I did not mean for this to turn into such a book. Sorry!
tl;dr - Good points in this thread. I went with a good-ish guy because I'm a weenie. But also because I want him to face reality and grow. I may really want to do a baddie now.
There have been a ton of good points in this thread for why people don't want to be badguys. And maybe now we've had ample discussion and I'm just throwing my pennies into an empty hallway. Still, this is a topic I'd like to weigh in on.
-What is the hesitation with playing a criminal mind, or any "baddy" for that matter?Â
I think this one's been answered well enough. Some can't really get into the head of a character like that, or maybe some people just want to be the hero. Others, like me, don't want to run the risk of being shunned for playing a bad character, well, badly. There's certainly nothing wrong with any of that.
-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?
The one character I have certainly fits into this category. He's very much a good person, even if he does illegal things. He's loyal, tries to be friendly, looks for the good in people, and can be idealistic to a sickening degree.
Now why did I make someone we've all seen twenty-thousand times over? I made a young, naive character not because I'm wildly uncreative and a terrible writer (though if we're being honest, that's a bit of it), but also to give me a bit of a crutch. I haven't done any RP in an MMO, and it's been years since I did any RP at all. So I decided a fresh-faced easy-to-play male would allow me some leeway for when I make mistakes as the writer. I try to do my research and be careful, but I didn't want to mess up and push people away.
Of course having a boring one-dimensional character is more than enough to get people away from you without even interacting. So S'anhu is not all happiness and sunshine. Even though he's hard-headed and idealistic, I didn't want him to join a group of people that are wholly good and fight for what's right. I wanted his story to be one of facing the harsher realities of life, which is why I was happy to be invited to the Pirates of a Wayward Star. In order to save his friends, he recently killed two men for the first time, and he's having to deal with the mental and emotional trauma that comes with it. At the same time he's recently fallen for a girl whose business it is to deal in secrets. She offers comfort, but can he trust her? How will he cope with the thoughts that he is a murderer? Will he freeze up next time he gets in a similar situation? And if he does deal with his demons, will he stick around in his relationship? Are his feelings genuine or are they simply because she offers support in a difficult time for him? I could have made a jaded character and dealt with this kind of stuff in backstories, but it's very fun to do it with other players and allow his current friends help him through this and grow as a person. Maybe he will be jaded someday, and perhaps if things go very south he can become warped enough to be a baddie himself. But it's this process and internal struggle that I find more appealing to RP.
I also tend to be a very reactionary player. I have some personal points and things that S'anhu will have to deal with, but pretty much the rest of it I do by the seat of my pants. Bad guys have a lot more responsibility and planning to do, from what I've seen. If they're not a proper threat then the "good guys" will just jump all over them, beat them away, and then they're done like the latest Monster of the Week. And it's no fun to put lots of work into a character only to have him or her beaten back so easily.
That's all just me, though.
-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?
I have none right now. I will admit, though, that this thread has made me reconsider who my next character will be. I certainly want a different kind of character, and maybe now I can feel a little more confident in my skills so I can push my comfort zone. Should my character need some more lively subjects for research, I'm sure he could get involved with The Blackwater Company.
But for now I'm keeping my focus on one character. He's a bit of a handful as-is. If I roll another my already-slow progression will come to a grinding halt. I also need to flesh out this new character more. He's going to need a lot of lore-reading, and I'll probably have to do some storyline spoiling to get him up in any reasonable amount of time. Eventually!
-Do you agree or disagree that there needs to be some sort of balance struck?
I definitely think that it's difficult to have a good story without proper conflict. But this can also be done with a difference of ideologies. I guess what I really want to say is I am in full support of more baddies. And I'm sure as people get more comfortable or get settled in with their current characters more will show up.
I do want to say that Ambrosia is an excellent place to be. Wayward Star goes there pretty often. Unfortunately it seems that our stuff keeps catching up to us every time. And just about the only time I've seen Y'vali was when I was new and still very nervous. ;_; I'm sorry! It's not your character, I promise!
I'd love to get a little more into the dealings that go on there, though. From what little bits of information I've gotten IC it sounds like there's a ton of excellent RP going on there. Now that would be a way to drop poor S'anhu into the deep end of "harsh realities." There should be plenty more interaction come Masquerade time, though.
*tosses his two cents to clatter across the floor and runs out*
tl;dr - Good points in this thread. I went with a good-ish guy because I'm a weenie. But also because I want him to face reality and grow. I may really want to do a baddie now.
There have been a ton of good points in this thread for why people don't want to be badguys. And maybe now we've had ample discussion and I'm just throwing my pennies into an empty hallway. Still, this is a topic I'd like to weigh in on.
-What is the hesitation with playing a criminal mind, or any "baddy" for that matter?Â
I think this one's been answered well enough. Some can't really get into the head of a character like that, or maybe some people just want to be the hero. Others, like me, don't want to run the risk of being shunned for playing a bad character, well, badly. There's certainly nothing wrong with any of that.
-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?
The one character I have certainly fits into this category. He's very much a good person, even if he does illegal things. He's loyal, tries to be friendly, looks for the good in people, and can be idealistic to a sickening degree.
Now why did I make someone we've all seen twenty-thousand times over? I made a young, naive character not because I'm wildly uncreative and a terrible writer (though if we're being honest, that's a bit of it), but also to give me a bit of a crutch. I haven't done any RP in an MMO, and it's been years since I did any RP at all. So I decided a fresh-faced easy-to-play male would allow me some leeway for when I make mistakes as the writer. I try to do my research and be careful, but I didn't want to mess up and push people away.
Of course having a boring one-dimensional character is more than enough to get people away from you without even interacting. So S'anhu is not all happiness and sunshine. Even though he's hard-headed and idealistic, I didn't want him to join a group of people that are wholly good and fight for what's right. I wanted his story to be one of facing the harsher realities of life, which is why I was happy to be invited to the Pirates of a Wayward Star. In order to save his friends, he recently killed two men for the first time, and he's having to deal with the mental and emotional trauma that comes with it. At the same time he's recently fallen for a girl whose business it is to deal in secrets. She offers comfort, but can he trust her? How will he cope with the thoughts that he is a murderer? Will he freeze up next time he gets in a similar situation? And if he does deal with his demons, will he stick around in his relationship? Are his feelings genuine or are they simply because she offers support in a difficult time for him? I could have made a jaded character and dealt with this kind of stuff in backstories, but it's very fun to do it with other players and allow his current friends help him through this and grow as a person. Maybe he will be jaded someday, and perhaps if things go very south he can become warped enough to be a baddie himself. But it's this process and internal struggle that I find more appealing to RP.
I also tend to be a very reactionary player. I have some personal points and things that S'anhu will have to deal with, but pretty much the rest of it I do by the seat of my pants. Bad guys have a lot more responsibility and planning to do, from what I've seen. If they're not a proper threat then the "good guys" will just jump all over them, beat them away, and then they're done like the latest Monster of the Week. And it's no fun to put lots of work into a character only to have him or her beaten back so easily.
That's all just me, though.
-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?
I have none right now. I will admit, though, that this thread has made me reconsider who my next character will be. I certainly want a different kind of character, and maybe now I can feel a little more confident in my skills so I can push my comfort zone. Should my character need some more lively subjects for research, I'm sure he could get involved with The Blackwater Company.
But for now I'm keeping my focus on one character. He's a bit of a handful as-is. If I roll another my already-slow progression will come to a grinding halt. I also need to flesh out this new character more. He's going to need a lot of lore-reading, and I'll probably have to do some storyline spoiling to get him up in any reasonable amount of time. Eventually!
-Do you agree or disagree that there needs to be some sort of balance struck?
I definitely think that it's difficult to have a good story without proper conflict. But this can also be done with a difference of ideologies. I guess what I really want to say is I am in full support of more baddies. And I'm sure as people get more comfortable or get settled in with their current characters more will show up.
I do want to say that Ambrosia is an excellent place to be. Wayward Star goes there pretty often. Unfortunately it seems that our stuff keeps catching up to us every time. And just about the only time I've seen Y'vali was when I was new and still very nervous. ;_; I'm sorry! It's not your character, I promise!
I'd love to get a little more into the dealings that go on there, though. From what little bits of information I've gotten IC it sounds like there's a ton of excellent RP going on there. Now that would be a way to drop poor S'anhu into the deep end of "harsh realities." There should be plenty more interaction come Masquerade time, though.
*tosses his two cents to clatter across the floor and runs out*
