Nina

I've got my second part in this guide done and am currently working on my third part. I've had one user who was kind enough to send me some ideas and feedback and I really appreciated that-- I ended up working on the second guide based upon his suggestion. I am currently waiting for a few things to get worked out on the server before I post them, notably the organization of the guide sections as I requested in THIS topic. Shiftnative has made the forums, but no moderators have stepped up to get to work-- so hopefully this will help coax things along.

(( I will comment OOCly, since Nina wouldn't be able to put an opinion to this. I really like the architecture and "feel" of the building; it's very unique. I don't think we need it to be too open since it is Minecraft and the town isn't that big that I imagine the bazaar will ever get too crowded. IF and when it starts getting crowded, then we can expand the booths to the outside/street area like in Constantinople. ))

Hey, I can't wait to RP with you either... but... are the chains necessary? :<

You're welcome! I haven't been around the community for longer than 3 days, but I did see a lot of passive interaction/posing so I really hope this helps people break out of that a bit more.

I'm really flattered by the response in this topic-- so fast, too! I want to thank you all for taking the time to read the guide. I plan on releasing plenty more of these to address different specific issues and phenomena in RP. If one guide didn't exactly give you too much food for thought, hopefully the next one will. I've already got a few guides planned that I will probably type up over the next few days and release. This topic is just one that I know is a big issue for new RPers and veteran RPers alike and saw a particularly glaring example of one happen right before my eyes. As I said in the main post-- if any of you have any ideas for future topics, feel free to PM me. If you have any questions relating specifically to active interaction, posing, or initiating RP, feel free to ask them here (or PM me!) I'm always willing to answer any RP/character-related questions as best as I can, so feel free to toss those in a PM if you'd like.

Good thing I didn't throw away this cape. I was thinking I'd never get around to being a hero again. Glad you enjoyed the guide! -- I think! I hope! :)

Better RP Today Part 1: Active Interaction ... or, "How to quit posing and get going." Introduction to "Better RP Today": Hello there! I'm Nina, a new member to the community. I have roughly thirteen years of writing and roleplaying under my belt and also extensive credentials in community management. Over my years, I've figured out a lot of what makes the hobby of roleplaying tick and how people communicate because of it. I will be occasionally releasing guides to help better your roleplay experiences. These guides, which I will release as part of a series dubbed "Better RP Today" is made with tackling specific issues in RP that everyone, even the most seasoned veterans of RP, can benefit from. Most of what I write isn't cold, hard law and I encourage everyone to think critically about what I discuss. Who knows, you might figure out something better than the advice I offer! A word of warning: These guides are not super short. They may take you 5-10 minutes to read but, hopefully, they will help make your time roleplaying a lot more enjoyable. If your first reaction to this guide is "too long; didn't read" you might wish to pursue a hobby that doesn't require writing and reading. ;) Active Interaction, the Problem: A frequent problem that newer roleplayers run into is posing. We've all seen it before, the one person sitting in the corner of the room and emoting about what their character is doing but not actually engaging anyone in the process. In this guide, I will talk a little bit more about how to break out of your shell and approach people to roleplay as well as getting people interested in your plot in a more active way (rather than being passive). Posing: The Art Now, to begin, what do I define as posing? This is not an official RP term (that I know of) but it is something that I use to refer to the act of emoting passively. Imagine, if you will, a character entering a tavern and moving to sit alone in the corner. Instead of actively engaging another person, the character will just sit there with the player emoting how the character plays with their hair, the mug, watches other people, etc. Posing is essentially RPing with yourself where others can see; it's roleplaying out your character's actions when they're not RPing with anyone else at that exact second. The first thing I will say is that posing is NOT always bad. I have, in my past, greatly enjoyed some RPs that consisted of posing. A session of simply posing your character might offer you insight into how your character lives, holds themselves, or what gestures they do. You can use the time to multi-task and write something in-character for the forums or so on. Posing, however, becomes a problem when people are doing it to try to get RP. I'd like to introduce one of my many 'golden rules' of RPing and that is: "don't expect other people to come to you for RP; if you want to RP, get out there and RP." A lot of times, people pose and expect other people to want to come over and RP. If you have ever roleplayed with the intent to have people come over and approach your character voluntarily, you were likely posing. The "mysterious figure" who sits in the corner sharpening their knives or the "rugged sailor" who doesn't talk to people but stands around looking longingly at the ocean in plain sight of a gathering of people. That's right, they're posing. Pull up a chair: If you want to RP, it's no secret that you want to get a person to RP with you. RPing on your own (or just writing, really) can be rewarding, but a lot of the fun of roleplaying is having that other (group of) player(s). The best thing I can recommend is just having your character approach another person and talk to them. A lot of people really seem to dig the whole "mysterious" thing and other people just like having someone else come to them because it makes them feel warm on the inside. Answered simply? Don't. Don't do that. Get out there and approach people, you'll get RP faster and you'll make the world a better place (mostly). Now, that was the simple answer. Since we're RPing a person and hopefully doing it realistically, the person probably won't want to come up and talk to people all the time. They probably might even find it awkward or unnecessary to just... introduce themselves to people. Perhaps they're wealthy, important, or otherwise inclined to not approach strangers? There are ways to have your character "approach" without just making them walk up to someone and say "hello!" Step Zero: Swallow the pride. Approaching another player doesn't mean you're a worse person or whatever crazy thing might come into mind. You won't look desperate-- whereas the person emoting in the corner in the hopes that someone will come RP with them will. Step One: Figure out your purpose or goal. I will talk a lot in my guides about goals and motivation because they are the single most important thing for generating good roleplay. If that is the only thing you walk out of this guide with, it's remember your character's motivation/goals. As a player, your motivation in that situation might just be to entertain yourself for half an hour by talking to someone or you might be trying to get a plot going. The important thing is to think about what your character wants, if they want something. If your character doesn't want to meet people for whatever reason, the interaction will likely be incidental, accidental, or otherwise a surprise. Those interactions are usually weaker and won't make for a long-lasting RP unless they're just used for the initial meeting. If your character drops their books in front of someone and then proceeds to be embarrassed and introduce themselves, that could work. The best interactions (usually) are ones in which a character has a clear goal for why they're interacting with this person. It can be as simple as "just wants to talk to someone because they're bored" to something with a bit more forethought like "wants to use this person for X nefarious plan." Keep this in mind during your character's approach and try to get into their heads. If you keep in mind your character's goals, the interaction will follow through. If your character has a reason to talk to people, your character will practically RP themselves to keeping this interaction afloat. Step Two: Check the setting. Depending on where your characters are, the place may or may not lend itself to just meeting people. Just like in real life, you're much more likely to talk to a complete stranger in a bar rather than in the middle of town. For that reason, your method of approach will probably have to differ and be tailored to the situation. If your character wanted to approach someone at the grounds of the Cloud Temple, for instance, they might start up a conversation by asking about the history of the Temple or whether that person has come as part of a pilgrimage. Step Three: Apply it to your experiences. Obviously, we don't have elves, orcs, or magic in our world. However, loosely applying RP situations and interactions to real life situations you may have experienced can help you understand what is happening and RP more realistically. After all, if someone just ran up to you out of the blue and said "Hi! What's your name! I'm Sam! What's your name!" you might just call the police. Think about what your character is doing, what they'd think about what they're doing, and how the other character might think/feel about what your character is doing. This could lead to hilarious and excellently-RP'd results. For instance, perhaps your character knows that what they're doing looks crazy and they're trying to explain themselves in the process! Step Four: Approach!! Initiate the approach. Usually, it's a courtesy to not approach a player who's in the middle of a scene (that's interrupting, friend!) without checking if it's okay, first. A bit of OOC communication never hurts, but it's not necessary. Asking the person if they're up to roleplay at that moment, if they're IC (they should be!), or if they're staying up if it's late can help save awkward situations from happening but it's not something you need to do. Have your character approach however you had the idea of. This is you actively initiating with this player roleplay interaction and hopefully they will answer in kind. Congratulations, you might have just got the roleplay you were looking for and you might have just made a new friend! Step Five(ish): Take it with a grain of salt. This might seem like a lot of work at a glance. These thoughts are not supposed to be official, 'write them down on paper' thoughts. They can be if that's your style, but in the end-- these things should go through your head in thirty seconds or so. When you approach another player to RP, you have to expect that that player might not be ready to RP at the moment. Whether their character is currently occupied for whatever reason or they might be AFK/not in the right mood/tired/logging off/etc. If someone doesn't want to RP and turns you down (or even misses your messages/ignores you!), don't take it hard. Just reel it in, take a breath, and find a new person to RP with. It's easy to be discouraged or even offended, but don't let it get to you. It's just the way it works. Other situations in posing: Posing can sometimes be active in the sense that it's an action that would make people want to react. However, this kind of posing is still highly passive because you're putting the ball in the other player's court to actively make the choice for their character to approach and initiate roleplay with you. I saw an example of this earlier today while RPing and it's something that I've seen very, very, very often in my roleplay experience. I'll describe a similar situation in the example below. This sort of roleplay is very attention-seeking. Now, I'm not saying that roleplaying out a character's injury or ailment is attention-seeking. However, I've seen roleplayers write dozens of emotes (because no one was approaching them) of their characters bleeding to death or giving birth or whatever and how much pain their character was in or so on in the hopes that someone would come up and help their character or just show some concern. There are better ways to do this. A lot of times, these RPers will RP their character dragging themselves away, outside, or otherwise move away from the RP and block themselves off. If your character is dying over there, instead of having them drag themselves outside of the bar, perhaps they can drag themselves over to people and ask for help. But, of course, there are the characters who are simply too brave, bold, and stoic to ask for help! Perhaps they can drag themselves over to apologize for making a mess and asking if they could borrow a towel to wipe up the guts they left behind. I use the example of injury and pain extensively, but this really applies to anything. A lot of RPers feel like they need to move their character away from people and have someone break off and come to them. Guess what? People probably will not come. Instead of having your character leave the tavern in a dramatic huff with tears in their eyes and hoping that someone comes to talk to them outside, do something that people can actually react to. The best way to do that is actively interacting with another player and initiating contact. The end, for now: This concludes the guide on Active Interaction. I might, in the future, add to this guide or fix it up a little bit. If you spot any grammatical errors, typos, or run across anything that's vague or confusing? Let me know (preferably by PM so as to not clutter the thread with how much I fail at writing :P). If you feel like you have questions that weren't answered in the guide? Let me know. And if you have any ideas for future guides, whether it's something in RP that confuses you, is difficult to you, or that you can't quite get a grasp of? Feel free to ask- it might just be the next issue addressed in "Better RP Today." Thank you for reading and let me know what you think below in the comments. -Nina

The sloping dunes that shaped the Sunmoth Desert were yet dark, only slivers of reddened sun appearing from the thick clouds in the early-morning horizon. Every few hours, the skies would again pour rain down below and crash thunder to herald the downpour. The rains had stopped, for now, and the hour was yet early; few were awake in the encampment now. A lone figure, sporting a drenched black tunic that clung to her form, was perched atop a bench by the smoldering campfire. Both of her legs were drawn up underneath herself and her arms were folded over her chest to keep from shivering as the wind danced over her dampened flesh. She seemed to take care to avoid making noise and drawing attention to where she was, preferring the quiet that had befallen the Kingdom's temporary home. It had been only days ago that she was wandering the wilderness with not a coin in her pocket and an axe upon her belt. It had been only days ago that she knew not whether she'd starve upon a stretch of miles between towns or whether she'd ever find a bed to call her own. Things change quickly, it would seem; she had to herself a tent, a bed, and a future promised to her that would give her enough opportunity to take what it is she had dreamed of. She reached for a stick nearby, letting her blistered fingers numbly dance over its surface before leaning into stoke the fire. The charcoal that fed the flame was soaked in with rainwater and the campfire belched acrid black smoke in place of gaining life. For many, a camp in the middle of the desert was a far cry from salvation or hope. But for Nina Astoria of Astoria Lumber... it was a chance. It was a divine gift. Her shoulders ached from her labors earlier-- for two and a half days she had dug up sand and hauled dirt alongside the King and his men. In all the tales Nina had heard of Kings, she had never heard of one that labored alongside their subjects. Or one who allowed himself to be addressed without holding a grandiose court with jesters and guards... "Your Majesty," she mumbled to herself. Her voice was coarse, muted like a whisper. The words were so foreign to say or to hear herself speak. "Your Highness; King Renati." Her lips formed the words slowly, painstakingly. She had a king now and nobles, too. She could no longer speak free or be the woman that she was at her heart. Even curling up didn't prevent her from shivering, now. This gift came at a cost. The realization wasn't a new one, but it was one that made her tighten her jaw and pull her lips back from her teeth in the manifestation of a sneer. But she would be no Astoria if she could not swallow that cost. She would prove everything said by her grandfather, her father. Her father's brother-- that wretch of an uncle-- she'd prove them all right. She could do more than sacrifice her labors to establish the mill; she could sacrifice her independence. Astoria Lumber will live.

Out-Of-Character Minecraft Account Name: PartiyaLenina How old are you?: 20 Time-Zone/Country of Residence: West Coast North America Do you have a good grip on the English language/good grammar?: I would like to believe so. Small 2-3 Sentence Description of yourself: I am a student by trade and gamer at heart. I enjoy writing, roleplaying, and storytelling and see this as an excellent opportunity to give them all a shot at the same time as well as enjoying Minecraft. How much time could you be on the server weekly?: Likely not much, to be honest. I am a student and also work- playing on the server would be a treat I could partake in for a handful of hours a week. What do you know about Roleplaying? Give a definition of what it means to you: Roleplaying is taking on a role that is not yourself. Roleplaying is becoming a character and speaking through that character, thinking as that character, and experiencing as that character. In terms of the hobby, roleplaying means living out the interactions, plots, intrigue, storylines, and more related to that character and their life. What experience have you had in Roleplaying, if any?: I have been roleplaying for most of my life; I have around thirteen years of roleplaying. I've roleplayed on messengers, forums, and other games. I've taken roles as community owners, leaders, organizers, roleplaying moderators, GMs/DMs, event coordinators, and much more. In your own Words, define what the act of Meta-Gaming is: Metagaming is the act of using out-of-character knowledge to your character's in-character benefit. This could be as simple as your character knowing someone's name because you read it over their head or your character knowing all of another character's secrets and plots because you read about them on the forums. In your own Words, define what the act of Power-Gaming is: Powergaming is roleplaying out the completion of your actions on another player's characters or even, at worst, taking direct control of another player's character. What do you expect this server will be like?: I imagine this server will be a fully-roleplayed world with a history that is constantly being developed each day by the player's actions. What other server(s) have you played on and why did you leave them?: I've only played on two other servers in Minecraft and it was so long ago that I honestly don't remember their names. One was a standard survival server. I enjoyed it but I stopped playing for a while and returned to see my home ruined and stuff looted, so I gave up on it. The other was a roleplay server and that ended in a big drama. Have you read, understood, and agreed to the rules?: I have. :) Do you promise to abide by said rules, and laws? This includes the Server, Forum, and Teamspeak set Rules: I do! How did you hear about us?: I did a search for "roleplaying" on the Minecraft forums and found the topic. Have you previously made an Application? If so could you link us to your last Application?: I have not. Have you posted this application on our minecraft forum thread yet? If not, just finish it up on here and then copy + paste is over there. (http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/832121-%E2%96%91%E2%96%92%E2%96%93-the-lord-of-the-craft-%E2%96%93%E2%96%92%E2%96%91-enter-the-world-of-asulon-o-f-f-i-c-i-a-l-l-y-t-h-e-n-o-1-r-p-s-e-r-v-e-r/): I spoke to an administrator regarding this. In-Character: Character Name: Nina Astoria What Race are you?: Human What Sub-Race are you? (note, you aren’t required to have a sub-race): Biography (Please make this at least 2 paragraphs long. This must include the history of your character and his life as well as age, appearance and personality, etc.): Nina Astoria is the daughter and heiress of the Astoria Lumber Company. The Astoria Lumber Company is the new, glorified name of a single lumberyard that has been passed down from generation to generation. The first daughter to take control of the mill, Nina hopes to defeat everyone's low expectations of her and take the Astoria Lumber Company to a whole new level in providing the land with lumber. Nina herself stands at the height of 5'4'' and is neither a particularly imposing or eye-catching woman. She wears modest clothing of moderate financial means, often protected by bands and mantles of leather or chain-mail to keep herself protected from the elements, the roughage of trees, or woodland critters that might fancy a snack or scratching post. She usually keeps her golden-brown hair tied back and out of the way in a knot and tucks it underneath a hat or helm. She is a young woman, only slightly past the age of twenty and capable of living on her own. Those who know Nina would likely describe her as generally upbeat and talkative. She is not formally educated in a large school and is not the most worldly of individuals for discussing politics, sciences, history, or any more. Still, she has developed a shrewd calculating nature when it comes to business and the development of her heirloom mill. What is your Character's ambitions?: She aspires to make something of the lumbermill that was left to her and to develop it into a widely-recognized provider of quality woods. What is your character’s favorite tool? (sword, pickaxe, shovel, etc): Nina is handy with an axe, a saw, or a milling machine. What is one of your Character's most skilled talents? Besides the obvious of lumbering which was taught to her from a young age, she is a capable carpenter and can fashion functional furniture or decoration from wood and, occasionally, stone. A screenshot of your skin (must be in proper format): Other Information about your Character: Open-Response-Questions Whilst traveling from the Cloud Temple you see a small halfling, being harassed by two armed warriors. They appear to be trying to steal money from him, how does your character respond? Nina would most likely avoid the situation out of fear for her own life and money! She certainly would not risk her life trying to kill the two warriors for a stranger because she is not, herself, a trained fighter nor armed like one. She would not try to pay off the thugs because she does not see that as being necessary nor does she trust two strange highwaymen to be reasonable. Your character wanders into Alras, and comes across a small stall, behind which a well dressed man is standing. He’s offering various wares, the merchant turns to you and says in a posh accent " 'ello there, what can I do you for today?" What is your character response? "G'day. Could I take a look at some of your wares?" She'd proceed to view his products and, if she finds something of interest that she can afford, she'd try to barter down the price or trade for something besides currency. Whilst wandering in the wilds, your character comes across a small hut, which looks abandoned. Inside it you see a chest containing a few iron bars, and a golden sword. How would your character respond?: If Nina was to find a seemingly abandoned home, she'd first react with suspicion. She'd call out to see if anyone was nearby and be cautious of her approach. If the place does, indeed, seem abandoned, she'd of course help herself to the things inside! She's not the most savvy about traps nor does she likely have the cunning to disarm them, but she would certainly be suspicious of the valuables left in the wilderness. Hungry and lost in the wilderness, you stumble across a small trading camp nestled among the forest, they greet you you in the common tongue, how do you respond? "I'm glad to have found people out here! Could I stick around and have some food? I got a bit of coin here that I'm sure will cover the expenses." Nina would try to bargain with the traders to allow her to stay, rest, and be fed. From there, she'd try to see if she could spark a business transaction or two as well as get directions so she can find her way back to where she belongs. You hear word that bandits occupy the road outside the town in which you have been staying. The town guard have gathered, and are asking for assistance to help eliminate them. The leader of the party is offering a reward for any who offer their support. How does your character act on this information?: If Nina was in particular need of money, she may be so desperate as to offer her hand in assisting. However, ceteris paribus and Nina not being desperate for coin, she would ignore the call to arms. After all, she does not have the appropriate skills for bounty hunting or vigilante work even if the reward is well. It is best to leave such pursuits to those with the talent and whim for it!!