How to handle returning after a long absence

Chaimra

How does one in-characterly explain and deal with a long absence?  I've  been away from Achaea for several months, and I'm not sure how to handle my character having been gone so long.  I'm also pretty sure all my gear has dusted by now, and I don't want to get slapped in the stocks for running naked through the streets of Mhaldor.

Riley

Riley has gone into slumber for years before, you just explain it as that, a prolonged slumber, rather widely accepted explanation

Achimrst

I was gone for several years, you can do what I did. Try to help your house, than get enemied to your city and ousted due to 'divine circumstances' eventually join Eleusis and be happy. 

Seriously though, rat for gold and get some basic things than go real hunting for gold. Hell catch some butterflies they are fun, going 'Dormant' isn't that uncommon of a thing. Just say you were sleeping and now your awake again! Definitely don't rat naked in the streets of Mhaldor though, maybe try going into the sewers if you can. 

Amanu

Say you were abroad traveling?

Melodie

I described my ~2 OOC year absence as "Melodie went on a long sea voyage/pilgrimage to meditate on Neraeos", but that's because she's Nereian. You can base it off your character and how you roleplay, or very simply, you can just say "I went to sleep a long time". Up to you! I always like inserting a little bit of flavour into things as I can. Even better, you can explain some items you may have gotten (like customised artefacts) via "I went on this journey and discovered this in a far-away place. It took great fortitude to do so." or something similar.

Tharvis

amnesia, sleep, travel, basically anything that involves your attention being elsewhere.

I RPed my absence with amnesia, the Neraeos of that time apparantly played along and set various tritons, mainly Polynikes, to visit me and try to talk to me about what happened, being baffled about my inability to recall anything, those tritons offered me maps, and tried to hint me into remembering things.

What I liked the most about this entire chain of events, I was already a follower of vastar then, and the war was still going on, and still he took the time to rp this entire elaborate chain with an enemy.

Melodie

Neraeos was so great for that.

He might have also converted Melodie when she was a Vastarian, long time ago.


)

Chaimra

Thanks for the replies, folks.  I'd thought I might do the 'went on a journey' idea.  It makes sense for my character. She might have decided to go off and test herself or soul search or the like.

Tharvis

yeah @Melodie, he tried to convert me too, but instead, I managed to convert Polynikes  :-bd

Melodie

Yeah riiiiiight.

Paging Polynikes aisle three, paging Polynikes aisle 3, you're needed for ultimate beatdown, you're needed for ultimate beatdown *pssssh*

Kresslack

Lost at sea.

Nim

Just say you were in phase the whole time.

Feral

Nim said:

Just say you were in phase the whole time.

This is yet another reason why I love serpents, we have built in dormancy explanations.

I have no experience with Mhaldor but in targ once people found out I was sticking around I got all kinds of support for things like vials and clothes. I wish the game did not put such a big barrier up for returning players. I think decay times should be rebalanced around only ticking down when you are logged on.

Having my guild, city, and order all gone strikes me as enough of a reset

Welcome back to the game!

Nim

Feral said:

Just say you were in phase the whole time.

This is yet another reason why I love serpents, we have built in dormancy explanations. I have no experience with Mhaldor but in targ once people found out I was sticking around I got all kinds of support for things like vials and clothes. I wish the game did not put such a big barrier up for returning players. I think decay times should be rebalanced around only ticking down when you are logged on. Having my guild, city, and order all gone strikes me as enough of a reset Welcome back to the game!

Psh, I'm not even a serpent, and I still use the excuse. I mean, how do they know I didn't class switch and live in phase for a few years and class switch back?!

Wysteria

Longest absence I had was three real months. My excuse was I went wandering the northlands and the wilderness, got lost a bit, came back and wanted to re-acquaint myself with things and to use the new knowledge I acquired from exploring (I was pretty much 80% off plane normally anyways). I was still in Eleusis and Sylvans anyways so asking someone how to request a letter (sorry @Tukio) from the post office was less jarring.

Amanu

I tried going dormant once. Couldn't last more than 2 days. Must be an addict.

Agrias

I just tell everyone I'm back and let them make their own assumptions.

Jhaeli

Melodie said:

Neraeos was so great for that.

He might have also converted Melodie when she was a Vastarian, long time ago.


)

I always thought of Neraeos as a collector. Of people. If he liked you, he'd try to convert you. (Did it to me when I was Imperiate, although it was more of a kick in the butt than a steal from another god, heh!)

What Agrias said above is typically how I approach it. And I've had a lot of absences over 12 years of playing, lol. It's really not as big a deal as you might think unless you make it a big deal for roleplay reasons. In other words, it's up to you as to how important you'd like your absence to be on your character. Others will generally be fluid with whatever approach you take.

Iocun

What I always do when I come back and people ask where I (respectively my character) was is to say "I'm going to write a post on the newsboards with a big explanation" and then never do it.

Nim

Iocun said:

What I always do when I come back and people ask where I (respectively my character) was is to say "I'm going to write a post on the newsboards with a big explanation" and then never do it.

Where where you?!

Iocun

That's a long story. I'll tell you later.

Nim

Iocun said:

That's a long story. I'll tell you later.

Okay!

Nizaris

Hey, @Chaimra.

Welcome back. Nizaris has been dormant a couple of times, but I've always played it as a 'I needed rest.' It's the kind of thing that is easily understood as speaking both for the character and for the player at the same time. I've had a couple of times where I was sick in real-life, and I would just answer, in-character, that I was ill. It was understood to be answering both IC and OOC at the same time, and the conversation moved forward without a second thought.

Taraus

"I got lost."

Tharvis

Taraus said:

"I got lost."

@Orzaansyn might be able to mentor you in the fine art of making up a story around getting lost

Daslin

"I was doing things, things you mustn't ever learn about."

"Do not ask me what I was doing, damnit!"

"Shut up, Deshi."

Averi

I think I told a lot of people that I tried to find inner peace by learning how to be a tree when I went dormant for like half a year or something.  

Edit: you can also say that you fell asleep and forgot to wake up. 

Oceana

You accidentally drank a whole vial of delphinium and slept for a 100 years.....

Daslin

@Oceana Serious? People still fall for the "I accidentally the whole thing"?

Orzaansyn

Oceana said:

You accidentally drank been ordered to drink a whole vial of delphinium and slept for a 100 years.....

FTFY

Aepas

I usually say that I went on a deployment to prin, being in the Mhaldorian navy and all.

 

Because normally, I get sent off to some remote location being in the real navy and all..