It’s time for another interview, folks. Today, I’m pleased to bring you someone I’ve known for quite some time now (in relative, WoW-speaking terms, of course) and has led the best guild I’ve ever proudly been a part of. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Nephytus.

1.) What’s your character’s name, server and guild name?
My character’s name is Nephytus. I play on the Cenarion Circle (US) server. My guild is Da Docta’s School of Medicine or more commonly known as Doctas.

2.) Could you give a little background on the history of the guild and how you came to lead this merry band of misfits?
Oh jeez, where to start? The guild was formed by Hrookzhin. The original guise of the guild was to have a group of all healers that saw to the health and well-being of the Horde. It was then decided (My history gets a bit fuzzy here, so if I am wrong, I am quite sure one of the other old timers will correct me! :P) that the healers, and more importantly the Horde, needed some Protectas to help them along the way.

How I found my way in Doctas, well, that is all due to a real life friend of mine who is actually the only reason I started playing WoW. (Iktomi! How I miss thee!) I was pulled into Uldaman with him, Kadros and Vanim and another whose name escapes me. The fact that I can still remember that Kadros and Vanim were there is a shock to me! -Grin- At any rate, so there we were, 3 Doctas and 2 misfits. Well, OK, technically, one misfit and then Iktomi. The entire time we were there, I was thinking, “Wow, these folks are really great people!” So after it was all said and done, I asked if I could join up and Kadros was kind enough to send me an invitation.

As to how I came to lead this merry band of misfits, I took over after Ghosthorn, who, because of real life commitments, couldn’t devote the amount of time he thought was necessary to continue leading the guild.

3.) Describe the RP on Cenarion Circle. Do most (or all) of the RP guilds interact with each other on some level?
I would say yes, we all try and interact with each other as much as possible. Each of the major (by major, I mean the largest that I know of. I am not trying to exclude anyone here) RP guilds holds at least one RP event a month, in which invitations or postings are made inviting others. We also have the Horde council which can, if used properly, spread the word about certain types of RP.

As for RP on CC, I think it has declined a bit over the last couple of years. But I think this is mostly due to people getting burned out with the game itself. I really don’t think it has any reflection on the RP’ers themselves. However, that doesn’t mean that RP is dead by any means. We still have tonsof awesome people RP’ing on CC. People that I can’t even hold a candle to.

4.) How is RP set up and how do you expect people to handle themselves when in different communication modes? (i.e. Is there a hard & fast rule for /say, /party, /raid, /yell chats? Ventrillo?)
The way I was “raised” on RP is /guild is IC with a few ((OOC)) exceptions, /say is IC, /party is OOC, /raid is OOC, /yell is usually (unless you’re being griefed for RP’ing) IC. Now there have been exceptions to this rule. For instance, when Kadros and I were Head Protectas of Doctas, we put together a lowbie run that was entirely done in RP in /party. But for the most part, and I think almost everyone would agree with me here, that’s the way things are done. However, it doesn’t mean that is is the only way things are done. This is just the way we do it. Oh, and I don’t think I have ever been in a Vent session that was IC. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, I just have never seen it.

5.) How did you get into the RP world and how has it changed since you started?
Hmmm, did I mention that I wasn’t an RP’er when I found Doctas? -Laugh- I got into RP, well, because I joined an RP guild. Yes, that’s right, Doctas raised me on RP. I stayed with it, because out of all the gamers I have ever met, RP’ers take the cake! Seriously, of all the RP’ers I have met in this game, about 99.999999% of them have been completely awesome people, both IC and OOC.

I really don’t think that it is RP that has changed as much as the environment in which we RP that has changed. This, of course, alters the RP that we do. The two major changes naturally being the two major expansions we have been through up to now. With these two new expansions, it brought tons of new RP opportunities but it also left behind a lot of RP. Out with the old, in with the new, I suppose. But all in all, it is still RP.

6.) What do you suggest to someone trying their hand at RP for the first time and what are some of the most common mistakes a new RP’er might make?
RP can be very difficult to find your way into. At least it was for me, and from what I have heard with speaking with others who are new to the RP scene, it is for them as well. Imagine moving to a different planet with an alien species and trying to fit in. To me, when I first got into the RP scene, that’s what it was like. My suggestion to new RP’ers would be to just stick with it. I realize it is hard to find a niche and that it seems that everyone else’s RP isn’t open to new-comers, but that’s simply not true. For the most part, RP’ers love to have a fresh face to torture. -Evil Grin- But seriously, most all of the RP’ers, especially those on CC, are more than willing to include newer folks. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions. As the saying goes, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.

I wouldn’s say that new RP’ers make mistakes other than maybe god-modding, but that’s usually few and far between. I mean really, how is it a mistake if there really aren’t any true, hard-fast rules to go by?

7.) Is your character anything like your real life avatar? Describe some of the attributes that are similar and/or different between your real life persona and your online one.
Hahaha! Yes! I would say out of all my avatars, Nephy is the most like me. I think mostly because she was my first RP avatar. I think we are both honorable, willing to give our best and be as helpful as we can. As for differences, Nephy is a lot more patient than I am, not to mention, in real life, when I get angry, I don’t lob daggers at someone’s head and growl at them. Well, OK, I don’t lob daggers at their heads. – GRIN-

8.) What has Blizzard done right for roleplayers?
I think out of all of the MMORPG’s that I have played, Blizzard’s environment is the easiest to RP in. Now granted, I never RP’d before I played WoW, but just thinking back on the MMO’s that I have played, I think WoW is the most conducive to RP. They gave us decent content and also some really cool places to hold events in.

9.) What have they done wrong for us?
Making END game content so much more important than current game content has hindered a lot of great RP. I think people are in such a rush to get to see the end game stuff that they forget to stop and smell the roses once in awhile. In doing so, they are missing out ona  lot of potential opportunities for RP and a lot of content as well.

10.) Any other advice for roleplayers both old and new?
New RP’ers: Don’t be afraid to step in and get your hands dirty so to speak. Try and play your character in line with what WoW is about. No, I am not saying go memorize the lore for Orcs or whatever your flavor of character is. But Orcs, for instance, don’t say things like “LOL” or “cn u plz run me thru WC?” Also, don’t let Barrens chat scare you off. We all aren’t obsessed with Chuck Norris!

Old RP’ers:Don’t be an RP snob. Just because someone doesn’t have the lore memorized doesn’t mean you are a better RP’er than anyone else and it certainly doesn’t give you the right to grief them about it. A simple, friendly whisper explaining something to someone goes a long way.

Special thanks to Nephytus for agreeing to the interview.