Help! Did I accidentally invite this guy to roleplay?

VagabondLife

Please help me understand this very strange encounter I had yesterday!

I'm a fairly new player, and yesterday I finally crafted my very first set of CP 160 gear. I was standing by the dye station in Wayrest, admiring my new look, when another player whispered me:

“How do you keep your boots clean?”

I was kinda preoccupied with my new outfit, and just took it as a compliment on my dye job – I had used that very dark black you get from killing Molag Bal on the boots. So I answered with a little joke:

“Oh, I just find a cute guy to clean them for me!” (I should note that both my toon and account name are obviously feminine.)

Other player's response: “Really? It's really easier to find a random guy and make him clean your boots than to just pay a professional to do it?”

So now I was confused. I thought I was probably being trolled, but then I've also known people on the autism spectrum who took sarcasm very literally, and I didn't want to risk being rude. So I just answered, “Never had any complaints!”

At which point the other player logged onto a different toon – this one obviously male – and challenged me to a duel.

I declined, since I refuse to be that jerk who duels on top of the dye station. The other player immediately challenged me again, whispering, “I challenge you to a duel! Let us settle this once and for all!”

Me: “Settle what, exactly? Boot cleaning methods?”
Him: “Cleaning boots is for the weak! We will settle this with a duel, and if I win, you shall serve me!”
Me: “Um... I've only been playing ESO for a few weeks, and I don't really know how roleplaying works, and I don't want to be rude, but... no thanks.”
Him: “What? Now I'm confused.”
Me: “Sorry?”
Him: “You are forgiven!”

And at that point I put myself in Offline mode because the whole thing was just getting a little too weird.

I don't have anything against roleplaying, per se – I work professionally at renaissance faires so it's literally my day job – but I have observed that the majority of the roleplay in ESO seems to consist of virgins awkwardly flirting with each other, and I mostly play this game with my boyfriend, so that's something I'd just like to avoid if at all possible.

So my question is – did I accidentally say or do something to invite this guy to roleplay? Is “boot cleaning” some kind of ESO code I don't know about? Was I being trolled? Or was this guy just weird?

ThePaleItalian

I was just trying to get some coin to eat.... geez... be a little creepy and have some dirty boot talk and the world losses its mind.... FYI... I still see some dirt..

andreasranasen

RP is so weird. I mean i sort of role play in my head when i play. IN MY HEAD. But don't we all? I do the same thing in GTA. But i don't actually engage random people and role play, that's just WEIRD and CREEPY.

HatchetHaro

Just weird. He actually sounds like a fun guy.

Nestor

As you know from working the RennFairs, that really odd person who is so out there you wonder if they are carrying around the return ticket to sanity in their pocket is an anomaly. They don't represent the masses, or even the group, or even a smattering. They represent themselves and no one else.


For the record, of all the Roleplaying I have ever done or overheard, this is not how the conversations go.

So, yea, put them on ignore and go on with the game. There are plenty of us normal, weird and eccentric folk out there to have fun with.

WalksonGraves

I put on my robe and wizard hat...

Kodrac

You didn't do anything wrong. Some people are just freaks.

WhitePawPrints

I think you're WAY over thinking this. Sounds like someone was just being a goof ball and was having fun.

Smashington357

Boot duels on the dye station in 15 minutes. Be there

IrishGirlGamer

Funny, but yeah the "you shall serve me!" part is a tad creepy. But, hey, that's why we have the ignore button.

Komma

Damn them for roleplaying in a roleplaying game.. O.O Play along or dont. The choice is yours.

andreasranasen

IrishGirlGamer wrote: »

Funny, but yeah the "you shall serve me!" part is a tad creepy. But, hey, that's why we have the ignore button.

Right, i was thinking some crazy BDSM lol.

Glaiceana

Pretty certain he wasn't role playing Just being crazy probably

Ackwalan

The ignore works on creepy stalkers just as well as it does on trash talkers.

Lightninvash

I think the guy was just being goofy/ bored and trying to have fun messing with people. He possibly thought you were implying people like him wash your boots for you and that he was weak. but that is an awfully far fetched idea.

SolarCat02

You are fine. You were having fun, he was having fun, and he took things further than you were comfortable with.

That can happen in real life, too, when a female is friendly with a male. It tends to be creepier on the Internet because you know even less about the person in most cases. It's not your fault, you didn't do anything wrong.

Several months ago I had an incident where one player in a guild I was in seemed obsessed with wanting to run dungeons with me all the time. This by itself would not have been an issue, as it was well known I practically lived in dungeons because they are my favorite content. The issue was that he wanted to PUG with just me, when I already had a set of players I was always running with, one of which was my husband (fiance at the time, but still, a well-published relationship), who is a fairly competent dps.

This guy was a very solid tank, don't get me wrong. I would have happily run with him if he acted less possessive. But trying to separate me completely from my usual group (including my husband), and sending me Xbox messages when I am not online complaining that I should be there?

I don't know if it was because I am a healer who also focused on self-survivability (so tanks don't have to worry about me, I bring the mobs to them if I start getting overwhelmed), or he thought I would help him level his new tank faster (he was trying to level a DK, his main was a Templar tank), or if it was just because I am nice or active or whatever. I just know it creeped me out. (He is blocked now, and I am no longer with that guild, for that and many other reasons).

You are fine. You didn't do anything wrong.
Just get the distance you need to feel safe again (whatever that entails), and keep on doing what you enjoy.

Kendaric

andreasranasen wrote: »

RP is so weird. I mean i sort of role play in my head when i play. IN MY HEAD. But don't we all? I do the same thing in GTA. But i don't actually engage random people and role play, that's just WEIRD and CREEPY.

What that guy did wasn't roleplaying at all.

DannyLV702

You should have whipped out exodia

vyndral13preub18_ESO

So am i the only one hawt right now?

DannyLV702

vyndral13preub18_ESO wrote: »

So am i the only one hawt right now?

No way I'm with ya

Takes-No-Prisoner

I had a guy come up to me, bow and suddenly started Role Playing via Text chat.

Honestly, I just played along. I was in a hurry to get to other things, so I was able to gently end the conversation without nuking the bridges.

andreasranasen

Kendaric wrote: »

andreasranasen wrote: »

RP is so weird. I mean i sort of role play in my head when i play. IN MY HEAD. But don't we all? I do the same thing in GTA. But i don't actually engage random people and role play, that's just WEIRD and CREEPY.

What that guy did wasn't roleplaying at all.

Teach me what role playing is. Scenario? It just sounds weird as hell. Am i roleplaying when i do it in my head? Just so strange.

Lightninvash

you should have replied -slaps with glove- duels are beneath me and walked away. lol

DocFrost72

andreasranasen wrote: »

Kendaric wrote: »

andreasranasen wrote: »

RP is so weird. I mean i sort of role play in my head when i play. IN MY HEAD. But don't we all? I do the same thing in GTA. But i don't actually engage random people and role play, that's just WEIRD and CREEPY.

What that guy did wasn't roleplaying at all.

Teach me what role playing is. Scenario? It just sounds weird as hell. Am i roleplaying when i do it in my head? Just so strange.

Role playing is going to a location and acting out as your character would in that location with those who are also there IC (in character). Basically, his first comment started off as potentially RP, but the following was less stry driven narrative, and more joking humorous banter.

In my opinion the other person was not ting to roleplay, just be either friendly or amusing.

EDIT: easiest way to find RPers? ASK them what their name is ICly (in character).

VagabondLife

Whew! Thank you for the reassurances! :-)

This was the first time another player ever talked to me, and I was really worried that you were all going to tell me this was a perfectly normal, everyday ESO encounter.

Either that, or there really is a Boot Code I didn't know about, so I actually did invite him to roleplay without knowing it, LOL...

Puzzlenuts

LOL Your post made my day Thank you

Majic

This wouldn't happen if you didn't keep your boots so annoyingly clean.

KaleidoscopeEyz

That was code. He invited you back to his red room. What's the safe word?

Ghettokid

Oh I see what that guy did.

It was the original "how are your boots so clean?"- Pick up line

Heard it, tried it.

Line works perfectly with piece of blanket and ethyl acetate.

Cryptical

VagabondLife wrote: »

Please help me understand this very strange encounter I had yesterday!

I'm a fairly new player, and yesterday I finally crafted my very first set of CP 160 gear. I was standing by the dye station in Wayrest, admiring my new look, when another player whispered me:

“How do you keep your boots clean?”

I was kinda preoccupied with my new outfit, and just took it as a compliment on my dye job – I had used that very dark black you get from killing Molag Bal on the boots. So I answered with a little joke:

“Oh, I just find a cute guy to clean them for me!” (I should note that both my toon and account name are obviously feminine.)

Other player's response: “Really? It's really easier to find a random guy and make him clean your boots than to just pay a professional to do it?”

So now I was confused. I thought I was probably being trolled, but then I've also known people on the autism spectrum who took sarcasm very literally, and I didn't want to risk being rude. So I just answered, “Never had any complaints!”

At which point the other player logged onto a different toon – this one obviously male – and challenged me to a duel.

I declined, since I refuse to be that jerk who duels on top of the dye station. The other player immediately challenged me again, whispering, “I challenge you to a duel! Let us settle this once and for all!”

Me: “Settle what, exactly? Boot cleaning methods?”
Him: “Cleaning boots is for the weak! We will settle this with a duel, and if I win, you shall serve me!”
Me: “Um... I've only been playing ESO for a few weeks, and I don't really know how roleplaying works, and I don't want to be rude, but... no thanks.”
Him: “What? Now I'm confused.”
Me: “Sorry?”
Him: “You are forgiven!”

And at that point I put myself in Offline mode because the whole thing was just getting a little too weird.

I don't have anything against roleplaying, per se – I work professionally at renaissance faires so it's literally my day job – but I have observed that the majority of the roleplay in ESO seems to consist of virgins awkwardly flirting with each other, and I mostly play this game with my boyfriend, so that's something I'd just like to avoid if at all possible.

So my question is – did I accidentally say or do something to invite this guy to roleplay? Is “boot cleaning” some kind of ESO code I don't know about? Was I being trolled? Or was this guy just weird?

I think you did start role playing with him, because your very first response to him was in character. He started in character, because of course the player knows there's no such thing as dirt on pixel boots, and your response was in character, as if dirt actually gets on pixel boots.

At the end, you politely expressed your desire to exit the conversation, which was confusing due to your role playing up to that point. The other person was understandably confused for a moment, then realized you didn't know what you were doing from the very start - presumably several minutes earlier. And at that point you said 'sorry' and the other person took the easiest way out of the conversation: 'forgiven' and left.

Note: unless you were in voice chat, you don't know for sure the other person was a guy. Don't assume. Lots of women play male characters, lots of guys play female characters. It could be a female playing a male toon typing comments on a female toon's clothing style; you just don't know.

Role play online isn't my cup of tea, but I have an ex that enjoyed text based role play in tabletop gaming, so I learned the ropes - and I avoid it now. Too much nonsense drama. I just don't bother responding to things worded in an in-character way. if you aren't going to role play, I suggest next time you respond with that.

sirston

pretty sure anyone can destroy role players due to the fact they walk around using /emote all day....