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role playing


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Aquazoo

Sat May 28 2011, 11:07am

Registered Member #7

Joined: Sat Feb 19 2011, 01:33pm
Location: Kensington
Posts: 229

We just had a discussion on roleplay, so I'm posting some of it here so players can find and read the info easily.
Pete said,
"I would like to point out that the more players "role play" in the Yahoo Group and interact with each other, the more the writters have to go on when your character hits the news."

Aquazoo

Sat May 28 2011, 11:08am

Registered Member #7

Joined: Sat Feb 19 2011, 01:33pm
Location: Kensington
Posts: 229

Gavin said,
"What tends to happen from my standpoint is that players RP the interactions between characters in last week of the last month (ie after the previous turn events) and the first part of the first week of the new turn. So, declarations of whatâ€™s going to happen in the next 4 weeks and discussions of what happened in the previous 4. It all depends on the group involved though, different games have different feels. One game I was in was very RP heavy, pseudo meetings (in the street, at the club etc but not turn related or SP gaining.) and lots of press to each other including â€œprivateâ€ messages being posted to the group for all to enjoy and promptly forget from a characters POV, while another has very little in the way of situational RP, only a few open messages.

"Briny used to have a good RP crew, which added to the feel, but you can choose to play however you want, thatâ€™s the beauty of EG. Some people only send in monthly orders and announce events, others take every opportunity to post RP."

Aquazoo

Sat May 28 2011, 11:11am

Registered Member #7

Joined: Sat Feb 19 2011, 01:33pm
Location: Kensington
Posts: 229

Carol said,
"We have some excellent role players as I've seen over the years. That's what really gives the flavor to the game.

"I suppose it is possible to role play while waiting for the turn resolution â€” you just can't plan anything of consequence since, as pointed out, you don't know if your character is dead, on a cutter headed toward a blockade ship, etc. But there are many topics of light conversation, such as fashion, foodways, or a particular park or public building your character would like to see.

"Besides conversations, characters can write letters to each other. It's also ok to be involved in more than one conversation: you could be chatting with one person in the morning and another in the afternoon, and both conversations might take a couple of days in real time. Just don't write an action or dialogue for another player character. Rather than saying "John Smith leaves the admiral's office so I can go in and talk to him," you can start your conversation and state it to be happening at another time â€” John Smith's player may not be finished talking to the admiral.

"Unless you are planning something sneaky, the conversations should be posted as roleplay on the list.

"Finally, use caution in inventing NPCs. No problems writing dialogue for your landlord or a random urchin on the street, but you can get into trouble if you start that with higher-level NPCs. You can write a letter home, but any "response" will be considered your character's opinion. Only writers for the Gazette may write things that are not considered to be from the character they are playing. If you want to send in "anonymous press" you may do so, but it is possible it could be traced back to your character."

Aquazoo

Sat May 28 2011, 11:12am

Registered Member #7

Joined: Sat Feb 19 2011, 01:33pm
Location: Kensington
Posts: 229

Ron said,
"I have always RPed heavily in my EG games, and yes, that included "between-turns" planning in those months when it was obvious that the character might be, for example, simply partying and studying. It also very often regarded past turns' results. The latter has been the greatest source of RP grist for the mill, and would often involve others, if the turn results were for a regiment/ship/House/Faction. Even duels could be roleplayed, either cooperatively with the opponent, or using a "winner is allowed to report the duel using duel data and due respect for the other PC" convention.

"Other RPs included giving insight into the character's background and even RPs between NPCs of the character's acquaintance-- not necessarily to the character's benefit.

"As for roleplaying "secret planning" to the list-- I have been in games with some truly wonderful RPers, and with those that have a wonderful sense of gamesmanship-- and *none* of them has found it easy to ignore plans that their characters should not be "aware of". This is not to say that they have taken unfair advantage, but it still puts a pressure on play. As an example, I was once placed in an awkward situation becuae I had deduced a dastardly plan by some rivals, purely via in-game knowledge and deduction. A 3rd party then revealed part of the plan in an "ineligible format". Even though I could have acted with good conscience on my own info and deductions, I felt constrained not to, because of the overlapping "out-of-bounds" info. So, in a way, revealing planning became a sort of "insurance" that good players would *not* act to foil it."

Aquazoo

Sat May 28 2011, 11:16am

Registered Member #7

Joined: Sat Feb 19 2011, 01:33pm
Location: Kensington
Posts: 229

Carol said,
"There is a difference between diabolical plans and "private" conversation. Posts to the list marked "private" are conversations that other characters will hear about, but are not invited to join. Similarly, one could write a letter home with his opinion about London â€” the letter is not written to the other characters, but it's intended to give us an idea of the writer's attitude. What I've heard about (and I don't think is right) is when someone insults another character and then claims they have no recourse because the post was marked "private." Sorry, the walls have ears and servants talk, so Paul's opinion of Ringo will be known and can mean consequences for Paul.

"Sneaky plans, on the other hand, let's say George, John and Paul decide to lure Ringo into a duel with the goal of doing him in. It's hardly something you would broadcast and I don't see Ringo's player ordering the character into that situation if he has suspicions. Also if there is plotting between George, John and Paul, we should also see a relationship between the three of them. While they might not be shipmates or friends, there should be some interaction going on, and not just offlist e-mail.

"There are no rules to enforce this sort of thing, not yet.

I have seen other GMs require a certain amount of roleplay in order to stay in a game. There will be players who only want to send in orders and not role-play at all, but if they intend to interact with other characters then they should at least try it.

"I've played En Garde! with some of you for a decade and a half, but remember there are always new players joining â€” for the new players, please feel free to join into the conversations and you'll quickly have the rapport that others enjoy."


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