Pitfalls to Avoid:
1. Godmoding - This is the over-powering of one's character in some way that bends or breaks the rules of nature entirely. Â This may manifest itself as invincibility, immortality, some sort of extreme influence, or unnatural or supernatural powers that interfere with the natural laws fo Hydaelyn. Â Godmode will often conflict with the game's lore in some way. Â The guideline here is to keep things realistic and remember that any ability your character exhibits should be on par overall with what is accepted as the norm. Â It also poses some questions in a world where there are spells and where magic may enhance your character in some ways. Â For instance RPing a skilled swordsman is fine, and describing a winning streak at the collisseum makes for an interesting story. Â But when he's pit against another RPer who is also a skilled swordsman, you should be prepared to make some allowances for the opponent's skill as well - perhaps communicate with them and RP a close match, a draw, or find a way to determine the outcome in advance if neither is willing to budge (/random is popular). Â Accept, however, that your character is not infallible. Â As a footnote to this, it is often considered godmode to tie your character very closely to some famous NPC, declare your character is some sort of highly influential governing authority like a king or princess, or otherwise expect any sort of special treatment that any other RPer would not receive. Â Godmode is often a gray area with varying shades of acceptable and unacceptable depending on the situation (for instance, some "villain" characters need to be regarded as larger than life so certain allowances may be made to accommodate this). Â If you are unsure whether something you are planning for your character is acceptable or not, a good idea would be to ask on the RPC "RP Discussion" forum to see how others in the community may feel about it. Â It is often a subjective thing and opinions may vary from one RPer to the next.
Examples of Godmoding:
- RPing the spawn or incarnation of a god
- Being from another world (like Vana'diel or the forest moon of Endor)
- Having the power to level cities
- RPing a prince with supreme influence over the nations' leaders
- RPing a character so powerful that he can dodge every attack thrown at him constantly
- RPing an emote which assumes control over another character in some way
2. Metagaming - Simply put, metagaming is the transferrence of OOC knowledge about some character/event/thing from yourself as the RPer to your character. Â This is highly frowned upon in the RP community. Â Characters have Wikipedia pages, stories, and private journals posted all over the place that describe personal information and recount events which are often very interesting and entertaining to read, but also to which your character would probably not be privy. Â You must be able to separate yourself as the player/reader from your character. Â This can be a as blatant a thing as your character knowing the details of another character's background simply because you as the player have read them. Â This sort of thing will upset other RPers. Â Metagaming may also be as simple as your character intentionally showing up someplace that you know another character will be. Â While this latter example is usually fine for the sake of fostering some RP (and arrangements for this sort of thing happen often using the OOC/Intermission/Backstage linkpearl), you will want to try to at least make sure that your character has some practical reason for going to that particular location at that point in time - something more than just meeting others for RP without there being some premeditated IC discussion about it first.
3. Retconning - The rolling back of a timeline and changing of past events is considered retconning. Â Each other character that your character interacts with is molded or changed in some small way through the experience. Â Even simple acts may have a profound impact on another character depending on the circumstances of their backgrounnd. Â To casually undo a good portion of the character's history without giving regard to all the other characters that may have touched is considered a no-no. Â I encourage all RPers to try not to paint themselves into corners, but even when they do there are often creative ways out rather than to just proclaim that "all that never happened." Â In some instances this may be acceptable for a very small window of time if only a few characters are impacted and all RPers agree to it. Â Generally you should regard all events that have happened as being etched in stone. Â Other characters may write journal entries about the interactions your character had with theirs, and to simply say it never happened is a slight to the time and energy they put not only into the RP itself but also recounting it and the way it may have changed their own character. Â There are some other instances where this may be deemed more acceptable, such as the release of new canon lore which contradicts existing storyline for instance. Â Some care should be exercised when making these retcons to minimize the impact upon other characters. Â Furthermore, those brand new to RP may be given a little more freedom with making some changes as they are still working to develop their character's background. Â In these cases, again, consideration should be given to those who might be affected by such changes to minimize the impact to their own stories.
4. Copycatting - The taking of aspects of another character's story, personality, behavior, etc. Â While immitation may be the highest form of flattery, it is often frustrating when someone kind of picks an RPer's style that they like and then emulates it almost exactly. Â There are plenty of niches for interesting characters and drawing inspiration from an admired character to try and create something entirely new should be more the way to go. Â With a game that (at the time of this writing) has only 7 basic combat jobs, there are obviously going to be some characters who are similar in their combat styles, and may exhibit similar appearances or similar attitudes about things. Â As a kind of footnote to this topic, with regard to another character's NPC's (that is non-playing characters such as those which may appear in his or her storylines) most RPers would be flattered to share a character like that, and this will often present some interesting opportunities as well, but you will certainly want to communicate this first before simply using another's NPC without permission.
Building Friendships and Relationships Between Your Character and Others
I don't really think any guide could effectively tell someone how to go about making friends. Â It is just one of those things that sort of happens gradually and naturally over time whether IC or not, or in life in general. Â Throughout your RP you will come across other characters who may be friendly to yours, or whom you would imagine your character would find relateable in some way. Â If you think about the way that you met some of your own friends in the real world, making friends for your character in the world of Final Fantasy isn't really so different. Â Different characters may have different interests in mind. Â Some may even find your character to be physically attractive or romantically desirable, and may even make advances that way. Â This is all something to keep in mind. Â Other characters may also find qualities about your character to be a source for dislike. Â This does not necessarily mean they don't like you OOCly or your style, and is something that shouldn't be taken personally. Â Perhaps their character has a bias against a particular race, or something your character said may cause them to make a snap judgement. Â There are any number of possible reasons why a character would like or dislike another character. Â One of those things to keep in mind is that you are only in control of your own character's actions, words, and feelings. Â How they are responded to is out of your hands.
My own advice would be for your character to make friends in accordance to what he or she would do naturally. Â If you're RPing an attractive social butterfly, than it may make sense for her to forge many friendships with limited amounts of depth. Â A sheltered, studious sort might not get out often to make friends or might exhibit a suspicious personality, but could have one or two very close-knit buddies with whom he confides in. Â As your character develops a persona of their own and interacts with other characters, this will almost happen naturally on its own.
Regarding romantic relations, I'm not really qualified to give advice. Â I have borne witness to a number of instances where a relationship between a character and his or her significant other breaches that in-character realm and that line between what is IC and what is OOC gets blurred. Â Depending on the RPers involved sometimes this is fine (I know some happy couples who have met this way), and sometimes it is not. Â It may be important to spell that out early on (please refer to the section on Communication above) in order to prevent any misunderstandings or uncomfortable situations. Â In the directory on the RPC forums there is a helpful template which includes a place to post your attitude as a RPer towards your character's romantic involvement with other characters.
One other thing to be mindful about is extensive RP with only that significant other can almost inadvertantly isolate you from the larger group. Â If that is what you are going for than that's great, but in many cases RPers can lose sight of the bigger picture and find that they are more difficult to approach when they are spending a lot of time exclusively with their "+1". Â It is just something based on my own past observations that you may wish to be mindful of if you should find your character in a relationship.
Events and Event Planning
Events can be a lot of fun for all involved, though planning them can be stressful. Â The RPC features a calendar on which global events (i.e. those open to the overall RP community) may be posted, or individual linkshells/companies may feature a forum on which events may also be posted. Â Often the planner may welcome some assistance since there may be a lot to be mindful of (attendance, various NPC's, timing of certain incidents within the event, etc.).
Generally speaking, some sort of announcement with a fair amount of lead time is appropriate. Â Maybe your event will have a certain cut-off limit in order to help keep it managable, in which case a sign-up sheet with a limited number of spaces may be a good idea.
Events can turn in new directions suddenly, particularly if the organizer has some sort of idea in mind for a pre-planned disruption. Â If you wish to use the event for some sort of personal agenda for your character, it may be a good idea to reach out to the organizer first to make sure they would be all right with that. Â Often there's some way to link up your goals with those of the organizer. Â Sometimes there is not, but then again there is nothing to prevent you from setting up an event of your own.
If you are organizing an event and working from a pre-arranged sort of script, you may want to be prepared to deviate from that in the event that someone does something you hadn't accounted for. Â For example, if someone if the event is a trek into a dungeon and someone is wounded and incapacitated, it may be folly to assume that everyone would go on ahead in search of an exit when one character may feel strongly about remaining behind with the injured. Â Being flexible and able to adapt your plans around those unexpected actions of the participants in your event is what often makes for good RP. Â Often the most memorable of past events are the ones that were spontaneous and unplanned.
RPing Combat Effectively
This has been a touchy subject for a lot of people, and in your time RPing you may not ever need to RP a fight with another character. Â Moreover, PVP will be introduced in ARR which may offer another feasible alternative to RPing out a battle between two characters. Â A thread about PVP as an RP element for combat was recently created in the RP Discussion forum if you'd like to see what some other RPers think.
If you do find yourself in a situation where you are RPing a physical conflict, it helps to communicate with the opponent. Â Most of the time this can be done using the /tell channel and you can kind of figure out roughly how the fight should go.
Use of the /random (random number generator) feature can also help determine the outcome of either the overall fight, or just one particular round of combat. Â Often this is best conducted in a turn-based manner where each combattant responds to the previous attack, and initiates one of their own. Â The ability to play nicely and realistically is important here, and being willing to lose a battle gracefully (at least OOCly) goes a long way.
As an example, if there is a sparring match between a seasoned marauder and someone who has been practicing with the axe casually for awhile, the advantage would likely go to the seasoned marauder. Â If you wanted to add the random element to give the underdog a fighting chance, you might use the /random to determine the outcome of each round. Â There are a lot of different methods that describe how this can be done so I won't go over them in detail, but a helpful link that describes this method of combat may be found here: Â http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=1166
Alternately if you're comfortable enough with the RPer with whom you're sparring, you might just talk out the outcome in advance. Â A simple tell proffering something like, "I'm happy to lose this bout since you're more skilled with hand-to-hand fighting than I, but I do have some skill so let me get a few shots in, perhaps give you a black eye before getting knocked out?" Â The rest can kind of happen naturally over several lines of emoted text. Â Continuous communication as you go may or may not be warranted, depending on the situation. Â If you're ever not sure though, or if something seems unclear in their emote, it's always best to send a quick /tell and ask before responding.
Death versus K.O.
Most RPers have invested a good amount of time into their characters and will not approve of another character taking their life in any fashion. Â That Directory is a good place to check this, and to establish your own preferences. Â If you want to RP as a murderer, consider using NPC's as targets rather than other RPers' characters. Â Or perhaps orchestrate something like a failed murder attempt instead. Â If your character does kill several NPC's for some reason, you should consider also that if such deeds become known, they will influence how your character is perceived by others and they may contact authorities and such. Â And having witnessed this happen to a character once, that is a pretty slippery slope on which to tread.
What happens in fights when we get defeated is not regarded as true death, but as being "knocked out" and we have the choice of either waiting for someone to raise or revive us, or we may "return" to the last aetheryte to which we attuned ourselves, or sometimes the start of a dungeon instead. Â This is the game's mechanic and we respect that as such. Â We do not treat it as a character's death in the true sense of the word, though OOCly it's common to hear people say they got killed by <whatever> and need a raise.
RPing Injuries and Healing Methods
Another frequent point of contention between RPers of differing styles is the handling of physical (and sometimes non-physical) injuries and the various methods of treatment. Â Our characters live in a world where magic is real if not everyday/routine, and healing can be performed by anyone with even minimal skill in white magic. Â This sometimes trivializes the process for those who make it their life's work. Â Moreover there are less magical means of healing such as herbalism, field medicine, first aid, nursing, etc. Â There is a lot of discrepancy about how healing works, but at the end of the day I've found the most effective "doctor-patient" relationship is one where there's some sort of communication between the healer and the wounded. Â There are some circumstances where a wounded person may want to remain wounded for an extended period of time (such as taking a brief break from the game for a week for vacation or such), and this is usually not intended as a slight to the healer's ability. Â There is often some middle ground - albeit it sometimes a fine line - between what is acceptable to the healer and the patient. Â I find myself once again deferring back to the earlier section on "Communication", as once more this will help ease any potential misunderstandings.
There was a discussion on the RPC some time ago pertaining to healing which may offer additional insights or prompt some further thought.
Teleportation
Eorzea is unique in some ways in that it gives us teleportation as an option for travel. Â According to the game mechanics, teleporting requires a certain number of points (called Anima) to perform. Â I've seen some make use of what they call an "aetherstone" to facilitate this process, though this is hardly necessary. Â Simply tapping into the aether and teleporting should be fine. Â The animation and disappearance is often enough and need not be emoted unless you really want to.
Regarding anima (which is probably best described as a character's self-replenishing life-force) - and really any attribute that is quantified, such as HP or MP or Strength or Vitality - keeping a more abstracted explanation rather than referring to "points" is generally preferred. Â Rather than saying, "I'm unable to teleport because I only have 1 anima point left," you might opt for, "I have a headache from teleporting so much recently," - possibly coupled with an OOC explanation that your anima is mostly depleted.
In the future the requirements for teleporting may change, and if that's the case this guide will be modified to reflect that.
The Echo
This contains some allusions to storyline spoilers so I'm going to encapsulate it in a spoiler tag. Â If you are new to RPing than you will learn about this before long through cutscenes and possibly via interactions with other RPers. Â If you do not mind reading about it before that time, by all means please proceed.
Gil and Wealth
The currency of Eorzea is gil. Â And most RPers I have spoken with do not treat this as a true measure of the character's wealth. Â A wealthy character may RP that they've inherited a fortune from their ancestors. Â Or many characters prefer to RP humble beginnings and aspirations for fame and fortune. Â Even upon acquiring a great deal of gil, you may want to regard this separately from what your character possesses ICly for the sake of continuity in your storylines.
If you are starting a new character, consider carefully how they will be regarded if they are wealthy, comfortable, impoverished, or middle-class. Â Think about how this will affect their attitude towards other characters, their decision-making process, and their regard for possessions and things. Â Consider also what other characters may think of yours depending on his or her financial standing. Â You may also think about what sort of attire your character would wear in various circumstances as well.
Groups, Cliques, and Linkshells/Companies
Inevitably like-minded people within any sized community will segment into smaller groups. Â This happens naturally and is simply something to be aware of. Â It is not inherently a positive or negative thing. Â Linkshells/Companies exist for like-minded RPers to provide an avenue for that RP to play itself out. Â Some may be based on job merit, some may cater to those looking for the same goals, and others may be directed towards a certain type of alignment (a group of do-gooders or a group of thieves for example). Â At any given time there are likely many different communities within the overall RP community, and there is no set rule that says that you cannot belong to more than one if you so choose. Â Most communities will advocate that what you get out of the experience is what you put into it, and if you do participate in multiple linkshells/companies it is important that your actions be consistent across them, because these guilds do sometimes interact with one another, or may share common members. Â So if you are RPing someone as a thief in one guild and a do-gooder in another, be aware that it may come back to bite you (which may or may not be the entire point).
Within each guild there may also exist smaller groups of people who often RP exclusively with the same few characters. Â Again this is neither really a positive or a negative thing, but a phenomenon I have witnessed across a number of linkshell communities, and really any human community outside the scope of Final Fantasy as well. Â For myself I try to branch out and RP with different groups. Â I find it more enriching to my experience and the variety of RPers keeps things interesting and lively. Â Like most anyone I do have those I prefer to RP with over others, and may be inclined to spend more time with them. Â I would encourage anyone to try to at least not close themselves off to the possibility of RP with someone outside of their normal groups. Â But in the end the choice is yours.
Supplements to In-Game RP
1. Forum RP - The RPC boasts a "Town Square (IC)" section which offers an avenue for those wishing to participate in a sort of turn-based avenue of RP where posts are conducted over a broader span of time which is often regarded as being condensed. Â One thing you may want to be mindful of with regard to this - which can often transpire over the course of days or even weeks of "real time" - is that events have consequences and how the forum RP integrates with actual in-game RP may create some inconsistencies in cause and effect. Â Most of the time, however, it's a good way to RP if you are unable to get into the game, such as from work. Â Forum RP may also take place along linkshell/company forums as well if it means to draw a smaller crowd, or may be described as 'open', 'invitation' or 'closed'. Â 'Open' means it's open to anyone who wishes to write their characters into it. Â 'Closed' means a group of characters have already been selected who will be participating in it. Â 'Invitation' indicates that you may send a private message to the creator of the thread to request permission to join and they may accept or deny that request depending on any number of circumstances. Â Some may deny after a certain number of people are already participating, just to keep things from getting too confusing. Â One other thing to note is that forum RP can move at different paces depending on how frequently people are posting. Â This is something to be aware of before joining. Â If you are only able to post to the forum once a day and everyone else is posting several times, you may miss out on something. Â Conversely if you're looking for something fast-paced and everyone else is only posting slowly you may want to seek a faster-paced forum RP thread elsewhere - or even create your own! Â There are many more factors to forum RP as well. Â Some RPers may prefer it to in-game RP if they feel it gives them more control over the setting. Â Others may not want to spend a few hours each day trying to catch up with the goings-on. Â It is another flavor of storytelling and different people will have different feelings about it and different ways of doing it.
2. Chatroom RP - Similar to forum RP but takes place over real-time. Â These sessions may encompass two or more characters and be conducted usually in some sort of private setting which is treated as happening in-game, but to which no one else is privy. Â All participants agree to the conditions which determine the timeframe and location of the RP. Â The events of that RP are then treated as having happened in-game and may be referenced elsewhere, similar to forum RP. Â This is a bit safer because it's happening in real-time. Â This may sometimes happen retroactively (that is, RPing something in now which would have already happened). Â If that's the case, you'll just want to be sure that any outcomes of that RP are not so influential that they would have changed the course of any actual in-game RP which may have followed. Â This can also be a slippery slope, but is usually much safer than forum RP. Â Both Forum RP and Chatroom RP may also be regarded as "non-canon", in which case for the sake of any ongoing storylines the events and conversations within technically never happened at all, or were at the very least inconsequential. Â This is safe because it does not impede upon any ongoing RP, but if some key details were shared than they must be forgotten to the character.
3. Storywriting - The RPC "Town Square (IC)" section may also be used to share stories. Â That is, if something significant happened to your character - whether in RP or something you wish to share through events described from their past - a story may be written and shared with the overall RP community. Â Likewise, this can be posted on individual linkshell/company forums as well. Â These are often interesting accounts of a character's backhistory, or some RP event that took place that some RPer wished to commit to story form rather than rely on memory. Â In this way details may be added and the entire experience enhanced accordingly. Â Unless specifically indicated, the events that transpire within RPers' written stories posted publicly should be regarded as having happened in private.
4. Journaling - Another popular supplement to actual in-game RP is a written journal which your character may keep (assuming he or she is literate - much of Eorzea may not be). Â A character's private thoughts may be chronicled here. Â I have found this a valuable tool to help me get inside my character's head and think how she thinks, and I know a number of other RPers have felt similarly. Â It also may be a good way to chronicle events. Â Some RPers who possess artistic ability treat journal entries as a sort of artistic sketch pad, and may doodle on them to describe the day's events. Â The sky is the limit with this sort of thing. Â These may be kept on individual linkshell forums, or a more public medium such as a wordpress site. Â Most do not mind sharing their journals with the rest of the community and may link to them from their Wikipedia pages. Â It bears mention that - unless otherwise stated - these journals are private and the contents should not be regarded as being known in-character lest it be considered metagaming. Â They are usually for the enjoyment of the reader, but never to be known by the character. Â There should also be no expectation that other RPers have read what is written in your journals and story posts.
Consistency Within RP
One other thing to be aware of is consistency within your RP. Â As time goes on you may conjure up some NPC's (that's Non-Playing Characters) to help flesh out your backstory, or you may detail some events which may have happened at one time or another in your character's past. Â These may come up in casual conversation with other characters, or they may be addressed within a journal post, forum RP, or along some other vein of RP. Â It is a very good idea to maintain a sense of consistency with details like this.
I have found it helpful to keep a sort of log of details of my character's past in order to help chronicle the details of her backstory. Â This manifests itself in the form of a timeline of events throughout her life. Â I keep this available so that I can refer to it quickly in the event that I encounter some RP where someone asks her about her childhood, for example. Â In addition to this, a list of NPC's that she's spoken about at one time or another is also included. Â As a RPer I may easily forget what I named someone like a teacher or former employer, but in situations where it's unlikely that the character herself would forget such an important detail I jot the name and relationship down along with any other notes that seem important. Â I may never need to refer to this, but I like having it available. Â Obviously this isn't something mandatory, but you may find it helpful in order to keep consistent with your own character and his or her backstory.
Conclusion
I believe this covers most everything that I can think of pertaining to RP. Â A newcomer to the RP community named Weffrey recently asked a barrage of very good questions so I will link to that thread. Â Some of those questions may have been addressed already above. Â And many of them are subject to different RPers' perspectives on what is appropriate in a given situation. Â As I stated at the very beginning of this guide there is really no "wrong" way to RP and the advice above should be regarded as a series of loose guidelines which stem from my own experiences within the RP environment within Final Fantasy XIV across a number of linkshell communities. Â They are in no way a set of rules meant to restrict anyone's creativity. Â I hope that it was well worth the time it took you to read, and if you have any questions you may feel free to contact myself by PM or in-game /tell, or make a post on that super-useful "RP Discussion" forum.
This guide would also not have been possible without extensive corrections and contributions from both Ellie and Garaf - much of which was written verbatim. Â Thank you both for all of your continued help and feedback. Â Also special thanks to Kylin for reviewing it and demonstrating a number of more efficient and effective methods of formatting and presentation. Â The table of contents and some of the formatting would not look quite so clean without your help and it is greatly appreciated. Â Super mega-thanks to Weffrey for asking a lot of wonderful questions and kind of helping us see the need for a guide like this. Thanks also to John Spiegel and Nel Celestine who had some additional insights and ideas to offer. Â And finally thanks to the RP community here in Final Fantasy XIV for enriching my life these past three years and giving me a reason and a desire to give back in some way.
Regarding my own background - I have been RPing in some form or another since 1996 or so. Â I began in a text-based game (what would likely now be considered a MUD) called GemStone III where RP was actually enforced by the GM's. Â I hopped around a few other games briefly before finding Final Fantasy XI back in 2003. Â I RPed the same character there until 2010 when I began RP in Final Fantasy XIV. Â I have strived to remain in-character as much as possible in my experiences in Eorzea over the past three years. Â I have seen MANY different styles of RP. Â I have seen how horribly things can go wrong, and I have seen RPers successfully re-rail themselves after what seemed like certain disaster. Â I certainly don't proclaim to be an expert, nor do I think I've endured everything that RP has to offer. Â I'm just someone who has seen a lot of both successful RP and also RP missteps in the various Final Fantasy RP worlds. Â And I wanted to try to help pass along some of that wisdom in the hopes that someone else might find it useful in some way.
In the end, the experience is yours, and it falls to you to be proactive enough to make that experience as enjoyable as possible. Â I look forward to meeting your character in Eorzea!
~Eva
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
