Thread Closed
Eep. I didn't mean to say that playing a character with authority is bad form, just that it's a bad idea to play it as your primary concept with no caveats in the typical MMO RP environment. There's lots of ways to do it well, some of which have been mentioned in this thread (handwave it as happening offscreen, have a jurisdiction that only covers NPCs, have a jurisdiction or concept that only covers your RP group, etc.). IMO, the important thing is not asserting authority OOC over other players that don't consent to it -- or assuming that other players will or must consent to it -- because that never goes well. The broken ruins of player-run cities and player-run law enforcement authorities serve as testaments to the invariable problems that arise when players who don't really have any authority at all start acting as if they do.
On the flip side, of course, those who play criminals have the responsibility as RPers to hew to the lore. That includes not assuming that the city-states have no functional law enforcement and that you can do whatever you want, or having it be well-known that your character is wanted by every authority in Eorzea and yet somehow you're never in any danger from that. To play a bad guy plausibly, you have to play smart.
Otherwise, just as in the case of the overzealous authority figure, you may well find yourself being ignored by those who might otherwise want to RP with you.
On the flip side, of course, those who play criminals have the responsibility as RPers to hew to the lore. That includes not assuming that the city-states have no functional law enforcement and that you can do whatever you want, or having it be well-known that your character is wanted by every authority in Eorzea and yet somehow you're never in any danger from that. To play a bad guy plausibly, you have to play smart.
Otherwise, just as in the case of the overzealous authority figure, you may well find yourself being ignored by those who might otherwise want to RP with you.
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))