Post by Joliette Thorne on Jun 14, 2006 23:46:49 GMT -5
I’ve included under this heading a few different undesirable behaviours that for the sake of tidiness I thought best to put under a single heading. Power-gaming is when a player forces actions on another player without leaving them a choice on whether or how to respond, or makes themselves so uber-godlike no-one can have a hope of realistically dealing with them. This sort of RP rudeness falls into several sub-categories.
Auto-hitting.
Auto-hitting is when a player directs another player’s actions or experiences. For example: “Bilbo picks Frodo up in his vice-like grip and throws him against the wall, breaking his spine and splattering his brain all over the place.” That’s a very obvious auto-hit. Poor Frodo is now obliged either to ignore Bilbo’s post, to somehow magically avoid the damage done, or to die. Not fun, not good rp behaviour. You cannot post actual damage to another player, only suggest it –might- happen, or is –likely- to happen. Thus, the post –should- have read: “Bilbo picks Frodo up in his vice-like grip and throws him toward the wall with tremendous force, with the intent of breaking his spine and splattering his brains all over the place.”
There is debate over whether Bilbo’s initial ‘vice-like grip’ on Frodo, or the bit about picking him up might be called auto-hitting. Some think this type of ‘holding move’ is perfectly legitimate, others don’t. I think it’s reasonable, if kept within reason. “Bilbo picks Frodo up and throws him” might be a reasonable ‘hold’ if Bilbo is a giant and Frodo a dwarf. But what if Bilbo is a hobbit and Frodo a dragon? If ‘holding moves’ are used, they should be used carefully and within the bounds of a character’s nature and ability.
I once had someone throw an all-encompassing uber-magic net of rapidly contracting acidy death over my char, which left me very few options for escape and needed some quick thinking to divert an almost certain auto-death. Problem is, that sort of ‘holding move’ tends toward …
God-moding
God-moding is basically making your char, or their spells and items invincible and uber-powerful. There are many ways to god-mode, minor and major. A part of good roleplay is taking hits, when they are deserved. For example, a well-played sword-attack at close range should not be countered by your char simply side-stepping it, or suddenly sprouting magical wings and flying away. It negates the actions – and the effort – the other person has put in to writing their post, and makes it unlikely they’ll want to rp with you again. Nor should you rp that your char has an invincible weapon/armour/body/spell. It’s annoying to play with people who never lose, never take an injury, yet expect their opponents to respond realistically to their Hellsword-of-Infinite Doom’s mighty power.
Which brings me to God-moded weapons and spells. We’ve all seen the new player who gallops about waving The Hellsword-of-Infinite Doom, with no rp history or play to back it up. It’s kinda stupid and kiddly, and people tend to ignore them. “Because-I-say-so” is not adequate rp reason to have uber-powers. Even if your char has worked hard, risen to the top, wrested some insanely powerful magical weapon from some deity or other, it still doesn’t make it alright to post that your uber-weapon cannot be defeated. Basically, it should be realized that hauling around supposed (or even actual) god-given weapons is not a way to make up for mediocre role-play. Introducing your char as “The Goddess of Divine Uber-Sexy Power” is also a good way to have roleplayers of reasonable ability ignore you. Or mock you behind your back.
To a lesser degree, playing your char as being good at everything first try, having no learning curve, or never making a single mistake ever is also a kind of god-moding, I think. Real characters should be realistic, and maybe stub their toes or fall down a hole or actually have to learn to use that uber new custom-made spring-loaded crossbow, since their last weapon was a magic stone or a sword, or a rubber duck or whatever.
Auto-hitting.
Auto-hitting is when a player directs another player’s actions or experiences. For example: “Bilbo picks Frodo up in his vice-like grip and throws him against the wall, breaking his spine and splattering his brain all over the place.” That’s a very obvious auto-hit. Poor Frodo is now obliged either to ignore Bilbo’s post, to somehow magically avoid the damage done, or to die. Not fun, not good rp behaviour. You cannot post actual damage to another player, only suggest it –might- happen, or is –likely- to happen. Thus, the post –should- have read: “Bilbo picks Frodo up in his vice-like grip and throws him toward the wall with tremendous force, with the intent of breaking his spine and splattering his brains all over the place.”
There is debate over whether Bilbo’s initial ‘vice-like grip’ on Frodo, or the bit about picking him up might be called auto-hitting. Some think this type of ‘holding move’ is perfectly legitimate, others don’t. I think it’s reasonable, if kept within reason. “Bilbo picks Frodo up and throws him” might be a reasonable ‘hold’ if Bilbo is a giant and Frodo a dwarf. But what if Bilbo is a hobbit and Frodo a dragon? If ‘holding moves’ are used, they should be used carefully and within the bounds of a character’s nature and ability.
I once had someone throw an all-encompassing uber-magic net of rapidly contracting acidy death over my char, which left me very few options for escape and needed some quick thinking to divert an almost certain auto-death. Problem is, that sort of ‘holding move’ tends toward …
God-moding
God-moding is basically making your char, or their spells and items invincible and uber-powerful. There are many ways to god-mode, minor and major. A part of good roleplay is taking hits, when they are deserved. For example, a well-played sword-attack at close range should not be countered by your char simply side-stepping it, or suddenly sprouting magical wings and flying away. It negates the actions – and the effort – the other person has put in to writing their post, and makes it unlikely they’ll want to rp with you again. Nor should you rp that your char has an invincible weapon/armour/body/spell. It’s annoying to play with people who never lose, never take an injury, yet expect their opponents to respond realistically to their Hellsword-of-Infinite Doom’s mighty power.
Which brings me to God-moded weapons and spells. We’ve all seen the new player who gallops about waving The Hellsword-of-Infinite Doom, with no rp history or play to back it up. It’s kinda stupid and kiddly, and people tend to ignore them. “Because-I-say-so” is not adequate rp reason to have uber-powers. Even if your char has worked hard, risen to the top, wrested some insanely powerful magical weapon from some deity or other, it still doesn’t make it alright to post that your uber-weapon cannot be defeated. Basically, it should be realized that hauling around supposed (or even actual) god-given weapons is not a way to make up for mediocre role-play. Introducing your char as “The Goddess of Divine Uber-Sexy Power” is also a good way to have roleplayers of reasonable ability ignore you. Or mock you behind your back.
To a lesser degree, playing your char as being good at everything first try, having no learning curve, or never making a single mistake ever is also a kind of god-moding, I think. Real characters should be realistic, and maybe stub their toes or fall down a hole or actually have to learn to use that uber new custom-made spring-loaded crossbow, since their last weapon was a magic stone or a sword, or a rubber duck or whatever.