I am inspired to start a new thread, based on the above quote.
I’ve been actively RPing on WRA since about Jan or Feb.
I’m curious about the people who’ve been RPing in WoW for years and years: What kind of RP are they looking for?
How about my fellow newbies? What kinds of RP do you seek?
And everyone in between! Anyone is welcome to respond!
Depends what you mean by type of RP I guess. What categories are we talking? Like, RP style, or the types of story we immerse ourselves in? Or both I suppose?
In terms of RP style, I like a mix of walk ups and open world content. It’s cool to meet new people and make new friends in walk ups, but I also kinda like being somewhere with a purpose and not just loitering around the city. So, a mix on my end. It’s good to do both! I also like RPing both factions xD
In terms of RP preferences it’s funny because it’s evolved over time. When I first started RPing I wanted to RP pretty much everything - every race, every class, I just loved it all. I made an effort to have an alt of (almost) every race. But it’s funny, over time I’ve found myself sorta zooming in on more specifics and not RPing alts that much. I’ve always loved the Scourge story of Warcraft 3 and the fall of Lordaeron and Quel’thalas - found them compelling stories… So for the most part I tend to focus on human, undead and elven RP now. I do a whole lot of RP on Sarestha, my Forsaken. Fal’therin, my void elf, and Charlesh, my human. And I’ve been enjoying that niche, honestly, particularly my human and undead. So… yeah I’ve realised I’ve got a strong love for human lore and that’s my happy place; I’ve got a lot less desire to play the other races now. And I’ve realised that’s okay.
(This post may appear extremely negative and it was not my original intent, please read the whole thing before assuming anything)
I haven’t done serious RP in game since legion for several reasons. The biggest one being potential drama being caused by the people getting smashed together in an RP guild coming to blows on how to play characters a certain way. How powerful their characters should be. What their motivations should be, how they should act in a certain setting. Or even the basic definition of “RP etiquette” if you can believe it.
What I want right now and what I’ve wanted for the longest time is linear story progression for my characters as well as helping with the progression of other characters. This seems impossible to achieve because a lot of people I’ve met are so self absorbed in their own stories they have absolutely no interest in helping others progress theirs. And this is a constant theme I’ve noticed.
Whenever I’ve joined an RP guild in the past few months on an alt I usually sit back and watch what happens. And it annoys me to no end. It’s usually 3-5 people writing a story while everyone else is their captive audience. Unable to input anything into the story being presented to them, and I’m wondering why am I even here? And a few years ago I argued with the GM of one of these guilds and it resulted in my immediate removal despite me having no previous issues.
Right now I feel like I’m in a fog and I have no idea what I really want to be honest. It’s a real struggle. I’ve either ended the stories of my older characters or killed them off in an attempt to move on but it doesn’t seem to make things any better.
I’ve always loved the Orc clans. Their culture and themes are highly intriguing to me and I was always drawn to it. Same with the Sin’dorei. They are a race of outcast elves that had to struggle to survive after a disaster that nearly wiped them all out. And originally playing a young mage that was trying to help his people survive.
I was thinking about moving back to a Sin’dorei Death Knight as an RP main. A man who was pulled down to nothing and now seeks to elevate himself to greatness as well as anyone around him.
I enjoy more lighthearted, playful and fun interactions. Not that everything has to be sunshine and rainbows, angst and the like is fine in small doses, for me.
Having said that, a chance to show off Maggie’s more serious side is welcome too, when stuff becomes tense or she’s required to focus; working on a job for someone or sneaking around trying to not get caught. But that kind of stuff is sprinkled in throughout lighthearted interactions.
I also love world RP but I don’t have many RP contacts to make that happen regularly just yet…
Seeing more walk ups would be cool, too!
Still waitin for walkups in Telaar hit me up whenever guys
Cross faction ERP-PvP
For my Orc I’m looking for a group of folks that talk about the horrors they’ve done, but hold no regrets since it was for their people, but at the same time can stop seeing the faces of the ones they’ve slain over the years when trying to go to sleep at night. If I can’t find a group, I’d at least like to find folks that don’t want to not talk about these things.
For Autai I’m looking for folks to sit down with her and explain their races religious practices and how it have evolved when joining the Horde or the Alliance. She also wants to hear the stories of their civilization and how important said religions are to defend on Azeroth. I’d like to meet multiple folks of the races of Azeroth to get different perspectives from. I mean, her ultimate goal is to see if there is a way to give those that want it a peaceful death when death was taken away from them as an option.
I’m looking for a way to, I guess, see it all with fresh eyes. I want to be captivated by the World of Warcraft again, and have excitement for the people that decide to play a role in it. Hopefully I’ll be able to achieve that with this character.
I’m sorta of interpreting this as what RP have I found to be the most enjoyable? Though I will address what sorta style of RP I’m most fond of.
Having been RPing for 6+ years on wra (time flies) I will say that a majority of what I personally enjoy and have given me the best memories have been larger community events (guild events and open world rp to an extent). Events that are cross guild and even cross-faction are some of my favorites because of the wide variety of RPers and styles that you can encounter at those events. Plus it just exposes you to more new and cool people than walk-ups do in my opinion.
Some events that come to mind would be Story Circle at Bloodhoof Village and Crossroads Soup Night. These types of weekly and open form community RP events are personally what I enjoy and I’d definitely recommend to anyone who is looking to dip their toes into RP.
However I do have to say that I find linear story/character driven RP to be my favorite. Think a D&D campaign where the DM isn’t the sole storyteller and characters can move the story in certain directions. Personally this is what I enjoy the most as it allows character development for both my characters and those who are also participating in the story with me. However I haven’t really participated in this type of RP since around early Legion due to IRL circumstances and, not consistently being subbed up until now which makes searching for this long-form RP a bit of a challenge.
Even though I currently main Alliance and enjoy most RP, I’ve always had a spot of love for Orc, Troll, and especially Tauren RP as it was what brought me to wra in the first place. I’d love to find and get back into these long story campaigns on both sides of the fence but as of now, I’m somewhat content with walk-ups and community events.
So, apologies who are likely gonna think this is wierd.
I prefer my RP to be in a sort of MCU light. Not RPing the MCU or characters like they were in it, but in a similar tone to how the MCU was shown to us.
What I’m trying to get at, given how Azeroth is portrayed where it’s whimsical one moment, then “WTF?!” the next, I feel having a consistent tone akin to the MCU would benefit it. What I’m going for, having the wit and lightheartedness where it is nice and appreciated, but a proper serious tone and believeable fallout when the chips are down.
Essentially, I like getting to RP my character ‘At Rest’, but also in action when they’re in the story to show it’s going to happen, but with lasting effects that either remain or start to vanish after extended RPs to explain why.
Cross faction ERP-Pv-- wait someone already did it?
I like a good mix of public and guild RP. Sometimes it’s fun to go to Valley of Honor and just see what kind of characters others have come up with. I’ve had some really fun experiences with random walk-ups, and it’s been especially helpful when I’m trying out a new character to figure out where I want to go with them.
Guild RP is definitely one of my favorites though. I’ve been with this guild for years and through the ups and downs I’ve loved it all. I’ve had the opportunity for some of my best writing and character development in the guild setting, and from an OOC perspective have met some lifelong friends.
Tl;dr: city RP is a fun way to pass the time, guild RP is an amazing experience if you find the right group.
Usually, as weird as this sounds, anything other than the following:
Sit around buddy-buddy talk.
Romantic RP, in general.
Single Episode battles. Think “well gang, we foiled the fraudulent real estate agent dressed as an goblin this week, see you next friday to fight the real estate agent dressed as an undead go-go dancer!”
Same. I particularly like open world events and stuff like that.
Also I just transfered my druid to this server, any rp guild or events would be <3
At this point, just anything consistent. I just want to rp with someone who isn’t going to suddenly quit the game 3 days after we meet or to join a guild that isn’t going to fall apart after two events.
Racial thematically guilds are my favorite kind of RP. I embrace all the races and I have a fondness for each one but I love when people from the same race gather to make events and such.
I’m flattered you were inspired by something I typed <3 I always say there is RP, just not the kind you want because people have boundaries and goals for their character. And often times, people will RP just to RP and often become bored and will ghost, feeling bad that they are bored. Or something happens to the character they don’t want, but feel like they have to go through with it. And so, people that can’t find RP are usually looking for something specific and that is not wrong at all.
For me as an example: I haven’t had romance RP or slow burn angst in years. Since WoD. Because I finally figured out what I wanted in a character that I feel would give mine the best progression for them, and my sick fanaticism for making my characters suffer.
I like to RP politics with my blood elves. Power dynamics and cutthroat antics. Unfortunately it attracts certain personalities that do not RP such appropriately or safely, and so it can seem undesirable by many. But for my nightborne, I like to RP neutral stuff, and for my night elves I love to be surrounded by other night elves to cater to my elf fantasy. And byproduct, my characters are xenophobic and racist or can seem like such. But most of my characters aren’t. There’s just certain races and classes that I don’t feel like casually interacting with. So for me, casual RP is a no-go. I love investment, planning, and a mix of organic RP and being able to get what we all want out of it.
Walk ups give me anxiety because I’m usually OOC and people walk up on me despite my tag and I force myself to get into the mood and inspiration so they do not feel as though I am ignoring them and then think terrible of me.
These days?
Character driven situational RP. With loads of melodrama. To the point where it occasionally loops back around into full on camp/parody/comedy. No irony too rich. No emotion too intense. No confession too tearful. No scheme too convoluted. No intrigue too shadowy. No romance too tragically doomed or polyhedral in nature.
I’m also one of those people who likes to play things by ear; eschewing pre-planned stories/scenarios or a heavy use of NPCs. I like to take things as they come and let the presence/lack of what’s needed inform the RP. If my character needs a piece of information, an item made, or a service rendered, I’d prefer to have them try to track down someone else in character before resorting to an NPC or just resolving it offscreen. If the third party won’t help without payment, then securing that becomes a goal. Often times, this is an adventure in and of itself, and if you can’t find someone in time? Well, time to improvise by swapping plans… or even face the consequences of failure!
I tend towards a lot of mercantile/social/bar RP on this character as it’s a natural method of meeting new people, exchanging the latest gossip, and forming an interconnected network of associates/contacts that can be drawn upon for later RP.
I believe in exploring RP in all it’s aspects, not just the narrow minded view of the Jedi…ohwait wrong game.
Seriously, though. Heavy character development, long character arcs, adventures, lighthearted, I welcome it all. I like to paint a picture of a character, their victories and joys, their struggles and regrets, how they change, and how they grow.
In general I want story progression, but more importantly I want the incorporation of certain themes. One of my longest standing issues with the community, especially in regards to guilds, is lack of variety in themes. At one point it felt like all I ever saw was some variation of militant organization; emulations of national militaries, mercenary groups/warbands, paramilitaries etc. Granted that’s not entirely true then, nor is it now really, but it often feels to me like there’s more rp guilds that either have no specific theme or typically draw only from like three of same. Some themes, like those focused on certain factions or classes, are things that I’m quite interested in but almost never see an outlet for. For example, when Legion came out I made a Demon Hunter. I wanted to roleplay Illidari interests specifically, but none of the guilds themed after the organization or the class lived very long past the Pre-Patch; and no such guild has rose at any point throughout the expansion. Eventually the expansion was over and gone, taking with it any opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
These days with systems like Discord and Blizzard’s Not-Discord there are some ways to mitigate the shortcomings inherent in having some of these types of guilds, though they come with their own problems, but I digress.
Overall I’m personally just kind of tired of generic social gatherings and small talk with strangers at the bar. Most of my rp career is made up of that. I want to have more genuine adventures and stories that I don’t craft entirely by myself. I want to expand on the in-universe machinations of the factions beyond the Alliance and Horde, delve into the speculative education of various classes. That’s what I want these days; in some cases it’s what I’ve wanted for years.