Mrow!! nice work =^_^=
*raises hand* I have a question! (And I hope it hasn't been addressed here. I didn't see it if it was)
I know that Virtue is the "unofficial RP server", and have heard about the great RP that goes on, but what I usually see is one or two RPers inside of a team of non-RPers who are sort of ignoring that this weird guy is talking like he's actually his character. 
Is there a good physical location within the city to go looking for RPers? Should I be shouting out in a Request channel that I'm looking to RP? How do I find you guys?? 
It's fun to play my character, but I want to find a group who will play back.
Thanks!
Just like the opening said...
"Various servers have their RP hot spots. On Virtue (The Unofficial RP Server) the three main locations are Under Atlas in Atlas Park, Gemini Park in Galaxy City, and the Paragon Dance Club."
Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
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Just like the opening said...
"Various servers have their RP hot spots. On Virtue (The Unofficial RP Server) the three main locations are Under Atlas in Atlas Park, Gemini Park in Galaxy City, and the Paragon Dance Club."
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S'pose I must be online at the wrong times, then. All I'm finding in Atlas and Gemini Parks is a lot of OOC social. Haven't found Paragon Dance Club yet.
Ah well, thanks anyway.
I didn't say so to the OP earlier, but great guide.
Thank you for this guide.
I had a very odd experience that, for a time, turned me off to RPing in COH. I am a longtime role player with years of tabletop experience. And I have always been excited by the possibility of active role playing in City of Heroes. But the one time I had a character try to join a RPing super group, I was criticized for my spelling/typing. I found that highly offensive. Im not a particularly good typist. As a matter of fact I am using voice dictation to write this. But thats not an option in City of Heroes. So I have to rely on my admittedly meager typing skills.
How common is this sort of criticism likely to be? If I take myself to the park, am I likely to be shunned for a simple transposition of letters, or am I doomed to role playing dyslexics with speech impediments? In the end it becomes down to this - I can type well, or I can type fast, I cannot do both. And in the interests of conversational speed I usually choose to type fast. What is the consensus of the RP community when dealing with proper spelling and grammar?
I'm fine with people not typing well, as long as they put forth the effort...
AKA, people who use one letter instead of three, uh, I want to stab in the face. 'U' isn't a lot less work to type than 'you' is.
But, hey, misspellings and poor punctuation are fine by me. Just not AOLer speak. I think a lot of people use this standard, but... I can't speak for everyone, obviously.
Animation major and old-school CoHer.
Art, Animation, and Stuff:
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I suspect that the faster/better your typing/spelling skills, the easier it is to be popular in role playing circles. I will admit that I tend to equate proper spelling, grammar, and vocabulary with age and maturity. Exceptions are made for people speaking English as a second language. The irony is that MY vocabulary far exceeds my spelling ability, and my typing speed and accuracy is.....not good. 
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Thank you for this guide.
I had a very odd experience that, for a time, turned me off to RPing in COH. I am a longtime role player with years of tabletop experience. And I have always been excited by the possibility of active role playing in City of Heroes. But the one time I had a character try to join a RPing super group, I was criticized for my spelling/typing. I found that highly offensive. Im not a particularly good typist. As a matter of fact I am using voice dictation to write this. But thats not an option in City of Heroes. So I have to rely on my admittedly meager typing skills.
How common is this sort of criticism likely to be? If I take myself to the park, am I likely to be shunned for a simple transposition of letters, or am I doomed to role playing dyslexics with speech impediments? In the end it becomes down to this - I can type well, or I can type fast, I cannot do both. And in the interests of conversational speed I usually choose to type fast. What is the consensus of the RP community when dealing with proper spelling and grammar?
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The Idiot responds:
Most RPers in general are not typing or grammatical taskmasters, however you will find them amongst the ranks.
Those that do taskmaster, are not normally doing it because they are trying to be elitest or superior, it is normally just part of a pet peeve... or in some cases people speak up because proves to be immersion breaking.
My suggestion, don't fret over it, but do pay attention to the spelling and grammatical woes that are common. "Teh" for "The" and "I before e except after c", those type things.
Don't feel that you have to be doomed to a poor speaking character because your typing is not as speedily done or because it may have errors. Some of the best RP that I have ever had was with a Japanese speaking individual that had to take serious time to translate everything she wanted to say into English. I don't thing there was a sentence with any less than 11 errors, but I understood the point, and the RP was very fun.
There is another trap in all this... Speed!
It's been my experience that most of the errors that people run into are due to trying to type too fast, or wanting to make sure their comments are not lost in the fast moving jumble. Of course that sometimes can't be helped as RP, at least on Virtue, moves at a dizzying speed sometimes.
And here is one last morsel for you, if you do feel that individuals are pressing you too hard about the typing, spelling, etc. and you feel too uncomfortable, migrate around the RP areas, there are more than a few styles running at any one time during the weeknights.
~Burnsie
<Note: Um... yeah!... alll miss-pellings and inkorrect word choices in the above are N-tensional 
>
OK.
I have started to show up in Gemini Park and have gotten into some conversations in character. Now I think I have managed to offend someone entirely by accident. In-person role-playing relies greatly on non-verbal modes of communications, modes that are poor or nonexistent in the Game. How does one avoid miscommunications leading to embarrassment or offence?
Or perhaps the player was not offended but was playing the character as such. One advantage the game has over face-to-face encounters is that you do not see the man behind the curtain. You only see the character. So it is very problematic to determine if some response is character, player, or both.
Sigh. Someone help a (surprised to be a) neophyte get a clue. 
Good question!!!
I'll do a no-no and answer it with a question...
How do you do that in real life?
Maybe with a twinkling tone in your voice, or a hand on your hip and a comically scrunched up face...
You can always include such things in your RP.
/em puts his hand to his forhead in mock military salute
/say Aye Aye captain
/em chuckles as he pokes fun at XXXXX
Such interactions are pretty common.
A lot of players in COH play very hair trigger type characters, ones that are asily offended or that take much of what is said personally in character.
The easiest and most straighforward way to help ease some of he confusion of whether it is IC or OOC, is to /tell them...
I've never been shot down for asking someone to clarify if a reaction is OOC or IC... and asking will help you develop a bond with the character and his/her driver.
Does that help you at all?
~Burnsie
The majority of RPers will put OOC comments in ((double parenthesis)) also might help to read thier bios since some will have clues to thier character's personality in them. Don't worry about spelling, I'm no typist either, my only contact with any kind of keyboard is when I'm here or playing a game. I've never had people in game harp at me about mispelled words but I have have some leave because it takes me longer than they're willing to wait to respond. Don't let it bother you if either happens, just find someone else to play with.
I just wanted to let Burnsie know that I really enjoyed reading the Guide. I'm a long-time table-top, PBEM and IRC gamer. That having been said, it was nice to "checklist" my style and get a feel for what is appreicated by this gaming community. Thanks!
I've been RPing for a very long time. Some of those tips have really helped me! Thanks Burnsie!!
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I'm fine with people not typing well, as long as they put forth the effort...
AKA, people who use one letter instead of three, uh, I want to stab in the face. 'U' isn't a lot less work to type than 'you' is.
But, hey, misspellings and poor punctuation are fine by me. Just not AOLer speak. I think a lot of people use this standard, but... I can't speak for everyone, obviously.
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I have to agree with that Kelp.
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I'm fine with people not typing well, as long as they put forth the effort...
AKA, people who use one letter instead of three, uh, I want to stab in the face. 'U' isn't a lot less work to type than 'you' is.
But, hey, misspellings and poor punctuation are fine by me. Just not AOLer speak. I think a lot of people use this standard, but... I can't speak for everyone, obviously.
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I have to agree with that Kelp.
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First off thanks for the praise... it does my burning little heart good to hear it...
Secondly: Anyone that has ever ran into any of my 32 characters on Virtue (Yes... 4 accounts) can tell you I am a horrible speller, and grammatician...
I never let the mispellings or typos bother me too greatly... It's the content of the conversations and interactions that hold the appeal...
Hmmmmm...Like the wise rabbit once said...'Help me! Somark is trying to eeeeaaat meeeee!'..
I don't know what that has to do with this...But...Well....This forum helped a lot...But the rabbit didn't get any help...I'm confusing myself.......
Puppies!
Needs moor puppies!
Nuff said from Whale
Umm...Hoo hafs da fishies?
First off:
/em snaps off a crisp salute to Burnsie
For the best RP guide I have seen in a long, long time. You have a gift for stating the obvious without making the reader seem like they should be riding on the short bus because they were doing things they shouldn't.
Second:
/em gives McManus a "come on" gesture with his hand
Never be afraid to do your best McManus. Believe me the majority of RPers will recognize your efforts and reward you kindly for them. The stick in the mud perfectionists could find fault with the way a cow gives milk for Pete's sake ((you aren't mooing correctly! put some FEELING into it!)) so don't let them dissuade you from learning how to roleplay and having fun. Because that is the number one point to any role play - having fun!
And I will let you in on a little secret: All of us, from the best RPer to the most green RPer in the game started out just like you. Unsure, apprehensive and scared of making a major faux pas and having the entire server put you on /ignore. Just remember that when you start feeling that little doubt about your performance, or when someone who thinks they walk on water starts bashing your efforts. We were all new once, and we dont walk on water, we just act like we do =)
Awesome guide. I found Gemini Park last night wasn't sure how to start. I was told to check out this guide and this mama jamma is priceless.
Thanks Burnsie!
Okay, here's a question. 
I'm making a completely powerless hero. Devices for a secondary is a must, because of all the cool toys it has. That means he also has to take Assault Rifle, since it's the only non-superhuman Blaster primary. But it doesn't fit his character to lug a huge gun around. I figured on taking the Fighting Power Pool, but Boxing and Kick are surprisingly sub-par, so I'm not sure what to do. Sure I can "cheat" while I'm soloing and use the rifle, but how do I convince prospective groups to take on a Blaster who isn't willing to blast?
Keeping in mind he must remain a Blaster for the Devices.
Okay, nevermind. I caved and made him a Scrapper.
I really wanted that taser though.
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Okay, nevermind. I caved and made him a Scrapper.
I really wanted that taser though.
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Well, if you take the Martial Arts primary, you get attacks that can disorient your opponents. Just call Thunder Kick a jolt with a stungun.
I do the same thing with Long Arm. When he's up against enemies that wouldn't be fazed by a normal kick or punch, he wields a pair of electrified tonfa sticks. On the screen it looks like he's just punching and kicking as normal, but I know what he's really doing, and so would anyone RPing with me.
Yeah, Martial Arts would have made more sense, but I hate having characters with matching powersets.
Wish more people on Liberty would read this...I've met about two Heroes in my entire career who even cling to the pretense of role-playing, and I don't have the stones to stick to it in the face of indifference or even direct hostility and mockery from other Heroes.
It's OK if they don't want to role-play, but do they have to go on and on about their offline life even during battles? How does that help immerse you, help you enjoy the experience of playing a Hero, even help you win the battle? It seems like a waste to me not to seize this opportunity.