Roleplaying FAQ - (For those new to the art of being someone else)

[Ghiggles]

/ooc

This great guide is over a year old and its not rooted or stuck yet??

Seems everyone wants it sticked or rooted but its still not?

What does it take I wonder?

Root it ppppplleeease?

/ooc

[Lomad]

(( Bumpity bump. Let's keep this at the top until they root it. ))

[Shadowset]

(( yes please root this guide... oh and *bump*))

[-Zagadka-]

(( Perhaps it would be a good idea to speak a bit on letting RP carry over to OOC. I've seen far too many circumstances where people take RP comments seriously in OOC context - for instance, getting seriously pissed off at someone on the other side when they say "dirty Clanner" or "Omni scum."

Folks, the Clans and OT go at each others' throats sometimes, and that is natural in a RP environment. Insults are thrown around both ways, and it is easy to get flustered with someone IRL. If that happens in a RP situation, mutter something about your comm device going off and WALK AWAY. No discussion in RP is important enough to get that pissed at someone OOC.

Sure, it is possible to develop a healthy competition with someone from the other side, in char. But you should also remember that, should you run into that person somewhere OOC (like on IRC), they are still just a player acting out a character. Start off with a friendly hi, how are ya. Talk about something OOC for a while. Don't dive right in to, "You called me a filthy pig rolling in OA's sewers!" For any healthy role player, they didn't mean you personally.

Also, don't take your politics personally. I know that, as mainly a Clanner for the past 3-4 years, I get a twinge in the back of my head every time someone connects me to the Dust Brigade. I think that is my pet peeve, because FC muddled so much of the game elements around it. But that is neither here nor there. The thing I'm trying to get to is, people take politics very seriously in real life, because they are a serious matter. You feel more than a slight attatchment (or hostility) towards your nation of choice. After so much time in AO, the same strong emotions can be tied to your characters and you. I get around this by having 2 accounts - one Omni, one Clan, and keeping them divided. This helps me to re-center myself and not get too personally attatched to one side of the conflict, as some people do (I've seen some people literally hate people on the other side, and that is sad. This is a game). Alternatively, I also make a point to lean towards "sympathizing" with the enemy. I'm not a 100% "Omni/Clans sucks and need to die" type role player. I leave room open for the other side to be right, and me to be wrong, so when that IS the case, I can accept it instead of having my head explode with frustration.

Lastly, there is ARK/FC itself. It is not easy to be a presence ingame, much less effect an outcome in an official plotline. For instance, a lot of people felt put off by the Newland City Guard Initiative, because it did kinda steamroll along. But not everyone can affect everything in the news, and not everyone can have news stories about them. Just hang around long enough, and you'll be interviewed, or kidnapped by the ev0l Omnis, or something.

If I've ever insulted anyone to that point, I'm sorry. I can be a cynical, sarcastic ass IRL even more than ingame, but I always mean well by it. :-)

Don't hate the playa, baby, hate the game! ))

[Lomad]

(( /me points to his signature. ))

[Nexeus]

((*bumps in hopes that this gets stickyed somewhere*))

[Unole]

Too far down the page for a helpful post