That isn't the kind of usage I'm talking about though. I'm talking more about the people who say things like "well, I'm an asshole, but at least I admit it" or "well, I'm an asshole, but at least I know I'm one". As if knowingly being an asshole mitigates.
I guess that's better than being a hypocrite about it? "I'm not an asshole, I just tell it like it is".
@Meg said in Forum Factions:
Omg, you guys have /derailed/ my /totally useful/ forum factions thread into reminiscing. I have downvoted you all in my heart.
I lied earlier when I said I wouldn't want to be in any faction that would have me.
If you make a derailing faction I'll be its king, and rule it with an iron fist.
@Roz said in Superhero Games: Quest For Villain PCs:
My statement in no way argued that unethical staff doesn't cause drama. Also, PvP is more than just PvP death. PvP brings with it an intrinsically higher level of IC fuckery because players are literally being pitted into competition with each other.
Yes, basically this. The vast majority of PvP-related drama is anticipation (whether true or, quite commonly, false) of the act rather than its fallout.
People just don't want to lose and they respond to their IC enemies with OOC disdain, forming camps and demonizing each other. Whether they ever actually clash is nearly irrelevant once the toxicity settles.
Oh! I forgot.
While we're on the topic of other rewards than XP, make sure to also not penalize people for doing cool things.
For example if you're on a +vote system make sure to allow STs to get voted even when their PCs aren't present. Or if there's an IC prestige system present make it so they don't miss out on gaining some for their characters while running the very scenes in which others are gaining it for theirs.
That sort of thing.
I don't like large grids. I don't like memorizing routes from A to B and the process of going from A to B adds nothing to my fun; it's just... a chore. My immersion isn't helped in any way, no RP is generated (I'd not join a scene at random just because I walked by, at least without asking OOC, so +where achieves the same purpose but better).
All I'm asking from a grid is to have a few good 'public rooms' available so I don't need to come up with them each time - a few bars/taverns, a couple of meeting hall types, parks and gyms... then... that's it. I'm good with that. So about 30-50 rooms are more than enough for my purposes.
@Coin said in Roleplaying writing styles:
This is why rolls exist in situations like those. Noticing that the newspaper is out of place requires a roll. You succeeded, so the ST pages you, "dude, that newspaper is way out of place". STs that don't do this are dicks.
One exception: I don't do 'inception' rolls.
For instance in my last PrP a player specifically told me he was observing something and rolled on it; I gave him a pretty detailed description along with (what was supposed to be) a glaring hint about a story element there. He even specifically mentioned that story element afterwards but drew the wrong conclusion. I didn't give him a second roll on that - because I think when it's revealed later on it'll be a nice forehead-slapping moment.
Or I'm being a dick, dunno. 
@collective True, but for consistency's sake the fact Iceman used to sleep/be related with both should still be IC no matter who his player is.
Yes, after several player switches this stuff (not referring just to the sexual parts) can get confusing but in a way that's very normal for comics; if you think about it characters who've been running for decades have done a lot of stuff, sometimes very wacky depending on the era, and the latest incarnation just picks which of those they want to emphasize without always explicitly retconning the rest out of continuity.
@Julia-Cornelia Oh! Oh, I'm sorry - I didn't realize you were trolling me. For a moment I thought you were trying to make a point.
Carry on.
Maybe allow anyone intrinsically tied to a FC the chance to have an OOC chat with people applying for them?
It's not necessary but probably reasonable to give Jean's player the chance to at least know someone's applying for Scott, and be able to give some input on the player, even if you don't want to actually give them veto powers or anything like that.
The problem is when the only tool you have is a hammer every problem looks like a nail.
So if the only skills which have been relevant in the past are ones that lead to the complete decimation of the opposition, either in terms of hacking at them with axes until they stop twitching or scorched earth politics trying to oust them from their faction/sphere/world (what was that Bloodline power which essentially de-associated someone from all their ties, which essentially caused the character to become exiled?) then every disagreement leads to extreme measures.
We get the game we encourage, right? If you know this is how all IC clashes get settled, if every disagreement is settled in a Highlander fashion, then of course there'll be OOC drama eventually since people get protective of the time and effort they invest in the game; at some point this 'all IC confrontation' crosses right into RL territory whether we like it or not, unless there's a way to escalate and defuse.
It's kinda like comics. There's a reason villains go to Blackgate instead of getting executed on the spot. A minor setback with the full potential of a triumphant comeback is far superior to a final solution.
@enoch Remember to update your first post in the thread with current information as it should make it easier for your players to find it in the future.
And good luck!
@Shayd said in Coming Soon: Arx, After the Reckoning:
@Arkandel : To be honest, I feel uncomfortable probably more because I think it's just me bringing up issues which are considered settled and overdiscussed and overargued. Also, I fucking hate slavery and thralldom A LOT. I don't want to look at it as an opportunity for roleplay when in reality if I discovered someone was holding thralls and had the weapons and political tools to stop it, I damned well WOULD, by force, and the idea that all the high and mighty noble houses that are "good" have been around for a thousand years and NOT rolled on Thrax like a Mack truck over a gopher makes all of those houses at the least complicit considering the fact that they're in an alliance. Which with the current threat makes sense to make uneasy allies, and that's how I'm roleplaying it; and willfully ignoring that for hundreds of years these houses have been sitting at the same table with a bunch of goddamn slavers.
There are a few ways to look at this. Let me go over ones which are not specific to Arx.
For starters, saying "I fucking hate slavery" in that manner seems to imply those who play character that support it are, in some way, okay with it OOC. I hope I don't need to explain the impropriety of that. We are all playing characters who are flawed in a lot of ways; I've played Werewolves who thought nothing of murdering a bunch of people to get their way, yet I assure you I don't condone murder.
Secondly it's very dangerous to use so many instances of the phrase "I would" when you are referring to roleplay. That's the idea of, well, playing a role. If you can't separate your own feelings from those of your characters' - or if a topic is sensitive for you for whatever reason - then yes, I would say it's best if you avoided playing about it. But please, for all that is holy, avoid putting your OOC voice into play. It's a really bad idea for all concerned parties. A quick rule of thumb is if you ever find yourself having to justify your character's actions to another player ("but he is RIGHT!") you are already straying off the path; whether your PC is 'right' or not is utterly irrelevant.
Again, please note none of this has anything to do with Arx. These are fundamental concepts.
@il-volpe said:
Haha. Yeah. It's a sort of peeve of mine when people expect every wedding/festival/ball/whatever to also include something totally unexpected and probably violent.
My experience has been pretty much the exact opposite. Someone makes an +event that seems so very ordinary that I expect something cool to happen. It's like... "beach party!". So, okay, I go, and since this is a game of personal horror I figure hey, maybe zombies will come out of the black waves, or maybe an amoeba-formed human-shaped abomination will start absorbing the flesh of horny teenagers.
And, no, it's just a beach party. People pose coming in bikinis and then an hour later everyone idles out. I guess that's a form of personal horror.
@bobotron said in [Original Supernatural/Vampire MUSH] Houses of the Blood MUSH:
It may LOOK, to many, like there's some overreaching there...
It's good to be ambitious. In fact if Vampire games (and nWoD ones in general) had one common issue in the last couple of years, IMHO, is that they weren't ambitious enough; they were way more concerned with simply existing than innovating or doing anything new and cool. So good for you.
but I feel like, once I get done, and I get more 'deep' info ready to go, I can drum up some staff help. Because that's my one stumbling block right now... it's just me.
You probably already know better but I'll offer my usual advice... don't let too many cooks into your kitchen. Having some cospirators will of course keep you share the burden and not burn out, but you probably want to keep it to a small group of people you know and have worked with well in the past.
You can always get more help in the stuff you can't automate (such as plot running) through XP and similar incentives. People don't need to be staff to run those, and player PrP runners are much easier to control - and 'fire' if needed.
But you're not at that bridge yet, so have fun building it.
@Astrid Arx. For all my disappointment in staff ethics, there is too much roleplay going around and it's easy to tap into.
