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Maybe I over-exagerated a little bit- I mean, I'm sure RP'ers don't go around crying every time they kill somebody in a BG (although, if any race that did it'd be Blood Elves....). What I'm trying to say is, I don't really know what happens on a RP server.
"Don't be silly Kromus, clearly they all talk like this;
Good sir, would you join me for a battle against the evil dragon Onxyia. Let us clear her foul strench from Azeroth with the power of 3 healers 5 powerful heroes and 2 brave knights!"
*Speaking of Onxyia, log in today for your Onxyia Whelpling pet celebrating WoW's 5th anniversary! Happy Anniversary WoW, <3*
But is it that ridiculous? and more importantly, why do we make fun of it so much? I've seen so many people say its for nerds, but frankly I disagree. As much as I love to pretend to RP by talking as ridiculous as the above paragraph, quite frankly I have no idea if that is what happens, because I've never been brave enough to step foot onto a RP server. Its on my to-do list of WoW, definitely. I think RP sounds very interesting. Its a more immersive approach, and I believe from what I've heard already, references to the outside world are forbidden (unless it cannot be avoided) which I think is a new game in itself thus fun.
Are you an active RP'er?:
Or have you had any experience at all? WoW or not, I'm really interested!
Posts
I dont think I could handle an RP server, I mean playing Wow is dorky enough as it is lol I kinda like talking to my guildies about monday night football ir whatever else is going on in the "real world" and we all have so many alts, everyone pretty much calls each other by either their real name, or the name of their main. . .
ReplyDeleteThat's funny because we aswell talk about Monday Night Football. It's not as strict as it seems. We have certain channels and such where ((OOC:Out of Character)) talk is conversed, and everyone is pretty much called by their main's name unless your a close friend then their called by the real name. It's fun, you should try it out.
ReplyDeleteI like to play on RP servers, and honestly most people aren't actually RPing at any given time. Despite what the rules say about IRL talk in certain chat channels, very few people really obey that.
ReplyDeleteI wish half the people on feathermoon were as articulate as the belf in the comic :(
ReplyDeleteThere's been very little good RP of late due to drama and an overabundance of people trying to RP Vampire/Demons/ Half Elf half -Insert race here
@fish:
ReplyDeleteI'm actually a fan of trade chat banter, so I wouldn't last long on a RP server. When people tell respectful jokes in trade people moan its "TRADE ONLY (although thats disappeared a lot now)" but I think a bit of banter is needed. And theres always someone whos going to make you laugh that way!
And yeah, in my guild we have a lot of football banter, too :)!
@anonymous:
I definately intend on trying a RP server once time permits it! OOC chat makes sense and its a feature I didn't know existed. Glad I asked about RP, now! :D
@cathowl:
Really? I imagined it being quite strict, I guess it can be good or bad in a way.
@Anonymous:
Oh? thats a shame- I mean, if the point of the server is to RP then its silly that people don't-- and what the hell, Vampire? Thats just silly. Speaking of vampires(sparkling ones at that) Twilight New moon is out now.
Ew.
The comic unfortunately is indicative of what most would consider "bad rp". Like most sane people in real life, characters don't go around bemoaning thier existance and actions. Those that do are labeled emo or crazy and get ignored unless they fall into a codependant relationship with like minded individuals.
ReplyDeleteI typically do not raid or do runs in character as it's hard to slip emotes and speech in between furious button mashing. To try and do so would be detrimental to the raid and annoy party members. While cutesy, addons like RPHelper have a similar effect on party members.
Most rp is reserved for "downtime" (ie when you're not instancing, pvping, etc) in cities and other areas. And while there are a surprising amount of people out there that want to RP as glittering vampires, succubi, dragons, and other things to feel special, there are many more that want to hold to the setting Blizzard has provided and rp on a level playing field with others.
Breaking into rp can be difficult and frightening, but definitely check out the forums for various servers for guilds you may be interested in. Those forums and other sites like Wyrmrestaccord.net can also give you solid rp ideas and a network of people to pull from.
Good luck and have fun.
As said in earlier comments - people that RP don't usually RP 24/7. They talk with their guildies and friends just as non-RPers do.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone RPs while questing/raiding. (Some do - but that's usually selective for story reasons).
It's more common to have an RP night or different scheduled events/times to get together. Then, your characters hang out and interact with each other much like how you would if you were out at the pub or dinner or a masquerade party.
I don't find RPing to be nerdy (and not just because I've done it) but I do find it to be wonderfully creative. If it wasn't for RP.. I wouldn't have started writing fan fiction.
But, like with anything else in game and out, there's a spectrum of quality RP. Some people are fine at it, some are exceptionally brilliant, others need some polish and yet still there are those who are absolutely horrid at it. (When I say horrid, it's really aimed at those that insist on RPing things that totally go against lore and the game world they are working in like the half-cat vampires. That'd be perfectly acceptable in a world that you know, recognizes them... but not Warcraft.)
~Syrana
@anon:
ReplyDeleteYeah thats why I started my post straight away with "exagerated" because like I said, I know its proberly good, and even if its not people have their personal preferences, but this post was more me making a comic about non-rpers assumptions about RP- and then pleading for much information, which people have gladly given :D
@syrana:
An anon posted a little higher up saying how annoying it is that people insist on being vampires. I think thats riddiculus- as you said its not accepted in warcraft. And ahh ok so some days you RP some you don't ? that makes much more sense :D
I am a heavy RP'er on the Sentinels server and I have to agree with much of what has been posted already.
ReplyDeleteMy guild has an out-of-character and an in-character channel and frankly the out-of-character channel sees a lot more use. There is also a server-wide channel people use to find other RP'ers that is completly OOC, it's just for getting to know like-minded people. Nor do we RP in a BG, instance, or raid.
We do have tavern nights certain nights a week. We do have a story telling Bardic Circle once a month. And we do have gatherings to celebrate in-game holidays as well as other one-time events (we had a boxing match last week for example). And on any given day people have much more personal RP's going on that furthers their own stories.
RP is like raiding or BG'ing. You do it when you want to. It's just another aspect of the game. And like raiding or BG'ing you will get as much out of it as you put in.
That said there are a few things one needs to know. You need to be very aware of what channels are IC and which are OOC.
-/say is IC unless you type in brackets ((like this))
-/trade is OOC
-/raid or /party is almost always OOC
-/whisper depends on who you are talking with
You may also be surprised to learn that something like 65% or higher of people on a RP'ing server don't actually RP. On any but the newest RP servers you will have to seek it out rather than evil RP nazis persecuting you.
I have a blog for the journal entries of my characters. Feel free to check it out at: www.dragonwhimsy.net if you like. It's a great example of the day-to-day life of characters on a RP server.
One of my characters is a dragon and some would say that is a no-no. But it isn't actually against the lore, as dragons do indeed shape-shift, it is only against game mechanics. More importantly I RP'ed her as the pet of my main for two years (she was his crimson whelpling) before I rolled her as her own toon after I decided it was time to show her growing up. She is well-known and I like to think well-liked on the server and I think it's a wonderful example that the rules can be broken if you know what you are doing.
The key I think is not to do it to be "special" but because the character can work no other way.
One comment for those who think it's too "dorky" to RP. We both spend ungodly hours playing this game. But when I quit the game I will have more than just pixels to show for it. I'll have all the memories and stories that I created through my RP and characters along with the friendships I created with the typists I played with.
ReplyDeleteWhat will you have?
I think it's a lot less "dorky" to spend those hours on WoW being creative and social than it is to chase after epics that will be obsolete in the next patch (though I do some of that too).
Well, to begin with, even RP servers don't have that much RP on them. When there is RP, it has nothing to do with PVP or even PVE. You don't go up to someone ICly and ask them to go kill Onyxia. It is more of an interpersonal thing, with other players in your faction. Quality of RP varies wildly, as well as what it emphasizes: Drama, action or humor.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I play a Gnome, and my RP is all humor-based. Wacky tinkering, exploring, cooking incidents... whatever. Other people are more into IC politics with city councils and such. There is even a guild on Moonguard that does the news every night from the boxes near the bank in Stormwind.
Roleplay happens mainly at either "events" (i.e. gatherings of roleplayers for a plotline, or just for lulz), or within Guilds / societies. There are a few of us who occasionally roleplay on our own, with strangers, or even with NPCs! Any other time, you're playing the game almost normally. You'll easily be forgiven for going out-of-character the odd time, but as a courtesy to others, you should keep the following chats in character at all times:
ReplyDelete/say
/yell
/e
What you should watch out for is the misconception that double bracketed ooc text is okay. It's a marker to those around you that what's contained in the brackets is out-of-character, but it is still breaking the roleplaying policy you agree to when you create a character on an RP realm (and I'd advise you to look up the policies) and can get your character suspended if you cross the wrong roleplayer. Whispers, and out-of-character channels are the place for that.
You don't have to speak fancily, or act remorseful every time you kill a rabbit (though some play their characters like that!). Most of the time, the character you play is a mercenary / adventurer, and as such will have no qualms about killing enemies. The fun part of it comes in giving your character certain quirks, or personality traits that make them react to whatever situation differently to the norm.
@dragon whimsy:
ReplyDeleteI guess it could be considered a better experience, although I've never RP'd before I've loved my WoW experience so far, espeically when I was 15 I was guild master and had so many memories to go along with it- although alot of them were wipes, you kinda relate yourself to the game a lot more through more personal experiences such as RP and Leading people, I guess its one of those "you'll appriecate it when your older/higher level" sort of thing, which is happening already. I miss TBC in some ways.
@widget:
Really? That sounds awesome fun! I'd love to tune in to stormwind bank news hahaa! I definately wanna try out RP once my exams are over.
@dalvoron:
That makes a lot more sense. As I stated straight away my comic was an exageration, but its nice to know that the "public image" of RP isn't entirely true.
Haha really? the news thing sounds hilarious, i'm 100% going to try an RP server once my exams calm down a bit.
Thankyou for the very interesting responses guys, really glad I posted about it now.
Haha, this comic made my day.
ReplyDeleteMade my day that it made your day!(lmao) :D
ReplyDelete