Tahyang Roleplay Workshop (Friday, April 1, 8:00 PM Central)

In August of 2014, prior to the official launch of ArcheAge, a vote was held to determine the "unofficial" North American RP server for ArcheAge. This was done as a result of Trion issuing a statement that they would not declare an "official" RP server at the time. In order to keep the small community of RPers concentrated in one place, and to maximize the opportunities for collaborative story-telling to take place, most roleplayers rolled onto that server: Tahyang.

Over time, the population fluctuated. Europe's unofficial RP server population took a dramatic dive, attracting EU roleplayers to the NA server. Official game changes and individual player experiences, more or less, caused some to leave.

The RP community is still here, and due to the recent addition of ArcheAge's paid server transfer service which resulted in an influx of new RPers, has remained stable even in the face of shiny new games attracting players away from the game. In the past, the community has kept to itself for the most part-- at least where RP is concerned. While it is still not our intention to impose RP on anyone who doesn't wish to participate in it, it has been agreed upon by some that it couldn't hurt to openly invite curious or interested parties to learn how to RP.

While we do have an off-site forum at ArcheAgeRoleplay.com, we recognize that forums aren't a resource that everyone enjoys, and since we almost always RP in-game rather than on forums or chat clients, we thought that an in-game gathering would be the best way to go about introducing new and interested roleplayers to our community and demonstrating how we do what we do.

If you're already a roleplayer, you're probably familiar with the terms "IC" and "OOC." For those of you that aren't, "IC" stands for "In Character," meaning that you are posting and interacting with others as your character. Being IC is meant to be an immersive experience. "OOC" stands for "Out Of Character," meaning that you are posting and interacting with others as yourself--the player, not the character you have created. This is essentially what we all do every day in game through /faction, /nation, /guild, etc. Most RPers are OOC when not explicitly entering into an RP event or session.

This event is purely OOC. No RP will be happening at it.

This means that if you're brand new to RP and aren't sure you'd attend the event due to inexperience, don't worry! This OOC event is meant to provide you with a guide to RPing in ArcheAge so you can do so in the future! If you're not new, or at least not that new, we also encourage you to attend so we can discuss a consensus on various topics regarding RP.

This event will also be cross-faction, which means that Haranya Faction, Nuia Faction, and Pirate Faction players are all welcome. All attendees will be safe from being ganked because we will be in the housing zone in a "PvP zone," where even the home faction cannot attack "reds." If the region is pushed into war, we may either post-pone for the duration of the war, or relocate to another housing zone in a PvP area.

If you are playing a Nuian or Elf, I ask that you come with some understanding of Haranyan so we don't need to double-post and toggle between languages. If you want to come and don't think that it will be possible for you to have Haranyan proficiency, even with an instant language book, please mail me in-game and we'll discuss some way around it. I might stream it on Twitch.

◦ What RP in ArcheAge is

We'll discuss as a group what RP is, in general, then how it operates in MMOs -- specifically in ArcheAge. We'll also discuss how it might differ from other types of RP, from tabletops to forum RP, and how ArcheAge in particular differs from other MMOs, and how this impacts the RP found in it. Questions may follow.

◦ The do's and do-not's of RP

An explanation of the "seven deadly sins of RP" will be given, along with examples. This is the key discussion for new and learning RPers. Many of these rules are unspoken and leave newbies to flounder. At last, we'll go over what they are and what they mean: Godmoding, Metagaming, Lorebending, Crossovers, Snowflakes, Poor Writing Etiquette, and matters concerning ERP.

◦ Tips for creating a character

Experienced ArcheAge roleplayers will offer advice on how to make an interesting character that fits into the world of Erenor seamlessly, yet still provides the player with entertainment. We'll go over some taboos related to character creation tying into some of the "seven deadly sins of RP." Questions may follow, and we can help you to tailor your character at this point, or after the workshop is concluded (if you prefer to be more private about it).

◦ Tips for getting started roleplaying

We'll go over a few ways to break into the RP scene with your new character, and how to network within ArcheAge's somewhat niche RP community. We'll also give you a schedule of recurring RP events and summaries of said events which you can attend, and hook you up with details about RP guilds that are recruiting--East, West and Pirate. We invite guild leaders or officers to attend and tell us about your RP or RP-friendly guilds.

◦ Good interactive storytelling etiquette

Here, we'll discuss how to get along with others and create a mutually enjoyable RP experience. We'll once more dial back to touch on those do-not's from earlier, and elaborate more on how they can impact how your RP is received by others. We'll also talk about certain specific "forms" of RP in ArcheAge (from DM'ed events, to tavern RP, to on-the-move RP like trade-run RP, and active RPvE/RPvP).

◦ Dealing with griefers and trolls

It's no mystery that RP is a juicy target for trolls and griefers who derive enjoyment from bothering or upsetting other people. We'll talk about how to handle these sorts of people, and continue to enjoy RP. By this point, we might have already had to deal with them at our OOC event too! (Hopefully not, but since we're advertising this event so openly, it could happen.)

◦ How to get along in the RP community

This discussion will revolve around keeping the peace OOC with other RPers even when they are in direct competition with you. We will focus on why keeping IC and OOC separate can be extremely important, how to behave in the face of disagreements, and what resources you can use to resolve conflict. We are a smaller community, and cohesion is important! We'll also touch on diversity and tolerance, as RP communities often attract a wide variety of people.

◦ How to create an RP event of your own

Events are an important cornerstone for ArcheAge RP, and anyone can host one! We'll talk about RP events have occurred in ArcheAge before, and the rewards and challenges that come with them. We'll also give you tips for how to start your own event and get people to show!

◦ Writing off a character

Eventually, people move on. Some will quit ArcheAge one day, permanently. Others might take a vacation. Some might not quit any time soon but may find it necessary to write off a character. We're going to talk about good ways of doing that, and how to decide if the write-off should be permanent or not. We'll also talk about how to ICly address other characters that have vanished without the player notifying other players.

◦ Lore Q&A

ArcheAge has entirely too much lore for us to summarize briefly. We'll try to give you the gist of what the overall plot is if you haven't picked it up from your story quests. Beyond that, we'll take questions and answer what we can. By the time this event starts, Quillodon's lore feature may already be out. (If you happen to be reading this, Quill, you are more than welcome to show up! You'll just have to excuse the fangasms that would spontaneously occur the moment you arrived.)

As mentioned earlier in this post, this will take place in Perinoor Ruins in a housing zone. As long as the region isn't at war, it shouldn't be possible for anyone to attack another player. If it does go to war when this is scheduled, we will either post-pone or move. Should that happen, that determination will be posted to this thread (both on the official forums and AARP) and members of the ArcheAge RPC Skype will be notified as well. If you haven't heard anything and the zone goes to war, please either whisper or send an in-game mail to me, Wanderer, and I'll tell you what's going on.

It is strongly recommended that any griefers attending to flood the chat with spam be blocked by all of the serious attendees, and reported after the event. If a griefer comes to spam loud and flashy AoEs or abilities, it's recommended you zoom in on an area not cluttered with the graphical nonsense (using Shift + F12), and that you watch the chat box. Turn your sounds down or off to avoid audio-griefing if griefers do appear.

To any would-be griefers: While I realize this might only serve to encourage you, please do not come to grief this event. Whatever fun you might believe you're having might not be worth any repercussions that come as a result of being reported for intentionally harassing us. Even if you feel you're just having harmless fun, it might be disruptive and upsetting to other players.

[Map Coming Soon]

Location: Perinoor Ruins, Northern Housing Zone, Tier 3, "Perinoor University" of "Eryun Village"
Date: Friday, April 1, 2016
Time: 8:00 PM Central (If you're not sure what time that is for you, you can check Google.)