(10-23-2014, 09:50 AM)Gaspard Wrote: You're taking to specific examples now. But I'll try to elaborate each;
In regards to the Relationship example; If you have two players, from which one drops off the radar, and they have a relationship going, you don't have to Retcon anything. The player is gone, therefore you can have your character simply say 'I've not seen him since (insert time here).' Take it Icly. The Character vanished, therefore the love has been abandoned, therefore the other character can continue playing from the relationship having ended up broken because the other character suddenly dissappeared over night. Keeps everyones story going with no Retcon involved.
So to make it short:
Making a new character makes it a problem for 'one' person: You. You feel your chars not up to par, you make a new one.
Retconning makes it a problem for far more people. Because you don't want to go through the work, everyone elses story has to suffer.
Also, I think it's important to define Retcon again. Retcon is about ignoring/changing aspects of your character/the story. It is not having your character move on from a broken storyline that's not going anywhere.
No, you -don't- have to say that the opposite character "has not been here for a while" if you choose not to have the character in your plot due to a lot of problems. It doesn't have to keep any story going. It doesn't end other side of plots or affect it. A player and the character can be forgotten as if never happened. This is an open RPG game, and lot of things can happen to just start or end a story.Â
I really think your opinions and my opinions in Retcon are completely different because I personally do not want to see it that way. If someone told me that they want to retcon something, I'll just respect their wishes and discuss of why that person want to do it.Â
If you think that everyone else has to suffer, then you are probably thinking it wrong. Because the player's character does not have to have that much impact in your character's plot. You can adjust at anytime. You didn't copyright anything or made a print on anything to be 100% confirmed. It's rather stupid to say that the player's character's mistakes to be 100% blamed for player's actions. It CAN be retconned.
Since when was there a rule about roleplayers changing whatever is given to them? If you really have a problem with someone retconning a story when it was established with you, then you can either cooperate or just sever ties with them because -you- don't like it.