Indarra

Bricu Bittertongue and Indarra Leafwhisper were–initially–friends with the potential for a lot more.   Today, Bricu would grudgingly admit that Indarra saved Threnn and Naiara’s life, then grumble about not trusting her. Indarra might have something nicer to say about Bricu, but she might quickly change the subject to something more pleasant. The devolution of this relationship was not plan, it occurred organically. Their relationship went sour for a number of reasons including:

Now, Indarra’s player (Yva) and I attempted to fix this situation a number of times; however, the two characters would not cooperate. This is not to say that these situations have not been difficult. Simply put, it can be difficult for players if their mains do not get along. Yet their arc-of-dislike has allowed for more character development. Bricu’s lack of trust for Indarra added another level of tension to a story line that investigated Indarra’s past. This same lack of trust also gave Indarra a chance to shine when Threnn’s life was in danger during childbirth. Despite the players desire for amicable characters, I think the characters had the right idea.

Illithias

Once upon a time there was a nasty, vindictive and violent Night Elf who hated everyone. For the most part, that hasn’t changed. Illithias is still violent and vindictive. What has changed is her relationship to Bricu. Where as Bricu used to feed into her aggression and nasty behavior, over the past two years Bricu has started to take a more paternal (not patriarchal) view of Illi.

What changed?

During a Pub Night, Illithias was tricked into revealed her age and what happened to her family. At her oldest, Illi is 14 (in human years) and lost her family in a tragic event. Bricu recognized that she was a fellow orphan.  Her circumstances far surpassed anything he experienced.  Bricu, at 14, had friends and coworkers.  Illithias has nothing.  Since that RP session, the two have developed a complex, and thoroughly rewarding, bond.  Instead of mocking Illi, he stood up for her.  When she was nasty and crude, Bricu didn’t return the language.  When Illi called Bricu  ”Human,” he gently–for Bricu–corrected her.

Then Illithias called him Bittertongue.  Then she called him Bricu.

Characters have to follow their arcs.  We can push and pull them this way or that, but in the end, the characters will also go in the direction they want to go in.

Fill us in on your character’s relationships?  Which ones have changed for the better, which ones have changed for the worse?

From all the rumblings I’ve heard on Feathermoon, it seems that 3.3 dropped at just the right time. End game content, specifically the Tourney, had been played out. Thanks to Fall of the Lich King raiders–including RP-Radiers–have new content to throw themselves into. The patch is a booster shot: It is giving players enough content to get to Cataclysm. That is what Blizzard, as content providers, need to do. When the game gets stale they are supposed to add another level of content. Not everyone is going to see that content; however, not everyone needs to see it. There needs to be just enough new stuff–items, instance, battlegrounds, whatever–to keep people interested in the game, even if they may not be able to get there.

Blizzard is responsible for that layer of content. When WoW needs a booster, they provide it. RP is a different matter entirely. While it would be nice for Blizz to throw RPers a bone–player housing, phased bars that allowed bar-fights–it is not Blizzards responsibility to fix your RP. It is the RPer’s.

If your RP needs a shot in the arm, there are a number of solutions to fix it. Some are good, some are bad, but all of them depend on the context of the RP and your RP circle.  And while one could always just take a break from the game, breaks are not a shot in the arm. Breaks are a chance to rest and recuperate from RP.  This is an important, and over looked, tool for recharging your RP batters; however, I’m more interested in more active methods of fixing stale RP.

For instance, in July of this year our esteemed leader and metal head in chief, Tarquin, wanted to get out of his funk. We spent hours talking about what to do, what not to do and how to incorporate the rest of the guild. Currently, that plot line is on-going. In fact, we’ve blogged about them before.  I think this method is ideal. It gives the player a chance to work out the “RP Funk” with friends AND it provides more RP threads for newer characters/players. The downside to this method–and there is a substantial one–is that it takes a long time to do. Not everyone wants to spend three hours with people chatting about RP. Not everyone is going to be able to invest the six months–or more–it will take to revitalize the RP. While the RP would see an initial boost, that is a short term effect. Dissecting the RP and plotting the future takes more than just one night of feeling good about the RP’s direction.

Another method, one that does not require a  a full on group discussion, is to change the method of RP. If you are a forum writer or a Ficcer, trying to RP during an RP night can give you the real interactions your character needs. If you prefer the raucous and chat spamming RP night, a little fic or forum RP can help you find your way. Changing a method, however, is daunting. Breaking into an RP night isn’t always easy. Writing, especially if you think you are not a writer*, is also terribly scary.

A little adversity doesn’t hurt anyone. In fact, a little adversity forces one to grow and change.  Doing something that scares you is good for you.  To quote Elenaor Roosevelt,”You must do the things you think you cannot do.”  Changing up the method, while scary, can really boost the RP when you need to.

If a mass meeting, fic or an RP night is not your thing, it maybe time to roll an alt. Personally, I cannot speak to this method. Others–including my brilliant and esteemed collaborators–have a few alts. I rolled Bricu a few weeks after Launch and I’ve been playing him ever since. I don’t have an Alt with a story that I care about. I can see the appeal. If one characters story is stale, needs a push or is just too much to handle, hopping over to an entirely different persona can also provide a boost for both toons. Tired of the Alliance? Go Horde. Tired of not having chairs? Go Alliance.

Even the most richly developed characters, with years of untapped potential, can hit a snag. While Blizzard can give RPers a few new bells and whistles, in the end, it is the players responsibility to fix their own snags. I’ve only touched on a few of the ways to give your RP a shot in the arm: Please share your methods with the rest of us!

Mistakes happen. Characters and Players make them. More often than not, these can be corrected with a quick apology or a few words in an OoC channel. RetCons–out of character fixes for a major blunder–are tempting , especially if the mistake catches flak that your character would go to lengths to avoid. More often than not, RPing through the “mistake” is the better option.

Say your decide to go PVPing–a impromptu raid on a major faction capital, like Silvermoon, as an example–when ICly your character wouldn’t do such a thing. Before you can tell your party this is all OoC, the RP begins. You could say, “Sorry guys, not to tonight. This is all OoC,” but this deprives you, the player, from a very interesting RP scenario. Why are you headed towards Silvermoon? Is this raid a full on assault on the City, or is it a small skirmish between factions? Being good at PVP is immaterial at this point. What matters is the story: Why is your character raising arms against the opposite faction?

A RetCon would also remove the fallout from the event itself. Raiding the opposing factions capital has repercussions that go far beyond increasing the tension between the Horde and the Alliance. Friends and family of the character will also get a chance to put their spin on the story.

Continuing with the example, after the raid leaves Silvermoon with their tail between their legs, the raid can laugh about how they narrowly escaped death–or worse–at the hands of the Horde. Then they have to answer to their friends, employers and, most importantly, their families. If one RetConned the mistake–making the event OoC–the Raid could not contribute to the stories involving other RPers. The RetCon deprives other players from an event that could have a major impact on their character’s development. Again, drawing from this most recent mistake, if I had retconned the Raid, it would have prevented Threnn from demonstrating how terrifying her (well deserved) anger could be. RetConning the mistake would have also aborted the row that furthered a current Bricu and Threnn story.

Mistakes happen. Learning from them–and rolling with them–allow for better RP.