(01-30-2014, 02:57 PM)Illira Wrote: That being said, OOCly, it is absolutely the responsibility of that RPer to broach any potential no-no zones with the RPers that they have started RPing with/want to RP with should they know of any serious reprecussive actions that their characters are about to take. Universally, these actions are things such as serious injury, imprisonment, sexual assault, death.
Quoted for truth.
Ultimately, all RP in this game (or any MMO, really) is consensual RP. All parties always have the ability to pick up their ball and go home, as it were. The way we keep that from happening is by always checking with the other player before we take actions -- not speech -- that would affect their character. There's two reasons for this. First, you don't always know the entire situation in which you're involving yourself. You may think, "Aha, I can definitely capture this criminal and drag him in for questioning," but perhaps you don't know that he's RPed as having significant connections in the Syndicate and thus is "beyond reproach." Second, it's simply good manners to ensure that what you're going is something that's going to produce good, interesting RP for all parties involved. Taking someone captive for questioning ends RP, but adding the threat of that occuring can increase dramatic tensions and even offer opportunities for a dramatic escape scene.
Of course, in all of this, there's also the element of IC Actions Equal IC Consequences, but outside of a larger framework for RP (such as an LS/FC), we have to rely on the best judgment of all players involved and the OOC discussions they have to decide whether it's being followed. After all that, if you feel the consequences you're being asked to accept are too severe, or if you feel that the other player isn't accepting the proper level of consequence for their actions, the solution is simple: just walk away.
Personally, when approaching consent, I view actions as falling into one of four tiers: talking, using abilities, causing temporary character changes, and causing permanent character changes. To move "up the scale," you need to get consent from the other player for what you're trying to do unless they implicitly consent to it first (i.e., if I agree to have my character punched in the face, I can punch you back). In my experience, that's a good rule of thumb for handling consent outside of an established RP group, which may have its own rules on the matter.
EDIT: In this particular instance -- and given I don't have all the facts, of course -- the moment the other player started raising the stakes by trying an arrest, I'd have called a stop on it OOC to discuss where it was going and what was intended. If they remained intransigent, then yeah, I'd probably have walked away. A player who refuses to ask for consent for actions that would alter your character and take away their agency is skating dangerously close to powerposing and godmoding (if not crossing the line entirely).
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))
