How to not be terrible at RP?

Liray

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.

Versalean

I'm not that good myself, but I have two main tips that have kept me going through IREs for longer than I care to admit:

1) Have fun. Seriously. Play a character you enjoy playing. Be quirky and really get into it. But if you don't like something, change it. Spent a week using an accent and now hate it? Change it. What accent? Sure, continuity is an important part of roleplay, but you may have to try on a lot of slippers before you find the one that fits.

2) Remember that your character isn't important. I think this is the one that most people fall down on. In a solo RPG, your character is the most important in the world. They may not be the most powerful or at the centre of the universe, but the world does literally revolve around them. Not so in IRE. No matter how amazing your backstory is, 99.9% of people you meet will not only not hear it but not want to hear it. Certainly, that random Joe at the aetherplex does not want to know about that time you got kidnapped as a child and that you are the chosen one from another reality, even if it's true. Random Joe is busy wondering why he can't kill Jack the Bastard in that other org, or how he can win the next CL election. Or he's AFK. Just be normal in your interactions. Greet new people by saying 'Hi', not telling them your family history. Get a tradeskill - trade is great for RP. It's through the small, 'mundane' parts of MUDlife that every interesting interaction I've ever been involved in has developed.

Liray

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. 

Alaksanteri

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).

Liray

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. 

Alaksanteri

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!

Vivet

Consistency and gradual change/growth are probably the most important aspects to nail. It's not even necessarily a bad thing if you come across as robotic and eventually develop out of it - if anything, it might be more weird to just do a full 180 and have perfect polish instantly.

Aeldra

First of all... RP may feel alien to you with your new character and sometimes even confusing. I'd say it took me the better part of a year till I felt I knew who Aeldra really was and how she was working. It just takes time to develop a character into something of their own. I generally don't tend to pick up a lot of choices for a character, I just go with what happens to them. Give them a chance to develop a personality themselves. As a newbie, you're fresh from a portal which slole a lot of your memories. Being a little bland in the beginning is normal and RP-ing confusion can work well for a starter.

Secondly, am a non-native speaker myself, just... don't let it get the better of you. People tend to understand and even to the most practiced, mistakes, inconsistencies and even plain errors happen. Don't let them throw you off balance and just go with them.

I think, in the end, everything boils down to... don't overstress yourself. Take tiny steps at a time. Learn your characters bearing, add little traits to them as you go. And as mentioned before, have fun with it!

Lief

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. 

As a native English speaker who loves to roleplay myself, a lot of my *absolute* favorite people to roleplay with over the years in IRE have been non-native speakers. Don't be intimidated - even if you write something not-quite-right, I think you'll find people aren't going to judge you for it. Also, even as a native English speaker, I often write less than stellar emotes, or use wrong words anyway.

I think most people who roleplay are going to be excited to find another person interested in it regardless of how polished and perfect the person may or may not be!

Eliron

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)

Everiine

Definitely hang around with other people in your org who are known as good roleplayers. You'll pick up things from them.

I found it helpful to define a few quirks about Everiine that helped him feel like a real character. He always greets certain people certain ways. I gave him a certain speech pattern. He frequently opens and closes his wings, just because. Little things that, here or there, gave him his own life.

When emoting, you don't have to write really long, elaborate emotes. You can use little short ones, like "EM folds his painted wings to his back." People will of course respond to you if you use preset emotes, but they will definitely notice if you're putting in the effort to craft your own.

Liray

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

Lief

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.

Hiriako

Hiri can be pretty vocal about his. He's complained at the Ravenwood a few times recently. (Come to Glom, Lief!) But just pick a thread of something interesting and run with it. It's about making a character, something alive .

Everiine

Hiriako said:

(Come to Glom, Lief!)

*granddaughter, but whatevs, same diff. @Lief .

Hiriako

Everiine said:

Hiriako said:

(Come to Glom, Lief!)

*granddaughter, but whatevs, same diff. @Lief .

Yeah, just found out this RL morning that your IC son married into my family.

Cyndarin

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. 

Arix

That.... explains a lot

Riluna

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

Riluna

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.

Moi

There is nothing wrong with using the default emotes. Using them isn't lazy, and writing detailed emotes isn't 'effort' so much as a measure of your ability to type improvised descriptive text on the fly. The actual effort in RP lies in paying attention to what other characters are doing and responding to that. A lot of newbie RPers think they're there to tell a story. That's not quite it. You're there to be part of everyone else's story while they are a part of your own. Being able to write detailed and aesthetically pleasing emotes on the fly is nice, but it's not precisely the same thing as good at RP and is something that you'll develop naturally with practice. The back and forth, the interactivity, the spontaneity of the interaction, seeing your character shaped by the world around them and becoming something you never imagined they would become, that's the heart of RPing.

Xenthos

Said much better than I would have, thank you.

Zephyra

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. 

Rancoura

Fun fact: my character, a rather well-established figure in Glomdoring, doesn't really have a backstory other than the general location of her birth. She never found her parents or true family (neither were a priority for her) and never recovered her childhood memories after travelling through the Portal of Fate. Rather, she was shaped purely by the environment of Glomdoring, including its lore, those she interacted with and the characters she idolized, etc.

As mentioned/inferred by others in this thread, having a backstory isn't always important; as long as you're dedicated to the growth of your character, development is something that could and very well may happen naturally the more your character experiences.

Kalaneya

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

Sylandra

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.

Riluna

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.

Versalean

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!

Naevari

I do agree, though, that for certain characters, a few custom emotes can help improve characterization, even with the plethora of alternatives already packaged in the game, but like @Versalean said, it isn't strictly necessary. And if you're concerned about how fast you can do your custom emotes, consider making certain ones that your character might use more often aliases.

One thing I do find, even though you can be a good RPer without custom emotes, is that when someone uses one, it is very effective at immediately making me aware that they're also interested in RP.

All of that said, while I am someone who likes to write out lots of custom emotes, IMO, the most important things an RPer can bring to the game are enthusiasm and inclusivity.

Liray

Thanks again for all the answers everyone! There's a lot of good advice and it's great to see such an involved community! 

Steingrim

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.