This is an issue I've run into with roleplay from the very beginning in my experiences RPing in MMOs. This is my number one pet peeve in RP. It's a lot of posturing, which gets really old, really fast. I don't find it cute. I'm not entertained by a bunch of chest beating, and even less so by people talking about how badass they are in-character. Talk is cheap, don't tell me; Show me that you or your character don't have a chip on their shoulders or something to prove to yourself or others.Â
I talk to them OOC and ask what they want out of the RP, and if they just want to throw their weight around, I disengage and ignore because chances are they aren't interested in cooperating or entertaining anyone but themselves. If they want to entertain folks with a fight, then we discuss how it's going to go, and what will work out for both parties.Â
If someone wants to cause a scene in-character, I think it behooves them to contact people out-of-character first to set things up so that no one is put on the defensive.
edit: some additional thoughts I just had. There is nothing anyone of us can do to enforce our authority, whether we have it, or we perceive that we have it, in any situation. There is nothing that will make anyone go along with what we have to say in RP, ever, because it's not enforceable due to the limitations of the mechanics of any given game that we might play. There's no dueling in FFXIV, there isn't any open world PVP where people might have to defend themselves if they mouth off to the wrong person. This often makes me feel like my hands are tied, and why I am so quick to disengage from a situation because if someone doesn't want to cooperate out-of-character to make for a better in-character interaction, there isn't anything to be done about it, and I'd rather not waste my energy.
I talk to them OOC and ask what they want out of the RP, and if they just want to throw their weight around, I disengage and ignore because chances are they aren't interested in cooperating or entertaining anyone but themselves. If they want to entertain folks with a fight, then we discuss how it's going to go, and what will work out for both parties.Â
If someone wants to cause a scene in-character, I think it behooves them to contact people out-of-character first to set things up so that no one is put on the defensive.
edit: some additional thoughts I just had. There is nothing anyone of us can do to enforce our authority, whether we have it, or we perceive that we have it, in any situation. There is nothing that will make anyone go along with what we have to say in RP, ever, because it's not enforceable due to the limitations of the mechanics of any given game that we might play. There's no dueling in FFXIV, there isn't any open world PVP where people might have to defend themselves if they mouth off to the wrong person. This often makes me feel like my hands are tied, and why I am so quick to disengage from a situation because if someone doesn't want to cooperate out-of-character to make for a better in-character interaction, there isn't anything to be done about it, and I'd rather not waste my energy.
