Time to check in and take the pulse of your RP.  Is it happening?  Is it dead?  On Hiatus?  Is it Thriving?  Is it booming?  Is it political?  Is it personal?

Fill us IN!

Wrath ended with a bang:  By killing Arthas.  It is far too early in Cata’s to accurately predict how this expac will end (though I think we all have an idea), but to be fair, those of us at WTTRP care about the overarching plot of WoW in how it relates to our own stories. While I think Nameless Grunt’s interaction with Deathwing could be interesting, I care more about an RPers interaction with their own stories.

To that end, today’s open thread is about endings. Tell us about an ending to a story–or a character–and how it went. Did it go pear shaped or was it more awesome than awesome? What endings are you looking forward to? Take the word ending and run with it!

Part of character development has to do with how a character addresses their challenges. The context of the challenge–the what, the why, the where, and how–matters as much as the character being challenged.

Clearly, rising to fight The Big Bad of the Expansion is an example of rising to the challenge. Blizzard has focused (with varying degrees of success) on making our characters integral to the fight against Deathwing. But those are not the only challenges in game. For RPers, rising to this challenge may not be the most important aspect of a character’s development.

Imagine a Death Knight, flush from the victory over Arthas, who then wonders “What next?” Imagine a goblin trader, who is used to working both sides of the Horde-Alliance divide, now subsumed into the Horde. What of the Gilnean who doesn’t just relish, but indulges in the “curse of the Worgen?” These challenges can have as much an impact on an RPer as defeating a raid Boss.

What challenges has Cata thrown your way? Which ones have you risen to? Which ones have you failed at?

The big one, that’s a shade lighter? Bet that’s Pitch. Rumor has it he’s gonna be Rider. Near ‘em are Windstar and Shaurria. Star can speak, but she don’t drink. One o’them Riders started a rumor that Shaurria is gonna be a Highlord in the Dawn. Lead that weird fella–Volus? Velen? Velouse? I dunno–Grand Army o’the Legion.

They call her Highlord Mittens.

The white one’s Takani. He shifts in and out of cat form. He’s not a Rider. He’s a student at Arrens Caltrain’s university.

That there’s Jahira. She’s new. Don’t know her. She says she’s Pitch’s other sister. I Don’t know how many brothers and sisters they have…

Some folk’ll tell you that the Pig doesn’t get robbed ’cause they’re afraid o’an Rider Reprisal. Not true. People don’t steal from the Pig because the’ve got a pride o’Druids sleepin’ here at all hours o’the day.
—

One RP day, a crowd of cats showed up to the pig. I thought it was a one time event. I am so glad I am wrong. Over the past two years–or is it three?–the Cats have made the Pig and Whistle their home on Tuesdays. Last night, Pitchblack (who was not one of the original cats to come to play at the pig) was “hired” by the Wildfire Riders. Given this new development, I figure the cats need a bit of the spotlight.

Who are some of the new and brilliant additions to your RP circle?

The Shattering has occurred: How has this affected your RP? Did you see how Azeroth has changed? Are people “missing” since the Shattering? Fill us in!

The Pig and Whistle is full of people tonight: A Northern music session is drawing a crowd to the loft, while the back tables are full of smoke and schemers. Bricu is sitting to the right of the head of the table. The chair is empty, of course, and despite the crowd none of the regulars go near it. Bricu waves you over and invites you to have a seat…

Strewth, yeh want ta know ’bout the boss? That’s his chair yeh know. He’ll be in later. Till then…

I first met Tarquin ap Danwyrth when I was King o’Stormwind. I was three sheets ta the wind, stumblin’ down the main thoroughfare o’the Trade Quarter when I heard him yell after some crazy bugger ’bout bein’ some sorta fuckin’ dragon or some such nonsense. I turned ’round–hopin’ ta actually see a dragon–an’ instead I see this lanky wanker o’a bloke, leanin’ up against Pestle’s like he was supportin’ it with his own ego. I can’t remember rightly if he was in twill, but he sure as shite was wearin’ a bloody brilliant hat.

The bloke he was yellin’ at stood rightly Seven Feet tall, but with each shout, the nutter slouched more an more. Now, I knew this nutter. I’d crossed words, an swords, with ‘im in the past. I didn’t feel any sorta loyalty ta ‘im. I didn’t feel any pity either. I wanted ta see if the lanky blonde bloke had stones. So I shouted after ‘im. I said:

“Oi, shut yer mouth yeh great blonde poofda!”

The nutter stood a wee bit taller fer a moment. Me great blonde poofda didn’t miss a beat. He shouted after the nutter–by the light, the nutter shrank a good foot–an’ then shouted after me:

“Shut your bloody mouth you red-haired sheep fucker.”

Please notice, I’m translatin’ his accent fer yeh. Accoridin’ ta Southrons, Northman’s accents sound like one part cotton-mouth, one part gentry an one part drunk, topped off with clipped tones o’a pipe player bein’ pelted by rotten fruit. Personally, I think we speak perfect common–its yeh other bastards that mispronounce words.

Anyway, we’d exchanged our first witty banter by shoutin’ down the streets. I think I shouted that he shouldn’t talk ta his king that way… It doesn’t really matter. We eventually both made route ta the Pig fer a drink. Turns out he knew me “nephew” Uthas, an’ that he ran with a crew from Gilneas: The Greymane Exiles. I don’t remember whose colors I wore at that point. I know I wasn’t drunk enough ta be slummin with the Cats, nor was I with the Heroes… That doesn’t matter either. He told me he’d get me a job here an’ there. I told him his majesty welcomed the work.

Turns out the Oathbreaker–that’s a story fer a different time– was good ta his word. I ran with their crew a few times ta the Molten Core. Once ta the Lair. We did a few odd jobs ’round the world. Never went ta Stratholme t’gether. That was ta painfull fer us both…

Then me nephew went wonky. An’ bloodthristy. He sent assassins ta e’ery big lights damned hero in the known world–Alliance an Horde–an fled ta his camp. That helped shatter the Greymanes. Hell, it shattered a lot o’folk. But we rallied enough ta send me nephew an’ his flock North without their bloody boats. A victory is a victory, even if it leaves ashes in yer mouth.

Once Tarq an’ the remains o’his crew came back south, ta the Pig, they started up with the Riders. I wasn’t at the plannin’ session–or maybe I was an’ I was King o’Stormwind again–but he handed me a piece o’paper incorporatin’ the Black an’ Red. Now last time I signed a contract, I enlisted with Lordaeron’s Army. This time, I signed up with a merc group. I thought it o’er fer a second, demanded ta have a say in what booze we bought fer the Pig, an’ signed me life o’er.

That’s our boss. He’s a quick wit with a plan. I never saw his knife–lest he was workin–but I can assure yeh at least one is in reach at all times. Even when he’s sleepin, he’s got one nearby. He’s a Northman who has done his share o’work fer the Crown–why else do yeh think Shaw has a hard-on fer ‘im?–but now works fer his crew. If yeh want ta see him, he’s upstairs. That session that’s goin’ on? He’s the fiddler. The blonde next ta him–the one singin’–is me sister-in-law. Turns out he’s not a poofda after all…

From Loreli at AoD

Arrens Caltrains is the Headmaster/Guildmaster of Stormwind University. He’s prim and proper, with a definite sense of what is proper. He’s certainly not stupid, but he is not quick on the uptake of slang or innuendo. This stems not from lack of travel or understanding, but a combination of his trusting nature and his rigid personal code of behavior. A code of behavior that he tries–but does not always succeed–at keeping personal.

While Arrens may never truly admit it, the best thing he ever did was wander into the Pig and Whistle. Granted, this has led to some of his darker moments: Being captured by SI7, losing out to Tarquin regarding a certain lady, losing his head of Security to the Black and Red and being the subject of some ribbing–mostly good natured–from the Bittertongues. However these interactions led him to the love of his life, Aelflaed Larsdottir. The two are planning on getting married in the Spring–barring the end of the world–and the event promises to be a social event for the entire city.

Currently, Arrens is expanding Stormwind University to include younger students. These new facilities, recently completed, are based in the Mage District of Stormwind, and provide housing for all students, including ones that cannot afford to pay the fees, lodging and tuition at the esteemed school. While Arrens did coerce a number of nobles and landed gentry to help fund the school properly, he has also accepted money from the Wildfire Riders to fund War Orphans and street children from Stormwind.

Even though Arthas is finally dead, Arrens still has a full plate. The next year, while more peaceful than previous years, will still challenge him. Hopefully, Arrens will be able to spend more time studying and teaching than defending the realm against terrible threats.

Have someone you would like to spotlight? Offer us a suggestion or write one up yourself! Each submission will get posted on WTTRP.

This is not to say that Steven Wright has Antisocial Personality Disorder. All Steven is demonstrating is a flat affect. He speaks in a monotone. When talking about his “fear of widths” he maintains proper eye contact–which is not appropriate considering that he is talking about fear. This, in short, is a flat affect.

Rping this affect takes a bit of effort. A FlagRSP or MyRP entry should refer to the character, “normally speaking in a monotone.” Stick to using “.” over “?” and “!” as the latter will make the avatar express additional emotions. On occasion, throw in a dialog tag like “says flatly” to emphasis the flat-affect.

Talking in this manner does not really charm other people. Steven is funny because he is awkward, he is not particularly charming. Astute readers may remember one of the other APD traits we discussed a few days ago: Charming/Manipulative. Displaying a flat (or blunted) affect is not at all appealing to other people. Many people with APD traits–at least, from my experiences–are able to mimic the appropriate emotional responses even if they do not actually feel them. They “turn on the charm” in order to reach their goals.

RPing the proper Affect is the key to RPing certain character traits: From people with APD to people who are depressed or mind controlled. The affect comes across not just in how your character acts and speaks in game, but in the RP tools we use to demonstrate aspects that the WoW client does not allow us to do.

Please, hit us up with questions and comments. I promise we’ll get around to them as soon as we can…

1) Manipulation and Reciprocity
People with APD have a squicky relationship with reciprocity. Meaning, most people with APD only do favors for individuals when they get something in return. If the return is not a big enough benefit to them, they typically back out of the deal once they are satisfied.

People with APD typically hook individuals with one favor–usually one that is a taboo or rule breaking behavior–and the use that indiscretion to coerce people into more illegal behavior. People in prison, with high levels of APD traits, have to be isolated and controlled, otherwise they charm their way into abusing other people. Stories like this can be imported into WoW with relative ease. The question is do you want to tell this story?

Who RPs the person with APD? How does this abusive relationship remain fun enough to play? Stories like this do not end well, nor do they allow for sequels. These complications need to be addressed when planning how the RP goes.

2) APD as the Villain
Individuals with APD can make wonderful villains: Charming enough to not seem cartoonish, violent enough to scary the bejeesus out of people. Maintaining this balance is hard for normal people: Our ability to empathize and our ability to display emotion throws off the balance inherent within APD person. Put simply: Because our brains are different, we have a hard time comprehending APD. I am not saying it cannot be done. I am saying it will be harder than it appears.

3) Tauren cannot have Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Something I neglected to mention over the past two days: All of the mental health issues in the DSM or the ICC are constructs created by highly educated human beings in order to help classify and treat illnesses within other human beings. A Tauren’s understanding of APD will probably not be the same as a humans. Given the huge differences in cultures and biology, one race’s APD may be another race’s normal functioning individual.

Take, for instance, the Blood Elves. They lost their homeland to a war where the dead rose to fight them. In losing the war, they learned they were addicted to magic. Their allies abused them and their leaders betrayed them. They have experienced a series of traumas and losses that are difficult to comprehend. Their reactions to these events may not stem out of personality disorder, but out of the trauma they suffered. Their responses may not be aggressive narcissism, but a maladaptive coping strategy. In other words: They’re prissy assholes because that’s how they’ve learned to survive, not because they have a mental illness. What works for 21 century humans may not work for completely fictional races.

While it is possible to play a tauren who has high levels of psychopathy, one needs to remember that the psychopathy being measured is in relation to Other Tauren.

4) Real World Numbers
WoW has over Twelve Million Subscribers. That’s more people playing WoW than people living in Cook County Illinois. Given the rates of mental illnesses within a population, there are probably people in game who have APD. They may take offense to some of my characterizations of APD. Also as likely, there are people in WoW who have been the victims of violence from people who have APD. RPing these traits, and these behaviors, maybe too close to home for them. This has to be factored in when you RP these traits with your circle.

APD and Psychopathy are fascinating subjects, and can provide oodles of stories in–and out–of game. But there are real people behind these stories, and real implications to these stories. It is worth remembering this when trying to figure out how to include APD with your RP.

Here are some current Blogs to read on the topic:

Too Many Annas

Righteous Orbs

Quaunaut

Stoppable Force

Panzercow

Please express your thoughts here. Keep them civil, or we’ll disemvowel.