A request to you solid rp'ers

Seftin

As most people who have interacted with me may agree - i have literally no roleplay and am floundering how to do it

When i initially started my character it was there, i was a shallamese serpent who became disturbed by his shadowy dealings and became a Paladin etc. The came class hopping and a massive shift of sides.


Now im a mhaldorian monk and i just found myself realising i do not interact in any way as a character, but rather just log in and chat on ooc clans.

I would appreciate some help on how to start rping - specifically how to re establish my already knowncharacter as someone people want to interact with and as having some traits and being afleshed out person rather than just an avatar i chat through.

How can i get myself back to rping? I dont know where to begin i almost feel like if i tried people would dislike it as i havent been like it for so long. Also can anyone break down how to use the emote system i want to try using it without appearing to be a idiot by getting custom emotes wrong and am too embarassed to try them on someone.

Would really appreciate the help.

Jovolo

Look into your background. Who your character is, where they've come from, their personality traits. Before you start trying to roleplay, try to connect with who your character is. The best way to do that is to look at their history and create a personality from that imo. Think of Seftin as a Monk in the Ebon Fist of Mhaldor who has a duty to perform, and not as yourself playing a text game. 

Something like that. 

For me, the best step was giving Jovolo a history, a set of aspirations, and some character traits, and then creating a personality out of that.

Mishgul

the first thing I would do is get a piece of paper and a pen, write down two words to describe what you think seftin is, and two words on whaty ou think seftin will be in an irl months time. Then if you wanna stick with Mhaldor, finish any house reqs and just go up to ministers/viceroys and get quests. You have to try and find the keyword. 

Soemtimes it is "What must I do to serve as a Sartai?" or "Quest." or "Evil." or something.

Seftin

Recently become a full house member. I would like to get more involved with the city and aspirations have been changing. I want to become a respected combatant one day and also achieve dragon.. history wise its been so diluted with how much hopping i do and have done. I dont want to leave mhaldor as im really enjoying it there. I have played out my hopping as SEARCHING for the right path i guess but its so weak. I wishi hadnt class/house hopped so much as it makes it so difficult to be taken seriously. But oh well - hindsight.

Eiredhel

I find roleplaying with people who's IC beliefs contrast my character is always good, because it helps me figure out why my character is against or for certain things. Sitting down and agreeing with what you do is easy to do in your mind or with like-minded individuals, but it's a great way to find out what you OOCly believe your character to be, and what your character ICly believes when those beliefs are put under attack and questioned. 

Blujixapug

Calling myself a solid RPer is a joke, but I love giving opinions to the internet so I will do so anyway!

I recommend the scattershot approach. Find a room with people in it, do something that seems interesting, and try to start conversations that way. You're a Mhaldorian monk? Emote going through your diving crane kata, or practising your mantis stance, or piercing stalagmite style. If it's a good day someone will say "sup, what are you doing, that looks interesting", and that's your cue. Assume other people are just like you, waiting for something interesting to happen so they can start roleplaying too. If nobody says anything, don't be discouraged, just try again another time somewhere else. Start small, stay small, be persistent.

Or actually start conversations. "HT hey what do you guys think about the connection between Evil and Kai energy?"

Don't get caught up in thinking that roleplay needs to change the world to be legitimate. You don't need an NPC to talk, or a room description to be changed, or a new item.

Don't worry about spending too much time planning out huge grandiose stuff. RP is not always sermons or rituals or soirees. It's much easier to just be spontaneous with something like "anyone wanna hear about how I got these scars?" or "emote grunts and strains awkwardly as he practises his kai levitation technique".

Don't be too much in your own head. It's fine to spend time deciding on what you want your character to be like, but spending hours writing out a background and brainstorming a personality is unnecessary.

Eld

Specifically on the custom emote system, there are plenty of people around who will be happy to sit down in a quiet corner for a few minutes and let you try things out and let you know if you messed something up. A certain amount of it you can try out on denizens, too, so in the course of figuring out your character, you could start some onesided interactions with denizens in the city as a way to get used to the emote system and get into your character's mindset a bit more at the same time; sometimes they'll even respond. As far as worrying about screwing something up in front of people, it's something that everyone does from time to time, and most people aren't going to say anything or think ill of you for it. Just keep going as though it came out as you meant it, unless it's somehow so garbled that people likely won't be able to figure out what you meant (rare); repeating things or making quasi-IC excuses for typos tend to be worse than the typos themselves.

Antonius

Honestly HELP EMOTING does a really good job of explaining how custom emotes work now. I found it much better than the previous version, at least. I had a similar issue when I came back; I had rough ideas of custom emotes I wanted to use in certain situations, but didn't want to look like a total dumbass screwing them up. The only tip I'd give you is to think about how it will appear to people who are in the room, but aren't the person you're targetting, as that will allow you to get the correct syntax down (I've found it's a lot easier for me to think about it this way, at any rate).

That said, the best thing is to just go out and use it. If you need to, find some people who don't mind sitting in a room with you while you try shit out and telling you how it looks from different perspectives.

Achimrst

Eiredhel said:

I find roleplaying with people who's IC beliefs contrast my character is always good, because it helps me figure out why my character is against or for certain things. Sitting down and agreeing with what you do is easy to do in your mind or with like-minded individuals, but it's a great way to find out what you OOCly believe your character to be, and what your character ICly believes when those beliefs are put under attack and questioned. 

You just have to be careful when being IC with contrasting beliefs some people will preserve their beliefs by doing all they can to kick you out of house and city without RPing with you at all *cough* Hashan *cough* Just be careful when doing it because some people aren't as open to RPing as others.

Seftin

thanks so much so far guys. Will keep you all posted on my improvements (or social faux-pas) as time goes on. Hopefully those of you who I will interact with in the future will be mildly traumatised by choice to have been born and abandoned on the steps of a small monastery inhabited by wingless atavians who trained me as a Martial Artist even though my huge bust was slowing down my movements, yet I still figured out how to save them from a tentacle-wielding (yes wielding) one armed, four legged squirrel. (Background is a work in progress at the moment).

Lianca

If you find yourself struggling to get out of the OOC chats, simply turn off the clans, especially the really loud ones.

When Achaea is quiet and you aren't waffling about someone's hair cut, someone's gank, someone's code, someone's new movie, you will find more desire to actually start something. Make that something IC, create conversations in game rather than on the clans.

Taraus

Blujixapuggle's got a solid suggestion, a lot of key to learning how to RP is springboarding off of other people. Find populated rooms where stuff is already going on, and involve yourself in it. Make comments on what you see, what's going on, just start interacting. There really is no wrong or right way to do it. Just -do it-.

And with regards to a lot of the pre-determined character development, I've honestly found the best character development comes not from what you decide you want your character to be, but rather, things that actually happen -to- your character.

Don't try and establish a full-blown background until you've developed a sense of who Seftin is right now - once you've got that, then you can work backwards. And let it happen organically, don't try and force him to be something - you'll wind up limiting yourself a lot that way, in my opinion.

And don't let yourself get intimidated, either, or too hung up on what other people will think of you. Just try and remember that you are playing with a bunch of other people with faults and flaws, each controlling a character, just like you.

Arditi

Agreed with all of the organic bits. The best development just happens, it's not something you force.

You're Mhaldorian: Go try and convert some people. Ambush them while hunting and ask them if they have a moment to spare for the Malevolent One. Mail out anonymous letters exhorting people to convert and join the West. Antagonizing people can be an effective way of starting roleplay and it helps cement your character in the eyes of other people, which is really what RP is designed to do.

You can be whatever you want to be, but other people have to meet you on it. Give them a reason to come halfway on what you're trying to achieve (arrogant bastard, for instance), and you'll find things just falling into place.

Silas

The agree face tickles me.

Zii

You always see and hear me being all showy and flashy in HT and CT.  If you want some easy RP, I'm good for a cheap date.

Nim

Give your character a personality, some goals, and some beliefs. Nothing too complicated or difficult - they should be something that can come natural to you, even if you personally don't agree with them.

Then frame every action you take in Achaea while logged in as that character around that personality, those goals, and those beliefs.

Goals need not all be impressive, but they should be somewhat personal and defining. Ordinary, mundane goals are cool too - even really impressive people are usually somewhat mundane! Same with beliefs. Personality should be whatever you find fun playing as - ideally, it should be fun just being that person, no matter what the actual situation is.

Don't be afraid to let these evolve over time. Be natural.

Jonathin

If you have trouble figuring out what personality you want to give to your character, think about some of the most memorable characters from your experience. What traits did you like about them? Try to emulate some of those traits you found that you liked.

Personally, when I first started to enter the actual RP arena, I was scared shitless of what people would think. I had no idea what to do. It wasn't until I whole-heartedly decided to dedicate Mosr to a cause that his identity started to grow. A little seed was planted and grew into a tree which has branched in ways, organic evolution of his persona, that I would have never thought were possible.

Nim

While being self aware is good, don't be scared to do things!

Consequences and legitimate risks are the soul of roleplaying.

Ruth

Seftin said:

As most people who have interacted with me may agree - i have literally no roleplay and am floundering how to do it When i initially started my character it was there, i was a shallamese serpent who became disturbed by his shadowy dealings and became a Paladin etc. The came class hopping and a massive shift of sides. Now im a mhaldorian monk and i just found myself realising i do not interact in any way as a character, but rather just log in and chat on ooc clans. I would appreciate some help on how to start rping - specifically how to re establish my already knowncharacter as someone people want to interact with and as having some traits and being afleshed out person rather than just an avatar i chat through. How can i get myself back to rping? I dont know where to begin i almost feel like if i tried people would dislike it as i havent been like it for so long. Also can anyone break down how to use the emote system i want to try using it without appearing to be a idiot by getting custom emotes wrong and am too embarassed to try them on someone. Would really appreciate the help.

Seftin comes across as a quiet individual, who shows a lot of enthusiasm and animation when it involves combat. That's good, maybe you can work more on this aspect. Since you're a Mhaldorian monk, it really depends on how you want to flesh out your character. Do you think Seftin fits in with the furious warrior-monk of Perdition image, or more the fiercely zealous monastic individual in Mhaldor?The rest has largely been answered by the rest who posted before me.

Also, easy guide to emoting, HELP EMOTING has the list of what action you can do in an emote (i.e sit, stand, give):

sit: (Staring at $Seftin with an inscrutable gaze,) settles upon the ground, folding her legs beneath her.

 becomes

Staring at you with an inscrutable gaze, Ruth settles upon the ground, folding her legs beneath her.

 (The sitting is hidden, but you're definitely sitting down.)

em repeats $Seftin's action and stands up beside $Seftin_him, raising a clenched fist into the air.

 becomes

Ruth repeats your action and stands up beside you, raising a clenched fist into the air.

It's simple! Just practice a little.

Seftin

Thanks everyone. After a review decided to drop thebunny ears from my description.

On a serious note o appreciate the input from you all so will start to implement things as i go along.

Jurixe

I wanted to say more on this topic at home but I'm stuck at work, so you get a phone post. I understand how weird it feels to try and get into rp when you haven't really been doing it for a while, because habits and quirks that you try to 'introduce' later on seem a bit forced.

My style is quite different from a lot of people, but some generic advice I can give/agree with is to turn off your ooc clans when you're roleplaying with someone, or really anything beyond combat or just being idle and standing around. It helps tremendously with immersion, at least for me, and the difference is significant.

I would start small, as well. Most people often ease into roleplaying via random conversations, and in Mhaldor the easiest way for people to be receptive about this is through completing your requirements, as it gives you a legitimate excuse to strike up a conversation.

I'm sort of guilty for not doing this lately, but try having face to face interactions more as well. They give you an opportunity to practice emoting and expression, which you don't get through just tells.

Also finally, don't be afraid to go out and interact. You can learn a lot from observing the different styles of other people, and maybe pick up a few tips or inspiration. Most people should be more than happy to want to roleplay with you, and if they aren't, just move on till you find someone that will!

Good luck. Feel free to ask me anything you'd like in messages, too.

Jiraishin

If you are having a conversation via tells and are not in the room with another person, emoting can add some depth even with no one there to see. Think of all the reactions your character might have if the person were there, or better yet, that he wouldn't dare show if he thought the other person was watching.

Nim

Also, practice emoting. Practicing will help make it second nature, and that'll add depth to your roleplay.

At the same time, don't confuse roleplay with prose. Roleplaying can just be a mundane conversation, or a letter, or a quick tell, or even a bashing macro. Roleplaying is about "becoming" your character, not being a good and thorough writer. The latter may help you flesh out who your character is, but it's just a tool - one of many.

Delphinus

90% of the self-help RP guru tips that get laid down are chaff. Over-emoting, for example, is an awful habit and leads to Wheel of Time braid-tug syndrome.

Just make your character act how anyone would act in a grim, militant theocracy. The more thought and planning you put into it, the less natural it's going to feel.

Eld

Delphinus said:

90% of the self-help RP guru tips that get laid down are chaff. Over-emoting, for example, is an awful habit and leads to Wheel of Time braid-tug syndrome.

Just make your character act how anyone would act in a grim, militant theocracy. The more thought and planning you put into it, the less natural it's going to feel.

Wish I could like multiple times for the bolded coinage.

Xith

Wouldn't call Xith a solid RP'er but my ooc flair for harebrained business schemes and moneymaking leads to me doing a lot of enterprising and plotting little programs on the side. But that's the personality side. In terms of world involvement...

I think easiest RP is "cause"-related, meaning your character is inspired by some cause. Common enemies/allies and such will spur you toward action. And your approach to the goal might actually reveal to you your character's personality or values.

I think emotes really have less to do with Achaean rp than they do with specific events. Your role should be natural. Xith has never had a voice/accent set, for example, but he is by no means devoid of personality. I think your common actions should define your character automatically, which is why strong and silent is never a good achaean character. You might as well be a denizen.

For that reason alone, I think Mhaldor might be the most challenging place to build your role, in a city that has an unspoken silence vibration in effect at all times. It means shorter opportunities to express and less publicly. Could also be confining if you have to either conform to ideas or be cast out. But I'm sure Mhaldor players can give tips on how to cope with that.

Cause-driven rp is something of a mental challenge too, though. Because you have to stick to your guns while others oppose you and it's basically like the debate class you never took. Just defending a point of view can flesh out your character in the way they approach the view.

Arditi

The only place in Mhaldor that has a silence vibe is CT.

Intelligent conversation is always welcome. Blithering snuggly monkey cheese talk is welcomed by Theoren.

Jiraishin

I miss Mhaldor ct so much oh my god.

Tvistor

I tried to liquid RP but it just didn't hold water.

Jiraishin

Still need that facepalm emoticon.

Tvistor

You just need to send Hegua a message and ask him to like posts for you. Teamwork, guys.