Greetings and salutations from the 26^th Fleet, and the Open Starbase Project!

First, I’d like to thank our community manager Laughing Trendy for giving us this opportunity to address the community again! Without hard working community managers, player made projects like the OSB would be little more than a pipe dream.

What is the Open Starbase? The OSB Project is the 26th Fleet’s attempt at providing a fixed location in a game full of different shards of the same iconic locations; where role-players can congregate and network. In the year that the OSB has been open we have met hundreds of interesting characters with unique back stories; strange ships and all manner of Starfleet, Romulan and even a few Klingon officers. In the last year friendships were formed, stories were told, and mysteries explored!

How does one gain access to Starbase 381? The chat channel ‘SB381’ has been specifically created to handle starbase docking requests. Join the chat channel, and request docking permission. Praetorian’s staff of Starfleet officers will direct you to a docking assignment and grant you and your crew access to a location free from disruptive elements.

That’s enough recap though! On to Guest Blog #3: Tips and Tricks!

A few months back, fellow community member groomofweird had this to say about the OSB Project:

“…I think this is a SUPERB facility offered and your members seem fantastically friendly and helpful on the whole. You should be proud of what you are doing here. A thousand kudos from me and I myself may even consider a visit to your station. A suggestion if I may? Maybe in this thread or another some sort of rudamentory guide could perhaps be posted to help those new to MMORP? Just to get some feel of how to start off with RP and to avoid possible teething problems…” (sic)

You hadn’t missed it yet, Groom, but you did give us the idea for this third guest blog. So, this one is for you! We sat down with our membership and asked them to scratch their heads, dredge up some past RP experiences to help those whom are new to role play get past those ‘teething’ stages a little easier. After all, every hobby has a learning curve, right? Lets get down to the meat of this blog and share as many of these lessons as possible. Please note, I couldn’t add all of them. The full content of this blog, as well as our other OSB Blogs will be listed on our website at www.26thfleet.enjin.com

 U.S.S. Columbia NCC-1775-E orbits Starbase 381

 

• Don’t be afraid to start at the bottom and work your way up In-Character. It’s great to be Captain Kirk and be in charge of it all but a good half the story comes from the lessons you learned coming through the ranks.
• Let your character make mistakes! Good drama comes from a character’s struggle to overcome obstacles as they pursue their dreams.
• Some people will be rude enough to say you suck. Don’t hang out with those people; find people you like to Role Play with, who have fun Role Playing. Apprentice yourself to them, and you will improve.
• There will be mistakes and misunderstandings no matter how long you have been Role Playing. Don’t get discouraged. And don’t confuse the character with the player. Characters can be rude while that character’s player is enjoying interacting with you.
• Remember to include flaws in character; our flaws, sometimes, more than our strengths, are what define us – and they make for good stories.

 

Starfleet players role play on Kobali Prime, defending civilians from an enemy assault

 

 

• For me, the best Role Play happens when things are spontaneous. Don’t be afraid to step out of your shell and go boldly where no one has gone before… in Role Playing. If you are uncomfortable doing that, then cover the basics with the person you are Roleplaying with and then add one element of change and watch it grow.
• Do what makes you happy. Learn from the critiques of those around you. Look both ways before crossing the road. Don’t be afraid to have weaknesses and make mistakes, as was said earlier in this thread.
• Watch the shows. Read the books. Pay attention to the story in the game, rather than killing for shinies.
• Know your limits. You will not always be able to fix every problem. Maybe the person next to you can. How many issues in the shows/movies were solved by a lone individual with no support?
• When you’re designing a character, it’s okay to be a little ordinary, because it’s always an amazing story to be the ordinary man or woman who rises to perform extraordinary deeds. The deeds become less extraordinary – and in fact downright boring – when you are Superman with psychic powers and Borg technology and can accomplish anything with no effort, because what creates a good story is overcoming a challenge.

 Captain Rhys Llywarch, back in the field exploring an alien planet

• Be the person your dog thinks you are. There is no reason to Role Play a wretched ogre of a person, but if you insist, keep it strictly In Character.
• Help those around you, once you know what you are doing. You have that knowledge, now pass it on! You will enjoy RP much more once those around you are enjoying it as well. By helping them become better, and more comfortable, you are improving the community as a whole.�
• When Roleplaying, keep it simple and try not to over-do things. It’s about fun, not stress. 🙂
• You can’t Role play in a “fishbowl” – meet and get to know other RPer. 🙂
• Roleplaying conversations can be about anything, not just adventures or drama. Even “small talk” is a form of RP. Think of topics and bits of conversation that happen in real life and adapt that for in-game RP.
• If you don’t see it, make it. Role Playing starts with you.
• Remember to pass the buck. If you have something fun sitting on your ‘desk’, but don’t share it with other players, it’s only fun for you. Make it fun for others, too.

You can find more tips and RP Discussion on our forums, in the general discussion section. Also, make sure you click on the ‘Discuss this in the forums’ link below to add your tips and guidance to this article. We all started somewhere, and we’ve learned different lessons- MUD, MUSH, LARP, Table Top or MMO, it’s all role play!

Go Boldly….