The ideal RP (within SL)
I've been dissatisfied with RP in Lumindor lately. My unkind way of putting it is that their idea of a good time is to have a party where they stay in character about 50% of the time. We've had about half a dozen attempts at dramatic RP-- rescuing a noble, safeguarding a refugee whose pals then attack, even a war-- and they all seem to fizzle out. There's endless talk and, unbelievably, people fight furiously to not fight. Only one of the events included a battle. That would be admirable in real life, but it's a fantasy story, dammit. It's like LOTR ended on page 150 with Sauron agreeing to stay within Mordor except when there was a rocking party in Gondor or Rohan.
Time zones don't help either-- there have been some events lately with 40+ participants, which is pretty impressive for SL, but I can't play for long at those times.
To be fair, there are some standouts, like August. And there are many more who could rise to the occasion if they had better material to work with.
So I thought it would help me, at least, to consider what would be the ideal RP environment.
1. I love our keep, which is big and imposing and entirely hand-made. It has a really nasty dungeon, an impressive great hall, and comfortable rooms... all in all a great place for several kinds of RP. Of course, we could have the same keep somewhere else for less L$!
2. I kind of like the combat system. It's simple and in many ways stupid, but it does require skill, and once you get into multi-player combat you can model some real tactics. An ideal RP would provide storylines that encourage combat.
3. Ideally, when we were tired of sparring and sex, we could wander out with a good probability of finding good conversation, sex partners, or combat opportunities. Lumindor would seem to be promising on these, but generally all I can get is a very superficial chat.
4. There should be ongoing storylines featuring advanced RP (see previous post). I get tired of characters that aren't memorable, enemies that fizzle out, and events that have no consequences. Some long-term feuds could spice things up nicely.
5. There needs to be some form of economy. It can be as fakey as the combat system, but the lack of it is what makes stories so difficult. There's nothing we need-- no gold pieces, no resources, no levels. As a corollary, there's nothing we can steal, no tasks we can undertake, and no prices we can charge for them.
Making this up as I write: maybe each faction should be able to exclusively create some resource; and having those resources should be required for certain activities. Really ruthless: you can't build without stone or wood; you can't fight without iron or bronze; you need food or you lose health and die. A little nicer: the resources are all luxury goods, but there are still real consequences if you lack them: e.g. you can't wear fine clothes without a source of silk or leather; you can't own a ship without hemp.
By making each faction an exclusive source of supply, you create trade as well as conflict. Each faction needs to be courted by the others... or else they need to fight for goods, or steal them.
6. I'd raise consciousness about advanced RP and hold classes in how to do it. I wouldn't exclude those who can only do basic; not everyone has to be a storyteller. But faction leaders should all be able to tell stories, manage conflict, and improvise.
7. An attraction of Lumindor is that it's four sims, so it's fairly large. But maybe it's too large: each faction makes its own little world, with little interaction. Perhaps there should just be a single dedicated sim, with the rest of the kingdom distributed; that would allow organic growth anyway. Just declare your parcel a part of the kingdom, provide two-way teleports, and mark the boundaries.