Post by Morreion on Jan 20, 2010 8:44:05 GMT -5
Roleplaying to the Max (Dragon)
I've known a couple of people like this- they tend to be very good at RP, but are very difficult to get along with. There is always drama around them, and that drama extends to OOC (I have some historical chatlogs and emails to back this up, but let's not go there!). Sometimes I wondered if RP was a front for putting up with a type of intellectual griefer. Egotism can get in the way of what is supposed to be a community activity. The problem was...these people were very good at their disruptive RP.
My grandfather was as stubborn as they come. Mulish doesn’t even begin to describe how obstinate he could be. It didn’t matter if you showed him documented evidence that he was wrong. He just wouldn’t change his mind. That said, he was thoughtful, caring, and played board games with his grandsons at any hour of the day, so I’m not complaining. Everyone knows someone like this, and most gamers know someone who roleplays like this in their games.
I call this person a Roleplaying Mule. This person settles on a character in a unique manner. The RM commits to a vision in his head and flat-out refuses to deviate from it. The vision must be preserved at all costs … even if doing so means that the rest of the table suffers.
Before I go any further, let me say for the record that I’m a big fan of a well-roleplayed character. I enjoy coming up with my character’s personality even more than I like picking his feats and powers. And I’m a power gamer, so picking feats and powers is like picking which cupcake to have—they’re all so delicious! Finding a hook, a role to play, so to speak, is great, but it’s important to remember that the game is a cooperative experience. You have your fellow players to consider.
The RM doesn’t do this. He makes deliberate character choices that can hamper other characters at the table. Playing a character to extremes can be fun, and a little interparty conflict can provide hours of entertainment. One of my favorite characters frequently misconstrued nearly everything his allies said, but I learned to watch that I don’t cross the fine line between occasionally-irritating-in-an-amusing way to outright infuriating.
I call this person a Roleplaying Mule. This person settles on a character in a unique manner. The RM commits to a vision in his head and flat-out refuses to deviate from it. The vision must be preserved at all costs … even if doing so means that the rest of the table suffers.
Before I go any further, let me say for the record that I’m a big fan of a well-roleplayed character. I enjoy coming up with my character’s personality even more than I like picking his feats and powers. And I’m a power gamer, so picking feats and powers is like picking which cupcake to have—they’re all so delicious! Finding a hook, a role to play, so to speak, is great, but it’s important to remember that the game is a cooperative experience. You have your fellow players to consider.
The RM doesn’t do this. He makes deliberate character choices that can hamper other characters at the table. Playing a character to extremes can be fun, and a little interparty conflict can provide hours of entertainment. One of my favorite characters frequently misconstrued nearly everything his allies said, but I learned to watch that I don’t cross the fine line between occasionally-irritating-in-an-amusing way to outright infuriating.
I've known a couple of people like this- they tend to be very good at RP, but are very difficult to get along with. There is always drama around them, and that drama extends to OOC (I have some historical chatlogs and emails to back this up, but let's not go there!). Sometimes I wondered if RP was a front for putting up with a type of intellectual griefer. Egotism can get in the way of what is supposed to be a community activity. The problem was...these people were very good at their disruptive RP.
