“I can’t find my fucking shoes, Jakob.”

“Yva, the lich king doesn’t give a horses’s arse what shoes you’re wearing. JUST PUT SOMETHING ON.”

She stormed past him – tried to shoulder past him, really, but that failed spectacularly considering how large he was – and began rifling through the closet. “These are special shoes. Enchanted ones. I am not going toe to toe with Putricide in my bloody socks.”

Jak’s cheek ticked. “You have five minutes.”

“DON’T YOU DARE TRY TO RUSH ME.”

The answer was the clang of his sabatons across the floor, and then the slam of the front door.

“Jakob? JAKOB BALTHASAR GET BACK HERE!”

No answer.

Flaadhun lifted his head at the sing-song tones of his mistress having a complete and utter hissy fit. He padded over, stretching and grunting as he leaned against her legs. She cast him a sideward glance and a scowl. “Don’t think I don’t know this is your fault, Dog. I don’t know if hiding my shoes is your way of saying you don’t want to go, but it’s not going to change a damned . . . that miserable sod left without me. He really did. He went after ARTHAS on his own, after all we’ve been through. That horrid, domineering son of a bitch.” Her hands went to her hips as she glared at the spot Jakob Balthasar had occupied a moment ago.

She was getting ready for another round of ranting when there was a thud by her feet. She looked down. The mysteriously missing shoes were suddenly there, and Flaadhun was sitting beside them, the scaly monolith of his tail thudding against the carpets.

“Yes, you want me to tell you you’re good for returning what you stole? I think not.” He whined as she stooped to pull the shoes on, bitching all the while. “And believe you me, Flaadhun, when I find Jak, he’s going to wish he’d never heard my name. No one simply walks out on me, especially not when the most important fight in . . . EVER presents itself. Cad. What an utter CAD.” She grabbed her satchel of runes and stomped through the living room, felhound snorting in tow behind her. She felt one of his tentacles winding around the hem of her robe and tugging, as if he could hold her back.

“Good gods what! I’m in a mood, if you haven’t noticed, and you can thank your father for that.”

“I am not that thing’s father. It’s a fucking demon. Can we GO now?” She jerked her head up to see Jakob staring at her through the glass window of the front door. She blinked, her irritation fluttering away, replaced by red faced embarrassment that she’d likely been cursing him to the nether and back and he’d heard every word.

Because he was standing just outside the door waiting for her the entire time.

“Oh, of course. I . . right. I think I’m ready to . . . ”

His cheek ticked again.

She flashed him her best makeshift smile. “Shall we then?”

2) One dissenting voice can change everything, for better or for worse. If you’re running a story, and it’s your story, be ready to break some eggs and make some omelets, because no matter how good your ideas are, someone’s always going to want to change it or break it or do something differently with it.

3) Delaying projects is as bad, if not worse, than rushing them. You need to act on the enthusiasm your people have up front. The longer you wait, the more likely it is to dwindle.

4) Your RP arc is only as strong as the person leading it. If they’re unfocused, lazy, or short on time, the story will suffer for it as will anyone investing into it. It will not work.

5) It’s okay to offer to help a GM. In fact, it’s appreciated a lot of the time.

6) Keep hard dates for deadlines and events. Nebulous dates allow for procrastination which facilitates number 3. Hard dates keep you honest and on a timeline.

7) Understand that you can’t please everyone, and if you’re trying to, you’ll hate GM’ing the event. Please yourself and as many people as you can.

Be flexible when it’s not a pivotal matter. Being open to other people’s ideas makes small plot lines into major ones, and stories flourish.

9) You don’t know everything. You might think you do, you don’t. Keep humble.

10) People who make commitments of time and effort might not live up to them. Have back up plans.

11) Have a soundboard. Running major RP arcs is stressful. Find someone who’s willing to listen when you need to bitch, and tell you when you need to shut up and work.

12) Make a promise, keep a promise. You’re only as good as your word. If you say X, Y, Z will be done, buckle the hell down and make sure X, Y, Z does happen.

13) Ask for feedback. Don’t be a dick when someone gives you constructive criticism.

14) Don’t overwhelm people with too many big arcs. Give other people limelight time.

15) Know that it’s okay to delegate to others who want to help. If you have open communication about what needs to happen about an event, and they’re willing to run with it, let them.

Anything YOU can think of, readers? Lay it on us.

Ta!

As you peer at it, something shifts inside:  just the faintest sound of movement, then all is still again.

What do you do?

((Just a little bit of tomfoolery for you to pass the time.

The rules, such as they are!

1.  Anyone can play along.
2.  If you have six million alts, please have mercy on me and pick one.

3.  If your character doesn’t have an apartment, that’s fine!  The box can be wherever it is they go to settle down for the night — if they sleep in a tree, it’s at the trunk of the tree.  If they’re planning on drinking the night away in a bar, that’s okay, too — if they get up to order another round or use the facilities, the box is on or beside their chair when they return.
4.  I’m kicking this off late in the day, which means my responses might get waylayed by commuting and dinner, but never fear, I’ll be peeking.
5.  Have fun!))

Their antipathy stems from a number of interactions with some less-than-savory Belves, and an interesting bit of random RP during BC, when a new Draenei character nearly died to a Blood Elf ambusher.

So share with us: What races does your toon despise–and why!

Naiara Bittertongue

Naiara Bittertongue exists as a series of emotes, drawings and exquisitely timed phonetically spelled swear words. She doesn’t have a class. She has no profession. She does not even have an avatar. She does, however, consume a significant amount of RP. In return, she generates more than her fair share of Bricu/Threnn stories, ideas and vignettes. It should be no surprise, then, that Naiara was a huge factor in how the Bittertongues decided to deal with Arthas. This is how the Bricu prepared for war.

Thenia refused to think of her daughters and her son in law. Both daughters, her no good son-in-law and her nearly-perfect granddaughter had arrived to tell her, in person, that the Highlord had called the banners. The Riders were going to war, which meant her daughters were at risk… Instead, she focused on her still limping husband, who was stubbornly insisted on putting their granddaughter to bed.

“Sit and relax Thenia.” Padraig said, “You worked all day. Besides, I usually put her to bed. You can get her ready when she gets up in the morning.”

She noted that Padraig didn’t mention how Naiara did not want to come near her, or how Naiara fussed when he left the room. She was thankful that Padraig didn’t use the words, “phase, stage or fussy.” He just left it alone. Thenia almost smiled at her husbands kindness.

To keep her thoughts from drifting to Dalaran–and worse–Thenia kept herself busy by sorting through Naiara’s bags. Threnn and Bricu left her: sets of clothes, cloth diapers, homemade snacks and more stuffed animals than any little girl really needed. Each bag was meticiulously packed and ordered, and contained far more than what was necessary for “one last battle.”

At the bottom of the biggest bag, she found a large enevlope. It was addressed to Naiara, not to her, in Bricu’s hand writing. Thenia didn’t need instructions on how to take care of her granddaughter, and as clever as Naiara was, she was still years away from learning her letters. Her son-in-law left her a mystery. A mystery she carried with her to the kitchen, where she made herself some tea. As the kettle boiled, she checked to make sure no one in the house was watching her–a useless precaution given that she could hear Padraig reading a story to Naiara–and steamed the envolpe open.

She took out a collection of letters. Some were short notes, others were multiple page affairs. Some were written in Threnn’s handwriting, some in Bricu’s. All of them were dated. Most were dated for Naiara’s birthday, but Thenia found one with today’s date–a long letter written by Bricu–and read it.

My wee girl,

Your Da.

Thenia folded the letter up and put it back into the envelope. She listened for Padraig or Naiara, but neither was making a sound. For the moment, Thenia was completely alone in her home. She sat in her chair and let herself worry about her family, in the North.

The Wildfire Riders decided that the release of today’s patch would see our RP circle IC’ly tackling the fall of the Lich King. This is something I whipped up to commemorate it!

From that Fellsabucket:
“How do you balance out personal like/dislike for a character between IC and OOC reactions?”

Most of us have been there before — there’s a character that bumps into yours on occasion, and your character simply can’t get along with him or her.  Maybe Lord Mason”s looked down his nose at your character because he comes from money and she was a farmhand.  Or perhaps Trixie”s all too willing to twirl her daggers and brag about her recent crime spree to your law-abiding paladin.

On the flipside, you and your character think roses grow in Elsa’s footsteps and she could never do any wrong.

So how do you handle those situations in and out of character?  It boils down, as always, to communication.

If another character’s doing something that will spark a negative reaction from your character, drop the player an OOC whisper to give them a heads-up.  Sometimes, the conflict will be welcome.  (<3 Arrens!)  Other times, the two of you might want to step back for a few minutes and talk about ways to diffuse the situation, especially if a shouting match might mean one character or the other stalks off, thus taking them out of any larger RP gatherings that are happening at the time.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, for Elsa, who can do no wrong, a little bit of brainstorming with the other player might be productive.  What sorts of things might she do that would show your character she has flaws of her own, that might flesh her out for both of you?

Those are scenarios that are easier to work through.  What happens if you simply, OOCly, don’t care for the character concept?  Your friend Joe really, truly thinks he can pull off a character that’s half-dragon.  You’re not so keen on the premise.  It’s your right to say “I think I’m going to bow out of Joestrasza’s quest to discover his true heritage.”  But when your character’s around Joe’s in a casual setting, can they coexist civilly?

Sometimes,  your characters will simply never get along.  That’s okay!  However, make sure the lines of communication are open with the other player.  If the conflict stops being fun OOC, it’s time to take another look and make some changes.

—

From Itanya Blade:
“Talk about how to RP losing.”

This is an excellent question, and you guys are welcome to jump on in with examples from your own RP experiences — I know I won’t think of all the angles, because there are just so many.

What fun is it if you win all the time?  Failure can be a great vehicle for character development.

First of all, consider what’s at stake — if your character doesn’t win the fight, or doesn’t make it to the destination on time, what kind of loss does he or she suffer?  Losing a few gold in a card game probably won’t have the same impact as losing a sword that’s been in the family for generations.  However, if your character’s the best card shark this side of the Maelstrom, losing the game means is reputation takes a hit.  Billy the Undefeated becomes Billy the Guy I Saw Lose That One Time. The loss can be a physical one, too:  someone else gets the upper hand in a brawl, and your character’s left spitting out teeth outside the pub.

If your character is losing to another PC, discuss it with the other player. This is actually an RP opportunity for both parties.  What if your character’s great-great-great-great grandfather actually stole the sword from his rival?  And that’s who’s come to take it back?  What if Sally the Sly is the best card shark from the other side of the Maelstrom?  Maybe it kicks off a long-standing rivalry between the two.

But always make sure you’re talking it out with one another OOC.  If one character’s beating the hell out of the other, know when to say when.  Even if you’re making up the fight as you go along, keep the lines of communication open.  I remember witnessing the OOC chatter one night when Bricu, Tarquin and Ceil were fighting — “There’s a set of stairs here.  Someone’s getting knocked down them.” // “YES!” — they were orchestrating the fight as they went along and having fun with it.  At the same time, they kept the fight fairly even.  No one really had the upper hand (in this fight, everyone lost.)

It’s also possible that the opponents aren’t evenly matched, which leads to a loss.  The cocky young paladin, fresh from the Abbey, challenges a knight of the Argent Crusade and suffers a humiliating defeat.  The goblins sold your elf some enchanted dice, and they’ve always worked… until the mage she challenges counterspells the effect.

Once the loss has happened, what are the consequences? What happens if your mage goes back to her master without his grimoire?  Will your character’s family disown him when they find out the sword is gone?  Can Billy-the-Recently-Defeated show his face at any card tables in town without people laughing?

How does your character face those consequences (or do they face them at all?) Do they suck it up and tell other people about their defeat?  Do they try to cover it up?  Pretend it never happened?  Run as far away as they can get?

How does losing change the character, or, what has he/she learned? Your character doesn’t have to do a big, huge, personality 180 after losing, but it’s good to see the loss have some effect on character development.  Maybe she’s more wary of goblin dice, or gambling with mages.  Maybe he starts carrying brass knuckles in his pocket to be ready for his next barroom brawl.  Seeing her mother’s reaction to the loss of the heirloom sword makes her appreciate the legacy, or makes her question everything she knew.

Finally, what comes next? The losing doesn’t have to be the end of the story, and can, in fact, launch the next part of the arc.  Does the character seek redemption?  Does he organize a poker tournament to regain his title?  Does she find another way to come out on top?  How does it affect her relationship with the person she lost to?

Have at it, cats ‘n’ kittens.  Tell us about a time your character lost, and what the fallout was.

If you are feeling the lull, and don’t know what to do with your RP, you are not alone. There are probably at least two or three other people in your circle who are feeling the same drain. I recommend the following:

1) Take control of your Character’s Story.
Figure out what is going on in your toon’s brain. Are they worried about the assault on ICC? Are they worried about the Scourge? Are they dealing with the terror or ICC? Are they looking for something to fill the void of combat? Once you know where your character is (psychologically, emotionally) following the content, you can begin to address it.

2) Gather your peeps
Take your group on an RP Session to “deal with the Lull.” This can be anything from a traditional story nights and pub crawls to a guild meeting where someone loses their shi–stuff. The RP event you create needs to be focused on the consequences of the content. Take ICC for instance. This is the heart of the Lich King’s Undead kingdom. It is full of terrifying monsters. Monsters made up of former friends, relatives, comrades and enemies. Witnessing those atrocities will leave scars, so why not RP the healing process?

When all else fails, vary the RP
If you are used to forum RP, try RPing in the client. If you are used to RP in the client, try some forum or Ficcing. Sometimes the best way to fill in a lull is to change the format.

We have two examples to share:
Currently, Anna and I are working (via google Wave) on a story for our own content Lull. While it is a bit of a secret, I can share this much: Just because Arthas is gone does not mean that everyone begins to heal from what he has done to his people. There are traditional ways of dealing with loss and grief, and Bricu wants to give that method a chance. Arthas may not deserve it…but one has to pay their debts.

Secondly:
Last RP night, Bricu and Threnn learned how to can fruit. That RP Night was “domestic night.” While canning, they discussed:

The Content Lull was dealt with. Current Story lines were tied up and inspiration for new stories were planted. All in all, a perfect way to deal with the doldrums.

The Lull isn’t all bad folks. In fact, this is the time when we can dust off old RP, set up new stories and finish current plots. The Lull is more an opportunity than a pain in the ass. Since we have all “Been there, done that” we have the time to work our own stories into WoW’s plot.

Does the lull have you down? Have you conquered it? Fill us in! Tell us how you are dealing, or not dealing, with the lull.

Hey there Fellow RPer!

Let’s be honest with each other for a minute. When we create, tell or participate in a storyline, we are creating our own content in Blizzard’s setting. While our content may not have the same game-play mechanics as an encounter or a boss fight–although, if someone tried to orchestrate a Sindragosa-esque fight on your server, we’d love to hear about it–this does not mean our RP sessions are any less intricate or detailed as Blizzard’s plots and dialogue. RP content has one additional benefit that Blizz content does not have: We do not depended on new content to keep our stories going. While you may be burned on ICC-10 and 25 or bored to death of the random daily, as an RPer you have an alternative to the current (stale) content. In short, a content lull is fertile ground for RP. Fertile ground, however, does not preclude hard work. Getting a medium or EPIC story together can be insanely difficult work: We’ve talked about the behind the scenes work here before. For instance, Mugrir of the Boomstick Gang (a dwarf and gnome guild on US-Feathermoon) is currently working on an epic storyline to occur AFTER the “Official Arthas is Dead Date.” He started working on this in April. When this story line kicks off, most of the work will be prepped and ready to go.

Throwing an epic storyline together isn’t recommended. While I am sure it can be done, I am also sure that it is easier to take one’s time developing it. EPIC RP isn’t the only kind of story that can flourish during a content lull. Story nights, parties, and pub crawls are RP events that can be organized fairly quickly and can provide a nice alternative to a dungeon crawl. Furthermore, these events can also kick off future EPIC stories. These are traditional RP alternatives during a lull. Given how long some of us have been playing, and RPing, in WoW, these events may also be long-in-the-tooth (or Tusk if you play horde). So what to do?

Fellow RPers, the options at our finger tips are damn near limitless. As players we are responsible for our character’s narrative. If we are feeling the lull (or burnout or tedium) then we, as players, need to respond accordingly. This may mean enjoying the summer, picking up a book or trying to write something instead of interacting with the usual crew. This may mean rolling a different server and finding other RP groups to interact with (its okay, really. You’re not cheating on your regular group if, in your down time, you visit another server. It’s cheating when you blow people off, but that’s a post for another day–Bricu). Fact is, it is your responsibility as a player to find the RP you want to participate in. It’s out there.

I whole heartedly suggest small group RP as an antidote to the Lull. Specifically, I mean learning a new skill in game. We’ll go over that in the second half of the day. Till then, fill us in: What are your concerns with the Lull? Are you feeling it or are you conquering it?

Well, if you’re missing your pixellated Hero’s Welcome or The Filthy Animal, here are a few ways you can get your RP on!

• Explore a new realm.  Gather up a few friends, pick a faction/race, and roll lowbie characters for an evening.  Maybe you’re a band of dwarven siblings making your way to Ironforge, or a group of Tauren going to seek an audience with Cairne about the Venture Company encroaching on the water wells.
• Create a new channel on IRC for RP. If your realm already has an IC IRC channel, it might be busy tonight.  Poke your head in and see who’s around, maybe join in the conversation.  Or, if there’s already some lively discussion happening there, but you’d like to have your own corner of the Beer Garden, create a new channel you and your friends can join and RP away in!
• Take your instant messenger program IC for a bit. Use gtalk, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, or <insert your favorite chat program here> for RP.  Some of the programs have a group-chat option if you have several players, but it’s great for one-on-one RP.
• RP by email. Hey, the servers are down for 24 hours.  You’ve got plenty of time to ping some RP back and forth.  (Bonus: since email lends itself well to prose for scene-setting, you can turn it into a fic afterwards!)
• Fic it up! Is there some writing you’ve been meaning to catch up on?  Some future plotting you’ve been meaning to work out?  Now’s a good time to sit down and get brainstorming.

Are you intending to RP despite server downtime?  (Or, if you’re unaffected by it this time around, have you ever been thwarted by an unstable server on patch day?  What did you do?)