Add-On Love

We’ve mentioned several RP add-ons here, most notably FlagRSP, but I don’t think we’ve yet put together a comprehensive list for you lot.  So, since I’m in a list-making mood, let’s talk about a few of the ones that might enhance your RP experience.

First and foremost are the Description Add-ons.  These add-ons let you give your character a first or a last name, a title, and a place to describe the character beyond the avatar and gear sets we see on the screen.  They are all (as of this posting) compatible with one another, so for example, IRP users will be able to see the descriptions of FlagRSP2 and MRP users.  Hooray!

I’m a fan of NoName Studio’s FlagRSP2 myself.  FlagRSP was my original RP add-on, and it made it immensely helpful in finding other RPers in crowded places.  (I should note that FRSP2′s current developer is a fellow Feathermooninite!)

Moonshyne’s MyRoleplay is one  I haven’t played around with at all, but at least one of the Riders has been using it from the start, and has only good things to say about it.  I’d love to hear any feedback from readers using MyRoleplay!

When FlagRSP was between developers and Blizzard’s changes to how channels worked broke the original, I used Seagale and Shannae’s ImmersionRP.  It’s another clean RP description add-on, and came highly recommended by other RPers.  The only reason I stopped using it was because for a while, like FlagRSP, it was between developers and got broken between patches.  (At which time, lucky for me, FlagRSP2 had been released.)

In poking about, there’s another mod called MarySue that works like the others, but uses Blizzard’s hidden channels instead of the xtensiontooltip2 channel.  There’s been talk of moving the other three away from using that channel as well (freeing up another channel we could use for chatting!), but it would require all users to update their versions to the latest releases, which could be a bit of a headache during the transition.

Next are the Chat Add-ons.

My favorite (and, quite possibly my favorite add-on) is Rhianidd’s WoW scribe.  While WoW itself has a built-in chatlogger, if you turn it on, it’ll grab all of your channels, even the ones you have hidden.

Like, oh, xtensiontooltip2.

And items being crafted in your vicinity.  You might not see it while your character’s having an epiphany in Stormwind Cathedral, but when you open up your chatlog later, you’ll see something like:

Joethewarrior creates Heavy Runecloth Bandage.
Joethewarrior creates Heavy Runecloth Bandage.
Joethewarrior creates Heavy Runecloth Bandage.
Joethewarrior creates Heavy Runecloth Bandage.
Joethewarrior creates Heavy Runecloth Bandage.
Joethewarrior creates Heavy Runecloth Bandage.
Joethewarrior creates Heavy Runecloth Bandage.
Joethewarrior creates Heavy Runecloth Bandage.

…I think you get the point.

WoW Scribe only logs what you tell it to log.  It starts out with /guild, /say, /yell and /emote turned on by default (I believe), but you can add in /party, /raid, and any custom channels you might be in.

One thing to note with custom channels is that the settings aren’t character-specific.  If 7 is your RP channel on one character and it’s 6 on another, you’ll either need to log both of them all the time, or turn them on and off whenever you switch. I try to make sure my channel numbers are consistent across my characters, because otherwise I’ll forget to turn it on or off at some point.

While Rhianidd’s version hasn’t been updated since 2.4, there is another version managed by Severianne that is up-to-date, available here.  Rhianidd’s version still works just fine, but if you want an updated version, Severianne’s works almost exactly the same way.  The only thing you’ll need to change is your slash command — /wscribe for the old version, /wowscribe for the new.

Last are the Item Add-ons.

Does your character have a different set of clothing depending on the situation?  Is it a pain in the butt to sift through your bags and search for the necklace her best friend gave her every time?  To switch costumes faster than Clark Kent in a phonebooth, there’s Outfitter.  Blizzard added its own equipment mod recently as well, which does many of the same things.

But what about those items that just don’t exist in-game?  Say, a tobacco pouch, a bundle of forged documents, or even, yes, a baby?  For that, we have the incredibly awesome Gryphonheart Items.  You can create custom-made items and trade them to other RPers, and you can even assign buffs for when the items are in use.  (My favorite, from Bricu: “You are holding Naiara Bittertongue.  Don’t fuck this up.”)  There’s a ton of potential with this add-on.  Imagine the possibility of a player-based quest with it: you send a new recruit off to collect pieces of a broken relic.  Beforehand, you’ve spread the pieces among a few friends who the recruit will have to find and ask certain questions of before they hand them over.  The recruit gathers them up and brings them back to you before you start her off on the next part of the story.

I know there are more RP add-ons out there, including ones that help with emotes, and others that let you bind different sayings to your spells and abilities.  Tell us about some of your favorite RP add-ons in the comments (or non-RP add-ons that you’ve found RP uses for…) and I’ll update the list!

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