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Roleplaying in Public, but not..in public?


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hey RPC,

 

I have been thinking about this quite a lot in the last few weeks. What do people dictate themselves as 'public roleplay'?

 

From my witnessing of public scenes, I personally am of the belief that anything you say and do in public should be held accountable against your character. As, it is publicly witnessable by multiple sources. However this becomes an issue for people who don't want thier 'bubble' pupped. And, creates a further issue where punishment for illegal actions (like, actual illegal actions - stealing, murder, solicitation etc) becomes negligible to the point of comedy.

 

 

Is this situation acceptable?

Player A: -emotes they are actively listening to Conversation of Characters B, C and D.-

Player B, C, D continue to have discussion about XYZ illegal deed in public that they did.

Player A: -Remembers said conversation, approaches to extort Gil for 'keeping quiet' money.-

 

Why, should all roleplay held in public forums, accessible to the majority of the public still be considered as 'private' roleplay? Does the integrity and validity of another roleplayer matter less than your own personal character or.. what? It's quite a shame, because some better examples of amazing roleplay happen when punishment and crime collide.

 

I'm just, a bit.. confused to why it is the norm to treat the Public air/places as still private despite it being public.

 

 

maybe people just say they want an immersive world.. but not actually want one.

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maybe people just say they want an immersive world.. but not actually want one.

 

^ This. This for days. They want the social and immersive world, but only when they want it to be, or, when it serves to enhance their own experience and advance their own goals.

 

That said, it's important to remember that roleplayers come in all experience levels as players, and someone like you or me might look at the game world and think... "If I'm IC and you can make your character exist in the same zone/area my character is in, then feel free to interact with mine and react/respond to my RP. You don't need an invitation any more than you would need to be invited to say hi to someone you see at the grocery store IRL" ...but for someone with less experience, they may not be able to handle reacting/improvising so swiftly to an unexpected variable in their intended situation. So if someone presents an objection to a rando coming into their scene, it may very well just be that the player is new and not quite ready to have to shake things up on-the-fly.

 

However, on the other hand (bouncing back and forth here), the game world does have a ton of locations which are "off the beaten path" where players who are new and feeling a bit timid could go take their pals to do some RP which would be "in a public space" yet rather unlikely to be noticed by anyone or attract wandering participation. In that sense, it falls upon the player who wishes to bubble their scene to ensure they're doing said scene in a way which doesn't invite curiosity. Another option they could do is to keep the posting for the RP inside of a party chat, so that even though the characters are right on the street in Ul'dah it becomes impossible for anyone to overhear and intervene in their affairs (though, bouncing again, ideally if they go that route they should have some sort of explanation afoot in their scene as to why there's weirdly nobody around on the open street in a major city...).

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I would take a situation like that as a completely fair one. To me, if you roleplay in a public location such as a town or a bar, or even alongside a road, then if someone else hears it - especially if they emote for active eavesdropping, then it's all fair game. I'd find it more sketchy if someone ran up ooc, realized IC stuff was going on, and then changed to RP gear and went IC - because it's kind of imposing and feels a bit meta. 

However you can never count on people feeling the same way, or even taking proper precautions to ensure that their "unhearable" conversation is in fact unhearable (Tell, Party, excessively emoting that it's nothing but a mutter to others..) and at the end of the day, if other players don't want to play on it, then you can't really twist their arm around.

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Good question.

 

For me if I am in public then it is happening. Though I would add some thoughts to that to help the witnesses..

 

Not everyone accepts the same frame of reference

  • a public place may be being used as being in a completely different place.
  • the characters in question may be playing an NPC role.
  • the scene itself may be not IC real, such as a dream or time travel or alternative reality.
  • etc..

Your viewing window is your character

  • You should only use what your character witnessed, when your character was IC
  • Try to interpret it through the characters "eyes" not the players
  • Try to add some vagueness or doubt into what was witnessed
  • Don't add in OOC information you have

Be OOC constructive with it

  • Try to use it to advance things, not tear them down
  • Accept that other RP differently, and we only get to RP through what we find in common

I generally find people say many things about their style of RP but the reality falls short of the aspiration (myself included). So best to be tolerant if you want a wider circle of RP interactions.

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Personally, I've had too many experiences where I'm RPing something in public and folk try to join in, which is all fine and good, and then do something stupid like emote eating elephant peanuts or playing a game boy (not making this up) and do nothing but detract from the quality of the RP.

 

Other times, especially if there is any detectable villainous presence at all in the RP, you get 85 white knights gathering and emoting at you and unless that's what you're going for it quickly becomes a headache to deal with. I eventually just decided that certain scenes and things were best kept in /p with desired people involved.

 

Other times, at crowded events, it's just easier on the chat scroll to keep it in party.

 

If two people are around my character and obviously RPing but I don't see it I just leave them alone or send a tell first if my character would somehow get involved with what they're doing. If something can be in /em I do that. But generally, depending on the context or if someone involved just doesn't want an audience that day I have no issues with /p.

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Way I see it... if you are using /s, your RP is fair game for anyone within earshot. If you don't want your RP interfered with, that's what /p is for. (I follow this rule myself.) If someone is blatantly (and egregiously) breaking lore in public chat, I'll just quietly put them on blacklist.

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But should you have to ask to join something. You aren't, by joining in forcing their character to do anything. You are simply approaching something else in the living world as another organism in said living world. 

 

Obviously asking can help but it really shouldn't be applicable if your search info reads "walk ups welcome"

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Way I see it... if you are using /s, your RP is fair game for anyone within earshot. If you don't want your RP interfered with, that's what /p is for. (I follow this rule myself.) If someone is blatantly (and egregiously) breaking lore in public chat, I'll just quietly put them on blacklist.

 

This is what I do-but not what I think. More specifically I get why people doing private or "semipublic" RP might prefer not to use /p. There may be ooc reasons for them not wanting interruption, like not wanting to give up limited RP time. I do think /p is the best solution but it's not necessarily mandatory or anything.

It's no skin off my back to ask if my involvement is deeper than just entering conversation. /tell isn't any harder for me to use then for them to use /p. Some people I expect don't really want to give up emote functionality to go private, rather than being necessarily consequence adverse.

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RP is an imperfect representation of interactions happening in a virtual world, being created by imperfect writers.

 

MMO rp is happening in a restricted visual representation of a fully imagined virtual world.

 

People who write have different ideas about how character actions should be written (ie, if you're whispering, you might write it once and then assume people know).

 

Those three things make walking into public rp something that, in my opinion, should always be done with a respect to the idea that someone's idea of things may not be your own.

 

MMO rp is not regulated by any central governing body. That means that the most any of us can do is try to be as polite to each other as we can, and try to be understanding that sometimes different views are just gonna clash so badly that y'all might not be able to intersect.

 

Let's take that example you gave of the conversation about illegal deeds.

 

I'll use my character Zhavi for a few examples.

 

Example One

Now, let's say I'm in character, RP tag on, but I don't actually emote her listening in on the conversation. I stand her nearby, and read all of the details of what these people are talking about.

 

Later, because Zhi is this type of person, she approaches them for keeping quiet money, and they oocly object.

 

To them, unless you emote your character listening in, your character is not icly present no matter what other indications said otherwise.

 

Because you came in on their rp, in the end you can't force them to change what they believe to be rp etiquette.

 

Example Two

 

Zhi's listening in on this conversation, and I do some emotes along the lines of Zhavi Streetrunner is hanging out all skulky-like with booze in hand.. I've emoted that she's there, so to me it's a given she's aware of everything happening in the area.

 

Later, she goes to get that sweet, sweet hush money.

 

But to them, unless I specifically emote at them, my character is not interacting with their characters and thus isn't necessarily close enough or aware enough to listen in. They object because they would have changed their character's behavior if I had emoted at them, but since I didn't they took it as an ooc sign that there was no ic interaction between.

 

Example Three

 

This time, I rp that Zhavi keeps glancing at their table, and giving body language signals that she's aware of them and paying attention.

 

But when Zhi goes to extort the shit out of them, they claim to have no notion oocly of my posts!

 

Turns out they were so focused on their own posts that they flat out didn't see mine. They then tell me that they wished I'd sent them a pm, since they would have changed their rp if they'd oocly been aware of my ic posts.

 

It's their rp, so I can't force them to change what happened.

 

Example Four

 

I see people rping, and I emote Zhi showing up and listening, and the whole shebang goes down.

 

Zhi approaches them later to shake them down, but they tell me it ain't gonna happen.

 

Turns out that prior to my arrival they had described a whole scene that was different to what was physically represented in game. For one, it was in the dead of night, in an abandoned alley they had thoroughly checked out and posted lookouts for, including a bunch of npcs they didn't have characters to physically represent. For two, they were chattering nonstop oocly about what was happening, and were so limited on time that they just couldn't immediately clue me in on what was happening. Meanwhile, my posts were so glaringly contradictory to what was happening (since I'd rped Zhi strolling up sweating in the blinding sun, in an otherwise empty alley), that they decided to just be a little rude and ignore me.

 

Since I never sent them an ooc message, they didn't think it necessary to send me one.

 

Rude? Maybe, but it's their rp and I was unaware. In any case, I can't force them to change.

 

 

What's my point?

 

Everyone is different. What is blindingly obvious to you is not blindingly obvious to someone else. Your definition of something non concrete like 'public rp' is based on your perceptions and beliefs -- and other people are likely to have other perceptions and beliefs.

 

People who RP often have histories where they started out in specific rp communities off in their own bubble, and that's where they learned social rp etiquette. John's experience learning how to rp in some Naruto Yahoo group way back when might have shaped him to believe that you need to post when your character is present, while Mary's experience learning how to rp in WoW might have shaped her to believe that if your character is standing somewhere, that means they are present.

 

You won't automatically know. And because there is no centralized governing body dictating rules and regulations of FFXIV rp, one way is not necessarily more correct than another -- even if it seems to you that one is better.

 

We all have opinions. Figuring out why one opinion should be followed over another has lead to conflict throughout human history. You aren't going to get everyone to agree in this corner of the internet. The best you can do is try to compromise, or just live and let live -- even if you think someone else is silly or being stupid.

 

edit because I forgot to finish a sentence.

 

Further edit, another thing - even if their rp in say might not be something they want you to join in on right then, maybe they want you to read it. Maybe it's their hope that you'll be interested, and ask what's happening. Maybe they want to advertise that they exist, but want to rp people in rather than have blind walkups.

 

You really gonna tell them they shouldn't do that?

 

You really gonna discourage them for trying?

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Iffff people got their RP tags on, and aren't RPing in party, it's all fair game to me. Else roleplay in party, keep RP tag off, or even better, shoo off to a place no one can run into you.

 

Like man, I don't get this dumb roleplay 'culture' on Balmung that you cannot interact with people, because else it would be impolite. If there's one thing I miss, it is that I could just walk up to whatever damn group I found, and people would RP back at me.

At least they would shoo my character off IC if they couldn't be arsed with them at that point at time. But here on Balmung you get OOC snark for being 'rude' in whispers. Because you dared to interrupt the flow of their apparent private chatbox in /s and /em.

 

HOWEVER. I hate people going IC when it is convenient for them. I legit had someone just fly up next to me and a group of people. Started fishing. Didn't say a thing IC, until we we're about to leave. THEY SUDDENLY STOPPED FISHING, and got IC. Like dude, woman, whatever, don't do that???? You even clearly saw we were wrapping up, and now you decide, after an hour or lurking, to just chip in. THAT isn't cool to me.

 

But at the end of the day. Do what floats your boat. I'm just not going to be the biggest fan of people who treat /s and /em as their personal chat for roleplay. Just use party or something instead. And keep your roleplay tag off. Tadaa, issue solved. :L Just use the RP tag if you want to be approached, done.

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Iffff people got their RP tags on, and aren't RPing in party, it's all fair game to me. Else roleplay in party, keep RP tag off, or even better, shoo off to a place no one can run into you.

 

Like man, I don't get this dumb roleplay 'culture' on Balmung that you cannot interact with people, because else it would be impolite. If there's one thing I miss, it is that I could just walk up to whatever damn group I found, and people would RP back at me.

At least they would shoo my character off IC if they couldn't be arsed with them at that point at time. But here on Balmung you get OOC snark for being 'rude' in whispers. Because you dared to interrupt the flow of their apparent private chatbox in /s and /em.

 

HOWEVER. I hate people going IC when it is convenient for them. I legit had someone just fly up next to me and a group of people. Started fishing. Didn't say a thing IC, until we we're about to leave. THEY SUDDENLY STOPPED FISHING, and got IC. Like dude, woman, whatever, don't do that???? You even clearly saw we were wrapping up, and now you decide, after an hour or lurking, to just chip in. THAT isn't cool to me.

 

But at the end of the day. Do what floats your boat. I'm just not going to be the biggest fan of people who treat /s and /em as their personal chat for roleplay.

and to that guy since he was there fishing he was ic and just assumed that your characters were ignoring him.

 

You just never know. Thank the numerous rp communities on the internet for having different interpretations of what makes good rp, and people bringing those interpretations with them a full decade later.

 

then we all argue.

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Nah bruh, he literally flew up. We were there for hours already. Sat himself next to us. Gone fishing in his slutmog. Then decided to go IC after an hour by suddenly stopping, changing his gear, and starting to talk IC.

 

That's not wallflowering. That's being an asshole. Like dude. Go fish IC next to us. But at least do it goddamn IC, or give some hint you're roleplaying. Because if you're sitting there in your slutmog, without any emotes, I'm just going to assume you're eavesdropping while doing your fishing for precious gil.

 

So we go back to, wallflowers must be tended to, and people must be roleplayed at constantly. Fuck no, this server has tons of PvE folk who have no desire to RP. That's why that bloody RP tag should be used a lot better. And no, before you ask, he only had some zany lolsly pve thing in his search info with his ilevel. Nothing said he was a roleplayer, at all.

 

Those are the people who shit on roleplayers immersions. Not the random people who walk up to other roleplayers IC.

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Nah bruh, he literally flew up. Sat himself next to us. Gone fishing in his slutmog. Then decided to go IC after an hour by suddenly stopping, changing his gear, and starting to talk IC.

 

That's not wallflowering. That's being an asshole.

 

I've seen people rp those outfit changes as being ic.

 

Orrrr maybe in his head he was waiting until y'all were wrapping up because he thought it was the better option.

 

Maybe he is an entrenched asshole who does whatever he feels like because other people exist to enhance his fun.

 

People are weird, and can justify things in ways that are utterly mysterious to me, but to them make perfect sense. That's what I'm trying to get across -- sometimes it's just quicker and less frustrating to ask oocly, or communicate why you're doing this or that. Not everyone is gonna agree with me, which is cool, but besides trying to get along, what other options do we have? Being frustrated or not caring? I don't wanna be frustrated, and I like trying to include a variety of people in my rp circles. So I try to compromise where I can.

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But should you have to ask to join something. You aren't, by joining in forcing their character to do anything. You are simply approaching something else in the living world as another organism in said living world. 

 

Obviously asking can help but it really shouldn't be applicable if your search info reads "walk ups welcome"

 

A lot of people don't use the search info or RP tag very effectively. Case in point: me. I never use the RP tag because I dislike that the kerning of the icon butts it up right against the start of my character's name, instead of giving a few pixels' space. It's totally idiotic of me that it bothers me, but yet it does, and so I don't use it out of some futile silent protest.

 

Anyway. :)

 

As some of the other said, if it's in /say and /em then that's basically the same as advertising public acceptance, because nothing is stopping them from using /p if they prefer privacy. So jump right on in, and don't ask permission in advance, because again, nothing is stopping them from using /p. 

 

You'll get one of, probably... four? Four outcomes.

 

1. They're cool with it and you get some RP. Score!

 

2. They aren't actually interested in you joining in, but they'll humor you with a post or two before making it fairly clear via their RP that their characters have no intention of actually engaging in a meaningful way. It's a bit of a passive aggressive approach on their part (versus them just OOCly saying they'd prefer to not have someone join in), but you'll "get the hint" and move on, eventually (or they'll leave, or, escalate to #3 or #4)

 

3. They'll politely mention OOCly that their scene is intended to be a closed scene. Maybe they have a good reason (e.g. they're using the location as a proxy for somewhere else, such as people often do on the ship at Costa Del Sol), or maybe they have no reason at all, but it doesn't really matter. If they're not cool with it they're not cool with it. Onward with your day.

 

4. They'll be total shits about it OOCly and make a big dramatic outburst about how you're rude for walking up, for presuming they want to RP with you, blah blah blah. You know what, don't even get mad if this happens. They just did you a huge favor by revealing the kind of angry, negative people that they are, and now you're free to carry on finding RP with other roleplayers who can play nice.

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But should you have to ask to join something. You aren't, by joining in forcing their character to do anything. You are simply approaching something else in the living world as another organism in said living world. 

 

Obviously asking can help but it really shouldn't be applicable if your search info reads "walk ups welcome"

 

Of coulrse you don't have to.  There are very few things any of us have to do in terms of interaction.  However, any one of us could come up with a list of things we can do that make things go more smoothly.

 

If someone is concerned about an OOC snag, they can make OOC contact.  If they're not concerned?  No real need for the precaution.

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I've always been of the opinion that if the RP is going on in an obviously public space (next to the bar in the Hostelry, in the middle of an obviously busy street, in the Quicksand, etc), then it's fair game.

 

The only time I honestly think permission should be asked is if you intend to initiate conflict RP, since a lot of people react to that really badly when it comes to walk-ups (and, frankly, a lot of people handle it badly in the first place).

 

But, then again, I came from a platform that had really immersive RP worlds where everywhere was IC all the time and people eavesdropped, etc, on a regular basis.

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The only time I honestly think permission should be asked is if you intend to initiate conflict RP' date=' since a lot of people react to that really badly when it comes to walk-ups (and, frankly, a lot of people handle it badly in the first place).[/quote']

 

Basically this - it's in everyone's interests to pop them a quick tell if your character's actions are reasonably going to cause an argument or a fight. They get a heads-up that the tone of their RP is going to be changing... and you get to gauge whether they're going to be pissy about it and make it un-fun for everyone, or if they're going to be cool.

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The only time I honestly think permission should be asked is if you intend to initiate conflict RP' date=' since a lot of people react to that really badly when it comes to walk-ups (and, frankly, a lot of people handle it badly in the first place).[/quote']

 

Basically this - it's in everyone's interests to pop them a quick tell if your character's actions are reasonably going to cause an argument or a fight. They get a heads-up that the tone of their RP is going to be changing... and you get to gauge whether they're going to be pissy about it and make it un-fun for everyone, or if they're going to be cool.

 

I'm going to third this as well. Not only is it common courtesy but it also can potentially resolve any potential sticky situations before they arise. You can tell a lot about how someone is going to take their characters being pushed in a certain direction simply by asking them for permission ahead of time. If they put caveats you aren't comfortable with or vice versa, best not to even engage at all.

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From my witnessing of public scenes' date=' I personally am of the belief that anything you say and do in public should be held accountable against your character. As, it is publicly witnessable by multiple sources. However this becomes an issue for people who don't want thier 'bubble' pupped. And, creates a further issue where punishment for illegal actions (like, actual illegal actions - stealing, murder, solicitation etc) becomes negligible to the point of comedy.[/quote']

 

ohey i recognize your name. thanks for the fc offer yesterday, was very kind :D

 

on topic: i agree that actions should have consequences, but as others have mentioned not all rpers have the same improv skill / maturity level. some will forget to turn their rp tag on/off, some will have no search info, some just want to be edgelords, and some will just be plain tired irl and subsequently inattentive.

 

i wouldn't hold it against them; between duty finder and ui elements and whatnot, the game has around half a dozen distracting aspects at any given moment. on the other hand, some of my most enjoyable long-term rp and friendships have come from complete strangers marching up to my character, bold as brass, and chatting him up out of the blue.

 

sending a /tell beforehand can help, as well as messaging someone out of game to plan little encounter scenes, whether ingame or through forum posts. these days i just read lots of backstory tumblrs/wikis from signature links and make a mental note of who has interesting characters, in case we ever run into each other being ic, like at an event or somesuch.

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Way I see it... if you are using /s, your RP is fair game for anyone within earshot. If you don't want your RP interfered with, that's what /p is for. (I follow this rule myself.) If someone is blatantly (and egregiously) breaking lore in public chat, I'll just quietly put them on blacklist.

 

This. Really doesn't have a simpler answer.

 

If you're in public, in public channels, your RP is fair game. Those that lurk and don't make their presence known ICly or OOCly just need to be dealt with when the issue arises.

 

The only part I disagree with (on a personal level) is the use of /p. I, personally, only use that for RP over long ranges (such as combat that takes place in two spots just out of /s and /em range) or if it's requested by whatever group I am RPing with at a large public event ( even then I just try to find a quieter place if possible).

 

Whispers are nice and all, but wholly unnecessary if RPing out in the open. If you want private, undisturbed, specially set up RP that isn't otherwise represented in game take it to private chats, discord, forums, etc. or be prepared to describe the situation (so that they may join) to any passersby that come along.

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We had a pretty in-depth conversation on this whole thing in the chat but, I figure it's worth it to put my opinion on the matter here. Buckle in, it's probably going to be lengthy given my penchant for rambling. :blush:

 

The main crux of this argument is, from my understanding of the chat conversation, the concept of a "fully immersive RP environment." A situation that you can see and interact with any RP situation that is openly set in front of you. You see someone having a drink at the bar, you join them. You overhear a dastardly plot, you jump in to help/interrupt it! The entire RP world is your oyster to partake in.

 

While that's still technically true, it's also not the whole truth. Especially with a community as large as Balmung (and even among smaller communities), people are going to have personal preferences on what they want to RP and what sorts of situations they're willing to RP with. A good example of this is just to ask yourself and those you know what type of characters they're playing.

 

Are they playing a Warrior of Light? Are they playing some gritty, down-on-their-luck street urchin? Are they playing an ancient Allagan bioweapon who has accidentally reawakened and somehow has a penchant for hanging out in bars? Someone RPing as a major NPC? A traveler from another world - such as FFXI or another setting entirely?

 

Next question: how would your (or their) character react to any of the characters above? Especially ones that are outside the realm of play that you/they are comfortable with entertaining. Would you ignore them? Or would you engage them and simply assume that their character was crazy or a liar? Now, turn that on its head - what if you were RPing with someone who did the same to you, waving off your character's claims because they were "unbelievable" to that player?

 

Is one way of play really wrong compared to the other? If so, where is this hard-written rule of How One Must RP? Or is it simply more of you trying to enforce the type of RP you're comfortable with and/or want to see? Because, technically, the beauty of RP - and storytelling in general - is that there aren't set rules like that. You can technically tell any sort of tale you want with whatever characters you want.

 

Sure, people can cite common RP no-nos - no power-gaming, no meta-gaming, no lore-breaking - but these are all, in truth, simply more concessions in order to get along with other RPers and try to make it a more fun experience for everyone. If you play One Punch Man Comes to Eorzea and take out everyone effortlessly, there's no RP Police that's coming to bust down your door and arrest you. The worst that will happen is that you may find difficulty in finding someone willing to RP with you.

 

But that - I believe - is the beauty of a massive RP population like on Balmung (and why it remained the go-to up until SE straight up kept people from getting onto it anymore): there are so many RPers that even your One Punch Man could find a group willing to RP with them - though it might take some time and effort some may not be willing to put into it. However, toning such things down and following more of the RP "guidelines" simply means more chances to find someone willing to "accept" and play with your character.

 

That's generally what that popular, somewhat passive-aggressive statement so prevalent here on the RPC stands for: "You can RP what you want, but people might not RP with you." Translated, to me, it means: "It's not something I want to RP with." And, shockingly, that's okay. You don't have to make a character that pleases anyone - simply one that makes you happy and, hopefully, amongst all the masses you can find others with similar mindsets.

 

A bit tangential, but it circles back to the point at hand. You have all these differing styles and levels of "power" and preferences and goals going on independent of one another. So what happens when these different circles interact? Such as in the situations raised - that of coming across someone in public RP?

 

You find two thieves openly bragging amongst themselves that they just robbed and murdered some wealthy merchant. Something must be done, right? Well... you would think, but! Keep in mind that the only person whose RP you have any control of (and really, any right to control if you want to think about it) is your own. You cannot and will not have the authority to tell others how they "should" RP, you can simply enforce your preferences by RPing with those of like minds.

 

If you just step in and seek to enforce your RP will on these two braggarts... is it technically any worse than someone claiming to be the love child of Shiva and Bahamut trying to force you to accept their style of RP? An exaggeration, perhaps, but at its simplest it's the same concept: their RP doesn't mesh with your RP. And that's okay - again, the beauty of large RP groups is that you're not forced to RP with these people! You can go find something else.

 

But maybe these thieves WANT to be stopped, maybe they're doing this BECAUSE they want someone into interact. That's certainly a possibility. However, since it is not a KNOWN thing, the oft-suggested idea of "asking first" is paramount. Send them a tell, see if they're willing to have you to step in. After all, this is you seeking to impose on THEIR RP - whether it's in a tucked away location or the middle of a populated city. They are under no more compulsion to accept your addition to the scene than you are to accept Shivhamut or One Punch Man waltzing into YOUR RP scene.

 

Maybe it'll work out - they'll agree to have you jump in and the result could be an engaging experience! Or maybe (if, for example, their goal for their RP is to have a power fantasy of having the always successful, smug thief type who always gets away and always has a quick, witty quip) they'll end up forcing a situation where they get away anyway, rendering your efforts moot. Or maybe your character will end up in a power bracket beyond theirs and it quickly turns into an OOC argument on how your character is power-gaming theirs. Or they could just let you know that they're not wanting any intervention - be it because they're "technically elsewhere", it's part of a closed-circuit RP, or they just don't want someone else coming in and potentially "ruining" their scene. Or they just ignore you and you move on.

 

Sure, in the latter cases, folks have said that this sort of situation could be circumvented by the people just having their RP in party chat or other closed-circuit environment. But, again, they're under no obligation to do so - just as you aren't. Maybe they think party chat is for OOC stuff - maybe they like using emote actions, which can't be done in party? It's simply more of a concession to the "benefit" of others, not a hard-written rule that must be followed.

 

So, what can you do? Well, technically, you can still do whatever you want. You can seek to interact with them - but they're not obligated to accept you or what you want to do with the scene. You can seek to let them know OOCly what you feel they "should" be doing - but, again, they aren't obligated to follow your advice. Or you can go find RPers more suited to your preference of play amongst all the many others on the server and let them do their own thing. Worse thing I can see in that case is they could come posting about how no one wants to RP with them. :tonberry:

 

Ultimately, the choice is yours. And theirs. And everyone else's.

 

Or something like that. I'm sure I lost track of what I was saying and trying to convey at some point during this wall of text. Maybe there'll still be something worth gleaning out of it. :blush:

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I like RPing in public and I like seeing other people RP in public. My only problem is that I have the bad luck of passer-bys tending to take an interest in an RP I'm in when we're like 5-10 mins from finishing. Then I feel bad.

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