Here is a place where we can post tips for new players (and vets) on creating interesting characters and getting the most out of roleplaying with others. Here is the first tip, yes it is nice to help people out in game but don't give stuff away for free, and I am not just talking about money. Ask for a favor in exchange. A scouting mission, chores, replanting a garden, collecting soil samples, running an errand. Sure you may technically have all the seeds in game but ask for other seeds from different places to see which ones are better (oooo beta sector corn grows 20% larger from this planet), does it have an actual mechanical effect? nope, but role playing does not have to be about getting something in return, it is about generating stories. Now two restaurants can try to get the farmers supply of this new corn. So now not only is the player of the farmer involved but the two players of the restaurant owners are, plus the person set to the task of finding seeds! But wait, now a second farmer wants to get in on this action. True, this might not seem like the most exciting of role-playing, but this is just an example. Don't like that, fine here is something else, that does not even involve other people. That patrol you've been sent on? Have something happen! It does not even have to be a fight, find and investigate an abandoned ship, make up the story of who those people were. The universe is huge and there is a ton of stuff going on that the game does not support in a mechanical way, but that does not mean that it is not happening. And this is great stuff for the IC logs/journals thread!
Focus your character. No one is good at everything. In fact very few people are really good at more than one thing. And on top of that very few a exceptional in their field. Good? yes. skilled? yes. Exceptional? very very rare And if you are exceptional at something, narrow it down. Being exceptional in human medicine is pretty weak; human brain surgery is better but not great; specializing in removing deep brain tumors with minimal chance of brain damage in humans is more like it! It is to the point and fuels stories, you could be sought out to preform the same task on an Apex at gun point! Desperately trying to convince them that it is not the same thing! The assistant they have given you luckily is very familiar in Apex brain structures and can help you through it, but who knows how much brain damage will be done?! Sure you want to make a human assassin, that is cool and all, but do they also have to be trained in hacking and biology and physics and etc.? In fact, wouldn't be more interesting if you made a human assassin that specializes in killing Apex? I mean there must be a good story behind a specialization like that! Plus you then can start up an assassins guild, recruiting other assassins who specialize in killing the other races, networking with hackers and thieves.Would it not be better if your assassin had to befriend/recruit a hacker in order to get into a secure location rather then just to do it yourself? If everyone is good at everything there is no reason for them to interact except to attempt to out do each other. Also when making a character take a look at what specialized skills others have and try a)not to copy them (you can be similar but be sure to make it your own) b)make someone who could fit into the same story as them as either an ally or an enemy, as someone who will hire them or be hired by them.
Take the time to plan out your character's history. It is easy to forget that each and every person should have a childhood, and the things they did then can effect them now. Did you have a thing for dinosaurs? Who was your first kiss/date/etc? How well did you do in school? What friends did you have and what happened to them? What foods didn't you like that you like now? And on and on. Doing a mental run-through of your characters complete history will fill in a lot of holes you wouldn't even realize were there. To make a personal example, with Itotia I decided that she grew up on Avos without family. In actual RP, someone asked if Itotia was her clan name. I honestly forgot about that particular naming structure for Avians, but since I already knew about her history I was able to play it out as if I was totally prepared.
This is mostly tip for players who are into romance(and maybe other things): Think about your character. Think about what (s)he is like, what (s)he likes and dislikes in both looks and personality. Instead of going for romance with any available character willing to do so, develop some tastes and distastes that will determine if your character wants to take the chance. Maybe (s)he's got thing for avians? Maybe (s)he's alright with glitch, but would never be with one? In the end don't fall for everone.
Active vs Passive characters, and character networks Active Characters Characters that regularly interact with a variety of characters and are capable of generating their own RP. They go out and engage with others. They don't sit around and say "man there is nothing to do", they go ahead and generate their own stories and plots. They see that passive character in the corner reading a book, waiting for something to happen, and they go engage with them. Sadly characters are not as active as they could be. Nothing happening? Then invent something! OOCly announce that you are going to run a scene where pirates have boarded your ship and the RP limits for the scene (ie some minor wounds, no stealing etc) and then send out your call for help! Invite all those who want to join and have some RP fun! After, wind down with some drinks at a local bar while telling the story to those who did not come. Passive Characters Now , there is nothing wrong with passive characters per say, except for the fact they don't interact much with other players. Whether it be the lone wolf bad ass or the shy Hylotl farmer. Usually the passive character will only interact under certain circumstances, to brag about how great they are or to look for seeds. Now, when I start playing a new RP game that I am not familiar with, like Starbound, I like to make a passive character with a more active goal in mind. Like my farmer. Right now they are fairly passive, only interacting with others in a very limited way. But eventually they will expand their interactions when they start up a restaurant, but they will seldom be a major plot generator. The bad thing about passive characters is that they are limited in their interactions with others. Usually when they do interact with other it is in a reactionary capacity. Again there is nothing wrong with this, but you should as a passive character be willing to interact with the active character when they approach you. Also you should attempt to come up with a long term goal for your character that will make them more active, unless you really just like the quiet life then keep on rocking. Character Networking No man is an island. Hop on the OOC boards and connect some backstories! Are you a criminal? Find some people that you use to run jobs with! Was it a botched job? Do you blame each other for the failure? Were you a prisoner? Find a cellmate or the bully who use to pick on you in the yard. Maybe the prison guard that use to give you a hard time or maybe showed you a bit of kindness or maybe saved your ass own day. Remember that all relationships are not good, also some are not straight forward. Your "friend" has a habit of selling you out for some extra cash, that sucks, but you own him big for all the times they have saved your life so it is something that you put up with. Friends, enemies, significant others, business contacts, class mates, really the sky is the limits (just try and keep your respective ages in mind, can't be childhood friends if one of you is 20 years older, but you could be someone older who took a shine to the kid and taught him a few things to help them get by)! This not only helps flesh out character backgrounds but allows you to have reason to call on others when there is not much going on, or if your character needs a favor. When things are slow you can meet at a bar and talk about old times and then maybe get a little drunk and try to relive some of your glory days.
I do very often that. More than I should, actually. I end up building a mazes with more connections than I should. And what's "worst", all my diferent characters have something that "connects" them, even if it's very little. That's not exactly good either.
This might be a little hardcore for the average SB character, but this thread seems like a good place to drop this link: http://dreadpiraterose.wordpress.co...ons-to-ask-about-your-role-playing-character/
Rule #5, getting consent, and making sure things are OK OOC. Rule 5 and getting consent "Never initiate a hostile action, such as PvP, or the destruction of an environment, without the explicit consent of the player or players being affected. See PvP etiquette below." OK, I wont lie. I have been taking a peek at the appeals forum, and I know I am not an admin or even a moderator but I thought I'd throw this out there. I'm going to touch briefly on "the bar incident" (and as I was not there I will not go into details and just try to his the broad strokes), and then give some unsolicited advice on how similar situations can be handled in the future based on our CoC and fantastic consent based RP system. Player A entered a bar, where player B was. Player A was some sort of criminal or something as was not suppose to be there. Player B is some type of law enforcement who arrested him last time and knows that player B should not be there. There is shouting and guns are pulled by not only the two groups involved but by a lot of bystanders looking to get in on the action. Absolutely no consent has been given by anyone. OK, first rule #5 states that you should get consent before starting a hostile action. (This is not pull a gun, or firing a gun, or even anything physical necessarily, this could be yelling at someone, insulting them a lot, barring their entrance/exit, etc) In this case player B should have either said something ooc or with a /w to player A, like "my character knows you are not suppose to be here and will attempt to arrest you if they spot you". If player A does not want this, this does not mean that either player A or B needs to leave the bar. They could easily decide that the bar is too crowded and player A can safely sit in a corner drinking without being noticed. However if player A is interested in RP with B about this they should ask about the limits to the scene, like Player A:"I'm ok with a verbal fight, but not ok with injury or being arrested at the moment" player B "Dang, I really wanted to arrest you again. Is it ok if I pull my gun though? No injury to anyone." Player A, "Sure, do it towards the end of the scene and I'll toss a NPC in the way and escape". Great so it is all settled between the two players... but wait, before you start you should make sure everyone is on the same page. Let those in the area know what has been agreed to and give it a min to see if anyone jumps in looking to get involved. At that point Players A and B should (in my opinion) pretty much have finial say if anyone else gets involved too much, however it is always nice to include as many people as possible, find out what Players C-E want to do and if it fits in with the boundaries set. However, if you are one of these extra players be willing to accept a secondary role, these two are the stars of the scene and it should be mostly about them. Perhaps offer to be the one tossed at player B so player A can escape, maybe player D was looking for a way to get in good with player A and uses this as an opportunity by stepping in the way, maybe they agree to a grazing gunshot from player B. Maybe player E wants to join up with player B and help stop criminals, as he sneaks up behind player A to grab him, player D yells out a warning, A grabs E and tosses him at player B and then runs out the door, escaping! (and C does nothing cause I forgot about them) Also if anyone thinks things are getting too heated IC there is no harm in calling for a brief time out while things are cleared up OOC. Making sure things are OK OOC By getting consent and clearing things up before anything hostile starts it prevents hard feelings from growing OOC. Also, the fact that you were nice, polite, and reasonable while setting the limits goes a long way to assuring that when your character calls someone a "slime licking moron" and it is not at all taken personally, if you feel like you character is going to be excessively mean there is no harm in letting the other player know ahead of time and making sure that they are ok with it. In addition, after these scenes it might be nice to take a min and thank the other players OOCly and make sure that they are cool with how thing went down, this will not change what went down, but could give you an idea of what the other player is looking for in the future, "I had fun but I wish I had a chance to do....". And if I feel there is an issue OOC I will remind you of rule 10 "If you have an OOC issue with another player, do not act on it. Instead, contact an admin and please be patient." Do not even bother to mention it to anyone else, this will just cause additional problems. But also be fair, realize that you might have just taken something the wrong way (sarcasm and jokes just do not translate well sometimes), accept what the staff have to say and try to move on, if you can't then just politely decline from RPing with them in the future. (And if someone declines to RP with you don't bug them about it, maybe let them know that if there is/was an issue that they are welcome to PM you on the forums and maybe get it resolved, but then let it drop). But once again, keep it to yourself! No one wants to hear through the grape vine that so and so wont RP with them because of X, this potentially gives everyone a negative impression about someone when it was either an isolated incident or something that you took the wrong way. If it is a persistent problem the staff will talk to them about it if enough people report the same issues. In closing This game is meant to be fun for everyone, give everyone a chance to shine every now and then. This is not your story, it is our story.
