General RP discussion/Sharing the Stage

[archimedes 13]

*Ahem* I won't say any more about this in this thread, since it's off-topic, but I was being tongue-in-cheek. (Matyas has no druid levels....but maybe he should). I always find it a bit silly (both ic and ooc, to a certain extent) when nature-types get all huffy that someone defended themself from an aggressive rat on the south road. Perhaps they should just let it nip at their heels until they reach the gate.<br>
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If Matyas has a druid or some animal charmer with him he'll let them do their stuff, but if attacked, he'll defend himself and if it's safe in the area, skin it for meat. Little waste, practical...hardly wanton killing of the innocent forest critters, no?<br>
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((Addendum, yes, I'll allow that maybe characters shouldn't go charging off into the marshes on rat-capades, and I'll admit I've seen aggressive (but power-gaming? hmm...) players go after animals with little provocation, and that would certainly gets some characters' dander up...but I've seen plenty of cases like the ones I first mentioned, a bit of self-defense and suddenly the elves of the Dale unite in their hatred of you ;-) ))

<p>in game - Matyas DeLac</p><i></i>

[goatte]

As far as hunting, just let folks know up front that during a scout, you have to take one deer for provisions. The thing about Druids, is that there's slaughter and there's the natural process of predator and prey. Perhaps because they interact so much with animals, it's kind of like watching your friend "Bob" get taken down, skinned and gutted. There might also be the other side of the equation, where a Druid recognizes the necessity to cull the deer population lest it overgraze a region. *shrugs* I don't play druids.<br>
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I enjoy sharing the stage, myself. One of my characters seeks out tales of the region for the Collegium's records, so I'm especially willing to listen and share with other players.<br>
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When I play Karn, though, he use to end up being leader of a team, which is very stressful. You have to keep track of all the other members of the party, in case one falls right in the middle of a battle. By keeping the levels consistent, one character doesn't receive an inordinate amount of attention while another slips the leader's attention. To me, this is a case of game mechanics taking control. P&P D&D moved at a slower pace with more time to think and act.<br>
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goatte (faelar & karn)

<p></p><i></i>

[Algernon's Ghost]

Sharing the stage has never really been about including every single character in every single thing. That just cannot be done. It is not about quantity of play, it is about quality (or style) of play. It is about not making yourself, and all things related to yourself, the primary focus of every group gathering. It is about adopting a sharing, inviting style of play which engages other players, and does not simply focus them on yourself.<br>
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If everyone gives more than they take, then no one will ever be left wanting.

<p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END--><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>The ends don't justify the means. The means shape the ends; you become what you do.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END--><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security."<br>
-Benjamin Franklin</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END--></p><i></i>

[Dracharla]

I know it got referenced just now in another post, but after rereading this there is alot of valuable information for all of us to glean from there. I know that I am guilty from time to time of hogging the stage more than I would like.

anyways

* a solid bump*

[goatte]

If your character is the one stepping to the front of the stage, the roleplay will come naturally. Today, I watched Isendyl lecture Kua about some druid thing. My character isn't a druid, so he just reacted to it by emoting distress, confusion. I found the opportunity an enjoyable one, though my character really had very little to say. I thought that both Dracharla and Larknmeadow(sp?) were very impressive as senior druid and junior druid 'discussing' a matter of druid canon.

I think that realizing that our characters will have differing motivations during different events is how we share the stage. And putting forward little bits of our characters in emotes offers other characters the chance to interact with us. If you're by the well and not sure how to interact with another character sitting on the far bench, start reading a spellbook, sharpening an axe blade, chewing on a piece of jerked venison, humming to yourself, etc. Putting your character out there and giving little hooks for other characters to latch onto is not hogging the stage when the dialogue is running slow, IMHO.

I think the concern that another opportunity to share a bit of a character's background won't come again unless I jump on an opportunity immediately, is what can lead to hogging the stage. Or seeking to dominate a conversation, which is out of character, is hogging the stage. A monk wouldn't start just generally discussing the nature of the Weave out of the blue in front of everyone at the well.

Also, one thing I do pretty often to avoid antagonizing the rats, boars, bears, etc. is to use stealth when I'm walking in the woods. A few points into the hide and move silently skills, along with a few items, can make the difference between sneaking past an encounter and being chomped on by that boar. I don't know if it's considered cheating, but I usually go to 'stealth' mode when crossing a transition. I consider the transition itself artificial, so why not give yourself that second or two to jump back across because something was waiting on the other side of an artificial barrier? A cave entrance would permit sound and light to cross over. An artificial line on a map would permit us to see that boar, bear long before we came that close in real life, as long as we were in detect mode. Admittedly, when I've got both 'stealth' and 'detect' active, I'm going pretty slow. I ask 'why not go slow?' It give us more time to rp the beginning and aftermath of encounters. If we're getting swarmed, I'd say then it's fine to rush off. I've walked alone with both 'stealth' and 'detect' active a few times on a test character to see if I got bored with it. Frankly, the suspense was enjoyable to me.

'What is that shadow? Is it a goblin or a tuft of grass?'

goatte

[Vind]

I know it's off topic, but I want to add something to what goatte said. I very frequently (almost always) put Vind in stealth mode when outside the Dale, and I want to make sure that people don't take it the wrong what. The main reason for this is that I cannot explicitly enable Detect mode since Vind has Keen Senses and it's automatically enabled for him. This means that when I'm not in stealth mode, I have to constantly press the shift key whenever I want to move somewhere walking (if I'm wrong please tell me, it's very annoying!). In the Dale I do this because it would be incredibly dumb to walk around with my character in stealth mode all the time. The other reason why Vind goes into stealth mode is that he's very weak and getting on the surprised end of a surprise attack could easily mean his death.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I also hope that I don't steal the stage too much with Vind. I know that I try to initiate lots of conversations and greet almost every new player that Vind sees, but it's part of how I try to RP Vind: a very talkative and inquisitive elf. I do try to stay out of private conversations, etc. but I do frequently do an emote to show that Vind is aware of the people or watching their interactions with interest without saying anything. Please let me know if I do hog the spotlight a bit too much though and I'll cut back.

Also, I think it's important to realize that those of us with very few HP and who can't wear armor are very vulnerable and thus have no way to get outside the Dale unless we tack onto another group. As a player it can get frustrating getting stuck in the Dale for hours and hours because my character would easily be dispatched by a few goblins. I hope I don't come across as inappropriately attaching Vind to outings. I think it's also part of his inquisitive disposition to want to explore the area and get out of the Dale.

Again, sorry to be so off-topic.