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RP Tips?
I'm finding it hard to get much RP and I'm unsure if people are enjoying what I'm throwing out. I'm betting a lot of that is due to my own approach and habits, as each game does things differently. So, some questions for the more experienced Lusternian RPers:
- How is RP usually initiated in Lusternia?
- Are there any common gathering areas in each org and game-wide that people tend to hang out in for spontaneous RP?
- I've noticed most RP tends to be short-form, premotes and say-based RP. What's the best method you've found for finding or transitioning into longform RP?
- How common is divine RP? What's the best way to initiate that?
- What's the typical "scene" duration? I'm unsure if I'm boring people by dragging things on, or if I'm running away too soon.
- Is there any sort of mechanic for friendly feedback for RP here? Aetolia has a method to "express esteem" to someone if you liked their RP and I was wondering if there is an option like that here
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Comments
o RP is never just 'initiated'. It is always going. You are a character living in this world, not a player logging into the game. Think of it from that perspective, and always have it in your mind, "What would Breandryn do in this situation?" Without resorting to OOC tells and/or clans, the easiest way I've found to have people reciprocate your RP advances is to make heavy use of the emote and prefixed says systems.
o Your Nexus. As annoying as it can be to have people AFK-influencing, just AFK, or otherwise milling in and out, you're most likely to find people hanging about at the Moonhart because it is the most well known place in the entire forest. Otherwise, if your character is known for having an affinity to a particular place, you can begin to settle down there and people with thirdeye and/or scent will wonder what you're doing lingering. Curiosity is very big here, and you're likely to find people wandering into...'a grove of cherry trees' or what have you just to see what you are doing there.
o Change the situation into something that needs to have a little personal relation rather than just something you can 'yup', 'shiver', 'wink' off. One of my favourite RP interactions with another player is that one of my characters is illiterate, and the only person he felt comfortable asking to help him study for his guild exam was the cutest boy in his org. It's hard to be flirtatious and intriguing when you're being read to and they're writing down your answers.
The same character later met another boy after watching his play, and the illiteracy once more opened up the RP from them having a five minute conversation to a forty-five minute one that involved at least three other people. Knowing your character's ins and outs, playing on their strengths and weaknesses, is the fastest way to learn other characters and have them willing to open up as well.
o Our Divine, like all IRE, are volunteer admin. They earn things with their work, and one of their biggest rewards (I think now, after reading in the 'God Blogs' section) is the ability to interact with players. The easiest way to initiate RP is to pray at one of their shrines, solo RP in their fulcrux (they can see EVERYTHING that goes on in here, so do be careful what you do/say, even if it's in a message or a clan), or wander into meeting them when they show their faces. They'll remember you were willing to interact with them, and if you stay active and keep trying, you'll quickly move up their list of people to interact with. Patience is a must-have here, because they have hundreds of people who all want a piece of their pie.
o A scene only lasts as long as it lasts. I know that's an unsatisfying answer, but the best way to determine a scene's length is how long things last naturally and comfortably. If you feel like you're dragging things on for an overly long amount of time, allow your partner a little open endedness, and if they feel like they need to leave they will. More than likely, though, they're as happy to be RPing with someone else as you are and will try to keep the scene flowing and natural for as long as possible.
o The forums is our feedback. If you loved RP'ing with Lisaera or Everiine, post on the forums your log of RP'ing with the. Show them off to the rest of the community because not only are you giving them a glowing commendation by saying 'Look how much I like this person, I want to share how awesome they are with the rest of you', but you also push people who are interested in RP but nervous about it/unsure how to approach ideas on how to start or keep going.
Everyone starts with awkward premotes and short says with just an exploratory prefix. No one judges people who use them, and realise that they're trying to improve and often will try to help them by extending their own poses and giving them a chance to jump in. My biggest tip is to remember that your SAYS are not bound to one sentence. Between myself, other players, the Divine, and sometimes NPCs, you can find people who have their sentences stop to allow their character added breath and motion during a paragraph of blue text, only to recontinue later on.
My biggest warning now is that you will never satisfy everyone with your RP, and you shouldn't expect to. The only person you can ever fully satisfy is yourself, and that should be your biggest goal. Tremula has enemies, she has people who disapprove of her, and I have people who aren't overly fond of me out-of-character that can influence how their character interacts with mine, but I have never been happier in my current state-of-affairs and RP than I am now. It makes me happy when I get to show off, when I get to be included, and when I get to include, and that makes for better scenes.
I hope this helped and I didn't get too tanget-y or rambly, I just woke up and am answering this from the comfort of my bed before I go have any of my morning tea.
Ixion tells you, "// I don't think anyone else had a clue, amazing form."
1) RP is best initiated simply by speaking to the person, or doing a small emote of your own to show an interest.
2) Common places are usually the Nexus and Aetherplex, though some orgs have other places people will sit at. Though a lot of the time manses are used.
3) A lot of RP is short, people get distracted or called away for whatever reason, guild stuff, raids, you name it. I think the best way to make it be a lasting thing, is when you have a successful session, give a hint you'd like to continue. And by session I mean when the RP ends, minds out of gutter people.
4) Divine RP truly depends on how much the Admin in question has time to spare. I find the best way to get an interaction is to pray to them, which is IC and will usually get a response. Another way is to message them and suggest what you would like to accomplish. Admins here have always been responsive to me - Hype for @Weiwae and @Zvoltz.
5) Depending on the 'scene' in question, could be a few minutes to hours on end. A quick example is we were having a discussion at the Matrix, moved to @Daraius' teahouse, and that lasted for 3 hours, everyone just chiming in. Once you RP for a while, you'll notice when a subject has been dragged along for too long, and that's when you can transition subject or just call it good.
6) There's no real feedback system here in Lusternia, so I have a few methods to get a gauge of how it went:
a) I invite them to join me again at a later time. A yes means you did good and/or like you enough.
b) Just send them a tell or message and ask. It doesn't have to be awkward, a simple, "Was our time enjoyable?" works just fine, or along those lines. Another example would be a mentor teaching a student the skills, by acting them all out, then asking them if they found it enlightening, etc.
c) If these don't feel like your cup of tea, I usually just try to initiate another go with them, and if they join in, it means ya did good
(I personally don't see why shortform rp isn't "Good")
For another avenue of RP, strike up random conversations with NPCs. If there's an admin paying attention and looking to possess a mob, you might just get a response! If you keep it up over a period of years, your character can actually build persistent relationships with NPCs (why do you think Ev hangs out with Tokota, Sakima, and Adasser so much?), which is one of the neatest things!
@Tremula - the logs section of forums doesn't seem to have much personal RP arcs. I'm used to Aetolian forums where entire personal stories are shared. Is that something posted here? I am still trying to gauge forum culture here and don't want to commit a faux paus.
I'd toot my horn, but I've been absent lately and am really more an example of how not to do it most days.
EDIT: All my old ones are cluttered with personal OOC clan tells or have been lost to the ages. Sorry, I'll try and do better about logging them!
Ixion tells you, "// I don't think anyone else had a clue, amazing form."
-Kilian
Doesn't mean they aren't important, just that there's hours of otherwise unrelated content that gives context, like the frosty two or three round conversation Luce had about Rolsand at the Aetherplex one day. (In front of Rolsand, no less.)
I also use ansi triggers to copy emotes/says/tells/shouts to a separate window, so I can just c/p that or trigger a log off that window when I login.
Keep at it, don't get discouraged, and just have fun.
The eye of Dylara materialises in your hands and flings itself around your neck, tightening incomprehensibly until it is irremovable.
Perfectly clean, this eyeball has been wrenched from the socket of Dylara. It has been animated by some unusual force, constantly looking around itself as if in shock or fear. It is bathed in a light covering of white flames that roll endlessly over its surface. A single chain of empyreal metal pierces either side of the eye, allowing it to be worn around the neck.
Regarding this: I have lots of old logs that I save for my own personal amusement, but that I worry if I posted to forums would look very self-serving. So that's the reason I don't post many! If you want more personal logs, though, there are certainly a few scattered about. I think lots of people try to wait for the "really special" logs, like weddings or VA ceremonies or being made Avatar, and then post those. If you feel there should be more everyday personal RP interactions posted, you could probably convince a few people to share those!
Logs are also how I've been finding people to stalk for RP. @Everiine's Serenguard logs are why I picked the guild, for example.
I did get in the habit of logging. There's a few people who I know I'm going to end up RPing at if we interact at all, so now it's just second nature to hit the log button when they walk in. This has resulted in a real proliferation of logs on my hard drive, which I sometimes reread for fun.