(06-24-2015, 01:46 PM)Dogshin Wrote:

(06-24-2015, 01:45 PM)Faye Wrote:

(06-24-2015, 01:40 PM)Dogshin Wrote: It is terribly wrong to claim that you have an advantage on someone JUST because of your in-game level.  It hinders the roleplay possibilities for low-level characters. Your level doesn't have anything to do with your roleplay, other than glamour/ weapon varieties.

This shouldn't even be a topic to discuss.

People are allowed to have opinions, yo.

Said what I had to say :/

Under any roleplay scene that isn't considered as ''casual'',  OOC achievements doesn't have anything to do with your IC power.  Doesn't matter if that guy is level1,  or level50

(06-24-2015, 02:02 PM)Jancis Wrote: I have a preference of it's a major perk to me if the player is able to bring their character up to the height their described as. 

It is blending to a point, but it also goes with my Rule of Investment, where it's wrong of me to invest time into someone who isn't going to do the same. Typically having a player with a character at level shows they've made the effort and aren't a splash in the pan. A lot of guilds I've seen in WoW as well as here have minimum level requirements for main characters just for that fact.

There's also the sad part that the world is built to level and whatnot in. Being lower level limits some of the things that can be done. They have to stick to cities or have an escort to areas, they cannot contribute to dungeon RP even as a different class/job, the items they can acquire or use are also limited. Obviously things can be tweaked and everyone can accommodate, but it can become a huge distraction and take up time meant to role play.

If it an alt, there's more leeway in my mind. If the character is meant to be a placeholder for a NPC or is a villain disposable character again its an alt and someone I know is worth the effort.

But otherwise I am of the camp that the player has to show the investment for me to really dedicate the time to have my character see theirs as a peer or more. It doesn't have to be exact class-to-class, but overall commitment shows a lot.

There's other perks to people who are leveling up to that point of role play and building connections:
- A veteran could be wounded and recovering and needs to "re-train".
- A new path of life calls for a new sojourn of discovery.

That's a bit off topic, but it's a means I enjoy where I can invest OOCly and ICly to building a great character.

(06-24-2015, 01:59 PM)Verad Wrote: I can't stand it when high-level characters portray themselves as weak.

(06-24-2015, 02:06 PM)Blue Wrote: I find IC age and career time to be a major factor in determining a character's skills.

Like, I'm fine if you want to be this young, beautiful wizard lady, but I don't care how talented you are, I will not accept your character to be stronger than my old grumpy sorcerer who has been practicing the dark arts for twice the years she has.

For physical classes I suppose it can be a double edged sword. Sure, the old veteran is more skilled and expert, but a young ruthless fighter will have stamina and vigor on his side. Magic class is definitely about mental skills though, and as such the older should make you the better mage of the two (provided that you have been studying magic for most of your life, or anyways more years than the younger mage has). That's like standard protocol in all fantasy stuff.

(06-24-2015, 02:06 PM)Blue Wrote: I find IC age and career time to be a major factor in determining a character's skills.

Like, I'm fine if you want to be this young, beautiful wizard lady, but I don't care how talented you are, I will not accept your character to be stronger than my old grumpy sorcerer who has been practicing the dark arts for twice the years she has.

(06-24-2015, 02:09 PM)Kage Wrote:

(06-24-2015, 01:59 PM)Verad Wrote: I can't stand it when high-level characters portray themselves as weak.

I'm sorry Verad. Before 2.55 Kage was 50 in everything and was Final Witness. I'm sorry my lalafell still has issues downing a hidden ishgardian evil lady.

(06-24-2015, 01:36 PM)Faye Wrote: I'm of the unpopular opinion that I think in-game achievement has some bearing on your characters strength. It's just difficult to bump into a total stranger with a level five character with godlike strength!!!!11 and be okay with them beating my level 50+ decently geared character into the ground. There are plenty of exceptions, of course, like if someone can give me a good reason why their level five character is so much stronger than mine, or if they just legitimately outsmart/outdo my character, if it was an alt made for a storyline I'm participating in, etc.

That's not to say I apply it as a rule or anything, though (and it's probably really not much of an issue since most of my characters aren't instigators or eager for a brawl, and I almost never do combat RP). It's just that if some freshly-made character suddenly shows up and starts throwing punches at my character for no reason, I'm not going to take it very seriously, though there are other factors that play into that, such as suspicion that such a character may just be an alt someone made for the purposes of drama or harassment.

(06-24-2015, 02:11 PM)Dogberry Wrote: I tend to play out The Journey.

Dogberry started out as J. Random Bareknuckle Boxer in pit fights so mickey mouse he couldn't even hack it in The Bloodsands. He trained, and now he's a world class fist fighter. By no means a kung-fu master, but on par with someone on the professional boxing/MMA circuit for sure. He did the same with the spear, going from a Limsa Lominsan whaler, to a bonafide polearm facewrecker. I didn't just start out with Dogberry claiming to be Eorzea's Muhammad Ali. I was more interested in playing out his rise from a nobody to something more. The time I spent putting effort into the character was the time my character spent training in an 80's movie style montage kind of way.

Maybe I'm a giant jerk, but if you're a lowbie pugilist pulling the Ali shtick, the in character response from Dogberry will be to see all of that bravado as foolish bluster, and when you hit Z to pull out your Weathered Horas, he's going to see a thousand things wrong with your body mechanics.

(06-24-2015, 08:33 AM)Magellan Wrote: This is why I prefer dice and simplified char sheets with any combat related rp. Because otherwise... people just cheat.

(06-24-2015, 02:34 PM)C Wrote:

(06-24-2015, 08:33 AM)Magellan Wrote: This is why I prefer dice and simplified char sheets with any combat related rp. Because otherwise... people just cheat.

I think this is probably the most interesting statement in this thread.

Personally, I RP to construct a story with other people, as a cooperative project. I don't "RP to win", but I know a lot of people do. I believe the issue of "IC power should be reflected by OOC power" stems from this - it gives at least some defense against someone who simply wants to "win" the RP.

I personally don't give a hoot about someone's OOC levels, however. For me they're neat because they allow someone to wear certain RP outfits, but I fall firmly into the camp of people who let RP determine IC power. That said, I also tend to avoid RPing with people who are simply trying to "win".

RP is a cooperative enterprise. You have to be able to trust the people you're RPing with. If you can't trust them to do things for the good of the story, then why are you RPing with them?