Limited Opportunity
By AnomalousSilence

Last week, the first article in this series discussed the establishment of a home for both yourself and your character. Our discussion included guidance as to how to make the best decision for your residency and the improvement of your overall server conditions. There was one thing that was left out last Wednesday, however, because it deserves an article all its own. Let’s go through three different situations to better explain the matter, shall we?

Stout and strong, your burly features clearly shown, you snarl in frustration and disgust at the Orc before you: after all, you are a Dwarf! This creature is one of raw destruction and nothing but a mere manifestation of evil! Your god, your almighty, shall never stand for such despicable slime oozing upon his world! Shouting a battle cry for him, you charge in headlong, and the Orc greets you in the exact same matter.

Your blades clang sharply as iron meets iron. Your plate armor grates against itself as you twist violently around, narrowly escaping definite death. Swinging your sword high above your head, muscles in your arm bulging, it drops down and cleaves your opponents arm clean off! Never one to waste a dull moment, you smoothly sever the poor Orc’s head.

The deed has been done, all in the name of he to whom you have dedicated your life.

At that precise moment, on another exact replica of Telon, Wood Elf meets Goblin. You were doing naught but tending to a sickly deer which you had heard crying out within the forest, when this Goblin Necromancer, this creature of death and decay, walked up to you. Shocked, you just sat there and stared. With a silent command, a monstrous creation with deathly pincers and grotesque multicolored limbs limped over to the deer. With a touch, and a helping command form its master, the deer rotted instantly.

Angered beyond belief, you cry out to nature for assistance. Roots shoot out from the ground momentarily in an attempt to bind the Goblin’s hands, preventing his casting. The Goblin begins his casting to resurrect the dead deer and turn it against you! But oh… wait. That isn’t allowed. Oops. Hopefully the Goblin will let you duel him.

On yet another manifestation, another replica of Telon, a Lesser Giant Shaman and a Thestran Dread Knight find themselves in a conflict. You, the Lesser Giant, have seen the manifestations of this human. You have followed him recently to find out that he kills without remorse. His killings, according to the Dread Knight himself, are for the overall greater good, and he must do these deeds because they are what must be done.

The spirits, even Hayatet himself, the spirit you more fully embrace than any other, are against the Dread Knight. You begin vehemently praying to Hayatet, and he grants you the amazing capability to rain down fiery destruction upon this Dread Knight. Conversely, the Dread Knight has known that you were following him the past week. He was prepared to slay you without regret, for he wholly believed you to be zealous in your practices.

Your eyes lock in a deathly gaze, and you mentally prepare yourself for the coming battle. Nearby, a Dark Elf Sorcerer is walking silently among the field. He doesn’t matter, though. It is the blood of this Thestran Dread Knight that you want. Suddenly, however, you remember: this human is on your team because, well, you know, teams are based on race or religion. This particular world just happens to be race-based, not religion-based. You see his level, which is 32. Even if you had been on opposing teams, you are the maximum level of 50, and thus could not attack him if you wanted to.

Well, then! Doesn’t that ruin the rush of adrenaline pumping through your veins? Apparently the human has realized it also, and you both turn to the Dark Elf, ready for the kill.

For pure role-playing purposes, it is obvious which server you would choose based on the above examples: the world used in the first example with open PvP. This is, sadly, not really a possible outcome because there is no single server that is perfect in role-playing. Thus, the decision to join either a PvP-RP or a PvE-RP server should be based on both the role-playing qualities and the negative, /OOC qualities.

PvP servers are often categorized by ganking, griefing, etc. This can make the overall gaming experience less enjoyable despite the numerous role-playing opportunities, as can be seen from the first example. Some PvP servers, such as those in the third example, are based on teams which are organized by race or religion. While not the best for role-playing, as characters should not be wholly categorized in such “teams”, this would most likely be the PvP-RP server with the least negative /OOC side effects.

Lastly is the PvE-RP server, as is seen in the second example. If conflicting personalities meet, such as seen in this example, battles cannot ensue. While the role-playing is limited on these server types, it is most likely the best bet if you do not wish to deal with various /OOC issues such as ganking and griefing.

It all really depends on your personal preferences. If you highly value the role-playing opportunities on a PvP-RP server, join it by all means, if the community is good! In contrast, if you do not feel like dealing with such PvP problems, move on to another server choice. It’s all about preferences when it comes to role-play.

Stop by this site again next Wednesday for a discussion of character creation.