Roleplaying award

[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)

Roleplaying awards (RPAs) are given by GameMasters (GMs) for various reasons. Like Gift of Lumnis, multipliers are set to last for a fixed amount of bonus experience. 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.

There are two forms of RPA: modifier, which appears as a 1.5-4x experience modifier, but will last until the total bonus experience assigned by the awarding GM is reached, and flat, a fixed amount of experience added is added to field experience pool to be absorbed. Modifiers are used for larger awards, and flat for smaller.

Players can nominate another player's character via the ROLEPLAY NOMINATE verb.

It is possible to acquire an RPA orb, which is a transferable object that confers an RPA upon the character who rubs it. There are several colors which denote the bonus level of the orb:

Black	100 Flat Exp
Red	200 Flat Exp
Orange	300 Flat Exp
Yellow	400 Flat Exp
Green	Level 1 Modifier
Blue	Level 2 Modifier
Indigo	Level 3 Modifier
Violet	Level 4 Modifier

Messaging

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.

Per Wyrom the messaging is random and not indicative of the type, or amount, of the RPA.

To view whether or not a character has an active RPA, use the EXP command. There is no message when it expires.

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, there will be extra messaging 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.

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>.

Roleplaying Awards Explained

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.

Resources

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