Coatleque

(( Meanwhile, back at the Palace... )) The sound of steel on stone echoed down the Hustings Strip. Clear, separated footsteps with both purpose and authority. A few heads of passing citizens turned to regard the Knight as she passed by, but the alchemists paid her no mind, so used to that sound as they were. She stopped outside the door to her Captain's office, saluting the guard with a nod. "Ser Crofte. You are expected. One moment please," he said as he disappeared inside. His comrade on the opposite side merely looked on, taking no apparent notice of the woman. A moment later the guard returned. "Captain Jenlyns will see you now." he said, stepping aside with the door held open. Coatleque hesitantly stepped forward into the office. She had been here only twice before - for her induction as a knight in training, and again for her first official orders after completing her trial and swearing her oath before the Sultana herself. To be summoned here was to receive either a blessing or curse, and her mind was racing over her past few patrols looking for some hidden fault of her own that was about to receive just retribution. As the door latched shut behind her, she snapped back to reality and quickly stepped to the side, at attention. Head held high and hands clasped behind her back, her eyes quickly scanned the room as her guard's instinct took over. Though it was only mid-day, the drapes were drawn and lanterns were lit. It was not hard to determine why, once her eyes adjusted. To the left stood Grandmaster Papashan. More surprisingly, the Flame General himself stood to the right. Both remained quiet as if in serious thought. "Miss Crofte." Jenlyns began. "Ser!" she replied with a click of her heels. "I offer you a seat, though I know you won't take it." He continued. Of course she did not sit, but stood at attention awaiting instruction. "Very well. I have called you here to discuss something of a rather sensitive nature..." The Captain, seated at his desk, rose at this time and turned toward the window behind. He parted the drapes and looked out to the plaza below. "I'm sure you have heard of some recent allegations levied against certain of our members. You need not answer, I am no fool to expect that word has not travelled fast. It is no question that such rumors have done much harm to our reputation, a question of our loyalty, but even worse - the influence of the Sultana within her own realm." The Knight swallowed hard, but remained quiet, looking forward still. He pulled his hand back and the drapes once again closed. Turning to face her he continued, "We must needs counteract the growing negative influence of the Monetarists, and the best way to do that is to assure the public that the Sultana is still in charge of her reign. While the Flame General does what he can, the fact is that the Flames themselves are still seen as a hand of the Syndicate. It is we who are the very hand of the Sultana." The man paused in his speech just long enough for the silence to turn awkward. She decided she had best speak up, "What would you have me do, Ser!", she said with some feigned eagerness to let him know she was still paying attention. "Miss Crofte," he continued, "Your name is beginning to carry inside some circles. You are still yet new to us, but your loyalty and dedication are being noticed by the public. We must capitalize on this before that name moves too far up the aristocracy." "S-Ser?" she responded with a tilt of her head, unsure how to take this news. "You are doing good work for the Sultansworn." he continued on, paying her no mind. "Work that must needs continue in order to win back the peoples' favor from the Monetarists. What I want... what we need for you to do is to continue. Continue your duties. Patrol the streets. Guard the public squares. In short, we need you to continue to represent the strong authority of the Sultana outside the Hustings Strip." "Ser, yes Ser!", she snapped in reply as her head was once again held high. "In addition, Miss Crofte, I must address certain rumors of your own affairs that I presume are long in the past." Her face suddenly paled at this, mind once again racing, hoping he was not talking of what she thought he was. "A Sultansworn must needs be above all reproach, personally, professionally. I care not of what past events you may have been forced to take part in. You have shown where your loyalties ultimately lay in your own actions. If you can promise me that you will continue to walk this path to better yourself and those around you, then I will assure you I shall not let rumors of your past be used against your station in the Elite Guard." "Y-yes Ser! Of course, Ser!" "Your re-assurance is enough for those present then. Finally, I must needs fill a vacancy in command. Miss Crofte, in witness of those present I hereby promote you to Sergeant. You shall be my eyes and ears in the public spectrum now. You may also be called upon to take new prospectives under you wing. I must say, this is MOST unorthodox. Times being what they are, and with our decline in numbers, swift action is sometimes called for. Do not feel slighted by this sudden elevation. I would not do this if you had not earned it." "T-thank you, Ser!", she snapped with new-found confidence. "I expect you to wear the armor of your station with pride. But now for your orders. You have no doubt heard rumors of your former comrades recently implicated in... less than noble acts. You are not to engage them. Do not seek them out, do not pursue their actions. You are to be our beacon in these dark times. Our enemy will surely make you a target and seek to subvert you, and they will no doubt be used as tools against you. Understand that these orders are for your protection, and ours." "I understand, Ser!" "Thank you, Ser Crofte. You are dismissed." he said as he retook his seat. Quietly leaning forward he lifted a document from his desk and began perusing over it. Quietly, the Knight turned and opened the door, the mid-day sun blinding her temporarily as she stepped back out of the office and closed the door behind. Neither guard paid her any mind, once again, as she walked off. The sound of steel on stone echoed down the Hustings Strip.

Coatleque told her not to drink it! Now CC has to get used to being the 'taller' one. Meh

I think some outside force is drawing me into this as well now. That's what I get for defending the innocent.

I would like to recognize D'ranmaia Shenn, who I believe was the most interesting character at the Piquant Pumpkin last night. It took me a far to long to realize why she had that cane out. It's even more interesting that she wants to open a host club, and can't even see her hosts!

I think there are two main ways to play a villain through RP. Of course the first way is the a-typical bad guy already described. The second way would be the surprise reveal. Play as one of the 'good guys' but find ways to work against them the whole time without giving it away. This requires a lot more work, but in the end when your character is revealed to the the mastermind behind it all, it's so much more fulfilling. Of course the real problem with RPing the villain is that your character is, for all intensive purposes, a throw-away toon. Because once they become known it's very hard to change that reputation.

Ooh, another young upstart that needs to be put in his place. *calling all Paladins* Fresh meat here!

Whoever looks hotter in a speedo of course!

I'd like to thank the community as a whole that seems to have an astonishing IC respect for the Sultansworn, and those who play them. I was a little worried when I started hanging around that things would be difficult because ruffians may tend to godmod and staunchly resist law enforcement. I've been consistently surprised by the level of respect and awe others give me as I stand on patrol. It's like an invisible line that everyone accepts and is hesitant to cross, and it makes guard duty that much more bearable. So thank you all!

Warren, we still have to meet at some point. People keep comparing us to each other! As to the OP's question, I think I actively go looking to mentally destroy my characters sometimes. The worst situation I've been in is way back in NWN. My character was a Ranger Captain in a LotR world. He fell in love with a woman who turned out to be a Black Numenorean trying to destroy them from within. Heady times. CC has a borderline split personality. She's all business when in uniform, but a wall-flower when not. Internally she hates herself. Externally she tries to appear like more than she is. It will be interesting to see what pushes her over the edge.

Coatleque likes pretty much anything that's not fish. Fish reminds her too much of home. Sad face.

Thank you to Gus Pumpkinweed, and all employees of the Piquant Pumpkin. I had a blast at the two orientations I've been a part of. I'm looking forward to opening night. Thank you as well to Hildanis Alexandar who kept me company during a rather long and uneventful shift at the Quicksand.

Not sure if there's a thread already, but I think a sub-forum would be a great idea for this. Just a place for players to give recognition to others for good times that were had while in character. I'll start out by saying thank you to Gus Pumpkinweed and company for last night's interaction. I'm sorry, but I don't recall everyone's name at the time, (edit: Haila was one) I only had the idea for this thread this morning. In particular, when I ran that 'vagrant' off and he complied, I was both surprised and happy he was such a good sport about it. So thank you to everyone present.

Mmm.. pumpkin pudding. I... suppose CC deserves some rec time.

*gets spooked and also runs away*

Natalie, I wrote your name on a sticky today so I remember to look you up when I'm online later. So don't freak out if you get a spontaneous whisper from a stranger!

Secret Garlean magitech spy-drone?

Why does this come to mind... ?

Wait, you don't mean I'd actually have to do something else? I didn't realize oaths really meant something!

Toss me a pearl as well please. I'm not a big guy in armor, but I'm a tall-ish woman. And I've been called 'brooding'.

That would be awesome. From my experience though, most nights are fairly dull. And I mean that from an on-duty guard's perspective!

I believe it was ward 3.

I'd be interested in this. Coatleque usually stands around the city in armor, IC-ly on duty. She's not so much a free paladin though, as a member of the royal guard. So, the Sultana's interests come first!

The first one was fun, probably more so since it was impromptu. You better have more than just shark to eat this time though Same Mist Ward# I assume?

I. Basic Info Characters:Coatleque Crofte Primary character:Coatleque Crofte Linkshells: Sultanswarm, The Coarl Sea, Friends of Momodi, Tentative Allies, Sand Pearl, Melkire's Contacts Primary RP linkshell: Sultanswarm II. RP Style Amount of RP (light, medium, heavy): Heavy. I consider myself to be in-character 98% of the time. Even if I look like I'm OOC, I can easily switch between the two at any time, so don't shy away. Typically, if she is wearing a shield, or showing any weapon other than a sword, that means I am OOC except for special circumstances. Views on RP combat and injuries: I'm not adverse to RP combat, so long as some kind of system is used. I'd prefer dice rolls to keep things fair and more realistic. Things happen, after all, and everybody makes mistakes. Even grandmaster swordsmen. If you go by a 'trust' system, the winner should be determined before the fight starts OOC. If the fighting drags on longer than 10 - 15 minutes real time, I'll probably get bored. Real fights do not last hours on end. Fighting should be semi-realistic. That is, don't get all 'Dragonball' on me. Views on IC romance: Romance is the cornerstone of fantasy. Coatleque was not actively looking for romantic involvement, mostly due to her past, for a long time. Through the course of events she did find someone who re-awoke those desires within her. Things did not pan out, however. If she does find someone else, I would expect it to be through the course of RP. It is a natural character development. Please do not send me OOC tells asking if I 'want our characters to be together'. That alone is enough to dissuade me from the idea. I can't force her to like someone that is not a good match for her personality. I'm not looking for ERP. I'll do the whole fade-to-black thing, or something R-rated at the most. Otherwise, I'm married IRL, so just don't go there. Views on non-romantic RP (family ties, etc): I purposefully wrote CC's background to be open-ended in that regard. If you are interested in familial relationship, or even to be someone she may have known from her time spent in the brothel, let me know and we can work something out. I will update her Wiki ASAP whenever something pertinent happens. Views on lore: I consider myself an old-school RP purist. If you don't want to RP inside the lore, there are plenty of other worlds out there with lore that will fit your storyline. You don't have the right to screw with everyone elses story for your own selfish goals. That being said, I'm not going to be a dick about it in-game. As long as it's not something over the top, I can adjust. I'm not a stickler for details, and I can overlook honest mistakes or spelling. But if you're some re-incarnated whatever from another planet because you're too attached to let go and start a new personality, I'll probably just ignore your background and work with the here and now. Views on chat functions (/say, /linkshell, etc): I believe say should be used the majority of the time for conversation. I enclose all RP dialogue in "double quotes". I use the asterisk for *direction or emotion* preceding text, such as: *to Andrew* "Hello." or *tragic irony* "NOOOOOOOOOooooooo!" I use /em for longer emotes with occasional short dialogue if it fits. In public, I use (( )) or [ ] for OOC comments. I am typically a fast responder, typing in smaller sentences. While in-game, I take a 1st person approach to role-play, as I believe the atmosphere of the game itself lends to much of the surrounding environment for RP. I do not go into details such as those. I do not express what my character is 'thinking' because there is no way anyone else would know those details in the first person. On the forums, however, I take more of a 3rd person view because we do not have the game in our sight to setup that atmosphere. I consider all tells to be OOC by default unless otherwise stated. I consider party chat to be OOC by default unless the party was formed with the intention of private RP. III. Other Info Country:USA Timezone:EST (GMT - 5) Contact info:Just look for me in-game or PM me on the forums here. Otherwise I like my anonymity.

I too am now interested in this case study...