DC : Gods and Monsters MUX

[Lithium]

Superman is a mashup of smallville and something else. Characters are not 'canon' at all. So to whit, every FC on this GAME is an OC.

I am not knocking their choice, it's their game, they can do what they want. I will stand behind that till the end of time, /because/ it is their game.

I am fully supportive of an FC only game.

I just wish it wasn't, because then I might be interested in the game and it seems fairly hypocritical to allow such weird 'FC' takes on characters, but not OC's.

[Ghost]

This is the advertisememts thread. I suggest that if we want to open a debate about FCs, OCs, and whether or not you want to play a game without OCs, that a subthread is created.

It looks like a fun game and I've heard positive things. Let this game have that and not poo-poo on its Ad thread if you don't like that you can't play OCs on it, please.

[3543thrh67]

@zombiegenesis There is a difference, though. No one, on this board (That I know of), is going to the game demanding oc be allowed. To me /that/ is expecting to be catered to for oc characters. Not expressing that it would be what draws them to the game.

Also, nothing wrong with a fc only game. Just not my thing.

[Lithium]

@ghost said in DC : Gods and Monsters MUX:

This is the advertisememts thread. I suggest that if we want to open a debate about FCs, OCs, and whether or not you want to play a game without OCs, that a subthread is created.

It looks like a fun game and I've heard positive things. Let this game have that and not poo-poo on its Ad thread if you don't like that you can't play OCs on it, please.

I don't think we're poo pooing on anything, at least, I am not. I think the advertisement thread is a good place to let people know what kind of characters are being played there, as has been said before about what 'versions' of characters are in game. There is a lot of DC versions to go around, alternate realities, tv shows, etc. Unless we're not allowed to talk about anything that may be construed negatively at all on an Advertisement thread?

In which case, they should all be locked down completely except to edit initial post by the author because, how do we judge what /everyone/ will find negative? But that, is definitely a discussion for another thread.

[Arkandel]

@lithium So far it's fine. Just let's stay more on "questions and discussions about the game" rather than "criticism of its choices" and we'll be fine.

There are other forums to carry on the latter if anyone wants to.

[Auspice]

I will fully own up to using some CW influence in my take on Killer Frost, but. I feel like I have good reason.

A) She only really began showing in the comics beyond as a C-String villain that was barely extant last year.
B) It's hard being a villain like that and still RPable other than as a flavor-of-the-week thing for the heroes to fight. By using from the CW show for the 'split personality' aspect, I'm able to have an RPable side to her (and lure some heroic types into the moral quandary down the road of 'oh no, I have to fight my friend?!).

Some of us do consider TV versions to be canon or worthwhile versions to pull ideas from. I still used the comic primarily for her background, but the comic version of her was also two-dimensional 'it was all because men spurned her boo-hoo!!!!' and come on. Super lame. I wanted to do away with that part at least.

[Ghost]

Bear in mind that taking some of the references from the TV versions of FCs doesn't change the fact that they're FCs.

Old DC? New 52? Rebirth? They're all comics with FCs, but there have been some drastic differences between each iteration.

Marvel has a lot of the same going on. Earth 616, Earth ####, and technically any Sam Jackson Nick Fury isn't 616 Fury but Ultimates Fury.

So, even if a few references from a TV show are taken (which I honestly suggest people do sometimes because it promotes source knowledge with a wider range of audiences, breeds familiarity, etc) they are still FCs.

[Auspice]

@ghost said in DC : Gods and Monsters MUX:

Bear in mind that taking some of the references from the TV versions of FCs doesn't change the fact that they're FCs.

Old DC? New 52? Rebirth? They're all comics with FCs, but there have been some drastic differences between each iteration.

Marvel has a lot of the same going on. Earth 616, Earth ####, and technically any Sam Jackson Nick Fury isn't 616 Fury but Ultimates Fury.

So, even if a few references from a TV show are taken (which I honestly suggest people do sometimes because it promotes source knowledge with a wider range of audiences, breeds familiarity, etc) they are still FCs.

And with the sheer number of Superman comics over the last 70 years, you have every imaginable iteration of Clark at this point. The aspect of Smallville used (because he used a few bits and parts from various places) made sense for the game's timeline. There may be a comic reference somewhere that works in the same exact way, but as I've said earlier in the thread: this isn't a MU* where you need to be a comic expert.

[Mr.Johnson]

Oh my comment was supposed to just be a lighthearted jab not a 'tantrum' as some people put it. I love this game, guess that didn't come across clearly in my joking around. Personally I just blame it being posted after a very long day at work and as such not being my A material.

[Auspice]

@mr-johnson said in DC : Gods and Monsters MUX:

Oh my comment was supposed to just be a lighthearted jab not a 'tantrum' as some people put it. I love this game, guess that didn't come across clearly in my joking around. Personally I just blame it being posted after a very long day at work and as such not being my A material.

I'll attest that Johnson here is one of the more active folks on the game and a great antagonist! Y'all should join and play with him. He was just being snarky.

[ZombieGenesis]

@Mr-Johnson My apologies then. It was just one of those things that struck me the wrong way.

[TNP]

Barring OCs (Mutant Genesis has the same policy) is problematic for reasons that go beyond just wanting to play an OC. Feel free to move this to its own thread but official answers from staff would be nice.

1. LGBT characters are much more rare than straight ones. Trans especially. And many of them, to put it simply, suck. Not in a good way. Is it okay to gay up a straight FC? How about making one transgender?

2. A lot of the best FCs are male. There are certainly some awesome female characters but the majority of the 'best' ones are male. Gender swaps allowed?

3. In the same vein, the vast majority of FCs are white. It okay to change their race from caucasian?

People like playing characters that mean something to themselves. Often this means ones that reflect them in some way. FC only makes this much, much harder if not impossible.

[Mr.Johnson]

@tnp What is with the obsession lately with genderswaping characters? I'm genuinly curious why because of places like M63 that did that stuff. At the point you allow people to change something fundamental about a character like their gender you've just made that FC an OC.

[Auspice]

Unless Staff gets rid of canon (currently, if a player is actively played and departs, their +canon persists; the slate is not wiped clean, they are not reset, their history persists)... I hope not.

I do not want to see someone who does not understand what it is to be trans* playing a transgender Superman (for example) poorly (or worse: as a caricature or grossly) just so they get the opportunity to play Superman.

[Auspice]

And if your only interest in playing is to be Genderbent Version of Character:

play Batgirl. Female Batman type.
play Jesse Quick. Female Flash type.
play Aquagirl or Aqualad!
play Prank, who was an acolyte of Trickster (Flash villain, but a Joker-esque sort) who predates Harley. Prank has had male and female versions, so you could potentially make a case to be trans*!

DC has a male/female version of preeeeeeetty much errthing. These are all just off the top of my head (and available chars) and I don't even know DC all that well.

[TNP]

The point is that someone who is transgendered might like to play a transgendered superhero. I can't think of a single FC who is off the top of my head though I imagine a google search might find one. Somewhere.

[Ghost]

I think the point to an FC only game (and, yes, if this belongs on another thread let's do it) is simply to play the characters known and loved from the comics without so many personally-driven influences getting in the way.

In the case of G&M, DC has hundreds of characters across the male, female, and racial spectrum with mantles passed down. These are balanced characters with balanced powersets. Now, I'm not any sort of spokesperson for the game itself, but I can understand the draw of wanting to focus on these characters.

Unfortunately, OCs, especially on supers games, can tend to be an absolute mess. There's often too much OOC influence involved, imbalanced power sets, super weird desires for overpowered power sets, and in a lot of cases the lack of familiarity with an OC versus dozens of established FCs can make it hard to find ways to incorporate these foreign characters into an existing canon.

So, I think the point of barring OCs really isn't to exclude one of the 45,000 demographics, but that there is an established canon with balanced characters that works. The game is about the characters in the comics. So, since it is about the characters in the comics/setting, it's not about the ones that arent.

[Ghost]

@tnp Well, unfortunately not every game and every setting will offer every option desired. The point is that barring OCs isn't about social discrimination, it's about the intended focus on existing characters.

[TNP]

@ghost said in DC : Gods and Monsters MUX:

@tnp Well, unfortunately not every game and every setting will offer every option desired. The point is that barring OCs isn't about social discrimination, it's about the intended focus on existing characters.

Agreed. But social discrimination is a side effect and one that perhaps wasn't take into consideration.

[Ghost]

@tnp Then the answer seems pretty clear. If the game doesn't allow OCs as a means to focus on the characters in the comics, and you feel that the characters from that comic book production company doesn't properly include the social demographics of your choice, then I would suggest reaching out to DC requesting more representation.

Then, whichever characters may come out of that that meet your demographic preferences, they will be appable FCs.