City/house/class switching, experiences and advice

Tillie

I've played Achaea on and off for at least twelve years. Cyrene was the first city I migrated towards when I was younger (although my very, VERY first character was with the Circle of Druids), and while I've re-rolled a few times in different places, I've always had issues in games in general with sticking to more than one character. Tillie's personality is easy for me, and while I enjoy role-playing her with others, I really want to find a way she could become passionate about a certain cause and become helpful to others in a city and House. I know the only way I can participate in some of the amazing things I see you guys writing about is by getting involved in something...I'm just having issues figuring that out. A rogue life suits her for the time being, and I think using this time IG to explore and talk to others about their walks in life may prove useful. Buuut, I also worry about growing ultimately bored of being a wandering minstrel. 

A lot of you have changed cities and houses from time-to-time, even remained unaligned for a few IG years. I admire the ability to create multifaceted characters with motivation that gets them involved in a lot of things, and allows them to grow. This prompted me to ask you guys if you'd be willing to share advice about creating that motivation, or how that motivation occurs (because obviously, I am a dumb and haven't figured it out yet). Also, if you are willing, to simply share big changes that have been for better/worse with your character, and how they developed from one faction to the next - whether it be an extreme conversion or not.

I guess I'm just a little nervous of Tillie feeling stagnant to me again, and ultimately falling off the face of Achaea for a time. Once again: I could roll an alt...but it's not something I really like doing, or ever seem to commit to. I would much rather create motivation to uproot Tillie to another place eventually. But I also understand that the richest experiences IG come from committing to some semblance of a cause and banding with others towards it. I suppose that's her biggest weakest right now: she's just sort of jaded about a lot of things.

Aodfionn

My advice: Ask yourself, what are the things Tillie truly cares about? What are the things that mean most to her in the world? Then, look at the various factions, and see which one seems like it might overlap the most.

For me, the jump from Forestal to Team Chaos felt pretty smooth, because I hadn't drastically altered my character. I found something interesting in another faction's ideals that already sort of worked for my character, and was able to feasibly justify the rest. 

That said, there's worse things to do than just do a 180 if you're not liking your current RP direction.

Jeslyn

I wish I could give you a correct answer, but my character is hitting an obstinate phase in regards to choosing a home. I think what keeps a character from stagnating is to make sure they're developing while still sticking more or less to their values and personality. You can still develop your character as a rogue even if a city might seem alluring. Honestly, most cities seem alluring on the outside until you wander in and become like, "OMG what have I done?!!" when the drama starts seeping out. There are still orders you can join as a rogue, people you can talk to, and things you can do without having to feel pressured. Which is the important thing, don't feel pressured to do anything. It's going to make the game less fun for you. 

However, like Aodfionn said, if a city is for you.. choose one that lines up with your values. It's not always going to be a perfect fit as a fair warning so there might have to be a tad bit of compromise. Figure out what you want to compromise in regards to your character's values. If the city asks you to compromise too much, then it is probably not for your character.

[Throw away advice: It helps me that I have a really good support base for my character full of people that are awesomesauce.]

Ruth

I've changed factions only two times, but I'll share some of my thoughts with you about those moments in hopes that it'll be useful in giving you some order to your thoughts and easing your worries of Tillie being stagnant again.

Shallam to Hashan
I decided that the drama fest in Shallam was not worth the angst. A number of paladins decided that the city politics wasn't worth being vexed over; some left to Cyrene to continue serving the Church itself but I didn't like Cyrene so I went to the Black Lotus and by extension, Hashan. What I didn't realise was that by quitting the Guardians then, Ruth also lost her attached Church membership (She was CH4 or something) which I enjoyed being a part of. I wanted to still be a part of Team Good even if Ruth went to Hashan, but it turns out whoever was AP at that time was terrible at handling re-applications.

Anyway, Ruth was lured to the Black Lotus because I thought its history (Kharon Empire) was interesting. I wanted to experience a new setting altogether but it turned out to be less impressive than I expected. I went dormant shortly after because in my boredom I found Aetolia and got sucked into that >.>

Hashan to Mhaldor
Found out that Ruth got excommunicated when I came back and that made me mad because she was still very much 'Good-inclined' after all that while.

Eventually decided to go the vengeful/evil route due to past experiences with Team Good and started offering to Apollyon (because why not, Ruth was still suffering from all these previous injustices). I've never been in an Order before Apollyon, so I eventually asked about membership because I wanted to know how to learn more about the realm.. and that's how the roots sank in.

I had a grand time in Hashan though, despite being religiously swayed to Apollyon. Back then, Twilight and Apollyon were working towards the same goal so I didn't feel any need to choose between duty or faith. That quickly changed though, as I strived to make Hashan more visible on the world stage with Twilight's guidance. 

Eventually, I began to struggle to balance my dedication to my chosen faction and loyalty to my Order. I was Seneschal and Grand Parent of the Black Lotus, so I was already firmly entrenched in Hashan. Twilight also offered me a spot in his Order too, so things were going pretty good for me. I thought for a long while then, because I understood how difficult it would to be to champion another org's purpose while staying in another which had a different aim altogether. It wasn't easy to give up on either choice, but I made my decision to continue shaping Ruth around the concept of faith. I had intended for her membership to the Order to be her first and her last (even though Apollyon was already long dormant by now).

tl;dr I made decisions based on what I felt was right for the character. Some were emotionally driven, some were based around developing different aspects of her personality, some were based while keeping the experiences of others in mind and facing the consequences of the actions I took in the past.

Tillie

Aodfionn said: [spoiler]

My advice: Ask yourself, what are the things Tillie truly cares about? What are the things that mean most to her in the world? Then, look at the various factions, and see which one seems like it might overlap the most.

For me, the jump from Forestal to Team Chaos felt pretty smooth, because I hadn't drastically altered my character. I found something interesting in another faction's ideals that already sort of worked for my character, and was able to feasibly justify the rest. 

That said, there's worse things to do than just do a 180 if you're not liking your current RP direction.

[/spoiler]

You're absolutely right. These are the guiding questions in her life right now, and I think, once I've played around without the shade of a certain faction around her, I may more easily see where I gravitate towards. I think that's also why it took me so long to leave Cyrene. Ideals-wise, Tillie was more in love with the idea of the Virtuosi than anything else in Cyrene, but that doesn't mean a transition cannot be achieved in ideals or opinions that could be justified to take her back or elsewhere. 

Jeslyn said: [spoiler]

I wish I could give you a correct answer, but my character is hitting an obstinate phase in regards to choosing a home. I think what keeps a character from stagnating is to make sure they're developing while still sticking more or less to their values and personality. You can still develop your character as a rogue even if a city might seem alluring. Honestly, most cities seem alluring on the outside until you wander in and become like, "OMG what have I done?!!" when the drama starts seeping out. There are still orders you can join as a rogue, people you can talk to, and things you can do without having to feel pressured. Which is the important thing, don't feel pressured to do anything. It's going to make the game less fun for you. 

However, like Aodfionn said, if a city is for you.. choose one that lines up with your values. It's not always going to be a perfect fit as a fair warning so there might have to be a tad bit of compromise. Figure out what you want to compromise in regards to your character's values. If the city asks you to compromise too much, then it is probably not for your character.

[Throw away advice: It helps me that I have a really good support base for my character full of people that are awesomesauce.]

[/spoiler]

I feel you. I don't think Tillie will make the jump anytime soon; and I've recently gotten her involved in some organizations and circles that lend themselves to keeping her more unaligned for some time. It's been a blast. I agree that one shouldn't jump immediately into the waters of another faction, and that taking some time to BOTH OOC and IC-ly develop one's goals and values, as well as deciding what one is willing to negotiate, is a good start.


Ruth said: [spoiler]

I've changed factions only two times, but I'll share some of my thoughts with you about those moments in hopes that it'll be useful in giving you some order to your thoughts and easing your worries of Tillie being stagnant again.

Shallam to Hashan
I decided that the drama fest in Shallam was not worth the angst. A number of paladins decided that the city politics wasn't worth being vexed over; some left to Cyrene to continue serving the Church itself but I didn't like Cyrene so I went to the Black Lotus and by extension, Hashan. What I didn't realise was that by quitting the Guardians then, Ruth also lost her attached Church membership (She was CH4 or something) which I enjoyed being a part of. I wanted to still be a part of Team Good even if Ruth went to Hashan, but it turns out whoever was AP at that time was terrible at handling re-applications.

Anyway, Ruth was lured to the Black Lotus because I thought its history (Kharon Empire) was interesting. I wanted to experience a new setting altogether but it turned out to be less impressive than I expected. I went dormant shortly after because in my boredom I found Aetolia and got sucked into that >.>

Hashan to Mhaldor
Found out that Ruth got excommunicated when I came back and that made me mad because she was still very much 'Good-inclined' after all that while.

Eventually decided to go the vengeful/evil route due to past experiences with Team Good and started offering to Apollyon (because why not, Ruth was still suffering from all these previous injustices). I've never been in an Order before Apollyon, so I eventually asked about membership because I wanted to know how to learn more about the realm.. and that's how the roots sank in.

I had a grand time in Hashan though, despite being religiously swayed to Apollyon. Back then, Twilight and Apollyon were working towards the same goal so I didn't feel any need to choose between duty or faith. That quickly changed though, as I strived to make Hashan more visible on the world stage with Twilight's guidance. 

Eventually, I began to struggle to balance my dedication to my chosen faction and loyalty to my Order. I was Seneschal and Grand Parent of the Black Lotus, so I was already firmly entrenched in Hashan. Twilight also offered me a spot in his Order too, so things were going pretty good for me. I thought for a long while then, because I understood how difficult it would to be to champion another org's purpose while staying in another which had a different aim altogether. It wasn't easy to give up on either choice, but I made my decision to continue shaping Ruth around the concept of faith. I had intended for her membership to the Order to be her first and her last (even though Apollyon was already long dormant by now).

tl;dr I made decisions based on what I felt was right for the character. Some were emotionally driven, some were based around developing different aspects of her personality, some were based while keeping the experiences of others in mind and facing the consequences of the actions I took in the past.

[/spoiler]

@Ruth, thanks for sharing some of your experiences. It really does help, seeing how someone works out factional ties as a both a player and as a character. I suppose my struggle lies in recognizing that Tillie can't really develop too organically; I decided originally on her core trait and goals, and I can change those whenever I please. Since I'm pretty devoted to making it as natural as possible, I'll have to - as @Jeslyn  and @Aodfionn  said -  make a few sacrifices to make said eventual transition more realistic both for me and for the character.

That drive IS important though. "Developing different aspects of one's personality," I think, becomes more challenging as one focuses on certain character traits to interact with most folks for the first time (or at least I have, which has probably been my problem). I definitely have ideas on that front, it's just more of a background thing that only flares up when addressed. Those things may eventually, though, pull her towards a city and House again.

Makaela

I have only ever lived in 2 cities. Cyrene and Mhaldor.  The first time I left Cyrene was due to leaving my order.  It was intended to be temporary as Makaela needed more solitude to refigure her life. She was still loyal to justice even if she felt that Lady Miramar and the rest of the order turned thier eyes away from the injustices of Shallam at the time.

Eventually I went Dormant. Came back, RP said go evil but I felt I could not pull it off. I as a result tried to force myself back into her past, moved back to Cyrene. However both IC and OOC it did not feel the same and felt as if she did not belong.  I grew frustrated and tried to drop myself to level 1. Only got down to level 20 from 78 before @Melodie  found me and talked me out of it. I went dormant came back and Joined Mhaldor.

TLDR: Dont force yourself into a city simply becuase it seems good OOCly, let it come naturally through rp. You will regret it otherwise.

Zarla

Nice meeting you IG today, Tillie! I thought I'd go down the "advertise Mhaldor!" route to see how your character would respond. What I said about my char being rogue in the past is all true. While my char was cityless, I did have an OOC curiosity for Mhaldor and pondered whether I should join or not. But the ultimate decider arrived in game, out of pure spontaneous roleplay with other characters. When that happened, I just took the chance, and it felt so natural! It was definitely a major turning point in Zarla's life. She has now joined the Legates so she too, can enlighten rogue souls with the message of Evil, as she once had been. 
In the end, I think it's a matter of balancing out what you enjoy within the game OOC, and where your character would fit in within their current development framework. I hope my char gave you some small measure of IG opportunity if decide later that you wish to go down the Mhaldor route. Good luck!

Sarieno

My character is extremely tied into Hashan. Having said that, I have considered changing factions in the past, but for 11 years, (with the exception of a brief four month stint in Shallam, which was an extremely bad experience) I've stayed put. Part of it is that I've continued to challenge myself as a citizen, whether it's through political means, or busying myself in house leadership, or even looking after novices. Basically, I've never hit that serious stagnation point except for right after somebody I work with for a long time leaves.