Can Role Playing Go Too Far?

I joined a TF today, unaware that the members of the TF were heavily into role playing. I'm fairly decent at Role Playing, and it didn't look as if another Task Force would be starting anytime soon, so I played along with them.
Unfortunately, this led to several problems, and to best illustrate this, I'll tell you how each other player designed their "Role Playing" in a manner that was... a bit extreme:

1) The Blaster of the group (Assault Rifle/Devices). Basically, this guy designed his character to be a bad-[censored]. Unfortunatley, he was SO good at this that he frequently cussed and insulted other players on the team for quite some time after even the smallest mistake.
"What the (censored) was that? (Defender Name), would it kill you to (censored) HEAL the rest of the group?! You lazy (censored)!

2) The Defender (Empathy/Psychic Blast). She apparently played the role of an "overly-permiscuous" woman... at least, I HOPE it was a "she"... it might have really been a "he"...
"Hey, stud muffin! You don't have to worry about getting hurt 'caus wherever you get hit I'll make sure to kiss it and make it better!"

3) The Scrapper (Dark/Dark). Basically a take on the "Goth" theme (which I guess is why he chose Dark/Dark).... It just got a little depressing...
"Why the hell do you care if you die, man? Life is pointless, saving people is pointless, this game is pointless, etc etc..."

4) And lastly, the Tanker (Invulnerability/Battle Ax). Basically, his character was... crazy.
"BRING THEM ON, MOTHER (censored)!!!! WHY THE (censored) ARE YOU (censored) STOPPING?!?! LET'S KILL THESE MOTHER (censored)!!!"

So, yeah, it was odd...

The point is, can Role Playing go too far? Or maybe it's good to enjoy such "colorful" company...

I personally never like too much cussing in the game... some is ok.. I had team with a player where the battle chant want... Bring it on M-F.. I S--t on you!
well.. I never team up with that guy again....

Wouldn't you be perfectly in-character to tell that abusive Blaster to shove off? I wouldn't take that crap in real life.

RP'ing in a group doesn't bother me, as long as it doesn't impact the actual game. Like that tanker you mention at the end there. If he started fights when people were still resting, just to stay in-character, I'd be gone.

*shudders*

Hey, to each his own, man, but RPers in a game like this freak me out a bit. And what is it with the word "shall"? They pepper that bad boy in there like they bought it in bulk. When was the last time you used "shall" in normal conversation?

bible school..

Thou shall not kill!
We don't kill.. we arrest!

Myself, I would have dropped pretty quickly from that TF. These are obviously people who group regularly together and don't exactly know how to make "outsiders" feel welcome.

What ho, kind super hero! Canst thou directeth me to thine favorite enhancements store for Natural heroes, such as I? Huzzah! Someone is in need!

This looketh like a task for... Captain Everquest!

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When was the last time you used "shall" in normal conversation?

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About half an hour ago. In real life. At work. Not game related at all.

But then I'm weird like that.

LOL!

Not sure about "going too far," but there's certainly bad roleplaying, and it sounds like you got some.

First, were you warned that the comments were in-character? I know that I'd personally have just quit after the third time someone cursed me for "making a mistake" unless I was absolutely sure that it was strictly in-character.

As an aside, people who roleplay jerks should get all the negative flack in-character that jerks normally get. In other words, I might've quit the team "in character" anyhow, because my Scrapper's persona wouldn't put up with someone acting like he's Ares incarnated on a really, really bad day.

Next -- and this is elitist of me, I admit, shoot me -- it sounded like you joined the Task Force of "Team Stereotype." Let me guess: the blaster was a military, Nick Fury type? A gloomy Dark/Dark? A Berserking Axe tanker? Who would've thunk it?

Presuming you're not into RPing, I'd suggest simply stating: "My character is mute. Any comments are all out-of-character."

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bible school..

Thou shall not kill!
We don't kill.. we arrest!

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I kill... I dont arrest.

My one (and only) attempt at an RP character was Nowhere-Man, a Doom Patrol inspired controller who spoke only in Beatles lyrics. I created him and started hanging around the train stations, sending random tells to the RPers I met there.

"Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave. No-one was saved."

"Mother Superior jump the gun. Mother Superior jump the gun."





They grew to hate me real quick.

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I joined a TF today, unaware that the members of the TF were heavily into role playing. I'm fairly decent at Role Playing, and it didn't look as if another Task Force would be starting anytime soon, so I played along with them.
Unfortunately, this led to several problems, and to best illustrate this, I'll tell you how each other player designed their "Role Playing" in a manner that was... a bit extreme:

1) The Blaster of the group (Assault Rifle/Devices). Basically, this guy designed his character to be a bad-[censored]. Unfortunatley, he was SO good at this that he frequently cussed and insulted other players on the team for quite some time after even the smallest mistake.
"What the (censored) was that? (Defender Name), would it kill you to (censored) HEAL the rest of the group?! You lazy (censored)!

2) The Defender (Empathy/Psychic Blast). She apparently played the role of an "overly-permiscuous" woman... at least, I HOPE it was a "she"... it might have really been a "he"...
"Hey, stud muffin! You don't have to worry about getting hurt 'caus wherever you get hit I'll make sure to kiss it and make it better!"

3) The Scrapper (Dark/Dark). Basically a take on the "Goth" theme (which I guess is why he chose Dark/Dark).... It just got a little depressing...
"Why the hell do you care if you die, man? Life is pointless, saving people is pointless, this game is pointless, etc etc..."

4) And lastly, the Tanker (Invulnerability/Battle Ax). Basically, his character was... crazy.
"BRING THEM ON, MOTHER (censored)!!!! WHY THE (censored) ARE YOU (censored) STOPPING?!?! LET'S KILL THESE MOTHER (censored)!!!"

So, yeah, it was odd...

The point is, can Role Playing go too far? Or maybe it's good to enjoy such "colorful" company...

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Sounds like a walking group of clichés to me.
Original RP I can enjoy, the clichéd, over-used type just annoys me.

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*shudders*

Hey, to each his own, man, but RPers in a game like this freak me out a bit. And what is it with the word "shall"? They pepper that bad boy in there like they bought it in bulk. When was the last time you used "shall" in normal conversation?

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[color=hotpink]I use shall all the time in normall conversation!

You might use "shall" all the time, but I promise you it's not "normal conversation".

The official rule is you should use shall any time you are talking in first person (I or we), otherwise you should use will. In modern language, shall is going the way of the dodo.

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3) The Scrapper (Dark/Dark). Basically a take on the "Goth" theme (which I guess is why he chose Dark/Dark).... It just got a little depressing...
"Why the hell do you care if you die, man? Life is pointless, saving people is pointless, this game is pointless, etc etc..."

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"This game is pointless" ? Ok, they aren't role playing, just using that as an excuse to be aholes while on a TF. If you're roleplaying, you don't act as if in a game, or refer to a game while in-character.

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3) The Scrapper (Dark/Dark). Basically a take on the "Goth" theme (which I guess is why he chose Dark/Dark).... It just got a little depressing...
"Why the hell do you care if you die, man? Life is pointless, saving people is pointless, this game is pointless, etc etc..."

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"This game is pointless" ? Ok, they aren't role playing, just using that as an excuse to be aholes while on a TF. If you're roleplaying, you don't act as if in a game, or refer to a game while in-character.

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That is unless his goth character was aware of it being a game, like the She-Hulk. I don't read the comic, but someone told me and it completely turned me off to She-Hulk... as if the name isn't a good enough reason to not read it.

"Bring it on" doesn't bother me. Excessive vulgarity tends to point to an individual with a lack of imagination to me. They tend to be stuck in a rut where they expect foul language to carry the wait of what they want to do.

The promiscuous woman is a decent stereotype if you don't over do it. Though you might change the term to flirtatious instead. Unless she's constantly trying to get you away for a little fifteen minute "role-playing" break.

The goth, well, I've known goth type people who were really full of life, energetic and enthusiastic. The whole depressing bit would be stereotype (as in, many goths may be like that, even most, but not all).

As for the crazy, ask yourself....was he playing a crazy person? Or was he SAYING he was playing a crazy person so that he'd have an excuse to act crazy?

Basically, it is possible to play a badass and a flirtatious character without resorting to constant vulgarity and come-ons.

Xanthe Celebrin is a "badass" ranger from a play-by-email game I'm part of. I have rarely seen her player have her use ANY vulgarity, much less frequent vulgarity. She is the strong silent type and people fear her. She also fits the term goth, being pale, silent and generally unconcerned with most things in life (she's on a quest to have a half-elf of her acquaintance freed from a sleeping spell). My character mistook her for a banshee when they first encountered each other and has since called her "Lady Banshee" when she wants to annoy her.

My own character in the game is a drow priestess that is flirtatious, bisexual and a sort-of hidden badass. She is described by me as being about as sexually active as the average human mercenary. The thing is that she operates under a sort of "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die." sort of deal as followers of her faith are not marked for long life-spans Over the course of the game she has hit on numerous characters, but not done much "rutting". In fact, even though she is described as promiscuous, 90% of the time she is thinking about other things, such as her goddess and her mission, and now the other drow that wants to learn from her (basically, we aren't often in a situation that she would consider full out hitting on people appropriate. usually we're fighting for our lives and things are quite serious). She is very professional and seperates the business of survival and crusading from the pleasures in between, she has even been known to rebuke other party members for romancing during the wrong time ("Please, flip and chase tails later. She's a very pretty tail, and they're very appealing men, but right now we have this little problem with the vampire sorceress to attend to.") She is also a badass that moves quickly from lighthearted laughter to blood and battle. She does not, however, use profanity unless highly provoked. In battle she speaks to the point in as few words as necessary, gives her orders and expects them to be obeyed if there is not some immediately pressing reason not to obey them. She also waits for the situation to be over before criticizing people.

Roleplaying goes to far if the player believes they are their character.

What you describe is another problem.

It is the problem of someone that wants to be able to do what they want and uses "roleplaying" as a way to excuse it. Completely different problems.

There was a guy named Tsoo Sorcerer in perez park, and his battle cry was "chikety china!" or some crap like that, and he kept saying it over and over.

I took offense.. what an absolute idiot.

Normally I don't mind but this guy was an ignoramus.

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2) The Defender (Empathy/Psychic Blast). She apparently played the role of an "overly-permiscuous" woman... at least, I HOPE it was a "she"... it might have really been a "he"...
"Hey, stud muffin! You don't have to worry about getting hurt 'caus wherever you get hit I'll make sure to kiss it and make it better!"

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Yes it can go too far..especially when the game is rated teen.

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1) The Blaster of the group (Assault Rifle/Devices). Basically, this guy designed his character to be a bad-[censored]. Unfortunatley, he was SO good at this that he frequently cussed and insulted other players on the team for quite some time after even the smallest mistake.
"What the (censored) was that? (Defender Name), would it kill you to (censored) HEAL the rest of the group?! You lazy (censored)!


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You call that roleplaying!? Wow there must be like 10000000 others players who are the same way

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3) The Scrapper (Dark/Dark). Basically a take on the "Goth" theme (which I guess is why he chose Dark/Dark).... It just got a little depressing...
"Why the hell do you care if you die, man? Life is pointless, saving people is pointless, this game is pointless, etc etc..."


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This one is my favorite!! People who tend to live the "Goth" (PS I don't lable people, and those who act that way should just do what they celebrate so much..die) are usually not that fun to play with. He may have been roleplaying, but a hero shouldn't not care about anything.

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4) And lastly, the Tanker (Invulnerability/Battle Ax). Basically, his character was... crazy.
"BRING THEM ON, MOTHER (censored)!!!! WHY THE (censored) ARE YOU (censored) STOPPING?!?! LET'S KILL THESE MOTHER (censored)!!!"


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Hes just plain out crazy. Possibly under the age of 18 . I would have loved to been there just to see this guy scream about everything.

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There was a guy named Tsoo Sorcerer in perez park, and his battle cry was "chikety china!" or some crap like that, and he kept saying it over and over.

I took offense.. what an absolute idiot.

Normally I don't mind but this guy was an ignoramus.

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ROFL! WOW...I'd pay money to read that in game just so I can spit soda all over my monitor laughing...Thats just funny regardless of how stupid it may seem.

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That is unless his goth character was aware of it being a game, like the She-Hulk. I don't read the comic, but someone told me and it completely turned me off to She-Hulk... as if the name isn't a good enough reason to not read it.

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You're really missing out on something. It was only in her own book (not her appearances in Avengers or Fantastic Four, or her current title), but it was really amusing. She would have discussions with John Byrne and demand certain things. It would've bothered me if it involved the rest of the Marvel Universe, but within it's own context, it was really fun.

Still, unless handled VERY carefully, a hero who knew that everything going on in Paragon would break my suspension of disbelief while playing, and irritate me to no end.

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What ho, kind super hero! Canst thou directeth me to thine favorite enhancements store for Natural heroes, such as I? Huzzah! Someone is in need!

This looketh like a task for... Captain Everquest!

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LOL

I don't mind RPers, and like the OP I can dabble a bit. Still, abuse is abuse and Drakai would not tolerate it being directed at himself or his teammates. He's a Hero like that.

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*shudders*

Hey, to each his own, man, but RPers in a game like this freak me out a bit. And what is it with the word "shall"? They pepper that bad boy in there like they bought it in bulk. When was the last time you used "shall" in normal conversation?

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Interesting. So what does the letter R stand for in "MMORPG" in the universe you apparently inhabit?

To the original poster: Remember, roleplaying is a form of acting. What they were doing can therefore best be described as over-acting. And pretty poorly, at that.