(02-23-2015, 06:59 PM)Mitzer The Mighty Wrote: I see a lot of different types of roleplay. I was wondering which type appeals more to you. Do you like playing powerful characters? How do you keep it interesting? Or do you enjoy regular joes, how do you make mundane life interesting in roleplay? Both types are needed in stories It's what keeps things moving. More interested in which is more fun to play and why.
There is a door in front of you, it is locked.
Adventurer 1 is a powerful Captain of Everything, born half demon/ half angel/ half primal/ half key so they pushed the door open with ease. They see Ifrit, who says "Dear gods not again." Afterward they go to the quicksand and cant find a seat so they drink in a dark dank corner and brood while the other half voidsent/ half potatoes ask "Did you kill primals today?".
Adventurer 2 is a young refugee with no particular skills in trade. He is attempting to break in to the room of a famous thief and prove himself to be worthy of his attention. He has no skill in lock picking and just realized the key was lost in the long travel through a freak flash storm. It was with luck a courier from Gridania had crossed their path, seeing as the boy struggled with the lock. "Just what are you trying to get from that shack boy?" The courier would only see the eyes of desperation. She took pity on the trembling figure who reminded her of her son at home. With a novice's understanding of carpentry she took an awl and mallet to the hinges of the door. A crack of wood, creak of rusted metal, the door found it's way to the floor. Beyond the cloud of dust was a small table with single wooden box. Inside, was the spare key and a parchment with a laughing face inscribed in charcoal. The spectacle caused the courier to laugh at the boy's misfortune. The thief was a clever one who would not be found so easily. She took him back to Gridania to fill his belly by the fire, in the company of a few friends who might have some meaningful work with plenty of room to teach in exchange for the boy's humorous tale of misadventure.
In my opinion: Viva Adventurer 2, the bringer of laughs and endless entertainment.
I'd agree with Franz's view that these seem a bit polarized, and add that there seems to be a specific emphasis on making Adventurer 2 look better. If you've seen many different types of roleplay, then you know that there are many, many more types than Adventurers 1 and 2, and that many of them bring a healthy balance to the two.Â
There's really nothing stopping an overpowered character from having a mundane life -- and still being interesting. It becomes all about the character themselves, and how they're written. I don't like either of those examples listed because they force the character into a mold (one of which is brief and empty for the apparent purposes of demonstration!).
I'll use my own character to demonstrate. Looking at his wiki alone, Berrod seems overpowered. A skilled monk, open chakras, leader of a free company? Oh goodness! Very little of that actually comes into play when I roleplay with him, though. My screen time on Berrod tends to emphasize on his stresses, his insecurities, and his fight to adjust to a role that was forced upon him. It shows his struggle with his relationship, his sexuality, his finances and his self-image. I enjoy placing him in awkward and comedic situations that test the limits of his meagre social graces, and people are probably fed up of seeing him plod into the Quicksand just to drop off leves for Eustace every day.Â
Ask him to reduce a boulder to gravel, he can do it! That doesn't really define him as a character though. Even with all his abilities, during a fight or a similarly trying adventure, the decisions he has to make regarding what challenges he faces can be explored in a deeper sense than "Hoho! I shall punch it into the sun! BECAUSE I CAN."
Therein lies the balance, and why neither of those examples feel 'real' to me.Â
![[Image: tumblr_ojgu7zoaag1robwlio1_540.png]](https://68.media.tumblr.com/80be4033cdf57fb6268473ef9ce37db6/tumblr_ojgu7zoaag1robwlio1_540.png)
