(03-21-2015, 05:15 PM)Ravij Wrote:(03-21-2015, 04:46 PM)Meena Wrote: I will point out my observed experiences with roleplaying a Villain.
The issues stemming from the villain side in FFXIV is that everyone I and my friends have roleplayed with - being it in kidnapping, torture etc has never accepted to letting anything bad happen to their character.
it is -very- difficult to be a villain when people are not willing to deal with the consequences of being a target but expect you to be subjected to their point of view. Hence why the whole 'rape, torture' thing exists, you might see that more often than not due to the constraints on most players.
For example when A few friends of mine were interrogating a law enforcement character they refused to let maiming, damage - psychologicla or physical mark their character in a permanent way.
The street goes both ways, and for villains? because we are the bad guy - people want us to lose no matter what.
This right here. This makes it extremely difficult to play Villains in an MMO. It's exceedingly rare to find a group that will allow traumatic experiences or physical damage be dealt to them by a villain-like player.Â
I do think there is a limit that needs to be drawn on what can and cannot be done to a players character and what those people are comfortable with happening to their characters. An agreement and understanding of potential consequences should be listed before a dark or villain associated character becomes involved in a plot and it should definitely be discussed among the group as a whole before a specific plot is underway.
Communication with other players is a big key in playing a single Villain among a group of Heroes. Villain's need to say what can and cannot be done to their characters and vice-verse for those playing the Hero(es) before any serious plot delving begins. This can be done without divulging too much into weakness' and strengths and past history, giving room to develop both sides in an in character progression.
There needs to be equal progression on both sides with renewed ongoing conflict whether on a personal or combative level for both to succeed. No side can be deemed the victor in any given confrontation in order to have a successful ongoing plot until it does get to the point where the person playing the Villain deems it necessary for the end to come.
I agree with this -- to a degree. Communication is vital (shocking, I know) but I've never actually run into a problem with certain players outright refusing to let anything happen to their characters. It's possibly because I just flat out won't have anything to do with a character that doesn't 100% accept "IC actions = IC consequences." At least not on an antagonistic level. I mean, shit. My main guild back in GW2 had a problem where people were too eager to have dire shit done to their characters. I'm talking like, any time we had villain NPCs crop up people were losing limbs left and right. It was great.
Like if I'm planning a plot with someone while I'm working the antagonist front, I put possible outcomes out there immediately. As in: Your character may be subject to <x> and <y> but absolutely never <z>. If you are uncomfortable with any of these, please tell me now.Â
9 times out of 10 they've told me what is and is not acceptable right then and there. If they go back on it? Well, you simply let everyone know that the player is going back on what they agreed upon and never associate with them again.
A general rule of thumb is that you can't, or it's very hard, to play a good villain character without an absurd amount of communication done beforehand. Don't expect random Law Enforcer from the bar or the streets to be down with what you're doing. If you need to, don't do your shit in a place where they can see it. If it comes down to it and they still show up, send a message asking them to step away from it. If they still refuse, black list the jerk.Â
Basically, you need to be assertive as hell to play a good antagonist-type character. You've gotta have rules for people to go along with. You've also gotta be flexible because everyone has those same rules. Respect!
