Can someone explain RP servers and how they work?

[Prozach]

I mean, I understand the general concept, but I've tried a few times now to "get into it" and it never seems to work out. Within 15 or so mins, I have at least (usually more) people whispering me and telling me I'm not doing something right. Either I'm not talking a certain way or I'm wearing something I shouldn't or even that I'm running through the city when I should be walking? wtf?

Is there a guide or something out there that help me understand the 'right' way to be playing on these servers. And people must have like a million macros or something because they're CONSTANTLY bowing or winking or some other such formality. I just want to know what I'm supposed to be doing.

Also, does anyone have any like "best RP server moments" here? The second time I tried I think it was on Wyrmrest and in the SW tram tunnel as a Dwarf. I saw some people way off to the side and went over to say hello and they FREAKED out and told me they would report me if I didn't leave them alone. Not to mention it looked like it could have been inappropriate, whatever they were doing. Can you report someone just for standing there and watching you RP?

[oldgeezer]

I've been playing on Earthen Ring EU pretty much since the start of the game...and I've never had people whispering me or telling me I'm doing teh RPees wrong. And I don't even go out of my way to RP, other than for very very casual fireside in-guild stuff.

Assuming this is a genuine post, are you being intentionally antagonistic on your server or something?

[Onmius]

Alright, so first off, every RP server is different. I am sorry you had those experiences but they do seem pretty damn bizarre to me. I play on Moonguard which is considered the best Alliance RP server, outside of goldshire for notorious reasons, the server is very friendly and welcoming, I have literally never heard of someone being harassed for running instead of walking in the city.

[MatadorMedia]

The explanation is too long for a message forum. Just google search for a WoW RP Guide. The basic gist is that you create a character's entire backstory and then act appropriately to both your own story and the set rules of the realm.

[Cerilis]

Haha. I see what you did there.

The dwarf meeting a couple in the deeprun tram is an old hat!

[Aeula]

I haven’t RP’d in years, but I often see others do it as I’m on a RP server. The rules are pretty easy to pick up.

Make a background for your character, I recommend using TotalRolePlay3 to write it down so that others can view it too (You can also view other people’s backgrounds to see how it’s done on that server).

Act as you would expect your character to act if they were in the real world and don’t try and be ‘The hero of Azeroth, vanquisher of the Lich King’. Otherwise everyone would be arguing, insisting that THEY killed the Lich King, not YOU!’

Avoid using shorteners like ‘lol’ and ‘wtf’. ‘Hahaha’ (Though it’s a tad creepy) or /laugh and /chuckle work much better for your character laughing.

Don’t ‘god emote’ (Don’t immediately decapitate someone else’s character without taking into account them being able to stop you somehow. Plus they might not want their character killing off).
Just try not to be edgy or a jerk unless it’s within character and whisper people to see whether or not they’re happy with fighting you if it comes to that.

And lastly, use a lore-friendly name. Something like ‘Steve’, or a more complicated name since Steve is likely taken. Non-humans will have more fantasy-esque names. Don’t use names like ‘xxmountaindewxx’. Having a RP-inappropriate name is actually a punishable offence on RP realms (By blizzard). Even something like ‘Elvenwarrior’ isn’t permitted.

P.S: If you see two+ barely-clothed or unclothed roleplayers huddling next to each other. Don’t approach them, just pretend you didn’t see them.

[rrayy]

I've been playing on Earthen Ring EU pretty much since the start of the game...and I've never had people whispering me or telling me I'm doing teh RPees wrong. And I don't even go out of my way to RP, other than for very very casual fireside in-guild stuff.

Assuming this is a genuine post, are you being intentionally antagonistic on your server or something?

Earthen Ring US you don't see any RP at all.

[oldgeezer]

Earthen Ring US you don't see any RP at all.

Argent Dawn's where it's at for EU role-players. Earthen Ring is low pop, but it's home.

[arkanon]

Haha. I see what you did there.

The dwarf meeting a couple in the deeprun tram is an old hat!

Went WOOOSH over everyone i think.

[Naramag]

My guild was actually once contacted by someone claiming to speak for the "council" of our server and that we have been reported for wrong roleplay. I guess there are some weirdos on every server... your just lucky if you don't run into them.

That said, how do roleplay servers work? Well, it's the same as every other server, but there are, for one, stricter rules for names. The other thing is that people are encouraged to immerse themselves in the world. They should try to talk and act like the character would, not like the gamer behind the screen.
And at this point it all goes apart... there are people who try to speak like in a Shakespeare Play. That's fine if your character fits. But if you decide your warrior is a soldier who grew up on a farm and reflect that in your speech, you are likely to clash with those people.
Then, there are some people who tend to emote everything their character does in no less then three long sentences. If half the chat isn't filled with the emote, they are not satisfied. If you hold it brief, again, you might clash with those.

The problem is, each roleplayer has his own views and interpretations. And not everyone can work with it, when others have other views. Some will ignore you, but some will try to force their views on you. Those are mostly the ones that will tell you you are wrong.

To give some examples:
I use the Total RP addon to describe my character. I hold it brief, a few details and then some sentences what can you can hear about my character if you could ask NSCs about him.
I have seen entries in this addon where people have the complete curiculum in it. Or even more, they link to some homepages were they have not a description, but a short story about the character.

I went crossrealm to a ball on the most popular german rp server. After two hours, the "official introductions" of the guests where just finished. I left... I rather have short interactions that gives life to the world instead of exuberant self glorification. But each to his own.

Regardless of how my character is treated in the story and the quests I usually consider my character as part of a larger group. Like when the lich king was killed, I was there... with hundreds of others in the army that assaulted him. I don't claim that I was the one that killed him, just because I got the title. I took part, but wasn't the central person. Others I met took everything to person and considered their character the greatest hero alive.

Nothing of this is right or wrong. It's all just a different take on the same thing. So, as long as you try and find people which you can play your style with, it's all fine. Ignore those who tell you you're wrong. Unless you can see some logic in their argument. You are always free to change your approach if you learn something new.

Oh and one thing: Never ever accept that something happens because the character works that way. People use the excuse of "I can't do something else, my character has to be that way" too often. It's the person who plays the character, not the other way. If you want your character to do something he normally wouldn't, you find a way and a reason. Even if you have to make it up.

[AdmiralGlitter]

Alongside the other comments, I would also stand by your characters roleplay , background, personality, and traits. Any player who is supporting the roleplay community won't be negative towards, but promote you and help you learn and improve. Getting back at roleplay takes time, but if you give yourself a backdrop for why your character is who they say they are, you will feel much more confident in yourself.

Even one simple way is to roleplay a merchant when you want to sell items outside the auction house.

Best wishes roleplaying!

[Vrinara]

I don't know how to really explain it.. to be honest. It depends on what server you are on. (I am on MG, and a lot of people on there tend to kinda be elitist when it comes to rping.) The only real advice I can give you, is do some research. Make sure you follow the lore of the world and races. Make sure you are using spelling and grammar (Such as "Hello there! Nice to meet you." Not "Hello! Nice 2 meat u.") If people whisper you. Tell them that you are new to RP. And no. They can't report you for standing there and saying hi. And yes, they were likely ERPing. (Erotic Roleplay. Basically doing stuff they can't do in Emote or say.)

You don't have to post 10 paragraphs to be good at rp. A lot of Rpers are kinda uptight and can be dickish. Just make sure you follow the rules that people generally follow (Keep to the lore, Don't metagame, don't godmode, don't be a special snowflake (Though a lot of people do it anyways.) and make sure you tell people you are new. Also remember that, IT's YOUR character. No one else should be demanding you be something you aren't. It's okay to be creative in RP. This is one of the reasons I've kinda stopped rping. Because people demanded me be something I wasn't and I kindly told them to go fuck themselves. (I apologize for the language friend.) Play YOUR character, his/her's personality.

[Zephire]

Haha. I see what you did there.

The dwarf meeting a couple in the deeprun tram is an old hat!

Yes! I knew I recognized the last part! Thank you. That said, might've just been some... new generation of... lovers(?) that happen to do the same thing. Public is fun and games until someone pay attention in the wrong way and the tram station is deserted enough to be a good spot for some public display of... affection.

General guidelines though, if that's accually a sincere question, I don't know. The basics conserning movement etc is probably just about how you'd act IRL. I mean, you don't run through everything, you don't spin a horse several spins while in the air, you don't always jump etc. I'll leave the rest to those who're skilled with RP.

[Aucald]

I'd say don't bother, if you want a good RP experience.

From a pure mechanical standpoint the game lacks the necessary tools to have proper RP conversations such as an indicator of whether or not the person you're speaking with is typing.

People can add however many mods they want, to play music, create items, write their backstories or what have you, but it all falls pretty short due to unimmersive conversations with long unnecessary pauses and interruptions.

Not to mention the fact that, and I hate to be such an elitist, many players simply don't talk or behave like people in a setting like Warcraft would.

Is that an important part of in-game RP? It's not something I do much of myself, but I've always felt like those typing indicators on smartphones or IM applications is akin to reading someone's mind in a way - you can't know when someone is formulating a response in a real conversation, but typing awareness indicators kind of show you that they are formulating a response before they give it (and how long it takes them to respond). I guess I'm used to unnecessary pauses and interruptions in real-world conversation.

My issues with my limited experience with RP in WoW is that people often don't seem to RP within the constraints of the fantasy world, per se; they're always sort on the fringes of it using class/race combinations that don't exist or else RP'ing as personalities that don't make much sense within those constraints. Again, my experience is limited, so perhaps this is just bad luck on my part.

[slickwilly]

Cock in one hand and the other on the key board. Find a sexy blood elf and let it rip.

Infracted.

[ercarp]

It's like theater, or acting, within a game universe. You create a character profile and you act as though you were seeing the world through their eyes. No, you don't have to be "in character" 100% of the time—there are add-ons that facilitate the process of letting others know whether you are up for roleplaying or not (common sense is also allowed).

You could also compare it to D&D, and in fact, many roleplaying guilds organize D&D-esque roleplaying events. But personally I've always been a bigger fan of spontaneous roleplay that you happen by when strolling around a city.

[NoiseTank13]

It's a PvE server marked so people who'd like to Roleplay can gather there. There are other loose 'differences' like naming policy is enforced a little bit stricter but that's it.

[Kithelle]

snip

Yeah, like that coming from someone with the name slickwilly isn't a sad irony?