Roleplaying in Mhaldor

Alianor

Hello.  I made a character in Mhaldor a while ago, several months at this point, under this name, and while I did get deleted from dormancy, I'm going to come back eventually, probably this summer (though under a different name).  I was just wondering, however, if I could get any pointers on how one goes about roleplaying in Mhaldor?  Admittedly, the city's concept as a whole is kind of intimidating and I guess that's why I'm here.  I'm interested, and I want to try it.

Anyway, sorry that the question is so broad, but I guess what I am asking is... what kind of background did you give your character?  I am having a hard time justifying why my character decided to join Mhaldor, or rather, will have a hard time once I actually make the alt in a few months.  Why would you willingly want to become a slave?

And how frowned upon is it to demonstrate resistance -- though not outright, in-your-face obnoxious resistance -- to authority?  Would that be annoying to try to do?  What are some cliches that everyone is tired of seeing in each of the Mhaldorian Houses, or just some general things to stay away from?  Or maybe it is better to give a general idea of what I might expect or have expected of me?  I'm not sure.  Or... should I just try to learn these things in-game?  I don't want to be hated from the get-go, though, so I thought asking here might be better.  But now I'm rambling.

In any case, sorry that this post is so disorganized and kind of all over the place, but these are my thoughts/questions!  Thank you for reading!

Drauka

For me, Mhaldor is a bit of a cross between military and Catholic.

The whole idea of obedience and respect seems to come from Catholicism or any other monarchy where the leaders are also the spiritual leaders. The idea is that you must trust in your leaders for guidance, as they have been entrusted to do so by the diety you profess to want to serve under and worship, etc, so it is a freedom in itself. The term "slave" may bring up incorrect visions of what it is, but it is more like a character that is not proven themselves to be of value to the whole, or someone that is still very new and learning. 

Like the military, the higher up you go the better life is for you. Think about a military chain of command. At the bottom, you are scrubbing toilets. At the top you are busy with much larger issues than the guys running around in mud and complaining have to deal with.

For me as I see it, your character can enter into Mhaldor under really any reason that one may join into the military and a religious life. Wish to discern a religious life calling, get your back on track or on track for the first time, to strengthen your character's mind, body, and spirit of any weaknesses, are lost in life and hoping Mhaldor can give you purpose, and other more ego centric ideals, like earning respect as a great fighter or leader, etc. Really all these reasons can be justified for any House and City, just fill in the blanks for the faction type and city/house, and then roll with it.

This is just a game. Every side of any faction war is also playing, too. It isn't like Mhaldor is the bully that hits girls, but think of it more like they are the faction that other factions don't quite agree with but Mhaldor is more aggressive and vocal about its beliefs and values.

Just be sure to note that your character is doing all these things and not you. So, what is Alianor all about? What are some tragedies in her life or memory, or those of her family? What does she value? Has she had anything happen in-game that sparked interest, prejudice, or hate? Is there anything that has sparked interest or curiosity? 

It's also perfectly ok to just have no idea about anything, and just take a chance on something and roll with it.

Just be careful to not confuse Mhaldor higher-ups talking down to those Slaves as being jerks, but it's more like you need to earn respect and demonstrate value like they have done. It's just part of the culture there. The people behind the characters are just geeks like us, playing a text based game and looking to have a good time.

Nim

I personally want a Mhaldorian alt, but my current issue with that is... how do I even roleplay?

Actually, before @Mishgul comes in and corrects me, my actual issue is that Achaea as a game can bore me at times (especially playing as a newbie character), and insufficient character interaction can very easily cause me to get bored of a character before I even get past any sort of novice stage. Thus, my actual issue is either "how do I find character interaction, even at an early stage?" or, more difficult to solve, "how do I make tedious things in Achaea more fun, without character interaction?"

I've heard the solution is to just "fulfill your requirements, do things, and people will roleplay with you," which probably seems fine, except I never needed to do that on Nim. Nim just talked to people, and sometimes people just talked to her. The first few of them were creepy as heck, but even then, at its worst, it was still interaction, and still helped give me chances to define Nim's personality.

In Mhaldor, though, there are multiple things that state, quite plainly, that novices should shut up and focus on their studies, and nothing else. It even makes finding a mentor really awkward and hard to justify. On one hand, it seems like the logical answer is to just ignore them and roleplay anyway, but on the other hand, it is a strict military culture, and privates don't just go up to the general and say "yo, how's the weather treatin' you?"

(@Alianor: sorry if I end up hijacking your thread or something like that @_@ it was just called "Roleplaying in Mhaldor" and that was very literally an issue I happened to be facing!)

Mishgul

I am here to correct Nim. Consider yourself corrected.

Nim

Yesss, now I'm correct! >:3

Time to go argue on the internet and win!

Mishgul

assimilated

Mishgul

Seriously though, most of the novice heads, Xenomorph, Myself, Jurixe, Ruth love novices that ask lots of questions. As long as they don't beg for freebies. Ugh my beard keeps curling into my mouth

Drauka

Note that if you need some reading material in Mhaldor on pretty much all you could want for a long time, check out "The Scriptorium." in Mhaldor. It's a public library. Many of the books there are very valuable for if you're looking for a feel of what stuff's about. The sermons and posts by Wulfen are pretty great. Working on House requirements help guide you in whatever direction you may like.

Alianor

@Drauka Thank you very much for that post!  I will probably be referring back to that when it's time to actually play and I have time.

@Nim No worries; a lot of that stuff I am wondering about, too!  I never did choose a mentor when I first made this character before she got deleted, simply because I just had no reason to randomly, out of the blue ask someone if they'd be willing to take me on as a protege.

@Mishgul Okay, good to keep in mind.  Of course I won't beg for things, though, hehe!

Eld

@Nim, I thought finding interaction in Mhaldor meant "Join Naga, buy darkbow, use bow to interact with enemies".
More seriously, encouraging novices to focus on their studies is not uniquely Mhaldorian, and I don't think it's generally prefaced with "shut up and", even in Mhaldor. Despite the militarism, slavery, etc, it's to be expected that novices will need guidance, so asking questions about the culture and ideologies and such would probably be a good place to start. I get the impression that a lot of the HLs and HoNs will also seek out novices to see how they're doing, make sure they get settled in, and such; the tone will certainly be harsher than you'll likely encounter in other cities, in keeping with Mhaldorian culture, but that doesn't make it a less valid way to get acquainted with the other characters in the city, flesh out how your character reacts to them, and the like.

@Alianor, on the OP, a couple observations from an outsider (Eld's not Mhaldorian, so I may be more or less off base, but hopefully people will correct me if I get too much wrong). You don't necessarily have to play someone who sought out slavery in Mhaldor: you could have grown up a slave in Mhaldor (born to slaves or enslaved at an early age), and come to embrace the Truths and the Mhaldorian philosophy of slavery and suffering as a path to strength. As for why someone would willingly become a slave, from my understanding of Mhaldorian philosophy, it's sort of like submitting yourself to a process whereby your weaknesses will be purged, so that you can acheive your potential.

Nizaris

Good in-game book on Mhaldorian slavery is Mhaldorian Freedom, by @Lodi. Pretty sure that you can find it in the Scriptorium. If not, I think that the Congregation has a copy in the estate library.

Besides that, welcome to Mhaldor, and have fun!

Vasse

@Alianor : There hasn't been any problems with me approaching the higher ups. Most seem to appreciate people wanting to learn more about Mhaldorian culture and quite a few go on to tell awesome stories. There will always be people who are busy or just not up to interacting/rp right that moment. Just go find someone else to pester.

Also...

Eld said:

@Nim, I thought finding interaction in Mhaldor meant "Join Naga, buy darkbow, use bow to interact with enemies".

Works for me so far

Aepas

Many people in Mhaldor have a story. Being the "bad guys" is a very precise role, and not a lot of people find it enjoyable to constantly be in conflict, and essentially be the guys that make everyone else in the world mad. People like the good guys. So, when it comes down to making a very "evil" and at that a "Justified evil", people are going to have long drawn out explinations as to why they are a huge dickhole to everyone all the time, yet still see themselves with a sense of honor and respect.

Not always the case, but many people will have stories to explain their turn to the "dark side". Just ask around, most of us are itching to make ourselves sound like badasses.

Sherazad

There have been many novices (even new recruits) who are intimidated with speaking to their superiors, so no worries about that. What I try to tell them is if they have questions, they should just ask instead of remaining ignorant. You also don't need special reasons for asking someone to be their protege.

As for showing "resistance", it's good, as long as you do it in a respectful and nonblasphemous way. @Vasse wasn't really intending to join Mhaldor and @Tasuu and I sensed how his character had some problems with Mhaldorian beliefs so we had a little discussion about that. 

Valden

I've recently joined Mhaldor and I've been more than a little intimidated and overwhelmed by it all, unsure of how to act. Generally I've been playing the only speak when spoken to card or when I have a specific question, which seems fitting for my current rank (Or lack thereof).

I'm not the fastest typist and I tend to think carefully about what I want to say or convey, because of this by the time I actually go to react to something IC the moment has passed and I feel like I'm playing catchup while my character stands there apparently unresponsive, preventing me from presenting Valden's reactions to what is going on around/to him.

Shirszae

Valden said:

I've recently joined Mhaldor and I've been more than a little intimidated and overwhelmed by it all, unsure of how to act. Generally I've been playing the only speak when spoken to card or when I have a specific question, which seems fitting for my current rank (Or lack thereof).

I'm not the fastest typist and I tend to think carefully about what I want to say or convey, because of this by the time I actually go to react to something IC the moment has passed and I feel like I'm playing catchup while my character stands there apparently unresponsive, preventing me from presenting Valden's reactions to what is going on around/to him.

Thats a problem I have, too. I often think too much, and by the time I have decided on something, most people are like, "anyway, moving on." Best is to just let loose a bit. As for the ranks, if you feel unsure of talking to those above, just interact with the slaves. There are a lot more slaves than any other rank anyway, and I've had very fun interactions with most of them.

Nizaris

@Valden and @Shirszae: Welcome to Mhaldor. First, it's pretty cool that you guys get affected on such an emotional level; that will help to keep the game fun for you. Most of us are pretty understanding OOC, so if you are nervous about that, shoot us an OOC message explaining what's up, and then continue to RP with us. Focus on one-on-ones at first, and then branch out when you feel more comfortable. Honestly, I have my fun in Achaea by helping make the game fun for other people in an RP sense.

Xenomorph

Mhaldorianism itself  is a genus of political ideology whose mythic core in its various permutations is a palingenetic form of populist ultra-nationalism.

Religion or anything but His Will are incompatible with Mhaldor, and are a threat to the state only one will survive, in this struggle of social darwinism.

Ruth

This is how my conversations with novices usually go, the ones that do take up my offer of coming to me for stuff, in case you were wondering about interaction troubles:

You tell Minion Orzaansyn, Disciple of Ruth in Mhaldorian, "Ah, excellent. Greetings, protege. Come find for me, Minion."

Orzaansyn tells you in Mhaldorian, "Aye, my Mentor."

Orzaansyn arrives from the west.

Orzaansyn drops to one knee before you.

You beckon to Orzaansyn.

You say in a quiet, contemplative voice, "We should go hunting."

Orzaansyn says in Mhaldorian in a cold voice, "I am following, my Mentor. Your wishes are orders, even if I am suffering the whims of Lord Aeon."

You say in Mhaldorian in a quiet, contemplative voice, "How goes your progress?"

Orzaansyn says in Mhaldorian in a cold voice, "I am lvl57 now. I am studying combat and cures. I have extracted the yearly due yet."

You say in Mhaldorian in a quiet, contemplative voice, "Have, or have not?"

Orzaansyn says in Mhaldorian in a cold voice, "I have, my Mentor."

You say to Orzaansyn in Mhaldorian in a quiet, contemplative voice, "What of Mhaldor and Ebon Fist keeps you serving?"

You say in Mhaldorian in a quiet, contemplative voice, "I have seen many novices fall to slumber and apathy. But not you. I am curious."

You say in Mhaldorian in a quiet, contemplative voice, "What sets you apart from them?"

Orzaansyn says in Mhaldorian in a cold voice, "I never thought about it, my Mentor. My purpose is to serve."

You say in Mhaldorian in a quiet, contemplative voice, "Take this time to consider, then."

You say in Mhaldorian in a quiet, contemplative voice, "Surely, there must be some quality in you that deserves some recognition."

Orzaansyn says in Mhaldorian in a cold voice, "Thank you, my Mentor."

Orzaansyn says in Mhaldorian in a cold voice, "I do not know what makes me different, my Mentor. I am only following the scrolls. If some novice falls, it just means they were too weak."

You say in Mhaldorian in a quiet, contemplative voice, "Remember that there is a difference between simply serving and actively serving. The latter is what you should aspire to do; to understand what you are serving, to know who, why you are serving, and your goals."

Tael

Things that I think are useful:

1) ICly, leaders are going to be, in some ways, sort of jerks. That's part of the atmosphere and is, generally, a positive thing. OOCly, we want to have fun. If something is a problem, TELL <person> OOC: <problem> is a problem for me, can we talk about this briefly?

2) Don't wait for permission or invitation to do things. Go talk to people, do sermons, participate in combat, etc. If you just run through checklists of requirements and wait to be told what to do, you'll probably be bored and, more than that, you aren't giving other people things to do. Mhaldor is a small population, so giving other people things to do will almost always reflect well on your character even if it's just striking up a random conversation while standing around.

3) A good reason to join Mhaldor is that you've encountered Mhaldorians, seen a particularly effective raid, whatever. I don't think that's particularly hard, nor do I think you need some big melodramatic "event" in your character's life that compelled them to go to Mhaldor. Mhaldor is, in many ways, about RPing being better than everyone else, so "Mhaldor seemed like it was better than everyone else" is a perfectly sensible reason for joining.

4) The principal thing I wish I saw less of is the "badass novice". We have limited ability to "discipline" novices - I might execute an uppity novice once or twice, but if they persist after that, I can't just grief them until they stop. The novice culture of Mhaldor involves RP concerned with "breaking" novices and when novices are too busy being special snowflakes who are "too strong to break" by exploiting the limits of allowed punishment, that's rarely fun for anyone. RPing badasses is a tried and true tradition of Mhaldor, but the RP atmosphere demands a grueling rise from Slave to Badass, not coming in as Unstoppable Super Assassin, Tormented Noob McCoolName, Herald of Despair. If you mess up and I execute you, don't roll your eyes and say "that wasn't so bad". That doesn't make you look "cool", it makes you seem bland and unfamiliar with Mhaldorian RP.

Yue

"Yes, sir."

"No, sir."

"It will be done, my Lord."

"As you say, Naga."

"In strength."

"With guile."

The only six sentences you need to RP effectively as a Naga in Mhaldor. Jus'sayin'.

edit: It can't be much different for the other (Mhaldorian) Houses, though I know the Naga emphasize the "speak only when spoken to" protocol. Children should be seen, not heard. Naga shouldn't be seen or heard. :P

2nd edit: For the record, I had a blast in Mhaldor.

P.S. You can throw an "Execute the worm." in every once and a while for spice. Like when a House novice is failing to WRITHE at lycopods and complains over HNT about how difficult it is to walk to Mhaldor. It should look like this:

evade <direction to gates>

await <high ranking member of the House who is likely to walk to the Novice>

tmote looks disdainfully upon $novice, her lips curling into a cruel sneer.

rattle Execute the worm, Naga.

Cheers!

Yue

Also, in seriousness, if you want to play a character who has a "problem with authority", Mhaldor is not the place. In fact, it's like the only place where that really doesn't fly. You could have legitimate problems with house/citymates - legitimate IC stuff, I mean - but that's going to lead to politicing/feuding, not disobediance or insubordination.

edit.. phone spelling

Valden

Not sure what everyone else is talking about, but so far in Mhaldor I've been encouraged to ask questions if I need help or don't know something. At least once every RL day I have someone asking if I require any assistance. I get the distinct feeling that if I don't ask for help when I need it that I'll be cut down for being ignorant and not proactive enough to fix said ignorance. All with that awesome Mhaldorian veneer of "You are worthless and less than nothing, rectify this".

Yue

....how does one ask for RP? Wouldn't that be OOC?

I think the Naga are pretty specific about what they expect of their Novices. If you read what is suggested and are attentive, there are few questions you would need a senior member to answer. Do what is suggested. Be quiet. If you pull both of those off, you'll probably discover that you have learned something about the roleplay climate, who's who, and maybe even make some IC acquaintances. I know I did, and I never went out of my way to "seek RP"

Daeir said: "Speak only when spoken to" really denigrates people who want to actively seek out RP"

Oh yeah. I want to roleplay a super friendly, outspoken, sociable assassin from the city of evil.

Sasiya

Yue said:

....how does one ask for RP? Wouldn't that be OOC?

It's fairly easy to ask for roleplay, either if a person is in the same room as yourself or via tells or in-game channels. Could be anything from: "Greetings. I have been studying the facets of the Seven Truths lately but there are some things I would like a second opinion about. Perhaps you might be interested in meeting for a in-depth discussion?" to: "Oi. I heard the Drunken Dwarf tavern just got another shipment of their finest ale, so let's drink up!", depending on your character's personality/beliefs/hobbies/etc. Even messages and letters are good for setting up opportunities for roleplay and it can all be done in character. If people aren't interested, they'll generally make sure you know and you can just find someone else to roleplay with.

There's a distinction between being told not to speak unless spoken to and being super friendly, outspoken and sociable. Roleplay can be very dark, grim and evil, in fact a lot of popular tabletop RPGs have that angle (World of Darkness comes to mind), but unless people have an incentive to interact (as opposed to fearing punishment), there is a chance that roleplay will be quite limited. Not saying that this is the case with Mhaldor, just that an environment that invites people to develop their character will appeal to roleplayers in general. I very much loved going to the Sarapin Sacrifice when I first joined Mhaldor.

Jurixe

I keep meaning to reply to this thread, but I keep getting distracted.

Feeling somewhat intimidated when first beginning to roleplay in Mhaldor is a good thing. We're supposed to be all menacing and evil and scary, after all, and I think it injects a sense of realism and really makes it help stand out from the other cities. It's actually a good thing that people are coming here wondering how to properly roleplay in Mhaldor, because it means that Mhaldorian roleplay is that different. You have to actively think about it and put in more effort than you might otherwise, thus establishing a deeper connection with your character and indeed, with the city itself.

That being said, I can see that there are a lot of varying opinions on 'how to roleplay in Mhaldor'. Really, it's relatively simple. Don't be impertinent, don't be annoying (or at least keep it where no one important can see), don't disobey superiors, be smart, and be proactive. Many advancement tasks and tasks given by superiors to slaves are designed to 'open doors' for you in regards to giving you more solid excuses to interact with other people, not just Mhaldorians, and feel like you're actually contributing to the city in some form. 

It's also the easiest way to pull yourself out of the slave pits and earn recognition as a Troni, by which time still more opportunities open. I think Mhaldor is already a lot more newbie-friendly now than it used to be, but sadly we don't have the numbers to cater to every single newbie. (Hint to established Mhaldorians: Do start trying to proactively engage newbies, as well, don't just wait for them to come to you.) If you're feeling like you don't get enough interaction, it can be tough to keep interest but don't give up - work on your tasks, make yourself seem active and interested, and keep an eye out for the names you know that like talking to newbies. There are a myriad of activities available in Mhaldor, as well; express interest in those, even if you can't join yet, and people will mark you as someone to watch. Some events are purposefully rank-restricted to give people an incentive to strive towards.

I may as well kill two birds with one stone and address @Koyuki's mention about not seeming 'Evil' enough; being 'Evil' is associated with a certain stereotype of grim, look-at-me-and-you-die behaviour, but that doesn't mean that there's no room for other quirky personalities such as the suave womanisers, the eccentric crazies, the large egos, even - gasp - the happy - as long as ultimately, you respect the hierarchy, work at your responsibilities, are a fanatic about Evil and aren't an idiot.

Mhaldor is not for everyone. It requires a certain type of independent, self-motivating personality with a healthy respect for authority and a determination to succeed despite the odds. You start as a slave; you are entitled to nothing, you have to earn the right to be respected, which is not a concept everyone can really accept. It can and will demand more effort from people than perhaps the average gameplay experience. But if you're looking for a challenge, I've found, from my own experience and from comments by other people, that the effort - as frustrating as it may be at times - is ultimately worth it.

tl;dr again: mhaldor rox everyone should join cos I said so NOW GO

edit: fixed for emphasis

Agravain

Rage comment. Unnecessary antagonistic, sorry. 

Jiraishin

I would have actually liked it if more of my Naga novices had talked beyond "I completed the task you asked of me" and "I am progressing well, Nagaraja. Thank you for asking" without me feeling like I was either nagging or stalking them.

EDIT: stalking in a way visible to the novice, I mean.

Mishgul

Agravain your post brought tears to my eyes, whyd id you edit it

Koyuki

Jiraishin said:

I would have actually liked it if more of my Naga novices had talked beyond "I completed the task you asked of me" and "I am progressing well, Nagaraja. Thank you for asking" without me feeling like I was either nagging or stalking them.

EDIT: stalking in a way visible to the novice, I mean.

I felt like that with @Jurixe and @Mishgul but when people encouraged me to get more in depth, I talked more and more, and I got encouraging conversations and more. Of course with Jurixe my conversations are a bit shorter, but it's not a simplistic one liner before I go back to my work. With Carmain, he's been encouraging me and giving me advice where I need it. The more I open myself up, and give them something to work with, the more I'll get back in the end.

Hayte

Jiraishin said:

I would have actually liked it if more of my Naga novices had talked beyond "I completed the task you asked of me" and "I am progressing well, Nagaraja. Thank you for asking" without me feeling like I was either nagging or stalking them.

EDIT: stalking in a way visible to the novice, I mean.

I encourage my citymates to stalk me. I've scarred more than one curious cad who poked his nose where it shouldn't have been and got a whiff of something disgusting.