This maybe a dumb question , but I’m new to RP an I get a lot of Anxiety around starting up RP of my introverted nature along with my mix of Dyslexia and Dysgraphia which make me super self conscious of my spelling and grammar…
But I really want to get into RP. I recently had a lil walk up rp with a few people which I enjoyed (ended off with Braytin getting shot in the shoulder ) but after leaving I couldn’t shake the judging feeling I have towards myself with my spelling , grammar… making myself feel like I made really bad experience with the other people
So I guess my question is to anyone who has dealt with similar issues… how do you handle it ? How do you initiate RP ?
Thanks in advance an sorry for the large blurb of text.
I understand those feelings of anxiety when it comes to spelling and grammar most of all! Mostly because I am terrible at it. If anything RP has made me a lot better at both! I have seen a lot of people put “Player is Dyslexic” In their OOC areas of profiles. People honestly understand those who have such things.
Hell I get s*** for writing Colour rather than Color giving I grew up with British English and not American.
End of it all, good and kind people won’t rip on you for simple things.
I do have a good addon for you though! Misspelled helps me out a lot! It highlights a word in blue if its not spelt correctly! Very handy.
I tend to start by reading TRP profiles and watching the player a bit. Their profile can tell you something that your character might have in common. Sometimes, walking up to someone and starting small talk helps. Players who type slowly will also list it in their TRP profile. It takes time and patience to learn. In general, the RP community is quite welcoming. If things line up, I may start a session with them.
RPing is very much like acting, in fact it pretty much is acting. In acting and general theatre, the audience only knows what you tell/show them.
Might I suggest making your dyslexia part of the character? It wouldn’t be unusual quite frankly, most people in a medieval society as presented on Azeroth wouldn’t even be able to spell their own names (unless one was a scribe or monk which was like 2% of the populace).
I have a personal opinion about grammar and spelling, as long as it is comprehendible with a decent attempt, it is perfectly fine. I will promise you the person that feels the need to OOC correct every single emote because a small typo is infinitely more annoying than someone misspelling a word.
Unless it completely distorts the meaning of what I am trying to say, I won’t fix it. People stumble over their words when they talk. They mix things up from time to time. They have accents and use different terms/slang based on the regions of the world they are from. I chuck up writing to the same thing.
I realize that with your conditions this may be difficult, but good RPers will be understanding and I only bring this up to help provide comfort.
Honestly, most of the RP community I have come across is inclusive to everyone, provided they are trying and not trolling RPers or RP in general. Anyone that is going to judge someone based on a couple of misspelled words/grammar is the one with the problem, not you. Honestly, the best thing you can do is to jump in there feet first and start talking to people. If someone is a judgmental douche, move on to someone else. As I said before, most of the people on MG are nice, patient and inclusive to all sorts of people. Good luck and welcome to the world of RP.
To add onto this, when I first started RPing in WoW around WOTLK, I was totally clueless, chock-filled with bad grammar and spelling mistakes for a thousand miles. I found there were more than enough people willing to be patient with me and teach me the ropes, and in a strange way, it’s something we’ve all probably had to endure. It’s kind of like a rite of passage.
Anyways, I think everyone comes across a few bad eggs from time to time, but there’s always been more good than bad from this server. Heck, I still get anxiety when approaching others, it’s totally normal. Don’t let the bad eggs sour the experience for you!
I think for me alot of the time is I start to second guess myself. But I just need to get myself out there an RP as some have said here :). I also type relatively slow so a good Idea def for me is to put that in my OOC notes
I have a word document that has RP openers saved so I can copy/paste them. It’s mostly just simple, universal stuff like asking for directions or asking where the best place to get a good meal is. Then there are openings that are more tailored towards my individual characters.
It helps me because I don’t have to think of an opening line right on the spot. I can just find someone who is standing alone and build from there.
I’m also a slow typer and people are usually very understanding.
Slow typing, bad spelling/grammar are all things that most can/do look past. Don’t god mod or completely ignore other’s emotes as if they didn’t happen and you are ahead of some!
Everyone has had such great and helpful advice. Gosh I love Moon Guard!
BUT… here are two little tid-bits I can offer you:
set up a few RP macros. Things you think you may use often. for me, its /smile, /greet, /curtsey, /gasp and a few others that I find myself using a lot for a particular character.
B) make your mistakes a part of your character’s quirks. Example: “OH, so so sorry. Gosh, your language is so hard to speak some times. I seem to always get some words mixed around!” Play to your character’s native language as being their primary when you get in a situation where you get things fumbled about!
If you ever see me about, please please please, come up and say hi!
Even though I come from 25+ years of table top RPG, I am new to RP in wow (used to be in a pvp server called Shadowmoon back in the days). I recently (5 months ago) joined Moon Guard with several concerns that were similar to yours. In my specific case, because I am Brazilian and English is not my first language.
So I did exactly what has been recommended to you: I implemented the language barrier as part of my character, a refugee struggling with communication. It worked very well.
I also saved a google doc with a few lines that end up occurring often, like the answer to “what brings you to the city”, or “what is your profession”. Instead of a short answer to those, I ended up taking the time to answer them in an elaborated format, but saved the answers for future usage. Very good tip given there.
Please feel free to add me in game as a contact (Vanessë and Varonne). I play weekdays from 9:00am to 11:00am, and late at night, after work. We can do some character development together and I can share with you what I have been learning about RP in wow for the last 5 months or so.
) but after leaving I couldn’t shake the judging feeling I have towards myself with my spelling , grammar… making myself feel like I made really bad experience with the other people 
