New RPer Help. Good and Bad guys?

[Skye Noctis]

Thank you all for the responses!

It's a shame that RP is viewed the way it is. I was hoping things were a bit more free and fluid. 

 

I guess when I start and try out roleplaying I will just need to prepare myself for a more casual experience and see how I get on. 

I can't help feeling that anyone wanting to be a little below the law, even if it's just brief, would immediately get swamped and given the ultimatum of 'jail forever, or execution'. There seems to be a lack of empathy to anyone wanting to have a little fun and give protagonists something interesting to deal with. 

 

On WoW if you wanted to play a criminal, then when you inevitably get caught (which makes for interesting RP anyway) you'll go to jail. Log off and come back in a day or so. And if you didn't take the piss and actually behaved for a bit that was more or less it. this is an example of course for theft or assault. Actual murder or along those lines is more frowned upon I'll agree.

 

But the way you guys have talked about it, any punishment is supposed to replicate real life, or at least real life in medieval times. Aka life in prison or death. I don't see much empathy for someone wanting to add a little spice to life.

[Zhavi]

Thank you all for the responses!

It's a shame that RP is viewed the way it is. I was hoping things were a bit more free and fluid. 

 

I guess when I start and try out roleplaying I will just need to prepare myself for a more casual experience and see how I get on. 

I can't help feeling that anyone wanting to be a little below the law, even if it's just brief, would immediately get swamped and given the ultimatum of 'jail forever, or execution'. There seems to be a lack of empathy to anyone wanting to have a little fun and give protagonists something interesting to deal with. 

 

On WoW if you wanted to play a criminal, then when you inevitably get caught (which makes for interesting RP anyway) you'll go to jail. Log off and come back in a day or so. And if you didn't take the piss and actually behaved for a bit that was more or less it. this is an example of course for theft or assault. Actual murder or along those lines is more frowned upon I'll agree.

 

But the way you guys have talked about it, any punishment is supposed to replicate real life, or at least real life in medieval times. Aka life in prison or death. I don't see much empathy for someone wanting to add a little spice to life.

 

My advice is to get to know people and set up stuff privately if you wanna avoid the grab-bag that can be public opinion. There's always someone willing!

[Melkire]

As has already been mentioned, there's a common theme throughout fiction that gets brought forward into the limelight in certain genres (heist, noir in general, etc.):

 

Smart criminals don't advertise. Most of the time, you only catch the dumb ones.

 

Substitute "villains" for "criminals" and you have the fundamental problem with "bad guy RP," which is that the overt ones don't last long and the covert ones don't get noticed. This is further compounded by hero types outnumbering villain types, which only incentivizes more caution and discretion on the villain's part. This is even FURTHER compounded by competing interests in conflict resolution, and that gets more complicated in an open setting compared to a private one.

 

Sadly, villains in FFXIV RP work best as one-shots or as central figures in a private storyline with a DM a la pen-and-paper gaming. That's not to say that a villain in an open setting doesn't work. It just takes a lot more effort (planning, communication, inevitable drama, and so on). A lot of that is owed to the gravity placed upon criminal or morally reprehensible activities in XIV's RP scene. There's an appreciation for the significance and "weightiness" of murder, for instance, that parallels and is most likely drawn from attitudes on display in FFXIV's Main Story Quests.

[Kieron Lohengrin]

Genocidal murdermongerer like Thordan and Zenos = gets spanked and made into heroes' little bitch

 

Semi-nakama bumblefuck like Gilgamesh = beloved by all and sundry

 

You do the math

[Arashin Kujqai]

Genocidal murdermongerer like Thordan and Zenos = gets spanked and made into heroes' little bitch

 

Semi-nakama bumblefuck like Gilgamesh = beloved by all and sundry

 

You do the math

That kinda falls in line with what I was saying about the concept of "Villains" Vs "Rivals". Gilgamesh isn't inherently a bad guy from what I can tell, just like the asshole from the lancer questline. He may have been an opponent(and died too, geez no one gets breaks huh?) that disagreed with the lancer guild's concepts but he wasn't out committing crimes or planning schemes. Just simply someone who opposed proper training and the guild + wanted to prove true strength through his dumbass means.

 

Really wish there could be some middle line drawn here as I'd love to find a villain of course as everyone's stated above, I'm sure every noble would love to.

[Erah'sae]

Thank you all for the responses!

It's a shame that RP is viewed the way it is. I was hoping things were a bit more free and fluid. 

 

I guess when I start and try out roleplaying I will just need to prepare myself for a more casual experience and see how I get on. 

I can't help feeling that anyone wanting to be a little below the law, even if it's just brief, would immediately get swamped and given the ultimatum of 'jail forever, or execution'. There seems to be a lack of empathy to anyone wanting to have a little fun and give protagonists something interesting to deal with. 

 

On WoW if you wanted to play a criminal, then when you inevitably get caught (which makes for interesting RP anyway) you'll go to jail. Log off and come back in a day or so. And if you didn't take the piss and actually behaved for a bit that was more or less it. this is an example of course for theft or assault. Actual murder or along those lines is more frowned upon I'll agree.

 

But the way you guys have talked about it, any punishment is supposed to replicate real life, or at least real life in medieval times. Aka life in prison or death. I don't see much empathy for someone wanting to add a little spice to life.

 

I've had a day, (sewage backing up into the master bathroom will do that...)  so I'm going to possibly come off wrong and probably ramble a bit.  If so oh well, I tried...

 

So I see I took your initial statement wrong, and it's not 'villain' it's random criminal RP you're looking to inflict upon others.

 

Here's the thing...  One person's 'a little fun' often ends up being annoying for other people who are involved in other things.  Often it's not spice if it's not consensual, it's irksome.  It's cliche.

 

If you want to give a protagonist something to do, talk to them.  Become a proper antagonist.  Just remember in character actions bear in character repercussions and have a grand time.

 

On the repercussions, there is only so many times you can say "Have your night in jail for x crime" and then have someone do it again before you just... give up.

 

You mention WoW as being more empathetic... I can tell you on WoW, it wasn't so much empathy on both servers I played on for a decade... it was us getting jaded.  It got bad enough to where we just started ignoring it.  Things like "Oh, someone's poisoned the bar's drinks again.   Good thing we have that decoy stash."  or  "Oh, someone's burned the orphanage down again... does anyone even use that thing anymore?" became stock responses.  I really wish I was kidding.   The guard guilds more or less collapsed because of the annoyance that is random criminal rp that never learns.

 

If you want to play a little 'beneath the law' there are ways to do it.  The thread is full of them.