How to get into plots?

[Michikyou]

Hey guys.

 

I've been experiencing some issues with getting into rp in general..

 

I have three major concerns to why this is as I have tested with other characters who seem to naturally become more loved with the same people.

 

1. When I play a female character, I get much more roleplay. Instantly with the same or other groups.
   
2. People don't want to roleplay with quiet bookish characters, or characters who are more neutral with their emotions. People want a character who over-reacts or is vibrant about X, Y, Z.
   
3. If I offer to help it is instantly pushed aside for someone.
   
4. If I set up plot, it is put aside for other rp with other people.
   
5. Even after introducing myself and roleplaying for a few god hours, I wont be contacted again for further roleplay - by anyone.
   

 

 

I've trialed runnng a few plots for myself and others to get involved with such as:

• IC Dungeons runs for 'research' or adventuring purposes.
  
• A plot dealing with poachers and chocobo chick thieves.
  
• Researching Leviathan.
  

 

Not one of these plots gained any interest with anyone. I've tried joining multiple LS's, checking out for 'does anyone wanna rp' messages, but gradually i'm feeling this community is closed off and much colder than any i've been in before.

 

Is there anything people can tell me that wont mean I have to rewrite my Keeper male?[/b]

[LeCard]

I couldn't find a whole lot of info on the character wiki, so I'm not sure of any real specifics of plots you might be going for but if you Sig saying SMN is of any note, You should check out Mysterium(in my sig). We have fun and plenty of the RPz(and plenty of us are the quiet booky type).

 

I think if you can provide a little better detail you might catch a few people that would be interested in plots.

[Lament]

1. This is due to a number of reasons, but a fairly inoffensive one is the fact male characters are more common than female characters.
   
2. That's not entirely true. Quiet bookish characters are much harder to interact with (and to RP effectively) because they give little feedback - so people have very little to work with. I have an alt, Maliqa, with that problem. She plays best against cheery types who will initiate conversation, and I tend to warn people that it'll take time for her to open up.
   
3. Offer to help with what, precisely?
   
4. That is an unfortunate reality when setting up plots. Out of several interested people, usually only a few will stick around - even when they're the ones setting the plot up.
   
5. Lies and slander. I owe you RP and I still think Naih would be a sweet traveling companion for Elissa so they can geek out over science. My main issue is having tons of alts - I get very little RP on each of them per week compared to people with just one.
   

• Try being less specific with IC dungeon runs. Everyone is there, each person can have their own reason. Or they're there because they have to be. It's easier than trying to get different characters to have the same objective.
  
• It's very, very hard to get other people involved in specific plots because characters generally need reasons to be doing things. Elissa, for instance, wouldn't care about poachers and chocobo chicks. She would need a reason to be involved - something that interests her.
  
• Again, it's hard to get others involved in specific plots when their characters don't take a particular interest in the topic. Again with Elissa - she would research Leviathan, because it's a primal. She would also research every other primal. None of my other alts would be interested, and there are 6 of them!
  

Tailor your plot around including people who have no reason to be involved otherwise. Very few characters will get involved in things out of the goodness of their hearts.

 

Communicate with people OOC, ask what kinds of things they're likely to be involved with. THEN decide. It's like setting up a scene for some quick RP, except on a much larger scale.

 

And seriously, hit me up for RP any day. I may be busy sometimes - I have too many alts - but I am up for it.

[Val]

Hi Naih'ir! I'm not entirely sure how well our characters will get along, but I'm more than willing to RP with you!

 

To be honest I haven't found much in the way of plots going on, either. It has gone to simply logging in and having Val interact with others. Most plot-based RP, from what I've seen, has been kept within their respective linkshells and aren't open to the public. I understand this, but as you said, it seems incredibly closed off and I feel it's hurting the community in the long run. Why? Because people won't stick around if they can't find people to RP with. The less people play, the less chances there will be for thrilling and entertaining plots to exist between groups.

 

Val was never meant to be the head of plots. I've said it before, but I've built him so that he can be, more or less, involved in any plot he's wanted/needed in. He's a mercenary and, quite honestly, a bottle of wine or a meal is as good of payment to him as gil--assuming the job warrants such. Since he's a mercenary, he can more or less be involved anywhere that someone is willing to have him.

 

..And yet, I've still had issues finding people that are in plots that are willing to allow others. 

 

As far as your plots go:

• I'd love to do IC dungeon runs, but with the timer I feel incredibly restricted by it.
  
• Pay Val enough and he'd gladly go after some thieves =)
  
• Sadly, Val doesn't much do research and he isn't incredibly intelligent. He can go find things and protect someone doing the research, but as far as making assumptions himself--well. It just isn't in him!
  

TL;DR The community seems stale overall--at least to someone looking for RP that doesn't already have a set group. I'll RP with you if you want =D

[Michikyou]

Thanks for both your feedbacks.

 

I'll definitely need to get in contact with you, Lecard. Naih is icly is a training arcanist after being told by his mate he needs to learn how to defend himself - but then told not physically.. so he is learning how to heal. He more so 'befriends' his summons rather than contracting or calling them from the aether due to his deep connection with creatures of the wild.

 

@Lament

 

Yeah, I know the feeling. I've been blown off so often in the passed few weeks that it is starting to wear me down. I tried to set up personal progress rp with someone who wanted to take on a student. I contacted them once a day and it took them three weeks to tell me that they they didn't have time. This seems to happen with a lot of roleplay. I've learned now that if I want RP people need to offer it to me or else I come off as 'annoying', but the thing is my character isn't really desirable compared to a lot of other characters out there so I find myself pushed to the bottom of everyone's priority list.

 

In guildwars 2 I was the one who planned all the guild events and plots but never could participate because I GM'd them. It was fun, but I never got to roleplay myself. I feel like the same thing is just going to happen again.

[Nirri]

You can always contact me for RP, I'll always be up for some roleplay no matter what it's kind. From going to find something/someone, to research... to whateeeever.

 

I'm always willing  to drop my leveling for a few hours for RP.

 

In my opinion on...

 

Point 1. I think if you design a female character you'll get more roleplay because it's how it works. Every male character wants to meet it's female counterpart. And there is far more male characters.

 

 

Point 2. When I tried to roleplay a quiet character that kinda kept his emotions to himself I felt like you're one of those outcasts mainly due to own fault. You close yourself off to people and they instantly asume it'll be like that always. The best thing you can do is find a good neutral zone inbetween the quiet bookish and cheery.

 

 

Point 3. Not really sure what you mean with this. Elaborate?

 

Point 4. If you set up a plot for people to RP in. You'll draw in a variety of people who at first just check the plot out and then split off if doesn't appeal to them or not. It's a very common thing that happens with every plot. So a variety of plots assists with this.

 

Point 5. I think this is something to do with the entire fact  that... The person is either waiting for you to contact him and in return you are waiting for him. Causing this stalemate in who contact's who. But further on that I haven't seen you roleplay or met you yet.

[Torvhan]

Good Evening,

First off, I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience, and I'm sure RPC doesn't want to seem cold and closed. I think is some of the issue might just be because the RPC exploded in size, theirs a lot going on and you might have to keep pushing until you find a good place.

 

I've had quite a few of my ideas seem to fail, and many of my RP threads didn't go anywhere until I went out and asked people in my linkshell to join my threads. That's my first piece of advice is to seek out people in your linkshell or on the forums and ask them to join you sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't (or somebody hasn't been on the forums recently.)

 

You could also find a linkshell that uses something like skype for OOC chat, I think thats why the Hipparion Tribe is so active is we are always just bringing up random stuff whether pertaining to RP or not, and as people become more comfortable around each other they tend to talk more.

 

I can't say much for in game roleplaying much I really haven't been involved in much random RP, but most of it was planned out of game, or I specifically set up meetings with people.

 

On the bookish characters I guess it depends, I would decribe K'mana as bookish her main love being history of her tribe but being a huntress in her tribe means that she must have certain skills. But her love of history and her tribe is what I use to drive her storyline, currently involving finding missing members of her tribe, but even then I've only recieved one "clue"(reply) to my article, so far even in our active linkshell, but I just keep pushing it along.

 

Looking at your ideas something such as chocobo thieves would be something that would affect the Hipparion Tribe, if you still looking to persue something like that. I don't know much about your characters history, so I can't say if you'd like to be a part of the tribe but if you do I'm sure naunet could find you a spot in the Keeper branch. We'd might have to wait a week or so to see where the Tribe might be moving to before we set something in motion like chocobo thieves, but the tribe does use them for their hunting, and I think we'd be very upset if someone was making off with them.

[Michikyou]

Good Evening,

First off, I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience, and I'm sure RPC doesn't want to seem cold and closed. I think is some of the issue might just be because the RPC exploded in size, theirs a lot going on and you might have to keep pushing until you find a good place.

 

I've had quite a few of my ideas seem to fail, and many of my RP threads didn't go anywhere until I went out and asked people in my linkshell to join my threads. That's my first piece of advice is to seek out people in your linkshell or on the forums and ask them to join you sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't (or somebody hasn't been on the forums recently.)

 

You could also find a linkshell that uses something like skype for OOC chat, I think thats why the Hipparion Tribe is so active is we are always just bringing up random stuff whether pertaining to RP or not, and as people become more comfortable around each other they tend to talk more.

 

I can't say much for in game roleplaying much I really haven't been involved in much random RP, but most of it was planned out of game, or I specifically set up meetings with people.

 

On the bookish characters I guess it depends, I would decribe K'mana as bookish her main love being history of her tribe but being a huntress in her tribe means that she must have certain skills. But her love of history and her tribe is what I use to drive her storyline, currently involving finding missing members of her tribe, but even then I've only recieved one "clue"(reply) to my article, so far even in our active linkshell, but I just keep pushing it along.

 

Looking at your ideas something such as chocobo thieves would be something that would affect the Hipparion Tribe, if you still looking to persue something like that. I don't know much about your characters history, so I can't say if you'd like to be a part of the tribe but if you do I'm sure naunet could find you a spot in the Keeper branch. We'd might have to wait a week or so to see where the Tribe might be moving to before we set something in motion like chocobo thieves, but the tribe does use them for their hunting, and I think we'd be very upset if someone was making off with them.

 

 

Hey I'm thankful for your reply.

 

It would be interesting to get involved with a Sun Seeker tribe as I wished to of found a keeper tribe for my own character. But several threads and a failing LS later I've realised that no one really cares about tribal Miqo'te unless you're a sunseeker.

 

Sadly; my character has a very SOUR opinion of sun seeker tribes due to one particular K' Nunh he has met. He doesn't approve of that tribe at all if they are putting such a person in command.

 

Though I would definitely be interested in a one on one rp, maybe as an adventuring group?

[LeCard]

Somtheing else to consider,

 

Alot of the FC groups will still be working on their initial build up the FC members and get everyone to know everyone. They will also be working to work out any initial Story lines their character have the characters officially joining the FC.

 

I suspect you will see some groups opening up for free for all RP later on when they have properly settled into their groups.

 

Something else to consider, When running you characters personal story plot where would you turn to? The people you know and can plan for what is going to happen(at least a little) to get your character to the place you want them, or that random person over there that may or may not be supper awesome cool to RP with. The problem we have here is that, while I might recognize your RPC screen name, I have no idea what your character name is(and with SO many people on the RPC no one can expect people to read every character profile and remember the names). So best thin I can say is maybe try to look someone you want to RP with up on the forums and when you see them in game lead off with a little OOC tell saying hi I say you on the RPC forum. I bet just mentioning RPC will open a few doors.

[LandStander]

I normally always play vibrant characters as I feel like IRL I have a pretty..uh..vibrant personality so its easier to RP a role like that for myself. I think people tend to gravitate towards those kinds of characters because they seem more exciting. The same goes for the two types of personalities IRL. The more expressive person who is laughing loudly and making people take shots is usually more popular the person who tries to talk to someone about the medical benefits of tumeric. 

 

Honestly I feel like its pretty hard to get plots started with anyone unless they are already friends. People are really flakey. Heck, I have had over four things planned with various people before launch and two after launch and all of them fell through. I am also guilty of this as I told an LS I wanted to do a plot with them, but I never ended up setting it up for various reasons, the main being fear that they would think the event would not be fun enough and I would have wasted their time . I did finally get a storyline started and I am currently getting into another storyline with another group. 

 

I would not mind helping you with a few plots as I am pretty flexible with my characters and can easily come up with excuses. I can't guarantee that I'll be available though as my availability is slowly declining due to school and work and I am making more RP friends ^^ (which is not a bad thing). Just message me in game and I am sure we can work something out !

[K'dath]

1. When I play a female character, I get much more roleplay. Instantly with the same or other groups.

Because women are more appealing, sad but true. People gravitate towards 'pairing' even if it's not in a sexual/romantic setting.

 

2. People don't want to roleplay with quiet bookish characters, or characters who are more neutral with their emotions. People want a character who over-reacts or is vibrant about X, Y, Z.

With the bookish sorts it's because they're hard to engage. With a vibrant personality beneath the book is how they stay interesting or at least find a way to stay involved.

 

With the neutral sort it's the same thing. How do you approach someone who doesn't react to anything? Indifferent characters exude a sense of 'leave me alone' which people tend to oblige. This is why they're usually given dynamic character roles, or are the stereotypical 'deadpan snarker'.

 

You've really get the short end with both, because your character basically has 'I am a private character' painted on it, and makes it seem like you're an indifferent RPer. Whether that's your intent or not doesn't matter, it's the implication of being closed off, preoccupied, or uninterested that makes people wary OoCly.

 

The best way to overcome this kinda prevalent stigma is, more or less, finding a good partner and doing something structured or planned between the two of you, but in a public setting where others can enter into it if they so chose. Seeing your character actively engaging someone else makes you, OoCly, seem like you are approachable, which makes your character more approachable. You expand the 'presence' of your character as a part of the world until it seems natural to approach them, rather than like a forced, mechanically interaction. (It's how I got away with inciting RP in the middle of nowhere places like Silithus and Stormpeaks...  people eventually came looking for me!)

 

It's a weird psychological process, but most RPers are shy by nature, even if they are a sociable person, and regardless of their character. They're very preoccupied with what's going on behind the screen. And due to the niche nature of the community, acting presumptuously often gets you labeled in a negative manner.

 

That also kinda ties into question 5. People are shy, and they worry about presuming you want to RP with them. It may make them seem pushy. Or maybe they think you'll contact them if you want to RP with them again. They may very well be feeling the exact same way. Communication is an important part of every relationship!

 

I admit it's a problem, even for me. My policy is sorta 'bother me whenever you feel like it, whatever I'm doing isn't important'. But I rarely ask of other people's attention because I assume they'll contact me if they need/desire my attention. (This is because of my tendency to over-talk to people. People who are accustomed to my nature know this, but it makes expanding circles very difficult)

 

So yeah, communicating with people is important. And if they don't want to communicate with you when you put forth the effort and try, they're probably kinda crap people anyway.

[Nebbs]

Ok a quick view from me..

 

Do something to be noticed, I will go for the person standing there to startup an RP but many do not. If you are not noticed you likely wont get in. So clothing, emote, talkk to an NPC.. do something that indicates you are here to RP.

 

Have hooks that people can catch on. Once the contact starts have some things that others can respond to. Lost your sister, looking for a woodcutter, where is a good place to stay, evil wizard tuned my dog into a frog.. etc. Initially this could be your personality or physique, I'm shy, I'm blind etc.. but that sort of things soon gets thin. Be prepared to RP more that your character's traits.

 

Give .. give.. give.. and then give some more. You will get back what you put in. I can say there is nothing worse than RPing at someone who just responds with a shrug or a one word answers or who does not give up any hooks or information. Ask questions, be a good listener, people love to talk about themselves and be prepared to do likewise.

 

Do stuff! If someone suggests checking out the ruins go along, not everything happens in a Tavern. Better still ask for people to help you visiting the Shrine of the Twelve or something.

 

And finally if you see a lone person who might be hesitent, go talk to them.

 

That was going to be a few bullets but .. well hey. Sorry it's a bit rushed, hopefully my points came across.

 

If you want to RP you can always give me a prod.. I'm beginner friendly and expert trouble.

[Tobias Nightbringer]

*crash lands into the thread* 

 

Hi, Naih'ir! Firstly, I just want to say that I am sorry that you are having such difficulties finding solid plot RP D:

 

I believe I actually added you awhile ago when I first started the game, but then I recreated my character but have not added you back since, which is my own fault. During that time I was stuck in Ul'dah but recently I finally have been able to venture forth! Still need to do a bit of leveling sadly T.T Anyway, what I am trying to get at is I am still very interested in getting in touch with your Keeper IC and potentially start up a plot RP!

 

Admittedly, I have been wrapped up in other things that I find little time to do much in terms of RPing other than here on the forums. Hell, even my original 'plot' RP I wanted to do has been kind of shelved. 

 

But! I will definitely be in touch and hopefully show you that the community is definitely not closed off and cold!

[Michikyou]

Lets put it this way..

 

the character I roleplay most with is Momodi.

 

And she is an NPC. Who can never respond.

[Torvhan]

Hey I'm thankful for your reply.

 

It would be interesting to get involved with a Sun Seeker tribe as I wished to of found a keeper tribe for my own character. But several threads and a failing LS later I've realised that no one really cares about tribal Miqo'te unless you're a sunseeker.

 

Sadly; my character has a very SOUR opinion of sun seeker tribes due to one particular K' Nunh he has met. He doesn't approve of that tribe at all if they are putting such a person in command.

 

Though I would definitely be interested in a one on one rp, maybe as an adventuring group?

 

Well, I haven't seen much on the Keeper side of our tribe, but they do exist, but one of the people who was running the keeper side of the house had real life intercede. I need to track down the other players on the keeper side but we could probably work you into that side of the tribe. (If you want) The two sides don't currently interact but that is merely because the seekers don't realize they are related to a group of keepers, I'm still working on tracking that particular RP line down, so that we can tie in the two sides tribal RP.

 

On another note I am sad that the keepers side of the house seems quieter I'm not sure exactly why that is, my own Miqo'te was going to be a Keeper, but I changed my idea when I saw the Hipparion Tribe threads back in beta. But however the overall seeker tribe views the keepers is one thing, my character feels that blood is stronger than silly "tribal differences" and if she knew the keepers existed would be bugging them endlessly on their tribal stories. As it stands I know that Naunet is still working on the revised Keeper family tree, and I have dug through all the Keepers wiki's and added what Keeper tribal events I found there to my Timeline. If you would like shoot me a PM with your skype and I can add you to the our tribes skype and we can work out any ideas.

[Dravus]

I've found it rather hard to break into the RPing scene myself, with the exception of a handful of individuals and my current guild who welcomed me with open arms. It's very easy to feel like you're falling through a net in this game, especially when a lot of RPers have already settled down and forged enough friendships and contacts to tide them over to the point where they don't actively open up to perceived outsiders.

 

Then again I also overestimated my own enthusiasm to help shape some of the projects I tried to set up and get involved in, largely due to the real world becoming unexpectedly busy to the point where once I did manage to sink my teeth into FFXIV properly I ended up focusing more upon the PvE aspects of the game itself.

 

Still, feel free to poke me in-game - even if it's just for a friendly chat!

[embergrin]

I don't know how long you've been RPing, so this may be old news to you, but these are things I've learned and observed through my experiences. I hope it doesn't come off as preachy, and if these are things you already know, feel free to ignore! Maybe it'll help a passerby who's new to RPing.

 

I think #2 depends entirely on what kind of player you are. If you're purely a reactionary player, you'll probably have a tougher time. But it's entirely possible to have a quiet character that drives a scene! My main, for instance, is also the quiet type. She's not hyperactive, peppy, or boisterously loud. However, she's very curious. She'll ask questions, pick up/touch things that aren't hers, or she'll react to something with notable body language that other characters can respond to.

 

Quiet characters have a stigma because, ususally, they don't give their partners much to react to. When you're stuck with a partner like that, it's boring and hard to play with. The key is to provide substance. "If I got this from my partner, how could I react to it?" is a good question to ask yourself when you're typing up replies. It doesn't always work, as sometimes your partner will pass up what you think is an obvious hook, and that's fine. It happens. Still, you'll want to at least try to give your partner something to work with, and it's okay to fall back on introspection, body language, and facial expressions to clue you partner in to how your character is feeling. Even quiet characters will almost always have an emotional outburst at some point, whether good or bad, which can be good for a hook. Just avoid being the "sitting in a corner and brooding" type, because approaching a character that comes across as hostile/aloof/having a lot of emotional baggage isn't an appealing choice. For me, anyway. It's a tall order for a stranger to take on.

 

You'll also want to evaluate how your RP looks. It seems nitpicky, but a clean appearance can actually work wonders.

 

Something like Elise burst through door, announcing, "I made cookies for everyone!" She neglected to mention they were burnt. looks more appealing than Elise burst through the door........ she announced "i made cookies for everyone!!!!!" She neglected to mention they were burnt.....

 

Aside from that, it's really just a matter of finding people you mesh well with. Get close to people OOC, they'll be more likely to RP with you. Don't just repeatedly ask them for a scene, because that can come off as pestering; get to know them, ask them about their characters, ask what they're doing or would like to accomplish with them. And like another user mentioned, a lot of RPers are shy and/or don't want to bother you. Or you run in to issues of flakiness. Considering many MMO players often have jobs, school, and/or children, that's not a surprise. You just have to keep on going until you find people that stick. It can take a while. MMOs have always taken me the longest to break in to.

 

With all that said, I do have an alt on Balmung. If you want to try a scene with her, just drop me a line.

[K'nahli]

Oh, please, please consider becoming involved with our Moonkeeper side! I'd love to get the chance to meet you in RP. My miqo'te and yours likely won't get along too well since you declared she has a sour opinion about Sunseekers(and I think this will only reinforce her notion against Moonkeepers since she we have been taught not to trust them) but if they were in a situation where they were encouraged/"forced" to meet  continuously then it could turn out interesting ^^"

 

If that doesn't work I could try and see if any of my hy'urs could work with you. My only fear is(and this applies to my miqo'te too) that they might be a bit boring or stale for you. I am not very knowledgeable about lore after all.

[TheLastCandle]

There are some extremely insightful posts here. The only thing I'll add is: OOC communication can be important. For some, it needs to be consistent in order to establish that sense of trust. It might not even take that long; with my RP partner, all it took was a few days of OOC and IC conversation for me to enter my comfort zone. Your mileage may vary, but my advice is to not be afraid to approach OOC where warranted.

[ArmachiA]

I'm actually writing a pretty heavy plotline with 3-4 other people on the "Writing" staff (We kinda consider ourselves GMs, it's a really complicated story) that is getting underway currently with The Night Blades and the Grim Echo (Though we want to expand it to other people/LS's eventually) and I have a ... one relatively popular character (Subjective, still like 85% of the rp community has no idea who she is) so maybe I can answer a few questions.

 

When I play a female character, I get much more roleplay. Instantly with the same or other groups.

While this CAN be true, the most popular person in my circle is actually a Miqote male. He is just really, really, popular among the circles he and I tend to inhabit. And when new people show up, he tends to grab attention fairly quickly. We make fun of him, but he just has a super charismatic character.

I think females are probably more popular in general though because female characters tend to be more interested in idle chit chat, making friends, and such. I've noticed a lot of male characters are either A. "I don't like them bars RPs, gonna stay out and hang with my circle." or B. "Trying to get a girlfriend." the latter also explaining why girls are more popular . Obviously, this isn't to say all of them are like that (or that girls aren't like that either, let me tell you some stories bout my super popular friend up there) but it's just a trend I've noticed since I started RPing in MMOs 10 years ago.

 

People don't want to roleplay with quiet bookish characters, or characters who are more neutral with their emotions. People want a character who over-reacts or is vibrant about X, Y, Z.

MMO's are a very different kind of RP then Table Top games. People in MMOs aren't forced to interact with your character or are thrusted into a plotline with them. Because of this MMO RP is like the real world, the super friendly, or super manipulative (Depending on evil or good ) characters - like people - tend to stand out more. A stand offish, bookish character isn't going to get noticed as easily in MMO RP just like they aren't noticed in Real life. Stand-offish people tend to have a smaller circle of friends than more open, charismatic people - who have very large circles. This is normal and if you want to play that KIND of character that's what's going to happen. Friendly people are easier to relate with, people don't have to jump through millions of hoops to get to know them. This is coming from someone who plays BOTH kinds of characters.

Armi is just way more popular than Loki at this point in the game. Armi is awkward and really wants friends, so she runs head first into large crowds to try to talk to people - often with hilarious results. She is the kind of character where it's easy to let your defenses down. She's harmless and she likes most people and people respond to her. I've gotten tells saying how adorable the character is, she has people romantically interested in her, and (though she doesn't even realize it) she has a ton of friends - inside and outside of my usually circle. I can't RP her shy though, she isn't as approachable shy, so I make her "shy" (Blushes in large crowds, blushes if she's touched by a man, wrings her hands together, backs away from the crowd a bit when new people show up, but never stops talking) and it comes across.

Loki is almost the opposite. She would rather read books than talk to most people, when she does talk it's usually in a dry, monotone voice and she's saying something cynical. Loki doesn't want, or need, popularity. She has her small circle of friends and she's perfectly okay with that. Most people she meets at events she may forget. The biggest thing I give her to interact with people is that she is a flirt and like Alcohol. Loki is much much harder to get to know, though, and like 95% of people won't try. And that's okay, it doesn't make sense for them too. I'll still rp her in large crowds or at events, but I understand the character I'm rolling with. People don't respond to people like her easily (It does happen, Loki does make friends, just not as easily as Armi).

When I used to play Tabletop games, I always rolled characters like Loki, and it worked because that group was forced to interact with me. They had to, the GM forced them. There's nothing like that here.

 

If I offer to help it is instantly pushed aside for someone.

I'm not sure on this one, but maybe they were in the middle of a giant story? I know that like a week ago in Ul'dah, Armi was stabbed by our big bad guy and the chaos of that sent a lot of people involved in that storyline into a tizzy. We had a few people come over and ask what the issue was, but as they didn't know what happened either no one had answers. A few walked away, probably upset we couldn't explain beyond "Chick got stabbed" but a few people actually hung out with us till the plotline was over - not so much worrying about the back story but more about that moment.

Sometimes it's pretty hard to tell strangers whats going on. Those involved are worried about those not involved judging them for the story ("Ugh this Armi girl got stab, how attention whore-y") or will argue with them about lore (Has happened in THIS GAME) or just not agree that is something that would happen (We were in Ul'dah, I'm sure some people were like "The guards would have stopped that *scoff*") I work fairly hard on this plotline - probably about 6-7 hours a day trying to keep it organized and planned out, it only takes ONE person who doesn't agree with what your doing to derail it. It can be scary. It's better when you get stabbed to go to people also involved - like your FC mates - because there is no judgement. They know exactly what happened and they already agreed to the story. Outsiders didn't agree and they don't have to.

Above I said I was to get more people/LS's involved. Dennthota, who plays a bad guy alt with us, has been putting feelers out there about using our Garleans in one shot stories and small plotlines. I think that's whats going to work best for our villains. Our big story expanding to people who would have to be pretty dedicated to it (And not give up on it halfway through) would be really hard, though we treat the plotlines as more episodic than a constant narrative (So we can take breaks from the Grimdark). However, doing one-shot stories with the community would be very feasible and less scary.

I really don't think it's a hatred of you wanting to get involved, but more of a fear of judgement coming from you.

 

If I set up plot, it is put aside for other rp with other people.

This can take FOREVER. Like, a really long time to get people on the same page as you. Our plotline above? Only just started about 2 weeks ago. We spent the rest of the time RPing introductions and getting to know each other and working on our own thing. It only started BY ACCIDENT. Honestly, it really wouldn't have kicked off at all if our characters hadn't cared about each other in someway. The character introductions and character building were essential for the thing to even get off the ground.

But it was slow. It was so slow. It's STILL slow. We're only in the "introduce the plot and the villains" part. Getting everyone on the same page is mindbogglingly slow. Every character has their own agenda, and I have to make sure that agenda is being moved forward - even a little bit - for someone to be interested. Selfless RP is rare.

 

Even after introducing myself and roleplaying for a few god hours, I wont be contacted again for further roleplay - by anyone.

I never get contacted for one-on-one sessions after meeting and getting along with someone. Usually I just accidentally see them in the same area and rp with them again... are you supposed to contact people?

 

 

 

I've trialed runnng a few plots for myself and others to get involved with such as:

• IC Dungeons runs for 'research' or adventuring purposes.
  
• A plot dealing with poachers and chocobo chick thieves.
  
• Researching Leviathan.
  

 

I think this kinda goes with above and the mentality of "Why would my character be there?" to which most of the time the answer is "They wouldn't." and while some people will Meta their character a bit to work around it, most people will not.

 

You have to be extremely patient. Super patient. THE MOST PATEINT. lol.

I'm a guild leader, so it's probably a lot easier to shove my ideas in people's faces - I can't even imagine how hard it would be for people who don't have that kind of luck.

 

On OOC Communication as said above: OOC Communication is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. The most important. Unbelievably important. There are a lot of people involved in the story I'm writing for. Most of them have talked to me OOCly about it. I send tells to anyone who may get hurt, or has a prominent part in the story, to get their boundaries and their permission.

 

When one guy burst in with 3 other guys to fight two people, one of whom was drugged? Talked about the entire time. Where the arrows hit, the dice rolls failures/successes, if they could be kidnapped, everything was talked bout while the fight was occurring, to make sure everyone was comfortable (And yes we even had to get permission to drug one of the people above).

 

Armi getting stabbed in the Middle of Ul'dah? The line that was laid out to me was that Fillion and Armi would just talk, but I gave him my permission to hurt her if he needed to get out of there, and he did. We talked about it before hand, though not what would happen specifically.

 

I just did a plot where a bunch of bombs went of and I'd say 10 people were involved. Before hand I said "If you go to this event there is a chance your character may be hurt. If that is uncomfortable to you, don't go." We mapped out how many people should go, the logistics, etc before hand and relayed them to people.

 

It's so much work, but it has to be done.

 

 

All that said, there should be a thread or something about wanting to do plotlines or showing your plotline so people can maybe get involved. Or something.

[Nako Vesh]

Oh, please, please consider becoming involved with our Moonkeeper side!

 

I wasn't aware the Hipparion tribe had a Keeper branch? How does that work exactly?

[Naunet]

Oh, please, please consider becoming involved with our Moonkeeper side!

 

I wasn't aware the Hipparion tribe had a Keeper branch? How does that work exactly?

 

Several generations ago, one of our nunhs broke off to follow a Keeper lady, and the tribe cut him from their ranks. He went on to establish a Keeper family in the Shroud.

 

There is actually a second, extremely short Keeper branch as well that occurred when a tia was exiled and fell in with a Keeper. He ended up getting himself killed but not before siring a couple children, all but one of whom have died.

[Nako Vesh]

Oh, please, please consider becoming involved with our Moonkeeper side!

 

I wasn't aware the Hipparion tribe had a Keeper branch? How does that work exactly?

 

Several generations ago, one of our nunhs broke off to follow a Keeper lady, and the tribe cut him from their ranks. He went on to establish a Keeper family in the Shroud.

 

There is actually a second, extremely short Keeper branch as well that occurred when a tia was exiled and fell in with a Keeper. He ended up getting himself killed but not before siring a couple children, all but one of whom have died.

 

That's really cool! Are there people currently RPing the Keeper branch?

[Naunet]

That's really cool! Are there people currently RPing the Keeper branch?

 

Khaze'to and one other were RPing within first Keeper branch, but I think real life caught up to at least one of them as I haven't seen them around in a bit save for in Skype. You might be able to PM him on the RPC or somesuch!

 

The sole survivor of the second branch I mentioned is currently RPed by Twinflame.

[Nako Vesh]

That's really cool! Are there people currently RPing the Keeper branch?

 

Khaze'to and one other were RPing within first Keeper branch, but I think real life caught up to at least one of them as I haven't seen them around in a bit save for in Skype. You might be able to PM him on the RPC or somesuch!

 

The sole survivor of the second branch I mentioned is currently RPed by Twinflame.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

As for the OP, I've been looking for tribal Keeper RP myself. My Keeper, Nako, is currently out exploring the world, but still has a close bond with her family and traditions in the Shroud. She's a light hearted, often silly white knight type character, so I dunno if that works for you, but I'd be happy to RP!