A lot of good stuff has been said that I'd like to echo:
This is an important thing to embrace if you want to find yourself getting more open RP. There may be times where your character will talk with someone new, have a good time, wish them a safe night and be on their way. When the whole Au Ra surge began, Eddard never actually spoke to any until he approached one at the Quicksand with the intent of asking what exactly she was. They spoke a bit, he learned a bit, payed her for her time via cup of tea, then went back to his papers at his table and that was that. It was still an enjoyable bit of RP that really didn't hold any weight other than Eddard being less of an idiot.
I read an RP article recently that said you shouldn't give the answer, "No, my character wouldn't do that," to minor things that could facilitate RP. It's too easy a dismissal/ Of course there will be many situations in RP where a thought that crosses your mind won't happen because your character wouldn't do it. I am not telling you to ignore your character's traits, but what if your character has reason to break habit? If your character wouldn't get X person's attention under normal circumstances, what circumstances would make him get his attention? Your character's armor is awfully beat and needs replacing and the armor that man is wearing looks excellently made. Maybe your character could ask theirs where they got the armour. Is that information enough to get your character initiating? Be creative with it!
If your character just really doesn't like approaching strangers at all, an option for introverted characters is to accidentally get someones attention. A popular one is to literally bump into people. I got an RP session out of simply making Eddard sneeze while waiting around for something (and I hadn't even sent that person a /tell or anything). There are times where RP will just need a tiny, wordless nudge to start. That being said, this is also important:Â
I got lucky with the sneeze but it wasn't in the QS which made it possible. Your emote either has to be specifically geared towards someone (or perhaps an area) or at least a general action that would turn some heads. Eddard sits at his table, sipping a drink as his eyes scan the pages of a book with Alchemy For Dummies printed on its spine, is a little more likely to
yield something since someone may find alchemy enough reason to approach you but is still very general and could very easily get lost in the chat wall. Eddard walks through the tables as he reads a book titled Alchemy For Dummies, tripping and falling over the Au Ra's foot due to his textual distraction, is more likely to get some results, especially if I sent that Au Ra a /tell beforehand. His fall could even attract another person, if I'm lucky.
Different people have different preferences on how to approach this hobby. Some people like to go out and be the Driver while others like to be the Introvert and just observe until something pulls their character in. It becomes dangerous should the Introvert ratio become too overpowering though I don't think that's an enormous problem for this community. It's just a personal obstacle players are facing where they don't want to be a wallflower but lack of this skill or that confidence halts that. Being a wallflower isn't a problem until you see it as one and decide you no longer want to have that tendency. Albeit hard, this is a place to give advice on overcoming that.
(09-15-2015, 06:40 AM)Allister Dedrick Wrote: Something a lot of people don't seem to realize--in my opinion, RP doesn't always have to be meaningful or result in character development.
This is an important thing to embrace if you want to find yourself getting more open RP. There may be times where your character will talk with someone new, have a good time, wish them a safe night and be on their way. When the whole Au Ra surge began, Eddard never actually spoke to any until he approached one at the Quicksand with the intent of asking what exactly she was. They spoke a bit, he learned a bit, payed her for her time via cup of tea, then went back to his papers at his table and that was that. It was still an enjoyable bit of RP that really didn't hold any weight other than Eddard being less of an idiot.
(09-15-2015, 10:04 AM)Shindoku90 Wrote: I think even as a introverted character, RP can be initiated.Â
I read an RP article recently that said you shouldn't give the answer, "No, my character wouldn't do that," to minor things that could facilitate RP. It's too easy a dismissal/ Of course there will be many situations in RP where a thought that crosses your mind won't happen because your character wouldn't do it. I am not telling you to ignore your character's traits, but what if your character has reason to break habit? If your character wouldn't get X person's attention under normal circumstances, what circumstances would make him get his attention? Your character's armor is awfully beat and needs replacing and the armor that man is wearing looks excellently made. Maybe your character could ask theirs where they got the armour. Is that information enough to get your character initiating? Be creative with it!
If your character just really doesn't like approaching strangers at all, an option for introverted characters is to accidentally get someones attention. A popular one is to literally bump into people. I got an RP session out of simply making Eddard sneeze while waiting around for something (and I hadn't even sent that person a /tell or anything). There are times where RP will just need a tiny, wordless nudge to start. That being said, this is also important:Â
(09-15-2015, 04:35 PM)Mae Wrote: Going into the Quicksand and just tossing out an /em enters, looks around, and then goes to sit at the table/bar isn't engaging anyone specifically.
I got lucky with the sneeze but it wasn't in the QS which made it possible. Your emote either has to be specifically geared towards someone (or perhaps an area) or at least a general action that would turn some heads. Eddard sits at his table, sipping a drink as his eyes scan the pages of a book with Alchemy For Dummies printed on its spine, is a little more likely to
yield something since someone may find alchemy enough reason to approach you but is still very general and could very easily get lost in the chat wall. Eddard walks through the tables as he reads a book titled Alchemy For Dummies, tripping and falling over the Au Ra's foot due to his textual distraction, is more likely to get some results, especially if I sent that Au Ra a /tell beforehand. His fall could even attract another person, if I'm lucky.
(09-14-2015, 06:52 PM)Etienne Wrote: I don't understand the need to eliminate wallflowers.
Different people have different preferences on how to approach this hobby. Some people like to go out and be the Driver while others like to be the Introvert and just observe until something pulls their character in. It becomes dangerous should the Introvert ratio become too overpowering though I don't think that's an enormous problem for this community. It's just a personal obstacle players are facing where they don't want to be a wallflower but lack of this skill or that confidence halts that. Being a wallflower isn't a problem until you see it as one and decide you no longer want to have that tendency. Albeit hard, this is a place to give advice on overcoming that.
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." -Jimi Hendrix
