I'm fairly new, only been playing about 6 months or so. If you saw my chars you'd see the obveous role play deffeciancy. Stuff saying "I hate orcs. Gosh I hate orcs" as the mainstay of elven roles. Maybe not that bad but still, bad.
Thing is, I've never been able to run with anyone who does better. What little I know, I picked up from short snatches of time with good RPers, but those were short and fleeting.

Roleplay isn't something you can be 'taught'. Its just something that you pick up, the more you do it and get into it, the better you become. That said, being surrounded by good rpers will raise the bar for yourself too. However, good rpers are often found at the higher ranks. So what it comes down to is learning to pk well and being able to survive, even thrive at the lower ranks, so you can get up there and mingle with the "good" rpers. Joining a cabal would also help, though its better if you can pk decently first, so people will actually want to be around you.

But unless there is some teacher system, there is going to be a inseprable gap between newbies and veterens

Incorrect.

Yes I know, by definition newbies will be behind, but the concern is that they can never catch up. That without a teacher they can't learn

The whole idea is that you should learn for yourself. The Imms have done a great job of providing ample helpfiles, and no one wants to spoonfeed you. That's what makes CF so great, you cant log on to www.gamefaqs.com and find it under the FAQ section. People who actively strive to figure #### out on their own become better players for it. IC or OOC, not many people will be willing to discuss tactics with you if you have nothing to bring to the table. If you cannot think for yourself and need to be 'taught', then perhaps CF isnt the ideal mud for you.

I started playing this mud when the one I came from died. It died because the newbies were left to fend for themselves while the vets did their own thing

I guess you can call this natural selection. However on CF the Imms have done a GREAT job with providing ample resources for the new player, the Academy and the HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP files heh. CF is a pretty competative environment, if you need a 'teacher'...your not going to fare very well in the pk stakes.

All this to say, people in a mud are needed. After you have people, then you need teachers. The mud has no shortage of people, but teachers are lacking, if no teachers, then the people will decline.

I'm not sure how many people would want to play such a role. The Imms to an extent will answer your questions on the newbie channel, and then there are people who play good-align Acolytes in the Fortress...perhaps if you need a teacher this is where to look. In the long term...you won't be a more competative or 'better' player for it, though. As for people declining, I think what draws people to CF is its competative nature and the fact that it really is raw and rough and nobody is there to hold your hand and make it all better.

About the teacher thing...many people including myself go out of our way to log and post logs of tactics/strategy actually happening on qhcf. I don't see this as spoon-feeding, I see it as another way to help you HELP YOURSELF. Self-empowerment baby, use what is available to you to make yourself a better player, without having to rely on anyone else.

Okay, here is my advice, take it or leave it. Concentrate on the pk side of things first. Roll up an assassin/warrior/ap. Rank to 15, pk everything until you get a handle on things. Then rank to 25, do the same. Then rank to 35, and repeat. Do this over the course of several characters, until you are comfortable with killing at any rank. This will allow you to hold your own. Whenever you go ranking in an area you don't know, go back there later on and explore it and get a feel for it, well enough so that next time YOU can lead. The no 1 mistake people make in CF is letting someone else lead the group. This will just endlessly piss you off as you are walked into deathtraps.

Now you will find that you are no longer the 'third', that people will actually want to group with you instead of vice versa. Now is the time to join a cabal, to power to hero and roleplay to your hearts content. Basically, being able to pk allows your roleplay to be soooo much more effective. Roleplay is not just about using esays or dishing out emotes. Roleplay is about actually DOING what your character would do, making the rest of Thera actually believe your character exists. Being able to pk will allow you to roleplay harder roles, ie: being feared, respected, etc...rather than just being a herald who serves tea.

Well, all I can say is good luck bro, and welcome to CF.
Romanul.