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Kage · **09-21-2015, 07:43 AM**

I've finally decided to ask.

What is the reason why some roleplayers I've found are more likely to use future tense? In some or all of the cases, it's not even about compromising whether or not the other roleplayer they are interacting with will allow an action.

Sometimes it's just:

Quote:Kage Kiryuu would throw himself at the ground and then tackle the others' feet in an attempt to make him stumble.

Is this a common way to speak / roleplay in tabletop? Where does the future tense usage come from?

Edit: I've emphasized a point that has been brought up already. I know this. That's why I already mentioned it and now I've bolded it.

Aaron · **09-21-2015, 07:48 AM**

So people dont accuse you of godmodding for.. No reason other than to just be difficult.

Future tense leaves the other person open to react however they please rather than taking what you did because you used present or past tense.

Virella · **09-21-2015, 07:51 AM**

Being an EU wow roleplayer. We only roleplayed in future tense, it was mind blowing to see people roleplay in past tense. I quickly enough adjusted though, I wouldn't know how to do it any more in present tense!

That said, it sometimes pops up during emote battles, as indeed, you give people more of an opening to react onto stuff.

Gegenji · **09-21-2015, 07:53 AM**

That's how I've always seen this being used as well. It's saying that - if the other person in the RP allows it - this is what would happen. If not blocked or dodged, this punch would strike them in the jaw. He would move to wrap his arm arm around her waist. Implying intent of action without flat-out stating it is what happens in order to give the other person more agency in said action.

Kage · **09-21-2015, 07:56 AM**

(09-21-2015, 07:48 AM)Aaron Wrote: So people dont accuse you of godmodding for.. No reason other than to just be difficult.

Future tense leaves the other person open to react however they please rather than taking what you did because you used present or past tense.

(09-21-2015, 07:53 AM)Gegenji Wrote: That's how I've always seen this being used as well. It's saying that - if the other person in the RP allows it - this is what would happen. If not blocked or dodged, this punch would strike them in the jaw. He would move to wrap his arm arm around her waist. Implying intent of action without flat-out stating it is what happens in order to give the other person more agency in said action.

I've already addressed this in the opening post, as some people do it outside of just making sure that they're not taking away the other roleplayers' agency. They use it for everything.

These are cases were someone is going to do it. There's no ifs, ands or buts. There's no other person that would be there to say "NO YOU CAN'T WALK DOWN THIS STREET I HAVE AGENCY OVER THIS."

It's just seeing... "She would go to the store and see if there were apples in stock."

She's going to go to the store.

***Maril*** · **09-21-2015, 07:58 AM**

These days I use past tense as much as I use present tense. I used to think past tense looked /really/ odd when I came to Balmung, and how exactly I changed, I'm not sure. Future tense I use sometimes when I am following up on an action in the same emote, usually happens during combat or similar situations where explaining what your character would do with a lead up move is going to be too confusing in a new emote some 4-5 minutes later (since fights can be at a slower pace). The would comes in as me presenting how it would be if the action succeeds, I suppose to give the other player something more to work with, especially if the lead up looks really weird. It can also be a way to communicate to the other player that everything you do is interrupt-able, and you would acknowledge the interrupt because there's no possible situation where they'd dodge it. That's my take on it anyways.

ETA: Forces of habit can be really strong as well, sometimes they just don't make sense.

Kage · **09-21-2015, 08:08 AM**

(09-21-2015, 07:58 AM)Nailah Wrote: ETA: Forces of habit can be really strong as well, sometimes they just don't make sense.

I'm curious though, where does this habit come from?

I roleplay using a mix of present or past tense depending on who I'm with. If the majority uses present tense I go with that. I'm more pre-disposed to past tense because that's how I prefer stories I read to be in. I can understand present tense. I can see, though I believe it's perfectly doable to write such a way in both present and past tense, the usage of future tense for combat or where in cases of agency might come out.

But I've also seen this a -lot- more in places where there is no need for it and it confuses me.

Warren Castille · **09-21-2015, 08:12 AM**

I always saw the usage as denoting intent without forcing an action. It's kind of like putting an action on the stack, to borrow the term from Magic: The Gathering.

Action: Warren would attempt to trip his opponent.
Reaction: His opponent blah blah blahs, result occurs.

It's basically saying "this is what will happen unless something else stops it." Admittedly, I'm viewing this through the lens of the Grindstone, where this sort of thing happens fairly regularly.

Gegenji · **09-21-2015, 08:14 AM**

(09-21-2015, 07:56 AM)Kage Wrote: It's just seeing... "She would go to the store and see if there were apples in stock."

She's going to go to the store.

Apologies, I read the now-emphasized line but then saw your quote - which was of a combat-oriented nature - and assumed that was the sort of situation you meant.

If they're using it all the time, perhaps that's just the style they're going for (like speaking in past and present tense) or - as you surmised - something instilled in them from another manner of RP. Maybe they're from situations where you have to leave everything open to the agency of others, so that going to the store could and likely might get interrupted by something else. You could argue quite easily that just saying they are going to the store to buy apples in a present tense would work just as well, though...

I haven't really seen it much myself, so I can't do much more than make guesses. Blush

Saravahn · **09-21-2015, 08:22 AM**

I just use present tense.

"Blah blah walks to the bar and takes a seat."

If my action imposes on another character in some way, I add "in an attempt to"...

"Bob swings his sword in an attempt to hack off Jim's arm."

If my action effects another character but it is nothing detrimental, I just do it.

"Bob pats Jim on the shoulder and nods......"

No one has complained to me about it yet.

Kage · **09-21-2015, 08:25 AM**

(09-21-2015, 08:14 AM)Gegenji Wrote:
(09-21-2015, 07:56 AM)Kage Wrote: It's just seeing... "She would go to the store and see if there were apples in stock."

She's going to go to the store.

Apologies, I read the now-emphasized line but then saw your quote - which was of a combat-oriented nature - and assumed that was the sort of situation you meant.

But even in my coded version, there's nothing that makes it better with the use of "would" in that phrase. There is nothing that this follows except following the other roleplayers' actions. Throwing yourself at the ground will happen. It's going to happen. In such a case it's not about agency but whether or the other player is going to stop it from happening.

What is the difference between

Code: (Select All)

Kage would throw himself at the ground and attempt to grab his legs.

and

Code: (Select All)

Kage threw himself at the ground and tried to grab his legs.

Both still give the other roleplayer a way to stop him.

Code: (Select All)

When the Lalafell would throw himself at the ground, Balthazar would kick him in midair.

or

Code: (Select All)

Balthazar was ready and when the lalafell tried to grab his legs, Balthazar kicked out with a leg, trying to knock Kage back and stop the lalafell in his tracks.

Gegenji · **09-21-2015, 08:36 AM**

(09-21-2015, 08:25 AM)Kage Wrote: But even in my coded version, there's nothing that makes it better with the use of "would" in that phrase. There is nothing that this follows except following the other roleplayers' actions. Throwing yourself at the ground will happen. It's going to happen. In such a case it's not about agency but whether or the other player is going to stop it from happening.

You make a good point, which leads me to believe it is likely just a style of presenting the action - as much as someone would emote in present or past tense - which could be an ingrained habit from some other manner of play. Maybe they're from a LARP group that often states what they WILL be doing instead of what they ARE doing, I dunno. Perhaps the best course of action would be to find someone who writes in future tense on a regular basis and ask why they do that. [sub]V[/sub][sup] Blush

[/sup][sub]V[/sub]

Kage · **09-21-2015, 08:44 AM**

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 ___?"

LiadansWhisper · **09-21-2015, 08:47 AM**

I use present tense, because it's the only one that makes sense to me.

Future tense makes my eye twitch.

Edited to add: It's not common in LARPs ot tabletop games I have been a part of.

Vyce · **09-21-2015, 08:53 AM**

(09-21-2015, 07:56 AM)Kage Wrote:
(09-21-2015, 07:48 AM)Aaron Wrote: So people dont accuse you of godmodding for.. No reason other than to just be difficult.

Future tense leaves the other person open to react however they please rather than taking what you did because you used present or past tense.

(09-21-2015, 07:53 AM)Gegenji Wrote: That's how I've always seen this being used as well. It's saying that - if the other person in the RP allows it - this is what would happen. If not blocked or dodged, this punch would strike them in the jaw. He would move to wrap his arm arm around her waist. Implying intent of action without flat-out stating it is what happens in order to give the other person more agency in said action.

I've already addressed this in the opening post, as some people do it outside of just making sure that they're not taking away the other roleplayers' agency. They use it for everything.

These are cases were someone is going to do it. There's no ifs, ands or buts. There's no other person that would be there to say "NO YOU CAN'T WALK DOWN THIS STREET I HAVE AGENCY OVER THIS."

It's just seeing... "She would go to the store and see if there were apples in stock."

She's going to go to the store.

Except that she might not go to the store if someone in the alley grabbed her and pulled her away into the shadows never to be seen again.

Using future tense leaves an opening for more to happen. Adventurous RPers that are open to random encounters and unexpected things happening often use future tense in actions that could well be interrupted because they see the opportunity for the RP to be more than just apples.

Another alternative is that you grab her arm and tell her to stay with you longer. She WOULD go to the store IF nothing prevents her from doing it right now.

Future tense is used as a courtesy to others around that opens up the possibility of a change.

Present tense uses a lot of absolutes:

"She eats the apple." cannot be interrupted, because the moment you post it, the action is finished. You cannot interrupt the eating of the apple because she ate it.

"She is eating the apple" is better, because the action can be changed, but you cannot change that she was eating it.

"She ate the apple" is self explanatory. There is not a whole lot of difference between past tense and present absolute.

"She would eat the apple" can be allowed, prevented, or altered. Future tense creates the most opportunity for diversion.

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The Usage of Future Tense

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes