I think I'm one of the only people that doesn't care how skilled or unskilled anyone's character is, as long as they don't shove their roleplay standards in my face. Ie, the 'your character is too strong/too this/too etc so you're a mary sue/special snowflake/so edgy' or other condescending crap that tends to come out of the mouths of people who think they're the resident RP experts. I don't care if your character is a god among men, or a fumbling beginner, an expert in one field or an expert in ten. Admittedly I like certain styles of RP others may not. But if your character interests me in other areas than the ones I'm prone to dislike, I will play with that character because interest is fluid. If your character is better, harder, stronger faster than mine..who gives a rat's ass? I think people get far too hung up on how powerful other people's characters are because they don't want to have a diminished sense of usefulness by choosing to play someone who isn't as skilled. But at the end of the day, that's just the rub isn't it? Personal choice. You chose to play someone who isn't powerful or a certain level of strength. That does not mean someone else is not permitted to do so, and many have this bad habit of making people with strong characters feel bad because they're not on the same even level playing field with everyone else in the playground. If I have a strong character, I don't feel a need to justify their strength. I'm not here to make a spreadsheet about why my character may or may not be able to beat someone's face or fast talk them out of their gil. I let my play speak for itself. If people don't like it, then that's fine.
We all play this game to have fun. Some groups of roleplayers likes stronger characters, for various reasons. Others don't. Also for various reasons. The bottom line is, what's too much is a matter of opinion of each individual roleplayer and has no specific status quo. That's why discussions like these generally always degrade (but I'm glad to see this one hasn't! <3) But! Powerful people exist in the world, and weaker people exist in the world. Life isn't fair. There's always a bigger fish. And if that bigger fish is someone else's character, then, that's just how it is. As long as that person isn't antagonizing you unnecessarily, then there's nothing wrong with strength..especially in a fantasy world that basically runs on a mix of Wuxia fighting mechanics, explosions everywhere, and the Rule of Cool. I know some people like hardcore realism especially in abilities and skills of a character, but this is Final Fantasy. The world itself is basically nonsensical in the 'power' department. So sometimes you need a little suspension of disbelief as to someone's level of skill.
So when is a character too skilled, the topic asks? That's up to each individual to decide. There is no blanket right or wrong answer, because everyone has their preferences. If you think someone's too strong and diminishes others around them by your own opinion, but I don't think the same, then obviously one of us will be playing with that person, and one of us won't. If a large majority agree that person diminishes someone and they're not just following the crowd when saying it, but it's their real opinion, perhaps that player is being a bit too bombastic in how he portrays his strength, but the measure of his strength itself may not be the problem. Feeling like one needs to be a certain way or maintain a certain power level or skill level to adjust to the common law opinion of a community majority who likes a certain type of play at the exclusion of all other types kills RP rather than encourages it. I myself have a standing rule I'll RP with anyone unless the *player* is specifically antagonistic or pushy. Hell, I'm more likely to play with a superman character than I am with someone's character whose player is quoting lore at me in PM because one tiny thing on my profile or one single letter in my name isn't *exact* to the high lore standards that player happens to hold.
Basically, in my opinion (And just my opinion) there's no such thing as too skilled, or too unskilled, if played in such a way that it makes sense to the environment they are part of the story and still allows others their own opportunities to mesh in the play itself. We can't make everyone happy. Play to enjoy with the whole, or with small groups whichever suits you, and find your niche with people that think like you but at the same time try to not be closed off in the process and see from all angles, even if they don't suit you at first. Expand your horizon to the idea of what skill or strength even is. Use suspension of disbelief to a point, without throwing all reason out the window. The number of characters good at 'everything' is surprisingly rare from what I've seen, so it shouldn't be a huge issue in the long run. Game on~.
We all play this game to have fun. Some groups of roleplayers likes stronger characters, for various reasons. Others don't. Also for various reasons. The bottom line is, what's too much is a matter of opinion of each individual roleplayer and has no specific status quo. That's why discussions like these generally always degrade (but I'm glad to see this one hasn't! <3) But! Powerful people exist in the world, and weaker people exist in the world. Life isn't fair. There's always a bigger fish. And if that bigger fish is someone else's character, then, that's just how it is. As long as that person isn't antagonizing you unnecessarily, then there's nothing wrong with strength..especially in a fantasy world that basically runs on a mix of Wuxia fighting mechanics, explosions everywhere, and the Rule of Cool. I know some people like hardcore realism especially in abilities and skills of a character, but this is Final Fantasy. The world itself is basically nonsensical in the 'power' department. So sometimes you need a little suspension of disbelief as to someone's level of skill.
So when is a character too skilled, the topic asks? That's up to each individual to decide. There is no blanket right or wrong answer, because everyone has their preferences. If you think someone's too strong and diminishes others around them by your own opinion, but I don't think the same, then obviously one of us will be playing with that person, and one of us won't. If a large majority agree that person diminishes someone and they're not just following the crowd when saying it, but it's their real opinion, perhaps that player is being a bit too bombastic in how he portrays his strength, but the measure of his strength itself may not be the problem. Feeling like one needs to be a certain way or maintain a certain power level or skill level to adjust to the common law opinion of a community majority who likes a certain type of play at the exclusion of all other types kills RP rather than encourages it. I myself have a standing rule I'll RP with anyone unless the *player* is specifically antagonistic or pushy. Hell, I'm more likely to play with a superman character than I am with someone's character whose player is quoting lore at me in PM because one tiny thing on my profile or one single letter in my name isn't *exact* to the high lore standards that player happens to hold.
Basically, in my opinion (And just my opinion) there's no such thing as too skilled, or too unskilled, if played in such a way that it makes sense to the environment they are part of the story and still allows others their own opportunities to mesh in the play itself. We can't make everyone happy. Play to enjoy with the whole, or with small groups whichever suits you, and find your niche with people that think like you but at the same time try to not be closed off in the process and see from all angles, even if they don't suit you at first. Expand your horizon to the idea of what skill or strength even is. Use suspension of disbelief to a point, without throwing all reason out the window. The number of characters good at 'everything' is surprisingly rare from what I've seen, so it shouldn't be a huge issue in the long run. Game on~.
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