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Too many dominant characters

This out of character forum is for discussion of roleplaying, how to roleplay and roleplay coordination.
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Dakkoth
Keepers of the Eternal Shadow
Posts: 177
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:20 pm

Too many dominant characters

Post by Dakkoth »

Hey folks,

It is my personal opinion that there are too many dominant characters in Underlight.

There are extremely good role players in our community of players. Perhaps too good :D . I do however see, at least from my view, that there are too many leading roles and not enough supporting roles. All too often, I see characters disagree with a small seemingly insignificant part of a much larger group roleplay and then disassociate themselves from all of it. It's as if the controller was not willing to roleplay their character in conceding a small point to continue forth. What we get is a bunch of dominant characters with very few who believe EXACTLY as they do. I think having differences is what makes every character unique and is a must. But I believe that there are existing hierarchy structures in game that from a Roleplaying perspective are highly under utilized by the player base.

I will give you one distinct example. Ruler "A" makes a ruling decision on a topic. Guardians "B" and "C" support the decision. Guardian "D" does not. The same with 10 initiates (6 are in favor and 4 are not). The topic in question bears not on main tenants of belief or house structure but rather a trivial means to the same desired ends. Instead of Roleplaying frustration or protest but continuing forth supporting housemates, The 4 initiates in disagreement either demote themselves out of house, steal house supplies in spite, and/or thwart the success of the main mission in spite. Meanwhile, Guardian "D" steals house prime and gives it to another house where they then become an initiate. Instead, Guardian "D" and the 4 initiates could have at least not participated if not gone along under protest giving canter if the plot failed or if successful could even have said "Not how I would have liked to do it but good job all".

This is just one example and it's not representative of anything that actually happened IC (I made up the above scenario). Many more examples could be dissected in this manner. The point of it all being there should be more supporting characters and more controllers willing to swallow a bit of pride if an idea of theirs isn't used in the current plot.

Do you agree or disagree? Leave your comments below in a constructive manner. This is not intended at any one particular character or player. So please, no bashing or hate speech.

~Mike
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coltdorsey
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Re: Too many dominant characters

Post by coltdorsey »

I agree that too many dominant characters in one house can be problematic, but I think thats where it remains. I certainly don't get a sense that is happening in game within a larger scope.

I know you said your example is not representative of anything that actually happened IC, but most parts of the scenario described have already happened and specifically relate to the Keepers opening and to its current state. Some parts of the scenario happened before Dakkoth returned. The two groups in the Keepers remained divided and struggling for a few weeks to a month before many people had their characters demoted from the Keepers.
Sidas
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Re: Too many dominant characters

Post by Sidas »

Dominant characters are often very much like magnets. They will attract a lot of attention and will create a flock around them. Eventually, however, they will eventually find themselves pushing away from like-minded individuals. In this sense, you can have very power-hungry characters in the same house for a short period of time, however, they will eventually end up fighting and will often only have one remaining.

The original OSM is an example of this occurring. That house was intended to have the strongest dreamers within it, however, those dreamers could not stick together due to ambition, greed, or other reasons. They fractured and split, spreading across UL and some even quitting entirely. This is a natural evolution and not something that should be rushed, nor likely something that should be avoided through OOC means.

Other than that, I can't really comment on your primary point since I don't really understand what you're going for in it. There are always going to be people pushing their characters as the "hero". Not everyone can fill this role, however, which is why it's important for the controllers that normally fill the role to be more willing to step back from time to time. This allows others to step forward and take the lead.

TL;DR; I personally feel like we don't have enough people that can take a large roleplay and run with it without major direction from GMs. I'd rather we reach that point before we start yelling at people to let you win IC.
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Cherokee
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Re: Too many dominant characters

Post by Cherokee »

Seeing as how this supposed "made up scenario" actually happened, it's quite clear at what you're getting at. Guardian D set out a plan before the house even opened and executed it as intended...it was not over some internal squabble. There was no alternative in that case, as any other would have been a decision made from an OOC perspective.

Now, while there may be a lot of "dominant" characters on one side, there is always room for conversion RPs. Give them a reason to want to be on your side, instead of remaining behind closed portals and refusing to interact.
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Dakkoth
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Re: Too many dominant characters

Post by Dakkoth »

I cannot stress this enough. I made up the above scenario. Please let that go in future replies. This is to be a constructive post not a bashing or singling out post.

This is also not a crossover post looking for suggestions on how to IC role plays. It is as genuine as I have stated the intentions are.

This topic is about your opinion on whether you feel there are too many dominant characters or not. Personally I think there is from the small scope of player characters I have seen. But that may not be the case overall. Looking for some opinions. Personally I find it more fun and less stressful.

~Mike
Uthanatos
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Re: Too many dominant characters

Post by Uthanatos »

Mike,

From where I sit, having only Uthy's POV to see through, it doesn't really seem like there are too MANY dominant characters, just that some of them aren't happy with their place in the hierarchy. Take for instance HC, HC is a house made up mostly of Alpha personalities, which could be a HUGE problem, but there's a natural hierarchy which allows all those Alphas to to work together for the most part. It's not about who's in charge, it's about who's in charge of what. That separation happens naturally in most groups and if the dominant Alpha is too controlling, it will drive others from the group. Hope that helps some.

Kipp
“Sometimes it isn't easy to be sane, smart, and responsible. Sometimes it sucks. Sucks wang. Camel wang. But that doesn't turn wrong into right or stupid into smart.”
― Jim Butcher, Cold Days
Joandaltha
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Re: Too many dominant characters

Post by Joandaltha »

I do feel that a lot of people want to do their own thing and work on their own stories and not help contribute to other roleplays. It is a give and take and there are a lot of missed opportunities that people could take advantage of. I think a lot of it is building a good foundation with other players and creating an intimacy with your peers by making your character's motivations clear. There are tools to help include others in your role-playing and you can use them to your advantage. Host events, ask for help. Tasks by teachers can be a great way to include others in your characters life.

I think that when more opportunities to roleplay arise you create arcs and story that can help develop people together. They don't have to be epic arcs of heroes defeating enemies, but simply problem solving and self expression. You can change it from being a dominant/submissive environment and instead make it be a cooperative endeavor.
Ceyllynn
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Re: Too many dominant characters

Post by Ceyllynn »

i've seen mike's senario repeated more than a few times over the years in various houses... to me... it's an RP shortcut and let me explain... not really a valid rp.


basically what happens, is a player gets annoyed with something in the house dyanmics in regards to their character, instead of rping it out, they shortcut the rp by damaging the house. that's what usually happens, though sometimes it is a legit rp, it's most often not. this is the player choosing the bad option, because they don't want to try, the longer option where they might fail to change things and not "win". for the half dozen or so primes etc cey was accused of stealing, she actually never stole one, but for some odd reason she kept being given them(i never figured out the why, but she always ended up being the first person accused... and punished ...thanks luini!). it's similar with the mass exodus, it's usually the player's choice to leave, rather than trying to find an IC solution/fight because they might not "win". no player wants to "lose". so they ragequit(guilty at times), or as i said shortcut rps deliberately to cause damage.

thing is, in a dynamic RP envoirment, you need to be willing to "lose" sometimes for the sake of real RP. cey's lost more times than i can honestly remember, sometimes unfairly, and yep i took breaks because i was mad as a player. she's also won because she's lost, i personally learned from that as a player. being dominant is good, but always having to be a winner is not.

as an example... someone stole the oosm prime and gave it to cey, she actually tried to return it and it did get returned by someone(a lyran), cey lost 2 spheres in an hour refusing to name who stole it when oosm hunted her down... because she didn't know and wasn't going to lie about it... instead oosm was ostrised at the time about a known evil toon's punishment when she was innocent. yeah as a player getting tossed down to 2nd from 4th hurt, but cey won in the end, despite the loss and it established she never lies when asked a direct question, even to save herself.

players need to understand, their toons are going to lose, it can be rough, but it's like real life it can suck but you get through it. if all you do is win, your character is not evolving and stagnates.
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fr3y
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Re: Too many dominant characters

Post by fr3y »

with all of the confusion it seems a lot more like there's not enough dominant characters.
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Joandaltha
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Re: Too many dominant characters

Post by Joandaltha »

fr3y wrote:with all of the confusion it seems a lot more like there's not enough dominant characters.
What confusion are you referring to?
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