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+--- Thread: When is a character too skilled? (/showthread.php?tid=13278)
RE: When is a character too skilled? - Subasu Ethenia - 10-10-2015
I have two takes on this:
Like someone said before, you could be considered too skilled if you make yourself too good, that noone else gets a chance to shine. If you eclipse everyone else around you, maybe you should step back and take a look at your posts and see just how you are going about alienating everyone else. If your character has reasons to have all these skills, then sure, keep them, but maybe tone down your Godliness. Maybe you are skilled at forgework, but maybe that guy over there that is dedicating his life to it can teach you a trick or two that you haven't picked up naturally. Or maybe his filigree even impresses *you*. There is much you can still be, but make others feel that their effort isn't wasted.
My second take on this is: How well can you make me believe you know this? If you can really explain and detail out one of your skill sets to a degree that makes me, the reader believe that you can illustrate a picture in my mind about the level of detail in which you showcasing your skill, I am likely to buy into the fact that your character is skilled in it. If you say: I know how to forge, I am the best forgemaster in the world, and leave it like that, I'm gonna scoot away and find someone else to RP with. I am not saying that your character *isn't* skilled, I am saying you didn't convince me.Â
When I play my assassin character, I play it like i would a real assassin. All plans laid out, maps and escape routes planned, complete with studying my target, the guards patrols, and finally the execution of the plan. WHen it all comes together, you can actually believe my character is an assassin. I didn't just tell you, I showed you. And when she gets away, you are rooting for her, because you've developed a repertoire with her.
RE: When is a character too skilled? - MBajihri - 10-10-2015
I agree with one of the earlier posts about using your skill to facilitate things. I play Mhaya as having a skillset involving melee combat (See, Swords, shields, fists and axes), and a minor ability with Thaumaturgy (I'd imagine her greatest skill is Fire II). This makes it believable for her to go into other magicks such as what a Dark Knight would use. However, Mhaya has no ability in conjury, leaving her unable to heal her own wounds, and is probably the worst arcanist to ever step into the Arcanist's Guild. (We did a funny RP where Mhaya accidentally summoned a two-headed Carbuncle and put down her grimoire in shame). This also makes it so if Mhaya needs an expert on Conjury, Thaumaturgy or other things, she's forced to seek out a person. Additionally, even with what she's highly skilled in, she's by no means the best and makes mistakes occasionally. Then again, I enjoy playing characters whose flaws shine as well as their masteries, I believe it adds some depth!
RE: When is a character too skilled? - Ritual - 10-10-2015
When you can ERP whilst in the middle of a fight with Titan.
RE: When is a character too skilled? - Candor - 10-10-2015
I have to stick to my adage of "It's not what, but how." I believe a character can be the best at everything and still be a perfectly rewarding character to play and play with. For example, take Batman. Batman is one of the most beloved super heroes of all time and is basically the best or second best in the entire world at everything he does. Yet people have been enjoying his perfection for over 60 years, and he doesn't make his supporting cast seem inferior by any means. Dick Greyson (Robin/Nightwing) is in fact enriched by the fact that he'll never achieve what Bruce Wayne has. It's not about what, but how. I've found the first step to having anything remarkable about a character is not to flaunt it. So if your character is superior in five skillsets, choose the one that will become his or her public profile, and then keep the rest a secret. Reveal that secret in tasteful samples that are fun for others. Surprise them, but don't make them obsolete. The second step is to not take your character so seriously. Even if she's the most graceful dancer ever, let her stumble or walk into a shut door from time to time. If there's someone else with the same skillset, let them do the thing instead of your character. Now you have mystery, humor, and confidence and none were ever ingredients in a recipe for bad RP.