Randomly decided to check in after years and see talk of Doordie and Amel. Lots of fun memories! Arguably my first long time character, Narwyn, ended up closely aligned with Amel as his protege.
Doordie was one of the best RP's I ever played with. His stories, with his character Amel, were amazing. Rich, deep, complex. I hope Doordie is doing well! You have a really great Uncle!
arrivederci, megido Registered Member #1403
Joined: 3:11:09 am GMT 02/26/09
Posts: 1864
Recently I've been thinking of doing something fun on thain... (and i saw syied's thread, sadly, he had already picked someone when i saw it!) like a roleplay couple! Anyways, my idea was two young adults who just can't seem to keep their hands off each other, they're good people (paladins, clerics, rangers, etc.) who strive to help people and keep people happy.
I'm willing to negotiate the couple, and why they came to thain, backround story, etc.
Virahor the Wise wrote ... The couples I've seen on Thain are too clean-cut and lovey-dovey! For a Helen of Troy event we need some kind of scandal, like the Empyrean with the pigtails running off with someone from the Watch/Thayan Enclave, etc
Love this. Breaks the mold from what I normally see in any RP platform. There is, I believe, a degree of people who OOCly think their romance should be perfect and all that jazz. But the most interesting ones have twists and turns; forbidden love... the goody priestess who falls for the troublesome rogue; the elven noble who gets the hots for a half-orc honey; the nature loving druid and the pyro sorcerer. We've all seen the two young hot couples who are madly in love with each other... so if you're going for it; perhaps try expanding some horizons?
MadskillsMike the Learned wrote ... As for the somewhat part, it can be interesting to use a romance to influence the way your character thinks and interacts with characters outside of the romance. Still, the romance in itself wouldn't be the interesting part.
This is key too. I get burnt out on people who seem inwardly focused on their own characters' romance story. Involve others, use the romance as a way to boost your story, not a story as a means to boost your romance!
RocketNumber09 the Great wrote ... I suppose my point is: if a party includes a romantic couple, I'll hesitate to join.
Do take caution of this. There are preconceived notions people have formed... some people will roll their eyes behind their computer. Don't let it stop you, but of course, do make sure you give their eyes something to look at and try to change those preconceived notions.
And finally, I believe this one explains itself.
Barakka to Stupidface wrote ... Romance can be a good part of any RP, but it should not be the utter end-all-be-all focus of the character, or RP. That's boring for everyone else around usually, and myself I can't see how it would continue onwards forever.
Of course these are personal opinions/suggestions I thought you could find helpful if you mean to pursue this.
Forum Admin Registered Member #623
Joined: 6:43:48 am GMT 10/01/05
Posts: 4996
Hey, I know you didn't ask for feedback, but I was hoping this might help you a bit with your idea:
Romance in roleplay can be a huge part of a character, but some things you might want to consider is just what you're looking for in it. You said you want a pair that 'can't keep their hands off of each other', but I'd like to caution you that playing a couple that is always all over one another, especially in public, your RP is generally gonna appear exclusionary. In fact, I know a lot of people have stated in the past they find sitting at the fire while two people make out is downright annoying.
Another important thing to consider is that making a pair of characters just for a couple can often be short sighted. I always found the best romances were between two characters who were developed and well played long before they settled down with another PC. It's generally a bad thing to develop a character completely around the idea that the'll be romantic with another character. A character should stand strongly on its own, and not require romantic interactions to keep going.
I suppose the main point I have here is; Create a character, not a pet-romance. Starting characters romantically attached isn't inherently bad, but you should focus the development around the characters as characters.
Registered Member #1075
Joined: 10:48:57 pm GMT 06/19/07
Posts: 792
Now that I've been described as "wise", I'm going to push my luck and add that in addition to a romance, what would really spice things up is a high-profile AFFAIR following its establishment!
A perfect romance provides no drama, and while preferable in real life, is not that good as story material. I believe the interest comes from conflict in / because of the relationship. I can only really go from my personal experiences, but it is a style of RP I've enjoyed.
Tarsk and Tahira was a predesigned romance, a LG and a CE falling in love, to tell a tragic story. In that instance, I think setting them up to fall in love worked.
Esh and Riggs found each other in game, were perfect for each other, but never settled together. The fact that they couldn't keep their hands off each other then became a trigger for RP beyond that specific couple. (*grins at Virahor* That high profile enough for you? )
Also, as stated, obvious romance RP can lead you to be isolated from the playerbase, even when you don't want to be. I first saw that with Danath/Kasith.
Last point: Mind the PG-13 rule. A lot of Esh's flirting in game these days is verbal rather than physical, and can be more easily mixed in with other types of RP.
Registered Member #753
Joined: 1:37:02 am GMT 04/29/06
Posts: 2015
MT.
Coming from a guy who has been notorious for RP romantic relationships I can definitely give you a few pieces of advice, most have already been covered here, but I'll add in a few more things that I feel are worthy.
The others are right when it comes to occassional conflict, or placing drama within the relationship. A real relationship is not all pretty ponies, buttercups, and rainbows - and so some of the best fantasy ones I've ever read in books use that same idea. You can't have a prefect world, and so you can't expect your character's partner to always be perfect either. Perfection is well - boring and mundane! Spicing up the situation with an affair, or an arguement over beliefs ever now and then - can really spark some interesting RP.
I remember from my experiences with Peter when I first brought him on - I felt like something odd happened to him. This shy demeanored hin was actually being loved by the ladies and it was so unexpected. He did the whole falling in love thing, and then he ended up having an affair that led to a pretty harsh break-up. BUT that's what keeps Peter probably my most humanistic character! He's seriously the most down to Earth and 'real' character I have IMO. So in the ideals of a relationship, just keep it real and things should be fine.
DO the courtship stage. Actually go on dates and stuff - don't just jump IG as a couple. I know that sounds harsh, but hear me out. If you jump in with no prior knowledge other than your character builds and descrips you're just going to get bland characters that have no real emotional development with each other. If you allow it to happen IG - you're going to be so much more satisfied with the outcome I think.
So review:
1. DO try and keep your relationships real - nobody likes fuzzy ponies and kissy-face makeout parties all the time.
2. DO try and go through the relationship stages: Courtship, First Year, etc., etc.
3. DO try and keep some conflicts in the relationship. Conflict builds character - no seriously it builds them!
That's what I've got for you. Use it as you will. - MM
Edit: And SK beat me to most of what I said!! *shakes fist smiling at SK* I'll get you for this!
Above all best rule is to avoid OOC feelings. Sounds easy or obvious, but if "you" start to get jealous, hurt, enamored, then you need to back away quickly.
I've been told I ruined someones "life", because the IC relationship didn't last. No joke.
[ The Island of Thain ]
Roleplay couple?
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