Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards

[Grignag]

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Spontaneous Roleplay
This is the sort of thing that we do when we are filling in the time we aren't on actual quests of glory/destruction and honor/anguish. For major events (or at least something sufficiently "out of the ordinary") then how it plays out should be mostly at the behest of the person who starts it. This doesn't mean that it goes the way their character may want it to, but a "host" should be aware of the outcomes and what it would take to achieve anyone of them. If it is a PC vs. NPC sort of thing, then the outcomes are mostly a "do or die" sort of thing. Need to clear out the mage tower in 3rd level shame (or whatever level it was) to stop the summoning on low level demons into your homeland? Either you pull the army together to do it or you don't.
When you face off against other players, there should be a sense of what each side wants to get out of the event (driving back evil, extorting money, etc) and a semi-clear idea of what they need to do to achieve it. I say "semi-clear" as the host need not hand out the path to victory on a silver platter. Perhaps the others out there need to explore a few things to find all the options. An example might be a pirate group that kidnaps a person and demand randsom.
Outcomes: 1) Goodies pay the randsom and get person back. (2) Goodies don't pay randsom and try to find out the location of pirate stronghold and attack. Based on whether or not goodies when or lose decides who gets what. (3) Pirates kill abductee anyway and goodies give chase for vegeance.

Based on these outcomes (obviously there could be more) the overall scenario plays out and each side gets its due, based on how each side played it out. If the goodies find and kill all the pirates, they get there person back and send a message that they are badasses. They attack and lose, pirates get their loot and get to look like badasses. As long as you are aware of the outcomes, then each side can play it up however they like. In the end though, things will have to play out one way or another.

Character Flaws
I don't know about the true need of "flaws", but your characters openess to certain ideas should be linked to their RP/behavior. If your character seriously distrusts Orcs, you should not only be hellbent against working with them, but you should be trying to convince everyone else that working with them is a foolish idea. See Hand of Humanis. If you are a paladin than your behavior should reflect the virtues, with a stress on a certain virtue if you like. If you are a paladin of compassion, you should show willingness to overlook peoples faults and try to "preach the rightgeous path" to others.
If your character actually reflects in his actions what his supposed to stand for, then he will automatically have a "flaw", represented in the things that are the antithesis to his own views.

Dynamic Character
Sort of depends on your characters RP up to that point. A virtue-sworn paladin or a blood soaked necromancer should have some sense of who they are or at least be of the belief that they cannot change themselves anymore even if they wanted to (whether or not they actually can is yet to be seen). Similarly, 800 year old elves or lich lords should not be going around having epiphanies. If, however, you are a young character (part of the reason I choose humans, Orcs and other such short-life spanned races) then you should be open to the world around you. If a particularly savy necromancer dupes you into thinking that Lightbringers are actually the ones that suppress the people and prolong suffering, throwing in with their crowd shouldn't seem like a bad idea.

Obviously, character dynamism isn't limited to huge life changes either. Just because a paladin never forsakes the virtues/his god/oath/etc. does not mean he is static. If that same paladin is repeatedly assisted/saved by a clan of Orcs (not that this would ever happen), but never shifted his beliefs regarding Orcs, he had better have a REAL good reason for why he is so obstinate regarding Orcs. Otherwise he is just beating a deadhorse. Dynamism doesn't imply massive change. Simply that a situation that challenges the character forces/leads them to view the world in a different view.

Edit: MAN I write a lot. I need to work on being more concise.
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Femmies?! HOWAH!

Can't we all just get along? No? Excellent.

[Malic M'real]

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I think there should not be as many plots as there are. Everything should just happen like it would IRL. Keep it all as real as possible....that is roleplay.
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The Light of Virtue Shines Through All Darkness
Earl Malic M'real-Skyfire
Lord Chancellor
Governor-Regent of Sanctus
Earl of Sanctus- Steward of the Sanctan Throne
Justice Paladin of the Holy Paladin Council

[Grignag]

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I would agree, except that I find real life insufferably boring when no plans are made. Regardless of whether those plans are "hang out with friends at Round Table Pizza" or "Go on a trip To England." they are something more than "Welp. Let us see what happens today!" While I think that RP should flow as easily as every day activity and conversation (assuming we all still do that and don't eschew it for other less people-intensive activities), you can only talk, or suggest going on a hunt so many times.

Something like a kidnapping (as cliched as that is becoming, no thanks to the Orcs [among others]) can certainly be "spur of the moment", but it still beholdens to the idea that someone planned something out and that there will be a most likely outcome.

If you were suggesting that there shouldn't be so many "big" or "heavily involved plots", something I would be unaware of, then yes, there is such a thing as too much being planned out.
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Femmies?! HOWAH!

Can't we all just get along? No? Excellent.