Hi

Riluna

Should I come here? Lusty was always my IRE of choice, but the RPs are dead there, as amazing as it once was, years ago. But it's now deader than dead. It's all combat, and it's even bleeding into IC channels now. Few want to talk about anything but combat.

Is Aetolia actually different? It has the reputation for good RP, but I'm hoping for an honest answer if I should just move back to MUSHes instead. Is Aetolia combat heavy at all? Will I have luck finding RP people in whatever guild I might choose here?

I'm growing severely disappointed with IRE, Lusty and Impy specifically, I suppose, but I'd like HONEST answers from players here before I try to commit again.

Can I find RP anywhere, whatever guild I might choose? Is combat the defining topic of conversation on any given day? What else is there you talk about?

Kelliara

Hi @Riluna.

Not going to lie, combat is a pretty big thing here-abouts, what with fights breaking out every few hours in varying degrees over ylem, an in game resource.

HOWEVER, most orgs (and by those I mean cities, since my focus is mostly on the city I'm involved with) have RP in them, I could speak at great length about Spinesreach, for example. For the most part, the RP you get back is reliant on how much you seek it out. A larger portion of the player-base in most orgs will happily RP with you, but the thing to keep in mind is that there's a whole swath of different characters with different goals, and some might be tough nuts to crack in terms of getting to know.

That said, I suggest asking questions about the different cities, and perhaps diving in and getting involved as a good way to test the waters.

On top of that, there's also Guild RP, Order/Divine RP, and other arcs of varying degrees popping up here and there.

Also, WELCOME!

Faerah

I agree with @Kelliara, but I also disagree. Combat in Aetolia is very present, but it's isolated to a lot of "minigames" that people who want to participate in can, and people who do not can easily avoid. For example, the ylem combat mentioned above happens every three or so hours, but no one expects anyone who does not want to engage to engage, the PK happens in an isolated aura area out of city, and there's no loss of experience for those who participate while in that aura.

It isn't like some other IREs where the PK bleeds into the cities on a regular basis, or where it cannot be generally avoided. I don't know much about Lusty, but I do remember that in Achaea your city was raided and you had to defend it (for RL hours) - whatever else you were doing be damned. It's not like that in Aetolia.

I try not to get into the PICK MY ORG/GUILD battle on the forums. You should try and find RP in the side you are drawn to. However, I would recommend checking TOPGUILDS for a few days to see what orgs are more active and which ones aren't because you do not want to end up in a dead org - that's boring unless you want to endeavor to try and fix them yourself.

Annnnnnnnnd I echo Kelliara's "Welcome!" I do enjoy my time in Aetolia for the most part. There's RP and we have a history of fairly engaging events because we have a great administration that puts a lot of work into them. ( @Dristin is a epic. Always be nice to her so she stays with us forever. The rest of the team is historically pretty awesome too. )

Aishia

Hi Riluna, if you're the same Riluna from Lusternia then: YOU KNOW ME PRETTY WELL. I came here and I've probably been happier than I was in Lusternia overall. There is certainly much more RP. I do miss a few aspects of Lusternia. (You being one of them!) But mostly the content feels less frivolous here, and lots of other reasons I slowly migrated. (Combat actually kinda makes sense, a bit more RP than says and SMILE SMILE etc.

Arbre

I spent about six months playing Lusternia not long ago and quit to come back here just because of the RP. In the whole of that time, I had a whopping one session of RP with someone, whereas here I get it daily. I would definitely read about the different guilds and find what interests you about them - we're willing to answer questions here if you would like. Even the smaller guild have SOMEONE around most of the time, and you always have the city as a whole to fall back on when your guild is quiet.

Feel free to ask questions here, or you can contact me in game if you would like faster answers, but either way, Aetolia is very rich with RP - it's what brought me back from Lusternia pretty swiftly.

Emelle

Welcome! I think the biggest barrier to interaction new players feel here is breaking into existing RP niches with people, but there are plenty of folks who are willing to strike up a conversation and get to know your character. I feel there's been a noticeable uptick in roleplay since IRE introduced retirement.

There's also an OOC clan called The Roleplay Syndicate that's open to all; it basically serves as a flag for those who are interested in roleplay, as well as a place to ask questions, discuss Aetolia lore, and plot roleplay arcs. Any member of the clan can induct you, so feel free to ask!

Aryanne

We are so combat-not-heavy that there are plenty of characters (like mine) that pretty much never combat ever yet spend way too many hours every day having crap tons of fun RPing with whoever I can randomly approach and harass.

Some guilds will require you to have some amount of a clue about combat in order to progress very far, but others don't require it at all. That said, you can generally find RP in any guild you join. Just strike up a conversation with them and ask them to show you around or whatever and assuming they're not wrapped up in some RP of their own, generally someone will hop around to play and show you around while you get your bearings.

While combat might be a frequent OOC topic (depending on what clans you're in), I rarely see people discussing it ICly unless they are RPing out learning about it (but, then again, I'm a non-com, so maybe I just miss IC discussions about that)

Aishia

You do!

Riluna

I appreciate all the input. I really do. I'll be exploring this world on the off-chance somebody impresses me. Thank you!

Cheshen

I am not sure whether it is fair to say that "combat" is inimical to roleplay; I mean, a large element of certain playstyles is based around combat (the inquisitor/righteous defender/brutal warlord/etc.). I guess the real issue is the bleeding effect of OOC mechanical talk into IC venues, but that is neither here nor there!

In any case, welcome, @Riluna!

I agree with @Emelle, I found the most difficult thing for me to do was to "break" into certain niches (dare I say, cliques?). Part of it is definitely my fault as a person - severe anxiety over just sending a TELL to a random person, haha - but once that initial wall was vaulted over, I've found a wealth of enjoyable roleplay experiences (thanks @Shachalai and @Rasani!). Part of this has been related to recent IG events, which I think perhaps makes Aetolia uniquely special; the world feels alive because there are more situations that feel true to real life, in the case of riots and wars.

I imagine you can find roleplay anywhere, so just pick a place and go!

Annysei

i haven't found my place yet. is there a guild in the game that will indulge me, no matter what time of day it is?

Aishia

Ahh idk I typically play pretty reverse to most people since I work midnights. More like EU times.

Annysei

Cheshen said:

I am not sure whether it is fair to say that "combat" is inimical to roleplay; I mean, a large element of certain playstyles is based around combat (the inquisitor/righteous defender/brutal warlord/etc.). I guess the real issue is the bleeding effect of OOC mechanical talk into IC venues, but that is neither here nor there!

In any case, welcome, @Riluna!

I agree with @Emelle, I found the most difficult thing for me to do was to "break" into certain niches (dare I say, cliques?). Part of it is definitely my fault as a person - severe anxiety over just sending a TELL to a random person, haha - but once that initial wall was vaulted over, I've found a wealth of enjoyable roleplay experiences (thanks @Shachalai and @Rasani!). Part of this has been related to recent IG events, which I think perhaps makes Aetolia uniquely special; the world feels alive because there are more situations that feel true to real life, in the case of riots and wars.

I imagine you can find roleplay anywhere, so just pick a place and go!

As long as my schedule fits. I feel like it's super awkward right now.