Looking at Tabula Rasa's Role Players

by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

While roleplaying is a misunderstood and mysterious art for many, it's roots in the origins of MMORPG's and gaming itself are undeniable. Long before the wonders of immersive combat and flying mounts people quietly gathered around tables with books and paper living adventures in their mind. Becoming their character and acting out a role, allowed players to experience an entirely different world and take on a persona unlike their own.

Thus began the origins of the Role Playing Game, which would evolve into PC games in the 1980's (partly lead by Tabula Rasa's Richard Garriott) and finally into the MMOG's we know and love today. As the market grew and more mainstream gamers were introduced to this genre, the roleplayer has become less common. While some may dismiss them outright, you will always find groups of them in every product.

Considering the military nature of Tabula Rasa and the fact it's not the traditional fantasy world, there was a bit of a surprise to learn of a thriving roleplaying clan. Fortunately, I was able to speak with Ainilome who runs TR Roleplayers, a 620 member organization dedicated to this play style. She graciously agreed to give me a little more insight into their world and how this group of players came to be.

I started things off by asking a little bit about her background in MMO games, because we usually find roleplayers are veteran life long gamers. "I started out in MMOs about four years ago in Final Fantasy XI," she explained taking me by complete surprise. "Since then I've played far too many to count, every major game out there and many minor or free to play that only lasted a few weeks. My favorites have been Final Fantasy XI, Saga of Ryzom and Star Wars Galaxies." The experience in SWG would certainly explain the draw to Tabula Rasa as comparisons are frequently made.

As the subject shifted to roleplaying we dicussed the difference between a roleplaying and non-roleplaying individual. When asked if they become emotionally attached to stories she stated "I'd say yes, playing as if you are actually -in- the story rather than simply watching it adds a whole other dimension to gameplay. Most roleplayers will tell you that story is what they're here for." How does that affect their overall objectives though. Would they do a mission differently than I would?

"Mission objectives, personally, yes they certainly do. I'll gladly pass up a sweet purple net gun if it's the reward for a branch off of a quest that my character simply would not have done. For me, staying true to my character's motivations is more important than 'loot'. But that's different for everyone, plenty would choose to pretend the quest line didn't happen and be happy with their nifty new gun. And that's fine, everyone plays different, RPers included."

That certainly would be a different line of thinking for many who are focused on stats and gear. The story of Tabula Rasa has some great lore associated with it and seems almost a crime that it's so easy to ignore as you rush on to the next objective. It's not too unusual to meet a roleplayer as they exist in every game, but an entire organization of them? Ainilome speaks reminiscently of the events that lead up to the creation of Tabula Rasa Roleplayers.

"Back in beta there was a bit of an uproar when the initial news of no official forums hit. At the time, there was an already and active and thriving RP community on the forums there and it was mentioned in passing a few times that we should create a fansite for us after launch. I was part of a wonderful unofficial roleplay community back in Vanguard and felt inspired by the success of that to see what I could do about organizing the roleplayers in TR." The lack of official forums has been a hot topic discussed frequently and would be one of the last things you would think would spurn a unique community like this. This unusual twist of events solidified what probably would've still been a successful organization by motivating roleplayers to come together.

It's very easy to fear someone of a very different playstyle and interacting with them can be intimidating to many. What if people are interested in learning more? What kind of players can they expect at Tabula Rasa Roleplayers. She cleared it up for me by stating "As a roleplayer, I know a lot of times how visible or not a game's RP community is actually plays a large part in if I decide to give the game a try or not. It's so important that it be clear that there are plenty of people who really adore acting the part of their characters and welcome others who do in a game. Without that it's often hit or miss if you run into others with your hobby or not. TRRP is really about organization and keeping in touch across the guilds and across the servers. You'll find every sort of player imaginable here, but all of us love our roleplaying."

If the influence of this community hasn't been made obvious, take for example the roleplaying events of the past few months supported directly by the development team. While commonplace 5 years ago, actual involvement by the people responsible for game design is almost unheard of today. Ainilome speaks very fondly of the NCsoft group when asked about the support they receive. "From the begining the community team support for events has been phenomenal. FireLotus has been our go to girl for far too many lore and storyline questions I'm sure, Miss Morrison herself has stopped by and RPed on our forums and in our shoutbox before. When it comes to events we have several weekly or biweekly, like tavern nights."

As our interview came to a close I asked if there were any final words she'd like to share. "Tabula Rasa Role Players could not and would not be what it's grown into today without the dedication and support of it's wonderful community. It's been my great pleasure, with the help of the wonderful mod team since beta, to provide a home for
us all."

We want to thank Ainilome for taking the time to speak with us, and wish her and the members at Tabula Rasa Role Players an exciting and expansive future. How do you feel about role playing in Tabula Rasa? Stop by our forums to let us know!