How to not be terrible at RP?

I think the title is pretty self-explanatory ^^
I've been playing the game for a little bit, and though it was a bit confusing at first, I feel like I'm getting a hang of it. There's plenty of content, but I'd like to be more active RP-wise, and that's something I'm really not used to. 
If you have tips I could use to improve/start a good rp, I'd love to hear them, since it's a bit hard to see where to start.
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Comments

  • Thank you for your reply @Versalean . It makes a lot of sense, and I also like the idea of playing a character that's not an ultra-special mary sue/gary stu . I feel like a more down-to-earth character could indeed be more interesting to play. 
  • HELP RP and HELP EMOTING can give a really good start.

    Most like to think of their character as a story in progression. Add and keep a bit of everything that you get to play with and would like to incorporate in your background from the game. With practice, you'll be able to flesh out your character even more with contact with other players, new experiences and your own unique ideas.

    I also know that I really love to read literary descriptions or emotes that another player took the time to create. I personally have a soft spot for chararacters with an atypical journey and who can rp it with depth (it makes them seem more real).
  • Thanks @Alaksanteri . I wasn't really aware of the emote system before you sent me this reply ^^

    A big concern I have though, is that since I'm not a native english speaker, my in game interactions with other players might seem a bit robotic. 
  • edited February 2018
    Liray said:
    Thanks @Alaksanteri . I wasn't really aware of the emote system before you sent me this reply ^^

    A big concern I have though, is that since I'm not a native english speaker, my in game interactions with other players might seem a bit robotic. 
    That's okay. Just be creative and have fun doing it. The fun part is what really matters.

    I'm not a native english speaker neither and it never stopped me!
  • edited February 2018
    Glad you're enjoying Lusternia!

    I learned a lot of what I know about roleplaying by spending time with people who were amazing roleplayers and doing my best to engage with them. I had the chance to see what they were doing and to practice it myself. In general, I've found the really great role players in Lusternia are those who want to roleplay--which means they're often very happy to engage new players/roleplayers and give them the chance to roleplay, becuase it means more chances for them too.

    As @Aeldra said, in character you have no memories from before the Portal of Fate. It's the perfect excuse to be confused and ask questions about things in game, then ask more questions about the things that interest you, and see who is interested in talking and roleplaying about it.

    (edited for typos)
  • Thanks for all the replies.That gives me a lot of material to start with and a lot of things to think about!
    Looking forward to roleplaying with you :)
  • Oh! One more idea, if you'd like another angle to try: if you're adopted into a family, a lot of families have roleplay involved in them, from family plots to family events and family history. Someone mentioned not telling everyone about your character's past family...but asking other people about their families might get some balls rolling.
    Amazing beautiful stunning avatar by Gurashi!
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  • Everiine said:
    Hiriako said:
    (Come to Glom, Lief!)

    *granddaughter, but whatevs, same diff. <3@Lief .
    Yeah, just found out this RL morning that your IC son married into my family. :D
  • That.... explains a lot
  • Cyndarin said:
    Make it simple! Create a character idea, focus in on a few traits or behaviors that embody that character, and hone in on them.

    Don't make those traits annoying or difficult for others to deal with. Stuttering, pregnancy RP, mutes, thick accents, etc. will generally scare people off no matter how good of an RPer you may be.

    Most importantly, if RP isn't super natural to you like it wasn't for me, it's okay if your character reflects some aspects of your personality. For me, Celina/Cyndarin was always my drag persona that took several of my real personality traits and blew them up dramatically, then a threw in violence and religious zealotry to round her out. She was always easy and fun for me to RP with. I'm kind of bitchy, she was queen of the bitch kingdom. 
    You have kind of... grown? This is the best part of RP. We have our characters, and Celina and I don't give a damn about each other, but... neat.

    You have grown, @Cyndarin

    Mayor Steingrim, the Grand Schema says to you, "Well, as I recall you kinda leave a mark whereever you go."
  • edited February 2018
    On the thread's note; just have fun, and make effort. Avoid "lazy" Rp (nod, smile, greet, etc.) Write your own emotes, but as has been said, you don't need to write a novel.

    Other people will appreciate the effort, but definitely don't be discouraged if others don't respond! There are some people who just aren't here for that. Trying is the way to get in.

    Mayor Steingrim, the Grand Schema says to you, "Well, as I recall you kinda leave a mark whereever you go."
  • XenthosXenthos Shadow Lord
    Said much better than I would have, thank you. :)
    image
  • edited February 2018
    I find that I am a bit shyer when it comes to RP. So to help with this, I tend to seek out some of the same people over and over again (Hi @Eliron ) and find myself becoming more comfortable with that as I figure Zeph out--she changes with each interaction with someone, influenced by words and gestures. I haven't written a backstory for her and tend to just 'go in the moment' and see where things progress. 
  • Just going to second everyone saying to have fun. You don't need to be a pro RPer, by and large people will be excited to interact with you if they've the time to get into it and you can really develop your own style just from interacting with others. Feel free to chat with me whenever you're around, @Liray
  • SylandraSylandra Join Queue for Mafia Games The Last Mafia Game
    It's also okay not to know everything about your character right away! No one will corner you and grill you about every little detail of your roleplay style, haha. What's nice is you're not in Lusternia to impress anyone with your fancy emotes or how dramatic your backstory is. You're here to play a game and have fun, so if you start from that mindset, you'll figure out the play style you most enjoy. Which is what matters, really. :)
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  • edited February 2018
    Moi said:

    Stuff
    Very good points! Especially about your own character's involvement.

    My wording choice was one given to me by the people who taught me, and aren't 100%. Predefined emotes have their place, certainly, but if that is all you use it doesn't really work. A lot of them don't fit, and the way they even do is part of the culture we've built for ourselves. Many even sound very strange to the uninitiated.

    Your own custom emotes don't have to be novels, and can be simple smile/nod stuff. I.e. there are very, very many times you want to nod, but not "emphatically". You can even write them to be functionally identical (as aliases) in your own client.

    And if you use nothing else, absolutely none of it is you.

    Mayor Steingrim, the Grand Schema says to you, "Well, as I recall you kinda leave a mark whereever you go."
  • I agree with where you're coming from, Riluna, but the specific example you've used kind of illustrates one of the reasons why out-the-box emotes are absolutely fine. Obviously making your own emotes was helpful to you, so it certainly isn't bad advice in itself, but as ever it's one tool in a very large toolbox. So yes without a shadow of a doubt there's a lot to be gained by tweaking your emotes if you're that way inclined (and if you're a Wyrdenwood AMIRITE @Snag ?), but you could equally just grab an icecream and spend ten minutes now and then going through EMOTIONLIST. You might be surprised just how much variety is in there.

    Riluna said:
     I.e. there are very, very many times you want to nod, but not "emphatically".
    Indeed! So why not SAGENOD, SLOWNOD, NODNOD, SIMPLENOD, NODOFF, CLUELESS, AFFIRM, SURE, YEP, EAGER, CALCULATE, or GAN?

    "D-did you seriously just read the entire list of emotes for this post?"
    "Nope! EMOTIONLIST NOD read it for me! Now go check out EMOTIONLIST SMILE and EMOTIONLIST LAUGH."

    Choose one you like and use that one - if it isn't vanilla NOD/SMILE/LAUGH, 80% of Lusty will never have seen it in their lives. Of course, if none of them fit, write your own!
  • Thanks again for all the answers everyone! There's a lot of good advice and it's great to see such an involved community! 
  • Riluna said:
    Moi said:

    Stuff
    Very good points! Especially about your own character's involvement.

    My wording choice was one given to me by the people who taught me, and aren't 100%. Predefined emotes have their place, certainly, but if that is all you use it doesn't really work. A lot of them don't fit, and the way they even do is part of the culture we've built for ourselves. Many even sound very strange to the uninitiated.

    Your own custom emotes don't have to be novels, and can be simple smile/nod stuff. I.e. there are very, very many times you want to nod, but not "emphatically". You can even write them to be functionally identical (as aliases) in your own client.

    And if you use nothing else, absolutely none of it is you.
    Not only that, but the base IRE emotes often have negative connotations.

    TAP comes to mind. One might expect TAP <person> to tap them on the shoulder...but noooooo.
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