The Death of the Prancing Pony

[Gilstad]

I haven't played that much over the past few years. Sometimes I'd come in and quest, then do some light role-playing, gather materials for others, or just stay in my home listening to music. I liked logging in every now for the past few years and then but wouldn't log in for months at a time, or would log in and do very little. This is mainly due to rapid-levelling which was introduced years ago, as well as the end of the old trait system in 2014. The changes killed my enthusiasm and overt support for this game.

But enough whining!

The Prancing Pony is dead. I can't remember when it happened, but it seems to be within the past two years. There is rarely anyone in there, and rarely any role-playing going on in the Pony to be found even on the Laurelin server. It's as empty as most other areas. This isn't due to inactivity, as the Bree Crafting Hall is still as busy as ever.

The reason for this post is to ask - when did the Prancing Pony die? I know there was as slight decline in RP action since 2014, and although the server merger helped, at some point it completely died. I haven't played enough the past three years to know when it happened, and I wonder if people remember when it happened, how they feel about it, and perhaps if they want to share some RP stories they'd had over the years in the Pony.

One memory I care to share is doing some light role-playing with some others in the Pony over a drink, and we decided to roar into the Trollshaws and slaughter a whole bunch of Trolls together! They didn't stand a chance under our combined might! This game has become more work and less fun... okay, okay... that's a lot of whining! But I miss the environment of the old Pony, being able to go in there and partake in the varied imagination of the strange and wonderful folk who used to pretend to be dwarves from the Blue Mountains, in on business, or a youthful warrior from far away Rohan, Gondor or Dale in search of adventure and vengeance!

I was only interested in random RP, and helping people with their stories for a short time. All that wonderful imagination I couldn't find anywhere else on all the internet has scattered and went into the shadows. The Pony is dead and empty. Reminds me of the video for Atmosphere by Joy Division. And I think the lyrics are fitting, too. I know there was another thread similar to this but I wanted to start this one due to my specific questions.

[Elquasso]

I wholeheartedly agree. Even though I am no longer on Landroval (left October 2017), the Pony died 3 or 4 years ago, I would say.

SO many great RP memories, with multiple characters of mine. I can still envision sitting in the hall by the fire outside one of the rooms engrossed in conversation with a stranger who'd been on the road for far too long, or my elf insulting a party of filthy dwarves who'd come storming into the main common room. It truly was the central point for imagination on the server. Oh the snobbish RP types poo-poo'd it, but when it came down to it, all of the action was at the Pony.

[HunterGreen]

RP tends to become insular within closed circles which eventually stagnate due to the lack of fresh blood. On Laurelin a lot of the momentum was sucked out of the public RP scene this summer by a few large RP events people ran that drew many people out of the public RP scene (and in many cases, out of the game entirely and into Discord), then ran themselves out one way or the other. People don't realize how much of a big factor sheer momentum is, how fragile it can be.

But the good news is thanks to forums and Discord, it's far more feasible to find your way into one of those closed circles than it was just a few years ago. There are some very nice and helpful people over in https://discord.me/laurelinrp that will do their best to help you find a place within any of a number of circles of RPers, for instance. And http://laurelinarchives.org/ is a good way to find out about events you can jump into.

[Goldrock]

Or people finally found out there is more to rp than standing around a inn acting out drama queen fantasies. Though the occasional rp in the inn is fun but the real rp the stuff you find as you roam and explore.

[Gilstad]

Or people finally found out there is more to rp than standing around a inn acting out drama queen fantasies. Though the occasional rp in the inn is fun but the real rp the stuff you find as you roam and explore.

Goldrock, I hate to bring further virulence into a thread I started, but this isn't sound thinking at all. To be blunt and honest and forthright... it's very hypocritical to call one sort of rp "drama queen fantasies" and another not, and especially to call one "real". This is similar to children calling each other "fanboys" because they have a certain point of view over (mostly meaningless and vapid) intellectual properties - it's dissonant logic. It's very jarring and somewhat alarming to see this kind of thought process, but I won't go on because this thread isn't about improving our critical thinking. But I had to mention the observable dissonant logic.

Back to the thread topic... for rp in general, I don't actually see any random rp going on anywhere, although I don't play this game a lot any more. Not that random rp isn't going on, but there has also been a severe drop off in random rp generally, and not just in the Pony. But I know for certain the Pony is dead, and I just haven't seen it around elsewhere. I rarely even pretend to be in character, myself. The rp mood and culture suffered a great deal since about 2014... aside from people organizing their rp stories, I see random rp as dead in general. This, you say, is not your experience?

It's interesting to read Elquasso's comments about RP becoming insular. I would suppose many role-players are highly introverted or have a sort of false bravado and acerbic, caustic expression that feigns extroversion (something I'm guilty of on the internet much more so than in real life), which doesn't lead to any sort of healthy, functioning society in humans. Being very much an ambivert, random rp (not just within the Pony) was what I enjoyed. I suppose light-hearted role-playing no longer occurs, and that it is left to the most intense and involved role players, which isn't my personal idiom.

Curiously, if this is true, LotRO has become a game of extremes - most people in this game either are constantly playing and then waiting for the next endgame, or are mostly interested in cosmetics. That must be where all the money is, but its driving out every other type of player.

[Wolt]

A documantry film about Rping in Prancing Pony and Bree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlYGCcydeRA

[Aamu]

I'm getting way more RP wandering round the world. Just wave and say hello to people with RP tags on and you'll strike sparks. Pop even a rudimentary bio into your character and keep "/rpon" adn find the others.

[Erionor]

It is still happening in the pony on Laurelin. I have come across a few conversations in there recently. However the general RP rules of the server are not really followed. Chat is still much more considerate than other servers, but not really RP.

I agree there are definitely kins that are committed to it, but some have their own specific brand of RP which is a bit restrictive, especially if you don’t want to join in that day.

I have a question: how do you display the “role playing” tag? I have seen others with this below their name, but I don’t know how to display it myself.

[Pontin_Finnberry]

I have a question: how do you display the “role playing” tag? I have seen others with this below their name, but I don’t know how to display it myself.

you type /rp on (wit with the space) then it turns your name white and says your Role playing.

As for the Prancing Pony i don't RP there much, i RP in other parts of bree and Bree-land on Laurelin, I have no restriction in my random RP with others, other then follow the lore.

[Goldrock]

you type /rp on (wit with the space) then it turns your name white and says your Role playing.

As for the Prancing Pony i don't RP there much, i RP in other parts of bree and Bree-land on Laurelin, I have no restriction in my random RP with others, other then follow the lore.

Best rp right there and the real rp not everyone needs to stand in the tavern and rp unless we are rping a buncha drunks get out in the world and find it or get out and make it happen reason you dont see as much rp is because nobody wants to start it off they just try and piggy back off of others just go out and be your character. Thats my opinion anyways

[Erionor]

you type /rp on (wit with the space) then it turns your name white and says your Role playing.

As for the Prancing Pony i don't RP there much, i RP in other parts of bree and Bree-land on Laurelin, I have no restriction in my random RP with others, other then follow the lore.

Thanks! I’ll do this. And I’ll look out for Edwell on Laurelin

[Erionor]

Update: I encountered random RP in the Lone-Lands last night! I nearly missed it as the folks were dressed just like the NPCs. It is around, you just have to be on the lookout.

Last night I created a separate RP tab, just for the say, RP, regional and emote channels, filtering out the rest. I kept it on so it flagged up when people were engaging in RP nearby. I also toggled the /rp on (thanks again for that). I will definitely engage if anyone is interested. Currently spending a lot of time playing as Fingarlas, elf champion and jeweller from Lindon.

Also, been reading this really interesting thread - if you’re interested in RP you should check it out for some bedtime reading:

https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...n-and-the-Lore

[Khalis_Laurelin]

RP is there beyond the main known hubs. Sadly because of the size of the realm nowadays you just need to either know those concerned or be lucky. I would imagine one of the reasons the new legendary servers are popular is because the small world size increases the chance of encountering the spontaneous RP.

Good call on the designated tab for RP I do exactly the same but mine also has in it all the combat stats as I am only doing one or the other at a time.

With regards to how to role-play there are now many styles on the server from the days when Codemasters ran the server. I always tell people to just respect those around them and enjoy the game.

Have fun exploring Arda TheArtilleryman.

[Erionor]

Thanks!

It felt like Laurelin was a bit more active in general yesterday. It’s felt a bit dead at times since the legendary servers opened but yesterday there were loads of people about. I’m not subbing at the moment and as I have bought rather than ground most of the QPs I feel like it isn’t worth it to move over there. I’m sticking with Laurelin for now as that’s where all my characters are and I want to be able to access all my cosmetic stuff as well as that is a big part of their “identity”, if you like.

The RP thing is something I haven’t really done much of, but when it does happen it’s always fun to go along with it. I’ve always been aware of it, but now knowing how to use the right channels etc. I can take a more active part.

[SharlaSedai]

I'm getting way more RP wandering round the world. Just wave and say hello to people with RP tags on and you'll strike sparks. Pop even a rudimentary bio into your character and keep "/rpon" adn find the others.

This is sooo true. I play a hard core questing RP on Gladden. I never use quick travel or milestones and I always walk my mount (unless fleeing an enemy) because irl horses can't be galloped for miles on end. My character also dismounts and walks into buildings, and absolutely NO running in places like Elrond's house or the palace in MT!! My character eats twice a day and sleeps the Midnight and Late Watches night phases. All the food in my bags has to be something that won't spoil; if it is, it is eaten within two game days. After that, it is thrown out. Most of the time I am all by myself, but I have had people send me tells after seeing me walking along the road, asking me about it, or a quick tell letting me know they like my bio. It's a much slower way to play and takes a lot of patience, esp on those long trips back and forth from Evendim to Rivendell, but I have found it very fun. I chat in WC (OOC) and have made many good friends and seen many beautiful places in ME that I probably would have missed if I had been hurtling along at break neck speed.

[Karaian]

This is sooo true. I play a hard core questing RP on Gladden. I never use quick travel or milestones and I always walk my mount (unless fleeing an enemy) because irl horses can't be galloped for miles on end. My character also dismounts and walks into buildings, and absolutely NO running in places like Elrond's house or the palace in MT!! My character eats twice a day and sleeps the Midnight and Late Watches night phases. All the food in my bags has to be something that won't spoil; if it is, it is eaten within two game days. After that, it is thrown out. Most of the time I am all by myself, but I have had people send me tells after seeing me walking along the road, asking me about it, or a quick tell letting me know they like my bio. It's a much slower way to play and takes a lot of patience, esp on those long trips back and forth from Evendim to Rivendell, but I have found it very fun. I chat in WC (OOC) and have made many good friends and seen many beautiful places in ME that I probably would have missed if I had been hurtling along at break neck speed.

My girlfriend and me have just created a pair of breeland folks to play like you in Laurelin! RP, walking, sleeping, eating, with a background history and other realistic actions to get inmersively into ME. I like to hear we're not alone!! ????

[Nymphonic]

I'm getting way more RP wandering round the world. Just wave and say hello to people with RP tags on and you'll strike sparks. Pop even a rudimentary bio into your character and keep "/rpon" adn find the others.

Same here. For example, I dismount when talking to npcs and wear weather appropriate clothing outside, like winter clothes in Forochel.

[SharlaSedai]

My girlfriend and me have just created a pair of breeland folks to play like you in Laurelin! RP, walking, sleeping, eating, with a background history and other realistic actions to get inmersively into ME. I like to hear we're not alone!! ????

There's a few of us around! I was such an altoholic, but when I decided to try this method of playing, I found it so fun that I didn't have a hard time sticking with it. Don't know if you have any special horses you are using, but a great one for RP (IMO) is the Steed of Michel Delving. It has food, pots and pans, a lantern, and a Keg (which I fill up with a weak beer that doesn't get me drunk; there's a good option at the Prancing Pony for that). Also, since it is a Store horse, it gives you a War Steed version as well for later use. It would be really great if SSG would let us see our cpets when mounted; the Old Rattlepacks pack horse cpet from the Bingo Boffin story line would be awesome for RP. Please make it happen, SSG!!

I should make a clarification here about food in my inventory. Since I have food on my horse, if the "prepared" food is something that I could have reasonably put together from the stuff in my pack (Veggie stew, oatmeal with berries, or tea/coffee for example), I don't count that as being already prepared. I don't do much with meat dishes, but will have jerky, think it's called dried or salted beef, iirc. I really wish Lotro (and MMOs in general) would show the RP community a little more love with some good emotes (I would kill for a bedroll emote, lol ) or some more inns with beds in them, esp in the later regions.

I hope you all have as much fun as I have had; be prepared for lots of looks and questions. I get tells sent to me all the time telling me "You know, your horse CAN run." Guess they think I got it stuck on walk and don't know how to change it back ; they're not trying to make fun, but it is funny to me, lol.

[TheGeekGirl]

RP is very much alive and well throughout Laurelin, including Bree and the Prancing Pony. It's sometimes a matter of "wrong place, wrong time", especially if you're in one of the less active time zones.

We do have a Discord server for Laurelin RPers (see the link in my signature) which can be a big help in coordinating RP and finding active RP around the server. Feel free to join us!

[Ferns]

It merely sleeps awhile.

[Seregrian]

Mara Aduial, mellyn nin!

I am on Crickhollow, and my RP shingle is out every time I appear.

Now some perspective: I only started LOTRO two years past, but in those two years I have RP'ed in most every conversation I have had.

I am an amateur writer of Tolkien-based fanfiction - and LOTRO has proven to be fertile ground for documenting a journey across the lands. I have even begun a project of creating a blog that chronicles the events that occur in game.

All that being said, I do agree with the OP. I understand that Laurelin is the place of choice for RP immersion, and I do notice that landmark locations from the Professor's epic are, from an RP perspective, barren wastelands. I have also noticed a recent influx of screen names and characters with absolutely no references to LOTR at all (and I have reported the more egregious ones).

So, if in your travels you encounter an Elf-maid clad in crimson with a scowl that would make a distempered Beorning blush, hail her - and enjoy the time we share.

Na lû e-govaned vîn...

[Seregrian]

Last night I created a separate RP tab, just for the say, RP, regional and emote channels, filtering out the rest. I kept it on so it flagged up when people were engaging in RP nearby. I also toggled the /rp on (thanks again for that). I will definitely engage if anyone is interested.

I do the exact same thing! Nice to know I'm thinking along these lines...

Also, been reading this really interesting thread - if you’re interested in RP you should check it out for some bedtime reading:

Thank you, I certainly shall!

[Seregrian]

I play a hard core questing RP on Gladden. I never use quick travel or milestones and I always walk my mount (unless fleeing an enemy) because irl horses can't be galloped for miles on end. My character also dismounts and walks into buildings, and absolutely NO running in places like Elrond's house or the palace in MT!! My character eats twice a day and sleeps the Midnight and Late Watches night phases. All the food in my bags has to be something that won't spoil; if it is, it is eaten within two game days. After that, it is thrown out. Most of the time I am all by myself, but I have had people send me tells after seeing me walking along the road, asking me about it, or a quick tell letting me know they like my bio. It's a much slower way to play and takes a lot of patience, esp on those long trips back and forth from Evendim to Rivendell, but I have found it very fun. I chat in WC (OOC) and have made many good friends and seen many beautiful places in ME that I probably would have missed if I had been hurtling along at break neck speed.

What a fantastic idea, and what a challenging way to experience the world!

I just might consider doing this in future (and journaling about it...)

[Askelin]

RP in the Prancing Pony has always been just one part of the RP community, but its numbers and activeness was always a good way to gauge who plays and at what times.
A lot of people get in kins and RP their own plots, the Prancing Pony is just a simple random RP hub and you get mixed results based on the time of day and the day of the week.
It's more popular in school holidays and on the weekends.
I've seen the decline in roleplayer activity and a lot of it can be atributed to the decline of the overall playerbase. Even with a game such as Lotro with a very RPer friendly lore and world, RP has always been a niche and a minority in the community, even on Laurelin which is the one major RP server in the game (Landroval's RP has always been less active than on Laurelin) but it's not 100% dead yet, if you're lucky you do find some people to RP with.
I've noticed different cliques among the community with groups of people playing differently, you have the Shire hobbit RPers which are a lot more casual, then you have people who write huge intricate plots with one or two other people, almost always people who've been playing the game for years and aren't so open to new RPers, you have cringe inducing characters straight from a Game of Thrones fanfic (though that edgy trend has died somewhat) and then you have the rare player who is genuinely chill and pretty cool to be around.
I don't RP half as much as I used to, used to be a nice kin I ran with, but that's certainly a long time ago now, with RP you take what you can get. There is no way to bring back the numbers that used to be, nor is there a way to encourage more people to RP, it was always a smaller community and overal more of an afterthought than PvMP.
No one does events anymore, very few people are willing to stick their neck out to actually organize something, even casual bands and parties, because drama almost always happens, be it trolls or special snowflakes trying to enforce their own views and rules on the shared worldspace, to that one guy who multiboxes like 10 alts to play the band which ends up crashing the client for those who run with a potato computer. That is not to say that the community is dead or that it's bad, lotro's overall community was always one of the nicest and people on the RP side of it have been some of the best quality writers and most genuine people I've come to know, I owe it quite a lot, I even met my girlfriend through this sort of thing. I have very fond memories of experiencing the game world through RP events, it's very saddening indeed to see it decline like this, though it is inevitable. For that is the nature of the internet, nothing lasts, in the end of the day all we have to look back on are memories.

It's NOT dead yet... A shade of its former self, yes... But there's still reason enough to get in with a RP kin or make some connections, but personally I won't hold my breath waiting on a rainy weekend for someone to walk through the door and expect some satisfying back and forth with a random interesting RPer anymore. With this sort of thing these days, you take what you can get...

[TheGeekGirl]

I do agree with a lot of this, but not all of it. People need to bear in mind that what they personally experience may not be the experience for everyone else.

"No one does events anymore". Yes, they do. I've personally attended several RP events over the past few months, and more happen all the time. Some are repeating (like Hall of Fire in Rivendell which has been going on for years) and some are one-time events, but they certainly DO still happen.

I've had some amazing random walk-up RP over the past year in Bree and the homesteads. It does still happen! I'm sure there are a lot of factors, such as time zones, the time one is available to devote to simply being present in the game, etc. We're still seeing new and returning RPers joining our Discord server constantly.

Maybe the numbers aren't what they used to be. But the RP hasn't died and it isn't about to. That's a comment I've been hearing since I first came to Laurelin over 3 years ago. And I've had some of the best RP of my whole time here in recent months.
I can understand the frustration and disappointment of someone who used to experience a lot more activity than they do now, though. But it isn't a lost cause or hopeless situation. Things change and evolve in the RP community, and sometimes we have to evolve with it.

RP in the Prancing Pony has always been just one part of the RP community, but its numbers and activeness was always a good way to gauge who plays and at what times.
A lot of people get in kins and RP their own plots, the Prancing Pony is just a simple random RP hub and you get mixed results based on the time of day and the day of the week.
It's more popular in school holidays and on the weekends.
I've seen the decline in roleplayer activity and a lot of it can be atributed to the decline of the overall playerbase. Even with a game such as Lotro with a very RPer friendly lore and world, RP has always been a niche and a minority in the community, even on Laurelin which is the one major RP server in the game (Landroval's RP has always been less active than on Laurelin) but it's not 100% dead yet, if you're lucky you do find some people to RP with.
I've noticed different cliques among the community with groups of people playing differently, you have the Shire hobbit RPers which are a lot more casual, then you have people who write huge intricate plots with one or two other people, almost always people who've been playing the game for years and aren't so open to new RPers, you have cringe inducing characters straight from a Game of Thrones fanfic (though that edgy trend has died somewhat) and then you have the rare player who is genuinely chill and pretty cool to be around.
I don't RP half as much as I used to, used to be a nice kin I ran with, but that's certainly a long time ago now, with RP you take what you can get. There is no way to bring back the numbers that used to be, nor is there a way to encourage more people to RP, it was always a smaller community and overal more of an afterthought than PvMP.
No one does events anymore, very few people are willing to stick their neck out to actually organize something, even casual bands and parties, because drama almost always happens, be it trolls or special snowflakes trying to enforce their own views and rules on the shared worldspace, to that one guy who multiboxes like 10 alts to play the band which ends up crashing the client for those who run with a potato computer. That is not to say that the community is dead or that it's bad, lotro's overall community was always one of the nicest and people on the RP side of it have been some of the best quality writers and most genuine people I've come to know, I owe it quite a lot, I even met my girlfriend through this sort of thing. I have very fond memories of experiencing the game world through RP events, it's very saddening indeed to see it decline like this, though it is inevitable. For that is the nature of the internet, nothing lasts, in the end of the day all we have to look back on are memories.

It's NOT dead yet... A shade of its former self, yes... But there's still reason enough to get in with a RP kin or make some connections, but personally I won't hold my breath waiting on a rainy weekend for someone to walk through the door and expect some satisfying back and forth with a random interesting RPer anymore. With this sort of thing these days, you take what you can get...