Eorzea as a Whole?

[Askier]

((Forgive spelling errors, typing this via phone))

 

My two cents is being thrown in since I have been seeing a lot of, for lack of a better term, dissatisfaction with Ul'dah rp as of late for reasons ranging from it has become too dark, to that it is not aesthetically appealing to some, or that it seems the only place to rp.

 

Now personally, I love Ul'dah, lore and visually. But that said, I can understand how people who want to rp elsewhere can be disheartened. rp in the other cities is a bit harder to come by and if I felt I -had- to rp in Gridania cause I was having trouble finding rp in Ul'dah, I would be a little sad.

 

However, I know people are trying very hard to spread the rp joy. I know Zhavi and some others are working on setting up rp in Limsa which is awesome!

 

But if you really want to get people flock to Limsa for rp, why not set up an event? Maybe a pirate lord gets hungry eyes for power? Maybe a single rp event called "The Storm" where everyone gets together and rps having to endure a massive hurricane? Would be a fun night of rp and could lead to more rp where people try to rp rebuilding their boats damaged in the storm?  I'm just shooting from my hip here but if there is truly enough interest in rping in other cities, set it up and they will come. I managed to set up an event when I was new to this game by simply asking for help. I knew nothing about the lore, still am a total lore noob but people love to help. This community is so friendly and supportive and I hate to see it attacking itself.

 

If anyone wants, I'd be more than happy to help brainstorm an event idea for another city with you.  but you gotta run it. I have my own event to handle lol

[Kellach Woods]

But if you really want to get people flock to Limsa for rp, why not set up an event?

I can't speak for this community but I can speak for my experience in other games. Generally, if you succeed in attracting a sizable amount of people (because there's a chance that they won't show up because it involves not being at the Hot Spot), you need to be extremely consistent and do events often enough that they do not want to leave the area you're trying to set up as a RP hotspot.

 

If you aren't, they'll just return from whence they came and the effort will be a bust and will only come out of there for events.

 

Besides, there are events in Limsa. In fact Limsa's a hotbed for them from what I see on the forums.

[Zhavi]

((Forgive spelling errors, typing this via phone))

 

My two cents is being thrown in since I have been seeing a lot of, for lack of a better term, dissatisfaction with Ul'dah rp as of late for reasons ranging from it has become too dark, to that it is not aesthetically appealing to some, or that it seems the only place to rp.

 

Now personally, I love Ul'dah, lore and visually. But that said, I can understand how people who want to rp elsewhere can be disheartened. rp in the other cities is a bit harder to come by and if I felt I -had- to rp in Gridania cause I was having trouble finding rp in Ul'dah, I would be a little sad.

 

However, I know people are trying very hard to spread the rp joy. I know Zhavi and some others are working on setting up rp in Limsa which is awesome!

 

But if you really want to get people flock to Limsa for rp, why not set up an event? Maybe a pirate lord gets hungry eyes for power? Maybe a single rp event called "The Storm" where everyone gets together and rps having to endure a massive hurricane? Would be a fun night of rp and could lead to more rp where people try to rp rebuilding their boats damaged in the storm?  I'm just shooting from my hip here but if there is truly enough interest in rping in other cities, set it up and they will come. I managed to set up an event when I was new to this game by simply asking for help. I knew nothing about the lore, still am a total lore noob but people love to help. This community is so friendly and supportive and I hate to see it attacking itself.

 

If anyone wants, I'd be more than happy to help brainstorm an event idea for another city with you.  but you gotta run it. I have my own event to handle lol

 

I'm not really an event type person -- it's a holdover from the bunches of forum rp I do on other sites. But I would be supportive of someone who did want to do an event in Limsa, and would certainly help out however I could! In the meantime though, my focus is on connecting the various disparate people who do rp in Limsa and start up some plot bits or help out where I can and when I'm able. And continue to find those who do rp in Limsa, since it seems very much like the rp is there, it's just that no one sees each other rping.

 

edit - and what Kellach said. Consistency is super important.

[Melkire]

...it seems very much like the rp is there, it's just that no one sees each other rping.

 

According to observations from my brief forays into Limsa, reasons for this include:

 

1. Too many people (and FCs, for that matter) roleplaying in /tell, /p, /fc,, or /l rather than in /s and /em.

 

2.  No one walks the "streets" in Limsa. Instead they stand/sit around, be it in the Wench, at the Bismarck, or at various points in the city. Also, RP peeps get lost in Hawker's Alley, yo. Dat Jita 2.0 ....

 

3. Point 2 is compounded by the fact that the city's segregation into floors is MUCH less RP-friendly than Gridania's and Uldah's segregation into zones.

 

 

...I had more, I've just forgotten. Gimme a few minutes to think it through....

[Zhavi]

 

2.  No one walks the "streets" in Limsa. Instead they stand/sit around, be it in the Wench, at the Bismarck, or at various points in the city. Also, RP peeps get lost in Hawker's Alley, yo. Dat Jita 2.0 ....

 

 

Oh pish! I do. . .at least . . . . . .when I'm able to get in game. . . . . .

 

:frustrated:

[111]

You could make a comedy event in Limsa bashing the other cities.

 

"Ul'dah?!? More like Ul....DON'T."

 

"Haha, come on down to the Drowning Wrench, I'll be here all week."

[Shayrei]

You could make a comedy event in Limsa bashing the other cities.

 

"Ul'dah?!? More like Ul....DON'T."

 

"Haha, come on down to the Drowning Wrench, I'll be here all week."

 

 

"Ul'dah? more like Ul' NAH!"

 

*drops the mic*

 

 

*Ahem*

 

*picks up the mic*

 

*taps*

 

 

--Edits for semi answering of Ruru's query <3 *drags back the eyepatchy lala*--

 

 

I prefer Vylbrand because Thanalan is a desert, yuck and I assume the Shroud to be full of insects that want to kill me. Yuck, but if I'm there, I RP. *Especially* when I see another RPer start strolling by. (It makes me sad when a nodded greeting or some such subtle, look, I RP too is ignored, though)

 

In my experience major city just tend to become hubs. They're convenient. It'll be rare to find large scale RP outside of a major city without reason (see episodic RP events). It's nice to see people making use of places outside the cities, but it's just not something you can expect to see.

 

That said I make sure my toons (OMG I USED THE WORD TOON) travel. They enjoy it. Andy grew up on a ship and Daphine just likes to pretend she has an adventuring spirit. Rhysa and Kedi'ra vacation away from the shroud to Costa del Sol every so often if she can be tortured to spend the coin.

 

I RP everywhere. When leveling Daphine and Andralyn I was IC throughout the world. It's tapered off now that I'm not questing, but I enjoy Eorzea as a whole.

[Enteris]

To go back to the original post and maybe break away a bit from this one city vs. another city... a number of factors come into play here, Ruru. So many, in fact, that I'm liable to miss plenty and also liable to intentionally leave some out for the sake of not writing a book.

 

Firstly, you mentioned the hot spot being Ul'dah. (I know, I said breaking away, but this is a valid point) Now, many people will gravitate toward that spot simply because it is "known" to be the spot to go to. Now, this may be a conscious or subconscious decision. In fact, this thread could very well feed into this problem. People hop onto the RPC, see this thread, and read that Ul'dah is the place to be. Other points were made throughout this thread that I won't bother repeating as this is already a dead horse.

 

Secondly, class balance. As of right now, we are forced to create a new character as a fighting class. As such, we are limited to 3 choices in Ul'dah, 2 in Limsa, and 3 in Gridania. So, playing the numbers game there, it makes a little sense as to why at least Limsa does not have as many players. Now, top that with Ul'dah having, arguably, the more iconic classes to choose from (BLM and MNK date back all the way to FF1. PLD -kinda- does in the revamps, though they were originally called knights. However, PLD is a well known class from many other games as well.) Limsa has a fairly generic class in warrior, and a probably less known one in arcanist (granted, it does turn into a slightly more iconic job SMN). Gridania has the very iconic WHM, the slightly less iconic DRG and BRD. Now... the whole "iconic status" is a bit of a stretch, but perhaps someone with better diction and syntax than I can make more sense of the argument.

 

Thirdly, quest chains. After you hit the lvl 15 mark in the main story line, you get to travel between the cities. You run the dungeons a bit, then who is the first primal you end up fighting? Ifrit. Where is he? Ul'dah (Thanalan). As such, your first impression is going to be Ul'dah... you're going to see the RP and possibly gravitate toward it. It's been a while since I've done the main story line, but as I recall the main quest takes you into the city proper of Ul'dah more than it does the other two cities (possibly even combined). Never mind the fact that the later parts of the main story quest (read: 8 man dungeons) are mostly in Thanalan as well.

 

Fourthly, we'll take an IC look at this finally. As has been mentioned several times in this thread, not all people RP their characters as adventurers. Many roleplay them as crafters, merchants, street urchins, etc. that have no real reason to leave the safety of their city's walls. Beyond that, you mention places like Coerthas and Mor Dhona. Those places are not all that friendly to live in. Very cold Coerthas and very Garlean infested Mor Dhona. Aside from helping the war effort(s), most people that feel safe and warm in the three major cities would have little to no reason to visit the outer rims of the currently explorable in game world. But, again, a bit of a dead horse here so I'll leave this point as it is.

 

Fifthly (), the in-game lore as far as Ul'dah being a melting pot. Removing midlanders as they're everywhere... Ul'dah has highlanders (from Ala Mhigo), Dunesfolk, Hellsguard, and Seekers. Limsa has Plainsfolk, Seekers and Sea Wolves. Gridania has Wildwoods and Keepers. Duskwights are technically off on their own.

So, in terms of numbers Uldah: 4, Limsa: 3, Gridania: 2. 

 

Sixthly (is not a word), and this is mostly opinion here, Ul'dah seems to have more oars in the lore boat at the moment. Ul'dah appears to be more at the front with the Garlean war, it's where a meeting between the three leaders was held, Cid was hiding in Thanalan... blah blah blah. 

 

I'll stop with those as I've lost track of the others.

 

TL;DR: A lot goes into play in regards to why people RP where they do. It's not all, necessarily, a personal, conscious choice as some game mechanics (and possibly even forum threads) tend to lean heavily toward one place more than others.

[Mae]

Sorry if this topic has been discussed before but I wanted to see how you all felt about the issue of the areas in Eorzea in relation to roleplay.

 

I know Ul'dah's the hot spot, and Limsa coming in second (I guess?) But I wonder why places like Gridania, Coerthas, or Mor Dhona don't have much if any rp going on there? It makes me sad to see everyone get so confined to one place and fail to expand the rp world past the boundaries of a given city. Yes, stories happen in Ul'dah, and yes, stories happen in Limsa, but the other places should have stories going as well. I get the whole "Well, Mor Dhona is where endgame folks hang out." Right. And? So no one can sit in the tavern there and rp? No one can explore the areas outside maybe and rp?

 

Or Gridania. Why is Gridania so left behind? It's a beautiful area and there are plenty of areas to rp, and just there but the Shroud as a whole. And Coerthas is the same. Why wouldn't we have people up there scheming and plotting in the dark castles with the snowy backdrop? I mean...maybe stories in the snow just don't work (cough cough Game of Thrones cough cough)?

 

It just baffles me that we as a community tend to isolate ourselves. I applaud those that work to try and set up rp spots in the other lands. Why not? It isn't like Ruru says "Mor Dhona....I can't go there....I hear only those who raid dungeons dwell there." We travel in real life. And some travel far quite often. So why wouldn't folks in the game? Coatleque and Warren....thank you for having a story set in Coerthas!   Kiht and others! Thank you for your efforts in the Shroud!  I hope we can begin to push outside of our "comfortable circles" in the towns and get a better sense of connectivity in the world we dwell in. It's a shame if we can't because it's lost opportunities if that's the case.

 

TL; DR: We live in a big damn world so why do we bottle ourselves up in one or two places and not expand past those places?

Provided, I haven't been on a lot recently due to some RL changes I'm going through...

 

I see RP in Limsa and Gridania often enough that I can't say that there's never RP there. It's just quieter, and usually in places other than the Canopy and Drowning Wench. The Canopy seems more prone to trolling/disruptive-to-RP-behaviors than the Quicksands and Drowning Wench (even from other RP'ers, believe it or not; I actually had an RP-LS leader jumping up and down like a crack-addicted monkey on my table, alternating between advertising for both the RP-LS and FC he/she/it ran and doing massive /emote spam to Miounne). As someone pointed out earlier, I suspect that part of the reason why the Drowning Wench is quiet is because Limsa is just so oddly constructed, and it's not in a major path of travel except if one is going to an inn room.

 

I also see RP enough out in the outlying zones (Shroud, Thanalan, La Nosca, Coerthas) to again say that it does happen out there. Might not see it every time that I run through and might not be huge groups (packs of 2-4 RPers seem to be the norm) but they're absolutely out there. Mor Dhona... honestly, I can see why it doesn't happen there a lot: so much filtering and temp-blacklisting in Revenant's Toll to not get an overwhelmed chatlog, and OMGlaaaaag and lots of moments of "dude, this thing is chewing on me..." in the rest of the zone. Not saying that it can't be done, but if you're not in the mood for combat in your RP, then it's a definite mood-killer.

 

Quicksands and Ul'dah have the benefits of having more seating (tables, spots outside, etc), and already strongly 'claimed' as RP-territory. It's easier (and, in a way, safer) for newcomers to find/be introduced to RP there, and sometimes people just don't move away from it. Personally, I just love Thanalan so most of my RP has happened out that way.

 

Let's liken the three major hubs Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. Now living in Los Angeles, if one had the means and opportunity....why wouldn't they go visit Chicago? Why wouldn't they visit New York? Forget real life fears of planes, etc. You have the means to get there. Why wouldn't you go? 

As someone who just spent the last three years doing nothing -but- traveling... there is much to be said about having that little comfortable niche and coming up with reasons to -not- go somewhere. Just because I have the means to go to Chicago, doesn't mean I'm going to go gallivanting halfway across the country to Chicago when I know I'll have just as much fun going four hours to New York City. 

 

(IRL, I wouldn't even go to NYC... I'd just go forty-five minutes to Boston and have even more fun because I know where things are)

[LiadansWhisper]

You could make a comedy event in Limsa bashing the other cities.

 

"Ul'dah?!? More like Ul....DON'T."

 

"Haha, come on down to the Drowning Wrench, I'll be here all week."

 

Well.  My character hates Ul'dah.  It's part of her background, and she honestly doesn't feel safe there, so she avoids it.

 

Personally, the only RP I've ever witnessed while passing through the city has things like the child of a primal and a voidsent talking about his uber edgy backstory.

[Melodia]

Personally, the only RP I've ever witnessed while passing through the city has things like the child of a primal and a voidsent talking about his uber edgy backstory.

 

 I must meet this one.....he must be WAY OVER 9000!!!!http://blog.sheasilverman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tumblr_lwhv2roIab1qd47jqo1_500.gif[/img]

[Melodia]

Wow!

 

I just reead through the thread and it was such passionate debate from everyone which is a good thing. Hate seeing people I genuinely care about getting heated in that debate but I can't control that.

 

I just wanted to reiterate....my main thesis for discussion here was simply, why weren't all areas being used for rp and then why not? Not in a negative context at all but rather a curious one. I may have caused my own problems by slapping the graduate school cap on and questioning too deeply. But I really was just trying to understand. And I like Natalie's idea...maybe examine some of the not currently used elements in the cities and try to expand those more. I know the Miqo'te folks watching woods in the Shroud would probably love some regular antagonists, or the criminals in Limsa....they need some law folks to cause them some grief.  

 

And I don't want anyone to assume I loathe Ul'dah or hate the stories there. How could I? They are an intrigal piece of Ruru's story! The Sultansworn aspect will ALWAYS impact Ruru regardless of whether he's wearing paladin armor or a ragged hempen tunic running the back streets of Limsa. And no matter what happened ICly or OOCly, I will always love that those roots are sewn within Ruru's arc.

 

I just wanted to say thank you for everyone taking such a passioned view on the matter and thank you for everyone who answered and discussed. It has been very informative.

[Jancis]

What role players are best at, passion!

 

Lalalalalalala

[Naunet]

Where I roleplay is determined entirely by where the story takes me and my fellow writers - be it deep in the Sagolii, within the stifling walls of Ul'dah, across the inappropriately named Drybone, wandering the noisome swamp-forest of the Shroud, tucked into a cave, braving frozen Coerthas, on the white stone cliffs of Limsa, an orangery in La Noscea, or anywhere else.

[LiadansWhisper]

What role players are best at, passion!

 

Lalalalalalala

 

HNNNGH.

 

That is my favorite movie!  

 

Sigh no more, Lady, sigh no more

Men were deceivers ever

One foot at sea, and one on shore

To one thing constant never.