Leveling up?

[RC 212]

I'm just curious to know what folks do now a days. I remember way back in like 2013 when getting Knighted was a big thing. And it still was, and then we were given the choice to pick Knight right off the bat. Now that being said it's a mixed bag for me. I feel that it gives some folks who are experienced writers a little leeway to go ahead and jump right in with a new char idea.

However every time I've done it, I felt cheated. Like I was cheating my character of development and growth. This leaves me at sort of an impasse. How do you decide when your character is ready to move up? Is it a number of threads completed? Story? You seeing an improvement in your own writing?

I also understand that folks sometimes wanna write the Paddy/Master relationship or whatever your variant is. I've seen a lot of that disappear lately. Maybe due to the changes, maybe not. Either way thoughts?

 

[Jak Sandrow]

There is a levelling up system in place for Padawans of both Sith and Jedi, but you don't NEED to level up to have fun. Legally in SWRP, even a Master cannot kill off a Padawan. So you can RP as long as you want without levelling up.

EDIT: Should have clarified - a writer and/or their characters cannot kill off another writer or their characters without the latter's permission, even if it is a Master vs Padawan situation.

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Karren Trask"]

With the rule change, you're allowed to promote yourself to Knight whenever you want to, or feel ready, but you don't have to do this. For those who elect not to, the Master/Apprentice system remains in place, and you can elect to ask your Master and/or Faction Leaders to agree on your promotion if you so prefer. There's no requirement to do so, however, so it's all dependent on how you would like to progress your character.

If you want to be a student for a month or two to get a feel for them, and then promote yourself, you can. If you want to have a full Master/Apprentice relationship with another writer, and let them decide when to promote you, you can.

It's all up to you

Personally, I prefer the student phase, given that it's an area of incredible character development, provided you do plenty of writing and build up relationships. Your only responsibility there is to your fact and to yourself, so you don't have to worry about taking on students or living up to a high reputation the way you do with the Knight/Master ranks, so if you prefer to take your time and develop a solid foundation on your character first, I'd absolutely recommend that. It's not for everyone, however, and I know there are plenty of writers who feel utterly useless as students, and elect to employ self-promotion from the outset. That's also an option, if you want to take it.

Whatever you decide, good luck

 

[Varik Ice]

Personally for me, when I start as a more experienced character, usually that's because I like to start them with some development and why they've come to be the character they are, so I can have that starting point that I control before throwing them into the more unpredictable world of other people roleplaying with you.

I suppose it does depend, though; sometimes I really enjoy the feeling of progress, whether within ranks in a community/faction or even something like the force. For Varik at least, I wouldn't consider him proper Knight-level until he's considered the level of a full Inquisitor; or at least someone capable and powerful enough to handle those duties.

Usually I like to give something to a character that they're bad at, within their particular talent; Varik has issues projecting the force for instance, since his background has almost entirely been focuseed on martial violence and prowess with little to no force training before jumping into the wider galaxy. Once they've conquered a milestone of that so to speak, I usually have something that's obvious progression happen to the character to indicate that, even if just for myself.

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

Like everyone else has said its all up to you, but can also be influenced your characters past and age, I.e. Kurenai is a knight rank mainly for the reason of how old she is as well as experience.

Since you are part of a proper order it might make more sense for your character to be knighted once you have reached a certain level.

[member="Karren Trask"]

 

[WolfMortum]

[member="Karren Trask"]

The general consensus within the Knights of Ren is that it's better to start off as a Disciple (Padawan equivalent) and be promoted through In-Character story/progression. I did this and it really emphasized the feeling of achievement and appreciation for not only the character's development but my position within the First Order.

Playing Veiere Arenais however was a different story, my main character who came into Chaos already having been Knighted IC and since entered into Exile following the devastation of his former enclave; the roleplay starting on from that point, being able to go straight to Jedi Knight would have made sense. After role-playing a Jedi on Jedi Knight Academy for three years however, I already knew the sort of character I was committing to so it wouldn't have taken away from the experience at all.

With both of these examples in mind, I would still suggest to remain a student and work your way up through your given Rp Partners and/or faction should you have one. The direction and end-goal gives you something to work for as well as the incentive to get involved alongside other students and those above you. It can lead to a great arc before the true story of your Character may even take hold on chaos.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Reduce, reuse, and recycle.

I keep one master character on hand at all times. Any future force users I have that start off as apprentice or knight will never make it to master through the divine law that is being killed off.

That being said, I always let my master choose for me when I was ready.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

I invite new Jedi to my training program, where I give them socials, training, missions, give them the tools to plot with and people to plot with, crystal caves, Jedi trials, all the nine yards. When they complete the program, usually after they're ICly ready, I ICly annoit them a Knight and they grab the Knight tag from there.

That's the sort of thing I'd like to see more Masters do, personally. And make it so having the choice to be a Knight is something you get when you feel you ICly are ready for it, not just having it because you can.

 

[Jsc]

My criteria for my students rank was simple. As a writer, you must be prepared to teach others. About your faction, about pvp, about ooc leadership, and about the website.

When you feel comfortable and experienced here? Yeah. You're ready as a writer. Likewise, so your characters are ready for more. This is what I taught. This is how we grow. As writers. As a community. Together.

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Kaalia spent about three months, I think, of pretty much daily posting at the apprentice level. After that time it also really felt like it was the right time to bump her up to Knight. (Others seemed to have thought so too, seeing not only the faction but the admins as well were going to give the promotion almost simultaneously. This was before the Knight rank became unrestricted.) The time was very much valuable and I recommend stretching that period out until you truly feel the character has outgrown the rank.

At the moment I am also writing two apprentice-level characters on the side, and it definitely is a great experience. It helps you connect with your character, find what they would most believably specialize in in terms of the Force and other things, and so much more. For my other FU characters I am making sure to stretch out that period for as long as possible.