one in the group actually aware we were getting talked to. I think a lot of people literally hone in on the people their character knows, and disregards the rest as clutter. Mostly because it is VERY hard to keep tabs on proceedings in a crowded area. It is also draining, if you are trying to keep up several conversations at once. PMs absolutely solve this. Nothing cuts through the clutter like a bright line of purple text, accompanied by a chirruping sound. I've been the one trying to get people's attention, and more often than not have had to resort to pm's. I've been in situations where I've felt like I was being ignored, only to PM someone, and have them give genuine surprise that I was trying to enter the scene, and be really nice about it in their replies (even if they sometimes say they are kind've busy with the scene) I did notice you had posted several connection threads. Not quite sure what to say about why they haven't been answered. I will say that absolutely cliques exist, but it's not the bad nor derogatory things it's often made out to be. Characters have close friends. People OOCly have close friends they enjoy rping with a lot. In fact, I'd say the goal of every rper is to find that sweet spot... that group where they are at the forefront of the action. I think as a community it's polite courtesy to help each other find that sweet spot... but it's not always going to happen right away, unfortunately. Sometimes characters just 'click', and sometimes you go through horrible dryspells I like Dasair's suggestions, and I'd consider taking some of those up, along with more PMs or tells in game. Oftentimes the most work in rp is during the beginning. Finding that group or story you can plug into. But once you find it things will often get a lot easier and a lot more interesting. May I also suggestion perusing the linkshells forum and trying to make some acquaintances that way?

I prefer Smite

We've all been there, and it can be pretty discouraging at times (to put it mildly). The best thing you can do is seek the advice of your peers (as you have done here) and get a spectrum of ideas on how to overcome these sorts of hurdles. For me; I say try the connections thread on this site, specifying what you are looking for. Or attend events specifically for the public, guaranteeing a higher success that people are, in fact, there for open RP. Random, walk-up RP can be so hit or miss. Even though they are rping out in the open, doesn't necessarily mean they are anticipating or welcoming walk-ups. They could still be involved in a private scene. Try equating it to real life. If a couple is acting schmoozy on a bus, having a lovey-dovey conversation, and a complete stranger comes in and say; 'Hey! How you doing!? I couldn't help but hear you guys are on your way to the museum. Isn't it the greatest place?' Chances are pretty high that that couple is going to be kind of turned off by the approach. After all, they were sharing a 'moment' together, in public yes, but still expecting to have some privacy. Now take that couple and throw them into a party setting. And the same fellow bus rider is there. Someone introduces them, and because they are there (in theory) to socialize, then there's a greater chance they'll get to talking about this or that. The same holds true for RP. Characters can be in the middle of a conversation, and feel interrupted by a sudden appearance of a stranger. Interruption often comes joined to the hip by annoyance. Now, there is no reason to be rude OOCly, in my book, and a few simple OOC tells can help smooth 99% of RP problems, but ICly the reaction might be cold, or flat out pretending you are not there. Finding a good group or FC takes time, and a lot of frustrations along the way, but can be very rewarding for both you and your character. As I've stated previously you are off to the right start by contacting your peers here. It's perfectly reasonable to expect others might even try to set up rp meet ups with you after reading your post I would be one of them, but quite literally my character does not socialize (yet). If you came running up to her to talk, her breadth of experience teaches her to do one of two things: a) run and don't look back. b) punch you in the nose as hard as she can. Neither are optimal, to say the least ^^; But I do enjoy conversing and discussing rp OOCly! Feel free to add me in game if you like : Lyra Blueflower. And once my character has developed less 'flight or fight' tendencies, maybe they can even be friends!

My first character (an Elezen) grew up in a very withdrawn clan in the Shroud. She didn't know how to read or write common Eorzean, until she was taught it much later in life. Never seemed to cause an issue with anyone (as in, telling me it was lore-inaccurate). My current character (a Keeper) is even more withdrawn, and quite literally has a severe lack of any language. Though she is learning. I feel such things give added depth and mystery to the Shroud, which in my mind at least, is supposed to have many hidden, even unspoilt areas. Likewise, anytime someone rp's a tribal Seeker, I do a little cheer, as I feel it gives the deserts of Ul'dah so much added flavor... there should be clans out there, hidden in the dryest areas, that still haven't assimilated into the cultural melting pot Eorzea seems to be at times. I would welcome more and more racial and cultural lore, as at the heart of Eorzea seems to be the fact that there are several distinct races trying to learn to coexist to protect their borders from their myriad outside threats. And yet... I rarely see people rping about these differences. It's like everyone's already overcome them Ah well, I say go for it!

This is great. The world of Eorzea needs more hobbies: games, sports, etc. etc. I find it very odd in a world like this that one cannot rp as an athlete because... well.... where are the sports? I suppose the closest we have is chocobo racing. The Gold Saucer should be a huge lore boon towards answering 'what does your character do for fun?' And it'd be neat to see more ideas like this take off, that help flesh out the entertainment industry of Eorzea.