RPing your stats.

[Myth]

Alright, I checked the forum a bit and didn't find much on this.

One of the main problems I've encountered on several RP servers is the following:

-The CHA6 dwarf is rather at least average looking person, and one of the most socializable you've ever seen.

-The INT10 fighter solves the puzzles that the INT20 wizard of the group couldn't because the player is able.

-The Lore 2 rogue knows all about Formian Queens, and the Discipline 0, 3rd level fighter who's only seen his village and the orc cave nearby, doesn't have trouble to stand firm and encounter an awe inspiring pit fiend.

Maybe sometimes with my chars I haven't been true to their stats, but heck, I try to RP my sorc for example as an average intelligence guy since his INT is 10, and really slower than e.g. Chrissy who's got an INT14. Sometimes people make jokes on him, and he doesn't understand them

Try and roleplay your stats, and use your skills. I'm all for rolling, if you wanna say a lie that isn't exactly the most convincing roll a bluff (or persuade, depends) vs. wisdom, if you wanna sound scary try an intimidate. RP them all the while though, as rolls shouldn't take over RP, but rather aid it. Especially when you're trying to do something impressive, don't just go on and do it, take the time to see if your stats/skills/etc. -really- allow your char to do it. Then it makes all a better reason to -actually- build your skills and feats to fit your character and not just what's useful in PvM and PvP.

It's a bit of a complaint, since it's really an RP server and I think more rolls in RP situations would help, instead of having situations where everyone's doing whatever he likes without taking their chars' stats into account.

[Dachshund]

The rules HERE state specifically what is expected of players with regards to rp'ing their stats.

We do of course reward people who rp their stats whenever we see it.

[Myth]

snubletraad said:

The rules HERE state specifically what is expected of players with regards to rp'ing their stats.

We do of course reward people who rp their stats whenever we see it.

Yup, it's not a complaint about the server, surely it's part of the rules to RP their stats. I was more trying to make a point about rolling (don't know though what's the "dm team's" policy and wishes on the rolling part) and encourage people to try and actually rp their stats which are vital parts of their character.

[Dachshund]

I know. I was actually agreeing with you. heh

[Aodhan the Unusual]

Rolling the dice is encouraged (some things though, were thrown in the game more for NPCs than anything - bluff and intimidate for sure, maybe one or two others), but as long as the scenario isn't being driven by it ("living by the dice"), sure they can be used.

Example:

Tim tries to pick pocket Sally as he's walking into the inn and she's walking out, but Sally notices (wins on the automatic spot vs pick pocket roll), so Tim runs into the basement of the Regal Griffon to "hide" (makes a roll) under Sam's table. Sally, who isn't far behind, rolls a spot check, but doesn't make it. She then rolls a search check, then another spot check against his hide check and wins this time. Now Tim's mad because he's been found and tries to bluff his way out, making several rolls. Sally, wanting to cut off Tim's hands for being even near her coin purse is ignoring most of what is being said (even though Tim is sending several OOC messages for her to roll the opposing wisdom check to his bluffs), and eventually because of his pestering she does. Of the three rolls, she fails the first, but gets the second and third, and promptly nails him on his lies. He then rolls an intimidate check and fails against Sally's intimidate. As a final attempt to get out of the muck he's gotten in to, he tries to do a flip, stealing Sally's sword, and running up the stairs (tumble, strength, and dexterity rolled). he trips over his shoe laces, barely grabs the sword to catch his balance (yet another tumble check), and gets held up and walloped good by Sally (who made her opposing strength check). By this time other people have come to the basement and are asking what's going on.... and the bluff/intimidate rolls are initiated again.

After all this time, hardly anything was said between Tim and Sally, even on the bluff and intimidate rolls, because Tim insisted on "living by the dice."



This actually happened to me. Now I will admit that some of the stuff was pretty good. The hiding under the table for example. Even the botched attempt to steal the sword and run off. However, what got me was the bluff and intimidate rolls. These would have been fine if there was something more to the actual dialogue than, "I not steal from you" and "I not scared of you." Honestly now. Four rolls for this? I could understand the bluff/intimidate rolls (MAYBE - This WAS designed for the NPCs in the game - Yay! Bioware!) if there was something like, "I need money for my sick family!" or "If you don't let me go, I'll cut you down and feed you to the wolves!" Something that would actually make someone go, "Hmmm... This poor guy could probably use some help," or plead for their life out of fear.

However, as the old addage goes, actions speak louder than words. Don't let the dice rule everything. If you can't honestly make a good argument without having to roll bluff checks, or can't be intimidating through actions to scare off someone, perhaps a roll or two could be used. But like I said, please, PLEASE don't live by the dice. This breaks up a scene, having to stop and roll for every little thing.




And now that my rambling rant is over.....

[barakaguru]

I'm all for RPing stats. I play a dwarf with CHA 9, and if you haven't observed his mood swings yet, well, you probably haven't done anything to get his back up yet. Also, he has been known to be a bit crass at times, and, on occasion, he's simply ignored people who've asked too much of or about him if he doesn't even know them yet. Oh, and, yeah, he's lost his temper before.

It's true that it may often seem I'm not RPing 9 CHA, but there are two approaches to "mind based" stats: constancy and variability. To add realism, I've decided to give my character a variability to his CHA RP. Mood swings are the way to go for me. It may seem that sometimes my dwarf is charming enough to be a CHA 12, but you will be mistaken... ride it out and he'll reveal his true CHA 9 in time. (He may be trying oh so hard to be sociable...) You will notice that his interactions aren't very complex or deep--he doesn't reveal much about himself, nor does he do much to show interest in others... not very charming, indeed. As an alternative, I could have played him as a constant 9... just ever so slightly moody at all times.... but let's face it, mood swings are much more fun.

"Physical based" stats such as STR & CON are much more difficult to play with variability.

As for rolling skill checks in RP, I'm all for it, but only in a DMed event. I'd rather leave the check moderation and DC settings to them in these cases.

All in all, I too feel that we should be more conscious of our character's stats when RPing.

[TermaForever]

My take on this is as follows:

NWN has some constraints that make rping characters by the stats and by the dice much more difficult because lets face it, taking time to roll a dice kina breaks the mood, as opposed to PnP where you say something, dm tells you to roll, you roll.

HOWEVER!!!

That should NOT be taken as an excuse to make your 8 int half orc act like a sage. With my characters, I try to stay in the realm of my stats as much as I can (sometimes I just don't think about it). Adelius has 14 intelligence, so he tends to understand things pretty well and is well educated. He can't tell you the secrets to uber arcane lichdom or somesuch, but he doesn't need to.

I think there are a lot of the things that were tacked into NWN (persuade and discipline, which I'm pretty sure aren't in PnP) for their purposes and were designed for NPC interaction. We also can't roll our abilities, which while necessary for balance reasons because everyone whould keep re-rolling till they are uber (you know who you are ) it also leads to an inability to create an exceptionally wide variety of characters stat wise (not to say anything of personality, that is only limited by the number of people in the world).

You can't be dice nazis, but you also can't be all willy nilly "I have 2 charisma but look like tom cruise ROFLMAON00BHAXORZ"

[Thanatos]

I keep putting points in Persuade and I don't know why. In Yven's case, it's because he's a very diplomatic sort of person, and in Archilochos' case, it's because he knows the importance of rhetoric. *snif!* Sadly, FRC rarely ever needs either.

By the by, while discipline is a complete fabrication of the NWN engine, persuade is actually a distant echo of the diplomacy skill in PnP. (Why do I keep putting points in both!)

[Artemisa]

Some talk about charisma here, so my take on charisma;

Charisma doesn't only cover a persons apparence. It also reflects your characters personality. And having a high charismatic personality doesn't automatically mean your char is easy going, always liked by fellow char's. It can also mean having a STRONG personality.

Someone very charismatic might provoke a negative reaction too. If everyone hates you vehemently you are probably charismatic, as it takes an exceptional talent to do that.

If you can persuade people into doing what you want, a talent for performing, talking or a magnet personality - you have an exceptional charisma.

My krones on the subject.

Can't say I have encountered anyone on FRC, yet, who might have acted far above their stats, but then again - I'm naive and always think the best of people, expecting them to follow their stats!

[Myth]

artemisa said:

Some talk about charisma here, so my take on charisma;

Charisma doesn't only cover a persons apparence. It also reflects your characters personality. And having a high charismatic personality doesn't automatically mean your char is easy going, always liked by fellow char's. It can also mean having a STRONG personality.

Someone very charismatic might provoke a negative reaction too. If everyone hates you vehemently you are probably charismatic, as it takes an exceptional talent to do that.

If you can persuade people into doing what you want, a talent for performing, talking or a magnet personality - you have an exceptional charisma.

My krones on the subject.

Can't say I have encountered anyone on FRC, yet, who might have acted far above their stats, but then again - I'm naive and always think the best of people, expecting them to follow their stats!

I agree with the above post. Usually Charisma anyway -the way I perceive it- is what separates a leader from a follower.

edit: Not meaning Charisma only means the leadership capability of someone, but meaning that that is one important factor often overlooked.

Now, as far as the second thing... most of the time I try to be as naive as you... but then again... how do you or me know other character's stats?

[TermaForever]

Most decent rpers are pretty good about not overly exceeding the realm of their stats without being big prudes about 'What is your int? 10? Then you can't know what 'configure' means! Die now horrible l33t rper person!'

The people who just go way out of their character are the one's we don't like anyways .

I'm not perfect, I'll admit. Adelius has 10 charisma. 9 times in 10 he is more than happy to sit back and let someone else call the shots. Occastionally though, he gives himself a 9 point boost and says 'Alright shut up and listen so we can get out of here'. I think part of that might be the intelligence kicking in...

[Munroe]

aodhan said:

Example:

Tim tries to pick pocket Sally as he's walking into the inn and she's walking out, but Sally notices (wins on the automatic spot vs pick pocket roll), so Tim runs into the basement of the Regal Griffon to "hide" (makes a roll) under Sam's table. Sally, who isn't far behind, rolls a spot check, but doesn't make it. She then rolls a search check, then another spot check against his hide check and wins this time. Now Tim's mad because...

You failed your first spot check? You missed him. You didn't see him. Look in the other room. You don't get to keep rolling checks until you succeed. I'd be mad too if the person failed their check and kept rolling.

[Aodhan the Unusual]

lol - No no. I made my spot check vs his pick pocket. That's what started the whole *insert random colorful metaphor here* thing.


When it come to pick pocketing, an automatic, unseen roll vs the target's spot is done. I posted something about all the possible things that could happen, but basically I succeeded, got the automatic message "Someone is trying to pick pocket you," and, as character, went after the closest person to me at the time.

[ShadowCatJen]

I've always been more of a proponent of "roleplay, don't rollplay". By that I mean specifically to not let dice rolls overtake what straight roleplaying can cover just as easily. Also, the dice roll should only be a guideline if neither player is certain how things should go (especially when it comes to intimidate and persuade). I do, though, like to see people play their stats correctly.

I would, though, give a little leeway when it comes to both Wisdom and Charisma. There are far too many interpretations across the board for what both stats should be -- let's please not turn this into that sort of discussion cause it'll go for days -- and some flexibility is needed when in regards to it. But for the obvious ones it is appreciated when it's roleplayed correctly.

My character's examples:

Mynian has a 10 Wisdom. She has street smarts and has had some "life" experience when it comes to love. This would normally put her Wisdom score at about 13, but her high paranoia combined with a belief that Sune will never see her to be happy in her love life knocks it right back down to 10. Especially the paranoia bit.

Marichelle has an 8 Constitution. She's constantly ill, weak, and cold. She never seems to be hungry and can only eat very soft foods or soups. Milk is the harshest drink she can take. However, she has a Wisdom of 14 and makes sure that she does eat something to keep herself alive, leaves an area when trouble starts, and finds warm places to stay.

Bad example:

Knew someone who played a Fighter Half-Orc that had it his character spoke in a "noble" vein and he did so because he was raised by human born nobles. I asked him what his Intelligence and Wisdom scores were and he said it was 8 and 9 respectively. Told him that his half-orc shouldn't even be able to correctly put together a sentence let alone know what the word "etiquette" means. He tried to argue the point with the DMs and left when they pretty much said the same thing I did.

[whitepawn01]

This is an interesting topic, and something I've been wondering about for a little while. I've always thought that Charisma in particular can be very open to interpretation. Isabelle, despite being well mannered and courteous and fairly attractive physically, relies a lot on things like makeup and clothes to achieve her looks and doesn't have a "natural beauty" that I think a high charisma would probably entail. Also, despite her "well bred" facade, to quote "Snatch", Isabelle is "about as much a "lady" as she is an *expletive* monkey". I try to rp it so that there is an underlying subtle sense of wrongness and a lack of depth to her social interactions, like there's something sinister just underneath the surface that makes people uncomfortable, but they can't quite put their finger on it. I know I've managed to achieve that a few times with some of the people I regularly rp with, and I think Isabelle's Charisma of 13 more reflects a prettier than average girl who is pretending to be something she isn't when interacting with others. I'm done, sorry its just something I gave a fair bit of thought to.

[ShadowCatJen]

Regardless of how anyone interprets something like Charisma I think the key factor here is that you thought it fully through. And I think that's mainly what this thread is intending to convey. It's the ones that don't think that need to pay attention here.

Don't just give your character stats and have him/her act and look however you want to. Think it through.

Don't just think that putting 20 ranks in persuade is going to make everyone follow what you say just because you rolled it. Think if you are capable of roleplaying that level of persuasiveness and add to the stat accordingly.

Do think about how your character's stats should be played out. Just rolling up a character isn't enough -- not for FRC at any rate -- and give your character a deeper quality by thinking things through.

[Paragon]

With Alev I sacrificed CHA to make him stronger, (something I constantly regret,) so I play him as somewhat distracted and self absorbed, despite the fact that he would have a paladin's aura about him. On the other hand, with a 13 INT and 14 WIS, he knows exactly how courteous a paladin is supposed to act, and his interactions reflect this forced and distorted way, (although there is a good background reason for it, that he hasn't told many people.)

It's difficult playing a character that has a different INT or WIS than you, I think, though I think that CHA can be faked...at least over the internet, lol.

[Driderman]

Fun thing, sometimes your acting is misinterpreted. On another server I once played a dwarf with a charisma of 6...
He constantly snorted and spat and made lurid comments about the ladies and such, I really did my best to make him act a reall unpleasant idiot, but for some odd reason the ladies were rather fond of his crude remarks and bloody tales of how he enjoyed killing sentient creatures and playing ball with their heads...

Of course, that might say more about the men playing those female characters than my roleplaying, come to think of it