(12-19-2017, 03:57 PM)Faye Wrote: Personally, I'd rather take the "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" approach than assume the worst up front and make others prove themselves otherwise to me before there's allowed to be any sort of IC conflict. Conflict is what fuels stories and while that conflict doesn't necessarily have to be with other player characters, that's a facet that's unique to role-play and worth exploring to most people. I understand it can be hard to gauge reactions sometimes and that some characters or the role-players behind them can be unpredictable, but I don't believe it's fair to do something that could likely cause conflict (talking about sensitive information, committing a crime, doing something insulting to other characters, etc.), but then refuse to accept any consequences or let the RP flow in its logical direction because of a desire to avoid said conflict.
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If someone wants to start conflict with my character and I think the prospects look grim for their character and they might not to take it well OOC, I shoot them a message about it OOC. If you think the RP might be approaching an iffy situation, you can reach out to the other person rather than expecting them to do it first. No one can know upfront what you are or aren't comfortable with, and while it never hurts to ask, something as mundane as eavesdropping on things that could be realistically heard by another character isn't something I feel should need them to check with you beforehand. You don't have to ignore people or make them prove themselves to you beforehand to avoid a potential bad situation that might never occur, you can just excuse yourself from the bad situation if and when it does happen. The great thing about RP and the internet in general is you can just walk away at any moment, retcon, blacklist if you have to.
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I had a feeling my potentially poor wording would be misconstrued in exactly this way if I didn't specify. I opted not to for feeling I was being too wordy or explaining the wrong things.
I usually do give everyone a chance without anyone needing to prove anything to me. When it comes to conflict, however, I want a chance to at least skim your character's wiki or Tumblr bio/info/history/backstory first. I'm going to paraphrase here but over the years I have seen the following:
- A sniper who never misses. This was a sniper with a gun, by the way, not some Robin Hood wanting to win every archery contest.
- The most powerful mage in the world. This was their setting but this was their PC not an NPC or villain.
- A character in their early 20s who was well-versed in every known type of magic. The setting stated that some of these types of magic were rare or unique to certain parts of the world.
- A character who was a good enough fighter that they never lost. They were literally saying if you fought them they wouldn't lose.