Roleplay & Storytelling
Requiem is a roleplay-enforced shard, meaning at all time while logged in, you are expected to behave in character. How much you wish to engage with others beyond that is entirely up to you, and for those new to UORP Shards, we have an introductory guide located here.
The topic of Roleplaying is so important it's the very first section of Requiem's Shard Rules, a set of directions everyone in here (staff and players alike) must adhere to. Upon applying to a character, you agree to them, and can be regularly referenced here.
Players are encouraged to find role-play opportunities with both players and NPCs on FFRP, NPC story elements will not seek you out unless you signal to us you are “Free for RP”.
For structured, tailored story and world changes, players need to group up or join in on existing Player Factions. Staff will work directly with a player leader to curate content requested of their group. That said, anyone can work towards goals outside of that structure, but you will need to engage with the world organically to promote response. Please read on for all the ways to do so.
Looking for Roleplay Tools
Anyone interested in finding other players and NPCs can use the commands [LookForRP or [llfrp to bring up a map featuring everyone nearby who is available and also seeking role-play.
Alternatively, if you wish to be listed as “Free for Roleplay” on the map for others to seek you out, use [FreeforRP or [ffrp. Your name will appear on a list when others use [LookForRP, and if they are nearby, your location will show up on a map for ease of finding each other:
The “Main Story” & World Response to Roleplay
We at Requiem consider the most interesting stories to be the interactions between the individuals (players) navigating the world and each other, and thus, the main event. However, for lack of better term, we consider the “Main Story” to be the world persisting in the backdrop of the players. The best way to get caught up on events in game is to check out the most recent Local (Frontier Herald) and National (Republic Sentinel) Newspaper.
The goal of the main story is to provide a backdrop for players to interact with each other: NPC factions realistically have offscreen resources and manpower that makes them a little imbalanced top pit against a handful of players.
Don’t expect these NPC Factions to resolve problems between you and your fellow players: They are very, very busy with their own stuff. I.E. running to tell a VIC to do something about a mage will probably be met with, “Why did you let them live?”.
We’ll have metrics like reputation to inform us what happens next, but well organized, roleplayed efforts can have additional effects on the story: A single person showing up to an event to try and wipe out the Foundry is very likely going to fail horribly for that individual. But a well organized, roleplayed arc of you and your best buds planting a bomb? We can definitely do some stuff with that.
Staff plants a lot of story hooks and lore in The Newspapers to provide your character information to follow up on in game in the that wont be advertised elsewhere. The staff will also respond with either story events, NPC interactions, or new mechanics based on what players submit to the Frontier Herald when they feel it's appropriate to do so.
In any given situation, staff doesn’t mean to use any of their elements - adversaries or not - to punish players in ways to soft or hard-lock them out of content. But do not test this. While this is our hope, our job is to provide a grimdark experience; so don’t force their hand - NPC characters will react accordingly when pushed to do so. This can mean exile, jailing, betrayal, injury, and even permadeath.
Ignorance of the lore will not excuse you from the consequences of the lore: Your character should understand the world’s dynamics, and roleplay character accordingly. For example: expect the Venerated Inquisition to have issue with those who use magic, or expect the Forlorn Hope to have issue with those who identify as Prelacy.
Not every main story event is for everyone: some events will be combat, some will be social, some will involve factions that require a certain reputation standing. Be mindful of the NPC factions and what their world views are to decide when it may or not be safe for you to attend an event.
If you’re only showing up to big public events, you’re going to miss the majority of the story: After the initial exposition of a story arc, the big story beats will be a result of everything that happens in between the last one - reputation metrics, roleplay from the players, etc. will all inform staff about the next big narrative beat in the story.
While the big beats of the main story will be mostly public, the threads that link these events together may not. As the story progresses, your reputation, previous roleplay with the faction, with NPC Story Elements, and in-game public standing will all play a part in what events you may or may not be able to be a part of. Associating with one NPC faction may get you access to special events but lock you out of events with another. Likewise, certain actions your character takes in-game may lock you out of certain avenues of roleplay. I.E. Breaking the law in the Fort may lock you out of Foundry events but open up avenues for the Forlorn Hope.
NPC Story Elements:
The world of Requiem includes many NPC characters that embody different aspects of the world and it's Factions, Ideologies, and Lore elements to provide even more flavors to interact with. Interaction with NPCs outside of NPC events is not mandatory - nothing is going to be better than what players provide each other - but when utilized, NPC elements can cause ripple effects; including introducing additional lore, new opportunities in the First Province, diverting or creating new things in the “main story”, as well as provide character foil for your personal stories.
This means at any given time, there will be NPC’s in play who will may or may not like you for one reason or another, please don’t take this personally. In a Grimdark shard, the world is complicated, and there’s no right answer to any given situation, and everyone thinks they’re right - just like in real life.
One NPC character may not 100% encapsulate their factions (where applicable) collective thinking: Taking interest in various aspects or characters within different elements could open up different opportunities, and they make themselves available regularly on FreeForRP.
NPCs sit on FreeForRolePlay in their “hubs” to provide opportunities to ask questions, soundboard RP, move stories (theirs or your own) and some will be used to inform us of the next main story events.
We do not wish to make these NPCs the main event, or outshine our Players:. If you want NPCs to be present at a player-run event, please open a player relations ticket. a forum post, or find the NPC in game to extend an invitation. Only with strong roleplay-driven motivations will they come seek you out otherwise. We also try to only run into players who use FreeForRP to signal they are seeking these roleplay interactions.
If you need to set a meeting, or want to run into certain NPCs but can't find them on FFRP, please just open a Player Relations Ticket. We want to be fair as fair as possible in providing the same opportunities to everyone. That said, some NPCs - Faction Leaders, Rebels, etc. may not be accessible without the proper reputation to get an audience. If you are unsure who you should speak with regarding what, just ask us staff in the ticket!