World of Warcraft®

I was walking around Stormwind today when I happened across a beginner RP'er that has actually posted on these very server Forums. Without naming names, I struck up a conversation and found out, to my own dismay, that she was ultimately unsatisfied, not with being alliance, or her class or race, but with the server itself. She said she was 'disappointed' and was told BY an RP guild that she should 'just join a regular guild' instead of an RP guild. She stated that she had more fun, and liked more than SoE, the WRA server.
MERELY because she was a 'beginner RPer'. Because her story 'wasn't good enough'.
How wrong is that?
As often as our veteran RP'ers have stated over and over again to try and 'revitalize and renew the RP community of our server' and to 'welcome people back into the RP fold', we still run into these kinds of problems. New RPers, excited about doing something different and making a niche for themselves in the RP community are being told BY the community not to bother. This new RPer even stated the obvious; "It seems to me like this server is dying."

I'm no Bellamuerte, but I am an RPer that started out IN SoE and can say that this kind of thinking is not only tactless, it's wrong. Encouraging new RPs to become seasoned, EXCELLENT RP'ers isnt started by telling them to quit while they are ahead. If they have a 'poor' story line (most likely an uneducated story line), -inform- them and encourage them to not only look more deeply into the role they are playing but give them some of that information yourself. See a night elf RP'er that doesn't seem to know much about their own race's history? Be tactful. Be HELPFUL. Encourage them in and out of character to explore everything they can about their role, and perhaps the next time you see them they will have an AMAZING storyline that will completely blow you away.

It's not impossible, or improbable! But a new, especially a BRAND new RPer, will get more out of a friendly hand and a kind gesture than being told to 'quit while you're ahead'. So I'm encouraging all of our seasoned, veteran RPer's to submit a link, even a forum link, or create a new thread dedicated to lore or Warcraft related information, that they know will help our 'new RP'ers' to become recognized, every day faces we all love to interact with.

New RPers, I welcome you to SoE and I encourage anyone that has not done so to go straight to this very website and visit:

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/race/ Which will give you a basic idea of how your race began, grew, and its role in the world of Azeroth and

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/lore/ A page that will let you read everything from the beginning of Azeroth to short stories about well known (and sometimes little known) figures, places and histories in W.o.W. timeline.

Even a little information can go a long way, and I hope I'm not the only person who shares this sentiment.

I think part of Anainn's suggestion to put on a street market ( http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2369924009 ) was motivated by the idea that it would encourage "out in the open" roleplay, and hopefully bring a few newer or on-the-fence players into it.

I completely agree with you that some knowledge of a character's race and origin is quite helpful, especially when deciding how to react to other players (Am I comfortable talking to a zombie? Worgen? Death Knight?). But one of the biggest stumbling blocks for new players may be the notion that they have to have a fully developed and accurate background story. If you want to be one of the local tailors in Stormwind making fine dresses, that should be enough to get started.

I am sorry that this player had this type of experience. However, part of it may have been in the way the message was delivered. On any other server, if I applied to a hard-core raiding guild, I would expect to hear: "Sorry, but with your work schedule you won't make any of our raid times. You are not a good fit."

In this case, what the guild may have wanted to express was: "Our guild is extremely dedicated to role playing. We expect our members to know the lore of Warcraft. You may be happier in a guild that has less strict role playing guidelines."

If it came across that way, perhaps the message from that guild member could have been worded more encouragingly. At the same time, it is a pretty big leap to conclude that being turned down by one guild means the entire server is dying and bad for role playing.

I'm no Bellamuerte

Oh, man.... what did I do now? xD

On a more serious note, it's unfortunate when anyone has a negative experience. As I mentioned in another thread, however, not every guild is for every person, and RPers should interview guilds as much as guilds interview role-players. It's good this individual is still on server and is willing to reach out and use the negative experience in a positive way.

Even a little information can go a long way, and I hope I'm not the only person who shares this sentiment.

You're far from it. Kudos to you for this post, as it much aligns with the efforts of a number of folks in the community that have begun to contribute to http://soe4rp.wordpress.com/ as well as the main (official) boards. (The WP site is merely a place to house things that are required to be posted to the oBoards as well. It's meant to be a tool for future use, capturing things that might otherwise eventually be buried in threads over time, etc., and not a replacement by any means. It simply captures the content and makes it searchable, able to be cross-referenced, and the like.)




As an aside, I'm no one special. I'm just "That Loudmouth Bells" (among a few other choice names, I'm sure. Some of these names are accurate, but I won't say which ones; that would take the fun out of learning!) from SoE. I just care enough to rant when it's due. We're all equal, though, and I ain't no special snowflake. :3

I've been told by folks that they were scared to approach me for roleplay because they didn't think they were "good enough" to do so. Pfft! I'm just a geek like anyone else. Never, ever think differently. :)

04/18/2011 01:54 PMPosted by Bellamuerte

I've been told by folks that they were scared to approach me for roleplay because they didn't think they were "good enough" to do so.

That made me laugh.

Folks, Bella is one of the most approachable players on this server. She puts on her Black Tuxedo Pants like everybody else, one leg at a time.

Go say "hello" when you see her.

Or when you see me.

I completely agree with you that some knowledge of a character's race and origin is quite helpful, especially when deciding how to react to other players (Am I comfortable talking to a zombie? Worgen? Death Knight?). But one of the biggest stumbling blocks for new players may be the notion that they have to have a fully developed and accurate background story. If you want to be one of the local tailors in Stormwind making fine dresses, that should be enough to get started.

Agreed. I'm not talking about making a five page history for your character's background (I've seen them...gore..it's WAAAAAY too much to read through, and how would a random person know that much about a character anyways?), but to make your char believable. If you have a 500 year old night elf, there must be some thought as to what they did for those 500 years (unless they were in a coma...or the Emerald Dream..that's some serious Ysera dedication there).

04/18/2011 01:29 PMPosted by Rongar

At the same time, it is a pretty big leap to conclude that being turned down by one guild means the entire server is dying and bad for role playing.

Also agreed, but she's not the only one I've heard say it, sadly enough. Like I said, not naming names, but I certainly hope she does find herself a good guild/niche on SoE. Good RP guilds and RP'rs are like diamonds; they're worth a lot after they go through that 'rough stage'.

And to be honest, I was a bit hacked off when I made the OP. :P It's happened to me too, so I (savagely) emphasized, lol.

And Rongar, I -would-, except I'd be chased by Orgrimmar gaurds while doing so. Not so much fun...

Because I've seen this happen countless number of times, it's also a good idea to keep in mind there's always at least two sides to the story. Yes, it's unfortunate that this person had a negative experience, but unless someone is aware of the details that transpired with all parties involved, it's not balanced to pin the blame on any one person or group.

Sometimes, people get confused by the application process and believe that submitting one means automatic acceptance, which is generally not the case. They should also understand that an application rejection is by no means a direct attack against the person - unfortunately, no matter how carefully worded a response is, if someone feels they've been wronged, they will perceive it that way.

Both potential applicants and guilds should take an active interest in each other while recruiting. For guilds that employ an application process, presentation says a lot. Poorly written pieces reflect badly. New roleplayers that are excited about their characters are very fun to work with - it's always great to see well written applications and an email "apologizing" for the length ^_^

Folks, Bella is one of the most approachable players on this server. She puts on her Black Tuxedo Pants like everybody else, one leg at a time.

Actually she hops in both legs at the same time in one fluid movement. I've seen it!

*a noise from inside Bella's window*

Shh! She's coming! Don't tell her that I live here in this tree, promise?

What tree?

<_< >_>

*ears twitch*

*glances out her window at the tree*

That's... that's an odd looking bird.

Huh.

*sits down and starts in at her keyboard*

Was nice to see you at the tavern tonight. Hope you had fun.

Absolutely :)

And Aeralynn stop hogging the tree. >_> you had that branch last time.

I'd also point to Rongar's excellent post, http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2325687390

It outlines some good ways to get started in RP right away. :)