Had a long post ready to post but it was getting waaay off topic and seemed to be shifting focus to the "wealthy/powerful family" angle and ways to RP it without overstepping bounds. So gonna trim this down to be more on topic xD.
In the case you mentioned of a random person starting the fight, it's a bit trickier than with someone you already know. So there are best two routes to take in this circumstance, in my opinion were I in the same situation.
--Go with the flow, making sure the other player knows that there may be consequences (letting them know in detail what kind of consequences in advance) and see what they would want to do with this, if anything.
If the player doesn't agree to your terms, you can cease the RP session and both go separate ways, taking note of each other's conflicting style for the future.
OR
--Let the fight happen, take a whipping, and just assume you were unable to find out who the person was and thus can't exact your revenge. Then ICly take out your anger on your buddies or something to rebuild ego .
Nebbs's suggestions are also valid means to deal with the situation.
OOC communication is always crucial in IC conflict (especially actual fighting). It doesn't matter if one of the characters is wealthy, poor, powerful, etc. The only reasons you don't OOC communicate with the other party is if you're apathetic to the outcome, or you're comfortable with the other party.
In the case you mentioned of a random person starting the fight, it's a bit trickier than with someone you already know. So there are best two routes to take in this circumstance, in my opinion were I in the same situation.
--Go with the flow, making sure the other player knows that there may be consequences (letting them know in detail what kind of consequences in advance) and see what they would want to do with this, if anything.
If the player doesn't agree to your terms, you can cease the RP session and both go separate ways, taking note of each other's conflicting style for the future.
OR
--Let the fight happen, take a whipping, and just assume you were unable to find out who the person was and thus can't exact your revenge. Then ICly take out your anger on your buddies or something to rebuild ego .
Nebbs's suggestions are also valid means to deal with the situation.
OOC communication is always crucial in IC conflict (especially actual fighting). It doesn't matter if one of the characters is wealthy, poor, powerful, etc. The only reasons you don't OOC communicate with the other party is if you're apathetic to the outcome, or you're comfortable with the other party.