Elvis
12-01-2003, 09:54 PM
This thread (http://www.mythicahq.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=1628#post1628) got me thinking about some of the experiences I've had in MMORPGs trying to roleplay.
Anyone here have interesting stories about how they found some great RP in a MMORPG or at least tried to roleplay, finding yourself a lone RP monkey in the big forest of Out-Of-Character?
Two stories of mine from Asheron's Call.
Ye Shu Who?
The first time I got to log into Asheron's Call was in the spring of 1999... It was actually April 1st, 1999 that I got my activiation code for Beta0, but the cruel April Fool's joke would be that I wouldn't receive my CDs for another two days.
When I finally did get in, I dove in, headfirst. Having read a bunch of the backstory information ahead of time, I went so far as to create my own "rural sect" of the Washui Iiwah Jou Gai (http://ac.warcry.com/index.php3?content=lore/ispar/sho/factions). It was an odd mixture of Christian, Buddhist and Taoist beliefs that centered around the concept of transcendence through abandonment of the physical world. This meant not only posessions, but also mortal laws, customs and often manners. This group was called "Ye Shu Yu Luan" which, very poorly translated from Mandarin means "The Glorious Fire of the Phoenix" It was a belief system that basically saw Iiwah, the Firebird of Splendor, as a messiah or prime teacher of wisdom.
I went so far as to create a rather eleborate website and recruit about a dozen people during beta into my group... here are some excerpts from what they read before joining (all written as if my character "Shi Kaifu" were speaking to them while reading the site):Understanding where there is no Order
"We are an odd group, to some, curious one. Though our ways are as old as most you may come across, many in this world have chosen to turn their back on Iiwah and the Ye Shu Yu Luan has faded from the books of history. Some of us have even been called blasphemers and heretics by the ignorant and unjust. Many a disciple of the Ye Shu Yu Luan has been killed for simply believing in the freedom the Firebird gave him.
"All the same, we are still here, and here we shall remain. Though our homes and places of origin vary, we are one in our love for Iiwah and the freedom that she gives us.
"While there are no rules by which we live, per se, there are some old sayings that many claim came from the mouth of Shui Qing-nian himself. They work for me, and that is all that matters right now. The "Sayings of Qing-nian" might help you understand us when thinking about "our ways" - although to think that we all follow these sayings I am to tell you of, exactly the way that I say them, is foolish. I am no prophet. I am only a storyteller...
"The Ye Shu Luan are not murderers. The way of the blade is not uncommon among us, but using it for senseless Destruction will cover the soul in blood and weigh it down. Iiwah is not a bringer of death. She is the Bird of Rebirth. Though we must be reborn in fire to make our first steps toward Her, we know that without transcendence we will not ascend. To take the life of one of the Unenlightened will only lead to their loss in the eyes of Iiwah. She seeks for all of Her little ones to come to Her so that she might aid them in their journey to the Great Creator. We were given the power to heal others as well as harm them.
"Even though death occurs, Iiwah is not without compassion. Those who do not transcend are brought back to this earth by her Sister, the Raven of Death. From this rebirth, the soul is given a chance for transcendence as a babe. The newborn mind is wiped of all ill doings of its former life so that it is not hampered by the sins and trappings of the past.
"Every disciple knows that wisdom comes through cleansing. Every bathing of the body, shedding of clothing and weapons, fasting and cleansing by fire is a means by which we are at our most pure. Dependence on material wealth and goods ties one down to those goods and prevents one from ascension. The Fire Dance is especially exciting and one of the few things that is a "tradition" among us. We find solace and comfort in the open field and the dense forest. We look inward upon ourselves within the twisting cavern and the cell-roomed building. We make no claims to land or place. We are merely what we are, nothing more. We do not seek to impoverish ourselves, by any means. But Iiwah frowns upon those who hoard possessions, ideas and information.
"Loss is the most wondrous form of experience. It is through loss that we find ourselves. The more we shed ourselves of that which we call "ours," the more we are able to see what truly lies within our soul.
"We are not selfish in our constant drive to bring the world to the Creator. A disciple of Iiwah seeks to enlighten those around him at all times. Without being forceful, a disciple shows the Unenlightened that freedom from their own selfishness is the way to ascension. Sometimes this must be done with guile, but most often only a compassionate example is needed to begin opening the eyes of the Unenlightened.
"The weak and poor are ever in our charge. Though we are no better than them, there are always those among us who are able to give. All of the Creator's Chosen are worthy of all that we have. Be it a kind act done for the sake of the act alone, or the wary protection of those who cannot fend for themselves, we are ever vigilant in our actions to preserve the lives of the Unenlightened. If they die of starvation or violence, they are forced to spend an entire lifetime regaining their lost steps toward ascension.
"Even among our own, we are all equals. Though sometimes one may be the Teacher and another the Student, a great joy occurs when the role is reversed. We are seekers and releasers of Truth. Ever vigilant in our cause, we constantly look for wisdom and release it from its bonds.
"Those who claim they are wise are often merely mad. Those who revel in the embrace of madness are often the wisest of us all. Remember this, curious one. Though we are often cryptic in our verbiage, it is through contemplation of the enigma that the mind is opened to wisdom. Leave mere experience to the simple.
"A disciple follows no man or woman with all of his being, for to do so is to tie oneself down to a corrupted cause. Even the good and just are still merely mortal and seeking the same transcendence as you and I. Only by trusting Iiwah to be your true counselor in this world of corruption can you find Truth.
"We are not perfect beings. We are far from perfection, in fact. A Disciple of Iiwah is prone to error and failings just like any human being. Otherwise, we would be gods. Those on the Ye Shu Yu Luan are quick to realize that they may stumble on their path to transcendence. It's finding your way back to the path that is the difficult part.
"A follower of the Ye Shu Yu Luan will always listen to the wisdom of others but believe only what they know is true to their own heart. The world is full of liars and false prophets. Follow Iiwah and you will find your way home."Basically, it was a freeform group. You had your own basic understanding of what Iiwah was and went with it. Unfortunately, this lack of structure didn't hold the group together too well. While we were pretty funny to hang around with (we had a few holy days where we'd run around naked, dropping clothing and other items on the ground as an act of dematerialism, all the while shouting strange phrases.) once the game went gold and beta was over, I found out that most of the people in my group were from countries that didn't get to play or didn't get to play yet. I kept up the roleplaying myself but ended up slipping out of character quite a bit due to the fact that practically nobody else roleplayed.
OMG UR A GIMP!
Anyone who's played AC knows that it's all about the stats and skills. Before you had the ability to untrain skills by going on a quest, you could seriously ruin a character (aka "gimp" it) if you picked the wrong skills or didn't pick the right skills in the right progression.
I convinced a group of friends that we should create new characters purely for the purpose of roleplaying. What we ended up with was a group of villagers from the homeworld (Ispar) that came through the rifts to Dereth in search of revenge. The monarch we all had with our main characters was the person we were seeking revenge on.
I was a male Sho character with Sword and Mace. All of the characters were Sho, in fact, and yet none of them used Unarmed Combat, one of the "free" racial skills that all Sho get.
Point is that we were gimped... and loving it.
It was extremely fun to begin with, but trying to find a time where we could all meet and play on a regular basis and keep the "storyline" going became exhausting. Eventually we disbanded our efforts and just played as normal.
...
So... any interesting stories out there? I know there are ;)
Anyone here have interesting stories about how they found some great RP in a MMORPG or at least tried to roleplay, finding yourself a lone RP monkey in the big forest of Out-Of-Character?
Two stories of mine from Asheron's Call.
Ye Shu Who?
The first time I got to log into Asheron's Call was in the spring of 1999... It was actually April 1st, 1999 that I got my activiation code for Beta0, but the cruel April Fool's joke would be that I wouldn't receive my CDs for another two days.
When I finally did get in, I dove in, headfirst. Having read a bunch of the backstory information ahead of time, I went so far as to create my own "rural sect" of the Washui Iiwah Jou Gai (http://ac.warcry.com/index.php3?content=lore/ispar/sho/factions). It was an odd mixture of Christian, Buddhist and Taoist beliefs that centered around the concept of transcendence through abandonment of the physical world. This meant not only posessions, but also mortal laws, customs and often manners. This group was called "Ye Shu Yu Luan" which, very poorly translated from Mandarin means "The Glorious Fire of the Phoenix" It was a belief system that basically saw Iiwah, the Firebird of Splendor, as a messiah or prime teacher of wisdom.
I went so far as to create a rather eleborate website and recruit about a dozen people during beta into my group... here are some excerpts from what they read before joining (all written as if my character "Shi Kaifu" were speaking to them while reading the site):Understanding where there is no Order
"We are an odd group, to some, curious one. Though our ways are as old as most you may come across, many in this world have chosen to turn their back on Iiwah and the Ye Shu Yu Luan has faded from the books of history. Some of us have even been called blasphemers and heretics by the ignorant and unjust. Many a disciple of the Ye Shu Yu Luan has been killed for simply believing in the freedom the Firebird gave him.
"All the same, we are still here, and here we shall remain. Though our homes and places of origin vary, we are one in our love for Iiwah and the freedom that she gives us.
"While there are no rules by which we live, per se, there are some old sayings that many claim came from the mouth of Shui Qing-nian himself. They work for me, and that is all that matters right now. The "Sayings of Qing-nian" might help you understand us when thinking about "our ways" - although to think that we all follow these sayings I am to tell you of, exactly the way that I say them, is foolish. I am no prophet. I am only a storyteller...
"The Ye Shu Luan are not murderers. The way of the blade is not uncommon among us, but using it for senseless Destruction will cover the soul in blood and weigh it down. Iiwah is not a bringer of death. She is the Bird of Rebirth. Though we must be reborn in fire to make our first steps toward Her, we know that without transcendence we will not ascend. To take the life of one of the Unenlightened will only lead to their loss in the eyes of Iiwah. She seeks for all of Her little ones to come to Her so that she might aid them in their journey to the Great Creator. We were given the power to heal others as well as harm them.
"Even though death occurs, Iiwah is not without compassion. Those who do not transcend are brought back to this earth by her Sister, the Raven of Death. From this rebirth, the soul is given a chance for transcendence as a babe. The newborn mind is wiped of all ill doings of its former life so that it is not hampered by the sins and trappings of the past.
"Every disciple knows that wisdom comes through cleansing. Every bathing of the body, shedding of clothing and weapons, fasting and cleansing by fire is a means by which we are at our most pure. Dependence on material wealth and goods ties one down to those goods and prevents one from ascension. The Fire Dance is especially exciting and one of the few things that is a "tradition" among us. We find solace and comfort in the open field and the dense forest. We look inward upon ourselves within the twisting cavern and the cell-roomed building. We make no claims to land or place. We are merely what we are, nothing more. We do not seek to impoverish ourselves, by any means. But Iiwah frowns upon those who hoard possessions, ideas and information.
"Loss is the most wondrous form of experience. It is through loss that we find ourselves. The more we shed ourselves of that which we call "ours," the more we are able to see what truly lies within our soul.
"We are not selfish in our constant drive to bring the world to the Creator. A disciple of Iiwah seeks to enlighten those around him at all times. Without being forceful, a disciple shows the Unenlightened that freedom from their own selfishness is the way to ascension. Sometimes this must be done with guile, but most often only a compassionate example is needed to begin opening the eyes of the Unenlightened.
"The weak and poor are ever in our charge. Though we are no better than them, there are always those among us who are able to give. All of the Creator's Chosen are worthy of all that we have. Be it a kind act done for the sake of the act alone, or the wary protection of those who cannot fend for themselves, we are ever vigilant in our actions to preserve the lives of the Unenlightened. If they die of starvation or violence, they are forced to spend an entire lifetime regaining their lost steps toward ascension.
"Even among our own, we are all equals. Though sometimes one may be the Teacher and another the Student, a great joy occurs when the role is reversed. We are seekers and releasers of Truth. Ever vigilant in our cause, we constantly look for wisdom and release it from its bonds.
"Those who claim they are wise are often merely mad. Those who revel in the embrace of madness are often the wisest of us all. Remember this, curious one. Though we are often cryptic in our verbiage, it is through contemplation of the enigma that the mind is opened to wisdom. Leave mere experience to the simple.
"A disciple follows no man or woman with all of his being, for to do so is to tie oneself down to a corrupted cause. Even the good and just are still merely mortal and seeking the same transcendence as you and I. Only by trusting Iiwah to be your true counselor in this world of corruption can you find Truth.
"We are not perfect beings. We are far from perfection, in fact. A Disciple of Iiwah is prone to error and failings just like any human being. Otherwise, we would be gods. Those on the Ye Shu Yu Luan are quick to realize that they may stumble on their path to transcendence. It's finding your way back to the path that is the difficult part.
"A follower of the Ye Shu Yu Luan will always listen to the wisdom of others but believe only what they know is true to their own heart. The world is full of liars and false prophets. Follow Iiwah and you will find your way home."Basically, it was a freeform group. You had your own basic understanding of what Iiwah was and went with it. Unfortunately, this lack of structure didn't hold the group together too well. While we were pretty funny to hang around with (we had a few holy days where we'd run around naked, dropping clothing and other items on the ground as an act of dematerialism, all the while shouting strange phrases.) once the game went gold and beta was over, I found out that most of the people in my group were from countries that didn't get to play or didn't get to play yet. I kept up the roleplaying myself but ended up slipping out of character quite a bit due to the fact that practically nobody else roleplayed.
OMG UR A GIMP!
Anyone who's played AC knows that it's all about the stats and skills. Before you had the ability to untrain skills by going on a quest, you could seriously ruin a character (aka "gimp" it) if you picked the wrong skills or didn't pick the right skills in the right progression.
I convinced a group of friends that we should create new characters purely for the purpose of roleplaying. What we ended up with was a group of villagers from the homeworld (Ispar) that came through the rifts to Dereth in search of revenge. The monarch we all had with our main characters was the person we were seeking revenge on.
I was a male Sho character with Sword and Mace. All of the characters were Sho, in fact, and yet none of them used Unarmed Combat, one of the "free" racial skills that all Sho get.
Point is that we were gimped... and loving it.
It was extremely fun to begin with, but trying to find a time where we could all meet and play on a regular basis and keep the "storyline" going became exhausting. Eventually we disbanded our efforts and just played as normal.
...
So... any interesting stories out there? I know there are ;)