[Please Read] Creating your own RP

Delfer · 2013-08-10 18:52:44

Right so Althalus pointed out that we're running out of things to do, people log in, see no one's online and log out, etc... And I pretty much agree so I wanted to make a thread about this.

Skip to Paragraph 3 and avoid the mini-warmup rant at the beginning of the post.
And if TL;DR
-You don't need GM's to make RP for you
-Get out of Europa mindset
-Your character should have a goal
-Your character should always be acting on his goal
-Conflict between characters IC, is what creates RP. War>Peace

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Right so, when I log in, I generally want to RP. I'm not saying you can't collect resources/train skills/kill things, I'm just saying that isn't the point of this thread. The point is to create more RP opportunities, and thus make the shard better and much more fun to play on. See, as it is now, there are usually 4-6 people online at most times doing something by themselves because there isn't much going on. People log in to check [whosonline, and see that there isn't much going on because there rarely is anything going on unless we have 8+ players and some GM's. So essentially you have periods of low activity(Most of the time) and periods of high activity that is pretty much a hand-out from GM's.

GM's create RP by creating little plots, inviting us to 'take the bait' IC, and then letting it play out IC. Think of the recent "Slavers from Nu'jelm kidnap Keres" plot, the mini-plot with the talking imp, the town nightmares/dungeon run bit, etc... That's some interesting stuff right there. When that kind of stuff is happening you know it's worth staying around. But that appeal fades quickly when the numbers start to thin out. It quickly reverts from lots of RP to no RP. To avoid ranting, I will cut straight to the point and say that we should be doing something about that. We need to create more RP for ourselves.

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Remember that we're on our own shard now, so ditch mindset kept over from the Europa days. If you want something locked down, a GM will do it for you. IF you want your own plot, a GM can support you. If you want to to have an impact, you actually can. Things will be a lot more fun when you realize you can do whatever you want IC. Yes, whatever you want. There will be consequences IC, but that's actually a good thing. No story exists without a conflict.
So on to the good stuff, how can you do this? Let me start by quoting a gem from Hoagie's(?) post "Contributing to Project Brains"

"The most helpful thing you can do for the shard is playing an interesting character,
and having fun doing it. If your character has meaningful goals and works towards
them, this creates a ripple effect of RP that goes towards creating a living, breathing world. "

Think about what that statement means, then think about your character. Let's say when you created him/her you decided he was a hunter, with a sketchy background and an attitude problem. Fantastic, you are all set to reluctantly go on hunts and exchange witty remarks in the tavern. But what does your character want? How will your character change? You know who he was and who he is, but who will he be?

If you can't answer that question, then the answer is probably 'not much.' However, if you tap into a little creativity or rip something off from a movie, you can make your character much more fun to play, and create a lot more RP. If you make sure your character has a goal and a purpose, then he'll be a good character! What kind of goal you ask? That's the fun part.

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Let's say Mr.Cliche Hunter wants to be recognized as the best at his trade. How's he going to move towards that goal? First and foremost is an abundance of trade posts. Putting up a poster saying "selling arrows" may not cut it. If he wants people to trade with him, he's gonna have to initiate the connection. So he'd go out of his way to get what he needs from other traders, offering his goods in return for theirs. He'll build a reputation, make friends with other trades, people will know his name! Recognition through interaction. If he sits on his GM craft skills and doesn't seek out trade, he'll never get anywhere. I'd also like to point out that self reliance, on this shard, is not going to make any RP.

Perhaps he wants some power? Well he's got options there. He could slug it through the militia ranks I suppose, that might take a while though. If time is an issue he could try getting close to the high ranking officials(Militia Captain/Sheriff/Mayor/Churchies) and finding a way to earn their favour. He could also put effort towards being a generally good fellow, gaining favor from other villagers. And he could always beat out the competition through whatever illegal methods are available.

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Again, coming back to the quote from Hoagie... If your character has a goal then he will act in his best interest to reach it. If just one other character has a goal and he's acting in his best interest and the two happen to be in each others way, then you've created your own little plot and let the best man win. If every character had a goal and acted on it, we'd be swimming in good RP.

If you can't figure out what kind of goal you want your character to have, or how they can achieve it IC, remember that you can always ask someone. I talk to Hoagie about my characters quite often, and I've gotten good ideas from it. So message me/any GM/anyone if you want to discuss ideas! And sorry for ripping on your hypothetical character

Delfer · 2013-08-10 19:32:52

the OP doesn't quite explain how a character with a goal will give you more to do, so I'll clarify that as an addition. If your sitting in the tavern, as people are winding down from a GM event, then that is where having a goal comes in to play. Let's say you have two characters, character A and B.

Character B is sitting there without any sort of goal. What's he going to do? Likely sit, engage in whatever discussion is going on. Things will be the same for him when he walks out as they were when he walked in.

Character A, however, has a goal he wants to work towards. So he looks around the tavern, who's in? The militia captain? Perfect! Whereas, Char B would have no reason to approach anyone, Char A does. He's going to go to the Militia Captain and make friends/make an agreement/murder him in cold blood! Regardless of whether or not the interaction goes as intended, your character leaves in a different position, the Captain has been affected in some way, and RP has been created.

In another scenario, let's say you have a character you'd like to play over the weekend when activity picks up. On Character B there's a good chance you'll simply log in, stand around the middle of town and wait for divine GM intervention to make something happen.

If you're on character A, you've got more options! First of all, you can decide what your character needs and make a trade post or two a day in advance. Right off the bat you've given the crafters something to do, I'm sure they'd be grateful for that. Now when the weekend is there, you can probably have your order handled by said crafter. Congratulations, you've made the economy work. But wait, there's more! Let's say that militia captain is on again! You've already met him so now you can do something more interesting! For the sake of making a decent example, let's say you want him dead. Now you can take advantage of the high activity to hire some goons perhaps! Maybe you can spread a few lies and convince someone he slept with their mother. Perhaps put on a ghost costume and scare him to death. I'm almost sure these examples would backfire horribly, but you would've came up with something better if you were playing character A!

So when you've got a goal in mind, it gives you reason to:
-Make more trade posts, support the economy
-Create IC relationships, more opportunity for RP
-Get upset when things don't go your way, create drama
-Rock the boat IC and see how people react, more RP
-Kidnap someone, your own miniplot'
-Try to kill the orc, creates racism!
-Overthrow the mayor, politics and scandal!
-Bomb the church
-Form a squad of bandits
-Sabotage someone
-Blackmail someone
-Convince the church someone is a wytch
-Form angry mobs, run people out of town

Craystor Rake · 2013-08-10 21:44:22

Why the focus on the militia captain and murder so much...?

Delfer · 2013-08-10 22:08:49

Disclaimer: I do not encourage the murder of the militia captain.

Egbert · 2013-08-11 08:41:09

Great posts! I wholeheartedly agree. Good characters have the world inflicted upon them. Great characters inflict their own vision of the world on everyone else.

Fox · 2013-08-11 14:21:02

Whenever Sasha tries to inflict her vision of the world on everyone else, people start whining about all the cats in town.

Kayin · 2013-08-12 18:49:41

Yes, very good thread Good work!

Today is my 20th day on this shard - I have been online more or less everyday, and I had a lot of fun every time I logged in I must admit that there has been much more events and activity than I first imagined when I started here, both GM-run and player-made!

so big thumbs up and a thanks to all the GMs on the shard - and to my fellow roleplayers on Midnight Watch Cheers for making UO my first prio game again after all these years away ... ^^

- the player of Zanven and Kayin -

Delfer · 2013-08-13 00:39:19

I'd also like to point out that you don't necessarily need to ask a GM to build you a house. We currently have 2 or 3 houses on the swamp side of town that aren't being used. They are filled with barrels, wheat and beds. All 3 could be 'claimed' and made into a house/hideout/anything. I took one and made it my own storage room.

By the docks we have the old Shipwright's house which hasn't been touched since he died. That's essentially free property. The bank no longer has an owner so that's up for grabs. And someone could even make their own little hide out in the dry well if they're brave enough. As long as you have a decent IC explanation, I don't think anyone will try and stop you from taking these plots. + It'd be less work for GM's who're swamped with building requests so I hear.

P.S - We also have some 'rubble' plots close to the swamp, particularly one infested with rat men. I think it'd be pretty cool if someone chose to fix those places up and make them into brand new houses. That'd create a lot of work for carpenters/tinkers/warriors, etc and it'd be something to do. You could go on fixing places up and selling them to people for a profit. Really there's a lot to do if you take the initiative.

Last edited by Delfer (2013-08-13 00:42:13)

Kayin · 2013-08-13 00:45:08

haha damn wasn't even aware of that Thought other people owned the houses...

But what if I want one of those houses in a legal way? Fix my own locks etc. on them ... is that possible?

Delfer · 2013-08-13 00:52:09

RP having a tinker 'install' a lock for you, then tell a GM what happened and he'll put a lock up for you. I wouldn't worry about it being 'legal,' no one will bother you for taking a house that wasn't being used. It's just common sense.

Kayin · 2013-08-13 01:04:13

Ahh all right Damn I love player run shards <3 ^^

Egbert · 2013-08-13 07:18:01

"I wouldn't worry about it being 'legal,' no one will bother you for taking a house that wasn't being used. It's just common sense."

Someone might, but you know how it is in these bureaucracies... Stuff can take an awful long time to get to. Can probably claim squatters rights by the time anyone hassles you.

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#1 2013-08-10 18:52:44

[Please Read] Creating your own RP

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