Heroica Theatre

[Waterbrick Down]

True.

Alright, but what do you mean by playing it internally? I take it you mean like in italics rather than dialogue?

Exactly, have him go into a trance, play the memory in his mind, and then have him reboot.

[The Legonater]

While we're talking about arcs and stuff, out of curiosity - are there any opinions on where Dyric's been going?

[StickFig]

I think it's really interesting to see Dyric go the opposite way of the rest - everyone else is more and more cynical, etc; Dyric is ths assassin who slowly comes around. "I'm a Hero! Let's do Hero stuff!"

[dum]

Alright, but what do you mean by playing it internally? I take it you mean like in italics rather than dialogue?

Maybe just to give other characters an ability to comment on these memories you could play them out like a hologram or recording or something. It's a bit far fetched for a medievalish setting, but if you tweak some sort of way to make a memory that is tangible to the other characters, it could interesting. Otherwise, you can always make it like Vindsval's conversations with The Wanderer.

Also, I might as well ask what others think of my character so far. I haven't had many dramatic moments, but I was wondering if I seem to have a consistent/defined character.

Edited April 22, 2016 by dum

[Rider Raider]

Also, I might as well ask what others think of my character so far. I haven't had many dramatic moments, but I was wondering if I seem to have a consistent/defined character.

He is very consistent, but like all low-level heroes, not very defined. Try to make big moments yourself every once and a while (You can't always rely on the QM to do it for you.), but let them come naturally most of the time. Timothy will have a player-created moment that has to do with... Bad memories of the Guild of Invision. Try to define your player with a unique moments in the present and past. Backstory is a major part of roleplaying, as well as everything else listed in the Theatre.

[Kintobor]

Backstory is a major part of roleplaying, as well as everything else listed in the Theatre.

Nope. Backstory's important, but I'd say past choices made on quests is far more important for a PC. Making big moments for yourself is spotlight stealing, and should be avoided. Allow the spotlight to fall onto your character naturally. If you get into an argument with a PC over a decision in the quest, that's totally fine.

That whole article I linked is probably good enough to use during most tabletop RPG sessions, so use it as you will.

I'm tempted to do a Theatre bit about the Don'ts of roleplaying. Anyone got any advice?

Maybe just to give other characters an ability to comment on these memories you could play them out like a hologram or recording or something. It's a bit far fetched for a medievalish setting, but if you tweak some sort of way to make a memory that is tangible to the other characters, it could interesting. Otherwise, you can always make it like Vindsval's conversations with The Wanderer.

Sure, but then it's intrusive to other people if a hologram just started playing. Having it play in Goliath's head is simpler, and ultimately more rewarding for both characters and players. Vind's discussions with his deity have never impeded other people's RP, which is why I love Vind, among other reasons.

[Rider Raider]

Nope.

I see your point.

Wait, Arthur was originally a Minecraftian?

Sure, but then it's intrusive to other people if a hologram just started playing. Having it play in Goliath's head is simpler, and ultimately more rewarding for both characters and players. Vind's discussions with his deity have never impeded other people's RP, which is why I love Vind, among other reasons.

Agreed, a hologram randomly playing would be very intrusive. Edited April 23, 2016 by Rider Raider

[Zepher]

I think it's really interesting to see Dyric go the opposite way of the rest - everyone else is more and more cynical, etc; Dyric is ths assassin who slowly comes around. "I'm a Hero! Let's do Hero stuff!"

I absolutely agree. I feel like a lot of characters have driven themselves down, which is an interesting arch when done well (and it has done well) but learning to be optimistic is a powerful arch as well (and far less used in this game), and I think Dyric is pulling it off well!

[Palathadric]

I absolutely agree. I feel like a lot of characters have driven themselves down, which is an interesting arch when done well (and it has done well) but learning to be optimistic is a powerful arch as well (and far less used in this game), and I think Dyric is pulling it off well!

Dyric's the nice guy who is so different from everyone else, but nobody can help but like him...except Karie.

[Waterbrick Down]

When it comes to Annie, I'm not trying to push that romance any further...or whatever it was. Mostly, I'm just trying to get it wrapped up and over so she and Warlen...or whoever...or no one, etc., can go off and have a happy life.

Buying the potion was in character, I was just trying to find an easy way to start a conversation with her, so Lind could say, "Oh. I'm really sorry," and they could say goodbye, and go their separate ways.

Seeing how this is more of a RP related topic, I don't think you need to have it wrapped up. Sometime characters are going to do crazy stupid things and they won't be able to fix it and to some extent they'll need to deal with that reality. Accept the awkwardness, accept the fact that Lind can't have perfect relationships with everyone, accept move on and learn for future relationships.

[Lind Whisperer]

Seeing how this is more of a RP related topic, I don't think you need to have it wrapped up. Sometime characters are going to do crazy stupid things and they won't be able to fix it and to some extent they'll need to deal with that reality. Accept the awkwardness, accept the fact that Lind can't have perfect relationships with everyone, accept move on and learn for future relationships.

Lind's still trying to have one single good relationship*, let alone perfect ones...

*That doesn't fall apart.

Edited May 9, 2016 by Lind Whisperer

[Waterbrick Down]

I'd say he does, he just has a tendency to want to be too agreeable with people but at the same time a stickler for a certain moral code. It seems like you have a vision for Lind and rather than just have him be forced in the direction his circumstances push him in and freely develop him, you have a tendency to swing his character back into some sort of plan you have for him.

[Lind Whisperer]

The Munchkin shrugged. "I was being a little bit too nonchalant about free will, he was ignoring the fact that we're mercs and trying to go off on a long spiel about morality - ignoring the fact that all of us kill for money as a casual profession.

This is actually something I was thinking about last night. With Heroica, I think we often ascribe modern day morals to situations, just so long as it doesn't get in the way of game experience. Killing is fine and fun, but even the hint of not-entirely consensual anything, can be "monstrous".

If you actually look back at the sorts of people that fulfilled the sort of "hired mercenary" roles our characters typically play...they weren't moral paragons. Yes, there were a few that "knight erranted"...but a great many of them didn't.

Now, I'm not saying that-if it's in character for them-our characters should excuse...morally dubious behavior by other characters - but that we should keep in mind the actual atmosphere. We're not walking around in a modern city, we're living in a time era where brothels and...other things, are seen or referenced frequently.

Having a character make a gesture or action that could be misinterpreted badly can cause disgust in fellow PCs and NPCs, certainly, but we should also keep in mind the setting we're playing in. This isn't a modern day situation, and that should be factored into character responses.

*Before everyone misreads this, re-read the first sentence again. I'm not making a statement about "consensuality," I'm saying we're attributing modern day morals to medieval-era situations.**

**Which of course segues into the obvious response that rape was even more of a crime back then then it is now. Which is perfectly true. I'm saying that to talk about it from a "consent/non-consent" standpoint is a blatantly modern view, and ignores the fact that we're playing characters in a medieval setting. And yes, if you want to play a character that views things from that perspective, that is definitely your choice. But we're playing mercs, in a medieval setting. We're not all playing paragons. Not everyone should have the exact same stance on the issue. Some people will have the same views, others will have different views - but to have everyone in the group approach issues with a modern viewpoint*...well, you either have a very progressive group of heroes, or someone is forgetting the setting.

Edited May 9, 2016 by Lind Whisperer

[Palathadric]

Well if you mention you're planning any sort of "activities" to Pretzel, he will more likely than not bop you on the bean whether you have the other person's consent or not.

Edited May 9, 2016 by Palathadric

[Waterbrick Down]

I feel there should be a civil way to discuss this issue without minimizing it's real world implications. Heroica is a collective community created setting, it is formed by a group of people that are going to have different stances on things and sometimes those things are going to influence the world differently than what one person's interpretation of it may be. Therefor some NPC's, PC's, storylines are going to treat topics differently, war, torture, sex, the whole gamut. Now Heroica is not only a setting but also a fantasy game which means there will be certain moral assumptions made, i.e. killing bad guys is OK. Just like in other games there are assumptions made about certain behaviors in other games, i.e. Grand Theft Auto series. The hard part is that an RPG mixes these two elements and thus sometimes ends up with contradictory conclusions i.e. killing is good but non consent is bad. It's a hard thing to grasp and often doesn't come to light until the actual situations arise and it shows the assumptions players come to the game with. Now let's be clear we should not be assuming that a player's assumptions about a setting equally represent their assumptions about the real world, I don't think any of us would go that far and I don't think we should.

We all come to this game with different assumptions concerning the setting and thus we need to take care how we approach the subjects we discuss. As QM's don't be freaked out if a player assumed one thing about your setting that you weren't intending, help them work through it. As a player don't take too much issue if a QM bring up a different assumption about the setting than you had.

[Lind Whisperer]

Well if you mention you're planning any sort of "activities" to Pretzel, he will more likely than not bop you on the bean whether you have the other person's consent or not.

Heh.

I feel there should be a civil way to discuss this issue without minimizing it's real world implications. Heroica is a collective community created setting, it is formed by a group of people that are going to have different stances on things and sometimes those things are going to influence the world differently than what one person's interpretation of it may be. Therefor some NPC's, PC's, storylines are going to treat topics differently, war, torture, sex, the whole gamut. Now Heroica is not only a setting but also a fantasy game which means there will be certain moral assumptions made, i.e. killing bad guys is OK. Just like in other games there are assumptions made about certain behaviors in other games, i.e. Grand Theft Auto series. The hard part is that an RPG mixes these two elements and thus sometimes ends up with contradictory conclusions i.e. killing is good but non consent is bad. It's a hard thing to grasp and often doesn't come to light until the actual situations arise and it shows the assumptions players come to the game with. Now let's be clear we should not be assuming that a player's assumptions about a setting equally represent their assumptions about the real world, I don't think any of us would go that far and I don't think we should.

We all come to this game with different assumptions concerning the setting and thus we need to take care how we approach the subjects we discuss. As QM's don't be freaked out if a player assumed one thing about your setting that you weren't intending, help them work through it. As a player don't take too much issue if a QM bring up a different assumption about the setting than you had.

^

[Rider Raider]

What do you guys think of Timothy? To me he kind of seems boring to play.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Rider Raider

[Waterbrick Down]

What do you guys think of Timothy? To me he kind of seems boring to play.

What do you mean by boring and what were you hoping to get out of him?

[Rider Raider]

What do you mean by boring and what were you hoping to get out of him?

He just kind of seems like nothing other than the stereotypical hating killing and a huge backstory to me. That's really all I use RP-wise.

[Asphalt]

Dont rely on the backstory then. Let the way you handle him define him.

[Waterbrick Down]

He just kind of seems like nothing other than the stereotypical hating killing and a huge backstory to me. That's really all I use RP-wise.

Most people approach RPG's wanting to tell the story of where their character has been. When they finally tell that story they often have a hard time finding motivation to continue playing the character. In an RPG motivation and personality is often more important than backstory. Yes it can be useful to know where your character came from but if that doesn't influence what he does now and why he does what he does, then the character is better served in a short story as opposed to an RPG. This thread is filled with conversations concerning how to develop a character (I'd highly recommend reading it if you have the time). For the meantime I'd try and answer these questions for Timothy:

Describe Timothy in five words

Why is Timothy like this?

As a cleric how is Timothy affected by his deity?

What are Timothy's flaws?

What are Timothy's strengths?

What/who is/are important in Timothy's life?

What is the motto of Timothy's life?

What does Timothy believe in?

What does Timothy despise?

What does Timothy admire?

What are Timothy's feelings on authority? Love? Freedom?

[MysticModulus]

Good advice WBD!

Like with all relations it takes some time to get to know your character, it takes patience.

Edited May 24, 2016 by MysticModulus

[JimBee]

Good advice WBD!

Like with all relations it takes some time to get to know your character, it takes patience.

Right. With what seems like a recent trend in people starting over, my advice would be to try and stick it out awhile longer. Timothy was in one single quest. I can tell you that I had no idea what Hybros was going to be on his first quest. He was a minifig that I designed for a contest back then, and I wrote his character, backstory and personality as I went along. You're not going to feel satisfied after one quest because you barely got your foot in the door for RPing that character. Give it time to develop and you will find yourself more dedicated to one character. If you keep starting over you'll likely never get there.

[MysticModulus]

Personally, I think that one of the more rewarding experiences of this enterprise with Ezeran is the slowness of the progression. It rrally helps him maturen and it's a great contrast from other games and media.

[KotZ]

Right. With what seems like a recent trend in people starting over, my advice would be to try and stick it out awhile longer.

I agree. Can you imagine if Sandy tossed Ellaria out the door right away or Guts or any of the other characters we've grown to love over these past five (five?) years? The game would be radically different and I think it would suffer.

Sometimes toughing it out will fix the problems. And it's a roleplaying game. There's (nearly) always ways to fix somethings you messed up on.