RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes

Caspar · **08-12-2015, 09:11 PM**

(08-12-2015, 08:38 PM)Vallerin Hortimont Wrote: If you are increasing your characters power to win, and not to enhance the story and the role play experience of those around you, then you are doing it wrong in my opinion.

Be humble, and always come up with at least one weakness for your characters. If you approach combat RP with that mind set, I think you will find your characters being more well rounded and fun to RP with.

One of the most rewarding things in role play is to create an engaging character that grows in power in the minds of others, one that gains respect through their actions, and not because you put a bunch of awesome attacks on a character sheet yourself.

Yeah, it's funny. Given the background, my character possessed an assumed level of strength, which was greatly inflated by the actions of other players, who wished to play up her abilities. When I conceived of her, she was only capable of being about as strong as a strong Hyur. (Granted that can do a lot in this setting.) After a duel in which she burst open a cobalt breastplate, a contest of strength in which she carried more rocks than an entire selection of the other races, and a fight in which (though at least somewhat supernaturally empowered by enchanted weapons) she delivered a frankly ludicrous LB-style strike that defeated an ally possessed by a minor, false primal, it's become hard for me to downplay her strength. All these things came unbidden to me, when I was struggling to establish Virara's credibility in preparation for her eventual humbling, and I ended up getting both things I wanted from others I rp'd with, and for that I'm really thankful. I can make her grow stronger and fall harder from here on out with no regrets. XD

I also like the idea of weaker characters seeking out ways to compensate for their lack of safety. It's a great plot hook if say, a famous merchant or performer needs personal protection; a mutually beneficial agreement can really enhance rp chances, IMO. Even as mentioned before, characters who are defenseless can still bring pluck and creativity to the table, and contribute to a scene by helping others who CAN fight. I think that leads to some of the most interesting fight scenes, and played a key role in making some of my events more fun. Of course, this doesn't only apply to combat strength either. Maybe the apprentice teaches the mentor something because the mentor is an established, skilled weaver with a long list of famous works adorning the bodies of Ul'dah's nobility, but he's stuck in his ways and lacks that creative spark necessary to really remain artistically relevant.

How to find the balance between overpowered and underpowered?

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes