(09-02-2013, 01:08 PM)Knahli Wrote: Apologies for asking, Wizard, but could you clarify to me what exactly your idea is then? Are you against having a global goal and situation because it excludes new RPers and suggest that those scenes should be interpreted some other way by us as individuals(but also in a way that won't collide)?
Yes, that's exactly it. I think that individual players should make generic or exclude from their RPed storylines those things in the SE storyline that only one, or only a small group of characters can do. For example, taking down Nael was something that "some heroes did" and that you heard about -- not something that any PC did. If you wanted to do that content IC, you'd just say you were taking on some other ranking Garlean official who'd been Tempered. If in the storyline, your character is invited to a state dinner with the Admiral, either that doesn't happen or your character just received some honor from Limsa Lominsa for service as an adventurer, possibly at a dinner. In contrast, things that any PC can do or be (have the Echo, fight a Primal, be at Carteneau) can be RPed as they're presented by the game's story.
With this approach, you don't need IC or OOC coordinators; players decide for themselves where the "bright line" is, and if someone goes too far? Well, you can just RP that they're crazy, accept it as true, or ignore it as you and your character see fit. The power lies in the hands of the players to decide to what they want to consent.
The reason I'm opposed to deciding that some characters get to do some special things in the plot is that it's ultimately exclusionary to newer players, per the example I provided. It's also exclusionary to more introverted players, those who aren't well-liked in the community, and even those who simply aren't on these forums. I'm especially opposed to "community fanon" that drives the plot forward, as it impacts the ability of any player to play what they want, so long as it coincides with the lore established by SE. It also establishes that some characters are the "main characters," and others are merely extras in their story. I'm wildly opposed to any "community fanon" that established "player-run" areas, positions of power, "approved" interpretations of lore, and the like, because that establishes a hierarchy of power in the RP community and is exceedingly exclusionary to new players.
Now, all that said, of course any group of players can do whatever they like. However, if a large enough group of people get behind the idea, they inevitably cause a schism in the RP community between those who accept the asserted OOC authority to establish who did what in the main scenario quest and those who state that no one has that power except for SE. These schisms are obscenely ugly and tend to rip communities apart. That's why I feel it's unwise to go down this road. IMO, those who want to do this should form their own FC or LS and keep their PC-driven interpretation of the story private; it shouldn't leak out into RP with others. Some very successful guilds have done this in the past, so it's not impossible.
To turn this full circle, with regards to large-scale "server-wide" RP story arcs, the biggest problem those have is getting anyone to agree on them. We have FCs that can't even agree on the tone of the setting; getting them to agree on a story arc is probably nigh on impossible.
The best approach, I think, is to offer a place where people can say, "You may have heard that this happened," and let others approach if they want to get involved or choose to take it IC, or not, as they see fit. I think the Tonberry's Lantern fits that bill exactly.
The Freelance Wizard
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
