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Good RP and character background tips
Hello folks,
In the last few weeks, I've been able to invite some friends over from other MUDs and MUSHs that I used to play to check out Aetolia and I've seen them run into situations where other players hold them and their character's background stories accountable to game mechanics, limiting their back story. So, I thought I'd share a few things to help bring some awareness.
HELP GOODRP has a few interesting things to remember but the whole file is really good to read!
- Do not rely on game mechanics to define your reality and judgments. An example of this would be saying, "All vampires are responsible for their state because they must have AGREEd to become a vampire," whereas a better player would not allow that mechanic to dictate the roleplay surrounding an embrace or how their character reacts to the circumstances of individual vampires.
- Make your character feel like a real Aetolian person. Give your character flaws and weaknesses and let them make mistakes and learn. Allow your character to change over time. Real people change over the years, as different things happen to them and they learn more about themselves, and your character should, too.
- Use the setting of Aetolia to its full extent to create a character that could not exist in any other realm.
- Stay in character, even (or especially) when someone emotes that you are being pinned against a wall. Roleplay out of it, or even along with it.
- Treat non-player-characters ("mobs") as if they were just as real as other characters.
- Some roleplayers believe it is poor form to use the ID number of a monster or to ask someone in a public area to "doublewhisper" them to work on their "reflexes". They prefer to avoid slipping into OOC behaviour in public or referencing OOC behavior with thinly veiled euphemisms and synonyms. An example would be substituting the word "reflexes" for "triggers" as if it made such a discussion any more IC. They also suggest limiting or eliminating modern colloquiums from your speech ("newbie," "dude," et cetera). However, other roleplayers believe these IC terms for OOC matters are invaluable when discussing matters that cannot be avoided. For example, referring to the player as his 'soul' takes an OOC term and makes it IC. A good player does not 'logoff,' he 'departs from the realms.' He does not 'go on a vacation,' rather he 'embarks on a journey beyond Sapience.'
(I'm guilty of taking long walks in Dendara to 'meditate' or travel back 'home' where my character originally comes from, beyond Sapience.)
* - Some believe it's most important that your characters should appear to be consistent in how it behaves and how it reacts. Roleplay at the core is the person's ability to capture a convincing, enthralling role. It isn't the quality of your emotes, or the way you speak. It is how consistent you are with the personality (the role) you have envisioned for your character, and how well you remain in that character. An example of a typical failing in this area would be a person who plays a character that sits at one moral extreme, such as being a necromancer, but has an OOC friend who plays a character at another extreme, such as a Luminary, and the two characters freely associate without any kind roleplay to explain their interaction.
Following your character's natural reaction to situations is important and this sometimes means allowing your character to develop a dislike for people who you normally don't dislike because of the situations they have found themselves into - consistency is the key to excellent roleplay and if others are simply confused by the reaction you -can- step out of character to tell them, "((OOC: Since my character was put in a situation where their fear/paranoia/excitement/passion is pushed, this reaction is for the story, not against you)) etc.
I would encourage reading these files for those seeking to improve their story-telling with consistency and an open mind that is not limited to the game's mechanics, but more importantly, RP that does not cross IC and OOC boundaries and flows naturally for your character's personality: HELP ROLEPLAY, HELP GOODRP, HELP INTERACTION, HELP BACKGROUND, HELP CHARACTER'S ROLE, and HELP ESTEEM!
(Even the Gods can be esteemed to tell them how wonderful you think they are and send them love for all the fun stuff they do for you!)
Also, a few years ago Gretel gave us an awesome intro to roleplaying too: Gretel's Guide to Roleplay
I miss Hansel and Gretel...anyways, that's all folks!
Hope this was helpful.
Between what is said and not meant, and what is meant and not said, most of love is lost. - Khalil Gibran
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Comments
- Accept responsibility for your IC actions. It's a two way street, too- if Toz clips your shoulder and calls you a name, absolutely 100% dislike him, or complain. ICly dislike characters who give your char a reason to. But if YOURS does something jerkish, be prepared for it to come around, too. It is mercifully less now, but for awhile there was a lot of <rude act IC, demand a thing> then an immediate OOC tell //haha sorry x is such an asshole, can I have <thing>?
- Talk cross faction. Not buddy buddy, perhaps, but if something happens comment on it? Every side has SOME reason to engage the others, and if you don't- even if it's to antagonize - you're cutting yourself off of a chunk of the population. Aloli and Toz had a long talk about Damariel, and beliefs about Him, for example. It got me out of my circle, and he still has the book she sent.
Hi.
- A character starting off as 18-30, being announced as being "new" to the game is another example of not holding someone hostage to game mechanics. If they play older (because of some age modifying artifact) or they sound more experienced, don't get caught up forcing them to pretend to be newbs and forcing your help down their throat. Allow people to play as they like
- Assume your character is doing things 'off screen' when you're not actually roleplaying them. Your character enjoys gambling? Can mention offhand a card game they've lost recently even if you didn't actually RP it during your play time. Your character runs a tavern/works in one? Can talk about a fight they broke up the other day or complain about rowdy patrons. Makes it feel a lot more like the character has an actual life.
- Be careful of 'godmodding'. RPing, particularly when it comes to physical altercations that don't warrant or don't escalate to PK mechanics (a bar room brawl is a prime example), is a two-way street, so be careful of forcing things like being grabbed or being punched. Don't assume every hit lands. You want to avoid the dreaded 'godmodding'? Emote throwing the punch and where you're aiming, and let the other person decide whether or not it hits. Don't assume you dodge everything either. Don't be That Guy. Go with the flow, and do what's most entertaining.
- Be wary of how much you utilize 'faceless NPCs' in developing your character. Yes, we all want our characters to grow, change, become stronger, or have fun/interesting things happen to them, but the bulk of your character development ought to come from interactions with other characters. Personally? I feel it's fine to have little vignettes of dealing with rowdy patrons in a bar or getting into a bar fight with faceless NPCs or growling at a pompous scholar in a library, but these shouldn't always be front and center. They ought to be glimpses into your character's daily life and not world-changing character development.
- Your character is more than just says or written descs. Mannerisms, accents, the words they choose when speaking, the style of clothes they choose to wear, the food and drink they like all inform little bits of their life, personality, or culture and should not be overlooked. They also make for good hooks for people to ask about!
- Tragic/tumultuous past as a backstory doesn't necessarily make it a good one. Yes, Aetolia is a dark and unforgiving place, and war orphans, former slaves, victims of bandits, and whatnot are a dime a dozen. It's not hard to come up with motivations for those types of characters. But what about someone who's lived a relatively normal, happy life? Did they want to serve their city? Are they trying to support a family? Were they bored of being a simple farmhand and sought adventure? Did they see injustice in the world and want to right wrongs? You'd be surprised at how much depth you'd be able to find in a 'mundane' backstory.
-Following up with the prior, just because someone doesnt help you, doesnt mean they dont like you or that they are out to get you. Sometimes, they just dont know your character well enough to take a stick their neck out for you.
If I wanted to roll out a new character who is a grumpy old hag living in Tasur'ke well...I shouldn't be restricted to "when the logs say I escaped slaver's isle" should I?
- Find interesting/mundane ways of using your class abilities in your RP. Your class uses weapons? If someone stumbles across you, you can RP out them being interrupted practicing with their sword or sharpening/cleaning their weapons. You're Ascendril? Boil a pot of tea just by using your Elemancy. Monk in need of moving something heavy? Use telepathy to make rearranging furniture effortless!
I can't wrap my head around blind/deaf characters.
I also can't bring myself to "roleplay fight." If someone starts a fight or brawl, Fezzix will fight the most effective way he knows how to get the intended result. If you're out to hurt Fezzix, he will hurt you back through the use of his skills, which happen to be game mechanics. It can be fun to roleplay footwork and how you grip a weapon when teaching someone how to use combat skills, but that's the extent for me.
Defensive posturing, looming over someone, acting threatening, or grabbing them by the shirt collar is another matter, but if it comes to blows, I'm bringing in mechanics. It makes no sense to approach it any other way, to me.
The point I was trying to make is in this respect is to allow certain game mechanics to fall by the wayside so they don't hinder someone's ability to write a detailed backstory. Not everyone is going to want to be a 30 year old who escaped from slaver's isle yesterday because the log said they did...not everyone is going to want to add their city academy ito their story, and so on.
If you're trying to pull off a neutral angle, be fully aware that isn't a thing unless you are completely rogue. And even then, you will not be accepted everywhere because of 'lack of conviction'. Sure you'll have people to talk to, but you won't have the solidarity of a city or guild to back you.
B: My character doesn't know what "the mechanics are". I can't reasonably argue ICly "Yeah, but you only just left the isle, so I know you're not really that old, because that's how the game works", but I could argue "I've never heard of someone over the age of 30 escaping the isle." And, realistically, I will generally have Zaila try to rationalize why something that conflicts with the mechanics could be possible as well as possible in attempts to respect other people's rp. We're all here to have fun.
That said: Zaila has an artifact that allows me to see your character's "actual" birthdate. This means my character knows your character falsified their papers and I am going to RP as if I know - whether or not Zaila alerts you to her knowledge outright.
If someone joins the guild at 18-30, and I see their age in honors, my character is not going to buy them claiming to suddenly be an old hag from Tasur'ke equal to her age or even older. It doesn't matter if they RP as if they were present during historic events, because my character will know they are lying through their teeth. Sure, that could potentially set things up for interesting RP, but more likely, it will make her less trusting of said person.
For new characters:
Most of the time, I ignore Slaver's Isle these days, and instead consider people finally old/strong/mature/ready enough to take up the adventurer's life and join a guild. Meaning, they might have lived as an NPC for 30 years somewhere (anywhere) before taking this step.
My first char had a background that I slowly built up while learning more. Ended up coming from Arbothia (village picked at random), and incorporated the Slaver's Isle part in her story, having been accused, falsely, of murders committed by an unnamed Syssin (made her hate Syssin) and shipped off. I knew nothing of the game world, but it worked.
Second char just sort of wandered into Duiran and became a Sentinel after leaving the desert. Isolated upbringing meant I could play ignorant, but read books, so could speak of some things with a small amount of authority.
Third one grew up as one of many street urchins in Spinesreach, with parents without ambitions to join a guild or becoming adventurers.
It's possible to play it out in so many different ways, and that's what makes the game so interesting.
One of the more important tips, I think, is to not overdevelop a character. Give them loose goals and the basis of a personality, then shape them in the game. Going in as an 18 year old, level 1 carnifex who is a perfect knight and holds fast to their values and has a set personality doesn't give you much room for character growth right when growth should be what defines the character you play.
Another one of varying importance is to think about how traits of your character will influence the people - as players and as characters - who interact with you. I enjoy thought out backstories, but for example, not being able to talk about some common subject because it has a relation with a hidden and traumatic facet of your past doesn't appeal to me as an outside player - I'd rather roleplay with someone whose mysterious trauma causes subtle changes in reaction than total blockup, or someone not traumatised at all.
As a personal comment, I recommend that people try pleasant characters! Aetolia is full of penitent flagellants dripping in self-loathing and guilt for various wrongs no one can remember. You can have a character that isn't broken without them being a Mary Sue. Sometimes a character flaw is as mundane as "I cannot help but openly admire other people's teeth" and not "My ovaries were ripped by undead ghasts and I will fly into a fit of brooding whenever
Slyphe high-fives another pregnant woman with its tridentI see a happy family or children."I would add that it is simply much easier to gravitate toward those people who have a cheerful disposition and love to joke and laugh without taking life like a joke or too seriously. I believe Phoenecia touched on this in an earlier post too.
Good luck to everyone and happy roleplaying!
Don't worry about that too much and just play someone you will enjoy. Don't worry about if other people will like your character design or if your style of writing fits anyone else: aim to create a character that you will enjoy RPIng. There are niches for all sorts of RP styles here, so go with what you like and have fun. I've played drastic ends of the spectrum, the happy bubbly cheery box that people constantly tell is a ray of sunshine and joy - I've also played the bitter, rude, selfish snot with a pile of baggage so long it'd need its own train car.
Just bear in mind that what you play will dictate what RPortunities are presented to you by other players. If what you really enjoy is the darker, grittier, gory RP or drama - you aren't likely to get it if you play the bubbly sunshine box. But play a rude, selfish jerk? It'll flock to you like white on rice. Your writing style will certainly play into who RPs with you as well (some folks just do or don't click) but your character's personality will dictate it more.
In the same vein, if you want more easy going, casual slice-of-life RP, you'll push a LOT of that away by playing a self-centered jerk who can't crack a smile.
Ultimately, you're not going to get hooked on the game unless you're having a lot of fun playing who and how you want. One of the great things about Aetolian RP is that there is a niche for all different styles, which makes it feel like a more whole and realistic fantasy world. Not everyone is bubbly, friendly, and easy-going and not everyone is a rigid jerk with a stick up their keister; some people just want to hang around and RP their ten babies and craft cool things while other people want to RP a yearly self-flagellating in memory of that time they killed their best friend in a boating accident.
To any newbies out there: You do you. Just do it with us and have fun!
As a man I've noticed especially other men tend toward trying to start out being the overly serious combat badass. What I love about aetolia is, the combat system has checks in place to prevent someone from pulling that off via emotes. We'll find out real fast if you can actually back that personality up or not and there is always a bigger fish anyway to ensure you learn to RP failure and defeat.
Personally, I also dislike playing good looking and intelligent characters as well. It's funny when some female in heat tries to romantically RP with my clueless and smelly kalinaar since he frequently turns down wash rags (looking at you @Aloli!) and isn't good looking even among Trolls. This leaves room for interesting and uncommon RP responses too often neglected as many would rather play an intelligent and handsome character.
TLDR: Flaws are a good thing. Let people rp how they want.
Actually, information in Honours is described under HELP HONOURS as:
By typing VIEW HONOURS you may see some publically available information about that player. This information should be considered generally known enough as to be common knowledge.
- i.e. HONOURS is the information available in public records and/or asking around on the street, but without the inconvenience of having your character have to go to a certain records room or finding a random NPC to chat up in order to utilize the syntax. It is intended to be ICly available information.