Introduce Yourself to Elysium

This guide is based on a set of ideas on how to properly introduce yourself in Elysium. This is just my opinion on the matter and by no means do I claim to be the god of role playing. This assumes you have already read the help file for your race and use that as a guideline. The more you go against the guidelines of your race, the harder your experience inside Elysium will be... For the best experience pick a race that fits closest to the style you wish to place.

Introduction

When starting your new character in Elysium it is a huge deal. Your first few moments in game can define what the rest of your existence will be. You should take some time to research and plan to get prepared to play. Completing the concepts of your character and displaying them without being over obvious will be the hardest part. Most have already created their characters, but some of the methods described here can always be applied to existing ones.

Creating an Interesting, Yet Believable Character

Anna Quindlen said it best

"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself."

'perfect characters' while fun, quickly kill any type of growth or longevity of any character. Real people have flaws, and an interesting character would too. Just because it's text and death is barely anything, doesn't mean your character should be fearless. The dark brooding mage may just be afraid of the dark. Perhaps the colorful acrobatic bard is afraid of heights.

You have a lot of material to use in your everyday life. The people you meet could provide unique material for your new creation. Observe the interactions of people, either verbally or from body language and think how that could enhance a character. When does someone giggle? Outright laugh? What sets them off? Many of these reactions you can apply to many characters.

Character flaws and traits are the only thing that sets characters apart from each other and are extremely important. While these do take us from being another cookie cutter member of the race, remember they should be believable and have a basis inside the help file of the race.

Goals for Your Character

Without passion or motivation your character might as well just be a background prop. Everyone has something that moves them... something that they are willing to stand up and argue about. Maybe this something stems from the flaws and traits mentioned above. This motivation can be used to interact with other characters, and sometimes provide the needed friction to create subplots. Not to mention they will add even more depth to your creation.

• Provide Something for your Character to Stand for.
• What holds the most value to your character? Politics, religion, romance?
• What does your character hope to accomplish in the next week? month? year?

Ready For the World

With all this done and researched you are now ready to show the world your new creation. When choosing your character's name remember this is what will represent you in the world and more then likely determine how most will perceive you at first. It's common for most to think of symbolic names, but try not to overdo it. If the name is too famous, too artsy, or too common your character starts to become less of an individual.

Try to avoid using long and cryptic names. They tend to look more like jumbled letters and are hard to pronounce. The sound of a name is much more important to most people than the meaning.

It is also a good idea to remember that most players will abbreviate your name no matter the length. In other words, chances are you're going to be called by just the first few letters of your name, so make sure you like those best.

Getting Involved

A sad fact of Elysium is because of alt abuse some are weary to trust any new faces. If you are patient and serious about role playing you will eventually find most will open up to you. Getting involved in roleplaying plots is very difficult as most have been planned out. You can't just barge into an established plot and expect everyone already in that plot to acknowledge you. Again this makes people very weary. Instead you need to start by forming relationships of different types with other players. This doesn't mean to randomly send tells to players, you should try your best to make a casual meeting in person. Most of the following tips are focused on ways for a new character to find and form relationships with existing characters.

• If you are playing an alternate character try not to reveal yourself to gain special treatment. The whole purpose is to experience new and different interactions.

• Never underestimate the value of actual interaction. It's easier to shout, post, or send tells, but most people get a better impression from actual in room introductions and it's a chance to role play!

• Offer to be a helper... Knights need pages, mages need assistants, merchants need apprentices.

• Make it known that you are looking for employment, and see who offers you work. This doesn't mean send random tells or shout about needing any type of work. Again this works best if brought up in a face to face conversation.

• Join a guild through the leader and not the guild tutor. Again this will make a better impression for your character and open a new opportunity to spread your story.

These are some thoughts on the matter and aren't the definitive methods of role play. The most important part is to have fun without ruining the enjoyment of others.