Thanks are due to:

1. Aleros, for volunteering to be the zombie pinata (and then getting largely ignored all night)
2. Shaurria, for helping me get all of the candy and cupcakes to the people that needed them.
3. Norvallen, for being our icy, only mostly-dead bartender.
4. Bricu, for giving an awesome tale of zombies in the stockade.
5. Illithias, for whispering me about a character question and then being OK when I asked if it could happen at another time. That was super awesome cool, and deserves brownie points.

And then last night, on a much more somber note, the Riders learned of the passing of Jol Taborwynn, the old Lordaeron mountain of stone who had been such a part of things that they had done. He asked Aely last week if she would stop by the farm (where she’d gone to dig potatoes and try to deal with her emotional state a few months back). When she did, she was met by a man who was obviously dying. It was heartbreakingly sad, especially since he’d taken on something of a fatherly role for her (even if they did tease each other quite a lot). This left her last night with the job of telling the Riders what had happened.

She spoke first with Tarquin, as it seemed appropriate that he should know before the others, and gave Tarq Jolly’s old tabard, which now hangs proudly in the Pig and Whistle next to the Longest Night banner. And then she had to break the news to everyone else. It was, without a doubt, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in game, particularly handing out the few things that Jolly had asked be given to specific people. (Bricu very nearly didn’t get that shield).

Major thanks to:

1. Arrens, for just being there. He’s a mess himself, but he stayed – and because he stayed, Aely finally got to deal with some of what had happened. The resulting breakdown wasn’t fun or easy, but it was (in a way) good.
2. Shaurria and Windstar - for being /amazing/. Their kitty-radar was in full swing, and they managed to comfort and provide relief to a lot of very very sad people last night. It sounds silly, but having a huge, purry druid cat come and just lean on you when you’re sad … helps. Even if you end up crying on them. (Particular thanks to Shaurria for staying with Aely at the Pig last night. She needed the sleep, and having Shaur there did a lot to calm her down) Cat Therapy, it’s what they do.
3. Tarquin, for handling things as only Tarquin can, and for being able to remain himself. It’s not easy being “Boss” and still be a person, and he managed to do both. Even if it did finally get to him. Also, for some of the best emotes ever.
4. Feliche, for realizing that Aely needed a hug, and providing one, even if she sobbed all over his shirt. (Bellesta too, for big-fuzzy-bear-hug later on)
5. Bricu, Threnn, Beltar, Chryste, Ilarra and Ilanna, Skulley, Kyraine, and everyone else who was there and contributed to the evening. It’s easy to be a part of happy RP and fun tavern nights. But sticking it out in the face of tragic sadness is hard (both on the character and on the player).

Having what was essentially a wake for someone who had been a big part of the Black and Red wasn’t easy. But it managed to be epic, even if it was epic sad and angry. Aely still has to talk to Fells and Varenna, but thanks to last night, a lot of the pressure is gone, and she (and everyone else) can start dealing with their grief.

If you’d like to read the story of Jol’s Last Rites (that preceeded last night’s RP in game), you can find it here. This happened between Jolstraer and Aely, and be warned. It will probably kick you in the gut a little.

***Thanks for reading this post from Too Many Annas. May the Loot-Fu be with you***

Epic Thankyous

Honor’s Code discussing the tanking implications for Lay on Hands now having Forbearance. As a Holy Paladin who is normally the main healer of our Prot Paladin tank (who also happens to be my husband) this change basically takes Lay on Hands out of the Holy Paladin’s toolbox for tank healing on a lot of fights. Any fight where a tank is going to need a Hand of Protection (Heroic Northrend Beasts?) or where there is any sort of major damage cooldown where they will want to be using Divine Shield now is Lay on Hands free. Mostly because LoH is something you pop in an OH SHIT moment. Having to think “will I wipe the raid by using this? Is he going to need to bubble in the next 2 minutes?” means the answer will almost always be not using it on any progression oriented fight.

I’m not saying that LoH didn’t need balancing in PVP (Ghostcrawler’s PVP examples were good) – I just don’t think this is the answer. Holy Paladin healers have very few of the things we’re required to manage actually having any /healing/ component to them (how’s that for backwards?).  Taking Lay on Hands out of our ability toolbox reduces those healing abilities even further.  Glyph of Divinity lost out to Glyph of Beacon of Light for me awhile ago… but now it’s completely useless.

Second:

Amber makes a good point.  Except where she says “two” substitute “four, sometimes five or six”.  Right now I run ToC10, ToC10-Heroic, ToC25, and ToC25-heroic every week. And sometimes I sub in Annorah on a Wednesday or Sunday raid too. Chunk in some hardmode runs in Ulduar where I won’t get any gear upgrades and have to spend several hours in a high stress environment with only a potential rusted protodrake that I don’t really care either way about?

I’m burning out, and fast.

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Two Things to Read Today

First – don’t ask OOC.

Saying in a channel “hey does anyone want to RP with me?” isn’t going to get you the response you want. (This is especially true of general chat.)

It doesn’t tell people what’s going on, and most of the time when other characters are online, they have things that they’re trying to get done. Saying “I wanna RP, who wants to come play!” is the equivalent of saying “I wanna go quest, who wants to come play!” Either statement is so vague that you’re not likely to get a response.

Before someone gets annoyed though, asking OOC “hey where is everyone, can I come join the RP?” is totally appropriate – it gets you to where things have the opportunity to happen, and also gives the people involved a chance to say no thanks. (Sometimes RP needs to be private, just like sometimes conversations need to be private. That’s ok.)

Whispering a specific person, or sending them a message out of game, when your character has a particular need or desire to talk to theirs is also appropriate. It says “hey are you available? I have something I want to get done.” You’re inviting someone to join in your RP, giving them a proverbial carrot to get involved.

The way to get people to RP with you is to offer RP to them.

If you have an in-character channel, either guildchat or just a normal chat channel, make something happen. Your character drops their buzzbox, spills their coffee, lights something on fire, finishes a quest, argues with a goblin, just says “hi” – the way to get people involved and RPing with you, is to start off by RPing with them.

When you’re new, this can be particularly hard – but remember, all you’re looking to do is create a situation where other characters have a chance to respond.

Maybe you emote asking for a drink, and then make a horrible face because it’s gross. Maybe you lean on the bar and look around, or ask for some food and dig into the bowl of stew like you’ve not eaten in three weeks. Maybe you’re out in the wild and trip over something.

These kinds of actions are great when you’re in a group of people, trying to break the ice after watching for awhile. They’re not hard to do, they don’t make you the center of attention (unless you spill a pitcher of beer all over the dwarf at the table, of course), but they let others know that you’re there.

And not just /there/, but open for RP, and you’ve already given them the hook to get involved.

If you create a situation where other characters can respond, they will.

As the ever awesome Falconesse says, RP happens with you, not to you. And it doesn’t happen “at” other people. You can’t really RP at someone else without annoying or boring them. If their character isn’t involved, they’ll lose interest quickly.

Of course, nothing is foolproof.

Maybe you’ve logged on during a raid and won’t get any response, or maybe everyone is already involved in important conversation. That’s ok – just like finding a group for an instance, you can’t always get the right people around for the RP you want. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a little casual or pick-up RP in a major city, and it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try again.

But do try to avoid the usual “Anyone want to RP with me?” – instead, go straight into a little hook of an RP action and see what happens.

***Thanks for reading this post from Too Many Annas. May the Loot-Fu be with you***

Initiating RP

Coming together to support a member of the WoW community – always a good thing in my book. I won’t be able to be there, due to prior commitments, but there will be a little elf named OneAnna there in spirit.

/hug!

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Something Bigger than a Game

We were all required to go in costume. As was to be expected with this bunch, some of the costumes were awesome. Most of the following were actually at the party.  It was brilliant, and everyone had a good laugh.

• Farmer - this one’s pretty easy.  A workman’s shirt, some blue or brown pants, brown boots, and any beat-up looking hat. Bonus points for a Farmer’s Broom or a Shovel. (This was Aely’s costume)
• Vrykul - (male) – big axe, torn up looking pants and boots, no shirt, and a stockpile of Elixirs of Giant’s Strength.  Bonus points for getting a haircut that’s particularly Vrykul-ish.
• Stormwind Guard – Any of a number of armor sets, plus an Alliance Tabard from the PVP vendor.  If you can wear plate, the Imperial set (level 50ish) is a dead ringer for the guard outfit. If you don’t wear plate, well… that’s a little more challenging. You can do pretty much any main city’s guard just as easily, with different armor.
• Naga (male or female) – Trident, green (male) or blue (female) armor.  RSP in a pointy naga nose and tail, and you’re good to go!
• Scarlet Crusader – If you can get a Scarlet Tabard, go for it – otherwise each of the bosses in Scarlet Monastery drops some particularly identifiable items of armor. Arcanist Doan is probably the easiest to imitate, since he drops robes, shoulders, and a staff.
• Troll - Voodoo Mask, Any of a number of robes/kilts and shirts that are particularly tribal, and a really spiky weapon.
• Dwarf - (female) – brewfest robes, hair done in braids, and a big ol’ stack of pygmy oil. A good excuse to be plastered all night.
• Bunny - white shirt, white pants, bunny ears from Noble Garden, bare feet (or flip flops – try the Knitted Sandals from low level cloth armor vendors)
• Nat Pagle – brown boots, overalls, a blue lumberjack’s shirt, a beat up looking hat, and a fishing pole. This one also comes with a built in excuse to be plastered all night.
• Twilight Cultist – Cultist Armor (from Silithus drops), a creepy looking sword or staff, and a floating head pet (or a haunted memento ghost).

Remember that you can use RSP tags to help with the costume effect.  Our resident Bunny had a poofy tail that was only visible via RSP flag.  Also, our vrykul was covered in blood and warpaint.

But I think my favorite costume of the night was one of the paladins who came dressed up as… one of the pompous jerk mages in the guild. He wore magey clothes, had a pumpkin on his head (to show his huge ego) and went around insulting people and throwing “spells” made of ribbons all night.  It was hilarious.  Particularly when the actual mage showed up, and there was a Pompous Mage-Off.

What costumes can you guys think up (or have you used in the past)?

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In-Game Costume Ideas