Roleplaying award

Roleplaying awards (RPAs) are given directly by GameMasters (GMs) to characters as a reward for roleplaying. They also sometimes appear as a shimmering <color> orb in giftboxes or as treasure in different events. These orbs may be either account-bound or transferable to another character who can use the orb to apply the corresponding experience award. The levels for GM-given experience awards and for the orbs are exactly the same.

There are two forms of roleplaying experience awards: modifier, which appears as a fixed amount of field experience added to the field experience pool in conjunction with a 1.5-4x multiplier to experience absorption that lasts until the total base experience set by the modifier type is reached, and flat, where only a fixed amount of field experience is added to the field experience pool to be absorbed without a modifier.

Players can nominate another player's character for displaying excellent roleplaying via the ROLEPLAY NOMINATE verb.

Roleplay Award Messaging

When a GM assigns a roleplaying award to a character, the character will receive one of a random selection of messaging. Messaging does not indicate the type or amount of the RPA award. Examples of messaging when RPA is received:

You take a deep breath, and look around with renewed vigor.  It is good to be alive, and an adventurer in this land.

With a sudden flash of insight, you realize you now understand more of what you have experienced.....

An old memory bubbles up from your past, and causes you to reflect a moment.  With a flash of insight, you realize you understand yourself a bit better than you did a moment ago.  The sudden feeling of self-knowledge is a pleasant one.

To view whether or not a character has an active RPA experience multiplier, use the EXP command and look for a line that says, "Your recent adventures echo powerfully in your mind." An RPA experience multiplier is active when that line can be seen below the mind status line (e.g. "Your mind is numbed."). Since RPAs are separate from (and multiplier RPAs can be stacked with) the Gift of Lumnis, if a character has an RPA active during Gift of Lumnis, the experience multiplier notification will be below the Lumnis messaging. For example:

Your mind is numbed.

You feel a strange sense of serenity and find that you are able to reflect on recent events with uncommon clarity and understanding.

Your recent adventures echo powerfully in your mind.

There is no message for when a multiplier degrades or when it expires.

Roleplaying Experience Award Levels

Award Description	Orb Color	Field Exp	Starting Multiplier	Base Exp Absorbed	Bonus Exp Absorbed	Total Exp Absorbed
Flat, Level One	Black	250	---	---	---	---
Flat, Level Two	Red	500	---	---	---	---
Flat, Level Three	Orange	750	---	---	---	---
Flat, Level Four	Yellow	1,000	---	---	---	---
Modifier, Level One	Green	250	1.5x	1,750	875	2,625
Modifier, Level Two	Blue	500	2x	8,750	7,875	16,625
Modifier, Level Three	Indigo	750	3x	15,750	21,875	37,625
Modifier, Level Four	Violet	1,000	4x	22,750	42,875	65,625

Experience Modifiers

Like the Gift of Lumnis, modifiers are set to last for a fixed amount of experience and no longer expire after a certain passage of time. Doing activities that gain a relatively small amount of experience, such as guild activities, will not result in overall less experience being gained over the length of the award.

Modifiers start at the highest level of experience multiplier awarded but upon exhausting that amount of base experience absorption, the experience modification continues with the next lower level of multiplier. In other words, if a character is given a level four experience modifier (4x experience multiplier), they would be granted:

• 1,000 field experience,
• then absorb their next 7,000 base experience with the 4x experience multiplier (7,000 base and 21,000 bonus),
• then 7,000 base experience with a 3x experience multiplier (7,000 base and 14,000 bonus),
• then 7,000 base experience with a 2x experience multiplier (7,000 base and 7,000 bonus), and
• then 1,750 base experience with a 1.5x experience multiplier (1,750 base and 875 bonus).

At the end of the level four modifier award, the individual would have received 22,750 base experience and 42,875 bonus experience for a total of 65,625 experience absorbed. See chart for amounts at each level of experience award.

Roleplaying Awards Explained

[T]alking about RPA's and essentially asking for them is the quickest way to make a GM not give them. In fact, many months ago I banned them entirely because 90+ people were showing up to events, with only 30 people talking, the others waiting on a mass RPA. In fact I have a tool now that I can single out people who are truly putting forth the effort in a room, so I can mass RPA them at the end and wash over those looking for a participation trophy. I don't mean to sound cruel, but if you're expecting an RPA from an event, mine or anyone's, then some reflection may be in order, because that's not what it should be about. The comparison to paying to see a movie, and the ushers delaying it, isn't really a good one at that. GameMasters, for all intents and purposes, are volunteers ... It's a labor of love. I wouldn't spend the hours I do in this game, online or offline if I didn't love every second of it. I don't do it for the money. Just like you shouldn't show up for an RPA, or expect one if expectations aren't on par.

-GM Kenstrom (May 2017)

GameMasters are continually on the lookout for instances of good roleplaying. If someone is observed roleplaying well, the GameMaster may give an immediate award of fame and experience, as well as a multiplier which will affect all fame and experience absorbed for the next several hours. The better and more consistent your roleplaying, the more likely you are to be observed, and the higher the multiplier which will be awarded. Multipliers decrease naturally over time -- a low multiplier may only last for one hour, but higher multipliers can last for several hours.

The duration of a multiplier will only be decremented while it has an effect on your field experience. In other words, if you wish to roleplay in town while your mind is "clear as a bell," this will have no effect on the multiplier's duration -- the timer only counts down while you actually have some experience to absorb.

If you choose not to roleplay, or to be out of character, this will never have a negative effect on your experience or fame -- you will continue to earn and absorb experience at the normal rate. Roleplaying experience and multipliers are only intended as a bonus for good roleplayers, and not as a requirement for play. However, If you do have a multiplier then "out of character" behavior may result in the loss of this multiplier and your return to a "normal" rate of experience absorption.

It is understood that there are times when it is necessary to discuss things in an "out of character" manner, such as when explaining combat and/or spell techniques to a new player. Therefore, GameMasters will use judgment in such situations, and will not generally clear a multiplier for this type of behavior. If, however, your character is faced with an extremely out of character situation, and yet still manages to roleplay well under the circumstances, this can lead to an even higher award than usual.

Occasionally, a player will receive a roleplaying award when, to their perspective, they were doing nothing at all. Though many roleplaying awards are given 'on the spot' some are simply noted and awarded at a later date and time.

GameMasters do have limits to their time and attention, so just because you are roleplaying well in a particular instance, this is no guarantee that you will be observed and/or awarded. But GameMasters are on the lookout for good roleplayers. The best approach to receive an award is simply to roleplay consistently, no matter what the situation. Do your best, and you will reap the benefits.

ROLEPLAY (verb)

Players should ROLEPLAY NOMINATE each other before an event begins or at least before the roleplaying ends. Every GM that is logged into that instance will see the messaging, unless it gets lost in their screen scroll.

Any GM could look into what's going on and possibly grant a RPA. It doesn't have to be the local town guru.

>roleplay
To nominate someone currently engaged in excellent roleplaying, type:
    ROLEPLAY NOMINATE <name> <reason>.

Resources

• Experience (saved posts)
• The Art of Roleplaying in GemStone IV (guide)
• MYCHAR (verb)