Awww, 11 pages already? Too bad I didn't get to post earlier. I suppose it will be lost in the sea of discussion but here goes anyway. I'll be writing this post blind, as in not reading any of the other prior posts. That way, I can speak without forming any biases.
That said, what did I vote for? I'll get to that in a bit but first I would like to start off with the question: when these topics are asked in RP communities why is combat ability and power always focused on? This isn't a question directed at the participants in this thread nor is it directed at Sasha Rochester, the OP. It is directed to everyone in RP community and those that extend beyond RPC.
I do appreciate Sasha Rochester's wording here. She uses 'achievement' and not 'levels' or 'power level' or something of the equivalent. What about wisdom and charisma? The ability to settle disputes through pacifism? Wit and trickery? The ability to silently stealth past any threat? The ability to lead effectively? Survival skills? Etc.
It's a question that gets asked at least once in RP communities' forums. Though, I am grateful that the RPC seems to focus less on RP combat then other discussion boards. When a character can solve everything with combat skills, in general I think it makes the RP feel less fun. Sometimes, combat can't win over a situation. For a character who is proficient with combat might have character flaws to make up for it that make them interesting character.
Being good at combat, just for the sake of it just doesn't interest me. There needs to be more to the character than that.
What did I vote then? I voted "No, it doesn't matter."
What matters is writing ability. I can believe someone is strong if they are written to be in a believable way. The better able someone is to convince through writing that their characters strong, the more I will believe them. Leveling, raids, PVP, none of this matters in the end. If a role player doesn't have the writing ability to back it up, no amount of PVP is going to make me think that your character is capable or awesome.
Beyond that, I can't explain further because it becomes a matter of preference. Some role players put what happens in the game first and what is written by other players second. That is a legitimate preference that I can't deny.
But it's just not something I can connect with for my own preference. Much of RP is dependent upon writing and social interaction. If you don't have those things then you don't have RP. It's that simple.
I would like to close out this post with giving a positive example of a character and role player who can lend himself to both sides of the argument. He is a terror in PVP and raids actively. He is also a very capable and strong writer with a well-balanced character. His character has been portrayed very clearly to be a power house and he has several character flaws and strengths to help balance that out. His name is Zaius Rhal'seer.Â
His character is both strong in game and is strong through his writing. We can believe that his character has power because it is such a focus in how he RP's the character and in Zaius's own story. However, through writing, we get the idea that having Zaius' power wouldn't be all that it is cracked up to be. There are very serious drawbacks for the kind of power that he has been able to achieve. They are constantly a factor in RP.
Though, perhaps if you are strong with writing AND have very capable in game accomplishments, it may even give your character more credit.
That said, what did I vote for? I'll get to that in a bit but first I would like to start off with the question: when these topics are asked in RP communities why is combat ability and power always focused on? This isn't a question directed at the participants in this thread nor is it directed at Sasha Rochester, the OP. It is directed to everyone in RP community and those that extend beyond RPC.
I do appreciate Sasha Rochester's wording here. She uses 'achievement' and not 'levels' or 'power level' or something of the equivalent. What about wisdom and charisma? The ability to settle disputes through pacifism? Wit and trickery? The ability to silently stealth past any threat? The ability to lead effectively? Survival skills? Etc.
It's a question that gets asked at least once in RP communities' forums. Though, I am grateful that the RPC seems to focus less on RP combat then other discussion boards. When a character can solve everything with combat skills, in general I think it makes the RP feel less fun. Sometimes, combat can't win over a situation. For a character who is proficient with combat might have character flaws to make up for it that make them interesting character.
Being good at combat, just for the sake of it just doesn't interest me. There needs to be more to the character than that.
What did I vote then? I voted "No, it doesn't matter."
What matters is writing ability. I can believe someone is strong if they are written to be in a believable way. The better able someone is to convince through writing that their characters strong, the more I will believe them. Leveling, raids, PVP, none of this matters in the end. If a role player doesn't have the writing ability to back it up, no amount of PVP is going to make me think that your character is capable or awesome.
Beyond that, I can't explain further because it becomes a matter of preference. Some role players put what happens in the game first and what is written by other players second. That is a legitimate preference that I can't deny.
But it's just not something I can connect with for my own preference. Much of RP is dependent upon writing and social interaction. If you don't have those things then you don't have RP. It's that simple.
I would like to close out this post with giving a positive example of a character and role player who can lend himself to both sides of the argument. He is a terror in PVP and raids actively. He is also a very capable and strong writer with a well-balanced character. His character has been portrayed very clearly to be a power house and he has several character flaws and strengths to help balance that out. His name is Zaius Rhal'seer.Â
His character is both strong in game and is strong through his writing. We can believe that his character has power because it is such a focus in how he RP's the character and in Zaius's own story. However, through writing, we get the idea that having Zaius' power wouldn't be all that it is cracked up to be. There are very serious drawbacks for the kind of power that he has been able to achieve. They are constantly a factor in RP.
Though, perhaps if you are strong with writing AND have very capable in game accomplishments, it may even give your character more credit.
