RP server etiquette

[Catriona R]

I've been on Earthen Ring for ironman for a while now, it's an RP
server but I haven't encountered much, which I'm glad of, as while I
have the utmost respect for RP, I can't think fast enough to actually
do it - heck, I struggle to find appropriate things to say when I'm
being myself half the time, I'd have no chance if I was being someone
else, in a world with different norms to ours!

That said, I love the idea of RP and so try to at least not be a
nuisance while on ER, I don't run through the middle of a group of
people who are talking, for example. But the little things are easy to
miss... I was just on the server forum, and came across a few threads
about the in-character "laws" of the server, focussing on SW, with
quite a bit about warlocks and death knights.

And then I saw a point that made me cringe... quite rightly, it's
pointed out that demons and ghouls etc should not be seen in the
streets of SW, as, obviously, they'd terrify the citizens, and, while
members of both classes are tolerated, such overt displays are never
going to be welcome. Hmm... how many times did I run through SW with a
massive blue voidwalker following me, even into the hallowed
cathedral? Oooops!

So, now I'm wondering what else like that is obvious but never even
crossed my mind - if anyone here RPs I'd be glad of some tips on how
to blend in and not be too noticeable if possible! I'm never going to
actively RP but at the very least I don't want to break the immersion
for those who do. I've started out by making a resolution to put
demons away before entering town lol, and also acquiring a somewhat
less skeletal gryphon for my DK - Dalaran can probably cope with death
knights by now but SW likely requires a little more discretion ;-)

[Lewis]

Post by Catriona R
And then I saw a point that made me cringe... quite rightly, it's
pointed out that demons and ghouls etc should not be seen in the
streets of SW, as, obviously, they'd terrify the citizens, and, while
members of both classes are tolerated, such overt displays are never
going to be welcome. Hmm... how many times did I run through SW with a
massive blue voidwalker following me, even into the hallowed
cathedral? Oooops!

Sounds to me like people are imposing their Judeo-Christian prejudices
into an RPG.

[bob]

Post by Lewis

Post by Catriona R
And then I saw a point that made me cringe... quite rightly, it's
pointed out that demons and ghouls etc should not be seen in the
streets of SW, as, obviously, they'd terrify the citizens, and, while
members of both classes are tolerated, such overt displays are never
going to be welcome. Hmm... how many times did I run through SW with a
massive blue voidwalker following me, even into the hallowed
cathedral? Oooops!

Sounds to me like people are imposing their Judeo-Christian prejudices
into an RPG.

If these ideas are rooted in Judeo-Christian prejudice it is because the
writers of the Warcraft backstory chose to do so, no doubt because most of
the basic tropes of the genre are, and the players would have an
expectation that genre tropes work as expected. Fear by the ordinary
populace of demons and the undead is entirely consistent with game-internal
story ideas.

[Lewis]

Post by bob

Post by Lewis

Post by Catriona R
And then I saw a point that made me cringe... quite rightly, it's
pointed out that demons and ghouls etc should not be seen in the
streets of SW, as, obviously, they'd terrify the citizens, and, while
members of both classes are tolerated, such overt displays are never
going to be welcome. Hmm... how many times did I run through SW with a
massive blue voidwalker following me, even into the hallowed
cathedral? Oooops!

Sounds to me like people are imposing their Judeo-Christian prejudices
into an RPG.

If these ideas are rooted in Judeo-Christian prejudice it is because the
writers of the Warcraft backstory chose to do so, no doubt because most of
the basic tropes of the genre are, and the players would have an
expectation that genre tropes work as expected. Fear by the ordinary
populace of demons and the undead is entirely consistent with game-internal
story ideas.

You could be right, I've never paid the slightest attention to the lore,
however, and since I see demons and undead every day in WoW, and
everyone in Stormwind sees demons and undead every day, it doesn't seem
like something the citizens would care about.

They certainly do not react to them being there...

[unknown]

Post by Lewis

Post by Catriona R
And then I saw a point that made me cringe... quite rightly, it's
pointed out that demons and ghouls etc should not be seen in the
streets of SW, as, obviously, they'd terrify the citizens, and, while
members of both classes are tolerated, such overt displays are never
going to be welcome. Hmm... how many times did I run through SW with a
massive blue voidwalker following me, even into the hallowed
cathedral? Oooops!

Sounds to me like people are imposing their Judeo-Christian prejudices
into an RPG.

If it were jc then druids wouldn't get a look in.
In this rpg magic is real, worlds have been sundered, fire breathing
dragons roamed the skies.
A warlock in a city in full array would be as popular as a NBC soldier
strolling through a mall in full gear. A faint glow about them, rad and
biohazard monitors squealing away.

[Catriona R]

On Sat, 14 Jun 2014 02:41:22 +0000 (UTC), Lewis

Post by Lewis

Post by Catriona R
And then I saw a point that made me cringe... quite rightly, it's
pointed out that demons and ghouls etc should not be seen in the
streets of SW, as, obviously, they'd terrify the citizens, and, while
members of both classes are tolerated, such overt displays are never
going to be welcome. Hmm... how many times did I run through SW with a
massive blue voidwalker following me, even into the hallowed
cathedral? Oooops!

Sounds to me like people are imposing their Judeo-Christian prejudices
into an RPG.

Possibly. However I'd say it's more because the only experience
ordinary, non-adventurous citizens, would have of demons or undead,
would be them invading their cities causing death and destruction
everywhere. A fairly logical reason to be terrified of them!

It's wellknown in game lore that warlocks are very much an underground
movement due to prejudices against demonic magic (check out their base
in SW; a hidden room deep below a shady inn, while in Org, Garrosh has
killed all the warlock trainers!), while you only need to see the
welcome a fresh DK gets upon first entering SW/Org to know that
they're not exactly popular either.

So really, I don't think it's anything to do with external influences,
just a response to how those classes are seen lorewise.

[bob]

Post by Catriona R
I've been on Earthen Ring for ironman for a while now, it's an RP
server but I haven't encountered much, which I'm glad of, as while I
have the utmost respect for RP, I can't think fast enough to actually
do it - heck, I struggle to find appropriate things to say when I'm
being myself half the time, I'd have no chance if I was being someone
else, in a world with different norms to ours!
That said, I love the idea of RP and so try to at least not be a
nuisance while on ER, I don't run through the middle of a group of
people who are talking, for example. But the little things are easy to
miss... I was just on the server forum, and came across a few threads
about the in-character "laws" of the server, focussing on SW, with
quite a bit about warlocks and death knights.
And then I saw a point that made me cringe... quite rightly, it's
pointed out that demons and ghouls etc should not be seen in the
streets of SW, as, obviously, they'd terrify the citizens, and, while
members of both classes are tolerated, such overt displays are never
going to be welcome. Hmm... how many times did I run through SW with a
massive blue voidwalker following me, even into the hallowed
cathedral? Oooops!
So, now I'm wondering what else like that is obvious but never even
crossed my mind - if anyone here RPs I'd be glad of some tips on how
to blend in and not be too noticeable if possible! I'm never going to
actively RP but at the very least I don't want to break the immersion
for those who do. I've started out by making a resolution to put
demons away before entering town lol, and also acquiring a somewhat
less skeletal gryphon for my DK - Dalaran can probably cope with death
knights by now but SW likely requires a little more discretion ;-)

I'm on a hiatus now, but most of the time I played WoW I was quite into the
rp scene. I would suggest that apart from the demons and undead minions
side, the other things to consider are whether somebody going about their
business at the bank or auction house would really do so wearing their full
battle armour, and whether people in the city would really run everywhere.
There are some nice sets of low level armour that can be used to make some
decent looking everyday clothing sets, and the armour set managers make it
easy to change into "town" clothes. The other thing that breaks the
immersion (apart from the obvious spamming AoE in the middle of town) is
people standing on things like furniture and other objects that people in
the real world would never do. If you want to get off a terrace, would you
jump 20 feet, or walk down the stairs?

[Catriona R]

Post by bob
I'm on a hiatus now, but most of the time I played WoW I was quite into the
rp scene. I would suggest that apart from the demons and undead minions
side, the other things to consider are whether somebody going about their
business at the bank or auction house would really do so wearing their full
battle armour, and whether people in the city would really run everywhere.
There are some nice sets of low level armour that can be used to make some
decent looking everyday clothing sets, and the armour set managers make it
easy to change into "town" clothes. The other thing that breaks the
immersion (apart from the obvious spamming AoE in the middle of town) is
people standing on things like furniture and other objects that people in
the real world would never do. If you want to get off a terrace, would you
jump 20 feet, or walk down the stairs?

That all makes sense, thanks! Being an ironman, limited to only grey
armor, makes it a bit tricker to get everyday clothing sets, but then
I don't actually stop in town much on that character, I'm always on my
way somewhere, I'd guess wearing my armor when I quickly pop into an
armourer's shop for repairs isn't too odd! :-) My banker already has a
nice dress, might improve her outfit a little then.

I never thought of the standing on objects, or jumping huge distances,
good point! As for running, that's a tricky one; there's a lot of
non-RPers around, and so those who walk stand out a lot... and I don't
particularly want people to take my walking as meaning I want to
actively RP, when I'm completely useless at that lol. Luckily it's
mainly SW where RP happens and again, I mainly just pass through on my
way somewhere now, can always RP being in a tremendous hurry I guess
;-)

[Lewis]

Post by bob

Post by Catriona R
I've been on Earthen Ring for ironman for a while now, it's an RP
server but I haven't encountered much, which I'm glad of, as while I
have the utmost respect for RP, I can't think fast enough to actually
do it - heck, I struggle to find appropriate things to say when I'm
being myself half the time, I'd have no chance if I was being someone
else, in a world with different norms to ours!
That said, I love the idea of RP and so try to at least not be a
nuisance while on ER, I don't run through the middle of a group of
people who are talking, for example. But the little things are easy to
miss... I was just on the server forum, and came across a few threads
about the in-character "laws" of the server, focussing on SW, with
quite a bit about warlocks and death knights.
And then I saw a point that made me cringe... quite rightly, it's
pointed out that demons and ghouls etc should not be seen in the
streets of SW, as, obviously, they'd terrify the citizens, and, while
members of both classes are tolerated, such overt displays are never
going to be welcome. Hmm... how many times did I run through SW with a
massive blue voidwalker following me, even into the hallowed
cathedral? Oooops!
So, now I'm wondering what else like that is obvious but never even
crossed my mind - if anyone here RPs I'd be glad of some tips on how
to blend in and not be too noticeable if possible! I'm never going to
actively RP but at the very least I don't want to break the immersion
for those who do. I've started out by making a resolution to put
demons away before entering town lol, and also acquiring a somewhat
less skeletal gryphon for my DK - Dalaran can probably cope with death
knights by now but SW likely requires a little more discretion ;-)

I'm on a hiatus now, but most of the time I played WoW I was quite into the
rp scene. I would suggest that apart from the demons and undead minions
side, the other things to consider are whether somebody going about their
business at the bank or auction house would really do so wearing their full
battle armour,

My female characters tend to change (bag space allowing) when they are
in the city. My male characters, being male, wear their highest epeen
gear at all times.

Post by bob
and whether people in the city would really run everywhere.
There are some nice sets of low level armour that can be used to make some
decent looking everyday clothing sets, and the armour set managers make it
easy to change into "town" clothes.

It was way easier when an addon could say, "Hey, you're in a city" and
equip your fancy town clothes.

Post by bob
The other thing that breaks the immersion (apart from the obvious
spamming AoE in the middle of town) is people standing on things like
furniture and other objects that people in the real world would never
do. If you want to get off a terrace, would you jump 20 feet, or walk
down the stairs?

If I were nigh-invulnerable I'd jump down the 20 feet every time.

[Peter T.]

Post by Catriona R
I've been on Earthen Ring for ironman for a while now, it's an RP
server but I haven't encountered much, which I'm glad of, as while I
have the utmost respect for RP, I can't think fast enough to actually
do it - heck, I struggle to find appropriate things to say when I'm
being myself half the time, I'd have no chance if I was being someone
else, in a world with different norms to ours!

Despite ER and DMF are marked as RP they arent RP at all. The only real
RP server atm is Argent Dawn.

[Catriona R]

Post by Peter T.

Post by Catriona R
I've been on Earthen Ring for ironman for a while now, it's an RP
server but I haven't encountered much, which I'm glad of, as while I
have the utmost respect for RP, I can't think fast enough to actually
do it - heck, I struggle to find appropriate things to say when I'm
being myself half the time, I'd have no chance if I was being someone
else, in a world with different norms to ours!

Despite ER and DMF are marked as RP they arent RP at all. The only real
RP server atm is Argent Dawn.

True but there is still *some* RP there, so I try not to interfere
with it where possible; it is supposed to be their servertype after
all :-) It's certainly a different feel of server compared with
non-RP, much less trolling and annoying people - although perhaps
that's more because I haven't been on the Timeless Isle there...

[unknown]

Post by Catriona R
True but there is still *some* RP there, so I try not to interfere
with it where possible; it is supposed to be their servertype after
all :-) It's certainly a different feel of server compared with
non-RP, much less trolling and annoying people - although perhaps
that's more because I haven't been on the Timeless Isle there...

When you don't know what level of RP someone is into it can be hard to
be compatible.
The whole game is RP anyway but I still find myself going to empty bank
teller windows, stopping a fraction of a second at NPC if someone is
'talking' to them. One thing that irks me is you can run through
characters and huge bosses but not trees or carts, and your flailing
weapons and aoe have no splash on friendlies.

Not going to timeless , you chose...wisely :-), I landed there first
time and was dead in about 3 seconds to a couple of spinning turtles
when in greens and blues.
'? ? well, this is going to be a bit difficult'

[Catriona R]

On Sun, 15 Jun 2014 10:21:30 +0930, | || ||| ||||| || |

Post by unknown

Post by Catriona R
True but there is still *some* RP there, so I try not to interfere
with it where possible; it is supposed to be their servertype after
all :-) It's certainly a different feel of server compared with
non-RP, much less trolling and annoying people - although perhaps
that's more because I haven't been on the Timeless Isle there...

When you don't know what level of RP someone is into it can be hard to
be compatible.
The whole game is RP anyway but I still find myself going to empty bank
teller windows, stopping a fraction of a second at NPC if someone is
'talking' to them. One thing that irks me is you can run through
characters and huge bosses but not trees or carts, and your flailing
weapons and aoe have no splash on friendlies.

I'm the same with going to empty windows, I also try to not stand
right on top of people, just feels uncomfortable, although I can
ignore it in particularly busy spots where there's no other option.
I'm glad you *can* run through people/NPCs though or there'd be tons
of chances for griefing/glitches! On the flipside, popular NPCs could
use a little forcefield so people stand *around* them, not *on* them;
interact with target keybind helps a lot, but it's still a total pain
when you can't actually find your quest NPC under a heap of
players/some idiot with a mammoth...

Post by unknown
Not going to timeless , you chose...wisely :-), I landed there first
time and was dead in about 3 seconds to a couple of spinning turtles
when in greens and blues.
'? ? well, this is going to be a bit difficult'

Yeah, ironman challenge character in greys, around 150k health at lvl
90... that's oneshot territory and death is permanent in this
challenge ;-) I only did a small amount of fairly safe exploration in
Pandaria on my first ironman, didn't try killing anything, was too
scared! I'm told by braver people that some mobs are actually soft
enough to kill, so I'll give it a shot on my current one... after I
level up a bit for healthpool buff. But I'm talking lvl 85 Jade Forest
mobs here, very much not Timeless isle, which is fairly lethal in
anything below about ilvl 500... ;-)

[Catriona R]

On Sat, 14 Jun 2014 02:08:42 +0100, Catriona R

Post by Catriona R
I've started out by making a resolution to put
demons away before entering town lol, and also acquiring a somewhat
less skeletal gryphon for my DK - Dalaran can probably cope with death
knights by now but SW likely requires a little more discretion ;-)

Lol, on that point, it dawned on me several quests into Twilight
Highlands that the Wildhammer dwarves, with their love of gryphons,
might just find my skeletal gryphon deeply offensive... ;-) I'm
beginning to learn to think about things rofl - that said, I suppose
as it is RP, my character might not care or even think about what
others would think of her mount anyway :-P