Roleplay Newbie Needs some help starting

[Alcuin]

To begin with, I played this game at launch. Things got busy for me, and I got distracted. I ended up trying out SW:TOR, and that was a horrible mistake that I seriously regret and ashamed of.

HOWEVER, one thing I tried for the first time in SW:TOR was a bit of RP, which I absolutely loved. Since I'm coming back, I really want to get into Rift RP and try it out.

SOOO... I have found lots of great community guides on RP that you Rift peeps have done FANTASTIC work on and I'm reading through a lot of them... but this has lead me to some serious head scratching.

First, there are a few tools for developing my character's background and personality out there. I'm looking through "The Interview" as one example. I'm having a hard time with it because of some weakness/confusion on the lore and fitting into the RP setting. Maybe you guys can help.

First, a question they ask is: where was I born? Well I mean in the game as I understand it I am ascended, soooo.... get my drift? I am guessing that I was raised from a person who was previously somebody... but how long before? What in the story was happening during the major period of my life when I was actually alive. This has always been very confusing to me. I guess I'm Eth and I will be reading up on that, but any advice or like "lore you NEED to know" guides you can point me to will be helpful. I guess I just need a better feel for/understanding of what time period was I alive in so I can find a way to understand how to decide just a blueprint of the major events of my life.

Also, if anyone knows of or could point me to a good guild that helps newbies, I'm on the Faeblight server. Thanks.

[Greenmantle]

Welcome back, first thing is dont break into a sweat over the lore, as long as your not a half vampire half werewolf demi god people are pretty understanding if you have taken the time to read the history of the eth you have made a good start.

Rift Roleplayers has a nice list of RP guilds and is a good place to ask questions as well as some nice articles on lore. Also if you havent check the Faeblight thread here for guilds.

[Alcuin]

Thanks very much!

[Baslisanne]

1. Is your screen name a nod to Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel novels? <3

2. Welcome to the [strike]darkside[/strike] wonderful world of RP! You're going to love it.

3. Origins: Defiants come from about 20 years in the future of an alternate history where the Guardians have made things just terrible. Guardians come from 20 years in the past, from when the Mathosian king used Defiant technology to make things just terrible.

(The problem, you see, isn't with Magitech. It is when Mathosians try to use Magitech. That is all.)

Telarapedia has this starter Lore section: http://telarapedia.com/wiki/Lore

If you have collected books in-game, you can read them and get a brief overview of the world. It's patchy, but you should be able to put something together.

[Kitaelia]

I'm always looking to assist new RPers and RP-Curious players looking to get started! Please feel free to contact me on Aazu or Kitaelia on Guardian side, Tae or Eikala on Defiant side and I will be happy to answer any and all questions to the best of my knowledge! I also make a good RP-Practice Dummy. ^_^

[BMEgal]

A lot of people I know roll with the idea that your soul was taken from the Soulstream 20 years in the future, and those future Defiants sent you back in time via the Failsafe. However...who you were and where you came from before you died and entered the Soulstream is up to you.

For example...my character is from a pretty recent time, so she's aware of the current events going on around her. Other friends RP as people who lived closer to the height of the Eth empire---they are used to having much more magitech in their everyday life (and RP this with comments like, "You mean we have to saddle our mounts...BY HAND?!?!") and they don't fully understand why the Guardians and Defiants hate each other so much (because the Mathosians of that time kept to the northern lands, and didn't interact with the Eth at all). Some Kelari RP that they lived and died before the loss of the Ember Isles, and are a bit bewildered by a society that doesn't completely revolve around the spirits.

These are just some examples to help get your own creative juices flowing...the short answer is, you can be anybody you want. Although, as Greenmantle pointed out, you do want to stick with something realistic...being a half-vampire demi-god is only going to make other RP'ers roll their eyes.

[Proin Drakenzol]

Although, as Greenmantle pointed out, you do want to stick with something realistic...being a half-vampire demi-god is only going to make other RP'ers roll their eyes.

I would like to point out, however, that the only thing really wrong with being a half-vampire demigod is the half-vampire part. Ascended are arguably demigods as they are effectively immortal beings of great power.

Just sayin' that if you want to play up the megalomaniacal aspect you could.

[BMEgal]

Ascended are arguably demigods as they are effectively immortal beings of great power.

I disagree, but I think that might be because we have different definitions of what a 'demi-god' is. For me, my Defiant cleric is considered a heretic because she worships a demi-god instead of the Vigil. To me, demi-gods are other gods who may not be as powerful or as well-known as the gods of the Vigil, or not as highly connected to or concerned with Telara itself (after all, the Vigil DID create our planet). I don't see Ascended as gods, demi- or otherwise. While it's true Ascended don't die in the conventional sense, we are not all-powerful, all-knowing, or all-encompassing on any subject, detail, or talent. In my opinion, being essentially immortal is not the only criteria needed for godliness, and Ascended powers still don't meet that criteria.

Also, coming from an RP perspective, many people tend to think that RP'ing as a god means their character is perfect, some all-knowing undying entity whose every action, word, and thought is conceived for the greater good. I tend to discourage the idea of 'person=god' because I don't want to add more Mary Sue's out there than absolutely necessary.

If someone can RP the megalomaniac part well, without being MS about it...then more power to them, and to the RP fun they're creating for the people around them. But I still think that for most people that is going to be very difficult to accomplish.