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Jackalope · **10-28-2014, 04:14 PM**

.Total RP Virgin here haha. As this is an mmo I really want to immerse myself into my character, I've started new so Jack Blades legend is currently a blank slate. So if I could request some help in how to start I would be grateful Smile

Â also looking for friends so a FC to join and letting me know which server to play on would be great.

Aya · **10-28-2014, 04:24 PM**

Wonderful! Welcome to RP! ^_^

Hmm, I've never offered this sort of advice before, but I'll give it a shot!

The first thing I would do is try to think of a very basic background (honestly I think backgrounds are somewhat overrated, though I do often put quite a bit of work into them, its really the in-character interactions that take place from the moment RP begins with the character that define him or her, rather than the background one may write!)Â

I would not think of this in terms of a story, or in terms of a goal or objective.Â I would just think of it in terms of giving your guy a little bit to know about himself, and a little bit to talk about.

What area of Eorzea is he from?
One of the main city states?Â A small town? Forest, sea, mining, desert, trade post, maybe just a farm or vinyard? Etc?

What did his parents do?
This may be related to what is above: craftsman, or peasants, or soldiers, or police, etc.

Is his family still alive?
Most people prefer their characters to have no old ties, I kind of like the drama that still having a living family can add Smile

What sort of education does he have?
Did he plan to follow in the foosteps of his parents? Was he an apprentice? Did he go to sea?Â Has he worked on the family farm?

What is he doing now?
Is he an adventurer? A mercenary? Just a guy off on his own for the first time?

Even the most basic answers to these questions will give you an idea who your character is, and that can be helpful!

Then, it comes to getting started with RP!Â As I have suggested in other threads, the best way to get started is just light, random RP to kind of get your feet wet, and learn generally how to interact with people, and learn how your character interacts with people.Â Go to an RP hotspot (I suggest the Quick Sand in Ul'dah, but there are other areas you may find people!) and politely try to start conversations.Â Try to introduce yourself, and meet people.Â It takes a little bit of outgoingness (which can take courage, I know!) and it can be hit-or-miss, but once you start making some friends and meeting people, you will start to meet more and more, and the ball sort of starts to roll on its own Smile

The hardest step is the first one, once you get going it should become more natural, and more fun!

Jackalope · **10-28-2014, 04:40 PM**

(10-28-2014, 04:24 PM)Aya Wrote: Wonderful! Welcome to RP! ^_^

Hmm, I've never offered this sort of advice before, but I'll give it a shot!

The first thing I would do is try to think of a very basic background (honestly I think backgrounds are somewhat overrated, though I do often put quite a bit of work into them, its really the in-character interactions that take place from the moment RP begins with the character that define him or her, rather than the background one may write!)Â

I would not think of this in terms of a story, or in terms of a goal or objective.Â I would just think of it in terms of giving your guy a little bit to know about himself, and a little bit to talk about.

What area of Eorzea is he from?
One of the main city states?Â A small town? Forest, sea, mining, desert, trade post, maybe just a farm or vinyard? Etc?

What did his parents do?
This may be related to what is above: craftsman, or peasants, or soldiers, or police, etc.

Is his family still alive?
Most people prefer their characters to have no old ties, I kind of like the drama that still having a living family can add

What sort of education does he have?
Did he plan to follow in the foosteps of his parents? Was he an apprentice? Did he go to sea?Â Has he worked on the family farm?

What is he doing now?
Is he an adventurer? A mercenary? Just a guy off on his own for the first time?

Even the most basic answers to these questions will give you an idea who your character is, and that can be helpful!

Then, it comes to getting started with RP!Â As I have suggested in other threads, the best way to get started is just light, random RP to kind of get your feet wet, and learn generally how to interact with people, and learn how your character interacts with people.Â Go to an RP hotspot (I suggest the Quick Sand in Ul'dah, but there are other areas you may find people!) and politely try to start conversations.Â Try to introduce yourself, and meet people.Â It takes a little bit of outgoingness (which can take courage, I know!) and it can be hit-or-miss, but once you start making some friends and meeting people, you will start to meet more and more, and the ball sort of starts to roll on its own

The hardest step is the first one, once you get going it should become more natural, and more fun!

What is your characters background if you don't mind me asking Smile

Aya · **10-28-2014, 04:57 PM**

(10-28-2014, 04:40 PM)Jackalope Wrote: What is your characters background if you don't mind me asking

Oh! I can answer the same questions I proposed!

What area of Eorzea is she from?
She was born in Ala Mhigo, and became a refugee when the city was attacked by the Empire.Â She moved about as a refugee for years, before finally settling in Ishgard where she remained until just before FF XIV's release!

What did her parents do?
Her parents were Ala Mhigan aristocrats (or nobles).Â Her father was a warrior, who lead his retinue of men in battle.Â When they left the city they became refugees like everyone else, but have desperately clung to the idea of who they once were.

Is his family still alive?
Yes, both of her parents, both of her brothers, and her adopted sister all are alive, and relatively well, in Ishgard (living with distant relatives, except for her brother Osvald who has started off on his own).

What sort of education does she have?
Her parents tried to educate her as she would have been raised in Ala Mhigo, but most useful things she learned as a child on the streets.Â She became an unruly teenager, and most of what she does well, she learned while a dancer during her teenage years.Â She has continued to learn since leaving Ishgard as well.

What is she doing now?
She's a barmaid at the Quick Sand!

Coatleque · **10-28-2014, 04:57 PM**

(10-28-2014, 04:40 PM)Jackalope Wrote: What is your characters background if you don't mind me asking

If you click the link at the top of the page to the "WIKI", you can brows player character wiki pages from there. A lot of us have a multitude of information on character backgrounds posted there, as well as current relationships and RP events they have participated in.

The server has a continuing story all to it's own that thrives through the community.

Aya · **10-28-2014, 04:58 PM**

(10-28-2014, 04:57 PM)Coatleque Wrote:
(10-28-2014, 04:40 PM)Jackalope Wrote: What is your characters background if you don't mind me asking

If you click the link at the top of the page to the "WIKI", you can brows player character wiki pages from there. Â A lot of us have a multitude of information on character backgrounds posted there, as well as current relationships and RP events they have participated in.

The server has a continuing story all to it's own that thrives through the community.

So true! You can peruse it and see what people have done Smile

Jackalope · **10-28-2014, 05:01 PM**

I also read somewhere on here about killing player characters? Like how does that work, also some of the stuff I've read I didn't know was possible to do in the game

Aya · **10-28-2014, 05:06 PM**

(10-28-2014, 05:01 PM)Jackalope Wrote: I also read somewhere on here about killing player characters? Like how does that work, also some of the stuff I've read I didn't know was possible to do in the game

The world of RP lives outside and within the game itself.Â Although your characters move about, and stand within the game, and we use the in-game channels for communication (/say, /em, /tell) the world our character's reside in is much more expansive than the game, and things often (and regularly) occur that cannot be captured within the limits of the game itself.Â This is part of what makes Roleplaying a much more immersive experience than just playing the game.

A character dying is a death in this in-character realm of RP, rather than a death within the game itself.Â It can occur within the midst of events being described and carried about by role-players.

These sorts of actions are often the part of pre-planned scenarios (as was the case in the most recent IC death I know of), although the outcome is unknown and often random rolling is used to help resolve what actually happens (like in dungeons and dragons if you have ever played).

But, generally speaking, in free-form Roleplay, nothing can happen to your character that you do not assent to.Â That's kind of the foundation of the entire concept.Â If you do not want your character to die, he won't (that said, this is opening an entire can of worms, best not opened in a welcome thread, we have an older thread discussing the issue of whether or not players should be willing to let their characters die, if you're really curious about that discussion!).

Coatleque · **10-28-2014, 05:07 PM**

(10-28-2014, 05:01 PM)Jackalope Wrote: I also read somewhere on here about killing player characters? Like how does that work, also some of the stuff I've read I didn't know was possible to do in the game

That's more of an advanced topic. Until you become more comfortable with role-playing in general, you should just know that you cannot kill someone else, and they cannot kill you. It's considered rude to assume that much control over someone elses character.

For more advanced RP stories, killing off a character is generally agreed upon by everyone involved as this can be a very dramatic plot hook.

Jackalope · **10-28-2014, 05:15 PM**

So for example I could say Jack is one of Gaius Baelsars sons who was cast out of the Garlean Empire after the attempt on his fathers life for killing his Eorzean mother?

Also Aya I read yours do you literally spend all your play time in the quicksand?

Aya · **10-28-2014, 05:22 PM**

(10-28-2014, 05:15 PM)Jackalope Wrote: So for example I could say Jack is one of Gaius Baelsars sons who was cast out of the Garlean Empire after the attempt on his fathers life for killing his Eorzean mother?

Also Aya I read yours do you literally spend all your play time in the quicksand?

You could, but its generally a bad idea to associate your character with any story character.Â If you were playing a Star War's game, you wouldn't get very far claiming to be Luke and Leia's unknown TRIPLET sibling!Â And the same sort of thing applies in any MMO RP.Â

There are quite a few Garlean RPers about, but that presents its own challenges and problems.Â As a beginning RPer I would stick to a much simpler concept.Â Pick a city-state to be from, and go from there~~

As for my RP, I spend a lot of time in the Quick Sand, but not as much as I used to.Â For one, I don't play the game all the time, second I do want to play the game itself a little bit when I do, and lastly I do get out of Ul'dah to do other things!Â You can assume that every character does things when their players are not playing them.Â They live every-day lives, just like real people do!

There was a time when I spent 3-4 nights a week RPing in the Quick Sand, now its only 1-2, but I still treat it as Aya's day job Smile

Coatleque · **10-28-2014, 05:23 PM**

(10-28-2014, 05:15 PM)Jackalope Wrote: So for example I could say Jack is one of Gaius Baelsars sons who was cast out of the Garlean Empire after the attempt on his fathers life for killing his Eorzean mother?

You could go that route, potentially.
For a first character, though, I would recommend keeping things simple. Especially if you are new to RP. The more extraordinary you make your character, the more people are going to question him, the more explaining you will have to do up front.

Jackalope · **10-28-2014, 06:17 PM**

Im terrible at writing btw but I've got this so far, rip it apart and critique Tongue

Jack Artorias

20

Personality: Jack is a very closed of person and rarely speaks unless needed to, he is incredibly quick to anger if something isn't going his way. When fighting he uses this anger to fuel him in battle which usually gives him the upper hand as he is relentless when enraged. Jack cares only about himself and his survival, if he is to aid someone in a quest he has to know he's getting something for his troubles. He firmly believes the Garlean Empire is the far more military capable of the factions, however due to the war couldn't get passage there to join them.Â

Strengths: Realistic, Skilled fighter, Aggressive, Good judge of character, Great Leadership skills (methods are controversial) and confident.

Weaknesses: Bad with people, vain, untrusting and little to no empathy.

Family: Father (Unknown) Mother (Deceased) Sister (Deceased)

Story: Jack wasn't always like this, he grew up in a small village not far from Black Brush Station with his mother and older sister. He never knew his father and his mother refused to ever speak of him. He lived in the village for 17 fairy peaceful years, a few bandits here and there nothing to bad, at the age of 15 he was already capable enough to fight the bandits that attacked the village. He was trained by an old war veteran who fought against the Garleans in the war. Shortly after his seventeenth birthday his village was attacked by something much worse than bandits, the village had been warned about the Amalji kidnapping people but didn't have the manpower or resources to properly set up a defence. When the Amalji came they razed the village to the ground killing or taking everyone there, Jack and his sister at the time were harvesting water from the nearby cactuars. Unfortunately the Amalji fire drakes where left near the same location, after seeing the flames Jacks sister started running toward the village which attracted the drakes, Jack was to terrified to follow and witnessed his sister devoured by the drakes... Being the sole survivor of an unimportant village nobody really cared about Jack so he was simply thrown in with the masses of refuges. The next three years of Jacks life became all about survival, his sword skills improved dramatically due to all the fights that broke out over provisions, he would also actively seek small bandit camps to slaughter and steal from.

Aya · **10-28-2014, 07:40 PM**

That sounds like a good place to start! ^_^

Now you have to be not-quiet enough to actually get out and RP some ^_^

New new new

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes