Transcribed from the UTEP Discord server Discord
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Atlae Isles
Hi, I’m here with one of TEP’s resident RP mods, @Fortuna, to talk about TEP’s roleplay. Why don’t you introduce yourself, Fort?
Fortuna
Hi, I’m Fort
Atlae Isles
Very nice. What did you do when you first joined NS?
Fortuna
When I first joined NS, I wasn’t really looking to do much but answer issues. However, as I started to explore my region (TEP), I took an interest in RP, so after a couple of months I finally jumped into TEP RP. So yeah, thanks TEP
Atlae Isles
And we all know how that went. Would you like to tell us when you joined TEP?
Fortuna
Pretty much the first couple days I joined NS, thought it seemed like a cool region. If you want a specific date, I don’t exactly remember but it was more than three years ago I believe
Atlae Isles
So back in 2015, I see. That’s certainly before I found this region. What are your current duties as RP Moderator?
Fortuna
My current duties is to help fellow roleplayers with any rp related questions, regulate roleplays such as making sure no one godmods, and ensure everyone is having a good time, or that’s what I try to do to the best of my ability. I of course have help, so I’m not alone as RP Mod
Atlae Isles
What would you define as roleplay?
Fortuna
Pretty much the google definition of “act out or perform the part of a person or character” but include nation into that list and you pretty basically have TEP RP as a whole.
Atlae Isles
How important was RP to TEP?
Fortuna
*Is, and I would say it is pretty important. RP in TEP has always been there since the beginning and dozens of players have added and continue to add to our world. I’m mainly thinking of the forum RP of course but even RP on the RMB has played a role in bringing players together and creating activity within the region.
Atlae Isles
Right. When you started to RP, what did it seem like to you?
Fortuna
Exhilarating. When I started, it was when Pax was still a hivemind and there was a lot of tension between the rp nations. It was fun seeing the how everyone played out their nation in their own unique way, leading to an interesting yet fun environment
Atlae Isles
That sounded fun! Aside from what you mentioned, how was it different then to what it is now?
Fortuna
Less orderly. There were aliens and futuristic gadgets everywhere, no one knew the exact rules of the world and it wasn’t that regulated. I believe my fellow roleplayers at the time, one being FPS[note]Free Pacific States[note], noticed this and began working on setting up guidelines so that we didn’t end up with one roleplayer as a modern nation while another has space fleets. The guidelines and rules that have been set up since I started helped set up the world we were roleplaying in and I believe made it easier for new roleplayers to know what they were getting into
Atlae Isles
Was there a regional map at that time? Who was the cartographer?
Fortuna
Yeah, it’s basically the same map we have today but less continents, land features, and nations. I believe the cartographer when I first started was BGP[note]British Grand Pacific[note], later followed by Southern Yugoslavia.
Atlae Isles
Did people roleplay with each other as a group, mainly roleplay by themselves, or was it a mix in between?
Fortuna
Inbetween, there will be those who have their own rps to help flesh out their nation and characters, rps that start off as one person until there is an opening for other roleplayers, and roleplays that were obviously built for a group
Atlae Isles
Regarding those group roleplays, how important was it to have a chat platform (i.e. Discord, Skype) to communicate with each other?
Fortuna
Extremely important, it is one of the reasons why we have an OOC area on the forums. It is important to be able to communicate with your fellow roleplayers or else you will end up misunderstanding each other, contradicting each other’s posts, and flooding the main roleplay thread with OOC bubbles.
Atlae Isles
How smooth was the transition from Skype to Discord?
Fortuna
It was tough, at first many of us Skype users (basically all the roleplayers minus a couple) were against changing our chat platform. Over time, I’m sure many of them like me realized it was just more convenient as it allowed us to also easily connect with the main TEP discord chat. We do still have a Skype chat, but I haven’t been there in awhile
Atlae Isles
Can you describe some of the TEP-Evolved subforums and how they came to be?
Fortuna
Let’s see here. Well first we have the News Broadcast which allows for rpers to inform others about their nation through news reports without flooding TEP Evolved. Embassies allow for rpers to create foreign relationships with other rpers and gives a nice place for rpers to remember what kind of foreign relations they have created. Alternate Universe was created for roleplayers to create rps not centered around the main canon world of Urth. Finally we have The Storefront which is basically that, it’s a place for rpers to set up an area where they can sell and buy relating to Urth.
Atlae Isles
What would you say are the advantages and disadvantages to massive group RPs like Shiro Academy[note]What is being referred to here is one of the few roleplays with the name The Shiro Academy which can be found here: http://forum.theeastpacific.com/topic/7002202/[note]?
Fortuna
Advantages are that it gives new roleplayers a place to start out, for example it was Sealab[note]What is being referred to here is one of the few roleplays with the name The New International Sealab which can be found here: http://forum.theeastpacific.com/topic/7002206/[note] (one of these massive group RPs) that got me started. A disadvantage I believe is that without anyone having an exact goal for the rp as with many of the smaller ones, it will just slowly become boring, then outlandish, and then boring again before it just, well, dies.
Atlae Isles
Alright, we’ve talked a lot about TEP’s RP forum-side; however, there is a growing RMB culture around their own system of RP. How are the two different?
Fortuna
I personally haven’t been paying much attention to RMB RP, mainly because it is so fast moving and I don’t want to spend the time reading through all of it. Based off a good guess however, I would say that forum RP is more regulated and requires genuine interest, on the other hand RMB RP is less regulated and anyone can just join and leave whenever they want. Maybe they do have a good system set up and I would applaud them for that, but again I haven’t given any attention to it.
Atlae Isles
Out of curiosity, do you remember when you last posted on the RMB?
Fortuna
Either it was me boasting about my population months ago or the previous Z-Day. Either one was a while back anyways.
Atlae Isles
Is there a difference between TEP’s primarily forum-based RP and other regions’ RP that is mostly situated on their Discord servers?
Fortuna
Dear me, you’re making me show my lack of knowledge of the outside world, but I’ll give my best answer based off my current knowledge. I would guess that Discord rp is similar to RMB as in it is much faster moving than forum rp. However, it is most likely bettered moderated with set guidelines and rules that their roleplayers are required to follow.
Atlae Isles
Aww, sorry about that. Moving on, how did you become RP Moderator?
Fortuna
At the time we only had one RP Moderator. When I was asked if I wanted to be a RP Mod as well, I was told that they were looking to have at least two RP Mods so that not all of the work and decisions are put onto one individual.
I also assume I was one of the better candidates, so that is how I ended up here.
(no offense everyone)
Atlae Isles
What advice would you give to a new RPer?
Fortuna
Research what kind of roleplay you’re getting into first. Understand your neighboring nations, converse with current roleplayers, understand how that community roleplays. Many times I have seen newer rpers join and give no care for the rp world the former and current roleplayers have set up, leading to them receiving backlash from the community. Unfortunately many of them they end up giving up on that group altogether. If you do end up being that new guy who seems to just keep on messing up, don’t give up just yet, try to learn from the group and build up from there. Many of our current roleplayers made mistakes when they first started out, but by asking for help and researching, they have become integral parts of the community.
Atlae Isles
What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen someone RP?
Fortuna
Well my stuff of course /s. I’m currently drawing a blank on all the stuff I have read, but what comes to mind are two roleplayers: Furnifold and Strat. Furnifold seems to always have a wacky character getting into trouble all around Urth, whether it be flight attendants leading an invasion to a national leader stealing and crashing an allied ship. Now when I bring up Strat, I wouldn’t say his stuff is blatantly meant to be humorous, but he does make me smile at his dark humor that he throws in (love you bb)
Atlae Isles
XD I remember that. Do you think some of TEP’s government officials cough Yuno cough should take some time to RP?
Fortuna
Interestingly enough, Yuno has actually done a good amount of RP, for someone who isn’t as active in TEP forum RP anyways. Not too long ago, I did join into an rp of hers where her nation had recently purchased a bunch of land and was giving it out to foreigners to be used. I don’t believe we got very far with it, so if you’re reading this Yuno, my people want some love.
Atlae Isles
And finally, where do you think TEP RP is headed?
Fortuna
Who knows, hopefully somewhere good. I personally have some big plans that I am setting up, but you’ll just have to wait and see.
Atlae Isles
Alright, I have no more questions. Thank you for taking your time to do this interview.
Fortuna
nice
you should give me a mask that says something like “Dr. Fort” just so that I can feel cool 
Atlae Isles
Done!
Fortuna
yes my fellow island nation
Atlae Isles
This has been an interview with Fortuna, an RP mod. Check out TEP RP at TEP-Evolved and its Discord server here: Discord
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