Do I have the wrong game?

kayel

Hey guys, I'm having a hard time making a decision right now and I thought, before I invest a good few hours, I'd ask fellow RPers of the community my questions who would probably know best.

Here's where I'm at: After quitting the MMO genre back in February after years of burn out, I started to get the urge to return but for pretty different reasons. I MMO'ed for many years on and off, and while I did get to do some RP, I never got to do much quality RP, mainly just Tavern RP. I was just always too addicted to the game to ever take the time to pursue RP even though I wasn't really all that happy doing the gear treadmills. What happened is, I finally had had enough earlier this year and decided I was done with 'progression' in MMO's which at the time drove me to quit gaming entirely for a couple of months, but I've recently decided to give it another go with RP being the main activity I'm partaking in. Sure, I'll still level a character and do a little of everything in game, but not for the sake of 'progressing' and just for fun; and it will take a backseat to RP.

What initially drew me into this game were two things: The Foundry and the Forgotten Realms. The Foundry sounds so cool and a perfect tool for RPers, but I have to ask, do RPers really even use the tool? And while I love the Forgotten Realms, I've only played Planescape: Torment all the way through and haven't read any of the books, so I feel very overwhelmed with the lore. It would be worth catching up with all of that IF there's a decent size RP community. I don't want to spend ages catching up with the lore only to find out that the RP community is practically non existent outside of tavern RP.

I've heard a lot of people talking about how this game is more of a side stop for most people and a 'secondary' MMO. I've also heard a lot of people talk about how, because it's an action MMO without an open world and without a dedicated RP server, it's not very attractive to serious RPers.

Do you think, given where I'm at, that maybe I should go and play ToR or wait for the Elder Scrolls Online, or is Neverwinter what I'm looking for?

Any help is appreciated and I'm sorry about the long winded jumbled post. I'm writing this after being up all night trying to decide where to go with all of this and am coming here as a last resort.

Thanks.

vheraun

Hello there

First of all, welcome!

Now, first of all, I want to say that there is an RP community here, and a surprisingly good one at that. The shard (server) that most roleplayers choose is Mindflayer by the way.
Secondly, as per your question on the foundry, it is used to create rooms for roleplaying, and in some cases otherwise. For example, I made my character's house with it (though this isn't my idea, it has been done before). It is a promising tool but it hasn't been utilized as it could. Only time will show its true potential.

Neverwinter is a good game, with a good community (there will always be HAMSTER, but oh well), and I think it's worth a shot.

Also, I can say I know my way around Forgotten Realms lore, and I love roleplaying. For any help and/or roleplay, add me in-game (my handle is @vheraun).

kayel

vheraun wrote: »

Hello there

First of all, welcome!

Now, first of all, I want to say that there is an RP community here, and a surprisingly good one at that. The shard (server) that most roleplayers choose is Mindflayer by the way.
Secondly, as per your question on the foundry, it is used to create rooms for roleplaying, and in some cases otherwise. For example, I made my character's house with it (though this isn't my idea, it has been done before). It is a promising tool but it hasn't been utilized as it could. Only time will show its true potential.

Neverwinter is a good game, with a good community (there will always be HAMSTER, but oh well), and I think it's worth a shot.

Also, I can say I know my way around Forgotten Realms lore, and I love roleplaying. For any help and/or roleplay, add me in-game (my handle is @vheraun).

Thanks for the welcome and very quick reply.

Mindflayer is definitely the server I'm going to roll on, and I also had the same idea of making a house through the foundry. I definitely like the idea of coming up with creative and fun ways to use the foundry for RP.

I'll definitely add you if I go through with this. I bought BGII NWN and NWN2 which I'll play on the side, but because of not wanting to wait 6 months before jumping into Neverwinter, I'll probably use the wiki and ask to figure out most of the lore. Because those gaming are fricking long.

I'm going sleep on all of this, but I'm hoping to make this game work and your post makes me hopeful.

daenera

Greetings!

Can also check out the website! http://neverwinter-rp.com/
Be sure to visit the Guild forums as there are some quite immersive and wonderful role-play guilds that could really help you kick start your new adventure here.

Have a great sleep,
Dae

rnjbright

RP is 100% dependent on the community. If you are willing to completely let yourself become immersed you can easily encourage others to do so also, thus creating a community of RP where there might not otherwise be any. That being said, it's still a little early to say weather or not there will be a substantial community in existence on Neverwinter, but it seems promising.

The best RP in "MMOs" tends to happen in the early years, and more-so on text based MMORPGs more commonly referred to as "MUDs" or "MU*s". In MUDs, especially those that are RP enforced, there are less limitations because there are no graphics, and with open "emote" commands what you do is literally whatever you write. You don't need a supporting animation to express to the rest of the players what your character is trying to do. That being said, even MUDs tend to have a diminishing level of RP as the community becomes more mature and entrenched. RP tends to come to a standstill as older veteran characters get to "end game", establish an unshakable amount of martial and political power and grow tired of who their character is, but become unable to retire that character out of a sense of nostalgia or a desperate grasp on the perceived investment of time and effort it required to build that character.

That being said, if you want to RP, you can do so, and do so well on Neverwinter. You should do a number of things to make sure that it will be an enjoyable experience, and if the community can do these things, the RP will be great-

1. Make a number of RP centered characters soon and play them often focusing almost completely on roleplaying as that character and developing that character's personality. Once you find one you like, you can focus on that one, but try more than one to start.

2. Find a community of roleplayers with whom you will enjoy playing and who will value your RP contributions. This can mean finding out what the best server is, or a good RP guild, or just other people who love to RP. You can do this before or after you create your character and it will make the next step easier.

3. Let go of your inhibitions. It's typically easier on the internet than it is in real life. Let go, don't be embarrassed. Get into character and let go of your OOC fears, replacing them with the traits of your Character.

4. Involve others in your RP. Choose plots that will engage others and allow people to join your "quest". The more the merrier. Asking people things like "Have you seen my dog?" is way more fun than telling people you're the chosen Leader of the church of Moradin. No one cares about your elitist character's delusions of grandeur but most people would love to run around the world helping you find your lost pet.

And here's a link that should help you develop your characters. Other articles in this column are great resources as well. http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/07/06/storyboard-ten-questions-to-answer-about-your-character/

sshate

1) You can level to max without ever killing anything. Just do profession and prayer to god every so often while you RP. It's great. lol
2) Foundry has a lot of potential for RP. You can have your own house. You can create a adventure for you and your friend that explore the backstory, or continue the story of your or your friend's character, etc.

kayel

Thanks everyone for the very in depth replies.

I really like your guys suggestions and I've been making use the resources you linked.

I've decided to give Neverwinter a real go even with the overwhelming amount of lore. ToR turned me off last time and The Elder Scrolls Online looks to be a GW2 rip (so far) and is probably 7 months off. And I love the Forgotten Realms at least as much as the Elder Scrolls setting.

Thanks again guys, time to get started with all of this.

vheraun

Glad you thought this through, looking forward to meeting you in-game ^_^