Role Playing Guide Guide (EQ2)
Hey everyone, I'm back again with another General guide to go along with my Tradeskill and Adventuring guides, this one will cover a smaller community of the game however because it is directed towards the Role-play community located primarily on three servers. Antonia Bayle, Lucan Dlere and Venekor.
Like all my general guides I've broken this down into a few different sections, just to help organize things a bit better
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Part 1 : Role-play, what it is and is not
First off I'm going to try and give you some idea what Role-playing is, and why you might want to try it.
First off, Role-playing is not just playing the game, you sorta take yourself out of the picture, and it no longer becomes an issue of what YOU would do, rather than what your character would do. In effect you become a character in a story, or an actor in a film, however there is no script to follow, no one to prompt you on what to say or do next, you decide on your own and do it.
Second, why would you want to? Well, I will say it is not for everyone; even people with fertile imaginations don't always make good role-players however they generally do. If you often think about being some kind of hero, explorer or something else you are not, and actually think about what you would do, where and in what given situation, then you may have the markings of a role-player. If when you read a fiction story you find your self pulled into the role of one of the characters, that's also another sign.
Next let me hit some general things that role-play is not.
First off, just because you are a role-player dose not mean you have a weakened grasp of reality or have some kind of mental condition or you are addicted to the game. Anyone of any play style can fall into any of those categories.
Second, it is not a way to get cyber-sex. Enough said. Just because you're a role-player on a role-play server it dose not mean that anyone is going to jump into tells with you and type dirty to you.
Third, role-play is not a way for you to do what ever you want to anyone. That is one of the problems with SOME role-players. However this is thankfully a small portion of the community, however like all small problems of this kind, they are a loud one that everyone notices. These kind of problem Role-players fall into three categories: Godmodder's, Metagamers and Redo'ers. I'll cover these later.
Part 2 : How should I role-play?
That's actually a fairly simple question, on the surface. You can role-play however and what ever you want really. Now granted some things are going to go over better with the role-play community at large better than other things. It is something to keep in mind when you create your character and I will try to touch on some of the points that could cause troubles.
But again, when it comes down to it, you role-play what you enjoy. Don't let some one tell you what you should role-play or how you should play it. It is your character, your fun, you do it the way you want.
Part 2a : Common terms
In Character : In Character (or IC} means that you are playing your character, you are there in a role-play fashion and should be treated as such, anything you say and do can be used as general knowledge by other characters while they are in character as well.
Out of character: Also called OOC this is a "setting" where you play your character, but you are not actually playing the role. You can go OOC for many reasons, long crafting session, exploring an area that your character would not do so, ect. It also covers information that you would not normally get IC but the player feels that you should know, or that you feel they should, just to keep things polite. Some guilds what to know OOC all of your role-play characters special abilities and weaknesses, background ect for a few different reasons, which they will always be happy to give. OOC is considered non-public info. Meaning just because some one reads it dose not give them the right to use it.
Part 3 : What should I avoid
I was considering putting this in later, after giving you some ideas how to make your role-play character, but these are such big problems that if I could, I would have put them in sooner.
These are things that will get you in trouble with the role-play community at large in a big way, even if you do it by complete accident, and will get you even in MORE trouble if you do it deliberate or over and over again
I cannot stress enough how important it will be for you to avoid these three following actions.
Part 3a : Godmodding
This is quite possibly the most common thing to happen in a role-play setting. Basically it means that because of your characters "story" or "abilities", see the up coming section on Non-mortals for details, your character, even at level one, is utterly unstoppable in a role-play situation. This includes abilities that "allow" you to take over the minds of others regardless of any situation, be immune to damage or the abilities of others or anything else that makes you seem like you can go toe-to-to with anything and win.
Yes, there are exceptions, and I will go over those later.
Part 3b : Metagaming
Metagaming is probably one of the worst things you can do. This is using information that your character dose not have and using it as if you actually knew it. Bit confused?
Say for example, you are looking on a web site thread that is marked out of character and see that this one character is vulnerable to something then you have your character use it on that person. That is Metagaming. Why? Because the information was marked out of character that means it is there for archive reasons, usually called for by the guild you are in so that they know if you are playing what you said you are playing.
A good rule of thumb to use is this, if you are unsure if something is ooc or ic knowledge, as the person involved, if that is not possible then ask some one else in your guild if you are in one. And when all else fails, if you can't get a hold of the person, or your guild dose not know, assume it is ooc until you can find out for sure. You can always go "Oh I just remembered" at a later time.
Part 3c : Redo'ers
“What do you mean that this entire guild is after my life and has the means to do so just because I butchered one of their members in public! I want a do over!â€
You want to avoid things like that, your IC actions should have IC results, if you do not like the results you shouldn't have done the action that caused them. In RARE cases where there is EXTENUATING reason to people will give you a redo. Such as some one mistakenly used OOC knowledge at some point and if it had not been, the results would have been vastly different.
This is also called retro-conversion, or retro-rp and several other things. But it dose not mean you get a free ride. The more public the area that you are RP'ing in, the much, much harder it is to retro-con and the more likely some one will notice what your doing IC, act upon it, and spread the information.
I have seen people RP in a very populated area for hours then later find out that the result was not what they wanted, exactly what they wanted, so they tried to claim that the entire thing did not happen. Only thing was that by this time, word of the characters actions had spread all over the RP community, making this completely impossible even if anyone had been willing to do so.
Part 4 : Non-mortals
Don't want to play just one of the races that you can select at character creation? Well, you sorta don't have to. You can, if you choose, decide to play something with a bit more of a supernatural kick to it. However let me caution you, playing a non-mortal will result in some people thinking you are a godmodder since these non-mortal types then to pack on the powers with out even realizing it. Or in some cases, knowing exactly what they are doing, causing problems for the people who are playing these types in a more acceptable fashion.
What I am going to do is post here the information that my guild uses as guidelines for non-mortal/supper natural characters because a) it draws from lore, b) is a reasonable set up and c) a clear write up.
Jazmynroez, leader of the guild Silver Circle, originally posted this and I consider it to be a yardstick for deciding what a supernatural/non-mortal character should be able to do, and not d. The original post can be located here http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx...cID=7759460 and the home page is located here http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx...abID=763802
Part 4a : Werewolf
If you are a Werewolf in EQ2, in this guild, you are:
ALIVE
- Able to produce children
- Must consume food and drink to be able to function normally
- Must breathe
- Must sleep
- Continues almost all biological process
IMMORTAL - Ageless
- Body attains a state of balanced physical perfection (athletic, fit, flexible)
- Immune to disease, save for powerful supernatural illnesses
- Immune to poison, save for powerful supernatural toxins
- With proper nutrition, heals and regenerates almost all wounds at a fast pace
HARD TO KILL
- Capable of withstanding an awesome degree of physical punishment before losing consciousness
- Wounds heal and regenerate, especially under the light of the moon
- Anything that would kill a living being through means other than damage (starvation, suffocation, disease or poison), as well as massive physical trauma (see above), renders one "dead", but if the corpse is ever touched by the light of the moon, it will regenerate and return to life, usually pissed
- The only things that can permanently kill are a fatal wound with a silver implement, consumption by fire, or total annihilation of the body through magical means
MYTHS/HALF-TRUTHS/TRUTHS
- Abnormal body-hair or marks (pentagram on the hand, etc.) - Bogus
- Full moon
- The light of the moon in any phase emboldens and replenishes, as well as accelerates healing, but they don't need moonlight to transform, much less that of a full moon
- Holy water/symbols - No effect
- Wolfs bane
- Toxic and abhorrent; touching it causes irritation and painful rash, while ingestion causes massive pain and debilitation, to the point of a minor "death" (see Hard to Kill, above), depending on amount, and strength of the subject. Also used as an early cure (see Curing, below)
- Fire
- Causes damage the same as for any living thing, but does not regenerate hardly as fast as normal. Is also one of the only things that can kill (see Hard to Kill, above)
- Silver
- Highly repulsive and damaging; merely touching it causes spiritual weakness, and prolonged contact causes burns, depending on the strength of the subject. Wounds inflicted with silver are extremely painful and weakening, and do not heal as normal. Used as an early cure (see Curing, below). It is also one of the only things that can kill (see Hard to Kill, above).
- Lycanthropy is catching
- See Infection, below
- Multiple forms
- See Transformation, below
- Heightened senses
- Usually greater than average for race, and extremely high while transformed
- Hunger
- Must consume at least twice as much food as a regular person to stay comfortable, and has an insatiable appetite for raw, bloody meat. If not fed enough, healing slows down, strength wanes, and the subject can even suffer a minor "death" (see Hard to Kill, above)
- Feuds
- Vampires and werewolves typically despise one-another. This is a rivalry that has gone on for ages. It is not impossible, however, to find individuals who set this petty bickering aside
TRANSFORMATION
- Does not need moonlight, full or otherwise, to happen, though it has been known to make it easier
- Can happen at will with practice, as well as under extreme duress, or when at least moderately hurt
- Is typically painful and stressful, though one can get used to it
- For some young ones, the transformation can blank-out a mind to feral, violent instinct. This can be overcome with age and force of will, though for some, it is a constant part of the curse
- With age come faster and easier transformations, as well as the ability for partial transformations (hands, eyes, etc.)
- Usually ruins clothing/armor, unless magically warded
-Increases strength, agility and stamina, as well as sensory capacity
-Can reach multiple forms, depending on the subject
- Wolf-form
- Larger, "dire" wolf form
- Hybrid humanoid-wolf form, which can range from muscular and strong, to lanky and quick
- Typically has very little bearing on the power and/or age of the subject (size does not equal power)
INFECTION
- Lycanthropy can only be transferred by a bite, or through heredity
- The subject does not transform until the first full moon
- While not strictly a disease, it can be fought-off by a hardy and/or lucky constitution
- Can be cured fairly easy if caught in the early stages, before the first transformation (see Curing, below)
CURING
- Ingestion of wolfs bane, or continued contact with silver, has a high chance of curing the curse before the first transformation.
- After the first transformation, typically only death can cure (better dead than a beast)
- Powerful magic may be able to cure, but typically not without a high cost of resources, or the direct intervention of a god]
Part 4b : Undead
If you are a Vampire in EQ2, in this guild, you are:
DEAD
- not able to produce children
- not able to survive without feeding
- may or may not have a faint/slow heartbeat, depending on how long you have been undead
- unable to produce tears or sperm without some blood mixed in; depending again on how long you have been undead
- the older you are, the less "natural" fluids exist
- not able to grow, age, etc.
- unable to digest food of any kind; solid matter
- able to **absorb** liquids that have not been solidified, such as alcohol or water, juice etc.
- unable to absorb ANY cooked protein, even cooked blood
- food that is solid will be held in the stomach until it ferments or rots, and then would be expelled
HARD TO KILL
- sunlight effects you but will not kill you unless you are newborn or seriously drained/hungry/wounded
- drains your power, making it hard for you to function
- hurts over time; covering up is a good idea
- something driven into your body through a vital area like your heart/head will stun you and cause you to be rendered powerless
- depending on your age may or may not kill you
- will leave you in a state of stasis
- if the object is removed and you are able to feed, you will regenerate at that time
- there is nothing worse to a vampire than this occurrence; worse than death
- certain holy magic's will hurt you or damage you enough to possibly kill you, depending on your age and feeding levels
- fire is bad
- the older you are the less likely fire will kill you
- the more of you covered by fire the worse it is for you
- your entire body must be consumed by fire in a very short period of time to kill you outright; ie: lava
MYTHS/HALF TRUTHS
- holy water
- water enchanted with various spells or blessings, holy fire might have some effect, but certainly not fatal
- holy symbols
- enchanted symbols might have some effect due to their wards or spells, but not for the symbols themselves
- some symbols might have an emotional or mental effect, due to a vampire's past experiences
- garlic/vegetation
- the only vegetation known to have an effect on vampires is, to some degree, wolfs bane, due to its magically toxic makeup
- sunlight
- see above (hard to kill)
- wooden stakes
- see above (hard to kill)
- vampirism is catching
- see below (turning)
- coffins
- see below (truths)
- running water
- no effect
- drowning
- the dead do not drown; enough said
- frozen in time/age
- while vampires do not age from the time they are turned, as they mature they are able to shape shift their bodies to look after any fashion they wish
- unable to enter without permission
- vampires can pretty much go wherever they damn well please
- If a house is warded with certain wards or spells this might have an effect, but usually not just on vampires unless specifically warded against
TRUTHS
- When a Vampire is sleeping, he is at his most vulnerable
- sleeping is the only time a vampire cannot defend himself
- this is the time when he is at his regenerative point
- coffins are used for safety (locking inside) and darkness (less light, faster regeneration) but are not necessary
- Vampires often use protectors such as ghouls, slaves, or pets (animal or sentient) to guard them while they sleep
- The older the Vampire the less likely he will have a reflection in a mirror
- Vampires become shape shifters over time and practice
- Silver does effect Vampires
- causes wounds to fester and refuse to heal despite a good feeding
- acts as a degenerative poison over time if used to break the skin or is ingested in some way
- if used in a weapon to hit a vital organ, increases the chance of fatality but depends largely on the health and age of said vampire
TURNING (a mortal into a Vampire)
- the subject is drained of blood
- the subject is then fed the vampires blood
- the body then dies, and once regeneration has occurred (between a two to five days depending on the age of the vamp that turns you) they awake undead
they must feed within a short time or die
- You cannot become a vampire by
- being scratched or simply bitten
- being fed on regularly
- touching a dead vampire's remains
- being sneezed on or any other sort of bacterial/viral contact
CURING (a vampire and turning them mortal)
- most cures are lethal (better dead than undead)
- depending on the age of the vampire, some cures will succeed (the older you are, the less likely it will work beyond point #1)
- there are always exceptions, such as your god loves you a whole lot and lends a hand; most are bogus
THRALLS
- taking a thrall requires a collar or controlling amulet
- over a period of days or weeks the subject is trained/broken into obedience
- sometimes they are fed vampiric blood but only in tiny amounts to incite addiction but not a state of becoming a ghoul (see below)
- other than being physically cared for, there are no positive effects from being a thrall
- long term thralls tend to lose all sense of self and will
Turning a Ghoul
- the subject is fed at least a pint of their master/mistress' blood regularly over a month while being trained/broken
- after each time they are ONLY partially drained (an important notation -- this avoids them being turned)
- over time, they will become so dependant on the vampire's blood they will die without it
- use of a mind controlling collar or amulet is often involved
- ghouls enjoy (with regular ingestion):
- a much longer lifespan; they do not age
- quicker healing and durability from injury
- increased physical strength and reflexes
- increased awareness
- ghouls do not have the weaknesses of vampires, but have almost all the weaknesses of mortals
- depending on training and the personality of the master/mistress AND the ghoul, the master/mistress may have complete domination over their ghoul
- most ghouls are used as a food source for their master/mistress or for the House they serve
- turning a ghoul into a vampire is not uncommon or complicated
- some ghouls believe themselves to be vampires because they were told such, and act accordingly; leading to confusion as to what is and is not vampiric behavior and appearances
- many call themselves half-vampires, or dhamphir
- since they can get pregnant or do anything else a mortal can do, this leads to confusions as to what is and is not a vampire
- ghouls hunger:
- for blood, but only for vampiric blood
- they may believe themselves to be vampires, and thus may mistake hunger for their vampiric mistress/master for mortal blood and act accordingly, but still feed from the master/mistress (unknowingly satisfying their hunger)
- given a choice, most vampires would prefer a thrall over a ghoul
- It is worth mentioning that not only sentient creatures can become ghouls; animals can as well
Part 4c : Demons
If you are a Demon in EQ2, in this guild, you are:
Points of Interest:
- a creature or creation from -outside- the plane of Norrath.
- there are no "demons", "Devils" or "Angels" on Norrath. These words are used to describe any creature from a plane of existence outside of Norrath.
- at the "Rending", the Planes closed and "collided" with Norrath. Now, we do not go to the planes -- they come to us. Isn't that handy? There are fissures all over Norrath with allow "demons" to walk on Norrath.
Rules to Remember:
- Demon or planar blood is, to mortals, first. This means, simply, it takes over.
- Injecting or infusing demon blood will cause it to quickly, within a few weeks, to completely replace mortal blood. Over a few months it will infuse the entire body. It is dominant. In many ways of thinking, it "enslaves" the mortal body until there is very little of the mortal body remaining. After a period of time, it cannot be removed.
- A demon's soul will, over time, overtake a mortal soul in much the same way as demon blood. It will overtake and overwhelm a mortal soul until it infuses and blends with it, consuming it. While the mortal soul still remains, it no longer functions as a separate entity capable of unique thought.
- Demon blood, when consumed by mortals, will act much the same. It will overwhelm the natural will of the mortal until it belongs to the demon. The mortal becomes the mental and emotional slave to the demon. However, unlike infusion of the soul or blood, drinking demon blood is reversible if consummation ceases. There is a painful "withdrawal" period due to the addiction, but it is possible for a mortal to survive it.
- The only thing that effects "demons" as a weapon is the "salt" of the ground of the plane on which they walk as a visitor. This seems to be true throughout all lore.
- These creatures have the strengths and weaknesses of their associates on the planes of origination
- Depending on the plane, it may be the reverse or multiplied (ie: what makes them strong here may make them strong on Norrath's plane, or weak on Norrath's plane; or it may accentuate or decrease power of the "demon") of their species.
- The "stereotypical" ideal of "tailed" demons and angels that we, on Earth, believe and know, are not known on Norrath. While it is tempting to push out of game faith and lore into the game, one should try resisting this. Remember to use creatures that are within game whenever possible, so that your toon is believable and less "god-modded" to those around you.
- The rule of thumb of physics: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. NO CREATURE is all-powerful without massive weaknesses to balance it out.
- Demons, ALL DEMONS, are NOT MORTAL, meaning they do not permanently die on this plane, meaning Norrath. They are by definition, thus, IMMUNE to certain inflictions. (see below)
IMMUNITIES
- Vampirism (the whole... cannot die... part)
- Were-infections
- MOST if not ALL possessions, indwellments, and other such nonsense, being that they are rather adept at it themselves, by in large.
- Diseases not specifically originated on THEIR Plane of existence
- Death of their soul, unless by soul eaters designed for demonic souls This information was used with her permission so long as I made sure to give her credit and link the original post. Dose this mean that you have to use this information? No, it dose not. You may find yourself in a guild with a completely different approach to these things, in which case you should use their information.
Part 5 : What should I play?
I know, it seems like I have just been going on and on about what you should avoid and not really giving you any good information on what you should play. Well, that's the tricky part. It is hard, extremely hard to tell some one what they should play. I can try to give you some good guild-lines but as I said before, play the character you want to play.
First off, you should always play your race and your class. If your playing a Troll Bruiser, you are not going to be having talks about advanced magical theory, quite likely you will be wanting to crush and eat things. Hehe. Second. Well there really isn't a second. If you keep in mind some of the stuff that I've already gone over you should be fairly well set on deciding what you should play. Now HOW you should Role-play is a different matter, there are some things you should keep in mind that I will go over next.
Part 6 : How should I play?
With respect towards your fellow players.
Now I know what you may be thinking, “But I wanted to play the arrogant butt-head!†Well, there is nothing stopping you, after all I said you should have respect towards your fellow players, not their characters. Keep in mind that's two different things. But if you are playing the arrogant pain in the neck that is verbally abusive, keep in mind that characters are going to react to you as that, some times even the players. So there is something you should always do.
/tell Hey I just want you to know that this is just my character and I have nothing against you, I hope that I am not bothering you for real. If I am let me know and I'll do what I can to tone it back or simply leave
Or something to that nature. If your worried about offending the player, please send them a /tell as soon as possible. Just the effort alone could make the difference and that difference can make ALL the difference really.
Part 7 : Where can I find the community?
Well, if you are on Antonia Bayle, I can do you one better, I can give you links to web sites that support the role-play community and if you are not on Antonia Bayle, the people on these sites can point you in the right direction. This first link will take you to a place called the Raven Mythic, quite possibly the OLDEST RP community site for Antonia Bayle. I remember helping to promote this site back at live launch by telling everyone who even slightly resembled a role-player about it.
The site has had its ups and downs, crashes and recoveries and is still going strong.
This next site is newer, not even two years old if I recall, at the time of this post. It was the result of a massive shake up in the RP community that I will not go into about because it is a dead horse, and then some.
I know some of the people involved in the creation of this site, and they are all good role-players in my personal opinion.
Part 8 : In conclusion
I'm sure you have heard enough from my by now so I'm going to end off with something short and simple. Despite everything I have said above, everything, Role-playing is all about having fun.
And if it is not fun, why do it?
Go, play, have fun.
Rinse and repeat.
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