RP Class - March 29th

RP Meeting – 3/29/09
[14:09] Justice Lorefield: First let me say thank you to those of you who did show up. RP is one of those things, I find, that you can never know too much about. Or that one can't benefit from getting another perspective on.
[14:10] Justice Lorefield: This class is probably applicable to any text-based rp you do anywhere, but I'll be mainly focusing on what is expected here in Fenwryth.
[14:15] Justice Lorefield: Just to give you some background, I've been rping for about 27 years now in just about any table-top you can imagine, online in various environments and I owned my own Live-Action RP group and wrote plot and directed it for two years.
[14:16] Justice Lorefield: With that said, I still learn something about rp all the time. And it's something I don't feel anyone can ever "master".
[14:17] Justice Lorefield: In this particular class, I'll go over the topics I put in the agenda with specific focus on what is expected here within Fenwryth. Maya and Mina are here to help ensure that such is in fact the case and I'm sure will kick me under the table if I say anything out of line.
[14:17] Justice Lorefield smirks.
[14:17] Mina Xevion coughs
[14:18] Maya Cagney nods vigorously
[14:19] Justice Lorefield: Alright, so, I'm going to begin with a bit of RP "etiquette". Things that I've noticed and that have been brought to my attention already here in Fenwryth. And that is often considered, good etiquette in many other places as well.
[14:20] Justice Lorefield: First topic, paying attention to the posts that are made by individuals, what is "said" and what is "thought" and not responding to what is "thought" unless your character is an established mind reader.
[14:20] Justice Lorefield: As an example:
[14:20] Justice Lorefield looks at Mina thinking her dress looks like something she stole off a bag lady. "You look very pretty today, Mina."
[14:21] Mina Xevion smiles warmly "thank you so much"
[14:21] Justice Lorefield: Now, Mina, can respond to what is "quoted" because that is what I said. Unless she reads minds, she cannot know that I had that disparaging, or insulting thought about her dress.
[14:21] Nellie Meads: Ok, I have a question about that....
[14:21] Justice Lorefield: What's that, Nellie?
[14:22] Nellie Meads: In that emote, you use a contemporary reference to 'bag lady', that is concise, but it jars me out of my mindset for the RP
[14:22] Justice Lorefield nods. "I understand and you bring up another good point within rp here."
[14:23] Justice Lorefield: You are quite correct and normally, I would not use such a contemporary reference.
[14:24] Justice Lorefield: In any case, the point is, do not go responding to people's "thoughts" unless you have it in your prof that you can read minds. Thus far, the only ones I know for sure who have a limited ability in that vein, are Vamps. But, even Justice, who is the oldest vamp on the sim, rarely picks up more than the "idea" of what someone is thinking and those who have rp'ed with me here can attest to that.
[14:25] Justice Lorefield: Usually, a vague idea of what is thought, or a strong emotion. That's it and I don't use it a lot.
[14:26] Justice Lorefield: So be aware of that, pay attention to what people are posting and don't jump in on their thoughts as that discourages people from being descriptive. Now, I will add something else to this. There are ways in which you can have an "idea" of what someone is thinking, without reading their thoughts IF, they give you a visual clue to work off of.
[14:26] Justice Lorefield: Taking the example I used above:
[14:27] Justice Lorefield looks at Mina's dress, lifting his brows in a "you must be kidding" manner, thinking it looks like she stole the dress from the brothel. "You look very nice today Mina."
[14:27] Mina Xevion frowns slightly and nods her head "hmm thank you, very nice of you to say"
[14:27] Justice Lorefield: I've given her a visual clue to work off of. She may not interpret it absolutely correctly, but she probably has an idea that my thoughts and what I'm saying, do not match up and she can respond to that, as she did.
[14:28] Nellie Meads nods. "Yes, and it gives other people in the vicinity a clue, also."
[14:28] Justice Lorefield: This, allows you to look at it from both perspectives. If you want to "think" something, yet give people around you something to work with...yes, exactly.
[14:29] Justice Lorefield: Alright, now onto the topic Nellie mentioned. Be careful about contemporary, especially "pop culture" references in your rp.
[14:29] Justice Lorefield: Or, what we call "anachronisms".
[14:29] Justice Lorefield: Things that don't fit in the time frame of your rp.
[14:30] Azriel Ballyhoo: No lolspeak
[14:30] Justice Lorefield: Instead of bag lady, I might have used "street urchin", or "scullery wench" or, something of that nature.
[14:30] Justice Lorefield: And yes, definitely avoid the dewd-speak.
[14:30] Justice Lorefield: Avoid abbreviations. Fortunately. I haven't seen a lot of that so far.
[14:31] Justice Lorefield: Alright, the next thing I want to mention, will actually dovetail with my topic of Combat, especially in the idea of "turns".
[14:32] Justice Lorefield: It's very hard, to get an rp flow going at times, when one of the people you are talking to, is talking in short sentences, without being aware of any kind of order.
[14:33] Justice Lorefield: Like that, if we take it in turns of what is going on around the table here, imagine that I make my post, Mina posts a sentence of her reaction. Azzy makes her post, Mina posts something else, extending her reaction to what I said, or did. Athoni posts, Mina puts another sentence of her reaction, to my reaction....
[14:33] Justice Lorefield: Suddenly, you have a mess.
[14:33] Justice Lorefield: No one knows where they are at, or what they are doing anymore.
[14:34] Maya Cagney nods yes that can be very irritating
[14:34] Justice Lorefield: Now, this is not to say, I have any problems with sentence long posts. I make them myself. I also make page long posts.
[14:34] Justice Lorefield: The issue is that, most rp, will generally fall into a flow.
[14:34] Justice Lorefield: That isn't the issue.
[14:34] Nellie Meads: I'd also like to add that an interactive exchange is not the right time to add all the set dressing, like what color your eyes are and what's embroidered on your underwear.
[14:34] Justice Lorefield: You walk up on a scene between myself, Maya and Azzy. You wait, to see who is doing what. If someone there is on the ball, they send you the last posts from everyone to "set the scene".
[14:34] Mina Xevion: i am not sure i agree with that
[14:35] Justice Lorefield: If they don't, ask: What do I see?
[14:35] Mina Xevion: Nellie
[14:35] Justice Lorefield: Send someone an im, or ask in Group Chat.
[14:35] Justice Lorefield: Otherwise, what you post may be incongruous with what is going on. All you see, is three people sitting or standing there.
[14:36] Justice Lorefield: One might be sitting on another's chest with a dagger over their face and you walk up with a big grin. "Hi guys, what's up?"
[14:36] Justice Lorefield: Bzzt.
[14:36] Maya Cagney: yes all ruined
[14:36] Justice Lorefield: Take the time to find out what is going on in the scene you are walking into.
[14:36] Justice Lorefield: Either wait for new posts from everyone, or send someone an IM, something, so that you are up to speed.
[14:37] Nellie Meads: Be kind about lag
[14:37] Justice Lorefield: Now, as to what Nellie was saying. What specifically are you referring to with your description in interaction?
[14:39] Nellie Meads: Ok, it is not compassionate to the people trying to follow an exchange, to add things like "his raging - ocean eyes, inherited from his sea-nymph grandmother, flashed as he ....."
[14:39] Maya Cagney: lmao
[14:40] Nellie Meads: It's true stuff, and it's part of the backstory, but that doesn't contribute to my understanding that his anger swiftly over comes him, and he's pulling a dagger on me now
[14:40] Justice Lorefield: Well, that's kind of hard to address because I think that falls within the purview of personal taste. That isn't to say, I disagree with you. I don't want to read back-story in someone's profile in a post.
[14:41] Mina Xevion: i dont know i personally enjoy emotes like that
[14:41] Nellie Meads: No, I think it is very germaine
[14:41] Azriel Ballyhoo: I agree, makes it more interesting than "He was mad and pulled a knife"
[14:42] Justice Lorefield: Which, is why I say it is hard to address as a hard fast rule. Some people really like that, others don't. I usually don't go that far with my own. At least not to including stuff about backstory.
[14:42] Nellie Meads: Some people are more enamored of their own typing prowess than they are into helping the people around them
[14:42] Athoni Antonioni: some people are more creative in thier writing than others yes.
[14:42] Mina Xevion: well some of us enjoy reading those things actually
[14:42] Justice Lorefield nods.
[14:42] Nellie Meads: I will wait a long time for something *absorbing* something that shows me the character's inner struggle
[14:43] Azriel Ballyhoo: Well, it is text based RP and we are all storytellers... no one is really dazzled by typing proficiency but a good yarn is nice to participate in.
[14:43] Nellie Meads: I want stuff that contributes
[14:43] Justice Lorefield: I'm afraid I have to leave that one in the realm of personal preference. I understand your stance on that, Nellie, but I also don't want to discourage people from being creative.
[14:43] Justice Lorefield: It's better than the ones who say: I pull muh dagger and stab ur i
[14:43] Nellie Meads: Hearing about someones blue eyes over and over is not creative
[14:44] Athoni Antonioni: N, some visua things we see should be pointed out,,that we may miss normally .
[14:44] Nellie Meads: Yes, and I can agree with that
[14:44] Justice Lorefield nods. "I agree. And, you have to account for the fact that you may be seeing something for the fifth time, where Azzy or Mina are seeing it for the first time."
[14:44] Nellie Meads: Like me and my clothing accidents
[14:45] Justice Lorefield: Personally, if I saw too much of that in interaction with someone, I would probably go to IMs with them and simply mention it. "Yes, I get that you have blue eyes, can we shorten that a bit? Thanks."
[14:46] Nellie Meads: My point is, we here are the ones that are taking responsibity for encouraging interaction.
[14:46] Justice Lorefield: At least, if it bothered me that much.
[14:46] Athoni Antonioni: if it contributes to the scene, not like the old days of just writeing RP,,we have sond actions to work with now.
[14:46] Azriel Ballyhoo: And yes Nellie, I agree but there is a difference between someone giving a lengthy description enriched with details and someone blathering on about the same thing over and over again
[14:47] Justice Lorefield: I know, Nellie, though I hope we will be having a lot more involved in that aspect of it and as I said, I simply feel that this particular issue comes in at personal taste and circumstance. Not everyone has an issue with that and if someone specifically does, I think it should be case-by-case.
[14:47] Nellie Meads: I'm saying, the lengthy description should go with the situatiojn
[14:48] Nellie Meads: If you are emoting an attack, stay with the features of the attack that make it graphic and immediate for your target, and those around you

[14:48] Justice Lorefield: I personally haven't seen anyone go overboard, in the way you are describing. Not yet, anyway. I'm not saying it doesn't happen. But I think there are some bigger issues to address and that that particular one, as you've seen here, not everyone agrees with your preference on that. I do, at least to some degree.
[14:49] Justice Lorefield: But, I would personally rather get a bit more, than a bit less. Err on the side of creativity, in my personal view.
[14:49] Nellie Meads: I went to Aldenshire, and the reason I am *here*, and not at their meeting, is that they are very heavy on the self indulgent description of one's own actions, and they don't promote and give clues to the people around
[14:50] Nellie Meads: It's like a chat board, but with the avatars in the same room
[14:50] Justice Lorefield: Alright, is that to say you think it is a problem here as well? Have you encountered it a lot? I mean, I don't think anyone here is specifically encouraging that kind of thing, or saying people should.
[14:51] Nellie Meads: No, I am tossing it out as something we can all do to help each other and those who are new get involved
[14:52] Nellie Meads: I have played with most of you here, and I am really willing to 'toss you a clue', because the RP is fostered here
[14:52] Justice Lorefield nods. "Alright. Well, as I said, I don’t' think there are many here that go that far in that direction as to be placing a lot of background information in their posts. I see a lot of description, to the scene, to their character "in the moment". And, as I said, I don't think anyone is encouraging a self-indulgent "Write your history in each post" mentality.
[14:53] Mina Xevion: ok i think we covered that. Justice has a lot more to go over so lets get moving
[14:55] Athoni Antonioni: We can agree RP is challengeing,and we can all learn get better, in the creative writeing part, visuall afects, sound, animations. I think it fun , enjoyable when all the sences are involed.
[14:55] Justice Lorefield nods. "Yes, as I was saying, the main idea, of post turn, being aware of who is doing what in a scene, dovetails right into combat, where that can become really important. When you walk into any scene, especially a combat scene, it's a good idea to get a lay of the land before jumping in. This doesn't mean you can't interact 'at all'. As Athoni did the other night, walking into the battle we were doing in the fae glen, striding in with the: "What is going on here," until you find out what is going on here, is one approach and not a bad one at all.
[14:56] Justice Lorefield: it allows others involved to know "I am here now," and take you into account without spoiling the whole scene with a "rushes in and grabs so-and so", when you don't even know what that individual is doing.
[14:58] Justice Lorefield reaches over and takes Nellie's hand.
[14:58] Justice Lorefield: This goes to my next topic. God-modding and "forced" actions. Many think that "god-modding" is simply always being able to escape, always having the "killer weapon", etc. But god-modding can be as simple as:
[14:59] Justice Lorefield: At this point, with that post, I just took away any chance for Nellie to react "before" I did something to her.
[14:59] Justice Lorefield: A proper post of that type, would be...
[14:59] Justice Lorefield reaches towards Nellie, intending to take her hand.
[15:00] Maya Cagney: oh that’s a good one.. I tend to err on the side of doing nothing in that respect
[15:00] Nellie Meads: Yup, I can be graceful, and : Nellie Meads looks down with a little smile, and slips her hand into his.
[15:00] Athoni Antonioni: nles yu could actually do the action,,with an animation that they would see first.
[15:00] Mina Xevion: yes i am always second guessing everything i type in that
[15:01] Justice Lorefield: Now, by putting in the "intention" and my own action, she has an opportunity to "do" something about it. to decide, is her character paying ttention, did she catch me out of the corner of her eye, does she want to be touched by me?
[15:01] Justice Lorefield: Not everyone has such an animation, Athoni. Not to mention, that counts on you being panned out, or having your cam on me so you can see what I'm doing.
[15:02] Justice Lorefield: You may have your nose in a notecard and only be looking at text.
[15:02] Justice Lorefield: You might be in your inventory, sorting it while we are rping. You might be perv camming Mina and not watching what I am doing, graphically speaking.
[15:02] Mina Xevion: OMG
[15:03] Justice Lorefield: With a description, in text, you know what my intention is and you have the chance to respond. Which, is the other thing. I may have an animation of my hand moving towards Nellie, but that doesn't tell her my intent, which she might be able to read by the way I am moving.
[15:04] lulu Foxdale: I'm too lazy to do anything but rp that stuff, personally
[15:04] Justice Lorefield: The point is, you do nothing to another character, that they have no opportunity to respond to.
[15:04] Athoni Antonioni: Yes, it is good to have both if posible,,on or the other may be missed.I see.
[15:05] Justice Lorefield: And you give a description of intent, as you are doing it, so that they have the possibility to see that.
[15:05] Justice Lorefield: Now, we need to turn it the other way. God-modding, is also, ALWAYS catching that. ALWAYS seeing the dagger coming. ALWAYS knowing the intent of the other person.
[15:05] Mina Xevion: yes
[15:05] Maya Cagney: ya this gets quite complex
[15:06] Mina Xevion: it is but you have to let it happen
[15:06] Mina Xevion: sometimes
[15:06] Justice Lorefield: There is always the possibility that you don't notice the person sneaking up on you. There is always the possibility that you don't see the dagger in their hand when they go to shake yours with the other.

[15:06] Athoni Antonioni: I think of God modleing as what Mina said,,an unrelistic discripton,,that couldnt be preformed.
[15:06] lulu Foxdale: yeah then you get to wear neat wounds if you have them!
[15:06] Justice Lorefield: Sometimes, you have to let the other person get the drop on you, or else there is never any conflict.
[15:07] Mina Xevion: i mean when Sam attacked me he of course left me openings to escape, but i CHOSE to be taken down to extend the RP
[15:07] Justice Lorefield nods.
[15:07] lulu Foxdale: lol I chickened out ......
[15:08] Justice Lorefield: That's alright. It wasn't a problem. She did it well and so did I. I made sure Sam left her an out, she took it.
[15:08] Mina Xevion: well its a personal preference and keep in mind you can find way out at any time. especially when you are with a good role player, they should IM you before doing anything extreme to you
[15:08] Justice Lorefield: Yes, that is also in this part of things. Honoring limits, "fade to black" etc.
[15:09] Justice Lorefield: The whole time Sam and Mina were rping, I was letting her know in IMs to let me know if she needed a fade to black. NO ONE has to rp something being done to their character.
[15:09] Mina Xevion: exactly
[15:10] Justice Lorefield: So, even though she didn't take the "escapes" she was left, stuck with the rp, I still gave her the ftb out if she wanted it as well.
[15:10] Mina Xevion: yes so dont feel obligated or pushed into doing anything ever
[15:10] Justice Lorefield: That way, she could incorporate the "bad stuff" happening to her character if she wanted, without having to rp something that made her uncomfortable in the moment.
[15:11] Maya Cagney: oh ok
[15:12] Justice Lorefield: People often want conflict for their characters, without having to rp a scene that they have trouble with. Rape, is a good example. it is a dark conflict through which someone's character can transform, grow, a serious "arc" as-it-were. But that doesn’t mean someone should have to want to play that out, in order to have that for their character.
[15:13] Justice Lorefield: In cases like that, someone should always be left both outs. The opportunity to escape, as well as the opportunity to have the "scene" in their character history, without having to play it.
[15:13] Justice Lorefield: Whether it is rape, torture, mutilation, simple combat, even can be resolved that way if necessary.
[15:14] Justice Lorefield: Now, finally, one thing I wanted to touch on that may not be "unique" to Fenwryth, but which isn't pushed everywhere, profile information.
[15:15] Justice Lorefield: Powers, abilities, weapons. I don't care if you write a whole history for your character, but these things NEED to be there. Because we don't use meters, or have other ways of keeping track of someone's powers.
[15:15] Justice Lorefield: And pulling powers, or weapons out of your butt in the midst of combat isn't really fair. People should be able to get a sense of what they are contending with.
[15:16] Mina Xevion: yes very true
[15:16] Johnathen Easterwood: can i have my spork of ultamet doom in there?
[15:16] Maya Cagney: ok.. like wears a dagger.... is psychic..
[15:16] Justice Lorefield: If it's in your profile and Maya and Mina don't have issue with it, neither do I.
[15:16] Mina Xevion: well particularly if there is special about the weapon
[15:16] Mina Xevion: something*
[15:16] Mina Xevion: like when i stabbed Sam
[15:16] Justice Lorefield: In this case "special" even means concealed.
[15:17] Justice Lorefield: If it is not on your person, assume you don't have it unless you have it somewhere in your profile. "Has a dagger strapped to her thigh."
[15:17] Nellie Meads: This has to be on the splash page, or can be in 'Picks"?
[15:17] Justice Lorefield: And by, on your person, I don't mean inventory. I mean physically represented by sheath, or some other prim that says, this is a weapon.
[15:18] Mina Xevion: right or if your sword has been blessed by a priest, or your dagger is dipped in fae blood..whatever
[15:18] Justice Lorefield: It doesn't have to be a red sign. You can look over Justice right now and see everything he is carrying. AND it's all listed in my profile as to what it is.
[15:19] Maya Cagney: ok
[15:19] Justice Lorefield: So, your character might be surprised by a poison dart in the ass. But you, the player, know that is accounted for.
[15:19] Nellie Meads: Ok, that makes my avatar have a verrrrrry high avatar cost
[15:19] Justice Lorefield: I didn't come up with it on the spur of the moment, god-modding so I could escape you.
[15:19] Maya Cagney: lot of profile reading
[15:20] Justice Lorefield: How does it make your avi have a high profile cost?
[15:20] Justice Lorefield: High cost.
[15:20] Maya Cagney: which I love and do anyway so no prob
[15:20] Nellie Meads: Weapons, primmy decorations...that makes the av cost high
[15:20] Mina Xevion: i normally use unscripted dagger sheaths and keep the actual weapon unattached unless i need it
[15:21] Justice Lorefield nods. "If you're talking about prims on the sim, you're right. But we counterbalance that by keeping scripts low and by not having meters."
[15:21] Nellie Meads: Justice is over 6300 right now
[15:21] Justice Lorefield nods. "Yes he is."
[15:21] Nellie Meads: No, I am talking about support costs in server drain
[15:22] Mina Xevion: well be aware you might be surprised about what raises your av cost
[15:22] Nellie Meads: and this doesn't even include HUD drain
[15:22] Mina Xevion: flexi items are huge
[15:22] Nellie Meads: Weapons and scripted things are the highest
[15:22] Justice Lorefield: Yep. Most of what you are counting right now is my hair, not my weapons.
[15:22] Justice Lorefield: You think?
[15:22] Mina Xevion: not always
[15:22] Mina Xevion: the biggest thing i have come across so far was a pair of fur boots
[15:22] Mina Xevion: 1800
[15:22] Nellie Meads: I have tested the weapons in CCS lands, in NoR,
[15:23] Mina Xevion: we dont use ccs weapons
[15:23] Mina Xevion: again
[15:23] Mina Xevion: we are getting sidetracked though
[15:23] Azriel Ballyhoo: Well, since the weapons can be represented in your picks without even existing on your person, this is a moot point, yes?
[15:23] Mina Xevion: exactly
[15:23] Justice Lorefield: Yes, but most of my weapons are not scripted. The darts on my boots. My belt. The dagger on my arm. Sam has no scripted weapons, except in his inventory.

[15:23] Nellie Meads: Justice said we need representation on the av
[15:23] Mina Xevion: OR in your profile
[15:23] Justice Lorefield: Or, in your profile, if it is concealed.
[15:24] Justice Lorefield: I just happened to do both. Didn't say everyone does.
[15:24] Nellie Meads: Oh, I thought that was instructions
[15:25] Justice Lorefield: But, that is why Sam's weapons are in his inventory. I didn't like having them on him, shield and spear, so I dumped them and instead, got creative. Now he sheaths spikes in his flesh. Not scripted. But, represented.
[15:25] Athoni Antonioni: Yes ,,backing claims up in profile is good..we used character cards, but not all would have an oportunity to see in RP. just back up your claims in profieles yes.
[15:25] Justice Lorefield: Actually, he has a lot more weapons in his inventory than that. hehe.
[15:26] Justice Lorefield: With the person who carried five hammers, three swords and expects to use them all to make sure they win.
[15:26] Nellie Meads: For that person, I turn into wind, and say "Blow me."

[15:27] Azriel Ballyhoo: The theory there is to prevent someone from inventing a weapon that they suddenly own to get them out of a situation. Presumably this would also include a never before seen rocket pack, bottle of acid, magic rope, bucket, etc.
[15:27] Justice Lorefield chuckles at Azzy. Yes. No Macgyvering out of situations.
[15:29] Justice Lorefield: Alright, so, profile information, now that we are on the subject. As I stated, beyond weapons and abilities, you do not "have" to include any back-story. But, it can help. It can help, not only in providing people around you with depth, but for yourself. Even if you do not put it in your profile, develop a detailed history for your character.
[15:29] Justice Lorefield: The reason I say this, is that, the more you know your character, the easier it is to roleplay them well.
[15:30] Justice Lorefield: If you know their hopes, their dreams, their fears, their ambitions, their quirks, their hangups, then playing them in any given situation is easy.
[15:30] Justice Lorefield: With exceptions, you KNOW how they are going to react.
[15:31] Justice Lorefield: And, I would say, at least add those things, if nothing else. What is their biggest hope or dream. What is their greatest fear? What is their best memory from childhood. The worst? These things provide an outline for your character that begins making it easier to know how you should react in a situation.
[15:32] Justice Lorefield: Maybe, your character fears nothing at all...except bats. Now, you are in a situation where you are trying to beat the hell out of this person, they say: I don't want my character to die here. But you, have the upper hand and really no good reason, not to follow through, what happens?
[15:33] Justice Lorefield: Bats suddenly stream out of the night chasing a bunch of insects and you drop your sword and run screaming.
[15:33] Athoni Antonioni: And helps others know yo as well.
[15:33] Justice Lorefield: Poof, fixed.
[15:33] Justice Lorefield: yes, that too, Athoni. Helps them begin to relate to you.
[15:33] Athoni Antonioni: Not that your supose to read a profile and asume you know that person.
[15:33] Justice Lorefield: Well, there are good ways and there are bad ways to use profile information.
[15:34] Justice Lorefield: For instance, Mina has read my profile and knows that if I: Lock gaze with her intensely, probing at the edges of her mind.
[15:34] Justice Lorefield: That I'm likely using my mesmerize.
[15:34] Mina Xevion: mmhm
[15:34] Justice Lorefield: Her character doesn't know, but the player can now respond.
[15:34] Justice Lorefield: 'But, if she pulls out a dagger filled with Mercury, we have a problem.
[15:34] Justice Lorefield: How did her character find that out?
[15:35] Mina Xevion: yes you dont magically know something IC because you read it in the profile
[15:35] Justice Lorefield: And that is the point. Information that helps you as a player respond in rp, is good. Using stuff that your character couldn't possibly know, against another character, without good reason, not good.
[15:37] Athoni Antonioni: Let me be clear on the metters once more here,,I feel we will use non other than Arena and tournaments,,however.
[15:37] Justice Lorefield: And, again, "probing at the edges of her mind" may seem on the surface, like god-modding, although, I haven't done anyting really to her yet. She has the ability to throw me out. Push me away. Reject me, if she wants. And that's cool too. It's a very fine line sometimes, so, the best thing to do is err on the side of caution.
[15:37] Justice Lorefield: That's correct, Athoni.
[15:37] Athoni Antonioni: the rules seem to sugest that they are consenstual.
[15:37] Justice Lorefield: This is all text-based. You can wear it and if you find someone who wants to fight that way with you one on one, you can do that too, as far as I am concerned.
[15:38] Justice Lorefield: But, if you and I get in combat, I'm going text and you don't have the opportunity to force me into meter.
[15:38] Mina Xevion: yes if you want to fight with someone on the meter and you both agree that is fine'
[15:38] Maya Cagney: yep thats about how it goes Tony
[15:39] Justice Lorefield: Text-based has precedent here, basically. If there is a group fight, five people, four want to do meter, the fifth wants text, my call is, it's a text fight.
[15:39] Justice Lorefield: And, I know that doesn't seem fair, but it supports the ideal of the sim.
[15:39] Athoni Antonioni: Yes I like the non meter test,,its something different to me.
[15:40] Athoni Antonioni: text,,maybe just the actions or animations used in the weapon. still exciteing.
[15:42] Justice Lorefield: Alright, now, the last thing I wanted to go over is storyline.
[15:43] Justice Lorefield: Again, building a character, in terms of their ambitions, goals, dreams, fears, can often produce storyline in and of itself and personally, that is the first place I would start.
[15:43] Justice Lorefield: What does your character want?
[15:43] Justice Lorefield: Do they want magical knowledge, do they want to make fame and fortune for themselves, do they want to spread their faith?
[15:45] Justice Lorefield: Do they want to discover a long lost relative, or find out about family that they never met? Do they have a dark past and need to set things right to be good with themselves? Maybe, for a knight, you have an ancestry who was a criminal and you have to make good in a specific way you feel to atone for that?

[15:45] Justice Lorefield: These are all just ideas, but they can start pushing one in the direction of thinking of "future" storyline, related to a past happening in your characters life.
[15:46] Justice Lorefield: Now, once you have an idea, the thing is, to get others involved. Don't worry too much about how. If you put things out, people can involve themselves, quite often.
[15:47] Justice Lorefield: Put out a notice with your character's concerns, or what they are doing. This is considered "off board" in a sense, but you can perform actions, that can have consequences that others can respond to.
[15:47] Justice Lorefield: Like that, Samael recently killed a "woman" on the banks of the river and left her body there.
[15:48] Justice Lorefield: Someone could have contacted me and said: "Hey, I'm down by the river, what do I see?"
[15:48] Justice Lorefield: They didn't, so the next day, he used her body in a ritual.
[15:48] Justice Lorefield: Now someone can go: "I'm going to investigate the graveyard, what happens when I get there?"
[15:49] Justice Lorefield: If they don't, something else will happen and so on and so on. Or, if they do, now they are involved. I tell them what they experience, what they feel, get their response, what do they do? Etc.
[15:49] Justice Lorefield: Story.
[15:49] Justice Lorefield: Conflict. Resolution.
[15:49] Justice Lorefield: Anyone else, can do the same thing.
[15:50] Justice Lorefield: You're looking for a long lost relative, put up a poster in town by way of Notice, or post on the forum, which I will also talk about more in a moment.
[15:50] Justice Lorefield: "market" your storyline. Advertise. Talk about it in group chat. Do things in regards to it in group chat.
[15:51] Justice Lorefield: Some can say: Hey, I'm looking at the poster next to the tavern you put up. What does it say?
[15:51] Justice Lorefield: Give them a notecard of the details.
[15:51] Mina Xevion coughs and burns down Justice's study
[15:51] Justice Lorefield: Etc.
[15:51] Justice Lorefield smirks and puts a bounty on Mina.
[15:52] Azriel Ballyhoo grins and licks her lips
[15:52] Mina Xevion: nooo
[15:52] Justice Lorefield: 50 gold crowns to the first person to tickle her till she pees.
[15:52] Azriel Ballyhoo: Oh, I'm out.
[15:52] Justice Lorefield chuckles at Azzy.
[15:52] Azriel Ballyhoo: blilililililiililililp!
[15:52] Mina Xevion: ok ew ew and more ew
[15:53] Justice Lorefield: Alright, now, the final topic I wanted to talk about related to storyline.
[15:53] Justice Lorefield: The "I must win" mentality.
[15:53] Maya Cagney looks around for viz??
[15:53] Justice Lorefield: Be very careful, when going into someone else's scenes, interactions, or storyline, with the "How do I fix this, beat the bad guy, save the treasure?" approach.
[15:54] Justice Lorefield: Be very careful of the "I must win every encounter" idea.
[15:54] Mina Xevion: mmhm
[15:54] Justice Lorefield: I recently mentioned this in a notecard I put out on Sam.
[15:54] Justice Lorefield: Remember, in roleplay, "winning" means the storyline ends.
[15:54] Justice Lorefield: You fixed the problem.
[15:54] Justice Lorefield: The bad guy was defeated.
[15:54] Justice Lorefield: The treasure was saved.
[15:55] Azriel Ballyhoo: A problem that several people likely put a lot of effort into creating...
[15:55] Justice Lorefield: We are just now getting to a place of starting storylines, it's not the time to rush into situations looking to fix them.
[15:55] Justice Lorefield: Yes, do what your character would do to try to solve the problem, but as a player, consider that, the hero doesn't generally get the fix on the first try.
[15:56] Justice Lorefield: There are obstacles, setbacks, reversals.
[15:56] Mina Xevion: yes we want to keep the RP moving, not block it
[15:56] Justice Lorefield: Consider the fact that, the opponent you beat the shit out of every time you meet them, isn't much of an opponent. They don't make you look good when you "always" beat them.
[15:57] Justice Lorefield: Lose the treasure today, go get it back, tomorrow.
[15:57] Justice Lorefield: The princess gets kidnapped today, you can rescue her tomorrow. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
[15:57] Justice Lorefield: The point is, allow the storyline to develop.
[15:57] Mina Xevion: YES
[15:57] Justice Lorefield: If your fortress is impregnable, then you're going to have a lot of fun, sitting in it, with nothing to do.
[15:57] lulu Foxdale: lol
[15:58] Maya Cagney laughs
[15:58] Justice Lorefield: Give some room for story to develop.
[15:58] Justice Lorefield: Allow your character to actually fail, at times, to allow the conflict to ensue.
[15:59] Justice Lorefield: I mentioned in my notecard, that on Justice, when I was at my previous sim where I rp'ed for six months, I did not win a single battle.
[15:59] Justice Lorefield: Not because I didn't have the opportunity to.
[15:59] Justice Lorefield: Not because I'm not good at text-based combat.
[15:59] Justice Lorefield: But because I knew that I wasn't going to continue storylines by winning.

[15:59] Justice Lorefield: And, always "looking good" looks pretty bad after a while.
15:59] Mina Xevion: true
[16:00] Justice Lorefield: Not for your character, who is wonderfully heroic and never can be beat...but for you, the player. Who invariably destroys plot lines and doesn't seem to know how to play defeat.
[16:01] Athoni Antonioni: Yes,,there is an art to dieing as well as killing.
[16:01] Justice Lorefield: The best scenes I've had in my roleplay was Justice on the ground puking black because he'd drank from a fae right before a big battle. I think he busted some ribs and got his head kicked in and most of the people out of character, were laughing their asses off. It was funny, it was good rp and the storyline continued because the 'bad guys" got away.
[16:02] Justice Lorefield: And, there were a lot of scenes like that and a lot of great storylines and yes, you're right Athoni. It's not in whether you win or lose.
[16:02] Justice Lorefield: And, if there is good rp, we always win, as players.
[16:03] Justice Lorefield: Alright. So, that pretty much covers the topics I wanted to discuss. I did want to ask if everyone here has been to the forum Doll made yet and registered there?
[16:03] Mina Xevion: i did
[16:03] Azriel Ballyhoo: I did
[16:03] Mina Xevion: who ever didnt DO ITTTTTTTTTTTTTT please
[16:04] Justice Lorefield: I'm getting the forum link right now for those who haven't yet.
[16:04] Azriel Ballyhoo: or we'll sick Doll on you
[16:04] Athoni Antonioni: Yes, looks nice.
[16:04] Justice Lorefield: In the meantime, are there any rp related questions? About etiquette, storyline or character building? Combat?
[16:07] Justice Lorefield: So, no questions or clarifications needed on anything I covered?
[16:07] Azriel Ballyhoo: Could we start over from the top please?
[16:07] Mina Xevion: i am good i think. dont worry i will annoy you later when you least expect it
[16:12] Justice Lorefield: Well, I would stay and rp now, but I start a new job soon and I need a bit before that to get something to eat.
[16:12] Justice Lorefield: So, enjoy the rest of your evening all.
[16:12] Justice Lorefield: And thanks again for coming.