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(08-21-2015, 11:28 AM)Intaki Wrote:(08-21-2015, 10:43 AM)Ignacius Wrote: It not only IS the audience's place to judge whether a character has a certain faculty and whether the player is displaying it correctlyScenario:
There are three players, each roleplaying a character: Abby, Brian, and Scott.
All three characters are in a conversation. Scott's player wants to play Scott as a witty character and attempts to do so. Abby and Brian are his audience.
The RP concludes and all players go their separate ways.Â
Abby's player thought Scott was an amusing and witty character.
Brian's player thought Scott really missed the mark and was kind of dumb.
Given the above information, is Scott a witty character?
That depends, two isn't much of a sample size. Â More important would be if Brian's player is likely to RP with Scott again. Â Because if Scott was so off the mark with Brian that he never wants to see him again, and Abby's willing to play with him, we have a major problem whenever Brian and Scott are forced to cohabit. Â Because if Brian suddenly starts biting back and embarrasses Scott in public because Brian, himself, is wittier, OOC drama is likely.
And the OP is even more explicit. Â We're talking about Brian thinking Scott missed the mark, and then having (presumably Scott, but maybe even Abby) saying, "The character is witty, and just because the player isn't really doesn't mean you can treat him like a moron in character or out of character."
Unfortunately, Brian is most likely to tell Abby what he thinks and to avoid Scott, but neither is likely to tell Scott what they think. Â And if far more people agree with Brian, Scott is likely to find himself isolated and not have any idea why people are avoiding him. Â If no one told him they found him flat and/or offensive, and his reliance on that trait is a constant throbbing pain in his performance, he's probably trucking along not having any clue why people find him flat or offensive. Â He's likely to blame Brian and his ilk for not getting it.
This tends to happen a lot more with charisma in play, but I've seen it happen with wit as well. Â I've even seen this happen when someone not only wasn't witty or particularly intelligent, but also couldn't type well. Â Well-meaning player punching far above her weight, and she didn't know why people tended to avoid her until I tried to gently break it to her. Â Luckily, that ended a bit better of a story, she slightly modified the character to not rely so much on being a smart-ass. Â Without the smart, the character is just an ass.