Fear and Loathing
-
@Tinuviel said in Fear and Loathing:
They're NPCs. Glorified NPCs. What is the point?
Having them, clearly.
-
@Tinuviel said in Fear and Loathing:
They're NPCs. Glorified NPCs. What is the point?
Some people want to play powerful elder characters among neonates. This is way to enable it.
-
What is the point of RP?
I have a waggish sense of humor.
-
@Misadventure said in Fear and Loathing:
What is the point of RP?
Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their MSB posts.
-
@arkandel Not you! I don't want to hear from you until GR70+
-
I still cannot fathom the term of "NPC" being used to describe a played character. It's happened before, and it's still wrong; even if you have limitations on what you can do with a character, it's still a PC. Maybe if needs a different term, but the "N" isn't there for show.
If gaining one advantage comes with a responsibility, even if that is "you cannot take a position of power", then so be it. This isn't hard to work out what it means, but you could always ask staff. Staff could give some examples to help, and should be understanding when approaching people who they feel are skirting the edge.
-
Constrained Played Character.
Constrained by: Roster created/template, directives, thematic elements they are meant to support and enact.
I have a waggish sense of humor.
-
If we have to give roster characters (et al.) a different terminology to differentiate them from the "purity" of PCs, then I will find constructive ways to say how stupid that is, starting with putting "purity" in scare-quotes.
-
I believe you have caught my meaning then.
Played as a character, no matter the limits, is still a played character. I changed it from player, as that may be construed as meaning player-created, player-owned, or player consent. None of those are always true.
-
They're restricted PCs, yes. For some it helps to think of them as NPCs, but yeah, obviously they're not. It's a PC that gets to start with higher stats to fill a needed role in the sphere/game, can't gain XP until caught-up to, and is restricted in how they handle certain situations. Anyone can app for one, you don't have to be Staff's buddy to get one, and it's really very on-the-level.
Yes, we're aware that it looks like it could be easily abused, but as players from the game have said, it really hasn't been. There really haven't been any problems of Guest Stars dominating RP or slapping Stars around. If it happens, we'll act.
I am amused that one person says it's overpowered, why play a regular character, then the restrictions get pointed out, and someone else says with all the restrictions why bother?
-
@Botulism said in Fear and Loathing:
Yes, we're aware that it looks like it could be easily abused, but as players from the game have said, it really hasn't been. There really haven't been any problems of Guest Stars dominating RP or slapping Stars around. If it happens, we'll act.
I like that part.
As a whole we're typically so very worried around here about OMG-abuse that we don't try things for fear they'll be taken advantage of. But often enough that's not a design flaw, it's staff not being on top of things or letting unfortunate situations develop unchecked, regardless of the system.
-
@Botulism said in Fear and Loathing:
... one person says it's overpowered, why play a regular character, then the restrictions get pointed out, and someone else says with all the restrictions why bother?
I love this. Its something everyone should keep in mind while agitating, campaigning nay crusading for their one true way.
-
The problem with the theory is this: If you have power you are in a position of power. Just because no one gives you an official title for it doesn't mean it isn't true. Giving people power then telling them they can't be declared leaders is stupid because people always follow the power.
Power > Title every time. Just ask Trump. He thought he was going to have real power but all he got was nice title and a crash course on who really runs the country once he got into office.
-
@Carex Or you can actually listen to the players that play there who are saying it's not being abused at all. And they CAN be leaders, they just can't hog the spotlight or crowd out everyone else. They're support characters. It's not a theory. We're currently making it work. Will it always go perfect and smooth? Probably not, but as was mentioned above we're at least trying something new.
The MU* community does love to freak out over problems that MIGHT happen because something happened elsewhere that one time.
-
I hope the best for you in your struggle to maintain that perfect balance.
-
@Carex there is no perfect balance, but we're doing our careful best to monitor things. As the game matures, the need for such characters lessens. :3
Re: who'd want to play (essentially) an npc, a) it's temporary, and b) some of us like playing mentors instead of newbies.
@Arkandel said in Fear and Loathing:
But often enough that's not a design flaw, it's staff not being on top of things or letting unfortunate situations develop unchecked, regardless of the system.
One of my requirements for this game being made at all was that making sure staff staying on top of things was a priority, yeah.
-
@Carex said in Fear and Loathing:
Power > Title every time. Just ask Trump. He thought he was going to have real power but all he got was nice title and a crash course on who really runs the country once he got into office.
So, basically, you don't like playing on a fully-constructed, operational, thematic-to-a-T WoD game.
“It is better to live doing the things that you like. It is foolish to live within this dream of a world seeing unpleasantness and doing only things that you do not like.” -- Yamamoto Tsunetomo.
-
No, I'm saying it's a system which needs constant monitoring and is likely just to break down over time. It is inefficient, overly complicated and a waste of staff resources. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm saying there are simpler, easier, ways to accomplish the same goals.
-
@Carex The idea you have in your head might be all these things (what exactly is this huge time drain that you're implying?), but for us it's been no trouble. Keeping tabs on your own game and paying attention to activity is not a Herculean task.
The nice thing is that as the game matures, there's less need to have these positions open, and current guest stars will eventually convert to regular PCs as game average XP catches up to them.
But there is also the notion that IC power itself is bad, and it isn't. WoD is a game that, for several spheres, using and grappling with soft and hard power, both your own and others', is just part of the theme.
For us, this system has helped deal with the weirdness of a new game being populated with nothing but IC noobs and staff-run NPCs. Instead of becoming more cumbersome over time, it phases itself out.
-
@Carex said in Fear and Loathing:
I'm not saying it's bad, I'm saying there are simpler, easier, ways to accomplish the same goals.
I read all your replies in this thread and couldn't find this solution, so I'm asking for a citation, please.
