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Cato · **10-24-2013, 07:54 AM**

I've found it rather hard to break into the RPing scene myself, with the exception of a handful of individuals and my current guild who welcomed me with open arms. It's very easy to feel like you're falling through a net in this game, especially when a lot of RPers have already settled down and forged enough friendships and contacts to tide them over to the point where they don't actively open up to perceived outsiders.

Then again I also overestimated my own enthusiasm to help shape some of the projects I tried to set up and get involved in, largely due to the real world becoming unexpectedly busy to the point where once I did manage to sink my teeth into FFXIV properly I ended up focusing more upon the PvE aspects of the game itself.

Still, feel free to poke me in-game - even if it's just for a friendly chat!

embergrin · **10-24-2013, 10:51 AM**

I don't know how long you've been RPing, so this may be old news to you, but these are things I've learned and observed through my experiences. I hope it doesn't come off as preachy, and if these are things you already know, feel free to ignore! Maybe it'll help a passerby who's new to RPing.

I think #2 depends entirely on what kind of player you are. If you're purely a reactionary player, you'll probably have a tougher time. But it's entirely possible to have a quiet character that drives a scene! My main, for instance, is also the quiet type. She's not hyperactive, peppy, or boisterously loud. However, she's very curious. She'll ask questions, pick up/touch things that aren't hers, or she'll react to something with notable body language that other characters can respond to.

Quiet characters have a stigma because, ususally, they don't give their partners much to react to. When you're stuck with a partner like that, it's boring and hard to play with. The key is to provide substance. "If I got this from my partner, how could I react to it?" is a good question to ask yourself when you're typing up replies. It doesn't always work, as sometimes your partner will pass up what you think is an obvious hook, and that's fine. It happens. Still, you'll want to at least try to give your partner something to work with, and it's okay to fall back on introspection, body language, and facial expressions to clue you partner in to how your character is feeling. Even quiet characters will almost always have an emotional outburst at some point, whether good or bad, which can be good for a hook. Just avoid being the "sitting in a corner and brooding" type, because approaching a character that comes across as hostile/aloof/having a lot of emotional baggage isn't an appealing choice. For me, anyway. It's a tall order for a stranger to take on.

You'll also want to evaluate how your RP looks. It seems nitpicky, but a clean appearance can actually work wonders.

Something like Elise burst through door, announcing, "I made cookies for everyone!" She neglected to mention they were burnt. looks more appealing than Elise burst through the door........ she announced "i made cookies for everyone!!!!!" She neglected to mention they were burnt.....

Aside from that, it's really just a matter of finding people you mesh well with. Get close to people OOC, they'll be more likely to RP with you. Don't just repeatedly ask them for a scene, because that can come off as pestering; get to know them, ask them about their characters, ask what they're doing or would like to accomplish with them. And like another user mentioned, a lot of RPers are shy and/or don't want to bother you. Or you run in to issues of flakiness. Considering many MMO players often have jobs, school, and/or children, that's not a surprise. You just have to keep on going until you find people that stick. It can take a while. MMOs have always taken me the longest to break in to.

With all that said, I do have an alt on Balmung. If you want to try a scene with her, just drop me a line.

K'nahli · **10-24-2013, 11:05 AM**

Oh, please, please consider becoming involved with our Moonkeeper side! I'd love to get the chance to meet you in RP. My miqo'te and yours likely won't get along too well since you declared she has a sour opinion about Sunseekers(and I think this will only reinforce her notion against Moonkeepers since she we have been taught not to trust them) but if they were in a situation where they were encouraged/"forced" to meetÂ continuously then it could turn out interesting ^^"

If that doesn't work I could try and see if any of my hy'urs could work with you. My only fear is(and this applies to my miqo'te too) that they might be a bit boring or stale for you. I am not very knowledgeable about lore after all.

TheLastCandle · **10-24-2013, 11:26 AM**

There are some extremely insightful posts here. The only thing I'll add is: OOC communication can be important. For some, it needs to be consistent in order to establish that sense of trust. It might not even take that long; with my RP partner, all it took was a few days of OOC and IC conversation for me to enter my comfort zone. Your mileage may vary, but my advice is to not be afraid to approach OOC where warranted.

ArmachiA · **10-24-2013, 12:18 PM**

I'm actually writing a pretty heavy plotline with 3-4 other people on the "Writing" staff (We kinda consider ourselves GMs, it's a really complicated story) that is getting underway currently with The Night Blades and the Grim Echo (Though we want to expand it to other people/LS's eventually) and I have a ... one relatively popular character (Subjective, still like 85% of the rp community has no idea who she is) so maybe I can answer a few questions.

When I play a female character, I get much more roleplay. Instantly with the same or other groups.
While this CAN be true, the most popular person in my circle is actually a Miqote male. He is just really, really, popular among the circles he and I tend to inhabit. And when new people show up, he tends to grab attention fairly quickly. We make fun of him, but he just has a super charismatic character.
I think females are probably more popular in general though because female characters tend to be more interested in idle chit chat, making friends, and such. I've noticed a lot of male characters are either A. "I don't like them bars RPs, gonna stay out and hang with my circle." or B. "Trying to get a girlfriend." the latter also explaining why girls are more popular Tongue

. Obviously, this isn't to say all of them are like that (or that girls aren't like that either, let me tell you some stories bout my super popular friend up there) but it's just a trend I've noticed since I started RPing in MMOs 10 years ago.

People don't want to roleplay with quiet bookish characters, or characters who are more neutral with their emotions. People want a character who over-reacts or is vibrant about X, Y, Z.
MMO's are a very different kind of RP then Table Top games. People in MMOs aren't forced to interact with your character or are thrusted into a plotline with them. Because of this MMO RP is like the real world, the super friendly, or super manipulative (Depending on evil or good Tongue

) characters - like people - tend to stand out more. A stand offish, bookish character isn't going to get noticed as easily in MMO RP just like they aren't noticed in Real life. Stand-offish people tend to have a smaller circle of friends than more open, charismatic people - who have very large circles. This is normal and if you want to play that KIND of character that's what's going to happen. Friendly people are easier to relate with, people don't have to jump through millions of hoops to get to know them. This is coming from someone who plays BOTH kinds of characters.
Armi is just way more popular than Loki at this point in the game. Armi is awkward and really wants friends, so she runs head first into large crowds to try to talk to people - often with hilarious results. She is the kind of character where it's easy to let your defenses down. She's harmless and she likes most people and people respond to her. I've gotten tells saying how adorable the character is, she has people romantically interested in her, and (though she doesn't even realize it) she has a ton of friends - inside and outside of my usually circle. I can't RP her shy though, she isn't as approachable shy, so I make her "shy" (Blushes in large crowds, blushes if she's touched by a man, wrings her hands together, backs away from the crowd a bit when new people show up, but never stops talking) and it comes across.
Loki is almost the opposite. She would rather read books than talk to most people, when she does talk it's usually in a dry, monotone voice and she's saying something cynical. Loki doesn't want, or need, popularity. She has her small circle of friends and she's perfectly okay with that. Most people she meets at events she may forget. The biggest thing I give her to interact with people is that she is a flirt and like Alcohol. Loki is much much harder to get to know, though, and like 95% of people won't try. And that's okay, it doesn't make sense for them too. I'll still rp her in large crowds or at events, but I understand the character I'm rolling with. People don't respond to people like her easily (It does happen, Loki does make friends, just not as easily as Armi).
When I used to play Tabletop games, I always rolled characters like Loki, and it worked because that group was forced to interact with me. They had to, the GM forced them. There's nothing like that here.

If I offer to help it is instantly pushed aside for someone.
I'm not sure on this one, but maybe they were in the middle of a giant story? I know that like a week ago in Ul'dah, Armi was stabbed by our big bad guy and the chaos of that sent a lot of people involved in that storyline into a tizzy. We had a few people come over and ask what the issue was, but as they didn't know what happened either no one had answers. A few walked away, probably upset we couldn't explain beyond "Chick got stabbed" but a few people actually hung out with us till the plotline was over - not so much worrying about the back story but more about that moment.
Sometimes it's pretty hard to tell strangers whats going on. Those involved are worried about those not involved judging them for the story ("Ugh this Armi girl got stab, how attention whore-y") or will argue with them about lore (Has happened in THIS GAME) or just not agree that is something that would happen (We were in Ul'dah, I'm sure some people were like "The guards would have stopped that *scoff*") I work fairly hard on this plotline - probably about 6-7 hours a day trying to keep it organized and planned out, it only takes ONE person who doesn't agree with what your doing to derail it. It can be scary. It's better when you get stabbed to go to people also involved - like your FC mates - because there is no judgement. They know exactly what happened and they already agreed to the story. Outsiders didn't agree and they don't have to.
Above I said I was to get more people/LS's involved. Dennthota, who plays a bad guy alt with us, has been putting feelers out there about using our Garleans in one shot stories and small plotlines. I think that's whats going to work best for our villains. Our big story expanding to people who would have to be pretty dedicated to it (And not give up on it halfway through) would be really hard, though we treat the plotlines as more episodic than a constant narrative (So we can take breaks from the Grimdark). However, doing one-shot stories with the community would be very feasible and less scary.
I really don't think it's a hatred of you wanting to get involved, but more of a fear of judgement coming from you.

If I set up plot, it is put aside for other rp with other people.
This can take FOREVER. Like, a really long time to get people on the same page as you. Our plotline above? Only just started about 2 weeks ago. We spent the rest of the time RPing introductions and getting to know each other and working on our own thing. It only started BY ACCIDENT. Honestly, it really wouldn't have kicked off at all if our characters hadn't cared about each other in someway. The character introductions and character building were essential for the thing to even get off the ground.
But it was slow. It was so slow. It's STILL slow. We're only in the "introduce the plot and the villains" part. Getting everyone on the same page is mindbogglingly slow. Every character has their own agenda, and I have to make sure that agenda is being moved forward - even a little bit - for someone to be interested. Selfless RP is rare.

Even after introducing myself and roleplaying for a few god hours, I wont be contacted again for further roleplay - by anyone.
I never get contacted for one-on-one sessions after meeting and getting along with someone. Usually I just accidentally see them in the same area and rp with them again... are you supposed to contact people?

I've trialed runnng a few plots for myself and others to get involved with such as:

IC Dungeons runs for 'research' or adventuring purposes.
A plot dealing with poachers and chocobo chick thieves.
Researching Leviathan.

I think this kinda goes with above and the mentality of "Why would my character be there?" to which most of the time the answer is "They wouldn't." and while some people will Meta their character a bit to work around it, most people will not.

You have to be extremely patient. Super patient. THE MOST PATEINT. lol.
I'm a guild leader, so it's probably a lot easier to shove my ideas in people's faces - I can't even imagine how hard it would be for people who don't have that kind of luck.

On OOC Communication as said above: OOC Communication is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. The most important. Unbelievably important. There are a lot of people involved in the story I'm writing for. Most of them have talked to me OOCly about it. I send tells to anyone who may get hurt, or has a prominent part in the story, to get their boundaries and their permission.

When one guy burst in with 3 other guys to fight two people, one of whom was drugged? Talked about the entire time. Where the arrows hit, the dice rolls failures/successes, if they could be kidnapped, everything was talked bout while the fight was occurring, to make sure everyone was comfortable (And yes we even had to get permission to drug one of the people above).

Armi getting stabbed in the Middle of Ul'dah? The line that was laid out to me was that Fillion and Armi would just talk, but I gave him my permission to hurt her if he needed to get out of there, and he did. We talked about it before hand, though not what would happen specifically.

I just did a plot where a bunch of bombs went of and I'd say 10 people were involved. Before hand I said "If you go to this event there is a chance your character may be hurt. If that is uncomfortable to you, don't go." We mapped out how many people should go, the logistics, etc before hand and relayed them to people.

It's so much work, but it has to be done.

All that said, there should be a thread or something about wanting to do plotlines or showing your plotline so people can maybe get involved. Or something.

Nako Vesh · **10-24-2013, 03:02 PM**

(10-24-2013, 11:05 AM)K Wrote: Oh, please, please consider becoming involved with our Moonkeeper side!

I wasn't aware the Hipparion tribe had a Keeper branch? How does that work exactly? :o

Naunet · **10-24-2013, 03:10 PM**

(10-24-2013, 03:02 PM)Nako Vesh Wrote:
(10-24-2013, 11:05 AM)K Wrote: Oh, please, please consider becoming involved with our Moonkeeper side!

I wasn't aware the Hipparion tribe had a Keeper branch? How does that work exactly? :o

Several generations ago, one of our nunhs broke off to follow a Keeper lady, and the tribe cut him from their ranks. He went on to establish a Keeper family in the Shroud.

There is actually a second, extremely short Keeper branch as well that occurred when a tia was exiled and fell in with a Keeper. He ended up getting himself killed but not before siring a couple children, all but one of whom have died.

Nako Vesh · **10-24-2013, 04:51 PM**

(10-24-2013, 03:10 PM)Naunet Wrote:
(10-24-2013, 03:02 PM)Nako Vesh Wrote:
(10-24-2013, 11:05 AM)K Wrote: Oh, please, please consider becoming involved with our Moonkeeper side!

I wasn't aware the Hipparion tribe had a Keeper branch? How does that work exactly? :o

Several generations ago, one of our nunhs broke off to follow a Keeper lady, and the tribe cut him from their ranks. He went on to establish a Keeper family in the Shroud.

There is actually a second, extremely short Keeper branch as well that occurred when a tia was exiled and fell in with a Keeper. He ended up getting himself killed but not before siring a couple children, all but one of whom have died.

That's really cool! Are there people currently RPing the Keeper branch?

Naunet · **10-24-2013, 05:23 PM**

(10-24-2013, 04:51 PM)Nako Vesh Wrote: That's really cool! Are there people currently RPing the Keeper branch?

Khaze'to and one other were RPing within first Keeper branch, but I think real life caught up to at least one of them as I haven't seen them around in a bit save for in Skype. You might be able to PM him on the RPC or somesuch!

The sole survivor of the second branch I mentioned is currently RPed by Twinflame.

Nako Vesh · **10-24-2013, 06:53 PM**

(10-24-2013, 05:23 PM)Naunet Wrote:
(10-24-2013, 04:51 PM)Nako Vesh Wrote: That's really cool! Are there people currently RPing the Keeper branch?

Khaze'to and one other were RPing within first Keeper branch, but I think real life caught up to at least one of them as I haven't seen them around in a bit save for in Skype. You might be able to PM him on the RPC or somesuch!

The sole survivor of the second branch I mentioned is currently RPed by Twinflame.

Thanks for the info.

As for the OP, I've been looking for tribal Keeper RP myself. My Keeper, Nako, is currently out exploring the world, but still has a close bond with her family and traditions in the Shroud. She's a light hearted, often silly white knight type character, so I dunno if that works for you, but I'd be happy to RP!

Naunet · **10-24-2013, 07:36 PM**

(10-24-2013, 06:53 PM)Nako Vesh Wrote: Thanks for the info.

To clarify, as I just checked my family tree records, the names of PC characters in the Zhwan family are Khaze'to Zhwan, Tyakha Zhwan, and Kinra Zhwan. I dunno if that helps. ^^; But I just thought I'd make sure my info was accurate haha.

Shae'ra · **10-24-2013, 07:37 PM**

When I play a female character, I get much more roleplay. Instantly with the same or other groups.

I find this rather interesting and confusing as in other communities I have seen it the other way around. I really cannot give input into this as I haven't played female characters. Many others above me have given good reasonings however that I could see being very valid aspects in the community.

People don't want to roleplay with quiet bookish characters, or characters who are more neutral with their emotions. People want a character who over-reacts or is vibrant about X, Y, Z.

Unless there is a close OOC relationship first that leads into it, I have only really roleplayed well with this kind of character before (Dieuvont) because we knew each other from GW2 before coming here. I tried to play a more reserved character in the beginning (Nahv'ir) and ended up changing over to Shae'ra because it was very hard to interact with others. As Lament mentioned, it's harder to roleplay with these type characters because the person has to want to know more enough to stick around and poke and pride. It can be hard when you feel like you are leading everything, however, characters of this type can do really well once they learn to help carry things along. (Example: Just answering questions and nothing more cuts off whereas answering then questioning or answering then bringing up more information to go off of is helping to carry the RP)

If I offer to help it is instantly pushed aside for someone.

I think here it depends what kind of help. Are you purposing to heal someone? I am personally not a fan of total healing (as IC actions = IC consequences to me ) If my character gets hurt, he has to live with it and deal with it: so I will dismiss healing assistance. Also, some people don't want help if they think that they're going to be replaced in the roleplay scenario. I think here it depends on the person and what kind of help is being offered.

If I set up plot, it is put aside for other rp with other people.

As someone who comes up with plots to run, I know this can be annoying at times. But I find it's best to hook up on skype and run a detailed plot (this is for plots that are like stories. I have one plot I ran with 3 others that I put into word processor afterward and turned out to be 36 pages long, single spaced.) This way you can roleplay over the course of a few days and deem it as something that doesn't happen until the roleplay ends. This way, any roleplay during when the plot is going isn't effected by the plot (injuries, knowledge, etc).

Even after introducing myself and roleplaying for a few good hours, I wont be contacted again for further roleplay - by anyone.

It happens. It takes a while and several times of roleplaying to get into where people call back upon you. Most people call upon guild mates (fc mates) first before newer people that they have met unless they have a 'need' for you.

I've trialed runnng a few plots for myself and others to get involved with such as:

IC Dungeons runs for 'research' or adventuring purposes.
A plot dealing with poachers and chocobo chick thieves.
Researching Leviathan.

Take to mind that not everyone can really do IC dungeon runs. Unfortunately, I am one of them. I am no good at one-liners or quick typing (I like my details) and IC dungeons are quick, fast paced and there is little actual roleplay going on - specially since, as Val mentioned, the timers are eating away on the side before you get kicked.

I think you have good ideas for things, just might not be finding the right people thus far for them. Perhaps making a listing of the plot, say the Researching Leviathan one, you could get people who are interested on the forums and then work a way into the game. Example: Say 5 people are interested in it, then have it be that they found out about the task from a (npc) boy/girl who was going around asking questions about Leviathan, when they mentioned that they were trying to do research, said NPC could ask if the RPer's character wanted to help on the research - then there. Just make sure to include server and available times. So you don't have people who can never log in at the same time due to timezones.

Is there anything people can tell me that wont mean I have to rewrite my Keeper male?

All I can say is to keep at it and find a LS to build up connections in. It takes a while to build them up, but it's do-able. I would only rewrite your character if you personally desire it, like I needed to redo Nahv'ir into Shae'ra because I wasn't enjoying Nahv'ir's style anyway. Don't change your character for other people otherwise you might not even enjoy the RP you get if you don't like roleplaying the character.

cuideag · **10-24-2013, 07:42 PM**

Quote:

Even after introducing myself and roleplaying for a few god hours, I wont be contacted again for further roleplay - by anyone.

I have a hard time with this mainly because I am terrified of being seen as annoying or irritating. And folks will tell me that it's okaay, they don't mind, etc. but I just can't. ~___~ Personal anxiety issues are really hard to break, yo.

Risheid · **10-24-2013, 08:02 PM**

(10-24-2013, 07:42 PM)cuideag Wrote:
Quote:

Even after introducing myself and roleplaying for a few god hours, I wont be contacted again for further roleplay - by anyone.

I have a hard time with this mainly because I am terrified of being seen as annoying or irritating. And folks will tell me that it's okaay, they don't mind, etc. but I just can't. ~___~ Personal anxiety issues are really hard to break, yo.

I have the same exact issue. As much as I'd love to continually RP out a storyline with people, I find it a bit hard to initiate it. (To be fair, my character also has difficulty starting up conversations.)

Erik Mynhier · **10-24-2013, 08:03 PM**

I love RPing with guys in guy characters. Whether play by girls or not, there are tons of girls, especially kitties. Sometimes I like to RP with bros, doing bro-fights in taverns and or bro-adventures IC. Its hard to find guys who want to go bro out. Look me up and we'll go RP in the Quicksand and pick up chicks IC. I'll be your wingman, come at me bro.

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