Roleplaying, does it exist and do you participate?

[Daolin]

In my opinion, it needs to start with players. UO is a sandbox game. We are equipped with everything we need to do this. We just need people to step up and give it a go. I think i'll post something later to get the ball rolling and see what people think.

[Miz3r]

I have a few ideas myself that i will add, hopefully something can come from all this.

[Daolin]

Alright, i'm back. There are factors in the game that promote roleplay, and factors that go against it. So if we are to begin moving into a constructive direction, it is best that we define these and avoid taking a wrong path.

Promote: communication, social gathering, unique character growth, commerce between players, storyline, and service to the server community (in some form).

Against: playing by yourself, power leveling stats and skills, becoming a 40x legendary player, selfishness, and strict codes and themes (more harm than help).

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So, to expand on the items that promote a roleplaying community, I'm going to throw out some ideas. If you're interested, read them over and tell me what you think.

Communication

* Talk and interact with other players, likely more than you are used to. You obviously can't play a role if you don't interact with other roleplayers.

* All forms of communication in game acceptable, with preference to actual face to face interaction though.

* No out of character in public, private messages only.

Social Gathering

* Minimum 1 weekly activity that guild members would organize and participate in.  Some events could be guild only, some could be open to the public as well.  This could include a Dungeon hunt, bar setting, sitting around crafting, fishing, horse racing, cock fighting, gaming/gambling night, etc... There are millions of ideas and events. These types of activities really do require more than just 1 solid leader though.

* We would need some kind of public calender for events for people to reference to.

* I think it would be neat to eventually build public buildings near different cities. It could allow us to support each other easier and give space for events (Buildings could have a unique feel based on the location)

Unique Character Growth

* Characters should have some sort of defined personality, interests, disinterests, and a role in the community (you don't want a bunch of clones).

* Characters that join must be brand new for the reasons I state below.

* Characters shouldn't power level most skills or stats, but instead let them rise naturally. There would of course need to be some exceptions to not make this too extreme (ex: wrestling for a mage, or tradeskills in general). This will help ensure your character can actually grow and change some (beyond storyline).

* No to unattended macroing completely.  The character should always have your attention when you are logged in

* No limit to skills really, but be reasonable. You are not to be a 50x clone. Play a role and just stick to it.

Commerce

* No free gifts and "stuff" from your other non-roleplay characters.

* You can freely trade with the server community, with preference to trade and purchases within the RP community first.

* It is preferred that you have some kind of trade to share with the RP community (even if you are just a sheep sheerer, include some kind of domestic job)

Service

* I think it is important to show the community who we are and that we can provide things for them.  This helps as a recruiting tool and makes the server better in general.  A healthy server is a healthy RP environment.

Storyline

* I'm not actually very big into lengthy RP stories. I'm not against them, but they have to be pretty good to catch my interest.  I think our daily, weekly interactions should provide enough storyline to start.  If we do something in game, lets show everyone what happened at the event.

[Miz3r]

Love the idea there, ok here is my input:

Basically how we need to go about this has a few fundamentals and rules that all should obey, whether you are a new player or old player of Pandoria.

Heres how i think RP can be achieved on this great shard just by a few minor changes here and there, that im sure even the old players can spare some time out of there hectic PK lives to join in on.

Firstly

We need to understand that for this shard to really excell even more than it currently is and really get a name for itself, we need to open up a bit more, yes the shard relies on new players for advertising purposes to experience the difference between this shard and others, this shard offers so much more than others which makes it ranked right up in the top 5 shards currently active.

Secondly

We need to realise whilst this is an MMORPG it still needs to retain its RPG feel and thus included Roleplaying, now how we as a UO community can contribute is by doing small things that will really have an impact on our younger community, giving them the full experience here on Pandora.  I think currently this is where we are lacking, as we get a new player to the shard, he is immediately given the option of whatever skills he wants to train, and said there you go.  

I have no quarrel with this, just maybe intstead of giving him this freedom, why not make him actually work for it, as what happened to growing your skills whilst fighting, it makes it far too simple afk macroing all your skills, as what exactly have you achieved, nothing really , yes you might have your skills maxed great for you, but what about those players who would rather do it as they fight, actually learning something about there craft.

Now i know most players have a certain mind set in "lets get the best items and own everthing that moves"  thats all fair enough, but give the poor guy a chance to actually see how to fight before you cast a one hit skill and he dies without even getting a shot off. i mean this dosent build up that player, he then would rather just sit and afk macro till he is better, and he dosent have the correct mind set about properly attaining his skills.

Thirdly

Now here is where i think we need to implement a few idea, i think every week we need to have a mini sub forum for brain storming, where by players new and old share there ideas of what would make there UO experience better, or make it more balanced.  I think sharing ideas with others might bring some enlightenment on how players want to play there game and what would give them the best chance at getting there.  

Fourthly

As for Role Playing, there is a huge gap with regards to this, i do not know if its because players are too scared to do it or just have no want to do it, or just because they do not know how.  I know that there are some active players who really try at making there Character stick out more than others with the use of Role Play but its to an erupt evail as all they get in return is "OK dude" or something in those terms.

I think it would really make things different if some people would just give it a try, and yes we all have our own ways of playing this game, some just want to kill things and be the best, others want to enjoy each and every aspect of this game, and really live out there characters profile to the fullest.

Ideas

So now that all the nitty gritty is out the way, here are a few ideas that i wish to leave here and hopefully get some feedback on some of these, its just something to be put out there to see what its response is like and maybe some might come into play or left as is.

1. Role play day, now i know some people might not be for this, but its a small step at getting players to act out there characters more freely, i was thinking a certain day in the week for now till it picks up , that each player on this shard needs to create a persona for his/her character and play it out for that whole day.  This will really create a great atmosphere that everybody can enjoy and take part in, no matter if you are new or old.

2. Hunts,  i know that most people like to do this as a guild or few close friends etc, but why not have proper hunts as a group, similar to the PVM but different in that each classe has a role in that hunt, for instance, you might get to a point where you need some1 with the art of stealth to bypass these almost unkillable monsters to open a secret entrance for the rest to advance, or archers or mage casters to kill a boss that is imune to physical damage, things like that where everybody can be utilized, now you might think well, i have all those skills already why cant i do it alone, well that is because it makes it more fun, and that is the key thing here, "Fun and enjoyment" amongst players.

3.  Fun days,  This is probably the easiest to organise as it can be almost anything that players would enjoy, where it be fun or open day for all the new players, where they get a full guided tour off pandora, seeing all the factions and dungeons.  Or it could be events: Like boat races, treasure hunts, hide and seek, races around britain streets on your pets to see who is the fastest, anything like this will make it more fun for players to enjoy and have a good time.

4.  Pandora day, this is obviously where every player would like to shine, this day is where you really show your true skill, it is a series of events leading up the final battle, Basically how it works is that each player chooses a set of skills that he/she will utilise in the stages of events to overcome the obstacle and advance further in the tournement, so it would start from your entry level skills, for instance, you could say, all the fighters only using fighting skills, no mage casting etc, we want you to battle it out till we have a top 5, then the top 5 from there advance meeting up with another 5 from say the mages who would of had a spell casting fight, and like thieves who would have to steal a series of items of NPCs hidden in dungeons throughout pandora, and pkers who kill the most people back to back in pvp tournements, animal tamers etc having the strongest pets to duel to the death, each participating in there own little stages of events they need to complete to advance, obviously the best overall in these different stages will be crowned (whatever the mods decide on) for the day, and receive a piece or fragment of a special item, which of the overall tournament running for a certain length, who ever has the most pieces of that certain fragment of armour/weapons/jewels will receive that item as there prize.

5.  Auctions, i know every player likes purchasing new items, and i think that if we bring back public auctions it would really be interesting and fun for players to show there true wealth and purchase items that might even be going for a cheaper rate, obviously you are limited to say 3 purchases, and the players are not aware what items are on auction, so once you have purchased 3 items you are out of the auction and can no longer bid.  It makes it interesting as you have to really think if something good is comming up or cash in whilst you are there.

Final

Well for now that is a few things i can think off, obviously once we get the ball rolling with this idea and maybe some events this will create a spark for new idea and things that we can involve ourselves in to really make our experience here alot more enjoyable than it already is.  At the end of the day, its bringing players together from all walks of life to enjoy this game to the fullest, social networking its important here and we need to involve ourselves in more communication with other players, learning more about each other and i think role playing can create this that has been lost for some time and really be the step we need to really succeed as a UO community.

As for current progression, MODS you are doing great keep up the good work.

[lev]

overall a good idea, but be care
i come from osi europa and we had a very big rp community, but this players only had their events in tram and played by their own UO rules, and the fact is that at some point (yes u can blame osi for ruining the game too much) there was no pvp in fel while rp guilds still played their game in tram
so if u want to make rp make sure it cope with every Pandora aspect and not split the shard to role players and pvpers

not to flame u miz3r but u sound like a tramie and tram is not rp, pvp is rp
fel is where real politics happen, where brotherhoods and arch rivalry form, and true fame is gained

to be fair, the "i wish to duel" command kinda ruins fel also, no farms pvp, no yew gate pvp, dono how can u live without this

[Miz3r]

I agree, completely with this, i also too come from other shards where there was frequent gate camps at Yew and i get here, and i never see a single person in Fel at all, was quite surprised to be able to walk around freely without being swarmed on by pkers or find myself in the middle of a war between guilds.

I think that RP should not divide the shard, rather be a bit of both, blending in with the current activities and players, so that everybody can experience it , and not just the people who want to sit in tram the whole day, rather for everybody too enjoy

[Mita]

If leadership (gm's) do it, others do it.

[Miz3r]

If leadership (gm's) do it, others do it.

Thats the thing, you mustn't want to do it cause others are doing it, you must want to do it cause you want to, there must be that want to change things up a bit, put on a hat and cloak and stroll down the streets knowing you are somebody, not just another player in this game, but a player who has a story to tell the world, adventures to live out and people to share that experience with.

If we can get more people to do this, wow, things would be different, more interesting, more in depth, and overall more enjoyable for all.

[lev]

we can begin now, no need to keep troling about it, gather today at 12am gmt in the ancient city of moonglow, wont be hard to set up a scenario once we r there.

About reward system for the rp events we dont need the gms. With little effort from each rp member we can set a rp bank of rewards.

Sub forum for rp will be nice...

[Uhhh]

I know this has already been voiced sortof, but yeah, if you ever, and I mean ever, want to play at a remotely competitive level against the PKers who have got incredible knowledge, experience, and some have been around from over a year ago when the shard began (most all have played UO for years on other shards) - then you need to make yourself a good 200-300 million gold (or donate a few hundred real world dollars!) and dump a good chunk of that into imbuing, most of the rest into 120 scrolls, and assorted rare clothing. Every day, every hour, every minute not spent making bank is time spent not achieving this very difficult goal, which for most players macroing afk will take maybe a year or so. Yes a year of afk macroing. Year with a capital Y. So I'd just like to say, yes, I am all for OTHER people doing roleplaying, and I fully support your efforts to bring this great idea to struggling players, as it basically is just shooting yourself in the foot and completely wasting your time while everyone else gets better and richer non-stop (unless of course, insane and massive changes were implemented to reward this sort of jackassery - and I very much doubt significant enough changes will be made to shift the balance of the game completely in order to make this activity financially rewarding). If you want to fight, and you want to win, ever, this sort of thing is probably not a good use of your time, which is precisely why most players do not care about role-playing. "Play to Win" OR "Play to Play".

[Miz3r]

If you want a competitive game, play call of duty or something that requires you too think you are gods gift to man.  This game is different from others, its a game where the young and old can play and enjoy themselves, there are offcourse your pvpers who just want to be the best and donate tons of stuff to get there, and you have your not so wealthy players who just make ends meet and cant afford to donate and have the best items but they still carry on, then you get the lowest class of people who wonder how to insure there stuff, and go by playing this game on hand outs from richer players.

It really breaks down the enjoyment of the game if everything is handed to you on a silver platter, not too mention no skill cap, so you could just afk macro every skill and thats the end of it, no actually skill involved there, and most people use some hot key macro programme other than razor to make really amazing macros for insta death, Hooray for you, you have successfully dominated at another game, probably made a few people doubt playing anymore because of continuous owning, but never the less, you are the man.

Really that kind of egotistical bravado dosent deserve to be on this shard, this is suppose to be fun, and helping players join in on this great game, not sit at places and hope a new player comes in then kill him first shot and leave nothing for him to use further.

 For the rest like myself i dont mind but you play your game, i play mine.

[Uhhh]

I'm terribly sorry I ruffled your feathers, but were you under the impression that UO is NOT a competitive game? Also, maybe you mis-understood me and is why you're referring to actions I've never done - I'm not one of the godly PKers who have been here since the dawn of time, in fact I had never actually played UO before coming to Pandora a few months ago, I'm just a quick study, and I have absolutely zero interest in popping weak newbies without cause or remorse, that crap can't possibly be very fun or fulfilling - Ive tried with my limited ability and knowledge to help newer players - what I would like to do, some day in the far far future is be able to fight against, say, anyone in the top 10, and win maybe 1 out 100 duels against them by being good enough to not die immediately and get a little bit lucky and actually get in a winning shot every once in a great while, or maybe actually venture into the very profitable pvp dungeons I'd very much like to go fighting in, and be strong enough to get out alive sometimes. So I'm not sure if you really are wrapping your head around just how competitive this game in fact is. True, you could spend your time deco-ing your house to a super duper level of fancy, cooking and taste identifying, wear a different colored robe for each day of the week, maybe using "thou art"s and "come hither"s when you talk to others, but for all the tons and tons of things that aren't competitive that are possible to do in the game, you cannot deny that competition in the form of PVP combat is at the very core what UO is great for and why most players play this game. You, I, and most other players, are playing catch-up to the kings, but you seem to want to ignore that and never have a chance, which is fine of course, I mean having fun is the goal I agree and if you can have fun doing that then more power to you, as for me I'd have a lot more fun if I were at least capable of standing up and fighting so I'll go ahead and keep my eye on the prize.

[lev]

you need to make yourself a good 200-300 million gold (or donate a few hundred real world dollars!) and dump a good chunk of that into imbuing, most of the rest into 120 scrolls, and assorted rare clothing. Every day, every hour, every minute not spent making bank is time spent not achieving this very difficult goal, which for most players macroing afk will take maybe a year or so. Yes a year of afk macroing".

hi drama queen, my account is 23 days old, i got most skills at 110-115, normal imbued suit and wep
so here goes half of your theory
i also didnt play uo for 4 year and i already win some 1v1 vs pandora's vets and can do basic field pvp
and i hardly play that much, and i dont do afk macroing for gold/coins
so u get an F for your theory

now i think my progress was too fast, and its true i have good friends here
but uo is about building your suit and your bank as much as it is about pvp
the fact is with imbuing and with good pple to help u hunt for mats and relics, and do alot of duels, u can cope in fel very fast

[Kronen]

lev responds well.

each to his own, in the end.  don't get all religious-zealot on us and try to preach your way as the 1 good way..