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K'nahli · **09-02-2013, 01:08 PM**

Haha, I do that as well. I tend to have two versions of a story so I can follow the main storyline as if it were a parallel version to my RP version because I do fully enjoy it and don't want to intentionally numb myself to it just because my characters aren't heroes nor because they aren't supposed to be there or special for that matter.

Apologies for asking, Wizard, but could you clarify to me what exactly your idea is then? Are you against having a global goal and situation because it excludes new RPers and suggest that those scenes should be interpreted some other way by us as individuals(but also in a way that won't collide)?

I ask because I'd really like this idea and even if we don't adapt the in-game leadership concept then I still think we need OOC coordinators to maintain everything to make sure nothing falls out of line with previous RP or peoples' interests.

Cato · **09-02-2013, 01:32 PM**

I've always had something of an allergy to authority in role-play. Many people will claim that it can be done tastefully but in every case someone is being screwed over. In many cases the role-players dictacting what is 'good etiquette' or 'fanon and canon' are pretty popular and excellent at PR. Yet they're also rather arrogant, spiteful and stuck in their ways - sometimes going so far as to encourage their zealous followers to drive a wedge between themselves and anyone who doesn't fawn over their perceived authority or character's supposed feats of strength and heroism.

It's not just an issue with WoW, either. I've seen it happen in every MMO that I've role-played in to the point where the only authority my characters answer to is NPC's of my choosing. I'm certainly not paying to be seen as an extra in someone else's power fantasy nor would I expect anyone else to answer to my character. The exception being if people want to go down that route, of course - but they certainly shouldn't be expecting others to bow down in front of their guild leader or friends.

Another major issue is that many popular players tend to take an increasing number of liberties with the canon lore simply because they can usually get away with it. It's notoriously difficult to convince a popular role-player to tone down their chosen concept or be a team player if they have dozens of loyal friends lurking in the shadows ready to white knight them regardless of what the damage they may be inflicting.

Naunet · **09-02-2013, 01:42 PM**

(09-02-2013, 01:32 PM)Theodric Brandt Wrote: Another major issue is that many popular players tend to take an increasing number of liberties with the canon lore simply because they can usually get away with it. It's notoriously difficult to convince a popular role-player to tone down their chosen concept or be a team player if they have dozens of loyal friends lurking in the shadows ready to white knight them regardless of what the damage they may be inflicting.

Heh, this reminds me of one of the "server princesses" on Ravenholdt back when I played WoW who roleplayed that she and her family owned the Sunwell. Hilarious! Big Grin

Â Twin and I even tried to play along with that, as our characters needed to break into the Sunwell at one point to do a Very Important Thing (our characters were undead, so good luck getting let in the front door hah). We asked her if she wanted to RP with us, and she just flat out said "Nope, I'd never let you in!"

Oh well. That was some fun RP we had without her!

FreelanceWizard · **09-02-2013, 01:54 PM**

(09-02-2013, 01:08 PM)Knahli Wrote: Apologies for asking, Wizard, but could you clarify to me what exactly your idea is then? Are you against having a global goal and situation because it excludes new RPers and suggest that those scenes should be interpreted some other way by us as individuals(but also in a way that won't collide)?

Yes, that's exactly it. I think that individual players should make generic or exclude from their RPed storylines those things in the SE storyline that only one, or only a small group of characters can do. For example, taking down Nael was something that "some heroes did" and that you heard about -- not something that any PC did. If you wanted to do that content IC, you'd just say you were taking on some other ranking Garlean official who'd been Tempered. If in the storyline, your character is invited to a state dinner with the Admiral, either that doesn't happen or your character just received some honor from Limsa Lominsa for service as an adventurer, possibly at a dinner. In contrast, things that any PC can do or be (have the Echo, fight a Primal, be at Carteneau) can be RPed as they're presented by the game's story.

With this approach, you don't need IC or OOC coordinators; players decide for themselves where the "bright line" is, and if someone goes too far? Well, you can just RP that they're crazy, accept it as true, or ignore it as you and your character see fit. The power lies in the hands of the players to decide to what they want to consent.

The reason I'm opposed to deciding that some characters get to do some special things in the plot is that it's ultimately exclusionary to newer players, per the example I provided. It's also exclusionary to more introverted players, those who aren't well-liked in the community, and even those who simply aren't on these forums. I'm especially opposed to "community fanon" that drives the plot forward, as it impacts the ability of any player to play what they want, so long as it coincides with the lore established by SE. It also establishes that some characters are the "main characters," and others are merely extras in their story. I'm wildly opposed to any "community fanon" that established "player-run" areas, positions of power, "approved" interpretations of lore, and the like, because that establishes a hierarchy of power in the RP community and is exceedingly exclusionary to new players.

Now, all that said, of course any group of players can do whatever they like. However, if a large enough group of people get behind the idea, they inevitably cause a schism in the RP community between those who accept the asserted OOC authority to establish who did what in the main scenario quest and those who state that no one has that power except for SE. These schisms are obscenely ugly and tend to rip communities apart. That's why I feel it's unwise to go down this road. IMO, those who want to do this should form their own FC or LS and keep their PC-driven interpretation of the story private; it shouldn't leak out into RP with others. Some very successful guilds have done this in the past, so it's not impossible.

To turn this full circle, with regards to large-scale "server-wide" RP story arcs, the biggest problem those have is getting anyone to agree on them. We have FCs that can't even agree on the tone of the setting; getting them to agree on a story arc is probably nigh on impossible. Smile

The best approach, I think, is to offer a place where people can say, "You may have heard that this happened," and let others approach if they want to get involved or choose to take it IC, or not, as they see fit. I think the Tonberry's Lantern fits that bill exactly.

Darkfae · **09-02-2013, 06:30 PM**

I'm still debating on how I want to relate Summoner IC.

While Ifrit is taken down with common frequency, it didn't strike me that Titan was taken down all that often, and Garuda is definitely not a common summoning, given all the stuff the Ixal had to do first.

I've considered the idea of someone with a strong Echo and connection to the elementals of the Twelveswood being able to summon elementals, and have them not be Egi...but that's not exactly along the lines of canon. In Kyma's case, his strongest IC elemental affinity is Water, followed by Wind, so I'd want to be able to use the Garuda-Egi IC somehow. I just don't see much of any other way to make it work, sort of claiming he fought Garuda; he's pretty young, so fighting the summoning prior to the current story one might not be viable either.

Aside from that, I agree that if elements are selected and used tastefully, in a manner that makes things inclusive for other RPers and does not block them from using that lore in their story as well.

Sometimes, doing an "exact opposite" from the storyline is fun too. Claire is going to have tried to join the Scions, but be utterly rejected from their ranks due to how focused on revenge she is; she discovers who they are, they learn who she is, and Thancred (since she met him a few times in 1.0 story) will tell her she can come back when she starts fighting for the "right reasons" - and she never does start fighting for the "right reasons", as she believes her reason is right already.

Naunet · **09-02-2013, 09:28 PM**

I may be wrong here, but I was under the impression that the things a summoner calls are... well, less than the actual primal. Couldn't you just be summoning a sliver of Ifrit et al?

Darkfae · **09-02-2013, 10:29 PM**

(09-02-2013, 09:28 PM)Naunet Wrote: I may be wrong here, but I was under the impression that the things a summoner calls are... well, less than the actual primal. Couldn't you just be summoning a sliver of Ifrit et al?

They are slivers of the Primals butÂ in order to even have one, you have to have defeated that Primal, according to the first Summoner quest. =(

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Main Storyline: A Matter of Taste, or RP Etiquette?

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