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Unknown Brother

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Unknown Brother Rookie

Unknown Brother

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I currently have two decked 50s, both with a positive PK record. Lately I can’t seem to find the motivation to write journals, rp or even hunt and pk. I find myself logging in, typing who... where... then quit.

I believe my issue is I can’t seem to get into either character. I’m just not getting sucked into the immersion of the world. Rather than this being a post about taking a break, I thought I’d reach out and see if anyone has any suggestions on what to do when they feel a similar writing block. 

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Trick

Trick

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I try to invest in other's RP when I find my own falling flat. That way, my presence still enriches the game and hopefully it'll cause a spark in my own creativity. 

FL environment and mentality leads to just about everyone wanting to be the big bad or the hero of the story, but we often forget that the story needs supporting characters as well. Nothing wrong with being the sidekick for a bit and it takes the pressure off of you so you can just have fun with it.

My 2c.

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Velimir Newbie

Velimir

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48 minutes ago, Trick said:

I try to invest in other's RP when I find my own falling flat. That way, my presence still enriches the game and hopefully it'll cause a spark in my own creativity. 

FL environment and mentality leads to just about everyone wanting to be the big bad or the hero of the story, but we often forget that the story needs supporting characters as well. Nothing wrong with being the sidekick for a bit and it takes the pressure off of you so you can just have fun with it.

Exactly this! I've found the biggest fun I have is when I try to help to develop others RP, talk to them and encourage them to dig deeper in their character :)

V.

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EllaThePuppy Newbie

EllaThePuppy

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2 hours ago, Unknown Brother said:

I currently have two decked 50s, both with a positive PK record. Lately I can’t seem to find the motivation to write journals, rp or even hunt and pk. I find myself logging in, typing who... where... then quit.

I believe my issue is I can’t seem to get into either character. I’m just not getting sucked into the immersion of the world. Rather than this being a post about taking a break, I thought I’d reach out and see if anyone has any suggestions on what to do when they feel a similar writing block. 

I think @Anume was talking about this on the Discord the other day, that there are several small and global scale RP plots that have either fallen flat because of deleted characters or lack of interest. Why not grab the reins of one of those things and make something happen? Here's the ones I can name off the top of my head:

- Flooding in Miruvhor
- Relocation of the Savant Tower
- Theft of the scrolls of defusion + detect trap from Ghregory
- Faerie source in Gualorium

Any other big ones that I'm missing?

Here's the biggest lesson I learned on coming back - the IMM staff of today is NOT the IMM staff of yesteryear. They are MORE than happy to have player involvement, interaction etc. If you feel like you're trying to get something going and it's just not happening, try stepping up and doing some of the leg work (our IMMs are time limited after all).

For example, does something you want to do require new mobs to be added, a new room, new items, new descriptions? Make it AS EASY AS POSSIBLE for them to create for you, and it can be done in less than 12-24 hours. Here's a template you can use to create mob/item descriptions:
  

MOB/ITEM NAME
MOB/ITEM DESC*:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
<INSERT DESCRIPTION HERE>
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
LONG DESC**:
SHORT DESC***:
RACE/TYPE:
CLASS:

*Mob description is the long, character style description you see when you LOOK at a mob. The X's are 70 characters long, which is the length of the MUD's character wrap - if you write a description, input a line break (i.e., press enter/return) if it goes beyond those X's - this makes it WAY easier for the IMMs to copy and paste.
**Long description is the description you see when you walk into a room and a mob/item is there
***Short description is the description you see before someone's health condition, e.g. "Unknown Brother is in excellent condition."

Type is for items, every item has a type (weapon, armor, container, light, furniture, trash, treasure, jewelry, etc.) - fill this in if you can.

Race/class are self explanatory.

With all of that in mind, we don't live in the FL where the only way to RP is through journals anymore. With a little help from the IMMs, and some legwork on your part, you can create, explore, and add to the MUD in ways (and most importantly timeframes) that were never before possible.

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Mmm Coffee Newbie

Mmm Coffee

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Are you sure it's just not burnout?  Two RP characters would be impossible for me to maintain with time constraints.  With one toon, you can spend a lot less time in-game and more time thinking about RP development.  You also typically get one free month break exempt from rare/cabal loss so that's an option if you need to step away.  But only you know if you truly want to go on with a toon or not.  Some times this game feels like a part-time job because other people have a ton more time to invest.  And those characters are typically logged on a lot and expect a lot to happen in short periods of time.  And that can feel like extra pressure when your time is limited for the week/month. 

If I've come to realize anything (and someone recently mentioned this in a separate thread) it's this game plays out more over months than days.  I know there were times Anume would log Thulgan in and make his cabal hours all in the span of 2-3 days.  Then you'd not see him for weeks at a time.  Other times she was logged in consistently.  So there are tricks to deal with burnout, or time constraints, if you like the toon but feel a lack of direction.

 

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Lloth Newbie

Lloth

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I say it time and time again, the best way for me to rediscover love for a character and really delve into their RP is to ask the simple question over and over again: Why?

Pick a topic about your characters. Any topic. Then keep asking why. "I want to gain power" - why? "Because I want to prove myself to ____" why? "Because ____ is my religion/deity/bully/nemesis/etc". Why? "Because _____ happened and I felt weak." Why?

 

Just keep asking that question and eventually you will have an immense understanding of your character and likely find the motivation to bring it forth in a new light.

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Imoutgoodbye Newbie

Imoutgoodbye

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36 minutes ago, Anume said:

The 5 Whys is a general good technique Lloth.

Format the desc. Class is not a good field for mobs, so leave that out. Objects do not have a description, though one can be added with an extra keyword.

What?  Are we trying to create a paper thesis?  Because that's what I teach to undergrads. 🤣

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Unknown Brother Rookie

Unknown Brother

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This is all very good information, thank you to the people who've offered suggestions both in DM and here.

I copied both of my characters history and description into google docs, I'm going to rewrite them while at work and see if that gives me some motivation or inspiration while asking the 'why' questions. I don't believe I'm quite burnt out yet, because I do want to play, I just find it boring to sit behind a character with zero personality or 'mission' for logging in.

I'm also shit at RP, that doesn't help one bit lol 

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Imoutgoodbye Newbie

Imoutgoodbye

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I will offer this:. Let your character be open. So many people hide things in journals other characters don't get to see.  There's no "friendship" meter to unlock conversations.  The more you talk, the more you affect others.   The more you get to react and think.  

 

Think of the WHY as your thesis statement and from there the conversations become your topic sentences that becomes the meat of your character. Five to seven whys will get you deep, but those topics wrapped around it will keep you going until you've decided you hit the conclusion or the conclusion hits you.  

 

Have fun, go wild, don't hold back!  Just remember, no cyber in the Savant Tower.  

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Ulmusdorn Rookie

Ulmusdorn

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5 hours ago, Unknown Brother said:

This is all very good information, thank you to the people who've offered suggestions both in DM and here.

I copied both of my characters history and description into google docs, I'm going to rewrite them while at work and see if that gives me some motivation or inspiration while asking the 'why' questions. I don't believe I'm quite burnt out yet, because I do want to play, I just find it boring to sit behind a character with zero personality or 'mission' for logging in.

I'm also shit at RP, that doesn't help one bit lol 

Id also suggest you find something to do. 

Yes, Ulmusdorn the greatest, but what does that mean? 

Like other people have suggested, tack on or convince other people to plot, kill or rescue something. Pick a nuts idea, see how far you get. Could be funny.

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aaa Newbie

aaa

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15 hours ago, Unknown Brother said:

I find myself logging in, typing who... where... then quit.

 

To me that sounds like you're looking for people to interact with. So while all the advice on how to perfect your homework is all well and good it isn't actually whats being asked here.

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