Exploring New Seas

[Magellan]

I am looking for a new game. I am specifically looking for a new rp community. I am an rp novice, with a lot of questions;

 

((tl;dr - I am unsure whether MMO RP is right for me. I crave stories to be wrapped up in, and I've had nothing but frustrations ))

 

First, My Experience;

 

-Was in an RP guild in Perfect World International for about 1 week. I found it difficult to break into the group, as they had been together for awhile, had all these developed relationships and past stories they shared, and very little 'outreach' towards new recruits, and bringing them up to speed. Plus, it was my very first attempt at rping, so I was a little bewildered and lost. Ultimately, however, I left b/c I did not care for the game.

 

-Have RP'd in Tera: Rising for about 3 months. My practice as a writer has really come into play as far as building characters, and having some dynamic scenes. However, I have run into several problems which have led to my searching for a new community & game.

 

The Questions;

 

- I tend to play hero types. In a game (Tera) rife with mercs and villains, it was difficult to find a home. What is the likelihood of finding hero-themed linkshells in FFXIV?

 

- I believe in RP consequence and integrity. I.E; I witnessed today two people fighting. One (even though he wasn't a mage or anything) for some reason had the ability to shoot lightning. He zapped the other fella (not in a Godmode way, they were dice rolling) rather than dying, as my character would have done, had she been zapped, he simply shrugged it off and went to ultra-powerful healer to have all wounds perfectly mended. Furthermore, being guildies, the two acted as nothing had happened EVEN THOUGH ONE JUST SHOT THE OTHER WITH LIGHTNING. Am I approaching this the wrong way in believing RP should have integrity and consequences?

 

- I appreciate a good narrative. There were plenty of character stories in my previous forays. There were no adventure/epic rp options, nor continuous storylines of groups working together towards a common purpose/goal. Is this because MMO RP is strictly character driven?

 

- Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. I tend to make rather ordinary characters. Solid people who you might identify with today, were it not for a few quirks (like they are a Priest with healing powers). These characters were ill-fitted in a world where everyone seemed to have super-powers, or highly complex backstories that would make most soap opera writers blush. I feel adding too many issues and themes to your character actually makes them weaker, not better. Am I way off on this? Is it the general consensus that getting kidnapped one day, having your eyes stolen the next, having a brief spell of psychosis, then getting possessed by an unknown force that almost makes you kill a guildmate... etc. etc. makes for better rp? Because personally, it makes my suspension of disbelief go right out the window.

 

I am very sorry for the tl;dr. I see a beautiful artform in rp that has a world of possibilities, and I cannot seem to find the right world for my characters to breathe.

 

Many, many thanks in advance to any who give tips and advice.

[Xenedra]

First off, welcome! I've rp'd in a number of communities myself and so far I've found this one to be the most willing to include new people in long-established circles. Hopefully that gives you some hope . Now:

 

The Answers, Xenedra Style:

 

- Heros: Your average RPer in FFXIV is filling the adventurer role that square enix lays out for the average player. By virtue of this, I feel that a number of people are out there just to do good for Eorzea. Eorzea is also a continent under siege by the baddies from the North, leaving plenty of opportunity for heroism.

 

- Consequence: I think in any community you join, this is going to have a wide spectrum of answers. Luckily, you're likely to find someone who agrees with you SOMEWHERE on the board. I personally have a pretty strong opinion toward realistic consequence. If you're running through a city, waving a gun, yelling "I'M A PRETTY PRINCESS!!" (actual event), you're likely to get beaten up or locked up by the city guard : P. As for things like injury... swords hurt, magic hurts, but healing magic is MAGIC. There's a bit of leeway, imo.

 

- Epic RP: A lot of effort goes into putting together a GOOD rp storyline and some people just don't have that sort of drive in them. There are a number of people in this community who DO put together long story lines for their character and those close to them to follow. With only a few exceptions, though, I'd say these long narratives are usually limited to llinkshell(guild) members. We also have events like manly pageants and fashion shows that individuals and/or linkshells will put together for the whole community.

 

- Extraordinary!: Again, this is going to vary from person to person, but there's likely to be a group out there that agrees with some semblance of your view. It takes all kinds to make an interesting community, from the stoic mercenary leader with the dark past, to the ditzy songstress who's shallower than a puddle in a drought, to the average Joe who goes to work every day from nine to five. Without one, we cannot appreciate the merit or qualities of the other. I personally draw the line at outrageous, lore breaking things like dimension hopping, half dragon princesses. I also think that as long as you tie the qualities of your character together in an interesting way and balance them in a way that you find enjoyable, you can make a pretty solid character.

 

As for getting kidnapped one day, having your eyes stolen the next, having a brief spell of psychosis, then getting possessed by an unknown force that almost makes you kill a guildmate... I do find this to be a bit much if it's all happening to one person week after week. I think dramatic happenings such as this ought to be balanced throughout a group. One week, Greg gets to loose his sight, next week let Bethany get possesed. I ALSO think it's important to avoid crazy lore breaking events (again with the lore breaking), though I'm not usually one to judge people if they WANT to do these things. We're all here to play the game how we like and if it's fun for you? Who cares

[allgivenover]

It sounds as if you just haven't run into other MMORPG role-players that posses a similar style to your own style. Role playing runs the gamut, from those who are looking for in the moment fun where every scene must be full of adventure and excitement or it's simply just boring, to the more reserved types who want to explore what the more day to day life of a character living in a speculative fiction world would be like. There's the dramatically minded, the comically minded, the erotically minded, et cetera~

 

Obviously there's a lot of different styles of role play out there, and none of them are inherently better or worse. You're only doing it wrong if you try to force your style on others, or insist that people with different styles that don't really mesh very well must role play with each other and like it, or break some common etiquette - like lore-breaking or god-moding.

 

My advice is to just be proactive and try to RP casually with a lot of people so that you can find those that have a style similar to your own. I assure you that those mindful of consequence and interested in building a shared narrative can be found in MMORPG role playing, I'm one of them after all.

[Magellan]

Thank you; those were two very gracious, considerate answers.

I think I will more than likely check this game out once beta is over. Always been a fan of FF, and never got around to trying XI out...

[Grott]

Admittedly, I haven't read the other responses, so if I'm just repeating or piggybacking I apologize. I didn't want to lose my train of thought. There were two things that really caught my attention with your post:

 

1. The Lightning Story: I agree that there should be consequences. Maybe not "I zapped you with lightning, you died. Make a new character." but someone shouldn't be zapping someone unless they strongly dislike them, and that should be reflected in the on-going RP experience. What I mean by this is, they shouldn't forget it happened the next day and call a mulligan. In my opinion, RP should be as fluid as reality when interacting with others. Even if its someone you constantly do dungeons with. If that person insults your mother at a tavern the night before, there should at least be some friction while working together the next day. This, to me, makes characters seem more human and it builds a stronger RP experience for everyone. Friendships growing and breaking should be a big part of it. I didn't play 1.0, so I don't know anyone in the RPC outside of talking on these forums, but I already know who my characters would get along with and disagree with just from reading their wikis, and that to me is very exciting. It also brings me to my second point:

 

2. The Backstory: You mentioned how you like to make very plain characters. This is something I can very VERY much agree with. Every time someone comes up to me and tells me their heart-wrenching story of vengeance and betrayal and lost love and being the son of a demon and an angel or whatever-the-hell I roll my eyes and even in actual RP conversation I'll say something like "I don't care about your sob story." and walk away just so that person gets that not only do I hate it, but even my character hates it. I'll admit that even I'm guilty of too much backstory sometimes (see A'sili Abarskyf's wiki for examples) but that's only because I like to justify my character's abilities. For instance, how can I explain that a man who spent his entire life on boats knows how to survive in the wild unless I throw in "he spent three years as an adventurer once." On my other character (Abodo Po), I tried to dumb it down a little more and have the game start in the early years of his adventuring so there's a REASON he's where he is at the game's launch. Granted, I was guilty of throwing in a prophetic vision, but that's because of three big reasons (1. I didn't feel it was god-moding, since it only happened once and it happened to Boromir in LOTR and he got corrupted and died in the first book, 2. I needed a reason for this guy to one day decide to be a mage, and 3. I've been reading a lot of HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu stories...) But other than one small detail that might be considered dramatic effect, I try to keep a plainness and add flaws to cover up any accidental god-moding. And, this is turning into a rant but, by flaws I don't mean more "my parents are dead so all I care about is vengeance!", I mean "I'm socially awkward and don't really know what I'm doing here." or "I'm an egotistical smart ass and people don't really like me."

 

Sorry for the rant on #2, but here's a tl;dr summary of it: Not everyone in the game's world can be the most scarred and powerful character. Some adventurers are just average dudes looking to make a buck or help people out, and that to me makes them more interesting than god-moders.

---

Gah, Forgot about Epic RP. This'll be a lot quicker than the last one. I love the idea of several different characters from different backgrounds and disciplines coming together to face one big threat (everything from RPers in a dungeon to Justice League comics). I can't speak for everyone else, but if you're looking for a good team-building, forming-storming-norming-performing adventure for either PvE or PvP, both my characters are at your disposal. Some RPers disagree with me, but I love fitting gameplay into story. Sitting in the inn all day talking is fine late at night or on a lazy saturday, but I'm all about epic adventure RP, and it's no fun at all without people to do it with.

[Weffrey]

I'm going to be new to RP, so I can't really comment on any of your questions effectively. (Sorry)

 

However, I can still say nice to meet you and welcome!

[Grott]

I'm going to be new to RP, so I can't really comment on any of your questions effectively. (Sorry)

 

However, I can still say nice to meet you and welcome!

 

I like this.

 

Ya got heart, kid!

[Moonfire]

Welcome!

 

Everyone tends to have their own styles. It is really hard to judge any situation because we never have all the facts. We don't know the extent if the lightning was just a light show and he was faking to be hurt and just a bad RPer. Either way no harm was done since it didn't affect you personally.

 

Not the way I personally would have RPd that situation but like someone else said, what ever makes it fun for the individual.

[Magellan]

Asili, I think we are going to be good friends

 

Too many characters require that you have extensive knowledge of their backgrounds to even interact with them. I find that by living in the moment (the present), my characters are accessible to rp with just about anyone at any time. Yet if you drone on and on to them about things that are not relevant to them in any way, they will get confused, or walk away.

 

I am starting to get excited to try something new!

 

I really, really, really did not mean my post to sound like a rant. I am well aware that I probably failed. The truth is, I RP with just about anyone of all experience levels, and usually have an okay to good time. I even help run some RP improv classes/sessions in my current game to try and spread rp interest, and to try and learn together how to create more dynamic scenes.

 

But the 'really good' stuff is few and far between. And the really good stuff is what keeps me motivated

[Gideon Aryeh]

*hugs*

 

If this is my friend that I met in TERA recently and convinced to come here that hug is for you. If it isn't well the hug is still for you.

 

I think you are going to like this place

[Alothia]

Let me also say welcome, and piggyback on Xene's post.

 

There's a whole gamut of RPers. There are some that do exactly what you don't like, and there are others who just RP normal characters. There are good and bad in all games. I think, for the most part, the XIV community has a good smattering of both. Don't feel shy about asking us specific questions. And please, peruse the wikis. It might help you understand who it is you'll be RPing with!

 

Anywho, welcome, and keep the questions coming!

[Eva]

Hello and welcome!!  8-)

 

There was something you posted that I agreed with and felt compelled to acknowledge:

Too many characters require that you have extensive knowledge of their backgrounds to even interact with them. I find that by living in the moment (the present), my characters are accessible to rp with just about anyone at any time. Yet if you drone on and on to them about things that are not relevant to them in any way, they will get confused, or walk away.

 

In XIV in 1.0 I never really encountered anything like this, but it would kind of put me off if I did.  Many RPers (myself one of them) have created extensive and elaborate backstories and histories.  The wiki pages outline a lot of these details, but I don't think there should be any expectation upon anyone to read these.  I can certainly appreciate that it may seem daunting to do all of this "homework" before being able to interact with a character.  But new characters with whom your character would be unfamiliar should probably be regarded however your character would regard any stranger without having any previous knowledge of them.

 

I have always made it a point for Eva to be fairly readily approachable, though I certainly have no expectation that anyone know her life story before engaging in a random dialogue with her.  I can't speak for all RPers, but I do think most around here adopt a similar sort of policy.  :thumbsup:

[Magellan]

*hugs*

 

If this is my friend that I met in TERA recently and convinced to come here that hug is for you. If it isn't well the hug is still for you.

 

I think you are going to like this place

 

Yay free hugs

 

It is more than likely you are the one that convinced me to come here Your name was Kemadu or something right?

 

 

@ all: I am sincerely appreciative, and a little bit blown away at how helpful and respectful everyone seems. I shall certainly in turn try to respect people's different rp approaches. I look forward to rping with some of you in the future

 

In the meantime... seems like I have a lot of reading to catch up on!

 

One other question: Open World RP - pipe dream or achievable?

[Grott]

Asili, I think we are going to be good friends

 

Most definitely.

[Gideon Aryeh]

*hugs*

 

If this is my friend that I met in TERA recently and convinced to come here that hug is for you. If it isn't well the hug is still for you.

 

I think you are going to like this place

 

Yay free hugs

 

It is more than likely you are the one that convinced me to come here Your name was Kemadu or something right?

 

 

@ all: I am sincerely appreciative, and a little bit blown away at how helpful and respectful everyone seems. I shall certainly in turn try to respect people's different rp approaches. I look forward to rping with some of you in the future

 

In the meantime... seems like I have a lot of reading to catch up on!

 

One other question: Open World RP - pipe dream or achievable?

 

Yep that was me, Kematu.

 

And yes I think its achievable