I joined PlaneShift because I was specifically seeking Role-Play. I've played many so-called MMORPG's over the years, yet most of them are really just MMOG's or MMOFPS's. From the very first time I logged on to PlaneShift, I noticed it was different, and I liked it from the start. Finally, real Role-Play in a 3-D environment!
To fully submerse myself in the RP, I chose to play a Kran. And I have come to like my Kran very much. I like the Kran city (Gugrontid), Kran art and the Kran ethos. In fact, I like everything about the Kran people. I just find myself wishing that there was more information on it.
For example: Do Kran have specific naming customs? Do they have their own unique form of greeting? Do they greet fellow Kran differently than they do members of the other races? What are the details of their faith? Are there factions within that faith? Why do some Kran have such poor linguistic/cognitive skills, while others seems rather wise and well-spoken? Are there Kran schools? Or perhaps substantial differences in social class which then effect social integration? How do they refer to the different 'skin'-tones within the Kran race? And why do they find the brighter colours to be particularly beautiful? Etc., etc.
I would love to dive into my Kran character, but I feel like I know too little regarding them to do so in a way that would not alienate other players - particularly other Kran - during RP. In my experience, good RP involves knowing a lot of universal backstory and finding your character's place in that story. The universal aspect is adequately developed on the PlaneShift website. But there is very little regarding the Kran people, despite the fact that they have so much potential.
(The story relating the founding of Gugrontid is a big exception to the above. It represents precisely the kind of thing I think there needs to be more of. A big 'thank you' goes out to whomever came up with that little gem.
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I understand that the PS development team has a lot to do, and that, in the bigger scheme of things, coming up with backstory for the Kran people is probably not very high on the list of priorities. However, just as people are invited to help in developing code, finding bugs, etc., why not allow people to volunteer in helping develop backstory? Of course, everything would have to be checked over by Game Masters to ensure that it doesn't conflict with other parts of the universal backstory. But I think a good deal could be contributed by individuals if they were made aware of the specific framework within which they can create.
The ideal as I see it would be to create a true Kran subculture within the PlaneShift world. Subcultures have existed for some time in MMORPG's, usually in the form of guilds or clans. However, I am
not proposing the creation of a new guild or clan for use in-game. Instead, I am proposing we put together a small team of people interested in the Kran for the sole purpose of developing more backstory for Kran civilization, including (but not limited to) history, religion, philosophy, society/social organization, education, art and language. We could start by collecting all the known information relating to the Kran, and then slowly build from there.
The idea is to develop a RP culture primarily for people who enjoy playing Kran characters and to give them more backstory and cultural details to spice up and deepen the quality of their in-game RP experience. I don't expect it to directly influence the game itself (e.g. I don't expect NPC's to mention any of the backstory we develop), though, if done well, it could perhaps influence future developments. The land around Gugrontid is pretty much an empty canvas with lots of potential, and I assume more development will take place here in future updates and releases. (For example, there are two little patches of wood off to the North-West of Gugrontid itself which can only be reached through narrow valleys - perfect places to situate a hovel or two. And I think anyone who has spent any amount of time in the Temple of Talad has noticed the gateway in the expansive territory behind Gugrontid. Although no adventurer has found a passage through the hills and returned to tell his tale, who knows what the future holds...) We could also work towards building up the Kran-related pages on the PS-Wiki (
http://pswiki.xordan.com/index.php/Main_Page).
If you would be interested in participating in this 'project', please post below (and please mention your Kran's name if you have one). When we get together a team of 5 people or more, I could set up a site where we can discuss backstory and develop aspects of Kran civilization.
