Ageing for very, VERY active Hopefuls

[Herenai]

My character was 10 years old when he arrived. Nothin specific happened, I used the youngling skin since I didn't have an RPMod account. I was like 'Hurray!' when I got it. BUT!

[Three months later (ICly it equals THREE YEARS)]

I'm still a 10, but I should be 13. Children grow fast in this age, I don't have to tell. I feel this is a bit harsh for newcomers. It is a form of preventation for Roleplay I think, because there is no way to develop our characters when they are growing up and stuff like this.

My suggestion is that ageing should be allowed for Hopefuls who are very diligent and were here more then... let's say a month or two.

What do you think about it?

Sorry for not reading everypost (I'm a bit lazy this morning), well from my point of view, it isn't a form of preventation for Roleplay. On the the contrary, when you're a child, you can come up with a lot of things. I also spent 3 months before getting Initiated, just like a lot of people here. But this didn't stop me from developping a character or something else. When you'll reach 30 years old, you will """cry""" because you'll be too old to do some things you would have done as a teenager

ALSO: This teaches patience muhahaha

[Mortael Toronous]

All I can say here really is, I don't mind being an immortal hopeful for the time-being; you could simply RP it as months in terms of yourself as others have suggested or simply try to compress what you have done and just be careful of what you 'try to learn' IRP; as of course, if you try to learn too much- there wont be room for character development WHICH IS KEY to any standard of RP'ing as you're telling your own story to those around you. For example, my character is shy.. If I were to learn how to not be shy within my initiation- that would be a bit... Well, dull- so try to limit yourself; as a hopeful you shouldn't be concentrating on learning anything- at all; well perhaps one or two things- but you're not going to have the intelligence of a Padawan when you join. ..I don't see any problems with being immortal- I believe that aging would destroy that sense of achievement and realistic-level. I hope that made sense;')

[Kieran Orion]

All I was curious about in terms of my character was the linguistic progress, though I guess this provides answers for other future hopefuls to look over. I'm one to want my Rping to be realistic as possible so I appreciate all the help when I can get it, thanks.

[Amoné Fayden]

No problemo at all!

I've made it sound like there's a lot of do's and don't but it's all common sense really.

[Motoko]

I'll throw my proverbial hat into the ring on this one. Note the two pennies in the lining...

I can definitely understand the frustration in taking time. I RPed in SWG for almost as long as this community has been around playing the same character. That game's been gone now for nearly six months, and I'm chomping at the bit to get my creative juices going again (That's not dirty, I swear). However it doesn't matter here that I played the same character for eight+ years, how many people liked my RP, how many friends I had, or how well developed her story was. Just as all the same things I had from intensive RPing on a very serious Neverwinter Nights persistent RP server counted for naught when I landed in SWG.

Now I have this wonderful concept in my head that I get the opportunity to play from mid-childhood (Previous Mo I started RPing around 21) and I have all these wonderful ideas about where her nucleic concept wouldgoandall
theseawesomeideasthatifsomeonewouldjustRPwithmethenIcouldgettheball
rollingandbecomeaninitiategetamentorlearncoolthingsoneononeandgeta
lightsabertraininusingitandthengooffandhavemyswampcaveexperience
andgrowandwritecoolthingsandgettoshareanddoreallycoolmissionswitheveryone IF I COULD JUST GET NOTICED AND BECOME AN INITIATE ALREADY.

Be calm. Breathe. As in all things, there is reason.

The first thing to learn is that you know nothing, Jon Snow. Sure, maybe you're like me, an old fart that's been RPing since we did it uphill both ways in the snow. Even then, I do have a lot to learn. I have to learn how they RP here. I'm not in Kansas any more, and it's definately not Arkansas either. There's a chance, that despite everyone's best intentions, this might not be what I'm looking for once I take a closer look at it, or that I'm not what everyone else is looking for in a new member.

That's what this trial period is for. To get a gauge of the hopefuls not just in terms of RP experience and style, but personality as well. Getting people together that mesh well is extremely important to foster that meaty RP that leaves people talking about it for years and fondly remembering with nostalgia when they look at screen shots. I've seen what happens when things go wrong in SWG (my god.. the drama *goes into fetal position and babbles for a few minutes*) and in NWN (they actually did have a real banhammer). When people have to spend more time dealing with extraneous garbage than actually having fun, everyone loses.

Now, to address the OP with this in mind, I have one sentence that I use as a guide almost all the time involving these types of issues: Time moves at the speed of plot. No faster, no slower.

So in terms of ::JEDI:: what does that mean? Quite simply, as a hopeful, you have no plot, period. You're a kid. You can't go do things without adults there and you're far more likely to skin your knee than do anything all that incredibly interesting.

So what can you do? I try to frame everything I do ICly on the server as just the regular day to day things that seven year old girl would do, plus all the baggage I've written for her. So she's trying to make friends, figure out how life is going to be, try not to think too much of home, and wonder why Wynne and some others are so preoccupied with scaring her for laughs.

OOCly I frame it with the obvious: I'm trying to show that I not only have an understanding of basic RP concepts in place on the server, but also that I've at least taken the effort to read all the guides and information about the server that dedicated members of this community have painstakingly written to try and attract certain playstyles and that I'm completely comfortable with those playstyles. You owe it to them, this is their house you're trying to get into after all.

Sure, it could get really weird if someone is accepted a few months before you and suddenly there's an age gap where one didn't exist before. There's no cure-all for something like that, but most assuredly, there's going to be a little reconning and some slight rewritting to make it all fit. It's not impossible without some flexibility.

[Oberon]

IF I COULD JUST GET NOTICED AND BECOME AN INITIATE ALREADY.

"We see you. We have no choice." -Tomoran on Hopefuls

-

Everything I could have said that's constructive my good friend Amoné has already slapped on the table. So I really think the only thing left, albiet brunt, is that you, Motoko, should look at trading the Japanese name for a Star Wars name so that you don't break RP cadence. Like you said, this community has no idea who you were for eight years or what have you. We only know what we see now. Yes we love prior RP experience, yes we love creative freedom - but as mean as it sounds... you do have to fit in a bit (at least to the Star Wars universe) if you want to don some JEDI tags and hang your hat in the student dorm like all the pros.

No one wants to read the server list and chuckle at =Hu=Jintao=::JEDI:: or whatever. Or perhaps snicker in real life every time they have to type your name ICly. Even the Russian names we used to entertain were somewhat facepalm worthy. I suppose Aleksandrovna (I forgot exactly what it was) is better than Gorbachev. I hope this post makes me out to be kind of a jerk (unavoidable since I'm being THAT guy) and not a racist (not my point.). But in a polite review of the name you've chosen for your character; its further from "Lightly inspired by..." and closer to "Gorbachev".

Other than that, think Star Wars and go all out. Have fun, act like a kid. I give you my permission, because that definitely means something, to cause mischief and make friends out of the accomplices you draft. Believe me you'll thank me later. Hopeful mischief is some of the most fun. But you know... within realistic limits. There's a difference between being a kid and a troll.

[Motoko]

I think perhaps that specific paragraph was misconstrued. I was specifically getting at that sometimes, as players, we're all excited to dive straight in, and we want it now now now now now yesterday, and that's not the way this server, and more broadly, the world, works. People don't know me from Adam, and that it'll take time. I was merely trying to address the concern from the OP that it was taking too long and causing problems with timelines, with my response that it's a "long process" for a good reason, and that timeline troubles is small stuff in the long run, and focusing on just being a hopeful is time better served.

I've had a few people already mention the name directly or indirectly. Some for, some against, oddly enough. Not sure what to do with that mixed message, as apparently there's a canon world full of Asian names someone pointed me at that I wasn't even aware of that would make a nice homeworld for my character. I fully understand the concern with the name, given the notoriety, and I'll start trying to find something more in the "inspired" vein. Her background isn't set in stone either, as I slowly flesh out where she's been and where she's going, so I'm not even sure yet if I'll use that as a homeworld.

I'm already having a lot of fun with the mischief and child-RP. Just ask Wynne. Ellana and Mo would make a rather formidable pair (hide your juice boxes). >_>

[Oberon]

That's cool, even their (apparently there was only two people ever to live on that planet. LOL jk) names seem more inspired than replicative, though. Tching is really the only one that looks Mandarin.

But like I said, out of everything I've said so far your name is the only thing that really gets me. Your RP looks solid and will only improve as it adjust to our environment. =)

I personally found that the best thing to do on stuff that gets mixed signals is to go with the one that's going to either please or make indifferent the 100% rather than please 50% and make the other half go "what the heck dude." I even found out tonight that Kih Bu's name is INSPIRED by a Japanese name/word. You wouldn't have thought that at first glance because it fits perfectly into what one would expect a Kel Dor name to look like. Short and sweet. But now it has meaning behind it too, bam, awesome.

[Sebastin Creed]

Just so everyone knows, I pointed out the world to Motoko here and have no issue with the name - though on the same part as Oberon said though Motoko, a good thing to remember is that while it's quite 'obvious' what this world allows people to do/have/think (Forgive me if this is the wrong term, but merging Asian Lore with Star Wars). It's there to help that along but try not to put too much... how can I say... outside references into your background from books/films other than Star wars as it does really bring down the expectation and standards of where you can take it.

It's there in Canon, so it exists and it will also help make your character a bit more realistic and relatable to Star Wars but stick to what the canon gives you going forward.

[Motoko]

I can see the danger and the concern of a name like that flying off the rails into something other than Star Wars. I've made it a point to keep away from merging the lore with anything else decidedly not SW. Things like that always made me wince a bit myself when I saw it in SWG, such as an Elf, a Drow, Vampires, etc. etc. (I have a screenshot of the Drow. Seriously.)

TL;DR

It's a name, nothing more. Everything else is all SW.

[Elu Dako]

Star Wars even has Canines known as Shistavanens, sentinel beings that hail from the planet Uvena Prime, they're basically werewolves without the messed up lycanthorpy disease which causes transformations.

I find them a rather interesting species if I'm honest.

There are even rabbits (Kushibans) such as Lakrit and Ommar, tiny things that are sentinel.

The star wars universe is a strange and mysterious place.

Now back on topic..

I think this thread may served it's purpose a few posts ago before the topic was changed.

In the nutshell - Hopefuls aging sucks as it means for lack of development later since they are already too old.

[Ellana]

In the nutshell - Hopefuls aging sucks as it means for lack of development later since they are already too old.

Hopefuls not aging makes perfect sense. Realistically, a hopeful wouldn't spends years and years being a hopeful, but for OOC reasons this is needed. And wouldn't you like to spend more of your years as a jedi rather than a hopeful?

I do think this topic is pointless, the system is quite sound. I'm a hopeful and I have no such problem with it.

[Sebastin Creed]

I think Elu was agreeing that no aging for hopefuls is a good thing, Ellana.

But your right, I think this thread has served it's purpose now. The system is as it should be.

[Elu Dako]

When I once refered to time ICLY, I was told by someone 'Time doesn't pass for hopefuls' meaning we're basically in a sort of time lock, for us time doesn't pass but it does for others.

I think it was Roan (Gabe) who told me.

I just tend to think of it as the same year on an eternal loop and the year doesn't change till after your initiation.

I guess it's one way of looking at it.

But I'd hate to start as a 7 y/o hopeful then be 12 when I'm Initiated, it would take the fun out of learning and developing since I lost five years, even a single year can be a loss in my opinion, as in the old republic, all initiates were kids and were given their padawan trials around the age of 12, if they passed they became padawans (masterless), after which if after say...two years no master took an interest they were sent away.

The point I'm trying to make is being a kid is about having fun, if you allow aging you take away that fun for your character itself, because let's face it, no-one wants to be wasting time on a initiate that's 16 by the time he's initiated, their years of being allowed to have fun have been wasted and while a hopeful you can continue to have as much fun as you want, within reason of course. As they old they are expected to mature and grow up and you may not want too because as a hopeful you have little responsibilities, other than setting a bit of an example for the younger folk.

I hope that clears up the matter?

[Des Anaro]

I really think we all got the point now lol.