Koninbeor

My only consolation in not having a nifty time traveling tattoo of coolness is that it would not be visible on my character due to his skin color. This is why I have opted for insanely bright war paint on his face.

I understand completely where you're coming from, Moonfire. Burnout in RP can occur just as easily as burnout in anything else we experience in life. And this burnout can be caused by the smallest, and at times the most insignificant, of details or events simply because of how these triggers affect how we think and feel. Taking liberties with lore is one thing that completely destroys RP for me, for example. To me, that is a huge deal. To others, lore is little more than a guideline. Like you, I try my very best to only RP to the strengths of my character as earned in the game. However, I have had to make myself come to terms with a certain amount of creative license over the years. This comes into play by creating a differentiation between the game's static story (where everyone gets to be the "Chosen One") and the sandbox (where everyone gets to create a story of their own). The sandbox, out of sheer necessity, can have only a limited interaction with the static story. After all, there is but one "Chosen One" while there are thousands of player characters. And many players will have multiple characters, which would mean that you play multiple versions of the "Chosen One" simultaneously. This clearly does not work for the realm of RP. A great deal of frustration lies in wait for any RPer who does not draw a distinctive line. Now I'm not saying that the way I'm about to discuss is the only or even the best method of making this distinction. Instead, I'm giving insight into my own walk through the chaos of the gaming structure and my happy RP zone of happiness. My RP background stems from pen and paper games. Some of these games integrate a novel or multiple novels along with an endless number of published supplements. Vampire: The Masquerade is the game that I give credit for most shaping and honing my RP abilities (or lack thereof). For anyone familiar with the original World of Darkness, you know that Storytellers (the venue's version of a Game Master) must either integrate a huge meta-plot or choose to ignore the published meta-plot entirely. Certain events, according to canon, DO happen. And certain characters, according to canon, DO cause these events based on their own successes and failures. Players can easily be swallowed up in such an overarching story and get lost, feeling insignificant. This is why White Wolf has chosen not to give a meta-plot in the current World of Darkness setting. If the White Wolf analogy does you no good then try to think of playing a character of your creation in your favorite story. Take the Lord of the Rings, for example. Frodo is the Ring Bearer. Period. The Fellowship of the Ring is formed by specific characters and YOU are not one of them. Period. This means that you are not the Chosen One. However, this does not mean that you are not vital to the plot, or even to the Chosen One's success. Take the 1.0 characters. All of them cannot be the single Chosen One, but they can all be vital members of an army that stems the tide of destruction, working together to save the world. The game developers have to give a story. True, they do not have to act like you are the Chosen One in the story but non-RPers want (and sometimes even need) to feel special. This aspect of the game exists for the benefit of the majority. RPers are the minority even on RP servers that are marked by the devs as RP servers in name. What I have to do is understand that when I'm playing through the game's story line, I'm getting the privilege of experiencing the "main character's" life in the avatar of my choosing. My character, according to no one else, is the main character. This is simply the skin in which I see events unfold as I am reading and experiencing the story. This is not real for my character. Instead, this is the storyteller's way of letting me see the world that I am walking around in. So while I have distanced myself, understanding that I am not the only person in existence who can save the world from an impossibly powerful evil, I can take a look at significant events and strategically place my character into those events as he advances. This is Final Fantasy. There are HUGE battles that take place. I may not be the Chosen One, but I can very well be a soldier in that battle. And I determine how his praises or curses are sung by others. I may not be on the flag ship in an armada, but I am on a ship in the armada and I have a role to play. The "main character" cannot succeed if I am not there. Without me, this character would be overwhelmed. I am important. I am significant. And so are you. This is how I reconcile my character with the story. I find a way for my character to fit into events. I may not be the greatest Gladiator of all time but I am certainly one to be respected. And other Gladiators can attest to my deeds and know of my hard work and dedication. Look for opportunities in the story as you play it out and insert your character wherever you feel is fitting, and do so with pride. You have worked hard to advance your character. You deserve a place of prominence. You are exceptional. You are a hero. Once you give yourself permission to realize that the story is about Frodo and his friends, and that you're just getting to experience that story as a so that you understand the world around you and feel closer to the environment's uniqueness and beauty, playing a proper role in that setting can be very satisfying. And once you're satisfied with how you fit into the story, all you have to worry about is some random dolt ruining your immersion because he's a vampire/ghost/mummy/mage from Planet X who has come to rid the world of Lost Lambs due to a cataclysmic plague in an alternate dimension that is never explained because his imagination rivals that of a rotting opossum carcass. And that's why you choose your RP partners with care. Your story matters. Make it fun for you. Now I hope that, even if my endless rambling does not help you in any way, you will listen to the counsel of others before me and stay on this server with us. You don't have to RP to be friends with an RPer. Have fun here, and you always have the option to join us in RP should the mood strike you. Remember, you are always welcome to friends. And, in closing at long last, remember that if RP is made impossible for you that you can always blame the Amish. Trust me, they won't know. They won't be playing the game and will never read anything you say on this forum. Just for the record, my introduction post warns that I am verbose.

I am also using a Roegadyn as my main. I will also roll a Lalafell as a backup, though I will end up sticking with only one character. That is the way things always work out for me. I create multiple characters and use one to the exclusion of all others. Which one I use when I make my final cut will largely depend on the community's perception of my characters, sticking with the one that has the greatest impact in RP.

As long as you're rockin' some nifty face paint, I approve.

Humans and elves I can see. But I will forever be perplexed by the fixation on cat people.

Ah, the male Highlander. My second favorite choice... I'll concede to being in the minority. Now that I think on it, the "pretty" races are the most populous in every game I've ever played. I guess I assumed that enough guys would like the Hulk that not everyone would want to be Legolas.

That makes sense. I suppose that I have a different view of what's aesthetically pleasing in a character. The Roegadyns are my favorite race in the game precisely due to their hulking, gritty appearance. While it's not overly surprising to hear that they were the least populous, especially with the lack of playable females, I would not expect them to be so few and far between as to call them underrepresented. But with a history of creating characters that would not be considered pretty by human standards I suppose that I've missed the boat on this one. Thank you for clarifying for me.

Thank you for posting this, Merri. This has been a valuable resource for me. I can look back on my developing character's history and make sense of the world around him.

I am new to the game and have played Phase 3 on a new server and a legacy server. I find that the benefits of playing with established players outweigh the drawbacks. I also personally feel that it is respectful to join them on a server where they have built something wonderful rather than asking them to start over somewhere else just so they are the same level as me for a short period of time. I think that having two RP servers, one legacy and one new, would be a mistake as it will only serve to spread out an already small community (relatively speaking). However, this is merely my opinion and we shall see what the community decides starting tomorrow.

Pretty accurate video. As Averis pointed out, there can be a great deal of toxicity across party roles. Healers have always seemed to take the most flak. While the tank is traditionally the centerpiece of a party, the healer is the arbiter of life and death. Anger your healer and you're openly inviting calamity in your future. My introduction to party-style play in an MMO was in WoW as a resto druid. I was the only healer in my PvP bracket on my server for nearly two months. In both PvE and PvP I found my roll to be almost completely thankless. People were quick to give criticism for not being healed in time after breaking line of sight but would say nothing good if the healing was so spectacular that no one in the party ever got into trouble. I had a handful of players who knew to look for me and guarded me with their virtual lives but the majority drove me out of healing in all but the most dire of circumstances. Now I prefer tanking roles and I go out of my way to let my healers know if they've done a good job. I also see it as my personal responsibility to stick up for a good healer if the DPS in my party starts ranting and raving because of a death due to pulling aggro or pulling a group of mobs before the healer is ready for battle. While I am most certainly not a perfect player, even with the blame game, I do my best to own up to my mistakes. I like to give warnings to experienced players if I am new to a dungeon and let them know that I am open to advice. I apologize to the group when I run headlong into a group of mobs while the healer is still drinking, or completely overestimate my capabilities by pulling eleventy billion enemies at a time. And I am very forgiving of others who own up to their mistakes as well. Toxicity cannot be avoided completely. Competition does not always bring out the best in people and we all want to win no matter how uncompetitive some of us may be. We simply have to chill out as much as possible and remember that the most important reason for gaming is for the fun. At least, that's the most important reason for me.

Color me oblivious. Why were the male Roegadyn under-represented? The only reason that I can fathom is the size curse in PvP.

Looks like I am a bit late to the party here. This is, in my opinion, an amazing resource. Many thanks for the enormous amount of effort that had to have gone into this project. And many more thanks for sharing the fruits of your labor.

Cobbler is pie's little brother and thus counts as a vote for pie. Therefore, cobbler is also a correct answer.

It isn't the PS3 release I'm concerned with. That will be released simultaneously with the PC version. The PS4 version, however, will depend greatly on this game's success. Here's hoping for a good enough showing that Square gives the PS4 a chance to shine. On a more lighthearted note, one of life's most important questions is, undeniably, cake or pie? Pie is the correct answer. Thank you for the pie.

This introduction is long overdue. As you can see, I've been a registered member here since March of 2010. I have a few posts here in an RP thread and never really picked up a lot of steam. I have been waiting since the announcement of this game, the first incarnation of this game, to play on the PS3. I pre-order a copy of the game only to end up cancelling. After years of waiting, and honestly giving up on ever seeing this game on the PS3, I find an official announcement for the PS4. Time to chuck the PS3 version and move on to something bigger and better. A launch day PS4 has my name on it somewhere (even though it's currently invisible and incorporeal) and is eagerly awaiting its opportunity to entertain me with the next generation of high quality games. inFAMOUS: Second Son, Destiny, The Elder Scrolls Online, and Final Fantasy XV are instantly reserved. I do a bit of web searching and check up on my non-existent copy of Final Fantasy XIV only to discover that the PS4 version is going to be real. And somehow I stop thinking about inFAMOUS and start wondering how the rebirth of FFXIV wil be. A week later I receive a beta invite for my PS3. Score. So now it is with a bit of apprehension that I introduce myself to all of you. Having my first pre-order cancelled due to an announcement that I will never ever see FFXIV on my PS3, an announcement that has thankfully been proven false, has me hoping that the reborn realm will be everything that I know an online Final Fantasy is capable of. I most certainly do not wish to see this game fail... again... and see my pre-order automatically cancelled by Amazon because the game will never exist... again. I am a long-time RPer in pen and paper games as well as various MMO's. I've lead small RP guilds, headed up the RP divisions of much larger guilds, and have enjoyed the hard work that others put forward in creating a great RP environment for everyone. I look forward to seeing the environments that the established leaders here have created and interacting with all of you. While it may be some time before I get an opportunity to play with most of you due to the fact that the PS4 version will not receive a simultaneous release, getting to know you here will still be great fun. Now that you can see how verbose I am, I will cut myself off. And I will spend the next several days kicking myself for having my Beta character on Ultros. At least he's only level 14.

There were no familiar faces left after the three sailors abruptly departed. Not that they would have been any welcome company anyway. The behemoth made his way over to the bar, taking care not to crowd anyone. He headed for the largest gap of open seats as close to the right side of the bar as he could manage and eased himself onto a stool. The bartender didn't seem to mind his fierce gaze at all, likely having seen the like dozens of times this week. The Roedagyn glanced over to a random patron when asked what he wanted, inclining his head slightly when he spotted a bowl of soup, and returned his gaze back to the bartender. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin pouch, only to find it as ripped as his clothing. An attempt was made to jingle any coins left within, but there was no sound. A slight grin crept into the edges of his mouth, massive head shaking slowly at the realization. When the bartender began to approach with his food, the mountainous Sea Wolf shook his head and gave a wave of his hand, then indicated the empty pouch.

The trio of sailors were far more interested in their own tall tale than they were with anything else going on around them. They got so caught up in debating with one another in their unique way that none of them noticed the doors open to introduce a walking mountain. The solid figure was massive even by Roegadyn standards. Like Two-Patch, he appeared to be one of the Sea Wolves. A baggy sailor's shirt adorned his heavily muscled torso, long rips crisscrossing the once white fabric that was now mostly stained pink and red from what could possibly be blood. Brownish breeches covered massive legs just past the knees, also ripped in several places and heavily stained, while the bottoms appeared to have been torn off. The hulking form wore no shoes. The Roegadyn was rather young and by appearances could not have set out on his own too long ago. His dark hair was completely disheveled, and the Sea Wolf wore a beard. What could be seen of his skin was clearly marked with heavy bruises and welts that were very recent. The most noticable characteristic of the Wench's latest entry was not his size, however, but the confidence he carried himself with. His gaze swept over the room with a fierce intensity, though there was no malice in those eyes. Before he could step in any further, the youngest of the three sailors dared a quick glance to survey his surroundings. The Hyur's mouth dropped open and he tried to dart up to his feet, instead falling backward in his chair with a loud crash. He was in such a hurry to get up that he fell over himself a few times before actually reaching his feet, and then he simply sprinted for the door, holding on dearly to his magician's hat to keep from losing it. The other two watched their friend in astonishment. Poor vocabulary or no, that was a bit surprising. Once their eyes fell upon the giant, they also made haste for the door. While he was clearly not twenty feet tall and capable of holding three men in each hand at once, they wanted no part of anything that scared their companion that badly. The young Sea Wolf rolled his shoulders ever so slightly in what could have possibly been a shrug as the trio fled the scene.

The trio deliberated for some time after the entry of the Sea Wolf. The burly man swore up and down that ol' Two-Patch must be the one they'd been talking about. "He ain't quite twenty feet, mind ye, but he's got a girth me eyes ain't witnessed since..." "I swear if you say 'since my parrot choked on a cracker,' I'm going to wallop you." The tall man glanced back between the enormous figure with the cart and his youngest companion. "Well, you're the one who saw him. What's the final verdict?" Pulling down the large magician's hat slightly, the youngest man leaned forward, shaking his head slowly. "Firstively, bigginimically as he is, the one I saw was easily three times more gargabicastic. Secondubidibly, that guy's voice is expurgently too valical. Thripacly, the giant I wichicalled myself hadn't flarcicated an eye that he booriged with two eye patches. That's not only inaccountingly but also a little rabidasclington if you ask me." He leaned back slightly and looked between the tall and burly sailors with a quick nod. The tall one just blinked in complete awe and let out a long sigh after giving himself a moment to think. "I didn't understand a word you just said. I'm going to assume that guy isn't the impossibly large man you saw, though, since you aren't tripping over yourself to get out the door." "Aye, that be the... I mean... yeah, same here..." The burly man pursed his lips together and began to look around for a bar wench. "Isn't there a server girl or something?"

The door swung open, and a trio of sailors stepped inside, wandering to the nearest free table. The first was a tall, lithe man with short, dark brown hair and squinty eyes. A thin beard gave him a slightly more menacing look, though his manner seemed harmless enough. The second was a rather burly fellow of average height, his blond hair receeding slightly. He appeared to have a habit of constantly scrunching his nose as he listened to the other two, and had a nasty looking scar that crossed over his forehead and into his right eyebrow. The third was the shortest, the youngest, and by far the most talkative. He wore a very thick, black mustache that looked quite out of place, and appeared to be far too frail to be a sailor. He also donned a rather large magician's hat, though it was clearly just for show. All three wore very baggy clothing, more concerned with letting the air hit their skin than anything. The third man was the first to reach the table. "I'm telling you, he was twenty feet tall if he was a foot! I know. I saw him with my own eyes. He grabberized three men in each hand and ostricated them into the water." He sat down in a chair and looked to the others as they sat down. "And I'm telling you that even they don't get that large, so stop exaggerating. And stop making up words." The tallest of the trio rolled his eyes as he sat down, leaning back idly and eyeing his younger companion. The burly man sat down heavily, just shaking his head at the conversation. "I'm not making up words, you plabergaster. It's not my fault if my magatastical smartification is overly emslatersized for your puny brain. It just so happens that he was that tall and my selectification of salabastericities are compltely applicagitating to everything that I say. And mean." He gave a quick nod, crossing his arms in defiance. "You've just been listening to Arkestican for too long." He leaned forward slightly, resting an elbow on the table. "Aye, that be the truth of it. Ya can't go 'round tryin' ta be somethin' ya ain't." The burly man finally spoke, and the tall one rolled his eyes again. "For the last time, Al, you're not a pirate."