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Comments
As someone who plays a pretty stern individual until you get to know her (which requires advancing in the House to the point that she believes you're worth getting to know), I'd suggest that what these players may have been trying to convey is a sense of their organization's ethos and culture by letting you know straight up that clowning around isn't looked upon kindly.
It wouldn't really do much good to let you continue with that and believe that you'd be getting anywhere in their org if that's not the case, would it?
Regarding the citizenship thing, that's true: Ashtan doesn't permit people to be members of the CIJ or any House outside of those in our city. That helps us bring around cohesion around our ethos and goals and is fairly common in factional cities. Right or wrong, it does have some reasoning behind it.
If I'm being honest, it's odd to me that you don't seem to know any of this, yet you said you've been around for quite a while on your main. Perhaps you're returning from a slumber and getting hit with a little bit of culture shock yourself because the game's changed a bit since you were last here? Just curious!
If the CIJ is working to remedy this, good for them, but I'd look to the Virtuosi in Cyrene for any sort of entertainment value first and foremost.
In regards to novice experiences, I can say this: I've played a lot of alts and being a novice aide, I've also dealt with a lot of alts. I've also dealt with genuinely new characters that are exploring factions and figuring out what best suits them. A lot of time can be invested in new characters that either leave or suicide (or in some cases, retire) and it can sometimes feel like a wasted effort because you don't get to see that character grow and become more in your organisation. As a result, many people are going to want to wait and see if someone is going to stick around before making the effort to really get to know someone and make them feel included because more often than not, that person is gone the next day.
It's not a great cycle that exists but it is there nonetheless. People that are genuinely new often suffer because of it as a result and it means that they aren't getting the warm welcome and enthusiasm to stick around and be a part of things. I think the OOC knowledge that people are alts also contributes to this because while I understand that they don't want you wasting time on them unnecessarily, they are also giving up opportunities to get to know people and create those budding relationships which should be impactful to have.
As someone that has been playing Achaea for so long though, I'm not at all surprised to find things are the way they are. At the end of the day, this is a game that people play for whatever reason and their time is a precious resource that they are usually reluctant to waste on people that won't stick around. Some people will and those people are fantastic, but I don't find fault with the people who don't want to.
As for the name Bullet, it makes me think of adult toys and that's inappropriate
It's true. As a rule, people hate clowns. Sure, there are some exceptions. But you know what's funny about those exceptional clowns? They don't act like clowns. Pratchett's Clown's Guild and Doctor Whiteface. The Joker. Pennywise. None of these things have a "Yay, clowns!" attitude. They're all about how clowns are sad and about how clowns are scary and about how nobody likes clowns.
If you are RPing a clown and everybody hates you, then you should be happy because that means you're doing a good clown impersonation.
I'm guessing... 5th birthday?
Tecton-Today at 6:17 PM
Tecton-Today at 6:17 PM
Also, I don't necessarily think that you have to be an ADHD, lolsorandom, maniac. I was kind of taking aim at a deranged, melancholy clown, personally. But, the thing about clowns: you aren't really supposed to take them seriously, even if they're sad. They're funny when their sad. They're just caricatures, and, while I don't believe that the Jester class was explicitly designed for such a role, there is no class better to play it out.
What antics people find amusing for a few minutes, becomes grating after awhile. I'm sure people have encountered someone who is performing all the time, twenty-four seven. And that can be jarring.
A class should add to the role you're playing, not overwhelm it.
I've enjoyed playing someone who had to perform on the streets for a living when they were younger. That afforded me a lot of leeway to expand and intereact with people, explore the humanity behind the facepaint and the laughter.
That's not to say jesters can't be as whimsical or as creative as they want.
But people want to get to know the person behind the paint at some point, you know? When they get the impression that that's all there is to someone, an act, a caricature. It oddly ends up taking away the mystique. And all hope for better interactions.
To me. Jestering is an art and how your character utilizes that to serve them is the high point of Jester RP.
For example, Jesters entertain both nobility and the poor, allowing them to fit anywhere in society. That is a powerful RP tool. You can RP as a talented spymaster or a wise vagabond who has moved up and down through all parts of society's ladder.
They got powerful symbolism. In the Tarot, a Jester is often associated with the Fool, but they are also associated with Death. As Death is often depicted in a Jester's garb in medieval times due to the saying, "The last laugh is reserved for Death." Which supposively humbles everyone just like how a Jester makes fun of everyone regardless of their standing.
New Jesters shouldn't limit themselves to being Clowns. Aa even clowns of today try to be more than just a stereotype (it's literally an art and a way of life for them). Seperate the art from the person and then build a story around that person. More interesting that way.
Edit: especially the bolded
Moving on, I agree with Nazihk, I don't think Jester is about rping as a clown. I think Jester is actually a poor choice of words exactly for that reason - it brings clown to mind. I'd view Jester as more like an acrobat with varying degrees of danger, humor, craziness (not insanity!), a variety of other things. It's more like taking a more humorous approach to the game. It doesn't have to be the cliche Dark Knight sort of Jester, I think that's hard to pull off. Basically, just have fun with things, but look at Penwize's comment for a good example of what not to do. Everyone will have different opinions of what's overly silly, but try not to be overly silly.
I play Tesha with less focus on class identity and more focus on her personality, which in class terms would be something like priest/jester/paladin. The "jester" side comes out in the form of trolling, puns, and mischief. I think trying to focus on one thing too hard - such as being a clown - can really detract from what you might hope to either bring to the game or get from the game. It's important to remember that what you bring to the game is connected to what you get from the game.
At the end of the day, though, it's important to remember that no matter what you play, either as a Jester or another class, not everyone will like how you play the game and that's okay. Going back to the multiplayer game mentioned earlier, generally you can focus more on friends/city/housemates' reactions to your character and you'll be fine. Just don't completely ignore everyone else's reactions.
Anyway...
First impressions on new novices (or people returning after a long time) can make or break whether that person sticks with Achaea. Does it suck sometime to have to be nice to someone that's getting on your nerves? Yes. Do I wish I didn't have to repeat the same thing to one novice after another for 80% of them to never return? Definitely. Is it worth it in the long run to nicely point them towards sanity or help files rather than shun them for not knowing every intricate rule of the game we've all played for 5+ years? Hell yes.
That said, even with all her savagery, Tru's interactions with newcomers are never purposefully unkind or impatient for exactly the reasons you noted.
Taking the time to privately tell someone if they're acting in ways that others may find disdainful, annoying, or outside the realm of acceptable social norm should be part of the role of any ambassador or newcomer aide. But it doesn't take but a minute to preface such a conversation with, "I'm sharing this with you because I want you to be your best/most evil/chaotic self."
What this OP seemed to be saying though was that they wanted to RP one way and the House's ethos was headed in another direction. That's the equivalent of someone wanting to be Eleusian, but only interested in chopping down trees to clear the space for new plant growth. It might make sense to the person RPing it, but I wager the city's members wouldn't necessarily be behind buying the person an endless supply of axes.
The recent veil and gem changes have been excellent as it' really made the game feel bigger and more populated. I'm seeing people over 200yrs old I never knew existed. Achaea advertises itself saying you can do all these amazing things, which you can, but I've lost count of the number of people in Hashan wanting to learn their tradeskills and became merchants only to be told it's not really a good idea.
The only time tradeskills aren't worth it is when the opportunity cost is higher. I.e. I can bash up 50-60k per hour. Why would I make minerals instead?
But even then, once you hit gold cap then you're back in profit mode.
It's the same with mining; I've heard plenty of people saying it's a waste of time but once you pass the initial training stage you can make GOOD profit if you pick your lodes right.
To be honest, if I didn't enjoy other things a little more, I'd be perfectly happy (and more than able) to carve out a pretty damn good profit on a character with 0 investment.