Shattered Kingdoms

Okay. This is a problem I've had for awhile that I just can't seem to resolve. The Newbie forum seemed to be the best to place this in because I'm not "experienced".

I started playing SK a few years ago. I made a character, had some fun. Burned out and quit. Understandable because I was just grinding as a Sprite Swashbuckler with minimum roleplaying.
Tried again as another character trying to roleplay more than level. Burned out on that, too.

Everytime I try playing SK, I play for a few days (two weeks was my maximum time on one character) and just can't continue. I can't put my finger on why and I've assumed it was just what characters I was playing.

After I finish my time as a character I slink off to another game. I try it for a bit before returning with new ideas that never pan out. The game is fun and the community is (mostly) nice from what I can tell but I just can't find something that keeps my interest.

Is it bad luck or just not meant to be?
What wisdom can you impart upon this Eternal Newbie?

Characters take time, effort, and dedication. Not one person here who has played a character for more then 300 hours can tell you that there was never an instance in that chars life they wanted to deleted. I've had it with every character, and for me, it usually comes about half way through the levling process. (And several times afterwards as various RP events take place). Leveling is not fun. Sometimes you can spend hours leveling the better training areas and still not see anyone. Most RP can be difficult to do until you get to a higher level. Unfortunately, that is the way SK is right now. Thats also, in part, why many people are wanting to change the abilities masters have. (See the Gameplay thread).

Just stick with it, and I think you'll find something that fits you. And sometimes, to RP with people, you have to create RP. Sometimes you get lucky and interesting RP comes to you. There have been several times I've sat in an inn for an hour when I didn't feel like leveling and would talk to people. Some of my better RPs.

Its not bad luck, and I certainly hope its is not "not meant to be".

Just stick with it. Find something you like, not matter how strong or how weak, and try to make something of it. Some people, (priests can do it best because they are in high demand) can sit in an inn for hours having fun. You don't need to spend the first 100 hours of your chars life leveling.

sleeper

That's one of my problems, actually.

I just can't seem to stick with one single idea. It seems that anytime I get some measure of success I see some candy dangling on a string and dive for it leaving the first character to rot.

I've also learned the hard way that priest just isn't for me. Tried it twice and it was nothing but heartache for myself with the stuffy forced roleplaying. It ended both times with me just wasting the Imm's time having to add me to the forum and the High Priest's time in investing me.

I must admit leveling is boring, but I'm anything but a work-a-holic in the grinding aspect. I'm more than happy to take leveling breaks to try talking to people, get ganked in Teron or buying shiney things.

To sum it all up, I can't stick with a single idea long enough to let it flesh out. None of my characters thus far have enthralled me like that.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've even attained 100 hours on a character...

Don't over-analyze who your character is. Just get a rough guess as to personality, likes and dislikes. You don't really even need to know your char's "history" when you first start out. Build it on the fly and let your char grow however it's going to grow. As far as stuffy religions, that all depends on the religion you choose. Some are very stuffy and some are extremely loose.

I know a lot of people say not to start a char without a concept, but in doing that, don't write a trilogy on your char before you start either. Just the basics and off you go. Let the game happen to you and sooner than you realize, you'll be addicted.

Okay, I'll give specifics...

Sprite Swashbuckler - Came from desert southwest of Zhenshi-Town. Chaotic Neutral - Liked showing off. Common Spritely attitude and I got stuck in "Sprite Talk" mode that everyone knows and loves. Got involved in a Sprite cult that didn't last long.
Character died when I hit level 13ish and realized leveling as a Sprite Swashbuckler was the anti-fun.

Sprite Sorceror - This is my odd one. I've had atleast four reincarnations of the same character with small differences. No one noticed because no one seems to care about Sprites. Best version hit level 26ish and sorta died off when I went into my first Priest.

I've tried everything from a Giant Barbarian to a Deep Elf Necromancer with a lot of variation inbetween. All I've learned from this is that I hate playing Hellions/Paladins/Shamans/Priests and prefer Sorceror.

I also tried a Sprite Bard with aspirations of getting into the Harlequins but that obviously didn't work out. Never been in a Cabal/Tribunal and only been in two religions.

All tried. All failed.
Or, to be fair, wasn't given an adequate chance to not fail.

I'd say a truly "spritely" sprite would be a very high-energy char and rather difficult to pull off well. I'm not certain but I believe there would be a very high burnout rate for chars like that. I dunno, maybe go with your sorc leanings but pick a not-sprite and a not-griffon. Half-elf or human could work well. You don't need to be high-energy and can sit and do nothing without feeling out of character. And if everyone knows you're a sorc, you'll be getting plenty of people asking you to resize their stuff. RP opportunities that you can let come to you instead of making them yourself.

If you start out with a concept of "average", you won't burn out as quickly maybe.

First things first. You like being you right? Impart part of you into your character, it will always make it more enjoyable than just picking a persona you would like to play that is totally contrary to your own. Yes, you can even do this method if you play a darkie. Remember, it doesn't have to be a trait of morality, per say. It could be some quirk or saying or group of sayings. Most peoples chars has something that reflects themselves.

Since, you are still calling yourself newbie. I would pick an alignment that most matches yours. Nothing is more frustrating when you are new to something to play an alignment that you don't even like to begin with.

Lastly, don't steal their name(because of copyright and SK rules) but steal a char concept from something you have read. Make sure it is a char that doesn't have so much history that you will get disappointed if it doesn't rise to the standards of the original char's history or concept. ie . . .No Merlin, Elminster, Drizzt types. Maybe one of their friends though that are not talked about much but you still think is a cool char.

Well, I guess I have one more, find someone to rp with and lvl with. Sometimes the best chars come from what happens when you train with someone else. Yes, there are those out there that say you don't need to train with another, but if you are still trying to find you way into the game find another to train with. Also, invest in a religion as soon as you can conceivably(sp) think your char has made up his mind.

Yah, playing a sprite takes dedication and alot of substances that end in "ine"

If there's one thing I liked while playing as a sprite, it was the never-ending war between Centaurs and Sprites. I don't know who started it or if it's still going on, but none of my Sprites were able to resist pulling a prank on a Centaur.

Tried and despised griffon, just so you know. Anyways, I've tried making a character most like myself with my first priest. She had some fun points untill I tried to get into a religion. Got my first enlightenment with that character, actually. Ganked by Teron by someone that decided to mess with me instead of finish me off...

I've also tried "working from what I've read/played" which spawned my doomed Deep Elf Necromancer. Stuck with adding a few personality traits from myself on thatand met a few people I liked talking to but Necromancer is anything but an easy-to-use class.

Human Barbarian, Elf Paladin, Halfling Rogue (Gee. I wonder where I got THAT idea.*cough Bilbo cough*) Human Sorceror... And I refuse to play a Centaur or Half Elf for personal reasons.

My current idea was either a Deep Elf Rogue or something I haven't tried yet... Not sure yet. Deep Elf Rogue being inspired by the "Deep Elf Hair" topic in the General forum.

I'm far too arbitrary.

Eh, play a sprite however you want to. My sprite had no sense of humor and was extremely vindicative when someone went against his ideals (principled).