Re: Whispers
Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 8:16 pm
Normally I would not weigh in or offer any sort of opinion on a thread like this but the question being brought up in this line is one that should be given serious consideration simply due to the implications that give rise to player concerns.
For myself, and myself alone; I completely agree that whispered content, in spite of it happening IG, should be kept entirely private between players. I recognize that a limited number of GM's have direct access to his faculty within the game and I feel that this is a good thing. The more people who can "hear" whispers in game, the more the issue of trust that will constantly be under scrutiny and question. To Flower's point: she has stated that she was given the acknowledgement of the powers-that-be that her in-game whispers would not be utilized in a fashion that would cause her to be concerned and which might ultimately have a negative impact on the way she chooses to play her character. This is a valid concern given the aforementioned reassurances she was provided. Counter to that point, a GM who recognized a player was having a problem and chose to intervene to assist that player is also a valid use of this ability as it only affected the interaction between the player and GM directly, and did not involve anyone else in the situation. The GM in question was doing exactly what a GM should be doing.
Now, with that being said, I DO feel that a GM character able to hear whispers would be an engaging and interesting addition to a roleplay if certain conditions were present in the use of the hearing of those same whispers. For example:
Silk Nuvas is capable of hearing when his name is spoken and this, in turn, get's his attention depending on the nature of conversation surrounding how his name was used. This is not outside the norm in many roleplaying instances. All throughout literature there are examples of powerful beings, gods, demons, fairies, wizards, etc. who were made aware when someone spoke their name. The being in question then chooses whether to ignore the speaking of their name, or opts instead to make a direction appearance in some fashion. In the latter instance, this often leads to an interesting twist or aspect of the story in progress and generally either scares the player characters in some fashion which gives rise to new twists and turns in decision making, or puts them in a state of awe that also then helps to direct and guide the next phase of the story. Both of these, in my opinion, are acceptable uses of such an ability by a GM.
In the case of Eldryck Venym; he is empowered by the Mace and as a result is the direct proxy of someone or something else of immense power. This naturally means that his character would have access to skills and abilities that defy what players would consider as well within the "norm". He has demonstrated these already as well, when he stripped Lu Chaos of his Arts and when he shows that he is able to hear the whispers of those around him. To me, this situation only becomes potentially abusive if this ability to hear direct whispers is used outside of his presence. For example: I am speaking to Flower of Cienne and she and I begin to whisper about the circumstances of the City as other dreamers have arrived at our location and we desire to keep the conversation private. If we did not speak Eldryck's name directly, even using a moniker like "The club lover" or some other title; I do not believe it would be appropriate for Eldryck to be aware of our conversation in any manner. The same holds true for conversations spoken aloud, in joined company, where Eldryck or one of his "minions" is not present to directly hear the words spoken.
As long as the use of the "hearing whispers" ability is confined to direct exposure between the GM character and the players in question (i.e. within the same general location), and it is being used to further an interaction that helps foster or promote the roleplay, then this is more than an acceptable use of this ability. Bear in mind also that the majority of this community stands at, or exceeds, the Fourth Sphere and thus players are far more capable in dealing with greater threats that pose a significant challenge to their standing, authority, and capabilities within the game. And that is what makes having a GM character with this ability so much fun to interact with; we have to think outside the box in order to combat the threat they pose to all of us en masse. Eldryck possessing this "power" should be a turning point that drives the players to work together in tandem to complete the storyline.
Circling back on this I acknowledge both Flower and Tember's concerns in regards this thread as both of these players must have had a negative experience with this in the past and that these experiences have compelled them to speak out on this point. It is, at this time, that the powers-that-be should, as Koi-Shadow has done, attempt to help the players understand the use of this ability in game and to alleviate their valid concerns that this is not being used to promote or foster abuse of any sort that would create a situation where players feel uncomfortable engaging IG. Along with some of the other commentators, I agree that the level of trust between player and GM is a fragile thing and that, in the end, it is up to each of us individually to choose to either extend, or retract, that trust.
Thanks for listening,
Coraal
For myself, and myself alone; I completely agree that whispered content, in spite of it happening IG, should be kept entirely private between players. I recognize that a limited number of GM's have direct access to his faculty within the game and I feel that this is a good thing. The more people who can "hear" whispers in game, the more the issue of trust that will constantly be under scrutiny and question. To Flower's point: she has stated that she was given the acknowledgement of the powers-that-be that her in-game whispers would not be utilized in a fashion that would cause her to be concerned and which might ultimately have a negative impact on the way she chooses to play her character. This is a valid concern given the aforementioned reassurances she was provided. Counter to that point, a GM who recognized a player was having a problem and chose to intervene to assist that player is also a valid use of this ability as it only affected the interaction between the player and GM directly, and did not involve anyone else in the situation. The GM in question was doing exactly what a GM should be doing.
Now, with that being said, I DO feel that a GM character able to hear whispers would be an engaging and interesting addition to a roleplay if certain conditions were present in the use of the hearing of those same whispers. For example:
Silk Nuvas is capable of hearing when his name is spoken and this, in turn, get's his attention depending on the nature of conversation surrounding how his name was used. This is not outside the norm in many roleplaying instances. All throughout literature there are examples of powerful beings, gods, demons, fairies, wizards, etc. who were made aware when someone spoke their name. The being in question then chooses whether to ignore the speaking of their name, or opts instead to make a direction appearance in some fashion. In the latter instance, this often leads to an interesting twist or aspect of the story in progress and generally either scares the player characters in some fashion which gives rise to new twists and turns in decision making, or puts them in a state of awe that also then helps to direct and guide the next phase of the story. Both of these, in my opinion, are acceptable uses of such an ability by a GM.
In the case of Eldryck Venym; he is empowered by the Mace and as a result is the direct proxy of someone or something else of immense power. This naturally means that his character would have access to skills and abilities that defy what players would consider as well within the "norm". He has demonstrated these already as well, when he stripped Lu Chaos of his Arts and when he shows that he is able to hear the whispers of those around him. To me, this situation only becomes potentially abusive if this ability to hear direct whispers is used outside of his presence. For example: I am speaking to Flower of Cienne and she and I begin to whisper about the circumstances of the City as other dreamers have arrived at our location and we desire to keep the conversation private. If we did not speak Eldryck's name directly, even using a moniker like "The club lover" or some other title; I do not believe it would be appropriate for Eldryck to be aware of our conversation in any manner. The same holds true for conversations spoken aloud, in joined company, where Eldryck or one of his "minions" is not present to directly hear the words spoken.
As long as the use of the "hearing whispers" ability is confined to direct exposure between the GM character and the players in question (i.e. within the same general location), and it is being used to further an interaction that helps foster or promote the roleplay, then this is more than an acceptable use of this ability. Bear in mind also that the majority of this community stands at, or exceeds, the Fourth Sphere and thus players are far more capable in dealing with greater threats that pose a significant challenge to their standing, authority, and capabilities within the game. And that is what makes having a GM character with this ability so much fun to interact with; we have to think outside the box in order to combat the threat they pose to all of us en masse. Eldryck possessing this "power" should be a turning point that drives the players to work together in tandem to complete the storyline.
Circling back on this I acknowledge both Flower and Tember's concerns in regards this thread as both of these players must have had a negative experience with this in the past and that these experiences have compelled them to speak out on this point. It is, at this time, that the powers-that-be should, as Koi-Shadow has done, attempt to help the players understand the use of this ability in game and to alleviate their valid concerns that this is not being used to promote or foster abuse of any sort that would create a situation where players feel uncomfortable engaging IG. Along with some of the other commentators, I agree that the level of trust between player and GM is a fragile thing and that, in the end, it is up to each of us individually to choose to either extend, or retract, that trust.
Thanks for listening,
Coraal