Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards

audrina · Lore Keeper Joined: 08 Jan 2007 Posts: 758 Location: NY

I don't have time to write much, but personally I like to come up with a plot and kind of have an idea what I want it to be about and where I'd like it to go and throw it at the person(s) I want to do it with and then allow for spontaneous from there. So I prefer a mixture, I love the spontaneous, but I also love coming up with the initial idea.
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Ceinwyn ab'Arawn · Transcendent Spammer Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 5017

There is no court system in Umbra. You are subject to the ever changing will of the Matriarch.

Tay Thormear · Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:08 pm Post subject:

Vaen/Beo are kinda of on the same boat. Beowulf was/is all about justice, but a select group of people know that Beo would beat the piss out of someone to get what he wanted Razz

The only char flaw that I -truly- dislike is when some says "Just kill me already! Do what you must! I will die for the Virtue!" Or some rubbish like that. That does -not- make sence. I don't know about you, but if I was about to get perma killed, I wouldn't be like "F ya bring on the pain.' I'd actually rp it out and try to get myself out of trouble.

Beowulf doesn't wanna die, he'll do it himself or die in battle. But I wouldn't deliberately say "fine just kill me." I'd pay my way out or give them my first born or something. Lol maybe that's just Beo.

Ishtar · Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:10 pm Post subject:

People are still subject to whatever laws are in place, chaotic or not. If someone violates that, they are subject to be caught and face whatever repercussions. Court, no court, dictatorship, tyranny, whatever.
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Orion · Journeyman Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 230

Spontaneous Roleplay
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Should spontaneous roleplay ever happen? Yes
Or should there be a general script that people should follow, such as having a set start, a set finish, some set things happen in the middle, and then fill in the rest on your own whim?
Sometimes, yes. (It really depends---some things should have core storylines, but not the meat on the bones. :O )
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Character Flaws
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Why do you think this is? Is this a result of people wanting to play "the perfect person" in a fantasy setting?
I don't know. O.o
Personally, I tend to look at characters as I would look at other people in the real world. About 90% of the people that I know don't have obvious and apparent flaws, therefore I don't tend to give an overt flaw such as a drinking problem to most of my characters (one has a bad drinking problem ^.^). Having an overblown flaw like kryptonite to superman is a tad melodramatic IMO.

As for Orion, I've RPed him as an indifferent sociopath (IE lives day by day and doesn't really give a frack about too much) ever since his "fall from grace." ^.^
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Dynamic Characters
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1) World domination
2) Bring light to the dark
3) Live life peacefully
4) I hate everyone

With these four categories character overviews, you can match up each of the four with one character that has had the same outlook their entire character career.

Now the question is... Is this a good thing? Should there be more dynamic characters?
Yes and no.
In the real world, some people change a lot over their lifetime. Others---not so much. :X

(My comparisons of UO characters to the real world are solely based upon the stability and range of character personalities. In UO, characters can have an extreme personality by nature of their character or due to a change from a plot; however, I'm sure the majority of normal characters would have stable personalities within a "sane" playable range.)

Endnote:
Bioware writes horrible character endings.

Samon Triest · Sage Joined: 01 Jan 2004 Posts: 720

Samon is an average Joe =\ I suck like that. He also throws up around Elven women...which in this community is a bad flaw to have...damn elves...Not that this is on topic, but I just wanted to express that. No 6'6 Adonis here. Just a normal sized, average Joe who excels at nothing, but isn't terrible in everything either.
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Doireann · Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:20 pm Post subject:

Spontaneous Roleplay
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Truthfully, I prefer it. I can truthfully say about 90% of my RP is unscripted. Heck, I've probably annoyed Cear five hundred times from RPing Xandy and her questions, when he wants to get on with a quest. Most scripted RP bores me, unless it is open ended.
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Character Flaws
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Wow, I can't imagine playing a perfect person. That would get boring fast. lol, and if you think any of my characters are perfect, you haven't been around them for ten minutes. I have come across those who's human/ elf char is non harmable, but I get bored with those people fast.
Oh, on that comment of soul being ripped out of you, Vaen, yeah, it totally changes you. I think truthfully it gave one of my chars true depth, as did a billion other things I put the poor thing through. Also, I only RP'd with Vaen maybe 30 minutes total and could have told you he's not perfect! Razz

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Dynamic Characters
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1) World domination
2) Bring light to the dark
3) Live life peacefully
4) I hate everyone

Well, I think only one character fills that list, though, she has two of them. Yes, Xandria would love to dominate the world, and yes, she hates everyone, but I like to think I've done a few things to play her in such a way that no one would consider her typical. Heck, at what point is a necro with OCD going to be typical? Laughing

(No, you can't defeat her with dirt, but those who know her can cause her to totally freak out with one small comment). Doireann definately doesn't fit that mold though. She doesn't want to control the world, she knows you can't bring light to dark, she would be bored to tears in peace, and well, she likes most people. Most people, even if they fill this, have more depth, I think. Just like most people irl life do. The question is, what else goes on besides that broad statement?

Wolfe · Lore Keeper Joined: 02 Aug 2004 Posts: 898

Spontaneous RP is what makes it feel like an adventure. Why not make up a plot on the fly? I've done it several times and all involved really enjoyed it. Nothing has to be set in stone. I need to start doing that more often, now that I think about it. As far as spontaneous RP, it doesn't mix with PvP. PvP is too dangerous to people's items to be able to be spontaneous and unplanned. I don't think spontaneous RP should include PvP, just because spontanaeity is not applicable except in a consensual pvp environment, which RP is not.

Character flaws. Of course people want the perfect character. Why do people roleplay in the first place? I wouldn't roleplay a magical wizard if I was a magical wizard IRL. People want to be the opposite of what they are. This equates to perfection. Nobody is perfect, so in a fantasy realm, everybody will be perfect. Now, this is only true of those who use the roleplay environment as an "Escape" of types. Those of us (like myself, I like to think) who use it as a stage to provide entertainment as well as receive it, will know that having character flaws and a "human" element to their not so ordinary characters will help others immerse themselves in the environment. I have characters with flaws, I have characters that don't have flaws. It's all about personal taste, I suppose.

Dynamic characters. Are you talking about ultimate character goals? Character premise? I'm not quite sure what you're getting at, but if you are talking about the ultimate ambitions and goals of a character, most of mine start out with none. Raedyn, for instance, was a simple cleric. He wanted to serve the light, but had no ultimate goals. Throughout his life as a roleplay character he has taken on several goals and attempted to accomplish them, and these all depended on what was brought about through his roleplay. Currently he is attempting to find his roots in humility due to his overwhelming need for power. That is his goal, to ground him self. Kard has always just been a free spirit, drunkard (heheh, can't spell drunkard without Kard, eh?), and bard. His goals have ranged as well. Ultimately, none of my characters are super cookie cutter unless I intend them to be that way for a specific purpose. Eldrim the Pious was as close to cookie cutter as you can get. He was an upstanding man of the Light, until he found himself and his flaws to be unworthy of being a servant of the Light and sold himself into mercenary duty. He was left for dead when his master attempted to kill him, washed up in Cove Bay with naught but a shield, set of armor, and a blade, and began rebuilding his life as a servant of the Light, not remembering what he had been before.

Overall, I think we have a nice mix of characters in the ATL scene. Luckily, the ol' Evil Invulnerable isn't the predominant at the moment. That one just kills me.

Cal Hurst · Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:26 pm Post subject:

Good responses so far, I like it. I'm gathering information for the roleplay server that I help run for NWN2.

"lol, that twink runs a roleplayer server?" Yes. And it's the best roleplay I've ever had. This includes UO. And many others can say the same for themselves.

Keep the responses coming, though. These are good discussions, and it's good to see different points.
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Isk · Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:27 pm Post subject:

Since my char is a seriously flawed, drug addicted racist, sociopath with narcissistic tendencies I think I got the char flaw monopoly lol.

In regards to character changes:
I don't like to change my character much. This is because UO has been around for a long time and if Isk were to go through constant changes he would be separated from his original makeup. Some people are tragic figures because they can't change and are therefore irredeemable. Many times I've though of making Isk a good guy, repenting for all that elf hate and take up the cross of humility but I cant bring myself to it.

The largest character change I've made was the result of a quest that took me literally years to complete... one that I never even really intended to complete because I feared that there would be nothing after it. Now that Isk is possessed he has temporarily broken his mold and is under the influence of an evil being. As this plot is about to end soon I will have to find another long term goal or enter the monotonous existence of RP without purpose. Logging in just to find people to randomly RP with is not what gets me off, I need reasons to go to Sanctus, the Umbra tavern, the Regency and Luna meetings.

I think that what I am saying by this is that people need to make goals for their characters IG, both long term and short term goals.

Cal Hurst · Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:31 pm Post subject:

Isk · Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:44 pm Post subject:

Oops
Here are my thoughts without personal examples:

Spontaneous RP: should happen but people should have reason to go to certain places and reason to talk to certain people. Makes no sense for enemies to hang out together at a tavern unless there is a very good reason for it.

It is a good idea to ask people involved in plots or RP 'how do you want things to play out?' I don't think it is scripting but keeping things within comfortable boundaries.

Character flaws: I don’t know why people would want to play a perfect character. It probably has something to do with reading fantasy books and wanting to play a main character like in those books.

Dynamic Characters: I think we got a good mix of evil and good. Perhaps more neutral would make for a more interesting time.

Ceinwyn ab'Arawn · Transcendent Spammer Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 5017

This is Deja Vu, seriously. Didn't you just post something like this.. i swear the last few responses ive read them already. *gets weirded out*

Tarothin Armunn

Drayden Calamyr · Sage Joined: 23 Feb 2005 Posts: 612

Spontaneous RP: This is a must. I agree with most that say it has to have at least some presence in RP. If everything was scripted and planned it would:
A) bog down the RP element of the game WAAY too much.
B) Prove little suspense and surprise elements.
Should major storylines follow the spontaneous RP?
Not strictly. Though some more interesting parts should be encouraged to spantaneously RP. In my eyes only one or two people need to know the story that is actually taking place and the ins and outs. It is their responsibility to progress the storyline and establish "guidelines" for said storyline. Not "railroad" it as its said in D&D when a DM basically just shoves the info in the player's faces with little regard for their actions against it, making the DM's "master plan" come to fruition. I feel that way in UO RP quite a bit. For that reason. I think we need a OOC group of people who don't mind coordinating the plot lines and regulating them. If everyone wants to make plots thats fine. But if we're going to be a community about it. I think it should go beyond someone's clique and expand outward into the community. The plot dev. might not know enough people to spread it effectively. Thats why plots need to be submitted, a system needs to be established rather than the free for all plot rush I've seen lately. This needs to be regulated if we're going to have plotlines on the scale they've been on. 2-3 people that have the time should be resposinble for accepting MAJOR plot ideas and seeing that they are implemented into RP along with the person who came up with the plot.

It is a good idea to ask people involved in plots or RP 'how do you want things to play out?'
Definently. I think at the begining this should be a question thats asked. But it must be done at the begining or at a point in the plot where it can be discussed without ruining it. I RP for the fact that I want to play in someone's story. Or play in one that I am trying to promote. But lately in the community only certain people seem capable of keeping a storyline going and only certain people are invited into this. This is rather unfair since only the "popular" crowd gets to play. (from an outsider's view) Kind of elitist. And its no wonder new people don't know about us.

Character flaws: Most definently a necessity for character depth. At least for me that is. My main, Drayden and my alts all have their own quirks both psychologically and physically.

Dynamic Characters: One I feel that alot of people fail on. I have to agree with Ken on the categories that characters fall into. The community is very black and white. And it seems now the grey area is working itself out and making itself known. Theres more variety lately then there used to be.

Bottom Line:
This is a roleplaying game. Pure and simple. At least the way we like to play it. D&D, SAGA, ShadowRun etc etc all have systems they are built on. This community has a loose system that most stuff slips through. No one is taking charge from what I have seen in a sense of regulating storylines. Examples would be two major plots conflicting. Or, two major plots that are very involved with one another, but in an IG sense this never comes to light.

EA did something cool. They gave us an IG system to fight and communicate. But they never set plot guidelines, or instituted any system for plot submission. They left ALOT up to us to figure out for ourselves. I'll save the discussion for that for another thread though. As I think its off topic.