Why I love it when other RPers crash my scene

[C'io Behkt]

... and why I crash their scenes too, I suppose, .

 

I've been writing a lot lately about how much I enjoy it when the RPers around me engage in very adaptive and open roleplay. I find people who are open to be the most enjoyable to play with. By open I mean someone who can adapt to the situation fluidly regardless of who walks in, where the conversation turns, or how many mobs suddenly spawn under our feet. I've been saying that for years, but I've never really had a great archived example of what I meant... until now.

 

Here is every reason for why I love just playing with what I'm given and why I think everyone should accept the random, no matter how random.

 

So there I am, watching my group bicker (in character) about how to get into the Temple of Akargon to retrieve the Rod of Improbability that's rumored to be there. The little one (she's 7), comes in from the next room, taps on one of my player's shoulder to get his attention, and says "I've got the key I can sell you."

 

Now, most groups would probably drop out of "game mode" at this point, humor her, and get back to playing. I don't play with most groups.

 

The player says to her (still in character) "What do you want for it?"

 

"Five thousand gold" she replies, "and an ice cream cone."

 

"An ice cream cone?! What's that? More to the point, where do I find one."

 

"There's an ice cream store over near the school, but they're closed now."

 

"What if I just give you six thousand gold instead?"

 

"Okay, six thousand gold...and an ice cream cone."

 

"No. No. I meant six thousand gold and no ice cream."

 

"No ice cream, no key." she says with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

 

"I'm not sure it's worth it. We could just kick the door down."

 

"If you don't have the key, the guards will kill you. They're really tough. You'll never get to the door to kick it."

 

"According to our sources, there are no guards. Besides, a few soldiers shouldn't be much of a problem."

 

"They're statues that come to life if you don't have the key." [note: this is news to me]

 

"We can handle a couple statues if we have to."

 

"There's a thousand of them."

 

Another player chimes in (also in character). "If she's even half-right, we're going to need that key. I say we get her her ice cream. We're wasting time."

 

First player: "Okay, little one, we'll get you some ice cream. How do we find you when we've got it?"

 

"I live here, silly. I'll be in my room." She says, and heads off. [another note: the characters were having this conversation in a burned out ruin in the middle of a barren wasteland]

 

The characters head off on a quest for ice cream (minus one player, who went to the store to buy ice cream and cones).

 

Just thought I'd share.

 

You can look at the source here.

[Gideon Aryeh]

Being a proud blackbelt of what I like to call freeform improv rp I endorse this 10,000 percent!

[Naunet]

That is adorable, and yes - impromptu "crashing" of rp scenes can be quite fun (within reason)!

[Twinflame]

Absolutely love it. A very cute story, and that sounds like it would be a great group of folk to game with.

[Maeve]

I love your post and firmly believe being adaptive and open-minded to new encounters is really important in RP. I like to immerse myself in the game world, and thus when another roleplayer enters the scene or does something to draw my attention I always try to react IC and see where it goes. 

 

If I am in a public space I'm open to rp. If I want private rp I go to an instance (gw2 example) or my home (aka eq2)where I know I won't get disturbed. Otherwise, if you see Maeve around inworld you can count that I will respond to your emote or rp 'crashing'.  It makes the whole world seem more alive and more life-like.

[Eva]

Cute. :lol:

 

I've never really known many RPers that wouldn't just "roll with it" like that, but I guess they're out there too. Kudos for sharing! I'm a fan of when RP just sort of happens sporadically like that and things take unpredictable and wonderful detours!!

[Xenedra]

So much yes on this. It's why giant RPC communities are the beeeest

[Kyatai]

Omg, C'io that is just adorable...

 

Here, give her  chocobo too! :chocobo: Just for being so creative and cute.

And +5 to your RP crew for rolling with it!

 

 

And yes. I am a definite supporter of spontaneous, off-the-cuff RP.

Bring it on!

[C'io Behkt]

Hehe, I wish this was my daughter and RP crew. It isn't. Someone from my tabletop group posted this on Facebook today and it encompassed everything I love about open roleplay that I knew I had to broadcast it, .

 

If I do have a daughter, I know I'm going to raise her to want 5,000 gold and an ice cream cone.

[K'nahli]

Hahahaha, that is insanely adorable. I can't believe people actually remained in character through that, have to respect them playing on such a silly whim like that.

 

"There's an ice cream store over near the school, but they're closed now."

 

"What if I just give you six thousand gold instead?"

 

"Okay, six thousand gold...and an ice cream cone."

 

That...was...quality.

[Abaigeal]

That is way way too adorable. 

 

Bet shell make one hell of an rper!!

[Saefinn]

When I've tried RPing before I've always been worried about 'crashing' other people's RP, but this convinces me that it's a good idea. Being spontaneous is so much more fun. Thanks for sharing.

[Nox]

So much yes on this. It's why giant RPC communities are the beeeest

 

My thoughts exactly. So long as the crashing is well thought out, of course. There are some events that I wouldn't get in the middle of, of course.

[Aysun]

One of the many reasons I can't wait to be back in game RPing!

[K'nahli]

Intervening worries me a little. I'd like to try and do it if I think my character would naturally involve themselves but I'd be worried about upsetting the actual RP'ers.

 

"Why is this guy barging into our scene and spoiling the moment..?"

[C'io Behkt]

Intervening worries me a little. I'd like to try and do it if I think my character would naturally involve themselves but I'd be worried about upsetting the actual RP'ers.

 

"Why is this guy barging into our scene and spoiling the moment..?"

 

I wouldn't really worry too much about that; I'd like to think that most RPers are very open to being interrupted by roleplay. After all, that's why they're sitting around and typing instead of throwing fireballs at monsters, right? Sometimes "the moment" is made by people inserting themselves into the scene, so if you're scared of spoiling "the moment"... also consider that you may be denying them another "moment" by not doing what your character would do -- butt in.

[Navei]

A lot of my early entries into RP have been through impromptu meetings. It was always a mix of one thing leads to another sorta deal. I enjoyed your post though, it makes me look forward to meeting a few more folks. 

 

:cactuar:

[FreelanceWizard]

Intervening worries me a little. I'd like to try and do it if I think my character would naturally involve themselves but I'd be worried about upsetting the actual RP'ers.

 

"Why is this guy barging into our scene and spoiling the moment..?"

 

I'm going to be angry and soapbox-y here for a minute (again, actually ) -- not at you, but at the people who engage in behavior like your italicized quote and have promoted it as acceptable behavior. This whole concept of "you're barging into my public scene and that's not okay" needs to be crushed, smashed, incinerated, and tossed into the depths of the sea, because it's a toxic, evil concept that starts RP communities down the road to ruin.

 

If a group of people are RPing in public, their characters are in public*. The IC consequence for their IC action is that people might come up and engage them. If they get angry at you OOC for doing so, if they think you're barging into their scene and ruining it, if they act like it's some huge imposition for you to talk to them (OOC): they're bad RPers, period. They're ignoring ICA=ICC, they're non-consenting things that exist in the world, they're not keeping the IC/OOC line, and they're being cliquish jerks besides.

 

So -- get involved. Talk to people. (Feel free to interact with my character anytime, anywhere. ) Don't worry about people getting angry at you for doing so, because the good RPers will welcome your contribution, and you don't want to RP with the bad ones anyway. You may not always get the IC reaction you want, but a good RPer is going to RP with you.

 

(* - Public being defined as "obviously public." There's public, and then there's not exactly public, and that's a function of how far away are they from where people normally are and whether they're using private channels like /party. Good judgment applies and a /tell can clarify things if need be.)

[K'nahli]

Intervening worries me a little. I'd like to try and do it if I think my character would naturally involve themselves but I'd be worried about upsetting the actual RP'ers.

 

"Why is this guy barging into our scene and spoiling the moment..?"

 

I'm going to be angry and soapbox-y here for a minute (again, actually ) -- not at you, but at the people who engage in behavior like your italicized quote and have promoted it as acceptable behavior. This whole concept of "you're barging into my public scene and that's not okay" needs to be crushed, smashed, incinerated, and tossed into the depths of the sea, because it's a toxic, evil concept that starts RP communities down the road to ruin.

 

If a group of people are RPing in public, their characters are in public*. The IC consequence for their IC action is that people might come up and engage them. If they get angry at you OOC for doing so, if they think you're barging into their scene and ruining it, if they act like it's some huge imposition for you to talk to them (OOC): they're bad RPers, period. They're ignoring ICA=ICC, they're non-consenting things that exist in the world, they're not keeping the IC/OOC line, and they're being cliquish jerks besides.

 

So -- get involved. Talk to people. (Feel free to interact with my character anytime, anywhere. ) Don't worry about people getting angry at you for doing so, because the good RPers will welcome your contribution, and you don't want to RP with the bad ones anyway. You may not always get the IC reaction you want, but a good RPer is going to RP with you.

 

(* - Public being defined as "obviously public." There's public, and then there's not exactly public, and that's a function of how far away are they from where people normally are and whether they're using private channels like /party. Good judgment applies and a /tell can clarify things if need be.)

 

Ehehe, thank you, but it's not even about them being vocal. I'd be worried they were silently thinking something similar even if they politely reacted accordingly IC. I tend to be like that and I will especially be worrysome at first since this is a very new experience to me ^^"

[Gideon Aryeh]

Intervening worries me a little. I'd like to try and do it if I think my character would naturally involve themselves but I'd be worried about upsetting the actual RP'ers.

 

"Why is this guy barging into our scene and spoiling the moment..?"

 

I'm going to be angry and soapbox-y here for a minute (again, actually ) -- not at you, but at the people who engage in behavior like your italicized quote and have promoted it as acceptable behavior. This whole concept of "you're barging into my public scene and that's not okay" needs to be crushed, smashed, incinerated, and tossed into the depths of the sea, because it's a toxic, evil concept that starts RP communities down the road to ruin.

 

If a group of people are RPing in public, their characters are in public*. The IC consequence for their IC action is that people might come up and engage them. If they get angry at you OOC for doing so, if they think you're barging into their scene and ruining it, if they act like it's some huge imposition for you to talk to them (OOC): they're bad RPers, period. They're ignoring ICA=ICC, they're non-consenting things that exist in the world, they're not keeping the IC/OOC line, and they're being cliquish jerks besides.

 

So -- get involved. Talk to people. (Feel free to interact with my character anytime, anywhere. ) Don't worry about people getting angry at you for doing so, because the good RPers will welcome your contribution, and you don't want to RP with the bad ones anyway. You may not always get the IC reaction you want, but a good RPer is going to RP with you.

 

(* - Public being defined as "obviously public." There's public, and then there's not exactly public, and that's a function of how far away are they from where people normally are and whether they're using private channels like /party. Good judgment applies and a /tell can clarify things if need be.)

 AMEN! SIR, AMEN!

 

I 10000 percent agree wit this. If you are participating in public rp and you ignore on someone on purpose YOU ARE A BAD ROLEPLAYER! Yes yes you are!

 

*mumbles: Shoot don't be bringing that cliquish crap to the server I'm playing on I'll tell you that...

[FreelanceWizard]

Ehehe, thank you, but it's not even about them being vocal. I'd be worried they were silently thinking something similar even if they politely reacted accordingly IC. I tend to be like that and I will especially be worrysome at first since this is a very new experience to me ^^"

 

Rest assured, almost every RPer won't be. They'll be glad to have your addition to the RP!

[Ellie]

Personally, I don't feel like being annoyed that someone jumped into your RP without making sure it's okay with the group necessarily makes you a bad roleplayer. Not all private roleplays start out private, and people have been known to use public areas to represent private areas that cannot be accessed. (People's houses for instance)

 

Not to mention that just jumping in like you own the place would seem a bit rude to anyone, and for all they know you could be another griefer (they've been known to jump in pretending they're going to play along and end up doing something ridiculous like undressing their characters and doing inappropriate things to your character).

 

Simply sending an OOC message or a /tell asking if it's alright to join in wouldn't hurt you anybody else, and it shows that you respect their space. You'll be treated with less hesitation and annoyance, and you'll find that people rarely refuse to let you play.

 

Some people like jumping in, and that's fine, but you probably shouldn't expect everyone to be okay with it, and you definitely shouldn't write anyone who isn't off as a bad roleplayer.

[Gideon Aryeh]

Personally, I don't feel like being annoyed that someone jumped into your RP without making sure it's okay with the group necessarily makes you a bad roleplayer. Not all private roleplays start out private, and people have been known to use public areas to represent private areas that cannot be accessed. (People's houses for instance)

 

Not to mention that just jumping in like you own the place would seem a bit rude to anyone, and for all they know you could be another griefer (they've been known to jump in pretending they're going to play along and end up doing something ridiculous like undressing their characters and doing inappropriate things to your character).

 

Simply sending an OOC message or a /tell asking if it's alright to join in wouldn't hurt you anybody else, and it shows that you respect their space. You'll be treated with less hesitation and annoyance, and you'll find that people rarely refuse to let you play.

 

Some people like jumping in, and that's fine, but you probably shouldn't expect everyone to be okay with it, and you definitely shouldn't write anyone who isn't off as a bad roleplayer.

 For me its often about the way its handled. I'm of the total immersion rp school, I'm also a freeform improv on the spot roleplayer. In real life I am not going to have conversations openly out in public that I don't want others to be a part of, and if the conversation starts off one way and turns private in an mmo I will turn to party chat and whispers/tells. I won't keep having a conversation right smack out in the open that all can hear. I'll just let whoever the private rp is starting to happen with a "hey lets go to party for this convo". Its a simple fix to not have to deal with griefers or people you don't want getting into your rp. If its really a big deal we can easily head off to a more secluded area or a private instance to finish the conversation.

 

Bottom line for me is I find it low when people just ignore people for engaging their characters in the moment like that. Why not just do what people do in real life in these situations? Go to a secluded place or at least tell the new person "Hey this is a bit of a private chat". Instead of outright ignoring them. I think outright ignoring is just well....rude. It would be rude in real life and I don't see a true ic rper not thinking that its not rude to do it in game either. All it does is alienate people and give a well deserved title of elitist jerk to the offenders. I mean I've engaged groups in private rp that's happening out in the open and if they are well meaning someone will step up icly and tell me that they are busy or one will give me a tell saying "Hey just give us a moment" and that's wonderful.

 

But the point of not saying anything at all and just straight up ignoring someone yeah, that's pretty foul.  Most people are not going to assume that a public out in the open conversation is private. It shouldn't be on the part of the person starting to engage the public private group to guess this. It should be on the part of those engaging in that private moment to tell the new person what they are doing because fact is, you are doing a private moment out in public where people can hear it.

 

Going to party chat or tells personally is the way I handle that. People often understand when they see a group standing around each other but they don't see/hear what they are saying. Its an easy indicator to tell that they a are speaking in private at that moment and with the fact that eight people can be engaged in party, or at least an ic linkshell I think its an easy solution as opposed to outright ignoring someone.

 

So yes I say those who ignore others like that are bad roleplayers. I'm sorry but those that ignore people on purpose  are, it does nothing to foster community at all and just brings in bad feelings. Get enough groups doing it and it brings a bad title to the server, and I've seen that happen in too many mmos to name. Not to mention it also does nothing to foster roleplay opportunities in the long run. And honestly its a bit childish elementary school playground behavior and none of us are kids.

 

"Oh I'm ignoring you because you tried to talk to me, nah nah nah *puts fingers in ears and runs away* :roll:

 

So hey as FW said, if you see my characters out in public speaking out in public, engage them I won't get mad or anything because If I wanted to be in a private conversation I would be talking in well private. I will never ignore anybody, just ain't cool in my book and is a bad mark of poor roleplaying. Yes, yes it is.

 

And as far as griefers go, well I eat those *drinks his daily cup of *Man Up*

 

Honestly that is what blacklisting/ignore is for. I don't let griefers ever ruin my day period. Blacklist/Ignore and the show goes on.

 

See you all in game!

[K'nahli]

Is /tell the equivalent of whispers and PMs?

[Gideon Aryeh]

Is /tell the equivalent of whispers and PMs?

 Yes in some games it is.