Huff-huff! I mean, uh, Hi, I'm kind of new?

[justahedgehog]

[align=center]INTRODUCTION

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First off - Hello!

 

My real name is Ashleigh - clearly, I mean, my name is clearly not Just A. Hedgehog. I am mostly at-home, so I have .. well..way too much time to play. I am, however, in the Central NA Timezone (-6:00 GMT).

 

[align=center]ACT I : MMORPG BACKGROUND[/align]

 

I used to play Final Fantasy 14, but left due to an illness in my family. I've also played numerous other MMOs, but only FFXI and FFXIV have had success in pulling me back in post-leaving.

 

[align=center]ACT II : ROLEPLAYING STYLE

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I usually roleplay in every game I play, permitting I can find the "Right" server to find fellow roleplayers on. I mean, you can only talk to an NPC in a one-sided conversation for so long, right? 

 

I am .. uh.. I guess neutral-good alignment, but sometimes lawful-neutral?

 

I will probably start out as light roleplay, moving into heavy at a fairly rapid rate (I usually am a medium to heavy roleplayer, once I get my feet wet). 

 

[align=center]ACT III: THE CHARACTER[/align]

 

Currently, I don't have a character re-built on the game yet, and I'm still quite serverless, as in my return - I've yet to find information on which of the roleplay servers is still very active in terms of population and roleplay.

 

[align=center]ACT IV: THE PERSON

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Well, I'm a 23 year-young person. I dabble in various arts (Digital drawing/painting, and traditional acrylic painting. I love acrylics.), and love hands-on crafts. If they take quite a bit of "Problem solving" as I go, that's even more awesome.

 

However, artsy stuff has been "on hold" since my father passed away in May after 59 days in ICU. 

 

Recently, I've been more focused on my pets, since it's therapeutic for me to take care of another living being, and focus that energy. Before, I was my father's caretaker for around 11 years (He was disabled long before ICU). 

 

I have 4 beautiful hedgehogs, and 1 Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec (They're little critters that *look* kind of like hedgehogs, I mean, they have quills. They're from Madagascar, though, and are more closely related to Elephants and Anteaters. )

 

We have "Bonnie" and "Clyde", "Popcorn" and "Waffles", and "Pixel" - respectively. 

 

We also have dogs -  my mother has an English Mastiff and Shiba Inu, and I have a French/English bulldog mix, and a Miniature Schnauzer. 

 

[align=center]ACT V: THE STRUGGLE[/align]

 

No really, seriously.  I'm having some struggles figuring out just where to get started.

 

I'm sure I can find some of the information forum-surfing (And I will!) -  but, until then, I suppose I will list the "struggles" for you!

 

1. Balmung, or Gilgamesh?
   
2. Where does one find lore and naming conventions for the various races?
   
3. Just how the heck does one find friends and the like, when they are starting over new, with no connections?
   
4. Is there a resource to hook up with "RAF" folks on either one of these servers? I tried Reddit, but so far, no luck. I have 2 of my own Game Time cards, I just want potential friends and connections. I guess this is suspicious, apparently. 
    
   

[align=center]FINAL ACT: THE CONCLUSION

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TL;DR: 23 year old chick with too much time on her hands, pet hedgehogs, and one weird animal, needs to make friends on one of the roleplay servers, and any help on Lore/naming conventions is greatly appreciated.  P.S.  I have a new account and 2 game time codes for Insta-Chocobo for a lucky, helpful soul.

 

[align=center]BONUS ACT: AWW. 

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Bonus: Totally attaching a picture of my Tenrec, Pixel. She's awesome.  She's roughly the size of a fat hamster, or a smallish rat, without a tail.

[Faye]

Hello there and welcome! Hedgehogs are adorable, and your tenrec is, too! 

 

1. Balmung! I'm biased, of course. You can't go wrong either way, but to be totally honest, Balmung has a larger and more open RP community, so I'd recommend it unless you want something smaller and more intimate.

 

2. Right here! There's also this handy name generator. 

 

3. Just be friendly and open to the others, and don't be shy! I recommend joining an FC and some linkshells, and you can also utilize this website to find friends and RP partners.

 

4. RAF? Edit: Oh! Recruit a Friend. I get it.

[Melkire]

Welcome!

 

 

1. Up to you. RP population is larger on Balmung. That is the one indisputable fact. You'll hear a lot of contrasting opinions on just about everything else.

 

2. See the stickied threads listed here for naming conventions for the different races: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/491-Lore  Race-specific lore is a bit trickier. Dig around the forums here and on Square-Enix's site to find various tidbits.

 

3. Edit your Search Info to include "RP" and "walk-ups welcome", walk around the major cities, use the "/emote" chat command to write custom emotes so you move about to provide interesting hooks for others to interact with you, respond to RP-FC and RP-LS advertisements in /shout, sign up for events and/or activities here on these forums, etc. The Linkshell section of this site is rather invaluable for finding FCs and LSs, as well.

 

4. Could try posting another thread in the Making Connections board here, something to the effect of, "Looking for RAF"... or just ask about. Assuming RAF stands for Recruit a Friend, ofc, and not Royal Air Force or something.

[Roen]

OH MY GOODNESS you actually have a hedgehog.

 

SO CUTE!!!

 

Umm wow! A lot of acts there. I expected curtains opening and such each one.

 

I am sorry to hear about your father! I am glad you have your hedgehogs.

 

Well for your struggle:

 

1) BALMUNG! (I am totally biased though since I play on Balmung and I think the community is wonderful. And! LOTS of RP. Easily found.) Gilgamesh is lovely too from what I hear, but smaller more intimate community.

 

2) Here are some naming convention lore for you. http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/491-Lore

And a name generator (I use this to make quick NPC names): http://fandango.exp.jp/name-generator.php

 

3) I came to Balmung and knew no one. I just uh... hung out at the Quicksand, AND I also sent PMs to people I saw on these boards to pitch them RP ideas. Everyone was very friendly and open to newcomers.

 

4) I have no idea about RAF. Edit: OH Refer a Friend! HAHA. Um. Yes what Melkire said above.

 

 

Good luck out there! And if you come to Balmung, feel free to say hello! :thumbsup:

 

(and way faster typers beat me to it with much more helpful info)

[Brynhilde]

Hi, and welcome!

 

Firstly; oh my Twelve, that little animal (Pixel, I'm guessing?) is adorable.

 

I've only lived on Balmung, but I here that it's the more populated and active of the RP servers. I can definitely confirm that there's plenty of RP.

 

You can find info on lore and naming conventions here.

 

This forum is a good way to find people, make connections and friends! Begin by perusing the linkshell list, and see if you can find a group you like the look of. Alternatively, hang out in RP spots. The Quicksand (adventurer's guild) in ul'dah is one of the more active RP spots on the server.

 

This Reddit subforum may help you with your RAF issue.

[justahedgehog]

Whoa! Thank you all so much!

 

I really wasn't expecting such.. fast responses!

 

Looks like Balmung it is!  And yes, I'm terribly sorry, I should've used long-hand first for Recruit A Friend, haha!

 

Yeap, Pixel is my little buddy!  She's my first Tenrec (apparently they're still pretty rare in the USA, with only 200-300 known individuals).

 

I appreciate the links and such, too!

[Aya]

Welcome to FF, and perhaps soon to Balmung! :-D

[Mattie]

 

Welcome! See you around

[Phayte]

I haven't formally introduced myself here, but welcome to Balmung! I've just been getting my feet wet in a little RP, but you'll find plenty without trying very hard and the community is very helpful. If you have question or need help, feel free to send me a PM me in game.