My take on amnesia is it really depends on what type / how it's done?
Retrograde Amnesia I dare say isn't that uncommon given the tragedy that most adventuring age (and even below!) have gone through at this point. Â It's an easy way (thought cliche) to cover up sins in the past, though it doesn't prevent you from moving forward. Â All NPC's seem to have some form of Retrograde Amnesia in the fact that they can no longer recall anything about the warriors of light and other associated figures from pre-calamity.
Anterograde Amnesia can be -really- interesting. Â This is that after a certain point in time, no new long term memories are created. Â It would be very interesting to see a character facing this and struggling to get through it. Â You'd be able to remember immediate history, but after a certain point it'd just piff. Â That time frame seems to be different from individual to individual. Â Sometimes it's they can't remember yesterday but events of today are clear, sometimes weeks, sometimes moments (see Dory from Finding Nemo).
I've run into several characters in the past that had Anterograde Amnesia and it was handled pretty well. Â There's potential for good story in the coping mechanisms and the interactions with others, but you'd need to find a group of RPers to interact with that actually care about what that means. Â A touching moment, or a contact made only to have the importance and meaning being that lost in a day/weeks time can be traumatic for all involved, especially those that don't really understand what's going on. Â
In a sense as well, they're the perfect confidant / confessor as they won't remember what was told them anyway after a time.
I think with the right crowd (especially if you don't explain it all OOCly before hand) it could be a powerful story tool.
Retrograde Amnesia I dare say isn't that uncommon given the tragedy that most adventuring age (and even below!) have gone through at this point. Â It's an easy way (thought cliche) to cover up sins in the past, though it doesn't prevent you from moving forward. Â All NPC's seem to have some form of Retrograde Amnesia in the fact that they can no longer recall anything about the warriors of light and other associated figures from pre-calamity.
Anterograde Amnesia can be -really- interesting. Â This is that after a certain point in time, no new long term memories are created. Â It would be very interesting to see a character facing this and struggling to get through it. Â You'd be able to remember immediate history, but after a certain point it'd just piff. Â That time frame seems to be different from individual to individual. Â Sometimes it's they can't remember yesterday but events of today are clear, sometimes weeks, sometimes moments (see Dory from Finding Nemo).
I've run into several characters in the past that had Anterograde Amnesia and it was handled pretty well. Â There's potential for good story in the coping mechanisms and the interactions with others, but you'd need to find a group of RPers to interact with that actually care about what that means. Â A touching moment, or a contact made only to have the importance and meaning being that lost in a day/weeks time can be traumatic for all involved, especially those that don't really understand what's going on. Â
In a sense as well, they're the perfect confidant / confessor as they won't remember what was told them anyway after a time.
I think with the right crowd (especially if you don't explain it all OOCly before hand) it could be a powerful story tool.
