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(08-21-2015, 01:41 PM)LadyRochester Wrote:(08-21-2015, 01:10 PM)Glioca Sargonnai Wrote:(08-21-2015, 10:44 AM)LadyRochester Wrote: People who get offended when your "non-genius" character out-smarts them. I speak of those people.Â
I have a problem with the "non-genius" character outsmarts a genius theory.Â
Every character is capable of displaying a certain level of intelligence and wit, based on the player of said character being able to adequately display that intelligence. That said, people are also capable of playing characters who are 'less intelligent or knowledgeable' than they personally are about certain subjects.
As an audience, I can perceive a character to be more or less intelligent than they actually are. However, as a player, if I'm going out of my way to 'outstrip' a character who claims to be a genius when my character would clearly have no idea what this other character is talking about, that's akin to me trying to deliberately shut that individual down with OOC information.
A good example is my character Liviana. If someone was talking to Liviana, and the subject of aether suddenly came up in the conversation, despite the fact that I've read about the different types of aether, and the common methods of utilizing aether for magic in game, Liviana has no idea about the details of such.
Say that someone tells her that expelling aether from inside the body is the way to practice arcanima. I'm aware that the method they're talking about using isn't arcanima, but thaumaturgy. I know this, from past RP experience, and from reading while playing the game.Â
Liviana isn't a 'genius' when it comes to aether at all. And while I can send that player a tell saying, 'C'mon now, you know that's wrong," Liviana has to reply accordingly. She just does not know. I'm under no obligation to have my non-genius character comment on a subject that he or she knows absolutely nothing about.Â
A lot of cases of a non-genius character outsmarting a genius character seem to boil down to that type of situation.Â
Character A says something to seem intelligent, even if Player A knows that the information they're giving is wrong, to try and impress Character B.
Character B corrects Character A, even if Character B is meant to be the less intelligent of the two on that subject matter, because Player B knows that what Character A said is wrong.
That isn't a case of a non-genius character outsmarting a genius character, but instead one player using their character as a vehicle to tell the opposite player that they are in fact wrong and their character is not a genius. And while this isn't an 'absolute' example of any kind, that is hands down the most common example of a non-genius outsmarting a genius that I see portrayed in the RP community.
That's taking OOC IC. That's an entirely different matter. I have characters who are completely ignorant about things I know in the game, that's not the point.
My point was criticizing people who OOCily brag about their character's intelligence and wit, only to say something shockingly stupid when they hop in IC. Say, you are playing a "genius" character, yes? My character is not a genius. They get into a discussion.
Your character says something stupid along the lines of "Cats are reptiles."
... Just because you OOCily claim your character is a genius does not mean everything they say will be intelligent, it does not mean people will perceive them as such. If your character says cats are reptiles, my character will argue against them because of COMMON SENSE.
Common sense is not a rare feature for a character.
Just because you tell me your character is an absolute genius does not mean my character will clap their hands and cheer whenever they announce cats are reptiles. Because that's stupid. Why would anyone dumb down THEIR character so that your seems like a "genius"?
Are you telling me that if a "genius" character approaches mine, says cats are reptiles, my character should nod and say: "WHOA! Really!? I thought cats were fish!" Simply because I don't promote my character as smarter or as smart as theirs?
You can't force the idea that a character is a genius unless you manage to keep intelligent conversation flowing. If you say stupid shit, no matter how "amazingly intelligent" you claim your character is, it simply isn't going to be received well.
I think you missed the point of my example. I was specifically talking about a situation where one character obviously knows more about a certain topic than another character. Not specifically about a character who says something that is common knowledge as being incorrect. Hence why I used aether as an example, and not animal species. It's easy to know that a cat is a cat. And common sense says if someone tells you a cat is not a cat, you can disagree with them.
I'm talking about when someone says something about a topic that could potentially be obscure to your character, and your character corrects them even if said character wouldn't know they're wrong, but you as the player know they're wrong.
It might not be received well, no, but you have every right to try and portray that kind of character. Even if it is 'above your means' or 'out of your comfort zone'.
I'd rather see a player try and grow as a player by playing out of their comfort zone, than I would see them stagnate by never playing anything challenging to them.
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