Bearing in mind that I'm on Balmung, and thus my experience may well be different due to different server cultures, let me toss out my thoughts.
What is the hesitation with playing a criminal mind, or any "baddy" for that matter?
Personally, I think it makes some players uncomfortable to play that; they want to be the hero, not the villain (even though, really, the villain is the hero of their own story
). There's also the conflict RP side of it, which others have noted (people tending to godmoding so they can "win," OOC drama, etc.). Finally, while XIV has a fair amount of dark in it, the overall theme seems to be usually perceived as positive and hopeful; despite all that's wrong, Plucky Young Heroes Can Make a Difference. All of those elements can dissuade people from playing "the bad guy."
Are there any with characters like the one described in the second observation? If so what inspired you to go that route as opposed to the other?
My main, L'yhta, is a pretty dyed in the wool "good guy." She even opposes spying on people. That said, what keeps her from being a two-dimensional "goodie two-shoes" is that she's a complex creature who's not defined by her morality. Yes, it plays a role and yes, it infoms her behavior, but it's not at the forefront of her characterization. As to why I wrote her that way, I thought she'd be fun to play. Which brings me to the next point...
Are there any with characters like the one described in the first observation? If so what inspired you to go that route as opposed to the other?
My main in The Secret World was a devious blood mage who sought nothing more than to screw over people she felt wronged her (including old high school and college enemies) and acquire as much money and knowledge to be able to live a jet-setting life free of any restrictions. She was a hacker, a thief, and arguably a murderer. So, yeah, she was pretty wicked; in Palladium terms, I'd call her Miscreant Evil (NE for you D&D types). In the TSW universe, that concept happened to appeal to me, because thematically, TSW is pretty dark.
Do you agree or disagree that there needs to be some sort of balance struck?
I don't think it's really necessary. IMO, people should play what they want to play, and to be honest, players of "good guys" will always have NPC "bad guys" to deal with -- and the preponderance of "good guys" means the "bad guy" PCs will always have a ready pool of PCs to be their opposition. Evil's always in a good place when it comes to RP, as there's rarely a shortage of those seeking to stop it.
I don't think a lack of balance will kill an RP community. "Team Evil" is always smaller than Team Good in every game I've played. Even in TSW, where everyone's got blood on their hands, truly wicked characters were rare. What makes Team Evil succeed is three-dimensional characters, strong RP connections among each other, and a willingness to do their own plots as opposed to being the villain in someone else's. In a White Wolf analogy, Team Evil's the Sabbat -- and not every Sabbat story has to focus on warring against the Camarilla, nor does the Camarilla always have to be the villain.
More to the point, variety comes in a number of different forms. Three-dimensional characters can share a flat, simplistic descriptor like alignment, but be extremely different people with their own takes on life, the universe, and everything.
What is the hesitation with playing a criminal mind, or any "baddy" for that matter?
Personally, I think it makes some players uncomfortable to play that; they want to be the hero, not the villain (even though, really, the villain is the hero of their own story
). There's also the conflict RP side of it, which others have noted (people tending to godmoding so they can "win," OOC drama, etc.). Finally, while XIV has a fair amount of dark in it, the overall theme seems to be usually perceived as positive and hopeful; despite all that's wrong, Plucky Young Heroes Can Make a Difference. All of those elements can dissuade people from playing "the bad guy."Are there any with characters like the one described in the second observation? If so what inspired you to go that route as opposed to the other?
My main, L'yhta, is a pretty dyed in the wool "good guy." She even opposes spying on people.
That said, what keeps her from being a two-dimensional "goodie two-shoes" is that she's a complex creature who's not defined by her morality. Yes, it plays a role and yes, it infoms her behavior, but it's not at the forefront of her characterization. As to why I wrote her that way, I thought she'd be fun to play. Which brings me to the next point...Are there any with characters like the one described in the first observation? If so what inspired you to go that route as opposed to the other?
My main in The Secret World was a devious blood mage who sought nothing more than to screw over people she felt wronged her (including old high school and college enemies) and acquire as much money and knowledge to be able to live a jet-setting life free of any restrictions. She was a hacker, a thief, and arguably a murderer. So, yeah, she was pretty wicked; in Palladium terms, I'd call her Miscreant Evil (NE for you D&D types). In the TSW universe, that concept happened to appeal to me, because thematically, TSW is pretty dark.
Do you agree or disagree that there needs to be some sort of balance struck?
I don't think it's really necessary. IMO, people should play what they want to play, and to be honest, players of "good guys" will always have NPC "bad guys" to deal with -- and the preponderance of "good guys" means the "bad guy" PCs will always have a ready pool of PCs to be their opposition. Evil's always in a good place when it comes to RP, as there's rarely a shortage of those seeking to stop it.
I don't think a lack of balance will kill an RP community. "Team Evil" is always smaller than Team Good in every game I've played. Even in TSW, where everyone's got blood on their hands, truly wicked characters were rare. What makes Team Evil succeed is three-dimensional characters, strong RP connections among each other, and a willingness to do their own plots as opposed to being the villain in someone else's. In a White Wolf analogy, Team Evil's the Sabbat -- and not every Sabbat story has to focus on warring against the Camarilla, nor does the Camarilla always have to be the villain.
More to the point, variety comes in a number of different forms. Three-dimensional characters can share a flat, simplistic descriptor like alignment, but be extremely different people with their own takes on life, the universe, and everything.
The Freelance Wizard
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
