I've always felt that it's very important for anyone role-playing an authority figure to adhere to a very specific rule: namely that they'll never try and get someone else's character to abide by consequences that they themselves aren't prepared to go through with.
All too often I've seen people portraying authority figures pushing for criminals to be punished IC yet when it comes to accepting some consequences for their own character they make awkward excuses as to why they can't go through with it and typically get their buddies to back them up on an OOC level.
Let's assume that X and Y are role-playing together. Y is a pick-pocket and accepts being thrust in jail for stealing from a noble passing through a market. Later on, however, X is found out to have turned a blind eye to some shady thugs which led to a brief increase in crime elsewhere in the city! Someone else thinks that this would make a pretty cool storyline...yet despite X's eagerness to allow Y to go through with the consequences of their actions X isn't willing to go through with any himself.
...hopefully what I just wrote made sense, especially since it's currently 2:42am and I haven't slept yet. What I'm getting at, though, is that more people role-playing authority figures need to be able to compromise and take what they dish out when and where it's relevant. It's the least you can do if you're going out of your way to put your character in a position above many other people's characters.
I don't believe in equality in role-play (it'd be boring if every character was the same) but if you're going to embrace a role that carries weight then what I outlined above should be taken into consideration at every turn.
All too often I've seen people portraying authority figures pushing for criminals to be punished IC yet when it comes to accepting some consequences for their own character they make awkward excuses as to why they can't go through with it and typically get their buddies to back them up on an OOC level.
Let's assume that X and Y are role-playing together. Y is a pick-pocket and accepts being thrust in jail for stealing from a noble passing through a market. Later on, however, X is found out to have turned a blind eye to some shady thugs which led to a brief increase in crime elsewhere in the city! Someone else thinks that this would make a pretty cool storyline...yet despite X's eagerness to allow Y to go through with the consequences of their actions X isn't willing to go through with any himself.
...hopefully what I just wrote made sense, especially since it's currently 2:42am and I haven't slept yet. What I'm getting at, though, is that more people role-playing authority figures need to be able to compromise and take what they dish out when and where it's relevant. It's the least you can do if you're going out of your way to put your character in a position above many other people's characters.
I don't believe in equality in role-play (it'd be boring if every character was the same) but if you're going to embrace a role that carries weight then what I outlined above should be taken into consideration at every turn.
