(03-04-2015, 07:08 PM)Magellan Wrote: I have yet to come across a good OP character. I'm not saying its impossible, but things can (and often do) become such an epeen measuring contest, because there is no 'authority' (read, DM,) who can settle who does, in fact have the stronger character in a combat situation. You can settle on /random rolls, though that might be a little too basic for some people.

(03-04-2015, 07:08 PM)Magellan Wrote: I have yet to come across a good OP character. I'm not saying its impossible, but things can (and often do) become such an epeen measuring contest, because there is no 'authority' (read, DM,) who can settle who does, in fact have the stronger character in a combat situation. You can settle on /random rolls, though that might be a little too basic for some people.

On the whole, I actually try to avoid combat rp altogether, unless I am on my underpowered characters. Then, I know my characterbis gonna lose anyway, and I can have fun with it. On my stronger characters, however, well... people tend to act like their characters have never lost a fight in anything, and it can quickly escalate in a dragonball z episode, which is not a show that ever interested me.

Npc'd OP characters, however, can be very fun. OP player characters, not so much.

(02-25-2015, 02:30 PM)Graeham Ridgefield Wrote: The biggest problem with powerful characters is that many role-players seek to embrace all the perks and none of the drawbacks that accompany such a role. An experienced soldier would realistically spend most of their time fighting their foes and would be exhausted during what little free time they actually have to piece together something resembling a social life.

Yet because of how frequently instant teleportation is embraced that eliminates the 'distance' drawback for many. You'll see people fighting in La Noscea one minute and then teleporting to Gridania shortly afterwards.

So what other drawbacks does that leave us with? Well, anyone who has actually been to a real battlefield will agree that it isn't something you just get over. It affects one's ability to connect with their friends and family due to the trauma that arises as a result of injuring and killing others for a living.

...and yet that is rarely exploited as a drawback either since the majority of powerful characters happen to be role-played as social butterflies who somehow manage to juggle everything at once.

Putting aside the mental trauma there's also the risk of physical trauma which, again, so rarely ends up being embraced as a realistic drawback. Instant healing is often embraced, eliminating much of the danger and potential for scarring. Thankfully some role-players are brave enough to go down the route of allowing their character to bear some lasting damage but it seems to be fairly rare from what I've seen in-game.

In short, I have no issue with powerful characters...assuming they're not just created with the intention of wanking off their creator's ego. If you're going to put your character on a pedestal above everybody else's then the least that can be done is to exploit some realistic drawbacks that are actually drawbacks and not just vague cop outs like 'he is too nice'.

(03-05-2015, 07:10 AM)Tiergan Wrote: The above is why it's super hard for me to RP Lurial 75% of the time, because she's supposed to be super smart and I'm super derp. :V

(03-05-2015, 03:10 AM)Caspar Wrote:

(03-04-2015, 07:08 PM)Magellan Wrote: I have yet to come across a good OP character. I'm not saying its impossible, but things can (and often do) become such an epeen measuring contest, because there is no 'authority' (read, DM,) who can settle who does, in fact have the stronger character in a combat situation. You can settle on /random rolls, though that might be a little too basic for some people.

On the whole, I actually try to avoid combat rp altogether, unless I am on my underpowered characters. Then, I know my characterbis gonna lose anyway, and I can have fun with it. On my stronger characters, however, well... people tend to act like their characters have never lost a fight in anything, and it can quickly escalate in a dragonball z episode, which is not a show that ever interested me.

Npc'd OP characters, however, can be very fun. OP player characters, not so much.

You say that, but I don't know. What would you define as OP, then?

I'd like for my character to have credibility for RP purposes, but /random just hates me and she's never won a single fight using it. That's just bad luck, but it definitely stretches the plausibility of her having trained her entire life to beat people to death with her bare hands. I don't really care about her being the strongest, but I'd like people to at least have IC reason to take her seriously, lol.

(02-23-2015, 06:59 PM)Mitzer The Mighty Wrote: I see a lot of different types of roleplay. I was wondering which type appeals more to you. Do you like playing powerful characters? How do you keep it interesting? Or do you enjoy regular joes, how do you make mundane life interesting in roleplay? Both types are needed in stories It's what keeps things moving. More interested in which is more fun to play and why.

There is a door in front of you, it is locked.

Adventurer 1 is a powerful Captain of Everything, born half demon/ half angel/ half primal/ half key so they pushed the door open with ease. They see Ifrit, who says "Dear gods not again." Afterward they go to the quicksand and cant find a seat so they drink in a dark dank corner and brood while the other half voidsent/ half potatoes ask "Did you kill primals today?".

Adventurer 2 is a young refugee with no particular skills in trade. He is attempting to break in to the room of a famous thief and prove himself to be worthy of his attention. He has no skill in lock picking and just realized the key was lost in the long travel through a freak flash storm. It was with luck a courier from Gridania had crossed their path, seeing as the boy struggled with the lock. "Just what are you trying to get from that shack boy?" The courier would only see the eyes of desperation. She took pity on the trembling figure who reminded her of her son at home. With a novice's understanding of carpentry she took an awl and mallet to the hinges of the door. A crack of wood, creak of rusted metal, the door found it's way to the floor. Beyond the cloud of dust was a small table with single wooden box. Inside, was the spare key and a parchment with a laughing face inscribed in charcoal. The spectacle caused the courier to laugh at the boy's misfortune. The thief was a clever one who would not be found so easily. She took him back to Gridania to fill his belly by the fire, in the company of a few friends who might have some meaningful work with plenty of room to teach in exchange for the boy's humorous tale of misadventure.

In my opinion: Viva Adventurer 2, the bringer of laughs and endless entertainment.

(03-05-2015, 07:06 AM)Edvyn Wrote: from my own experience, rpers in general tend to think of things in real simple, concrete terms. in many cases, not only do they think in concrete terms, they focus solely on physical aspects i.e. what their imaginary person can beat up and how totally cool their imaginary character is for being able to beat things up!

if any thought is given to what goes on in the character's head, it's often just as concrete and measured in terms of "my character is THIS strong". i have seen many, many characters that are "intelligent" solely because the player says they are. they don't demonstrate any knowledge beyond what the average joe has (emoting reading a book doesn't count), they don't say anything profound or wise, they don't show cunning or wit. these "intelligent" characters often just use their VAST cognitive ability to throw bigger fireballs, say really condescending things and various other forms of dickwaving (in other words, their intelligence is really just another ability that helps them beat things up). it's a power fantasy of the mind.

i hold the belief that it is the player's responsibility to prove, through action, their character's personal strengths and weaknesses. it's all well and good to tell people about your character and what they can do, but nobody should be expected to simply take what's told to them about someone else's character at face value. a self-described "badass" character is almost invariably not badass in the slightest. the player just desperately wants the character to be seen that way without doing anything for it. other people decide if you're badass, not you. similarly, a self-described witty and sarcastic character is probably neither witty nor sarcastic but pretty likely to be annoying as shit (and not in the funny way either).

thankyou for reading my opinions have a good night god bless

(03-05-2015, 07:06 AM)Edvyn Wrote: from my own experience, rpers in general tend to think of things in real simple, concrete terms. in many cases, not only do they think in concrete terms, they focus solely on physical aspects i.e. what their imaginary person can beat up and how totally cool their imaginary character is for being able to beat things up!

if any thought is given to what goes on in the character's head, it's often just as concrete and measured in terms of "my character is THIS strong". i have seen many, many characters that are "intelligent" solely because the player says they are. they don't demonstrate any knowledge beyond what the average joe has (emoting reading a book doesn't count), they don't say anything profound or wise, they don't show cunning or wit. these "intelligent" characters often just use their VAST cognitive ability to throw bigger fireballs, say really condescending things and various other forms of dickwaving (in other words, their intelligence is really just another ability that helps them beat things up). it's a power fantasy of the mind.

i hold the belief that it is the player's responsibility to prove, through action, their character's personal strengths and weaknesses. it's all well and good to tell people about your character and what they can do, but nobody should be expected to simply take what's told to them about someone else's character at face value. a self-described "badass" character is almost invariably not badass in the slightest. the player just desperately wants the character to be seen that way without doing anything for it. other people decide if you're badass, not you. similarly, a self-described witty and sarcastic character is probably neither witty nor sarcastic but pretty likely to be annoying as shit (and not in the funny way either).

Quote:Anyways, I've always been wary of overpowered characters because I don't understand how they are supposed to meld well together with regular characters who lean more toward realism. Like, take for instance someone who, in previous scenes, used to drop numerous enemies like flies and now they find themselves in a situation where 2-4 people are surrounded by 4-5 Amalj'aa and are treating it like a very threatening situation... what is the OP character supposed to do? Stay true to his character and clean them all out swiftly and easily? Or downplay his character so that it doesn't eliminate the sense of tension/the scene in general for the others - in which case it just stops being a character's trait and more of a "I am OP when I can get away with it" card?

(03-05-2015, 11:56 AM)K Wrote: I thought I replied in this.


Anyways, I've always been wary of overpowered characters because I don't understand how they are supposed to meld well together with regular characters who lean more toward realism. Like, take for instance someone who, in previous scenes, used to drop numerous enemies like flies and now they find themselves in a situation where 2-4 people are surrounded by 4-5 Amalj'aa and are treating it like a very threatening situation... what is the OP character supposed to do? Stay true to his character and clean them all out swiftly and easily? Or downplay his character so that it doesn't eliminate the sense of tension/the scene in general for the others - in which case it just stops being a character's trait and more of a "I am OP when I can get away with it" card?

(03-05-2015, 11:56 AM)Knahli Wrote: Stay true to his character and clean them all out swiftly and easily? Or downplay his character so that it doesn't eliminate the sense of tension/the scene in general for the others - in which case it just stops being a character's trait and more of a "I am OP when I can get away with it" card?