Hello Eorzeans

[Sumi]

Hello there! I'm interested in meeting some people who like RP-ing and giving it a try. I have a decent amount of social anxiety and am a little unsure of how to go about doing this. For now, I will offer one of my alts' name as my own - you can call me, Sumira or Sumi for short.

 

MMORPG background

I've been playing FFXIV since end of Stormblood. I also played WoW before that. I've had OC's that I developed backstories for in both, but haven't RPed a ton in either.

 

RP experience

I have a decent amount of D&D RP experience, but only have really RPed with two or three friends in FFXIV. It was pretty easy to coordinate what everyone wanted to get out of the experience IRL, so any advice on figuring that stuff out virtually and with strangers is very welcome.

 

Character ideas/info

I have a pretty fleshed out story for my main, but have concerns about her being a Mary Sue. So I'll drop some info about Sumi here instead in hopes that that will point me in the right direction.

 

Sumira is an Au Ra who lived in the underwater towns of the Ruby Sea growing up. I was inspired by the Little Mermaid, thinking it would be fun to have a character that wanted to see more of the surface world and learn everything there is to know. Rather than motivated by the love of a prince, however, Sumi wants to make friends, experience life, and pursue learning in all its forms. She eventually leaves home to attend school in Sharlayan, but she's free-spirited and likes to travel. Words I'd use to describe her are bubbly, naive, enthusiastic, aloof. Edgier, more reserved types may find her a little annoying, but she's determined to melt their hearts.

 

How did you learn about the coalition?

I stumbled upon it online after deciding I wanted to learn more about getting into the RP scene in FFXIV.

 

What kind of a role-player are you aiming to be? (e.g. Light, medium, or heavy)

I'm not sure what these categories constitute exactly (how much time? how deep a back story? multiple sessions vs single ones?).

 

I suppose the safest choice is light. I would describe myself as casual since I'm relatively new to FFXIV RP. I'm not super versed in emote usage, though I do know about /em and will defer to that often. I don't get on every single day of the week and have other activities/games that I participate in. That being said, there are usually one or two nights a week that I have several hours free, so I could do sessions that last a little longer. Mostly, I'd like to learn more about it and get to know some nice people who won't mind a new person.

 

Anything from real life you're comfortable with sharing? (Work, school, hobbies, etc.)

I mentioned this earlier, but I have a D&D group I'm playing with on the side. I have a day job that involves a fair amount of math, so it's nice to have chances to be creative. Mostly I play PC games in my free time (i.e. FFXIV, Minecraft, Civ, etc.) but I also will write and draw occasionally. Binge-watching things on Netflix is also something I do probably more than I should.

 

Final thoughts

I've done a little reading about how to be a good RP-er - I'd like to avoid burdening someone by having them hand-hold me through it all. I'm not going to be the type of player that just has a character sigh moodily and wait around for others to take initiative. Throwing myself out there can be terrifying though....haha. So if there are ways to find people that are patient enough to deal with someone who's a little nervous, I'd love pointers on where to look. It's also a dream of mine to RP my main with folks, but until I get some more experience in and feedback on whether it's a fun character for others to play with, I'll settle with Sumi for now. Don't know if anyone else deals with Mary-Sue types, but advice about that is welcome as well.

 

If you see a Sumira Yumishi on Exodus, you found me! Feel free to say hi :)

[Mua Viras]

Welcome and I hope you enjoy the community!

[Faye]

Hello there, Sumi, welcome!

[Moon Type]

Hello Sumi, and welcome to the RPC!

 

I can relate to your anxiety. Fortunately there's no shortage of friendly players in FFXIV which should help a great deal as you learn and grow with the RP community and the wonderful world of FFXIV. 

 

Your character sounds delightful! Characters with opposing outlooks can bring some of the best or worst traits out of each another, and either outcome can be ideal for story telling purposes. 

 

Now is the perfect time to write a student of Sharlayan since Old Sharlayan has been opened up to us. There's plenty of information about life in the Ruby Sea region so Sumira could have many tales to share with curious characters she interacts with. 

 

Between that, starting school in Sharlayan and being fond of traveling, she'd never lack for conversation topics. Plus she seems like one who would have questions to ask during her travels, which would allow other RPers to share information about their characters. It sounds like you have a solid foundation to build upon with Sumira. 

 

We don't have magic aether spells or teleportation irl, yet people have long managed to graduate from schools in different countries, learn multiple languages, keep up several hobbies and excel at various jobs. So don't feel bad about adding to your character as she travels and explores the world around her. 

 

I haven't seen a 'set in stone' definition, but generally speaking:

 

-light RP often refers to typing a few lines and/or engaging in quick, self-contained RP interactions, 

-medium RP usually has posts about a paragraph long and/or the character interactions build more towards an association or relationship 

-heavy RP often contains posts of multiple paragraphs and/or involves a long-term story goal that the characters are working towards

 

When in doubt never be afraid to ask for clarification on what the RPer is referring to if what they've stated isn't clear enough. 

 

FFXIV has had a population explosion the past couple of expansions so there are going to be lots of new players who are nervously dipping their toes into the RP waters, and many experienced FFXIV RPers are quite welcoming and helpful. The FFXIV RP community isn't perfect, but I think enough gamers have been through bad drama in previous MMOs that they genuinely want to see FFXIV remain civil and inviting. 

 

I feel it's a disservice to refer to your character as a Mary Sue. If Sumira is written in such a way that she's always right about everything, has mastered every profession in a handful of years, never loses or falters in a fight or conflict of ideology, is loved by everyone and all of this with no reasonable explanation, then she would absolutely be a Mary Sue. X) 

 

What you've described though, an energetic student who wants to travel the world? Not only are many FFXIV NPCs in the same boat, a considerable number of the irl human population fall into that category. So you needn't worry. 
 

[Sumi]

Thank you for the in-depth response, Moon! This was so nice and helpful and more than I expected to get. I will happily keep all of these things in mind as I get started. If you don't mind my asking, is there a particular place in game you/others go to seek out people to RP with? I know Balmung is known for its ERP scene in the Quicksand...haha. Is it normal/socially acceptable for people just type in shout chat somewhere that they're looking for people to play with?

[Moon Type]

You're very welcome, Sumi! 

 

On the Mateus server there are sometimes Company hosted RP events in the Mist, which is the player housing area of La Noscea. There's also The Drowning Wench in Limsa Lominsa which is similar to the Quicksand in terms of a tavern RP setting. 

 

Usually when I RP it's pre-arranged, but if you'd like to try a walk-up RP you could send the RPers a polite whisper to make sure they're okay with it. With public RP events however it's generally accepted that you can walk-up to anyone attending and RP since that's part of the point and appeal of such events.