It really depends I guess. In general in games like Final Fantasy, EQ2,and SWG was like this to some extent its hard to RP bad guys because a decent enough number of people don't want to "lose". I find myself in a situation currently where my character is definitely the bad guy in an RP that's taking place between my character and three others. Even though two of the three of them have been RPing with me for months I'm not sure how they'll respond to having my character be the "Bad guy".
I guess the starting thing is their relationship has always been very manipulative, so when my character hires people to try and manipulate their thoughts on another character I get worried because A) Some of the characters I hired have my former FC's tag in their name, its almost a dead OOC give away that I hired them even though ICly they wouldn't know, and B) Will this or because they don't want to lose their plot or damage it in some way, will they even bother letting it affect their RP. I mean if they didn't that would be super unfair to me right? Especially since we've had our characters be this way for over three months, so to for the sake of a new RPer basically decide my character's actions don't matter would be really bad and hurtful honestly. Its saying they only want to RP with me when its going their way, and the reason I'm even talking about this because that's the point I'm gonna bring up.
Everybody wants to win, and because of the way the game works, they'll do shit to make sure they win.
And I know what you're thinking "Not everyone tries to "win" " But more specifically they do what they can to make sure their plots don't get "messed up". This can be a variety of things from OOCly refusing to RP a group of people trying to kill them or having their RP partners ignore false accusations made to slander their character. Things I've seen is people getting mugged or jumped refusing to RP until help "accidentally" wonders into them if they feel outnumbered. There's always the classic "Even though I'm alone and unexpecting it someone pulled a gun on me and I immediately responded with Bruce Lee like instincts to handle the situation." To just kind of annoying stuff like people not Roleplaying like a gun in your face is some how less deadly so you shouldn't be afraid of it. And some people do have reasons for all these things. But if we go back to the example I provided above, the reason that RP is happening is because my character had to live with the choices and actions of others. Me, the RPer wasn't happy about it, but that's the way it is sometime, my plot was changed because of someone else's actions. Is it fair to me if to preserve their plot they ignore my character's reactions to them changing his?Â
The answer is no, but most people work very, very hard on their plots and in order to get the result they want OOCly will ignore bad things ICly no matter how compelling. If I pay several other Miqo'te girls to go accuse a girl's new boyfriend of rape and abuse ICly and OOCly they know its not true and they want a happy ending or a certain development to take place OOCly, very often ICly they'll ignore it or find some reason to not care even if its going on blind faith for their lover they've been with all of a week and known all of two weeks. There are some good RPers who wont do this (in fact I wouldn't make the generalization and say most people won't RP correctly), however it happens enough to where anytime an RP like this comes up I'm uncomfortable with it immediately because I feel like its too easy to tell the bad guy that what he does, doesn't matter.
Clarification edit:
By refusing to RP I don't mean not RPing at all persay, but either running away immediately without RP or posting incredibly slow until help from an FC or LS arrives, then when the tables turn expect you to RP because "Calling for help is something they'd do." Even though they gave you no chance to stop it or way to know it was coming.
Further Edit: (Because I'm waiting for Blueprints to print)
Another issue I have is say my people I've been RPing with are okay with RPing the bad things my character does. What if their new friend isn't? What if he refuses to RP the bad things my character does because he doesn't like it? That puts our mutual friend in an awkward spot? They've been wanting this new plot for awhile, to they recton their older friend and their character's history with him out? That's unfair and I don't think they'd do that, but do the then tell me "Hey we're gonna ignore the slander/blackmail/assassins and if you want to RP with us, despite our months of preexisting RP you can either be okay with this new development or we'll not RP anymore.
These are the problems I have with being the bad guy, all it takes is one person not willing to "lose" or be endanger of losing something and they will inflict all that they're afraid of on the villain who often put as much or more work into being the counter force to the plot. I mean for this story if they told me what I did didn't matter, I'd have at least 4 or 5 other players I'd have to tell not to RP something they've been planning for at least two days. I ICly had to investigate to learn this other character's name I didn't know OOCly and didn't ask, I had to do that organically so the time investigating was lost. The planning ICly and OOCly is lost, and my character and what he does/stands for is told it doesn't matter. This guy OOCly probably didn't know what he was getting into when he chose the RP he chose, but just because you don't know all of your partner's friends and who they are, does that mean if you don't like them you can tell them they don't count or refuse to RP with them? Some people honestly might, and enough people do to where I'm here ranting off examples of why playing the bad guy makes me anxious.
Here's another good question. What if the new guy refuses to RP it and my friend trying to compromise says "Look I'm going to remain in this situation with him but we can still RP and still do everything we were before but ICly our relationship will be different." Well that's not exactly okay either because you're telling me the entire reason my character became the bad guy in the first place OOCly he can't change and I just have to live with it as I become a second priority in a plot in all respects I should be a main character in. Not the main characters that'd be my friend and her friend, but considering our past and my character he's up there.
Post Lunch Edit:
Another issue I think tends to hinder bad guys or villains is /random. This effectively says that it doesn't matter that I'm a 200 Pound man in full suit of plate mail carrying a great sword the size of tiny Miqo'te dancer girl's entirely unarmored body, tiny little dancer girl has the exact same chance of winning in a threatening encounter, or getting away free of any real damage. Sometimes you'll get lucky and /tell someone and be able to work out not using /random, but if I'm in a situation where I go up to a bisexual courtesian catboy with zero combat experience who's trying to make money and tell him for messing with my girls I'm going to kill him, and he just immediately goes into combat because despite having a seasoned veteran warrior who got the jump on him because /random can bail him out is horrid.
In short I think the fact he game's mechanics of FCs/PMs/Linkshells, as well as the reliance on /random really hinders a good villain. Villains already had a hard time because no one wants to have "bad stuff" happen to their plots and ideas but then when you have in game and relied on methods of RP that make it even harder for a well thought out, well prepared villain to beat even the most under equipped and meek of opponents/enemies is just borderline unfair.
I guess the starting thing is their relationship has always been very manipulative, so when my character hires people to try and manipulate their thoughts on another character I get worried because A) Some of the characters I hired have my former FC's tag in their name, its almost a dead OOC give away that I hired them even though ICly they wouldn't know, and B) Will this or because they don't want to lose their plot or damage it in some way, will they even bother letting it affect their RP. I mean if they didn't that would be super unfair to me right? Especially since we've had our characters be this way for over three months, so to for the sake of a new RPer basically decide my character's actions don't matter would be really bad and hurtful honestly. Its saying they only want to RP with me when its going their way, and the reason I'm even talking about this because that's the point I'm gonna bring up.
Everybody wants to win, and because of the way the game works, they'll do shit to make sure they win.
And I know what you're thinking "Not everyone tries to "win" " But more specifically they do what they can to make sure their plots don't get "messed up". This can be a variety of things from OOCly refusing to RP a group of people trying to kill them or having their RP partners ignore false accusations made to slander their character. Things I've seen is people getting mugged or jumped refusing to RP until help "accidentally" wonders into them if they feel outnumbered. There's always the classic "Even though I'm alone and unexpecting it someone pulled a gun on me and I immediately responded with Bruce Lee like instincts to handle the situation." To just kind of annoying stuff like people not Roleplaying like a gun in your face is some how less deadly so you shouldn't be afraid of it. And some people do have reasons for all these things. But if we go back to the example I provided above, the reason that RP is happening is because my character had to live with the choices and actions of others. Me, the RPer wasn't happy about it, but that's the way it is sometime, my plot was changed because of someone else's actions. Is it fair to me if to preserve their plot they ignore my character's reactions to them changing his?Â
The answer is no, but most people work very, very hard on their plots and in order to get the result they want OOCly will ignore bad things ICly no matter how compelling. If I pay several other Miqo'te girls to go accuse a girl's new boyfriend of rape and abuse ICly and OOCly they know its not true and they want a happy ending or a certain development to take place OOCly, very often ICly they'll ignore it or find some reason to not care even if its going on blind faith for their lover they've been with all of a week and known all of two weeks. There are some good RPers who wont do this (in fact I wouldn't make the generalization and say most people won't RP correctly), however it happens enough to where anytime an RP like this comes up I'm uncomfortable with it immediately because I feel like its too easy to tell the bad guy that what he does, doesn't matter.
Clarification edit:
By refusing to RP I don't mean not RPing at all persay, but either running away immediately without RP or posting incredibly slow until help from an FC or LS arrives, then when the tables turn expect you to RP because "Calling for help is something they'd do." Even though they gave you no chance to stop it or way to know it was coming.
Further Edit: (Because I'm waiting for Blueprints to print)
Another issue I have is say my people I've been RPing with are okay with RPing the bad things my character does. What if their new friend isn't? What if he refuses to RP the bad things my character does because he doesn't like it? That puts our mutual friend in an awkward spot? They've been wanting this new plot for awhile, to they recton their older friend and their character's history with him out? That's unfair and I don't think they'd do that, but do the then tell me "Hey we're gonna ignore the slander/blackmail/assassins and if you want to RP with us, despite our months of preexisting RP you can either be okay with this new development or we'll not RP anymore.
These are the problems I have with being the bad guy, all it takes is one person not willing to "lose" or be endanger of losing something and they will inflict all that they're afraid of on the villain who often put as much or more work into being the counter force to the plot. I mean for this story if they told me what I did didn't matter, I'd have at least 4 or 5 other players I'd have to tell not to RP something they've been planning for at least two days. I ICly had to investigate to learn this other character's name I didn't know OOCly and didn't ask, I had to do that organically so the time investigating was lost. The planning ICly and OOCly is lost, and my character and what he does/stands for is told it doesn't matter. This guy OOCly probably didn't know what he was getting into when he chose the RP he chose, but just because you don't know all of your partner's friends and who they are, does that mean if you don't like them you can tell them they don't count or refuse to RP with them? Some people honestly might, and enough people do to where I'm here ranting off examples of why playing the bad guy makes me anxious.
Here's another good question. What if the new guy refuses to RP it and my friend trying to compromise says "Look I'm going to remain in this situation with him but we can still RP and still do everything we were before but ICly our relationship will be different." Well that's not exactly okay either because you're telling me the entire reason my character became the bad guy in the first place OOCly he can't change and I just have to live with it as I become a second priority in a plot in all respects I should be a main character in. Not the main characters that'd be my friend and her friend, but considering our past and my character he's up there.
Post Lunch Edit:
Another issue I think tends to hinder bad guys or villains is /random. This effectively says that it doesn't matter that I'm a 200 Pound man in full suit of plate mail carrying a great sword the size of tiny Miqo'te dancer girl's entirely unarmored body, tiny little dancer girl has the exact same chance of winning in a threatening encounter, or getting away free of any real damage. Sometimes you'll get lucky and /tell someone and be able to work out not using /random, but if I'm in a situation where I go up to a bisexual courtesian catboy with zero combat experience who's trying to make money and tell him for messing with my girls I'm going to kill him, and he just immediately goes into combat because despite having a seasoned veteran warrior who got the jump on him because /random can bail him out is horrid.
In short I think the fact he game's mechanics of FCs/PMs/Linkshells, as well as the reliance on /random really hinders a good villain. Villains already had a hard time because no one wants to have "bad stuff" happen to their plots and ideas but then when you have in game and relied on methods of RP that make it even harder for a well thought out, well prepared villain to beat even the most under equipped and meek of opponents/enemies is just borderline unfair.
"Don't be scared homie."
