(06-05-2015, 01:40 PM)Terra Wrote: I am a bit scared of the things I've heard of Balmung "always being in character".
I can tell you straight up that this is not true. There are some players who like to be "always in character," but they usually note as such in their character note. I've done plenty of goofball things OOC while running around - from creeper shots on AFK people using oddball armor to hug deliveries to being a disapproving grandpa.
I'm not entirely sure what instances you speak of when you mention NPCing, but I'm going to guess it's someone either a.) using their character as an NPC for someone else's RP or event, or b.) using emotes and other methods to imply that someone other than your character (the NPC) is doing something. For example, I've often emoted what Chachan's pet baby behemoth Gran is doing during a scene.
* Chachanji Gegenji | Gran snorts idly at the leg of the new arrival. Finding nothing overly interesting about them, he turns up his little porcine nose and struts off to look for something more interesting.
As for finding the RP, there's many ways to do it. Going to the Quicksand for some walkup RP is always an option, and you might stumble across people doing open world RP that you can jump in on (though I recommend sending a /tell first to see if they're open to new additions). In addition, you can utilize the Balmung Events and Linkshells sections on these vary forums to find events and people that you might enjoy RPing in or with, respectively. And, of course, there's always just finding people in-game/on the forums/on the wiki that you think might be fun to interact with and either try sending them a /tell in game or a PM here to try and set something up.
Shout chat is usually just for OOC stuff, I've seen. People just shooting the breeze or being goofy, or passing along information like a nearby Hunt. As for the Party Finder, I don't usually use it... but I think I've seen an RP or two posted in there.
It's definitely an imposing thing to get into. I was very nervous and intimidated when I started, lurking around the Quicksand on the meager hopes someone would pay attention to me. However, there's no shortage of interesting players and characters to interact with, so I'm sure you'll find someone (or someones) to have fun with.
... Hope that helps.