I’ve been lacking rp in my life, just in general. Yeah, that is a weird thing to say that one is lacking, but it’s true. I love to role play. I enjoy the creation and thought process, making characters who are based off of me and who I am in real life, or those who are the complete opposite of me and provide a release that one would otherwise be unable to demonstrate. I’ve been taking a break from Eq2 as most know, in fact the 19th is the last day my account is open. In the mean time I’ve toddled back over to WoW for a little, I enjoy certain aspects from both games and playing both on and off over the past year is quite common for me. Anyhow.
WoW is not a very good place to role play. Even on the ‘rp’ specified servers. I don’t expect enforced rp. I hate having to force someone to do that, it just doesn’t seem right. Though I suppose in the end that would be the only way in which I could find what I think I am lacking out of my MMO experience.
So a friend of mine suggested I try Venekor, the rp/pvp server on EQ2. I created a character there just for the fun of it (no my account is not enabled yet) and was turned off right away when on newbie island I came across names such as ‘AAADDDFFFF’ and ‘happyhappy’ and so on and so forth. I played on Lucan D’Lere for quite some time as well, and there is rp there. Unfortunately, it’s not what I would term ‘real’ rp. People say on the forums all the time, rp is what you make it. Don’t just wait for it to fall in your lap. Ok, that’s fine, I understand that. But I attended the organized rp events, which were held (typically) once a week or once every two weeks, and while they were fun little events to go to, in my mind they were not the sort of rp I wanted. They were groups of people who showed up did their thing at the event, and then left, and the next time you saw them they’d have little to no recollection / rp-ness about the event they’d attended. It was as though they were completely different people.
Or there is the sort of rp where you can do nothing but sit and watch / react in some sort of /emote because their story is so wrapped up between them / one other person involved, that there is no room for a 3rd party to enter into it. When on Lucan, I spent most of my ‘rp’ time as a reporter of sorts. I would find stories and people whom I’d never heard of before, and I’d tell their stories. I played the role of a ‘nobody’ because that is what I was to those people. No one noticed me. Everyone was far too preoccupied in their own lives and stories to notice the dark elf wandering around with a note pad. I’ve written on these topics before on past blogs that I’ve subsequently taken down.
I tried to do a google search, for some sort of online role play (fantasy based) campaign. Came across a few issues. Number one, lots of p0rn sites instead of what I was actually looking for. That’s alright, understandable, I can’t seem to type anything into google without at least getting a few typical sex sites. Number two, while there were some fantasy based role play forums out there, where people (DM’s) would create worlds and others would create characters to play in those worlds, the responses or the stories were often forgotten about and dropped sooner then they’d started. Some characters replied to that one particular story, once, and then there were no replies. So it wasn’t very constant or active.
I suppose what I’m looking for role play wise, is an AD&D type. Not specifically those rules or that play style, but anyone who remembers gathering in some friends basement, with 4 other friends, and playing out a really good campaign knows what I mean. Where you had time to develop a personality and interact with others and also had the fun of defeating mobs and what not. Is this asking for too much? Does such a thing even exist online? I’m not sure.
I’m 25 now and since I live in the city and most of my friends are in the country, I would have a hard time setting something like an AD&D campaign up in real life. Not to mention the fact that I’d be a horrible DM. Especially since I have little to no interest in actually creating a world and npc, I just want to be a part of one. Suggestions? One person suggested Neverwinter Nights to me, another rpg that I know little to nothing about. In the mean time, my quest for role play continues.