Newbie questions about Orgs and RP

Cassine

Hi everyone. I'm trying to settle in to my first real character on Lusternia after playing for a day or two, and I had a few quick Q's about orgs and RP.

Are there any cities/communes which stand out for RP? What about guilds? Orders? Do underpopulated groups get any perks to help them rebound? 

Of all the factions I enjoy Glomdoring's flavor the most but, from what I've seen, they're severely underpopulated. Hallifax appears to be the most active, especially in terms of RP, but it's my least favorite of all the city themes. Magnagora seems alright, but I don't know much about them other than them being evil demon/undead worshiping sorts. Because of this I'm at a loss for what to do! Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Daraius

If Glom flavor is what attracts you, go for it. You'll find RP in any org, so it's best to dive in where you're most comfortable and feeling most creative. Org hopping is also not a huge deal (I've never done it myself, but speaking for Hallifax, we do try to make our immigrants feel welcome), so if things aren't as fun as you expected, there's no real stigma attached to switching. Welcome aboard!

Tylwyth

And you can trust me when I say Org population will shift.

Riluna

Personally, I find it easier to find RPs in the low pop orgs/guilds. It's a higher concentration of people who take time to concern themselves all levels of their org, as the people who stick around when things aren't the greatest. That core group (all orgs do have them, they're just easier to find when most of the others have left) is a great source of lore, philosophy, etc. And they do a lot to add to their respective orgs, including trying to find ways to welcome you to stick around.

Ironically, it's in high-pop guilds/orgs where some folks just can't be bothered.

So if you like the environment, don't let being alone sometimes stop you.

Aeral

Population definitely changes from year to year, and really season to season. Ascendancy is coming up soon which means there will likely be an influx of people coming back and logging in. Christmas holidays are kind of hit and miss when it comes to people being around.

I'd go with your gut and pick what is attracting you, but to be honest each org has its own individual roleplay. They can all be equally as fun, and nothing says you can't change your mind later.

Aithera

Populations do tend to be in flux. Hallifax has been going fairly strong lately, but we've definitely had our slow periods. I know Glomdoring has some fantastic rpers, and their lore is incredibly rich, so if you're feeling drawn that way, go for it! 

Guild-wise, all guilds have some flavour of rp and most guilds have people who are pretty dedicated to that rp, the question will be whether timezones line up and how interesting you personally find that rp. Some people think that warriors/mages/guardians have more rooted rp, but I know that a lot of the bard and monk guilds have groups of people who've spent a lot of time working on and developping their rp, among them the Harbingers and the Nekotai, so I'd really suggest just going with whichever guild/skillset appeals most to you.

As to Orders, they can be an absolutely fantastic source of roleplay, and I do recommend getting involved with one once you've gotten your bearings a bit. If you look at HELP DIVINE, the Gods that are currently actively played by an Admin are on the left, the ones on the right are currently alive ic, but are not currently played. The latter may have a very active order, but as a relative newcomer, you may want to lean towards the former. 

Cyndarin

Every org RPs, or has pockets of deep RP. 

I think Hallifax does have the most consistent public facing RP I think, but I suspect that is more a product of the type of RP they do rather than the org just being "better." The Gaudiguch "free spirit" RP is easily written off as non-RP, where as Fake Science Lab meets Department of Motor Vehicles Ran by Faulty Borg aka Hallifax is fairly more obvious in routine, daily interactions. I will admit Hallifax, for their brand of RP, has to try harder to stay in character. Their RP seems to be very specific, so you'll have a great time if you are into Hallifax's handful of character types. In my experience (and based on recent logs posted on forums) they can be somewhat antagonistic if you aren't their type of character. For example, some variation of bloodthirsty murder PKer will work in basically every org but Hallifax. Personally I think the RP there is very dry, but I have only been exposed to it as an outsider so take that with a spoon of salt. They have some brilliant players, to be sure.

Glom is definitely underpopulated, but that does not mean there is not a lot of rich, exciting RP there. It's my favorite org to RP in. It's quality over quantity in Glomdoring. Plus smaller orgs are easier to build yourself up in. They tend to be more invested in you individually because they need people, and there's room for advancement in the org. it's got a smaller, but ultimately awesome, population. I suggest @Salome if you want to start in Glom and need a foot in the RP door. 

Magnagora is...Magnagoraing itself right now. I wouldn't personally suggest it to new players, but I don't know if I'd go as far as advising against joining if that's what you want to try. It has some of the coolest potential in my opinion, but historically tends to attract unsavory characters that really bring down the overall tone of the org. Currently they are going through a phase of "We can do what we want because we're EEEVVVIIILLLL," or some permutation of that which explains away virtually any action and gets probably the least admin attention due to their treatment/opinions/posts about said admin. If you ask me, I'd suggest only trying Mag after you have a good grasp of the game and your character. 

Gaudiguch is the city of untapped RP potential. One of the most active gods with Mysrai, and her order seems to be really exciting and fun. The RP there is virtually boundless as far as I can tell, letting you basically take the wheel and direct where you want to go with it, where as most orgs make you stay within certain boundaries. It's the public RP that is somewhat lacking. It's never quite shaken off the "drunk frat boy freedom!" RP that haunted its early days, and things like CT and public discussions can sometimes drift towards the frivolously silly for no reason. Don't get me wrong, silly to a degree is fine, but I think Gaudiguch still lacks that higher purpose/reason for existing as an org RP that all the others have. They basically RP America BECAUSE FREEDOM, which isn't all that exciting. Being a Gaudi myself, I can say that the city's goals/reason to be/purpose tends towards the abstract, and that often becomes an excuse. It has the "One Law," which can go one of two ways. 1) "I can do what I want," or 2) leadership manipulates the law to achieve greater goals, using freedom/drugs/booze to distract the masses from their workings. Gaudiguch tends towards the former. The guilds themselves have really interesting potential, especially the Illuminati.

Seren is nature. I think they finally shook off the fuzzy snuggler mudsex RP stigma (probably because Gaudi opened and has a whore house in the city). It's solid and consistent, with the potential to be more gritty that isn't always taken advantage of. They tend towards prancing pixies and cute bunny RP and less towards the tribal preservationists, but the latter is definitely there and there are some great RPers in the org.

edit: For purely RP interactions as your initial goal, I suggest Hallifax or Glomdoring. Though I would also suggest picking whatever org appeals to you as your primary motivator, and find RP from there. You'll find it no matter where you go if you look for it. 

Qistrel

Serenwilde does have potential for some very cutthroat stuff. They have background lore showing them caring way more about preserving themselves intact than anything else, and can totally do stuff that wouldn't be seen as morally good. The most famous example being leaving the citizens of Old Celest to die when they could have rescued a lot of them. But also some ecoterrorism and a bit of altering the memories of their own citizens and so on.