OOC Roleplay

[K'nahli]

Hello everyone ^^

 

I started doing something occasionally a couple of days ago where at first I thought it might be a small, yet nice feature. Now however I am wondering if perhaps it only adds to the confusion or bothers people.

 

What that "thing" is, is that since all three of my characters are quite limited with different ways with their own roleplay, particularly in-game roleplay, I started behaving as a waitress in The Quicksand for other roleplayers. Its not really for my own fun although there have been some funny moments, but rather just to add to their own immersion instead of them having to wave their hand and assume an invisible one appears and also to break the silence and lack of interaction for roleplayers who are sitting alone.

 

People seem to respond well enough to it but they could be under the illusion that it is actually my character. Some were nice enough to try and further interaction with her by offering her a seat, having extended conversation with her and of course, asking her name.

 

 

So I was just wondering, is that more of a bad thing to be doing than good? I have also considered behaving as a carpenter on occasion should I ever see the opportunity arise but I am growing doubtful of the whole thing now.

 

 

Oh and also while I am here, what are peoples' opinions of tells or OOC comments? I found myself doing it occasionally to explain that it wasn't really my character or to excuse a macro that was half eaten in a previous edit on two occasions. I tend to forget that people may not be as okay with them as me and rather find them as an immersion breaker which just burns the whole reason for doing it initially..

 

(Oh and also to comment on other peoples' characters, though I usually wait until they leave to do that).

 

 

 

Thank you for reading ^^

[Magellan]

If I'm reading this correctly, you are npcing your character as someone else? I wouldn't call this a problem per se, but it could cause confusion if someone wants to further interact with your character.

 

My character interns/studies at the Bismarck (she wants to be a chef) and so sometimes waitresses there, and I agree it brings a fun dynamic to other people's RP. And since RP is all about fun I say go for it! It shouldn't be too hard to clear up any confusion through tells that you are npcing.

 

EDIT: I am strongly of the opinion that clear OOC communication (via tells) improves the rp experience for all involved 100% of the time. Clears up confusion, alleviates any OOC misunderstanding. Just my personal opinion.

[Ildur]

OOC communication is something that is never frowned upon unless your OOC comments are very close to each other, or maybe if your comment is in direct opposition of the roleplay.

 

Using your character as a waitress NPC isn't something bad per se but, as you may have gathered, it can get confusing if she is not really the waitress.

Imagine your character goes as herself to the Quicksand but someone who witnessed her as the waitress NPC thinks you are still the waitress. Hilarity will ensue when he asks your character to act as such and give him some soup.

 

I would recommend making a new character and using her as the NPC instead. No need to even give her a name since, as you said, she's only there for flavor. Something like "Quicksand Waitress" would work. It sends the message right away that you are an NPC. The disadvantage is that people are going to 'understand' that this character might not be fleshed out and, therefore, keep their interactions to the bare minimum.

[Val]

Like most people have already covered, I think it's fine. It can and, likely, will be confusing to people that see your character and immediately assume "Oh hey it's the waitress!"

 

That's.. that's really the only downside =) Otherwise I'm sure you can, will, and have met a lot of great people doing it!

[K'nahli]

Haha, but usually I only do it if I happen along into the area and see roleplayers. Its not something I actively do for extended periods of time. So whenever I am only partially looking towards the game I just add a little dynamic for others and afk in part in between.

 

I have thought about people confusing my actual character in the future, though I didn't really see that as a problem since it could be dismissed as a mere resemblance. It would actually be quite funny if someone were to spit an order at her like you said though >w<

 

 

Additionally, it serves as a nice way of meeting new roleplayers so that we could setup something later with my actual characters ^^" I love character development and its one of the biggest reasons I RP to begin with, so the waitress thing isn't really something I do for myself. It may sound selfish but its not something I'd really care enough for to create a new character and then level her up so far as to get her some clothing that looks appropriate.

[Freemoon]

It may sound selfish but its not something I'd really care enough for to create a new character and then level her up so far as to get her some clothing that looks appropriate.

 

I can't say I blame you, but who knows what the future may bring?  I know that for me at least, every so often I just want to take a short break from my character (not a hiatus, nor do I want to stop playing or develop a whole extensive new character), so it may be an idea you could revisit in the future.

 

I've gone ahead and made a couple of alts already even though I have no intention of actively playing them (yet).  Part of it was to secure a name I liked, part of it was to pick up the special earrings, and part of it was simply to toy around with character creation to see some more of the custom options of the other races.

[K'nahli]

I already have an alt made and waiting to be leveled at some point. His name is quite simply 'Rogue Bandit' and I was going to use him for some in-game RP to ruffle some feathers and add an unexpected turn to someone's roleplay ^^ That is part of the reason why I wouldn't want to go as far to to make another.

[Clover]

I'd personally create a Brand new character for such matters. As others said, it might bring confusion, and many people might get a wrong idea of who your character is. I want people to see my character when they look at her, not someone else. That's just me, though!

[K'nahli]

T'leira has been murdered by an Ul'dahn night predator ;w;   Rest in peace!