Best of the Boards 1 - Roleplaying
Category Role-Playing (4)
Topic Conflict! (2)
Message Re: Lycanthrope? (4608)
By OBSESSION@PLAY.NET (Danay)
On Aug 12, 2000 at 11:27
<<That particular one forces people to think that they just saw you morph into a wolf. Using ACT gives them an option of believing or not, and choosing whether to interact with you as someone who morphs or not. -Andraste>>
I'm not sure if I'm reading you right, but the way I understood the above, I would have to argue. It seems that you are saying you can get away with more by using the act command than the smile command. I understand your point about how smile LOOKS on the screen, but to me that is an extremely minor point. (A bigger point to a GM I am sure.) But from the viewpoint of a player, it's not which one is used, it's WHAT is done.
If I log in for the Tribe meeting tonight and Katt uses the act command to come riding in on her war horse like a knight, the fact that she used act and not smile is irrelevant. What's important is that she did something she can't do under current game mechanics. There is no horse there, she can't own one. (She could SAY she owns a horse and talk about her horse, but never actually show it "onscreen".) Or what if I use the act command to show Leya blessing me as her chosen one during the meeting?
It's the CONTENT that is important, not which command. And this is why. If I do an act command that shows Leya doing something special to Danay, the IC response from other characters can't be to think Danay is crazy. It doesn't fit. There is no actual IC response possible until the PLAYER makes a decision. The player has to choose to believe what just came up on the screen or not and have their character act accordingly. This causes dissonance if some players choose to have their characters "see" it and other players think that I just really screwed up and so have their characters act is if they saw nothing.
I'm not sure I am stating this clearly. When an act command is done that affects the physical world, it's NOT the same thing as a character who acts like a rolton and your character can treat them like a crazy halfling. Instead it's a situation of the players witnessessing the act having to choose if their characters even saw it or not. If the act is something the player doesn't believe is possible, they are left in the awkward position of pretending that the act was never done. It's even more awkward if other players react to it.
I play the game that anything done with the act command is exactly equivalent to using a game verb. If it's on my screen, it happened. That's what the act command is for, to do things beyond the constraints of simple verbs to add more color to the world and to be more creative in character portrayal. But when the act done is physically impossible, then I am forced to ignore something that under normal circumstance is real.
Maybe I will try another way, because I am trying to not only talk about the act command, but the statement made about others believing the character or not. Here's the difference:
Danay says, "Leya appeared to me last night. I was bathed in a holy glow and she told me that I am now her high priestess, her representative to her followers in the world."
vs.
(Danay is bathed in a white light and you hear Leya's voice, seeming to come from all around you. "Danay you have served me well and I am pleased. From this day forth you are my chosen one. You alone shall be called my High Priestess." The voice fades away.)
In the first example other characters have a choice about how they can respond. They can be all excited for Danay, be skeptical but willing to hear more or rightfully think Danay lost all her marbles and is suffering from delusions of grandeur.
In the second example there are only two choices, the players of the other characters can decide if their characters saw that or didn't see it. They do not have the option to see it and think Danay is crazy because it was done as an actual physical event. Just like morphing would be. The responsible RPers would have their characters NOT see that act command and then ask me in a whisper what the hell am I doing?! Saying crazy stuff or portraying a character who claims the impossible can be worked around. Using the act command to portray untruth or the impossible is flat out wrong because there isn't a way to deal with it IC properly.
Robin
Category: Socializing & Roleplaying
Topic: RP'ing: Tips, Slips, & Near Misses
Author: FAENT
Posted: Jan 19, 1999 10:36:32
<<How can I roleplay this character as a true assassin, since PvP is not allowed? I certainly can't go into TSC and yell "Murderer for hire! 1K per level of victim...">>
I don't think this should be too hard. Let me give you a few suggestions to insure that you are killed at least twice a day. ::snickers::
You can brag or talk about the "jobs" you've done, the people you've killed while they were asleep in their beds, etc...
So far, this doesn't require you to kill anyone, but it will help you to establish a reputation. Of course, one could also annoy the heck out of people without breaking policy, and when they instigate a PvP situation, you could respond and kill them.
Scott
Disclaimer: The suggestions and/or comments made within this post may or may not correspond with my beliefs on such issues. I claim/accept/take no responsibility for actions resulting from the above, and I accept no responsibilty for death/deeds/characters/accounts lost or locked out by following the aforementioned suggestions.
Category: Socializing & Roleplaying
Topic: RP'ing: Tips, Slips, & Near Misses
Author: Everglynn/Vahleria (REINHARDTP)
Posted: Jan 19, 1999 11:19:30
>>. Of course, one could also annoy the heck out of people without breaking policy, and when they instigate a PvP situation,<<
Oh! They were ASSASSINS!!!
::slaps herself on the forehead:::
Ever 'n Vahl
Category Rogues (37)
Topic Guild Skills (3)
By GS3-TAELRAND from PLAY.NET
On Sep 18, 2002 at 15:36
Subject Re: Something appears to be missing... (4451)
<<Obviously... That doesn't mean that logic should not be allowed in. This is a game, a game of risks and rewards. It should not be so powdered up that no one ever has a bad moment. -Kalzandius>>
Logic should never get in the way of game design. Part of game design is ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy themselves, except when that enjoyment comes at the direct expense of others' enjoyment.
I'm all for risk and reward, but the degree of skill difference between a high level and a low level player negates a great deal of risk in many cases. Friendly competition is good. Roleplayed conflict is great. Taking advantage of someone's inability to retaliate in character is something I frown pretty heavily on.
Category Socializing & Roleplaying (10)
Topic RP'ing: Tips, Slips, & Near Misses
(153)
Message Re: Roll Playin question (1741)
By UBERWENCH@PLAY.NET
(Lylia)
On Aug 1, 1999 at 12:04
It's a subtle and tricky thing to play a mean-spirited or otherwise nasty character effectively while still ensuring that you aren't ruining other players' good time.
Roleplaying well consists of two things: one, how good you are at acting and writing, and two, how much your audience appreciates your little play. While your concept of a nasty cheating sneak-thief may succeed brilliantly at the former, it would probably fail miserably at the latter. So how to keep as much of your concept as possible without making everyone want to throttle you before you can entertain them with your magnificent badness?
1. Roleplay the actual theft. Use a few ACT commands to let people know what you're up to. You could "sidle over to Soandso and casually brush your hand against her coin-purse" or "surreptitiously finger the clasp of Soandso's gold chain" or "examine Soandso's jeweled rings closely" when you kiss her hand.. This sets the stage and lets your intended "victim" know that though your character's intentions are malign, yours---the player's---are not.
2. If your mark is sufficiently oblivious and gives you no response at all, proceed to pick him or her dry. Anyone who won't respond in some way to a well-roleplayed thievery deserves to lose a bundle. However, if your "prey" fixes you with a dirty look and counts his coins, smile ingratiatingly and compliment his beautiful chain or sneer and make a comment about how he has nothing to worry about from thieves, as he has nothing of worth anyhow---in short, find some way of responding that will reveal more about your character's nature.
3. Don't cheat people and mean it. Period. Feel free to *act* as though you're cheating people by giving all your items a huckster's pitch and asking far too much for them, but never ever cheat someone by genuinely misrepresenting an item. That isn't roleplaying, that's the scurrilous act of a person who should be off playing a solo RPG where he can't spoil anyone's fun but his own.
4. If you do poach, poach with style and be prepared for the consequences. Don't just run in and start hacking away at someone else's troll; justify it. Your little thief could say that that particular troll had crossed him and he just *had* to take it out...he could arrogantly claim that he was doing the weaker hunter a favor by dispatching his foe for him...he could try to charm the rightful hunter with flattery ("Oh, my Lady, I could not bear to see that vile beast assaulting you any longer!"). You might get pounded for it anyway, but at least you've let the person you've poached from know that you're not just a witless zombie poacher and are simply playing a certain part.
5. Even if you run away from a battle, do it with flair. Use a few ACT commands to "dance out of Soandso's reach" or "hastily dodge Soandso's sword" if he starts swinging. It might get you killed to stay that extra few seconds in the room with an angry victim of your thievery and poaching, but most devoted roleplayers believe strongly in "Death before dishonor" when it comes to playing out a scene realistically. I know I'd rather see one of my characters get whacked than be thought a shoddy roleplayer.
6. Be a considerate actor and don't hog the limelight. Give others a chance to roleplay *with* you instead of simply doing your nefarious deeds and scampering away. It's frustrating to deal with an opponent who outmatches you in strength, stealth, or magical ability; that's why Lylia generally keeps her conflicts to verbal ones rather than simply stunning someone into next Feastday. I want to give Lylia's opponent a chance to play out the conflict, not be frustrated by standing there helplessly listening to her harangues. (That doesn't mean she never stuns someone, it just means she does it judiciously and rarely.)
7. Playing "a thief" isn't enough. Thieves can be anything from the dashing but dangerous highwaymen who populate cheesy romance novels to malevolent self-serving fiends who enjoy taking whatever they can grab to inveterate conmen and tricksters who like to make fools of their victims before they rob them blind to fundamentally decent people who nevertheless have an uncontrollable lust for other people's riches to calculating predators who appreciate the challenge of looting the coffers of Elanthia's most respected citizens to lazy louts who have no desire to buy their bread with earned coins. *Why* is your character a thief? What does he get out of it besides money, and why does he choose to steal rather than earn an "honest" living?
And though others have said it, it bears repeating again and again---your roleplay ends where another person's begins. When you sense that someone else isn't having fun with a particular scenario, you should either whisper an OOC explanation of your actions to tell them that you don't intend to spoil their evening or bring everything to a jarring halt.
-----Lauren, Lylia's player
Category: Rogues
Topic: The Empty Pocket
Author: Cilk (GRAPEDOG1)
Posted: Mar 27, 1999 13:45:51
What do you mean TELEGRAPH where you are running......ok....im going south now....what, should we yell every once in a while if he gets lost and can't track us. Thats bull! What theif after being caught stands around....looks both ways before crossing the street, and then lightly jogs off. What...so he can get accused. So he can be at the scene of the crime by the time the LYNCH MOB arrives. You all know its true. There have always been Thief Lynch Mobs and there always will be. I've seen many a thief get a permanent deaths because Clerics and Wizards drag him outside town and kill off his deeds.
And so this roleplaying thief is wiped from the world, a world that doesn't care how well the thief roleplays......thats CRAP! OR he lightfoots around town long to get caught by the constable....which if he RAN like any NORMAL thief....would get away. Maybe we would be followed a bit...or wanted by the constable....but at least he would have done the the right thing in his mind.
How many of you have gotten caught stealing and sat there and play out act commands....and say stupid things like "I'm going south, i hope the guy i stole from doesn't know....oh no...did i think outloud again?" or glanced in every direction you ran just so you could get chased......If I'm getting chased....im gonna bolt....as quick as i can to a safe place. Thats roleplaying...thats how it is. When you are running you are afraid....you don't want to get caught....you basically want to get as far away from the person and place as possible or into a safe hiding spot.
Thats what the true roleplaying is. Thats how to play a caught thief. Run....its that whole Flight or Fight response thats a primal instinct in EVERYTHING.
I understand what you are saying....it may be the thiefs job to roleplay.....but there is a difference between roleplaying and being a moron.
Cilk
Category: Rogues
Topic: The Empty Pocket
Author: Prata (FALLISG)
Posted: Mar 27, 1999 14:29:23
>>>Thats what the true roleplaying is. Thats how to play a caught thief. Run....<<<
So...*that* is the true roleplaying. I don't know how I could possibly have thought there might be a different way to play a caught thief. Silly me.
>>>I understand what you are saying....it may be the thiefs job to roleplay.....but there is a difference between roleplaying and being a moron.<<<
This, at least, is something on which we can agree.
Prata
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