(04-12-2015, 04:01 PM)Blue Wrote:Yeah, that's my mistake. You're right--you weren't actually arguing in favor of people playing Au Ra with the limited knowledge we have about them, because you still advocate for doing research. There wasn't even anything to research at all until very recently.(04-12-2015, 03:04 PM)Spiritual Machine Wrote:(04-12-2015, 01:35 PM)K Wrote:I don't think that was their point. They were actually rebutting the sentiment that people might be jumping the gun by roleplaying an Au Ra without knowing anything about what they are, where they come from, or even how they are named.(04-12-2015, 01:15 PM)Spiritual Machine Wrote:(04-12-2015, 06:41 AM)Blue Wrote: We should not forget that The Adventurer, whichever the race, is supposed to come from an unknown foreign land. This alone is a very valid excuse to RP a character which does not follow the typical culture of each specific race and clan. If you plan to RP X race hailing from Y land, then yeah, you need to do some research, but otherwise, everything is perfectly legit.We never learn anything about that Adventurer's past. So personally, I don't think that makes them a good example for a roleplay character.
Often at least, roleplayers like to ground their characters in history and lore, the depth and richness of which depends on how important it is to the character as well as the player.
Most definitely though, completely making things up does streamline the process of character creation. I think that's why it holds an intrinsic appeal to some people.
It's just a plot device to justify why you need everything explained to you for the sake of being expositional about the story and lore, that's all. No-one should really read into the actual situation of the PC itself. Having said that, I think Blue's point was simply that there are always exceptions to the rule.
When it comes to creating a character, I don't believe making more exceptions necessarily makes a character more exceptional. It goes beyond the traditional history of a race to found a character in their race's lore. Where a character has come from in society, tradition, family and values has an impact on the shape of a character's personality. These elements introduce the avenues and context by which a character relates to others and interprets the world around them.
Why nix all that and reduce a character's race to a cosmetic choice?
Actually, I was exactly making that point. If you don't want to wait for the lore, you can RP an Au Ra even now just by saying you're an adventurer from an unknown land. Exceptions are possible and very well allowed, it's not impossible.
I apologize for attributing that to you.
