Would you like to be introduced to RP by doing a test run of sorts, together with someone who can show you the ropes?
Originally wrote this for one player but I’m extending the offer to all shy folks!
Walk-up Roleplay on Argent Dawn is almost entirely unscripted, which is fun because it’s spontaneous and unexpected things can happen. But sometimes that same freedom can leave you feeling unsure of how to start or how to randomly approach somebody, and you end up not doing anything at all.
My suggestion & invitation is that you team up with a more experienced RPer (like me! I’d love to do this!) for 1 evening, and together you create:
- two characters
- a simple background setting
- a small mission/objective.
For instance: we’ll roleplay two clerics from Northshire being sent to Stormwind to buy the Abbot a birthday gift, but they don’t really know what to get him, so they’ve decided to go browse around.
Your more experienced companion is a friendly and helpful RPer who will guide you through the process of:
- creating a beginner-suitable character,
- showing you the technical aspects of RP such as how to write emotes,
- answering any questions you may have about RP and etiquette etc.
Then you’re off together on your mini mission, during which you’ll be interacting with each other and with strangers alike.
If at any point you don’t know what to do or say, you can poke your companion privately, in /whisper or party chat, and they can shoot some advice or reassurance your way.
I picture it would go something like this (click to expand!)
Preparation
The first part takes place OOC (out of character) because before we can dive into RP, we have to establish some basic things about our characters’ personalities. Your companion (maybe myself, maybe another volunteer) will be creating a new character for this just so we’re on even grounds.
First, we set you up with a roleplay addon if you don’t have one already. We fill in a profile with the basic attributes such as height, age, body type and other appearance stuff.
Next, we craft a quick backstory and personality.
Sticking with the clerics example – they are both in the Clergy, and spend their days at Northshire praying and working. But that doesn’t mean they have to be similar! Maybe yours is 30 years older or younger than mine. One might be a novice and the other an old priest who’s seen it all. They may be very good friends or hardly know one another.
As for the personalities – how about someone curious, easily impressed & shy, or perhaps sarcastic, quickly amused & outgoing? Or something else entirely? What would you like to play? Pick any attributes you like and that you think will come easily to you. Your more experienced companion can advise you, and will create a character that’ll mesh well with yours.
Going to Stormwind
On the way out from Northshire the two characters can chat together.
(If it feels awkward that’s totally all right – it’s just you and someone who’s understanding and eager to get you comfortable with the improv-acting that is RP. We were all new one day. It’s no issue at all if you make any mistakes.)
Once you’re in Stormwind, actual shopping is done with emotes. When you want to interact with a shopkeeper NPC, your companion can easily take on the additional role of shopkeeper NPCs and handle their dialogue.
The most fun thing about going from shop to shop however is that lots of unscripted and interesting things may happen in the streets.
- Maybe we stumble upon an ongoing fight! What do our characters do?
- We might happen to see a death knight threatening somebody, causing our clerics to argue about whether we should intervene or not.
- Or someone asks us for instructions on how to get somewhere, and we aren’t exactly sure either but we got lots of time, so we accompany her to the place she wants to go.
- Or your cleric wants to drop by the graveyard to say a prayer.
- Or my cleric suddenly remembers that his/her sister wants a candle from the Cathedral, so we go inside to buy or ask for one.
- At the Cathedral some wounded character might stumble in, asking for mending. Are our clerics up to the challenge, or do we send them on to a local priest?
Wrapping up
The mission stays the same throughout the evening, so if you’ve had enough of a particular interaction and you’d like to move on, your cleric can simply remind the other by saying: “Well, let’s go to another shop/district” or “Let’s go home, it’s getting late.”
We’ll stay in a party the whole time, so we can comment on things OOC, like if you feel unsure on how to react to something. Or just to laugh if something funny occurs.
When we’ve had enough of Stormwind, and when we’ve bought a birthday gift (or failed to), we walk back to Northshire and then we part ways. The curtains drop. You did your first RP!
This would all take place in a single RP session of 1-2 hours in the evening. I think it’ll be a fun and safe way to ‘try on’ a character and a RP personality. Not a super complicated quest, but way more fun than purposelessly wandering or sitting around alone. Other scenarios than gift-shopping clerics are fine too. And you don’t have to keep the character we created for the scenario, unless you want to.
So, future RPers!
If you think it sounds fun and you’d like to give it a try (even if you’re a bit anxious) just say the word and we can get rolling with this or any other scenario we come up with.
You can reply here, or send a whisper or mail in-game to Firelle (Horde) or Ardes (Alliance), or add my battletag (Morea#2390) or discord (Morea#8101).
(Keep in mind that the /who function is currently not working right, so just try directly whispering who you’re looking for)
Fellow volunteers:
I love hanging out with new RPers and showing 'em the ropes, so I’m up for this kind of thing any time, but I’m FAR from the only one who likes to teach and help new folks. Any experienced RPers who are reading along and would like to get in on this, just drop a comment or get in touch otherwise and I’ll add your name to this post.
Feel free to contact any of these people who've offered to help you out!
Ercia’s discord: FuseCraft#5169
Brìde’s discord: Enougu#0619
Zagkush’ discord: Zagkush#7584
Thodim’s discord: Thodim#1003, in-game name also Thodim
Telaryn’s discord: Dodger#6969
Kump’s discord: Allennicus#8393
Thanks for reading!
% right, I think basically everybody loves to be walked up to (especially if they are alone), but not everyone does the walking up. Even if they want to. I hope this helps at least a bit.
