I Searched Google for Best Role-Play Forums...

And When Valucre Came Up, I was not Disappointed.

You want to do what with my "blow hole"?

What's happening Valucre!

That's some serious hacks. Brilliant!

Why I am going with another meme theme (ha, rhymes)? Because it is 5am, I’m tired as tired gets (worked both my days off and have pulled a double shift and had a long interview the day before—so yeah, cut me slack!) and I needed something to roll with. Besides, isn’t this the absolute truth? Put in for best role-play sites, find Valucre, and go on to be as happy as happy can be?

Anyway, googling things on the internet can be a fun, interesting, and at times terrifying endeavor. Sometimes, you look up things like, “Best Hacks” and find stuff like this on the right… or you look up “Creepy dolphins” and find stuff like what is on the left. 

Sometimes, there are thing best left unsearched on google. With that said, I'm going to jump straight into this blog, largely because I need to hurry up. Before I can do that, I will alert you to a few new changes: 

1. Errata section- I made a boo boo last week, so I added an "Errata" section. If I make a goof, the following update will have one. But since I am a near perfect robot who requires no sleep and functions with absolute perfection, this will never be used again. >_>
2. "What's Happening" has been changed to "Role-Play Opportunities of the Week". Largely, this is just an SEO move. 
3. Trying a new formatting with new members, so feedback welcome. Changed named name to "New Role-Players", another SEO decision.

That's all for the major stuff--onward then!

Errata

We're very sad about this happening...

I made a goof a couple weeks ago; when I attempted to copy and paste the new information for a featured RP over the old one (I reuse templates to save time), the information did not properly paste over. Unfortunately, blogger is good at doing that to me sometimes and I failed to catch it that time around. The thread, "Calling Forth Monsters" does not involve a princess from the Cold South at all, but instead takes place in Orisia. The Queen is attempting to make contact with Malice, an old connection with a complicated relationship. She awaits his message and finally receives it in a bloody package with a man's dismembered head biting the letter, he apparently a murderer of a messenger. Gabriela responds to his message through their connection, and so his new keep rises from the depths of the earth (earth as in ground). There is much more to it, but I invite you all to go read it for yourselves. 

Role-Play Opportunities of the Week!

When I googled "City of Fayhaven" this
came up. Not sure how it's related, but it
sure is a pretty one. I liked it >>

City of Fayhaven- A new city, one comprised almost entirely of Elves (not very common around here, surprisingly). The city is set up in a circular grid, where the richest and wealthiest aristocrats find themselves in the center, while those who are much less well-off are found on the outer edges. The city puts much stock in not just how much income and prestige you have, but also on the ‘purity’ of your blood, with those who are in part something else closer to the outer edges, and those who are mixed or entirely different (“dirty bloods”) find themselves on the outside entirely. This is a self-governing city in Genesaris with a college, a black market, a tavern, and other sights to see. The creator of this city is looking for some people to take on roles in the political spheres, so come check it out and see if you are up for some political power.

The Collapse of The Sun

While a spectacular sight, the collapse of the sun would
be very bad. The search was no disappointment, but a
real collapse of the sun sure would be.

- Another new city, this one named Ensombrecer, a city found along the Mezthaluen River. The king of this city rules with a love of militaristic management, forgoing traditional court proceedings in cases of accusations and having people do battle to the death instead. The city is entering political turmoil and other problems, despite being a real smithing hub with plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurial metalworkers. There are three noble family positions open (from what I could see) so get in there quick if you want to be in on the leadership aspects. Otherwise, come check out the new place and see what mess… er, fun and opportunities, your characters can find.  

Terrorists in Terrenus- 

Put in this into a google search and all sorts of Terrenus
and Valucre images come up, go figure!

Another day, another plot to stir up trouble in Terrenus—poor Terrenus. Sometimes lands are called “sandboxes” because we play with and design new things within them, but honestly, Terrenus often gets used as the litter box instead (no offense to Terrenus, it’s not its fault it keeps getting picked on). Anyway, someone intends to cause some trouble, possibly targeting rail lines, possibly moving on to some other high profile targets—you never know what could stand out for a terrorist attack. This recruiter would like the help from a couple interested parties as well as a person or two to handle opposition. Do you feel an urge to use the litter-box?  

Civilization: Dawn of an Era- 

Pretty....

This caught my attention because it is different and I like different. Someone posted up a role-play that will take some actual strategizing and whatnot in order to pull out a victory. Looks like this will be an Alternative plot that takes place in an alternate reality based in ancient history. You’ll pick a country based on given advantages and then work towards winning by creating the best empire. There are several win conditions and ways to go about this, and I honestly would like to see the idea fleshed out a bit more. Get in there and ask this new person to give up some more goodies.

You Should Role-Playing in Mezthaluen- 

Ha ha, this is an old blog image
but it fits this search
because RPing in Mezthaluen is like
Christmas every morning!

There is a thread advertising it, but I got to put out the effort to get this noticed, because the amount of work that went into it was ridiculous. Yes, I keep shouting it at you- go play in my sandbox, because mine isn’t just a place to build sandcastles, oh no, you can go in there and build a metropolis and more. The lore page itself contains content that took up 54pgs in word at single space, including details on places to visit (taverns, shops, museums, concert halls, etc), people to meet (noteworthy NPCs such as artists, bards, church leaders, etc), unique items to buy, unique quests to pick up, etc. There is a Tavern thread that has two purposes—to get you hooked up with quests and for you to have a place where you can just go RP and do some IC “BSing”. Though not directly mentioned, there are also secret elements at play that ambitious role-players can uncover. 

In addition to all that, I am going to feature a quest here and there. Feature means that if you pick up and go complete it, I’ll increase the VB payout by 20% and throw in a surprise bonus item. Which quest is it this time around (the swapping of featured quests will occur at random, based on whim and perceived degree of interest xP)—“Trouble in the Mushroom Kingdom”. You go take care of that mutant Alligator Monster thing, you get 180vb instead of the 150vb and an extra item on top of it. All that, and more coming down the pipeline. Be sure to stay tuned. ;) Check out the call for RP thread here.  

New Role-Players!  

Eh, about right.

Now, I missed a week and then hit the skip week, so I had to do this for three weeks of "qualifying" new people. "Qualifying" meaning that you created a "I'm new thread" and had at least 3 posts (I went 5 for people here 3wks) and appear ready to be here. Going by that simple criteria, I had to send out PMs to 52(!) people this time around--you can imagine how long that took. Well, fortunately for me, not that many people answered because I would be writing this blog for a week solid. I went with a new way of doing the posts for newcomers, to give it a bit of a better "look" and because blogger is always trying to screw with my formatting and other issues (This program makes me want to throttle it sometimes). Let me know what you think of the new format there. 

Your Role-Play Writing Assignment

I honestly have no idea wtf this is, but it is win. Pure win.

Well, I know a couple of people rolled with it, but let's see if I can get some of you to come out and do this. You want writing practice? Or just an opportunity to try out new ideas or do something outside your element? I really encourage you to give it a shot. Here is the one for this week. It is definitely... interesting.

This week, this what came up:

• An uninhibited 43 year-old woman 
• A mysterious 40 year-old man 
• The story begins in a registry office 
• Someone hitches a ride home during a train strike 
• It's a story about terror 
• Your character reluctantly becomes involved  

Useful Tips...

Not super exciting, but the kind
of image this section needs. 

Name change here, mainly because it makes more sense. That's all.

Character Sheet Templates:  If you would rather have an easy to use template you can snatch and borrow rather than making one for yourself, you can go over to this thread here and browse through the templates offered for anyone's use. If you are not the sort of person who likes tossing templates together or just lack the time, this can save you some headaches.

Did You Know-  You can customize how you subscribe to threads and follow things? Sure can, and it is definitely a handy feature, especially if you are constantly busy, like me! To learn more, check it out here. While you are at it, read the rest of the Did You Knows too. 

Closing Thoughts?

This image is cute, but many images that came up for
"Closing Thoughts" involved naked women- I kid not.
Not exactly disappointing, but inappropriate for
the blog at least. Also, because I am at work. >>

I have about thirty minutes to turn this into a decent closer for the blog and to make sure it the amount of errors left behind does not impart upon you the belief that I should go back to grammar school. That disclaimer put out, I’m going to call this “challenge accepted” and see where I can go with it.

Something I have seen on occasion is (particularly newbies, no offense to them of course) is people holding back from role-play because of a fear that they will not prove to be “good enough”, or that their efforts will end in failure. They decide they would rather lurk in the shadows or find another person in a similar situation and just role-play with them exclusively, squandering a bountiful basket of opportunities (yes, alliteration and an unnecessary adverb, sue me). By never getting out there and learning how to thrive in the role-play environment, they sequester themselves and ultimately lose out on a lot of chances for development.

It is not a habit unique and exclusive to role-play situations and in particular, new folks joining the role-play scene. The most immediate example that fits our niche of the internet applies to role-playing of course, but people do this in life as well. They fear taking that next step, so they hold back. They fear failure in the face of that opportunity, so they shy away. Don’t apply for the job, don’t strike a conversation with that attractive stranger, don’t go for that potential adventure- all so you can stay inside your comfort zone, where you can reinforce these negative perceptions and use them to justify inaction. I have to tell you—STOP IT!

Holding back will never get you anywhere. If you don’t take a chance at diving into the “mainstream role-play”, you’ll never get a chance to practice, develop, and grow, soon becoming a seasoned regular that others look forward to having in their threads. If you fail to go after that job opportunity, you might miss more than just the job- even if you do not get it, you get something out of that pursuit. If you standby silently, never speaking to that attractive stranger, how will you ever know whether they were someone you should pursue passionately, because they make your world black and white world sing with color.

More likely than not, the best-case scenario will not come true. The first time you talk to an attractive stranger, you might find they are just not into you, or they’re taken, they are of a different sexual orientation, they’re not compatible, they’re a bit on the unstable side… sure, lots of things that could go wrong and I am sure you are using to justify your inaction. However, you could also be missing someone who is going to give you the best relationship you ever had. You might squander an opportunity to learn more about yourself, and being in a functional relationship.

With a job, you might not get that promotion or better job the first time, but you take things from it. You gain experience with interviews. You get better at seeing what they want in a candidate and how to navigate that complex mess that is the hiring process. You can choose to get overwhelmed and discouraged, or you can take it as it is, do the best you can, and keep an open mind as you go through it. I participated in a group interview with nine others for a position I would love to have and feel I have the right credentials to fill it. However, 51 applicants applied for 10 spots, and if the interview I was in was any indication of the education of people going in- six out of the ten of us had Master’s degrees. Two were PhD students. Yes, this made them majorly overqualified for the position, but the state loves over qualified, a sad truth (and they wonder why they get turn over).

I chose not to get discouraged. I prepared for this interview by studying the material I could find on this new program (as no one in my program has had any training on it yet) and I made sure to lay stress where my strengths are. I made sure to participate in the discussions and I acted like I had just as good of a chance at getting one of those 10 coveted spots as the other 6 people with higher degrees than what I have, and what likely amounts to more than 30 people with a similar education background. This is a teaching and coaching position, and that is something I do. I made sure not to get discouraged or back down- I went out and acted like I was the right man for the job.

I could have given in to discouragement and gave up. I could have taken on a negative attitude and not bothered trying—but I did not, because I know that because I want that position, because I want to move up and get into a better career, I had to go out there and fight for it as if I had an equal chance. Because even if not “this time”, there will be another time.  Quitting and giving up has one, -certain- outcome, and it is not what I want. Because of that, I went out and fought.

Now, to bring this back around to role-play (and writing as well), the point I am getting at here is do not isolate yourself. Do not give into those feelings of being overwhelmed and worried that you will not be good enough. If you want to be good enough, go out there and act like it! Role-play confidently and be willing to take constructive feedback. Get involved, learn from others and take away skills that you can use and appreciate. In order to reach your desired goal (presumably, “Be good at role-playing”) you have to go out there and fight for it. Fight hard, and never give up.

If you want to write that great novel, put in the time to write well, and then get that idea out there. If you want to have a successful RP, put thoughts into the planning and then present it to others, doing what you must to entice them to come join you. Making progress starts with taking steps forward, not steps back or into the shadows where you can lurk and hide. Get out there, get in the open, and be ready to work hard and have fun. In the end, things will sort themselves out.

That’s my time, I’ll see you all next week!

-          Acies   

"What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure." ~ Samuel Johnson