RP in CoX

No sure I get RP in CoX. I have been active in RP games for, well, a long time. D&D, Chapions tabletop, Vamp the perpetual hassle, etc... Even Rolemaster, which required a spreadsheet program and a 20 page character sheet if you followed all the rules.

So, I'm on Virtue, mainly cause I know a group of players there who do Master badge runs, and are real pros. Always nice to play with pros.

Last night I decide I am gonna try to get my feet wet in RP in Atlas. I have a goal of finding a Blaster I like and doing every arc Blueside as I 50 them, figure why not make that a RP character. i mean, i'm gonna be on that one a while, and it would definitely fit.

There were peeps hanging in Atlas, obviously RPing. I come up, saying things in character. Never even an acknowledgement that i was there. Am I missing something? I figure they were RPing in Atlas because they wanted to RP w/ new characters. Do you need a decoder ring? I was also in broadcast (New character looking for RP SG). Did i just get unlucky, or is this a common experience amongst peeps trying to get in with an RP group?

You must not have used the secret handshake. Your bad.

They may have been in the middle of their own "thing" and just ignored you. *shrug* Virtue's been "The RP server" long enough that they can get fairly set in their ways.

I'd either have sent them a tell ahead of time, asking if you can join in (as opposed to just walking up,) or went down to the virtue forum to find a SG. Don't think RP only happens on virtue, though.

See my Guides and Tutorials

Union is the "other" RP server as it was the EU RP server before the list merge.

That's not to say that RP doesn't happen on other servers.

I always found it odd that roleplayers would be standing around talking.

Roleplayers basically play the game like the game is "real life", right?

There is all this crime being committed by supervillains and what not...and they are just chillin in atlas having a conversation.

Worst superheroes ever.

I'd ask them what they wanted but that's just me not being rude by ignoring them.

When we are standing around roleplaying it is always in team-chat to minimize disturbing others but if a stranger walks up and starts talking we'll always switch to local and talk back in the same mode. So if it is even remotely in-character we'll chat back the same and if it is ooc, usually a question, we'll try to politely answer the question. If it turns out they were just trying to mess with us I guess we would move to our base for privacy but frankly that's never happened to me.

It seems pretty short-sighted of any RPer standing in a public place to not try to engage someone who is trying to be in-character I don't care what you are currently doing. I know it is usually best to ignore the others around you but if those others purposely engage you then I think you have to roll with the punches and roleplay it out. To do otherwise would indicate to me an inability to react appropriately to external stimuli (i.e. roleplay with your environment) and rude to boot. Of course that's just my opinion. There is also the possibility you happened to catch them while they were afk or something.

As for your question, I have no idea how you break into roleplay in COH short of finding a RP SG that actually plays or bringing your old RP buddies into COH with you (which is what I did). Heck, I'm not even sure HOW other folks do their roleplay in this game and I've never attempted to try to engage another group of players directly when I expected to get an answer - roleplaying in-character for laughs in a pug doesn't seem like the same thing - so I can't say if you were just unlucky or that's the norm. I suspect it is the norm unless you happen to stumble across some truly outstanding players.

For some people RP is serious business and they'll only act out pre-approved RP sessions with those people with whom they have agreed to do their bit. Others are simply cliquish and reluctant to acknowledge outsiders. Yet others are actually approachable. How can you tell which is which? There's signs to look for, but that's for another thread.

If someone gives you the cold shoulder, make a mental note of who they are and move on.

There's also the matter of tone to consider. For example, if some gritty-type RPers are discussing gritty realistic matters, then they're probably unlikely to respond to a cartoon rabbit, because it clashes with the established tone.

All of the above: yes, they could have been RP snobs who think they're just too cool for school, and only associate with their own little cliques; they could also have been handwaving away the cartoon rabbit or ignoring the rude guy barging in. Sometimes the conversation itself will be a clue. If they're despondently grieving and gnashing their teeth over the in-character death of a teammate, it could easily be a bad time to wander into the conversation. If they're excitedly talking about the latest zombie/Rikti/invasion, it could be a good time to wander up to them.

Without finding an RP SG, you can find improvisational, spontaneous pickup group style RP pretty much anywhere -- in missions, on a street corner, in Pocket D*, at the monorail station, in Icon or the consignment house. [*On Virtue, Pocket D RP is often a lot better than most people would have you believe. Sometimes it's also a lot worse. It depends on the day, the TIME of day, which part of the D you're in, and who's there. Just like a real bar or club, there's bound to be a few clumps of snooty people who ignore strangers, a few friendly groups you can walk up and say "hi!" to, at least one guy who may or may not be drunk (in character and/or real life) spouting gibberish, and probably a desperate guy (or girl, or cat-girl) looking for ERP. And just like a real bar, if the first one you ever go to sucks, you don't just stop going to bars.]

Asking in this section about Virtue RP might not be the best place for advice, so here's the stickied and ongoing Virtue thread, An Idiot's Guide to RP: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=112614

Have fun, don't give up if a few people ignore your attempts to RP with them, and depending on your mood, have your character pick up some virtual catnip or catgirl repellent -- or both, if you want to send mixed signals.

I sort of brushed someone off last night (Australia time) whilst talking in Atlas.
Maintenance was coming, I'd just met a potential supergroup member, and had 15-20 minutes to give him the base tour before the universe temporarily collapsed. If you were the radioactive pirate who approached us, then I apologise for not having the time to join you. I tried to talk, but was processing a few different conversations already, and I was on something of a schedule at the time.

Normally, I try to talk in local in character to allow others to get drawn in, but this was a case of bad timing.

Yes, ignoring the whole "cigarettes are icky" part, at least a "no" is called for. Especially in context, this is not someone walking up to strangers on a street, but a few players in a game excluding another player for no reason.

PUGs are a normal in this game, and I'd like to suggest the role players would be best served by having the same policy. New folks should be are welcome until they make an effort to be unwelcome.

Wasn't a pirate last night. Gotta get that rolling someday. hmmm. Dual pistols Blaster/ Plus, i was off way before server maintenance.

I'll have to try again, maybe practice my secret handshakes lol.

Yeah, dont let one bad experience get you down.

The people who ignored you could have been in tell-hell or processing other conversations in channels you couldn't see. Or they could have been rude and clique-ish.

Keep on looking - if one in ten random interaction turns into a friends-list member or supergroup contact or whatever you're doing well, and it more than makes up for the 9 people who dont get what youre doing.