I would say it was less a case of wrong AT than not simply putting "((charector is realy a nictus))" in their bio.
perhaps they had yet to reach 50, and wanted a placeholder for their concept. a dark defender would of fitted better perhaps, but a dark/dark scrapper would do for the time being.
of course the glaring problem i see in it is "nictus". Nicti(?) are inherently evil. Race=kheldian, class=Nictus, alignment=eating babies.
if your a good "nictus" then your a warshade (a reformed nictus) thats cannon.
saying your a good nictus would be like saying a "good nazi".
But on the subject of cannon Vs fudge; cannon overrules fudge for me. yes we may be better at writing it, but cannon backstory is the core and not to be fudged over.
of course theres also what i like to call unofficial cannon: the fudge that the majority agree on.
such as....
Zortel owns a huge company.
Coile is the biggest perv in paragon ( 
)
Sword of redemption/Doctor mechano makes the ever popular talkie-toaster
Lunk is big and scary.
none of that touches official cannon like some such as "Captain Uberwurst is head of longbow" would, so fills up those little gaps between.
[ QUOTE ]
perhaps they had yet to reach 50, and wanted a placeholder for their concept. a dark defender would of fitted better perhaps, but a dark/dark scrapper would do for the time being.
[/ QUOTE ]
The character in question WAS a level 50 though.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Speaking as one of the players involved (the other player who got confused), I am inclined to agree with you on the point of the confusion caused by that particular bit of interaction.
On the other hand, I know of at least one other scrapper character who has a resident Nictus - but thanks to some decent RP and explanation by the player involved it's rarely, if at all, an issue.
My thinking on this is as follows: If you're playing a character with 'features' that cannot be easily seen by people looking at the character AT, origin and cossie, then your bio should include them (I need to adjust Richard's bio - I've known this for ages).
The things to bear in mind are that other characters have peculiar senses. Take Richard, for example. He can see, hear, touch, taste, smell. Fine. So a physical and audio description make sense. However, he can also 'see' the entire electromagnetic spectrum. And he can differentiate energy sources from dimensions that aren't Union. He tends to express these as flavours. For example, Kitmarch, who technically comes from the Defiant reality, thanks to a wonderful bit of RP-fudgeness by Plasmarch, 'tastes' of rotten strawberries to Richard's energy sense.
It would make sense to me, therefore, for people to try to include things for 'unusual senses' in their character bio. If the character FFM and I were interacting with had in their Bio: "((Rper)) <CharacterName> is a Nictus", I doubt we'd have been so confused. There were other factors that threw the RP off, and yes, it would have been a lot easier if the character had been a Warshade, but a single line in the bio would have let us play our own characters' senses properly.
Having said all that, I think that game canon should only be broken in one or two extreme cases. Firstly, the RP difficulty of the Rejuve pods in the hospitals. They're plot-breaking, and I can't stand them for that reason. I have no issue with the medi-port network, but the ability to insta-heal any and all damage and debilitating effects on a character is, to say the least, problematic for RP in general. I tend to treat it on a case-by-case basis, but my default thinking is that the pods can stabilise pretty much anything, but not heal it.
When it's something that's important to a game-plot (like the fact that Nicti cannot bond with an unwilling host) then I think we should all be observing canon. However, if you can come up with a fudgearound, then go for it! Just don't flat out ignore something so fundamentally important to the game-world.
An example, if you will - taking the Nictus/unwilling host problem. What if the Nictus was implanted into an unquickened clone? Well, the clone can't be unwilling, because it has no volition. And it's alive, so the Nictus can use it as a host. Then, once the Nictus is safely inside, the clone can be woken up. I think we can safely say that the Nictus can remain even if the host is no longer willing (though I'm quite prepared to be wrong on that issue). Hey-presto - problem solved.
This is a very knotty problem, all told, and there is no easy answer. After all, I am aware of someone who used an Eng/Dev blaster to play a powerful Psychic, which at first glance would be better served by a Defender or Controller. I guess the only thing I can suggest at the end of the day is 'Use your bio to the full'.
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.
; Techbot_Alpha: Also, what Shadowe said. It seems he is still somewhat wise 
; Bull Throttle: Shadowe was unwise in this instance...; Rock_Powerfist: in this instance Shadowe is wise.; Techbot_Alpha: Shadowe is very wise *nods*; Zortel: *Quotable line about Shadowe being wise goes here.*
Not an easy question to answer. Canon often leaves us wanting and where some people choose to fill in the blanks, they may well do so differently to someone else. Personally, I try to steer clear of relating to canon too much although sometimes I will take it as a starting block for new characters, stories etc.
When encountering new players/characters, we have to make a series of assumptions e.g. that the avatar reflects their character in terms of appearances and powers as in your example. If there is something significantly different about them, then using the bio is about the only option available to us. For example, one of my characters is heavily scarred but apart from faces, I cant represent that on any other part of their body therefore, the information goes in their bio. If I know Im going to be interacting with someone for more than a few sentences, thats where Ill look in case theres something I need to be taking note of i.e. that the creature on Roses shoulder is not a fluffy panda but a rat. Im all for them being used but some people choose not to. If Im roleplaying with someone and their bio is blank, I have to run with what I can see in front of me.
There are times when appearances need to be overridden by the GM, for example when using a Council mission to represent private guards but then that is within the confines of that team and shouldnt affect anyone else. Recently weve been passing off the Ouroboros cathedral as the Paragon Art Museum if we want to use a flashback arc but dont want to use time travel. Again, this should only affect people in that team though.
Where canon does get overridden, its normally due to ignorance. The time line of world events in the CoX universe is not that well publicised so its easy to make mistakes. In some ways, superheroes should not have existed before 1940 (when the Well of the Furies) was opened, so anyone with a hero that predates that might have problems. But then, not everyone knows about that backstory. I hold my hand up of being guilty of that mistake in the past.
In the end, we RP by consensus, by agreeing on certain events. If an SG or team is happy to concede that said Scrapper has a Nictus dwelling inside of them then all fine and dandy. But when taking that character to either GG or PD where theres no established consensus amongst the people present, were reduced to using the tools the game gives us, ATs, powers and of course, the bio. And therein lies the problem.
Anyway, Im rambling now so Ill shut up.
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
[ QUOTE ]
Anyway, Im rambling now so Ill shut up.
[/ QUOTE ]
That didn't stop me!
I think it's the kind of topic where only rambling can make a lot of sense really... Without it degenerating into putting people down anyway, which is the last thing I want here.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
[ QUOTE ]
In some ways, superheroes should not have existed before 1940 (when the Well of the Furies) was opened,
[/ QUOTE ]
I thought it was opened a few years after the First World War, seeing as 2 people went looking for it to help cure one of their issues with some mustard gas. Also, natural and magic heroes would have still existed, as well as a few rare science/tech ones and maybe 1 in a billion mutants. The release of the Well of the Furies energy only accelerated things and made more heroes come into the world, I thought.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Anyway, Im rambling now so Ill shut up.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think it's the kind of topic where only rambling can make a lot of sense really... Without it degenerating into putting people down anyway, which is the last thing I want here.
[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, I think that people will post long and rambling points here. And I also hope that we can continue this without it descending into name-calling and pettiness.
Now, I have no problem (never have, never will do) with someone playing 'against type' - with a concept and background that don't strictly match the AT being used to portray the character (though I'd have a hard time accepting a scrapper as a 'peerless archer', I guess) - and I think that most of us would agree that the bio is the place for all the extra details that you can't see at first glance.
I agree with what Dante said about what I'd call location-fudge and enemy-fudge: You work with the tools you've got, and as long as you don't try to force your view of the world on people not involved in your RP, then that's all well and good. Heck, my SG base (in its role as Huntington Manor) should be on two floors, but I simply fake it.
I had another point to make, but thanks to work, I've not forgotten it. I'm sure I'll remember it later. Darn it.
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.
; Techbot_Alpha: Also, what Shadowe said. It seems he is still somewhat wise ; Bull Throttle: Shadowe was unwise in this instance...; Rock_Powerfist: in this instance Shadowe is wise.; Techbot_Alpha: Shadowe is very wise *nods*; Zortel: *Quotable line about Shadowe being wise goes here.*
Posting for ShadowGhost, who's having technical difficulties atm. 
************************
I've turned out to be a fan of multiple avatars for the same character. Like Grav Mistress having 2 controllers and a Peacebringer.
I've put in the Bio of the controllers info that she's a PB. It's been taken in character that the use of magic deminishes the detectibility of the Kheldian, at least in Grav's case.
I don't always put things in the Bio, I often forget... oops!
And usually, in the case of extra perceptions, I tend to put "those with flange senses /tell me".
I suppose I could put in there what could be known, but.. I've seen too often that people use that as IC knowledge even if it's not plausible to know it.
As for cannon... I think I know about 70% of the cannon the game has? Mostly the background stuff is missing, not finding it that interesting.
Cannon is the first basis, combined with common sense (at least, what I find common and logical).
Though it's mostly a basis. I try to 'roll with' what's happening, if it bends cannon a bit, that's fine, I'll fudge over it to keep it fun. If it chops cannon up in little blocks and throws it away, I'll either try to point that out (through tells and following discussion), or ignore it altogether.
Um, rambled enough, I think
ShadowGhost
************************
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
In some ways, superheroes should not have existed before 1940 (when the Well of the Furies) was opened,
[/ QUOTE ]
I thought it was opened a few years after the First World War, seeing as 2 people went looking for it to help cure one of their issues with some mustard gas. Also, natural and magic heroes would have still existed, as well as a few rare science/tech ones and maybe 1 in a billion mutants. The release of the Well of the Furies energy only accelerated things and made more heroes come into the world, I thought.
[/ QUOTE ]
Marcus Cole vanished in 1918 as he went off to explore the world. He returned in 1931 with superpowers. According to the game history on the US website anyway. The only reference to superpowers BEFORE them is the Greek heroes of ancient history.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
What seems slightly confusing to me is that the char was level 50, RPing a Nictus when he/she could of made one, and have things far less confusing for everyone.
But of course, RP is all about imagination, noone has a floating name above their head, or a little badge saying their a 'Scrapper' if this character was actually a Kheldian (Asin AT) it makes it far easier to imagine, thus giving greater immersion.
Admittingly i know little of game cannon, i dont know times or dates, and its very rarly i have to use it, but i abide by what i know, the essential stuff, it's common sense really. Ive fudged so much stuff over the past 2 years, and i know and understand another player might have a diffrent 'fudge' for that, theres always a way around or another piece of fudge to fill that gap whilst keeping it reasonable.
With all my chars i put in a description of which items arent in game mechanics (Scars, piercings, accents, items of clothing the game doesnt have.) thats what makes it fun, using your imagination to make it work. Atleast for me.
[ QUOTE ]
What seems slightly confusing to me is that the char was level 50, RPing a Nictus when he/she could of made one, and have things far less confusing for everyone.
But of course, RP is all about imagination, noone has a floating name above their head, or a little badge saying their a 'Scrapper' if this character was actually a Kheldian (Asin AT) it makes it far easier to imagine, thus giving greater immersion.
[/ QUOTE ]
Therein lay the problem.. My character is a Peacebringer and has the senses so she "knew" she wasn't talking to a Nictus... Until I had to send a tell to the player.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
In some ways, superheroes should not have existed before 1940 (when the Well of the Furies) was opened,
[/ QUOTE ]
I thought it was opened a few years after the First World War, seeing as 2 people went looking for it to help cure one of their issues with some mustard gas. Also, natural and magic heroes would have still existed, as well as a few rare science/tech ones and maybe 1 in a billion mutants. The release of the Well of the Furies energy only accelerated things and made more heroes come into the world, I thought.
[/ QUOTE ]
Marcus Cole vanished in 1918 as he went off to explore the world. He returned in 1931 with superpowers. According to the game history on the US website anyway. The only reference to superpowers BEFORE them is the Greek heroes of ancient history.
[/ QUOTE ]
It was only while lying in the dentists chair earlier that I realised that I was about a decade out with that date. And its fairly shocking given that I only finished reading Web of Arachnos last month.
Still, I was simply suggesting it as an example of canon that may not be widely known. As it is, my main is much older than that but I can RP my way around it by incorporating it into his backstory. However some may not know that and therefore havent considered it. It would be, for example, like someone RPing a Rikti without knowing what they actually are. Or RPing an evil version of Statesman without having ever read or done a Praetorian arc. In short, if someone wishes to use game canon in their story (and Khelds count as they do tie into the citys history) then research is needed.
I had a point originally but work and anaesthetics are robbing me of my capacity to focus
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
Not really sure what to say about this, as I myself have been very lazy and not really looked up background on some things for my toons (thankfully I havent accidentally bodged anything up too bad, or people just havent been telling me I have >.> ).
I will agree on the "Use the Bio" option, as I currently have one toon thats got alot of things that I cant show using the cossie creator at the moment (e.g lots of piercings, a tattoo) and also the fact that she isn't an actual Kheldian (I had filled up my char slots and couldnt bring myself to delete someone). And this also raises another point for me, if your playing a PB/WS, but not ICly a PB/WS, how do you get around the fact of Voids/Quantums hurting you so much? For me, I fudge my way around it saying that the energy disrupts her magic alot, and since she depends on it to live technically, it REALLY hurts her
As you can see, I'm not that intelligable on this sort of thing, or able to waffle and ramble on like you others seem to, but I thought I'd add my thoughts. 
FFM my old friend..
A good question and good topic. A well thought out post, tho Ironic that its you who has brought this up don't you think?
what you call fudge, is often called flange, or was were I grew up. as for Canon Vs Fudge.. the thing with one spreading into the other is that it can be good fun, if everybody is on the same page. But if one person feels there losing out to it then they will call it, and find a soap box. Its amazing the times you see players doing one thing one moment but the second some thing happens to them the call goes out "Godmodder" or they suddenly jump from a big fudge pie to Canon in a time it takes to right /ignore
The other thing with public r.p meets like the GG is it can get very "my stick is bigger than yours" with somebody doing some thing then some body doing some thing to better it or to get more attention, with the fudge flying all over the place
it can get very annoying for those who prefer a more canon approach
Sometimes you have to just bite your tongue and go with it. Like when there is a PB who seems to be 10 times more powerful than any other PB you have ever met, Or there is a damn blaster, energy devices no less trying to pass of as a great physic who can remove illness and in stoke fears in anybodys mind, wile hearing every thought that has been greated around him as he dips his hand into a portal that seems to be in his pocket and pulls out sugar snacks for any women that walks past.
Dante, your first post was great and I wish I could get my thoughts down as well as you. I agree very very much with the the local/public r.p systems being different
and if I had to some my post up in a short and sweet version I think id just say this..
Canon has its place at an event like the GG, giving a basic set of ground rules and boundaries. A bit of fudge to make things fun but not steal the show.
For real fudge, game bending mind twisting stuff.. (hat don't get me wrong is great fun)should be kept to smaller numbers with all players aware of whats going on
as an example of what I mean.. I have this, its a real event that happened Shadow Ghost,FFM I hope you don't mind me using this.. there is no malice in my words and I think it sums up what im trying to say
The Sg I used to run the Cirque De La Lune's back story was clostly tied to the Carnival of shadows. Most of our guild plots and char development was based around them.. because of this we had added a bit of fudge/flange along the way. For example we said that when the carnival takes a victim they are gone and the only way to release the hold the carnival has is to kill the husk, releasing the sprit to rest in peace.
Now to mehis sort of fudge is fine AS it was kept within the Sg only and not talked about in front of players who might have a different view it was a private bit of role-play for the SG only.
If we had tried to pass that idea off as being canon or raised it at the GG this would of forced players to agree with us or argue there for effecting there game and thats not how I play..
The problem we had was when Ghost and FFM joined the Cirque I as a guild leader should of spoken to them about this OOC and informed them of the story we had going.. I failed to do this and in turn it lead to Ghost playing Canon and saying some thing like "ive looked into it and your wrong.. here is the proof" BOOM before you can say send in the clowns canon has mixed with fudge and its all very sticky.
So.. if Canon is used as a basic back drop for public/open r.p and serious fudge is kept for private things with everybody aware that whats going on in that group stays with in that group as to not effect anybody else it can all work rather well
[ QUOTE ]
FFM my old friend..
A good question and good topic. A well thought out post, tho Ironic that its you who has brought this up don't you think?
[/ QUOTE ]
Well, I never said I was perfect. Much has changed in the last year or two.
[ QUOTE ]
as an example of what I mean.. I have this, its a real event that happened Shadow Ghost,FFM I hope you don't mind me using this.. there is no malice in my words and I think it sums up what im trying to say
[/ QUOTE ]
Don't worry. All water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned.
[ QUOTE ]
The problem we had was when Ghost and FFM joined the Cirque I as a guild leader should of spoken to them about this OOC and informed them of the story we had going.. I failed to do this and in turn it lead to Ghost playing Canon and saying some thing like "ive looked into it and your wrong.. here is the proof" BOOM before you can say send in the clowns canon has mixed with fudge and its all very sticky.
[/ QUOTE ]
Sticky is a bit of an understatement...
TBH, the whole affair was both unfortunate, and mismanaged on both sides, I feel... I was under a huge amount of RL stress at the time as my mum had not long passed away, and I probably should have stepped away from RP, but the game was kinda keeping me going at the time.
Not that I'm trying to use that as an excuse, of course. A lot of things were going on OOCly as well as ICly at the time, and I think the unfortunate part is that the line between the two blurred. Ghost and I were doing our best to be true to our chars; just as you were doing the same, and the two just didn't mix. It is a good example though, of how badly things can go wrong when people don't communicate properly, and keep OOC and IC seperate.
Ergo this thread.
I don't want to wreck the other players RP. I don't want to screw up how they see their character; but I also don't want mine screwed up either. I thought that if we discussed things like this in an open forum, people would take note that it's important people know the correct way to react to your characters, and how best to make it easier on others to reduce confusion.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
I'm a bit unsure on the 'Use Bio' option.
In one way, it lets people know if you're in some way different to how it appears, but in another way it gives people OOC knowledge on your character that they can bring up if they haven't explicitly been told it (i.e, someone claiming they know you're real name is Michael, when it's the first time you've spoken to them).
And on the topic of fudgeability, I have to admit, I'm pretty big on using the fudge aslong as it doesn't ruin canon backgrounds. For example, Volt Master, my main, is pretty damn fast. Of course, OOC he's stuck on the 88mph speed cap SS gets, but IC, I have him seeing everything in slow motion, and running to France for meetings in a few minutes (ala Flash from JLU). And Crucifix III, OOC he's a level 12, but I.C he's a major magic user who kills the undead for the Vatican. He's WAAAY more powerful than his security level leads on, but I've fudged this by saying he doesn't actually have a Hero License, hence he can't have a proper security level.
i could see what you were trying to to, thats why i read your post.. then walked away, went and played with the dog and had some food, got over the feeling of smashing your head into your screen :P and only then posted what i hope was a worth wile post and not seen as an attack in anyway
as you said, other things were getting in the way. you will never know what was going on behind the scenes of that guild, it was a horrible time for me as a player and guild leader and every night i was just going to say f*** it and walk away. Guess thats the problem with a game like this, you put so much into it but it takes so much more.. hmm much like most women i know
Your IC and OOC events were annoying and petty.. but as you say much can change, and i am far from perfect. i hope you will take what you learnt the hard way and pass it on to new blood as i have learnt to keep my mouth shut and walk away, thinking before i speak.
Bet you still play like a noob tho :P
Hey Volt. "In one way, it lets people know if you're in some way different to how it appears, but in another way it gives people OOC knowledge on your character that they can bring up if they haven't explicitly been told it (i.e, someone claiming they know you're real name is Michael, when it's the first time you've spoken to them)."
but what about if a Char can know.. sometimes that leads to some great r.p as you havent just had a /tell asking you.. it dose really make you stop and think Oh this guy is somthing.. be it plot device/mind reader/hero corps spy or Harlequin
Its a shame.. Bios should/could be used to tell a story that can give a player all they need to know, sadly they get abused. OR less experianced roleplayers get it wrong.
Aye, I'll agree there Jester. But sometimes it does annoy me when I have a toon in his secret identity, and suddenly someone will blurt out 'OH, HEY YOU'RE SOANDSO'.
that goes down to the Char as well.. id like to think if sombody was playing a char who had the power to knoe secert identitys then they would also know the risks and responsability that goes with it.. anyway we get away from topic
There's a school of thought that says that your bio should only state what is known publically. So if your character has a secret identity, don't put it in your bio. That said, I can't help but write enormous backstories for my characters and then try and cram them into the tiny bio space. Generally, (I'll use Scorpio Rose as an example) I put ((Roleplayer - Has small rat on shoulder, demon tail is in fact a scorpion tail with stinger on the end)). Then I'll do my backstory business. The stuff in brackets is enough to fill in any details that the avatar can't cover.
That said, if a complete stranger used something in my bio with no way to reason ICly how they had found out, I would probably end my conversation with them pretty rapidly.
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
I learned from previous happenings its a bad idea to put 'personal' stuff in your Bio, personal such as 'My Real name is: so and so' 'Has a crimainal record' 'Age: 32' 'Ultimate weakness: fudge'
I think people get the point of that, at one point i had a breif description of my chracters backstory in her Bio. Big mistake as i learnt, nowadays like i said, putting in extra things a character might see that game mechanics dont allow is more than enough. It's a nice feeling when people have took time to read your bio and comment IC to you, "You have funky piercings" for example.
The bio thing is a good tool, if used right it can aid Roleplay alot, clear up confusion and help people distinguish what your character really looks like.
(Sorry if this post is a little off-topic )
[ QUOTE ]
Your IC and OOC events were annoying and petty..
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I was under a huge amount of RL stress at the time as my mum had not long passed away
[/ QUOTE ]
... Words fail me....
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
I sincerely doubt there's any sort of concensus that can be reached - after all, we're a disparate group of individuals, all with our own ideas of how things work, and newcomers have their ideas...
It could go on forever.
The ultimate point (from my point of view) is that your bio should contain information that 'someone' could reasonably be expected to observe given appropariate senses to do so.
Italics denotes bio information in this example. Normal text is my notes.
Richard Huntington is a handsome man, blue eyes, brown hair, deep-set eyes.
Anyone who can see him can note this.
He speaks with a pronounced English accent.
If you hear him speak, you'll be able to tell this.
Both of those are pulled straight from the current incarnation of his bio. The changes I need to make include the following:
Electromagnetic Spectrum: Richard is incredibly bright to Infra-red vision (despite a skin temperature close to normal), and emits a greater than normal amount of radiation, particularly X-rays and Gamma-rays.
Psychics: There are strong blocks around Richard's mind, preventing casual intrusion.
There. That would do it nicely. Any other information would need to be gained ICly. If I then choose to include background information, that's my prerogative, but I should make it clear that it cannot be known IC.
Canon-following is a much harder topic, and one thing RPers love to do is make the exception that proves the rule. But my personal preference would be for people to not flat-out ignore the history and 'facts' known about various groups and events.
The events in the official history happened, as far as our characters are concerned. The events in the story arcs have also happened, as far as our characters are concerned. When a new Issue is released with a progression to the story, then those events also happen, and quickly become part of the official history. If we ignore it, then we end up with a large pile of fudge, and no crunchy biscuit. Which is not to say that there aren't HUGE holes in the 'facts' that can be exploited - there certainly are! - but if someone made a character claiming to have found the Well of the Furies a week before Statesman and Recluse did, would people believe them?
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.
; Techbot_Alpha: Also, what Shadowe said. It seems he is still somewhat wise ; Bull Throttle: Shadowe was unwise in this instance...; Rock_Powerfist: in this instance Shadowe is wise.; Techbot_Alpha: Shadowe is very wise *nods*; Zortel: *Quotable line about Shadowe being wise goes here.*
Hey all, I wish to raise an issue that *may* potentially offend someone; but this is not my intent. I want to try to garner other peoples opinions of RP and the understanding of canon. This may get somewhat rambly...
Now, lets start! Game canon; it can be an annoying thing and a good thing. It restricts you to certain limitations and can make it hard to do certain things; but it also gives you structure and a basic understanding which EVERYONE has. If you follow it, you might not be able to do some things you want, but other people will have a far better chance of following plots and things, at least a basic structure is laid down by the rules. If you don't follow it; the most common result is that one or more people aren't going to "click" with what you're wanting to do, and confusion will reign.
Of course, canon also has holes. Areas where some things are either poorly defined; or not defined at all. This is where 'fudge' comes in. That wonderfully sticky confection that allows us to fill the cracks as we see fit and express our imagination, providing we remember to explain it to others!
The problem is, what to do when the fudge flows over the canon; obscuring it and making things harder to follow? What do you do then?
Something happened at GG the other night which involved me and a couple of others. I'd not been at the statue much for some time, but I've felt like attending recently, so have been. I met someone 'new' there, new to my character that is... They chatted for a bit and all was well until she found out what my character was; a Peacebringer. Then she ran off, obviously scared.
Now, I want to stress that this is NO problem... A perfectly reasonable reaction in some cases and it promised to be interesting! I pursued to try to alleviate fears etc; as did some others. What followed though, was... very confusing for me. I think it confused at least one of the others as well.
Basically, the confusion was around the other character, and their claims of being one archetype when their avatar was a totally different one. Now, I'm NOT saying what the other person was doing was wrong by any means whatsoever; but surely, if you want to make claims of being a Nictus; then doing so on a character that's a scrapper AT is only going to cause confusion, and it did.
Being limited as we are, to people's BIO's and their visible AT; suddenly being confronted by someone claiming to be something my char could clearly see they were not caused so much confusion in the RP that followed that I was tempted to just walk away, and eventually did. My char couldn't see a Nictus, their char insisted they were. Eventually I spoke to the player via tells to try to clarify things; but by then the damage was done and I pulled my char out of there. A situation that promised to be fun ended up a bit of a damp squib; all due to the confusion of the ATs.
Now, I most certainly understand the desire to play your favourite character, especially after getting them to level 50; but for RP purposes, it helps everyone if you can try to RP as something your character can at least emulate as close as possible. Playing a Nictus with a scrapper is just... it doesn't work. You don't have the powers needed to pull it off; and strangers won't see you as you want them to without much OOC explaining first. Far better, IMO, to roll an alt of your character, using a more appropriate AT (in this case, a Warshade), and use the character BIO to explain differences. It makes things much easier for other players, especially when unfamiliar with the character.
It's also a good idea to know the canon behind the AT you're trying to play; to avoid contradictions. If one person is following canon as much as possible, and another isn't due to either not knowing it, or not caring; nobody is going to have fun. With Kheldians, there are plenty of cracks you can fill in with fudge; but there are also known hard facts which, if you're going to break, you NEED to communicate to other people involved, or you just get a mess.
Of course, from all this flows something else too. Consistency. Once you've chosen a particular way to react to a person or a situation; it's important to be consistent with that course of action, or even MORE confusion will follow. Last night the other character spoke with mine again, as if the events the previous night hadn't happened. I was somewhat nonplussed by that, understandably so. So much so, that I reacted inconsistently too. I wasn't sure if the player was wanting to forget the previous night (retcon), or not... And as I was busy talking to an old friend, I didn't spare the time to check with them. Yes, that's my fault; but I was thrown off by the inconsistent reaction.
Hmm... This is coming out more rambling than I hoped; so I hope you guys get what I'm driving at.
Also, I'm REALLY hoping the other player involved doesn't take any offence; as none is intended. What I want to try to do here, is gain an understanding of how other people feel about situations like this. Do you think it more appropriate to use the best AT for the job? Do you think it's important to stick to canon, or do you think anarchy should rule?
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.