Social Role Playing in a Fantasy Setting: Ideas

[AcadiusLost]

My suggestion is to use them, but resist the temptation to "load up". I've often seen parties of three or four PC's where multiple PC's take the quest simultaneously. This is a bit meta IMO as well as potentially nerfing the quest altogether.

One member should take the quest and share the proceeds.

Just to clarify; most of the statics were specifically designed to be done in a team format, and with collective "success". We toyed with, but did not end up implementing, a button that allowed a PC to "extend" a quest to party members, in order to specifically facilitate this. I would argue that doing quests collectively makes far more sense IC and from a continuity standpoint, than the group doing the quest 4 or 5 times, once for each member.

The "loading up" that I've always discouraged (and been bothered by on the few occasions I've seen it occuring in-character) are when a group of PCs accepts three or more quests simultaneously, in order to "get them all in" during one "circuit" through an area; this diminishes the RP of each individual quest and dances on the line between powergaming and metagaming. It also burns quickly through what the builders intended to be a rich library of available tasks, meant to last a goodly long while.

But a party of PCs that has never done Quest X, teaming up to do quest X together; that's the design intention of most of the "challenging" statics available onserver. Of course it doesn't make sense for fedex delivery quests, but "raid this encampment", "kill the leaders of tribe X", etc... these are meant to be done collectively, not concurrently.

[CloudDancing]

I really do love the static content available, so thanks to the designers of that and their hard work . I think if I use it more frequently as a jumping off point, it might break up this "soap opera" type thing that alienates more classic players.

Nothing like those great moments when something completely random spawns on your static and scares the pee out of you either. It forces you to rise to the occasion or die. I would like to be able to clear my static log and remove quests to help with bug issues.

Now I really don't like going on cave raids to slaughter random thingies UNLESS it is in character (IC) for all involved. Definately it is "something to do" for certain alignments on an occasional basis and the mobs are not dropping anything or any XP to make it really "worthwhile" in the power gaming sense either (unless of course you are constantly raiding every cave in the zone and solo farming respawns all night long day in and day out, but no one ever does that.)

I do like that when we are out commiting genocide on the two-leggeds, that we strive for lots of IC commentary, jokes, reponding to the environments, and good attempts to play it like an organized, well planned raiding part (ie see a classic trip with said favorite eldest ranger

[Swift]

Audark and Mick, while i respect your views, please spare a thought to those players that, more often than not, fall outside of the DMing hours. Listening for hours to talk surrounding DM plots and upcoming attacks/events etc is just as exclusionary and boring to players that cannot fit their times in to see DMs as you find the 'social' RP on the server.

While the level of drama between some PCs has been a little higher than the norm, it is a great shame that players like you are excluding yourself because you'd prefer to 'be the hero'. Hey, Id like to be the hero too, but endless patrols through the Silverwood, or supply carrying to the Hold as the alternative to fireside roleplay is hardly the stuff of heroes.

My tip? Do some DMing out of the regular US evening timeslots if it is not to your taste. Give those that don't run on US hours something to IC talk about instead of just "Saw an Orc in Silverwood tonight" or "My back sure hurts after carrying those supplies to Rivermoot".

[danielmn]

My tip? Do some DMing out of the regular US evening timeslots if it is not to your taste. Give those that don't run on US hours something to IC talk about instead of just "Saw an Orc in Silverwood tonight" or "My back sure hurts after carrying those supplies to Rivermoot".

Annnnnnnnd....
the best people to do that are the people actually in those timezones. Let me know if you'd like to step up at any point for BG, I will gladly take on a euro dm.

[Mick]

I'm not "excluding myself" because I want to be the hero. I am RPing what my PC is about-training and looking for hin to help out on the server (e.g.-picking up static quests out in RM.) She has little desire to sit about and socialize. It's her personality. That is not to say it never happens, just that it is not what she is about.

As I said, others can RP however they want. You want me to give a thought to the differences. Please do the same.

As for DMing, come by BG and I'll see what I can come up with for you. My hours are relatively flexible.

[Rotku]

Annnnnnnnd....
the best people to do that are the people actually in those timezones.

I'm in that timezone (that timezone being a timezone that isn't US).

[danielmn]

Annnnnnnnd....
the best people to do that are the people actually in those timezones.

I'm in that timezone (that timezone being a timezone that isn't US).

And that is why you are loved.

[Audark]

I just do what's fun for me Swift, mixed well with what is IC for Berendil. There are very few people he trusts enough to speak openly with socially. I have not said that I would wish the RP on the server changed, only that I absent myself from the social RP that I personally find frustrating or uninteresting.

If what Berendil drones on about is dull to you as well, feel free to do the same. Berendil is in the argent legion, he hates the undead, and has been protecting one of the few people he trusts from assassins, that's more than enough to completely monopolize his time to the exclusion of everything else.

I'm sorry if you dislike this approach, but I created Berendil without any 'distance' in mind but I found that character trait to be a useful tool to utilize IC to avoid situations that were frustrating OOCly. I don't apologize for it, it keeps me a happier gamer and more willing and able to contribute to ALFA in many different areas.

It's all about personal preference, I am just saying how I cope with situations I don't enjoy, not demanding anything change. I fully support everyone's choice to RP what they like, how they like.