Many As One's Tips On Roleplay

[Moloch]

Since we have taken this discussion to disguise, I just want to remind everyone that no matter how familar you are with someone, if they disguising themselves you need to roll to beat the disguise. Of course this assume you have REASON to think they may be in disguise, if they slip up or you have some other reason to believe (wisdom check in my opinion) something is strange about the person you can make a check to beat the disguise.

In 99% of the cases simply seeing someone wearing a hood or covering up is NOT an excuse to make a check against their disguise.

[Quadhund/Greenhouse]

And as for what someone sounds like with a helmet on, depends on the helmet. To determine what you sound like with a helm on, find a bucket, put it on your head, and have a friend listen to how you sound. Experiment finished!

[Grozer]

*BUMP*

I think there are some great RP tips here. There are a number of new players joining FRC and I would recommend this as a good read.

ManyAsOne already listed avoiding metagaming as one tip, but as part of that I would extend it to specifically state that ALL floating names be ignored. Remember to see through what your character sees. She doesnt see the floating names above everyone's head.

[shanara]

Okay, so you braved the ruins or the crypts. The creatures got the best of you and now you're near death.

Are you really going to be running around in that heavy armor not asking for help when there are others around?

I tried to speak to some but they vanished into the inn or the different merchants before Shana could say something.

I saw this several times tonight and just wondered about feelings on this.

Shana entered the crypts alone... was ghoul touched with no way of healing except for the save throw will happen, so I had her stumble out and throw up in the grass by the fence and then stumble and struggle to the Inn.... it led to great dm and player interaction, but is this over rp?

How do you rp near death or disease or poison?

[Dachshund]

I know excactly what you're talking about. Being a cleric and trying to help someone isn't easy.

"Sir, I can see you're very hurt. Isn't it painful? Allow me to heal your wounds?"

"No, it's just a few scratches. These large dents in my armor and the blood running down my face and torso and dripping on the floor will heal just fine once I've had a little rest."

It's alright wanting to help someone, but most of the time people just vanish upstairs at the inn... just like you say.

I personally find it rather annoying watching Near Death's running around as if nothing is bothering them.

I've rp'ed near death as *staggers and drops to one knee*.
Poison and Disease may show as *is terribly pale* or *eyes are beginning to close and lips are turning blue*.


That said, new players often don't know how to behave IC. Some have never played NWN before and others have never even played any sort of RPG before. If it becomes too much I've tried slipping them a tell or two, politely explaining to them that this is a roleplaying server and that Team Hack'n'slash is one floor down from here.

[DM Grizwald]

When something usually happened to my overzealous hin Griz (for those of you who know him or remember him), it was the end of the world. The man would make the biggest deal out of the littlest scratch.

Just to add for you clerics, it also makes healing a whole lot visual if you rp something about it such as: *lays his hands over the wound and mutters a prayer in elvish*

[catmage]

Also, there's the fact that some people don't like the god you're a cleric of. Ailren for example, will only accept healing from clerics of good aligned or good/neutral nature gods if he's in serious trouble, meaning at near death or weakened to near incapacity by status damage or level drain, because he feels every bit of aid from them is a slap in the face of his patron. If your character flaunts their patron like clerics generally should, there are going to be people that avoid healing from them because of religious conflict.

[Dachshund]

I believe the issue was how to deal with those people who seem to think being "Near Death" is no big deal. Yesterday I encountered someone who walked right up to us and starting chatting even though he was almost dead... "What's going on?" was what he said.

How do you politely tell players that their actions aren't terribly realistic when it comes to being close to death?


EDIT: And yes, I do remember Griz, Clark... and he *did* crack me up... he would overdo any reaction. LOL.

[heimdall]

shanara said:

Okay, so you braved the ruins or the crypts. The creatures got the best of you and now you're near death.

Are you really going to be running around in that heavy armor not asking for help when there are others around?

I tried to speak to some but they vanished into the inn or the different merchants before Shana could say something

I saw this several times tonight and just wondered about feelings on this.

[glow=gold,2,300]*program announcer's voice* [/glow]
"Let's ask DM Heimdall his feelings about this....DM Heimdall?"

[glow=gold,2,300]*DM Heimdall* [/glow]
"Hrm.....................No sir......I don't like it!"

I can understand that some players want to play a solo style character. I have no beef with that at all.

But no matter who you are or what style of character you're playing there is only one valid excuse to just run past other characters on this server, and that is if there is an undead demon bear on your a$$

At the very least one should slow down to at least acknowledge or grunt at the other players.

Anything less would be uncivilized.

shanara said:

Shana entered the crypts alone... was ghoul touched with no way of healing except for the save throw will happen, so I had her stumble out and throw up in the grass by the fence and then stumble and struggle to the Inn.... it led to great dm and player interaction, but is this over rp?

How do you rp near death or disease or poison?

The fact that you roleplay the effects of poison and/or disease at all is all that matters. (and is refreshing to see) The degree to which you choose to do so would depend on the situation perhaps.

I tend to rp the effects of the poison/disease according to how badly my actual stats have been drained and the type of creature doing the draining. Sometimes the effects won't show up for an hour or more in game and then I'll notice the festering redness around that rat scratch....or whatever. But if I just got drained by a wight or inhaled the nastiness of ghast stink then the effects would be more severe and more immediate.

Also, after the eighteenth time you have been poisoned by the giant spiderling you might have built up a bit of immunity to the experience....but the effects should still be roleplayed, if not so much when you are alone, at least RP it when you do come into contact with others.

I understand that folks sometimes feel uncomfortable or awkward when emoting or even 'conversing' to themselves when they 'think' they are alone...

Just imagine that your character is talking to or muttering at the gods (or themselves....or the damn squirrels)

And you never know. The gods (or the squirrels) just might be listening...

snubletraad said:

I believe the issue was how to deal with those people who seem to think being "Near Death" is no big deal. Yesterday I encountered someone who walked right up to us and starting chatting even though he was almost dead... "What's going on?" was what he said.

How do you politely tell players that their actions aren't terribly realistic when it comes to being close to death?

I would go for the IC approach.

I think I could hide the fact that I was 'barely injured' or 'injured' if I were to choose to do so. But if I was 'badly injured' I would think that visible effects of the injuries would be obvious...if I was near death...well...need I say more?

So if someone were to stroll up to me while they were near death and engage in casual conversation I suppose I might think they have a concussion or are simply still in shock from the wounds...try to guide them into roleplay through roleplay. If they don't get it, then they don't get it but you'll have done your part for king and country so you'll still feel real good about yourself in the morning. Hehheh.

But I would be careful sending OOC message's with 'tips' on how they should be roleplaying their characters...be polite and use common sense if you do. Ask if you might offer a bit of advice and if they are ok then go for it. Just remember that these are usually new players to the server, and often new to online rpg's as well and you should be allright.

[ShadowCatJen]

"Your arms off."

"No it isn't."

"Yes, it is look!"

".....tis only a flesh wound."





Couldn't resist.

[Grozer]

shanara said:

Shana entered the crypts alone... was ghoul touched with no way of healing except for the save throw will happen, so I had her stumble out and throw up in the grass by the fence and then stumble and struggle to the Inn.... it led to great dm and player interaction, but is this over rp?

How do you rp near death or disease or poison?

Its great that you go to such lengths to RP this out... I would do similar things if I was diseased or poisioned.

My only advice is to consider how disease or poison effects you. Keep in mind that the initial bite or other contact method may NOT cause any side effect, i.e. you may resist the effect on first contact (made save). Now you could STILL be poisioned or diseased but since there were no effects to your body... would you know? At the point that you fail a save and your stats are impacted THEN you feel the effects.

[Grozer]

I think I could hide the fact that I was 'barely injured' or 'injured' if I were to choose to do so. But if I was 'badly injured' I would think that visible effects of the injuries would be obvious...if I was near death...well...need I say more?

*nod* I usually ignore barely injured or injured since to me those wounds may or may not be visible, could be bruises under the armor.

Hell Ranan generally ignores most wounded people... lol well unless they are an attractive female!

[Grozer]

snubletraad said:

That said, new players often don't know how to behave IC. Some have never played NWN before and others have never even played any sort of RPG before. If it becomes too much I've tried slipping them a tell or two, politely explaining to them that this is a roleplaying server and that Team Hack'n'slash is one floor down from here.

I would encourage them to visit this forum, since in my experience most new players dont and they never see all this good information on RPing properly. *sigh*

[Booze Hound]

Personally I look at 'Barely Injured', and sometimes 'Injured' as being exhausted. I think Laurk was talking about this once as well. If you get in a fight with three Hill Giants, and when they are all dead, your health is at 'Injured', I always thought of it as being physically exhausted from just fighting 3 duded 3 times your size. Cause if you think about it if one of those things actually *hit* you you'd be a lot more than 'Barely Injured'.

So I often roleplay it as:

*Coughs and breathes heavily with both hands on his knees*

then a little RP can ensue between you and whomever you are with (or the squirrels) as you both catch your breath before you go after the next batch of giants. Once you catch your breath, you may not want to use a heal kit yet, so you walk around as 'Injured' for a while, but your character is just worn out from the exhausting fight.

But RPing like this has many benefits:
1) RP is more fun than hack and slash
2) It slows you down a bit. By RPing between groups of bad guys, you aren't just running around chopping things up
3) The DMs always appreciate it when you 'Flesh out' any situation, making it as realistic an experience as possible.
4) RP is FUN!!!! ;D

[Booze Hound]

shanara said:

Shana entered the crypts alone... was ghoul touched with no way of healing except for the save throw will happen, so I had her stumble out and throw up in the grass by the fence and then stumble and struggle to the Inn.... it led to great dm and player interaction, but is this over rp?

How do you rp near death or disease or poison?

Like the others said, always good to see someone who puts the effort forward, believe me it doesnt go unnoticed.

Things like disease, poison, or even (maybe especially) respawning can be RP'd in a million different ways, but should always be recognised in some manner or another.

Disease, dependig one where it came from can be RP'd as puking your guts out (which is what I think I would do if I got a lung full of ghast gas) To having the sniffles.

Poison can show up as your character not saying anything, but his clothes are getting soaked with sweat as he silently tries to hack through the swarm of spiders.

Respawning I think is often one of the worst things that most often gets ignored and shrugged off. I have seen it a million times where I might be buying goods from Merris, and someone 'appears' in the temple and then hauls off back to the crypt. I should think that the experience should be a bit more traumatic than that.
And yea, you lost that xp and gold, but you'd be surprised what slowing down and acting things out can bring you rewards wise.

So what it boils down to is: Think what you would do if you got in your characters situation, and then how he/she would respond compared to you. It can often be a good way to think of a realistic way to make a fun RP emote or comment to help things along for everyone!

[DM Richard (Retired)]

Another tip for Role-playing. (If your character wouldn't do it... don't do it!)

How many of you have characters that strip down and get dressed in front of merchants... in front of guardsmen... in front of the innkeeper? Please don't run up to a merchant and swap clothes like it is just an extra 3 points in appraise. When you change out of armor into "bankers attire" or back into armor, go somewhere and treat it like you are really changing clothes.

Not only is this a good role-play tip that will add to the feel of the game, it will also help keep you from accidentally selling what you are trying to equip.

[Manshin]

Back to the damage thing, the main reason I dont act like im injured by physical cuts and visible wounds until I reach "badly wounded" is because to me, it seems like HP is a more a representative of your defensive skill and your ability to roll with punches and parry blows then the amount of damage you can take... infact, I belive the modifier you get from a high constitution score should be treated as your "wind" or endurance... the ability to keep from getting fatigued in combat and thus keep fighting at 100% for longer. However, dodging, weaving and parrying is difficult and your character gets very tired, as Vind said. If you are at "badly wounded" or "near death" then you are so tired, enemy strikes are beggining to slip past your guard and actually cause physical injury beyond bumps and bruises.

A great example of this would be RA Salvatore's books. When Drizzt and (human sized) Villian X are fighting, they never actually land a blow. Everything is parried or avoided, even if by the skin of the teeth. In the end, however, Drizzt will finally slip past the villian's defense and land the killing blow. Obviously, Drizzt & his opponent if played in PnP and NWN would be frequently landing hits and dealing damage, yet are descibed in the books as wearing each other down or knocking each other off balance (his skill, thus HP are low.) and then finish each other off with a final unblocked attack.

Thus I tend to treat medi kits as being largley composed of stimulants and things that can restore vigor. Another thing to support this idea is that fact that you can always heal all of your lost HP by resting for a single night in NWN... that lends to the idea that no serious injuries were landed.

When a guy is struck with a giant's club full on and then rubs his shoulder after the fight saying.. "Man, that smarts" it is somewhat unrealistic. Giants are essentially swinging trees at you, so if you got hit with it full on... you would be very dead.

Wordy, and probably unnecceary... but there you go.

Laurk

[soulfien]

you can't rationalize hitpoints. It's very unrealistic. We have a parry mode in D&D. PnP and NWN alike. Scoring blows is different than parrying. A good parry PC can parry all day and hit once in a while. Meanwhile 2 warriors duking it out will cut eachother up until one of them falls. You can't ratonalize it.

Healing Kits are equally rediculous. They just are because if you think about them they should be taken out of the game- or recoded so that they should require much inactivity to administer- i.e. never in combat. It's a series of bandages and first aid. You can't reattatch severed limbs or mend huge gashes. Anyone who learns first aid knows what I'm referring to. I've had training in being first on the scene while I was in the Navy. A healing kit goes only so far.

Also, resting all hitpoints in one night goes against PnP rules

[soulfien]

another word on respawn....

I know this has been brought up many times (usually by me), but since I wasn't the one who brought it up this time....

Can we all try not to RP respawn? If you die and wake up in the temple how about you just dust yourself off and begin anew as if you're just starting your day.

Manshin has asked many times that people not RP as if their PC's are immortal- actually RP mortality, yet if you RP that the Gods will bring you back to life infinately, then you ARE immortal.

This way you can treat death as if it means something (regardless of the fact that you will wake up in the temple)

Just each time rp that you're about to die if you do something stupid.

[Booze Hound]

you know about respawning, there have been a hundred different things said about how to react to the act of respawning. some say to brush it off and get right back on that horse, some say to act as though your sould was wrenched through the abyss and brutally relocated in your body, some say use it as an oppurtunity to take a breather and get a beer in the Inn.

Perhaps a difinitive descision by the staff on how it should be handled? It could save some annoyance by some players when they are sitting there RPing puking their guts out for 10 minutes and some other player respawns and goes hurtling back to the crypts or whatever. *shrugs* just a thought

[Booze Hound]

soulfien said:

you can't rationalize hitpoints. It's very unrealistic.

yea, I think that is why Manshin and I look at it the way we do, because it's the only quasi-realistic way to look at it. Yea a good parrying fighter can go unhit all day, but any skilled fighter is not gonna have no defense whatsoever. I mean Vind has 32 dex. You think some oafish giant is gonna actually be hitting him all day when they are fighting? he's going to be climbing trees, hopping around on and off of rocks, dodging and weaving, and all that mumbo jumbo. but you can't actually do that in NWN. So that's why I look at it as being tired.

"Healing Kits are equally rediculous. They just are because if you think about them they should be taken out of the game- or recoded so that they should require much inactivity to administer- i.e. never in combat. It's a series of bandages and first aid. You can't reattatch severed limbs or mend huge gashes. Anyone who learns first aid knows what I'm referring to. I've had training in being first on the scene while I was in the Navy. A healing kit goes only so far."

And yea this is the same thing. Healing kits. potions, etc are retarted in the way that they can be used for what they are supposed to be. That's why you have to look at them as being full of all kinds of crap. Bandages, stimulants, neosporin, whatever, and it makes it a bit more realistic that they can be used for a variety of things. I mean it is all really a lot of imagination, that's what we are doing, you just gotta figure your own way to rationalize all of it out I guess.

"Also, resting all hitpoints in one night goes against PnP rules"

Which makes it a good reason to think of it as recooperating after a fight rather than your wounds magically healing up over night. *shrug*

[shanara]

I'm curious about the respawning and how to rp it.

You die and then have to cross the Fugue Plane and then vastness of the Realm of Broken Souls (is that correct, my brain is not working completely )

I've always rped when I get there, Shana's fear of making her way back to the land of the living. She even came across a child crying, but then the server reset and we couldn't play it out. Oh well these things happen.

Then she believes her god has returned her soul and that she has something still left to accomplish in her life which is what Dawnbringers believe. Otherwise they're not raised.

Wouldn't traveling the vast emptiness and suddenly your yanked back to life have some effect on a person? When you enter the portal it throws you flat on the ground. Should it all just be ignored?

[Aodhan the Unusual]

I know that whenever I travel to the Fugue, more often than not, I spend a few minutes looking around. I mean, who remembers the fact that they died? Every so often when I'm travelling with some people and they don't have any ways of ressurecting my sorry butt, I go to the fuge and wander around until my 'body' has been taken to Meriss and I'm 'brought back.' Mind you, there are no body tokens or the like (of course carrying a halfling is nothing, but still...), so it just comes down to great RP.

As for having your soul snapped back like a rubber band, I typically play it differently, depending on how long I was dead. I generally go by this (not neccessarily all at once either):


0-5 min. : really bad headache, a bit uneasy on the feet, a little queasy

5-10 min. : small case of vertigo - generally after a rez at a temple (remember, if you die and come back at a temple, your character does not remember the last 30 min. REAL TIME) - character comes back and has to sit down, sometimes throwing up, occasionally suffers dizzy spells over the next hour

10-20 min. : comes back disoriented, vision blurry, throws up, suffers dizzy spells off and on for several hours, starts having serious memory issues (between 30-60 minutes real time of memory loss), may suffer minor hallucinations for a couple of hours

25+ min.: Highly disoriented, vision blurry (may suffer temporary blindness), throws up, suffers dizzy spells off and on over the next few days to a week, memory is really bad (between 2-4 hours of real time memory loss), suffers major hallucinations that can last for days


And that's how I roll with the punches. You're free to do your own thing. After all, each character, and player, is different. As long as you roleplay it out and not make it always like a walk in the park, I don't think anyone would mind.

[soulfien]

well, I've seen it done many ways. Some people will comment on how Merris scours the realms looking for dead adventurers and brings them back to life. Of course, if that were so then I'm sure Callen would have paid him a visit and said something like, "Look, for the last time, could you PLEASE stop ressurecting Raven Rift?!"

And others say that their God or Goddess keeps bringing them back- I've even seen someone instantly respawn after PVP attributing it to his God taking away the body before those that killed him could speed away the body to the athorities and it was Rp'ed as his God stepping in.

There was also an individual who wrote notes to herself shortly before being killed so that she'd be able to counteract the amnisia being dead causes.

And finally, there are those that simply RP that they don't know what happened and go about their day. This is usually how I do it.

[DM Grizwald]

"And finally, there are those that simply RP that they don't know what happened and go about their day. This is usually how I do it."

thats about how i do it. I just see it as i would not know what happened and if a god did help you out how would you really know?

[Helgrin Granitesoul]

Lately Helgrin's response is he thinks he must have gone on another drinking spree. For some reason he just seems to always end up back at Meriss's at the end of his black out and remember's nothing about what happened. Guess he feels safe there or something.

He can't have died cause everyone knows dwarves never loose a fight.

Probably the lamest RP ever but hey - it can be fun when people are trying to convince him something went terribly wrong and he just keeps calling them crazy.

dumb stubborn dwarf.....

[shanara]

That's not lame, that's entertaining and a unique response. ;D All great tips. Thanks.

Okay, another question. Seesh, I've been playing online for over 4yrs you'd think I'd know what I'm doing.

Leveling. How do players rp leveling. And do you think it's something that should be rped?

For instance, when my cleric gaines a new level, I've always rped it as her god giving her special blessings. She becomes suddenly still, a warm glow seems to surrond her and her expression is one of awe?

One server I know based on Norse mythology, the Valkyries will physically sing your praises if your good aligned for everyone near you to hear. Everyone around is encouraged to rp a response to it even if it's something simple.

So any thoughts?

[soulfien]

Warrior types and rogues- Simply becoming slightly better through intense practice. No real significant changes unless they learn a new trick like disarm in which case as I near my level I RP practicing or studying it (if I know ahead of time what I'm going to be choosing with feats).

Wizards- wizards don't level up. They simply reach higher levels of casting ability and knowledge. For instance, my wizard calls himself a 7th circle caster (level 13-14).

Priestly types- Blessings from their Gods like you said

That's my take on it

[Booze Hound]

I always get a kick being around Manshin when he is about to level. We will be out fighting stuff in the middle of nowhere, and he'll start doing something like this:

"Ah ha! That knight...he was holding his sword like this...perhaps if I move my hand a bit lower...*whack, slash, chop*...no that wasn't it. Maybe if I do this, I can add a bit more power...*slash, decapitate*...hmmm...that was almost it...*chop, stab, LEVEL UP*. AH HA!! I got it!!! Amazing the accuracy and force with which this new grip allows me!!"

I love that, I think it is awesome RP, and he takes a moment to 'practice his swing' once the combat starts, which is him leveling all his stats and such up, and then we carry on, and he brags about being a better swordsman.

Great RP, fun for everyone, and worth the slight pain in the ass to type things while in combat.

Me, I usually know what I wil be taking before hand, and RP accordingly. If I know I am about to get another attack/round, I RP Vind having been practicing firing more and more arrows without missing. Taking the AImed Shot feat, I talk about aiming for legs and such for a while before actually being able to make Aimed Shots. If it is just a regular level up with no feats, etc, I just Rp similar to Manshin that I have figured out a new way to hold the arrow or something, and talk about how my aim is getting better, or my sneakyness is getting sneakier, etc.

In the end, it is up to you, but it is great fun to RP a level in some creative way. Just try to keep it simple.

[Aodhan the Unusual]

logandoug said:

"Ah ha! That knight...he was holding his sword like this...perhaps if I move my hand a bit lower...*whack, slash, chop*...no that wasn't it. Maybe if I do this, I can add a bit more power...*slash, decapitate*...hmmm...that was almost it...*chop, stab, LEVEL UP*. AH HA!! I got it!!! Amazing the accuracy and force with which this new grip allows me!!"

The scary thing about this, is it happens in real life too... I have a friend who does martial arts and the other night (while slightly tipsy mind you) had a new idea for incapacitating someone. He practiced on it during class time and, using his new technique, advanced in belt level. So... This isn't as far fetched as it seems. ;D