I’m Still new to RP in Total and Don’t Know what I’m Doing with it all feeling so Daunting, so I was wondering if is there any stuff I should look up or are there things I should Look for when wanting to RP.
1 Like
Mind if I ask what kind of stuff you’ve done so far? Just in case there’s anything you’ve done already that we can build upon, and so I don’t end up suggesting things that are already covered.
You will need several addons to successfully be apart of the roleplay community. One is a RP profile addon, such as TRP 3. This allows you to create an extended profile for your character and read others- though it is NEVER okay to use that knowledge as something your character knows about someone else immediately. It’s more for you as the player to choose whether to interact with another person’s character or not.
Cross RP allows you to both read the TRPs of members of opposing faction, and two or more raid groups can be linked and managed through their raid leads. Typing in /rp channel in Cross RP (or /rp2 or /rp3, list goes on) allows for cross faction communication without Elixir of Tongues if the two groups are linked together. Elixir of Tongues is still good to have as a back up- those can be bought in the Dalaran Sewers (New Dalaran) for 29 some gold each.
Emote Splitter is one that allows you to make long paragraphs and post them all at once, and will handle both emote and dialogue.
Listener is another good one, it allows you to filter large events and see emotes from a few select people, or just the Snooper window up if you want to just read from the person you have selected.
Also! Keep in mind that some people do look for proper spelling, punctuation and grammar when trying to roleplay with someone. Additionally, most people on roleplay servers will not roleplay with someone who is under 18.
1 Like
Need is a strong word. Those are mostly conveniences, quality of life improvements that not everyone needs. There’s no downside to having them, but each has their purpose, and they’re just tools to make our lives a little easier.
There’s nothing to be successful at. It’s a hobby, not a job. It’s a daunting hobby though, like the OP said, and it’s important to remind folks that the stakes aren’t as high as they seem.
And it should be understood that if someone is under 18, they should be honest about it, but not gated from roleplay for it. Not everyone in the game is an adult, and the RP community should be mindful of that.
These are all good tools, of course, but I’m more of the mind that we should try to help make this less daunting, not more. Which is why it would be best to present it as something easy to approach and help fill in the blanks.
That said, Total RP 3 (TRP3) or MyRolePlay (MRP) have definitely become so widespread that it has evolved into a necessity in its own right, so like Halandor said, it’ll definitely help to look into one of those if you haven’t already.
5 Likes
I have done some group RP with guild mates which was light pub stuff, tried some 18+ stuff at gold shire, with random RP events when questing or dungeons.
Gotcha. It’s good to have guild mates and join them for stuff, especially when it comes to getting into anything big and public. Stuff like events such as, say, a campaign for Warcraft Conquest, can be full of noise and people that having friends really is a help for navigating.
Friends are a really good thing to find, generally. When you find some folks that you can really click with, you can build some long-lasting partnerships that can carry you into stuff as big or small as you like. My advice is that you keep in touch with the folks you meet, if you like hanging out with them. Get their Discord if they have one, or whatever means you like for keeping contact, and keep on RPing with folks.
Walk ups are fun, but having close partners is where you can get some of the real meat of RP. Once you get that momentum, it can really hit its stride into some cool stuff. Better yet, friends will help accommodate whatever you find fun. Not everyone’s idea of fun is uniform, and sticking to like-minded folks can help find what you enjoy.
Among the useful things for connecting with people in my opinion is events. Events can be a bit large to look at, but they’re also just as good for an excuse to meet people and network a little bit. A lot of events give you something to do as an excuse to walk up, even just someone playing a vendor selling things gives you the cue to walk up and say howdy.
Can probably see on the Moon Guard forums that there are a good handful of events being regularly advertised. I’d recommend keeping an eye on those or joining relevant Discords if you have one. They’re public, and any good public event should be plenty accessible to anyone, and ready to welcome folks.
1 Like
Thank you for the Advise, I knew about TRP3 and have been reading People’s stuff I see in Stormwind and Some are pretty deep. I did not know About the other addons I will get them also Should I Make a Backstory Real deep or Keep it small and Open ended for now?
1 Like
Small and open ended might be better. It leaves your character open to more flexible play…someone might spark an idea that wouldn’t fit with a detailed background.
Besides, wall-o-text is boring. I should learn that stuff through RP, unless I know your character already for some agreed-upon reason.
This is dead-on. In MY opinion, anyway. Especially starting out. A highly detailed background can lock you into a character arc that may not work. Keeping it open and simple provides your character room for expansion via RP, which is how your new character SHOULD grow.
You get to learn about your character as you play, which is incredible fun. It’s like reading a book, instead of having already read it and picking it up again.
Make use of the “At a Glance” feature. These are valuable, especially when used as intended. If my character takes a look at yours as they walk past, what are the top things/characteristics you want noticed? I’ll use my Goblins ‘at a glance’ as an example (I’m sharing based upon comments I’ve received from other players):
- His fabulous hat. Feathered, of course.
- Clothes/armor: Purple and gold, baby. Stylish!
- Gob spice. powerful, cheap cologne
- top of the line, deadly rifle
Each of these offer a peek into Eddy’s personality, allowing YOU, the character wishing to engage, an opportunity to SEE beyond the avatar. Even better, if you can use more than one sense (physical, visual, audio, smell, taste), you create a strong, anchored image for others to experience.
All of this being said, there is no right or wrong. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to write TRP’s , no matter the style, depth, detail. If I am hanging out in a city, I’ll read every TRP that walks by. And when an image/artwork link is added? Gold, baby. I love seeing those.
In closing, have fun! Find a TRP you enjoy reading, one that gave you the information YOU wanted to know so you could engage, and use it as a template. I did, still do, and constantly tinker with all my TRPs.
This.
Maybe I have bad luck, but the more in-depth a character’s TRP is, it seems like it is harder to RP with the character. Being a ‘writer’ doesn’t always equate to being a a good ‘RPer’. Some of the best RPers I know seem very light on the backstory because they are immersive in the world around them and where they are going in terms of character growth. Not what they made up to get to today.
My personal advice is to keep it small and open-ended. While there’s nothing wrong with starting big with all kinds of story, that is a part of what can make early RP a challenge to grapple. Really it does help a lot to start small, and build as you go, or even build with other people.
Speaking for myself, I tend to start a character off on a concept, and literally build as I play. So my warlock began with just “let’s see if I can play a High Elf Warlock” and I was leveling him, building his mogs, I gradually built a character and general background that I can expand over the course of roleplay. Starting small is great because it helps to pick up new inspiration and ideas along the way to incorporate.
It’s quite likely that among the profiles you see that are deep and dense, there’s years of RP behind that that has gone into cultivating such an in-depth character. Hell, it’s true for me, you can tell if I’ve played a character for a year or longer just by the profile alone.
It does not matter if your TRP is big or small, detailed or sparse. Your TRP should be as big and deep as you like it to be. You can share everything or play your cards close to the chest. Some people like to keep things hidden to find out, some people like to be open and share it all. Different ways to enjoy roleplay, after all.
A lot of good information in this thread for new RP-ers.
However, one thing that we have left out that I will now take care of.
Welcome to Moon Guard and to RP. I hope you enjoy your time here.
3 Likes
Thank you and I Hope to make it to some of these Hallows ends Events I see to How these will go.
1 Like
The events that are ran, are fantastic. The Hallows End ones are some of my favorites.
Best thing to do is start basic, and have the character form over time. Everything else comes as you go.
4 Likes
Wowpedia website (just google it) is a great lore resource if you’re looking (hopefully) to stick to WoW lore in your RP!
1 Like
Although some backstories are pretty cool to read, personally, I don’t write them other than descriptions that can be visibly seen through other characters’ eyes.
I believe that giving away minimum information on the characters OOC makes them more flexible and also makes the In Character interactions more interesting because of a shared sense of unknown both OOC and IC by people who interact with them. On top of that, having a more blank state character helps me open up way more to pursuing a story arc, which in return makes me want to RP with others way more.
A small summary in your head should be enough to establish the foundation of your character if you’re not interested in a backstory. At the end of the day, the cool thing about RP is that the options are as vast as your imagination, so you’re free to do whatever you prefer!
1 Like
I whole-heartedly echo the sentiment, keep your backstory simple. I suggest figuring out a few key events that can work as corner stones for the character you want to portray, but allow the rest to come to mind organically as you roleplay. I don’t really include much history in my profiles apart from information that would be available to people, such as a military service record for my military characters. Also don’t feel compelled to have your profile be huge, and chocked full of writing. Write what you feel comfortable writing, and try to trim fluff if you feel it’s getting too much… Or go wild! Write to your hearts content. Just enjoy yourself, and enjoy interacting with others.
Speaking of interacting with others, a “nice” character can be a good place to start, roleplay is all about the interactions, like two people writing a story together and it can be making your life much more difficult starting from a moody, dark or cynical character because they are naturally harder for people to just walk up to and talk to, so I would suggest something light hearted and friendly until you’ve really found your RP groove.
4 Likes
As I stated above, there is a ton of good inside and ideas here. A great place to start for new and even returning RPers who feel overwhelmed. This is one of the reasons I enjoy Moon Guard.
1 Like
Going to chime in for a second to voice what appears to be the less-popular opinion and say that creating a more-thorough backstory is not a bad thing.
For me, understanding all the things my character has lived through and seen creates a base from which all other things spring. It informs the way they react to different situations. It establishes the things that trigger them, that make them happy, the things they will tolerate. It explains why they may sometimes deviate from the norms of their originating race/culture and why they conform in others. All of that makes a character feel more relatable, believable, and alive. It makes sense for a character who is old enough to participate in the events of WoW’s story to behave as if the interactions they are having right this very second are not happening as if they are a baby experiencing life and the world for the very first time. Relatability and believability are two of the biggest things that draw us to fictional characters and get us to become invested in their stories and outcomes. I believe having more characters that are written this way is a very good thing.
Now, does that mean you have to write a novel on your character’s backstory? Not at all. Does it mean there is a little bit of work to put in to come up with at least a general idea of their lives and who they are as a result? Indeed. I wouldn’t even say you have to put your entire backstory idea into your TRP. Rather, if you choose to go this route, let your backstory serve as a reference to guide your RP in the present. As far as where you can find the information needed to put all this together, Wowpedia is one of the best free resources and has already been mentioned.
Of course, this is all just the opinion of an old, jaded soul who doesn’t really have much of a place from which to speak. But…just figured I’d play devil’s advocate for a bit in the interest of inspiring some thought as you begin your journey into this wild wild hobby we call roleplay.
4 Likes