But most go bashing these days to get those rewards. Seems that we may want to go out of our way to encourage RP these days and not only on quest.
That's an assumption based on what you have encountered thus far. I suggest finding new characters to group with. To coin the Vulcan term, "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations." When a group stagnates and does the same thing over and over, it becomes clockwork. Add some new folks to the mix and seek out new players and you will be astounded by the infinite number of new players, new perspectives and new characters being made. It's one of the main reasons I have yet to go epic yet here on the server. Meeting new people, their characters and the stories that come with them and the interpersonal conflicts, the life's goals and the progression of character development is what keeps my mind alive. It's also why I make a new character about every 4 months at least. Make a goblin, make a dark elf, make a Toranite, make something new. If you don't have all 6 slots filled at all times, I think it's doing oneself a disservice. I know from personal experience that playing a goblin, then a cannibalistic sociopath doctor, then a dwarven defender, then the bane of all sanity, a redneck ninja, a cute little sunshine girl, etc... that the game itself never gets old, just the routine we allow ourselves to get familiar with. If I was playing nothing but Bjornigar mining diamonds, adamantium, cobalt and eventually mithral, I would go insane from boredom. Maybe that's just me.In any case, we could always use more gobbos.
I'll say this though...when I come across a group tossing out a lot of OOC chatter, I put the XP wand away.
a racoon takes one of your rings
Oh and i miss Toby, that was his forte. I can't remember a quest he ran, but he was dilligent about making a nightly round.
where did they go?
I have two characters, one is a grumpy male and the other is a more energetic female. Over the four years since I have played, the male has obtained role playing XP one time and the female, who I play quite a bit less, has gotten hit with the wand about six times.
Do girls get more XP? Probably. I think that when someone plays a female PC, they act totally different and put a lot more effort into it. I know I do. And for the PCs that are played by real females, they are already more emotional and more soap opera-ish!
I think a couple of things that does limit this is first off, we have to be on as a GM in that sort of capacity. Meaning, we're not setting up for a quest (which actually takes a lot of time), investigating bugs, checking on disputes, working with the tools, going through maps and areas for quest ideas, etc. Once we are on and not doing the number of other things, we have to remember to do it. I think that is the main point. We have to purposely log on with the intent to surf the server and watch people RP. And really, I don't care if you are fighting or sitting still. If you are RP'ing, then you will get a bit of XP.