(09-21-2015, 08:44 AM)Kage Wrote: I'm really just hoping someone knows where it's really common and might give me a better understanding. Do you think it's common in LARP? Tabletop? Certain regions??
The last time I asked someone about why they roleplayed x way I got chewed out >.> When I literally just asked them "I'm curious and pretty new. Why do you do ___?"
Like I explained, in interactive roleplay (both tabletop and active; whether that's a book game, game, or instant messenger), the common form is that it's written in the present tense and conditionals are written in the future tense.
For example, the past tense, past conditional:
Ignacius drew his sword and tried to cut off Ziggy's head.
Doesn't work because it immediately implies Ignacius didn't cut his head off, which we (technically speaking) don't know yet (the sentence is in the past tense, action is in the present, and reaction is in the future).
The same example in full present is:
Ignacius draws his sword and tries to cut off Ziggy's head.
This works better, but still makes no sense if you actually cut off Ziggy's head. Â The operation on "try" makes it conditional without using a word like "would", but necessarily implies that Ziggy's head doesn't get cut off (in which case, he wouldn't be trying, he'd be doing).
Worse, this implies after reaction. Â If Ziggy is somehow dodging out of the way after Ignacius draws his sword, he's probably not going to make it. Â Ziggy, if he can, is going to GTFO before Ignacius is finished drawing his sword. Â A lot is happening there. Â However, according to the sentence, Ziggy is now reacting to Ignacius's attempt to cut off his head. Â Even if he is no longer there, even if he has his own sword out, even if his own sword is moving to cut off Ignacius's arm, by this point, Ignacius is locked into his action. Â No matter how ridiculous, the present action can't be changed. Â He is trying to cut off Ziggy's head whether Ziggy is there, his head is available, or not.
So the correct form implies the conditional future tense (and even in the previous example, we assume the future tense is implied by the verb "try"):
Ignacius draws his sword and would try to cut off Ziggy's head.
Or, more commonly:
Ignacius draws his sword and swings, intending to cut off Ziggy's head.
This has the benefit of being in the correct tense and implying a conditional future action. Â That way, if Ziggy happens to not have his head in front of Ignacius's sword, he can move or abort the action. Â He can make sure he moves to try to cut off Ziggy's head, or stop swinging even if his daughter jumps in front of Ziggy asking Ignacius to spare him (unlikely).
I hope that helps. Â It's a lot different from writing a short story. Â People can go one way or the other, but the most common is to RP in the present and set actions conditionally in the future if you feel they'll be contested (to avoid having your action "locked").
