Scardrac
Felsummer
Hi, character equivalent of "beating a dead horse" here.
Disclaimer: Opinions. This is not a suggestion as to how we should handle the rules of death, merely my input. No scenarios are pointed to any specific person, type of character, or any level of ability. These are merely scenarios/examples and any similarities are merely a result of coincidence. I may give examples, but only good and fair ones.
(TL: DR at the bottom)
I have read the first post to understand the premise and intent of the creation of this thread, and I have limited myself to that. I'm sorry if I go over points already discussed, as I simply wish for a fresh experience in making this reply.
Let's talk about character investment. We all know that there are several types of characters with several other archetypes of characters as well. By that I mean there are temporary, event, main, etc. However there are also characters that live with traits such as food, evil, chaotic, and peaceful, with all forms of in-betweens. Each has a role to play, each had a story to tell and a whole bundle of narrative content to share with the rest of us. However, no matter the character, they all go through this thing called development. Each character, no matter how long they live (yes don't worry I won't go too off topic) develops from point A to point B, or more aptly described as their "life" on the server. The changes come into play when the user decides how they want to explain this narrative to us.
Some players may desire to engage with a more mundane character, with a nice day job or profession included. Some people may want to rise up in political standing to become a vital part of a certain faction they may want to play with. One has to understand that the level of investment one person has varies on the progression and success of their own narrative. To put things into perspective, my character of several years has told too many stories at this point that I wouldn't care if he were gone. (Don't strike me down on hypocrisy just yet). I say at this point. There are many other characters and people I have met who have sufficiently and effortlessly told the story they wanted to tell. As a result they let their characters go, or have stated that they do not wish to revive their character. Arken is a fantastic example of this. His character has been around a very long time and has told a story that will likely remain unmatched. A fantastic role player. Under this circumstance I applaud his decision to end his character, and avoid what I did, which is become too invested.
Let's talk more on that, specifically the reasons why someone may or may not want to revive their character, and what decision is better for the narrative of the server. As I stated before there are many types. Let's talk about the time frame of their "development" (oh boy, that's the word). Before we go into scenarios, and finally my ending statement and input on what may or may not be the best decision in terms of what's a better way to tell the story of the server, we will talk about one thing: Player fantasy.
We play in a fantasy server. Duh. By that, I do not mean dragons and sprites and mimics, (pardon my generic explanation) I mean that we all have a role we wish to play, if not one we were asked to. But that doesn't apply. Each character has a player fantasy. Be it that they have a set plan for their character to develop, or their fantasy is that they have no plan. Both of these are affected by death in similar ways. Now let's get into some scenarios.
Let's say that a very talented author (forgive me) decides he wishes to create a character for the sake of development. He rolls the mental dice and decides on a race, sex, and a personality. His player fantasy is simply to see where is character goes. After all, the only difference between a book and this server is that we all hold the pen. This is seen as noble, as sometimes a set path can seem cocky at times. His fantasy is to see where it goes. So he makes his character and he sets off. This character, let's say one month in, has already done some good things. He's happy with his development and is excited to see more. Now let's say he makes an enemy. Of course this enemy has developed his hate. (I'm excluding random mad bandits who shank for fun, well get to that later). This character decides to end the life of the main character. Our poor author is posed with one question: live or die. He knows he made this decision to just see how it develops, so he tells himself that he should want to leave them dead because people believe that his death would contribute to the authenticity of the meaning of death. However, his fantasy was cut short, and he became excited to see where he was going to go not a couple days before. What is more worth it: the authenticity of death in a server where player fantasy is the most important priority, or potential months worth of fun content for this author and his role play group. Personally I choose the latter option.
Now let's remove mr. Edge from the equation for now. He's off developing somewhere, but remind yourself, his hate is still there. Our author goes on for a couple more months and does some wild things, as he had time to develop his character through server happenings. Let's say he sassed some being from the planar, won a drinking game against pub commoners, saved the life of an important politician, and found love and had some kiddos. One would say these things are feats to be proud of, and with good reason. He wrote a story and is proud of it, and let us not forget that he is also a key part in the stories of many other people with their own diverse characters. Now let's say that mr edge got some friends and has had enough of our friend here. He makes it obvious (or not, whatever) that he wants to kill our friend. So he goes about it, but not without details. At this point our friend has made an impact, and so has mr edge. They're not trial characters at this point. These two characters, at the end of one of them, have a roleplay session that is worthy on a plaque. (Again, excluding stabby bandits). They both have a lot of fun, and our author was satisfied with his development enough to let him die permanently, whereas he wouldn't of had this much fun otherwise. This is where I believe death for developmental characters is most apt.
Now let's talk about the second type of character I'll talk about: chargers with a predetermined fantasy. (We won't talk about fantasies that may or may not happen depending on their severity, too many variables in that case). We won't talk about that exact goal or idea he may have, this is simply the fact that he has a path he wants to follow. Now just because he's mr edge doesn't mean he's a bad role player. Let's get that out of the way. Now let's say in scenario a, this character is made and he goes a month in trying to achieve his goal. He's getting there, but he's nowhere close. He's excited about his development. He's got ideas on what to do next. Then all of a sudden a server event happens and he accepts his death as casualty. He's disappointed because people say that they wish the authenticity of death was more sincere than if he were to revive. If he were to die, the event seems more lethal to all, however he doesn't value that over his player fantasy, which should be perfectly fine. The death enough should be enough for the people because the decision of permanency is (for the most part) in the hands of the player. So the fact that mr edge has died should be a threat to all because if you're someone that likes permadeath, that event will still be lethal regardless of if he came back.
So say mr edge does the same thing as the last guy. He either doesn't die or comes back. He continues his fantasy and then gives out a lot more content than if he just died forever. He achieves his goal and something kills him. He's happy so he's dead. This is where death is apt. When he's done with his goal.
So what if mr edge died early? What if our friend the author kept his character for a very, very long time? This is where I believe you guys stand united: characters like mine that either met their goal or simply kept developing far after their apt time of death should have been. This is where people want this character to die off, and it's frustrating at times when they don't. Sure everyone loves a classic character that is always there, but that is most often the case of people who don't roleplay often, or to their fullest extent inside the public realm of roleplay. Another example, Legion . Everyone loves when he comes around because he's been there from the start and he has a story that not many know. But he's been here longer than mine, yet nobody is saying "kill the menace"! Why? Because he's a fantastic role player in the realm of the grand scheme. His character doesn't have a path, nor is he just free willed and he just lets him go trough whatever (to my knowledge, I'm not him obviously).
(TL: DR) So there needs to be a kept balance between all people. People must be mindful of the nature of characters. Be mindful that people may not be satisfied with the current progress of their character enough to die permanently, so it may be best just to not put them in that situation, rather than kill them and let them handle flak about coming back. But also be mindful when you play your characters that you don't beat a dead horse, annoy people, and go far passed your time. Remember, killing isn't fun because nobody cares about how many notches you have in the belt if you're just a random guy. If you're known for that, cool! But if you're known for that, it means you should be a good role player with a good story to tell and you shouldn't be unfair to people. It's just a balance guys. In the end just be fair guys and enjoy the roleplay we all have before us. Death can be fun, but at the same time it can be just as annoying as the un-death that sparked this thread.
Amazing thread, had a fun time putting my opinion in. Good job you guys.
Disclaimer: Opinions. This is not a suggestion as to how we should handle the rules of death, merely my input. No scenarios are pointed to any specific person, type of character, or any level of ability. These are merely scenarios/examples and any similarities are merely a result of coincidence. I may give examples, but only good and fair ones.
(TL: DR at the bottom)
I have read the first post to understand the premise and intent of the creation of this thread, and I have limited myself to that. I'm sorry if I go over points already discussed, as I simply wish for a fresh experience in making this reply.
Let's talk about character investment. We all know that there are several types of characters with several other archetypes of characters as well. By that I mean there are temporary, event, main, etc. However there are also characters that live with traits such as food, evil, chaotic, and peaceful, with all forms of in-betweens. Each has a role to play, each had a story to tell and a whole bundle of narrative content to share with the rest of us. However, no matter the character, they all go through this thing called development. Each character, no matter how long they live (yes don't worry I won't go too off topic) develops from point A to point B, or more aptly described as their "life" on the server. The changes come into play when the user decides how they want to explain this narrative to us.
Some players may desire to engage with a more mundane character, with a nice day job or profession included. Some people may want to rise up in political standing to become a vital part of a certain faction they may want to play with. One has to understand that the level of investment one person has varies on the progression and success of their own narrative. To put things into perspective, my character of several years has told too many stories at this point that I wouldn't care if he were gone. (Don't strike me down on hypocrisy just yet). I say at this point. There are many other characters and people I have met who have sufficiently and effortlessly told the story they wanted to tell. As a result they let their characters go, or have stated that they do not wish to revive their character. Arken is a fantastic example of this. His character has been around a very long time and has told a story that will likely remain unmatched. A fantastic role player. Under this circumstance I applaud his decision to end his character, and avoid what I did, which is become too invested.
Let's talk more on that, specifically the reasons why someone may or may not want to revive their character, and what decision is better for the narrative of the server. As I stated before there are many types. Let's talk about the time frame of their "development" (oh boy, that's the word). Before we go into scenarios, and finally my ending statement and input on what may or may not be the best decision in terms of what's a better way to tell the story of the server, we will talk about one thing: Player fantasy.
We play in a fantasy server. Duh. By that, I do not mean dragons and sprites and mimics, (pardon my generic explanation) I mean that we all have a role we wish to play, if not one we were asked to. But that doesn't apply. Each character has a player fantasy. Be it that they have a set plan for their character to develop, or their fantasy is that they have no plan. Both of these are affected by death in similar ways. Now let's get into some scenarios.
Let's say that a very talented author (forgive me) decides he wishes to create a character for the sake of development. He rolls the mental dice and decides on a race, sex, and a personality. His player fantasy is simply to see where is character goes. After all, the only difference between a book and this server is that we all hold the pen. This is seen as noble, as sometimes a set path can seem cocky at times. His fantasy is to see where it goes. So he makes his character and he sets off. This character, let's say one month in, has already done some good things. He's happy with his development and is excited to see more. Now let's say he makes an enemy. Of course this enemy has developed his hate. (I'm excluding random mad bandits who shank for fun, well get to that later). This character decides to end the life of the main character. Our poor author is posed with one question: live or die. He knows he made this decision to just see how it develops, so he tells himself that he should want to leave them dead because people believe that his death would contribute to the authenticity of the meaning of death. However, his fantasy was cut short, and he became excited to see where he was going to go not a couple days before. What is more worth it: the authenticity of death in a server where player fantasy is the most important priority, or potential months worth of fun content for this author and his role play group. Personally I choose the latter option.
Now let's remove mr. Edge from the equation for now. He's off developing somewhere, but remind yourself, his hate is still there. Our author goes on for a couple more months and does some wild things, as he had time to develop his character through server happenings. Let's say he sassed some being from the planar, won a drinking game against pub commoners, saved the life of an important politician, and found love and had some kiddos. One would say these things are feats to be proud of, and with good reason. He wrote a story and is proud of it, and let us not forget that he is also a key part in the stories of many other people with their own diverse characters. Now let's say that mr edge got some friends and has had enough of our friend here. He makes it obvious (or not, whatever) that he wants to kill our friend. So he goes about it, but not without details. At this point our friend has made an impact, and so has mr edge. They're not trial characters at this point. These two characters, at the end of one of them, have a roleplay session that is worthy on a plaque. (Again, excluding stabby bandits). They both have a lot of fun, and our author was satisfied with his development enough to let him die permanently, whereas he wouldn't of had this much fun otherwise. This is where I believe death for developmental characters is most apt.
Now let's talk about the second type of character I'll talk about: chargers with a predetermined fantasy. (We won't talk about fantasies that may or may not happen depending on their severity, too many variables in that case). We won't talk about that exact goal or idea he may have, this is simply the fact that he has a path he wants to follow. Now just because he's mr edge doesn't mean he's a bad role player. Let's get that out of the way. Now let's say in scenario a, this character is made and he goes a month in trying to achieve his goal. He's getting there, but he's nowhere close. He's excited about his development. He's got ideas on what to do next. Then all of a sudden a server event happens and he accepts his death as casualty. He's disappointed because people say that they wish the authenticity of death was more sincere than if he were to revive. If he were to die, the event seems more lethal to all, however he doesn't value that over his player fantasy, which should be perfectly fine. The death enough should be enough for the people because the decision of permanency is (for the most part) in the hands of the player. So the fact that mr edge has died should be a threat to all because if you're someone that likes permadeath, that event will still be lethal regardless of if he came back.
So say mr edge does the same thing as the last guy. He either doesn't die or comes back. He continues his fantasy and then gives out a lot more content than if he just died forever. He achieves his goal and something kills him. He's happy so he's dead. This is where death is apt. When he's done with his goal.
So what if mr edge died early? What if our friend the author kept his character for a very, very long time? This is where I believe you guys stand united: characters like mine that either met their goal or simply kept developing far after their apt time of death should have been. This is where people want this character to die off, and it's frustrating at times when they don't. Sure everyone loves a classic character that is always there, but that is most often the case of people who don't roleplay often, or to their fullest extent inside the public realm of roleplay. Another example, Legion . Everyone loves when he comes around because he's been there from the start and he has a story that not many know. But he's been here longer than mine, yet nobody is saying "kill the menace"! Why? Because he's a fantastic role player in the realm of the grand scheme. His character doesn't have a path, nor is he just free willed and he just lets him go trough whatever (to my knowledge, I'm not him obviously).
(TL: DR) So there needs to be a kept balance between all people. People must be mindful of the nature of characters. Be mindful that people may not be satisfied with the current progress of their character enough to die permanently, so it may be best just to not put them in that situation, rather than kill them and let them handle flak about coming back. But also be mindful when you play your characters that you don't beat a dead horse, annoy people, and go far passed your time. Remember, killing isn't fun because nobody cares about how many notches you have in the belt if you're just a random guy. If you're known for that, cool! But if you're known for that, it means you should be a good role player with a good story to tell and you shouldn't be unfair to people. It's just a balance guys. In the end just be fair guys and enjoy the roleplay we all have before us. Death can be fun, but at the same time it can be just as annoying as the un-death that sparked this thread.
Amazing thread, had a fun time putting my opinion in. Good job you guys.
