Unwillingly

I’ve been playing LOTC for about 5 years now, and for the last few months I’ve come to realize something: I very seldom see fear RP. I’ve been part of communities ranging from sutica, the wood elves, dark elves, snow elves, paladins, naztherak, CA which I will not name, druidism, voidal magic, and I can say with confidence that there isn’t a single memory I have that stands out of witnessing fear RP, or fearful characters, of any quality or quantity — not even from literal child characters (on a similar note, here’s another tangent I went on regarding child characters). Instead of witnessing fear in a world that is the backbone of terror and anguish, we more often see characters who regard dark mages and undead with a sigh and roll of their eyes, who disregard literal genocide with a snide, petty comment or don’t even acknowledge these things as impactful to any degree. We see characters who put on a brave face and act like these things are routine— and don’t get me wrong, in the LOTC world, it is. These things very well may be common practice for some characters, and thus, fear RP may not be the player’s biggest concern, because why would their character be afraid if they see this stuff every day, right? But what about the characters who aren’t as accustomed to these things or familiar with the merciless ways of the world? Characters who grew up isolated and protected? How should they be expected to react to events they've never had the chance to experience the way other characters do? Maybe it’s because some players don’t take these things into mind when it comes to fear RP, or lack thereof. Maybe the lack of fear RP isn’t because of their RP environment, but rather, an OOC desire to make themselves RPly intimidating, to be seen as a “scary” character, to be viewed as a selfless hero, and quite honestly… These kinds of characters typically just come off as edgelords rather than someone that can be viewed as an imposing person, in my opinion. Of course, this isn’t exactly black and white. Sometimes it’s more subtle, sometimes its way more complicated or even simpler than that, but sometimes you can’t help but notice when people try just a little too hard to make their characters intimidating and fearless. I'm sure we've all seen someone do this at least once. There’s characters who are fearless, but then there’s players who aren’t afraid to be afraid. These are players who embrace vulnerability, weakness, and fear in their characters. Players who aren’t afraid to see their character kneel under the boot of another, who aren’t afraid to show just how fear-ridden or wracked with desperation they are, characters that are broken down to their weakest selves. In my opinion, this kind of RP is 100x more interesting than being a heroic badass every day of the week, whether you’re the one doing the RP or watching the RP. These players will always have my utmost respect. With that being said, what are your experiences with fear RP? Have you ever experienced fear RP from another player at all? Do you believe the lack of fear RP you have or haven’t seen is simply a product of the world our characters live in, or is it a result of OOC mindset?

Yeah, all you need to do is use version 1.16.5 and it should be good

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Skin Auction The following skins have been made solely for this skin auction, and haven't been worn at all This auction will run from September 17th - 21st, 5:00pm CST Rules Bids start at 4 USD ($4.00) Minimum bid increments of 2 USD ($2.00) When bidding, post a new reply instead of editing it If you have any questions or comments, do not spam the reply section. Instead, DM me on discord at un-w#9099 If you do not contact me on discord or accept my friend request within a few days, the skin will be given to the next highest bidder if any Bid Format: Discord: Bid: Skin Number: Skin 1 (steve) Skin 2 (alex) Skin 3 (steve) Skin 4 (alex) Skin 5 (alex)

Disclaimer I'm on mobile so formatting is nonexistent A point I elaborated on in my previous debate post is that the LOTC universe is not sunshine and roses. It's bloody, brutal, and violent in nearly every aspect possible, so it's not unrealistic that many of its inhabitants would suffer from a plethora of mental Illnesses such as PTSD and depression. With that being said, I feel like this is one of those topics on our server that aren't addressed nearly enough as it should be, especially considering there are players on LOTC who suffer from mental Illnesses irl. I'm very sure many of us have tales to tell about witnessing RP surrounding mental Illnesses, but that's not what this thread is for. What's your general opinion on how mental Illnesses should be portrayed? Is there a point where the RP stops being "slightly inaccurate" when done incorrectly and instead blatantly stereotypical and offensive? Should the player be expected to do OOC research before attempting to portray their characters mental illness? Anything else you wish to comment on? Please avoid dropping names if you're talking about an experience or story regarding this topic

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In the last few months, player retention has sort of been a hot topic on LOTC. We’ve bounced between problems, solutions, plug-ins, guides, free skins, tutorials, etc., in order to improve the new player experience here on our server. I speak from experience when I say that this task of noob interaction is by no means limited to CT or even staff alone — the average player can very well do this without even logging on. Some of you may have heard the term “noob wrangling” thrown around every once in a while. What exactly does it mean? In short, noob wrangling is best described as a player, typically one well-versed with LOTC OOCly, takes a new player under their wing and teaches them what a guide or CT member cannot. Sometimes they might teach them commands, recruit them into the military, help them find a job, partake in cultural RP, or anything else that will start the new player on their first adventure. Now, this doesn’t mean that a CT member cannot do any of these things — just that typically CT monk characters aren’t the most reliable source of long-term roleplay for new players, especially when it comes to actually getting new players engaged in any sort of meaningful experience. How exactly do you contact noobs? Earlier when I said, I meant that literally. This process of noob recruitment is one multiple nation and settlements currently use, so here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can contact these new players. Note that new players, most of the time, are younger than the majority of us. Thus, they tend to be very shy or timid, understandably so, as the LOTC new player experience still remains one of the most overwhelming facets of our server. With that being said, offering reassurance, being welcoming, open, and friendly is one of the most important things you can do to help new players feel comfortable while they’re learning the ropes. No, I’m not saying you need to put on this faux bubbly persona every time you talk to them, but We all know that LOTC has a plethora of commands, many of which even some of the most seasoned players tend to forget or may not even know at all. My word of advice is: don’t take the time to teach new players every single command you can think of nor explain every detail of the server. Instead, teach them the basics (#w, #q, #rp, #s, #looc). Allow anything else to be learned with time at their own pace. The key to new player interaction is not to be needlessly detailed nor complex — there’s already enough on their plate as it is. A personal rule I always try to follow is to never leave a new player without some sort of goal or purpose to accomplish in RP. For example, once your interaction with your new player comes to an end, they may be asking themselves the question: What do I do next? It always helps to give the player something to look forward to that will encourage them to log on next time. You could tell them to locate x character, learn about the culture, get a job, join an active guild, etc. Practically any of these things will be better than simply leaving the new player in the dust with no direction at all. We as veteran players understand that there is no overarching goal of LOTC, or that we’ll never have that one player to send us on a quest. Your story is what you make it to be. This is something I believe is important to teach new players as well while also understanding that they will not always know this nor know how to accomplish this, and thus will need that little nudge. Some new players might be phenomenal at RP, while others… not so much, but there’s nothing wrong with that. We were all in the same boat at one point. Not wanting to roleplay with new players is fine, everyone has their preferences, but harassing them for not being the greatest RPers is not fine. LOTC teaches us to become better writers either by reading other people’s emotes and style of writing or simply practicing whether or not we realize it, so it's important that we give new players that opportunity. Something else I sometimes stress to new payers is that roleplay will not always come to them first — that is simply the undeniable truth of LOTC. You won’t find roleplay by sitting on a bench for 3 hours straight waiting for someone to emote at you. While, yes, people sometimes gravitate towards new players RPly and OOCly, that will not always be the case. Your willingness to seek out roleplay interactions will either make or break your experience as a new player on LOTC. What if they want a better skin? LOTC has multiple avenues of skin accessibility such as skin auctions or skinning discords. Most skinners charge a couple hundred more for commissions, so a custom skin is likely out of a new player’s budget unless they voted for a couple of days straight. Luckily, there are plenty of ways new players can get free skins. Planetminecraft has an array of free-to-use (FTU) skins. Simply head to the search tab under the skin section and search “FTU.” From that, you’ll be shown multiple skins for free use. These skins do not require permission to be used. Please remain respectful of the skin makers, however. LOTC Skin Archive, linked here. These are also free-to-use skins made specifically for new players. LOTC new-player-skin-request channel. This channel is in the main LOTC discord server located under the Creative Cafe tab. Here, new players can request free skins from the volunteer skinners. I hope this guide will come in handy for some of you. New players will always have a special place in my heart. However, I ask that this guide and advice is used responsibly. For example, if you’re a group that serves no purpose on LOTC beyond PVP, maybe don’t recruit new players ;) If you have any advice or comments to add, feel free to add a reply! If you’re a new player reading this guide, I have some questions... What are your interactions with the general players of LOTC like? What were you feeling upon logging on for the first time? Aimless? Overwhelmed? Let down? Are you struggling to find roleplay or get engaged in any meaningful RP encounters? Anything you else you wish to comment on or relay to the server?