Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?
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@Snackness said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
Okay so what if you're just a player? Not all of us can fire unethical staff.
Leave the game, because it's being run by unethical staff?
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@Sunny said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
Then why do people object to an ethical staffer using the element?
Maybe I should rephrase: That's not why I object. So I can't say why people object to that. I, personally, don't care if the RP in question is sex, mini-golf, burrito-making, booger-picking, tooth-brushing, etc.
I object to staffers using NPCs - special characters with access to shit regular players can't get (whether that's abilities, connections, information, whatever) - as their personal PCs, and justifying it by saying "it's just an NPC."
Edit: Hah, apparently a bunch of people already said this while I was typing up my response. Anyway.
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@krmbm said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
I object to staffers using NPCs - special characters with access to shit regular players can't get (whether that's abilities, connections, information, whatever) - as their personal PCs, and justifying it by saying "it's just an NPC."
I object to this, too.
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@Sunny Okay, yes. I did that. It was kind of a stupid question I guess.
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@krmbm said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
I object to staffers using NPCs - special characters with access to shit regular players can't get (whether that's abilities, connections, information, whatever) - as their personal PCs, and justifying it by saying "it's just an NPC."
That sounds like unethical conduct to me, which makes it fall outside of whether sex and romance should be in the toolkit of an ethical staffer running a plot for someone.
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but why can't we RP toothbrushing together all the time?!
Saying the quiet parts out loud since 1996.
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@Sunny said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
I completely agree. I just have a different perspective than the community on it; I'd rather fire the unethical staffer every single time than make a particular plot element off limits.
Lookbat us agreeing with each other.
That's an honest smiley, by the way. This feels nice.
Yes, I WHOLLY agree that the unethical staffer needs to be let go, and that closing the door to story option isn't the answer. One major issue in the hobby is that sometimes this happens on games where the site/server owner is unethical and/or the unethical staff are their friends.
It is the nature of the player to want to grow, obtain things, and succeed. GMs need to be strong willed to avoid quid-pro-quo arrangements.
Delete the Hog Pit. It'll be fun.
I really don't understand He-Man -
@Auspice said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
but why can't we RP toothbrushing together all the time?!
KarmaBum reaches for the toothpaste, but Auspice is already using it. A fight breaks out. The world burns. A handful of gritty survivors survey the wreckage amid the ashes, scarred and battered by centuries of war. A child among them mumbles, "This is why we can't have nice things."
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@Auspice I can't fit you all in my bathroom, that's why!
(Dorm flashback ahoy.)
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@Ghost said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
One major issue in the hobby is that sometimes this happens on games where the site/server owner is unethical and/or the unethical staff are their friends.
Honest to god, I refuse to play on games any more where I think the site/server owner is unethical. Period, end of story. I will not play there. I also find 'reduction of harm' policies, where they are in relation to ethics, unacceptable. Staff policies need to be made with an eye towards supporting good staff doing good things and enforced in DRACONIAN fashion.
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What are "reduction of harm" policies?
“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.
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@Sunny said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
Honest to god, I refuse to play on games any more where I think the site/server owner is unethical.
This is a good sanity policy. If you don't feel comfortable, then why bother investing the time? I support this.
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@Ganymede Was about to ask the same. I am... guessing things like 'letting Spider claim she was stepping down rather than was being fired because she was caught cheating' or whatever that was, but I may be off-base here.
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@Ganymede said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
What are "reduction of harm" policies?
It's not a thing beyond in that sentence, I was just trying to give an impression. Policies like 'NPCs can't have sex with PCs', because they're addressing 'some staffers do X' instead of being the good policy of 'I will fire people who abuse personal roleplay with players'.
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I'm sorry I'm not buying this.
If yer saying that a staffer playing the NPC Prince and then TSing certain people and acting out IC romance relationships is fine, because they are 'ethical' about it, imma call bullshit because that isn't ethical.
Staffers and their NPC's are by default in a position of power. That's why games have CoI rules. Thats why we dont do jobs for people in our Motleys or people we have IC relationships with. That's why Professors get fired for fucking their students. Sure it was consensual and she was of age so that's all that matters! What?
What do you mean I favor Suzie over you? No, that's just your jealousy! She just poses deep throating me on the reg because it's important for the plot!
But sure, staffers can do whatever the fuck they want as long as they are 'ethical'. Could you send me a link to this pool of perfect staffers that want to deal with all the other bullshit of staffing and also TS PC's as NPC's and be totally 'ethical' ab out the whole thing! CoI rules are stupid!
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There is a very wide gulf between what I am saying and 'CoI rules are stupid'.
If you think sex/romance roleplay elements are more significant/meaningful/important/powerful than others, that's a different conversation. I maintain that they are story/plot/roleplay elements just like every other story/roleplay/plot element.
ETA: I do not equate roleplayed sex out to real life sex, in the balance of power scenario, and find the comparison distasteful. A PC having sex with an NPC is in no way the same situation as a student having sex with their professor. This particular RL comparison is, to me, offensive. Sex as a story element? Fine. Sex as an abuse of power? Not fine. TS =/= RL Sex.
ETA2: I have an ENORMOUS eleventy billion sized problem with staffers having RL sex with players for bennies, for the record.
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What hellish games do you people play on? NPC's are plot facilitators, nothing more.
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@Ganymede said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
@krmbm said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
I object to staffers using NPCs - special characters with access to shit regular players can't get (whether that's abilities, connections, information, whatever) - as their personal PCs, and justifying it by saying "it's just an NPC."
That sounds like unethical conduct to me, which makes it fall outside of whether sex and romance should be in the toolkit of an ethical staffer running a plot for someone.
I'm not sure even this is true, because pursuit of romantic plots is a well established goal of RP for many players. A staff bit that has access to all kinds of unique nonsense barred to the general PC population will be pursued as a romantic object in part because of those qualities, whether for raw speshul factor or the chance of a magical baby or whatever. See Firan/Arx, or even on WoD with a staffer playing some otherwise banned bloodline, tribe, etc. I remember baby drama over White Howlers, back in the day.
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One of the absolute coolest scenes I have ever gotten to do, as a player, was the seduction and subsequent murder of a BBEG. Had my character not been able to seduce that NPC, she would not have been able to murder them. Were there rules against NPCs being able to participate in sexual/romantic roleplay, it would not have gotten to happen. That would have been sad.
ETA: There were MONTHS put into leadup RP for this, for the record. It wasn't like a scene in the bar. It was a long plot with a climax (ha ha) that was amazing.
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@Thenomain we were talking about the differences between NPCs and pcs. All people on a game, whether staffer or player, have the ability to create rich RP and immersion and story. NPCs, in my opinion, are more targeted tools. Stating what an npc does does not preclude a PC from doing so also. Not sure what your point is in trying to make it seem like I said pcs cannot contribute to theme, plot, or immersion. I didn't. Not particularly interested in arguing that.
