>Is it poor roleplaying....
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>1.a) ...to take advantage of demon-faced talismans to use
>no_remove weapons?
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>It seems very thick on game mechanics knowledge, and thin on a
>roleplaying approach to weapons and armor. Yet, maybe these
>talismans sapping the strength needed to hold onto a weapon is
>something people in a medieval fantasy world would think
>about.

I disagree. My character knows he's hopelessly stuck to a spear, but he doesn't want to use that spear, so maybe he wagers if he's weak enough he'll be forced to drop it. Same idea, I guess you could roleplay being truly cursed by it, I think that's a tad extreme but I guess it'd be better roleplay if you pretended to be scared by cursed weapons. This reminds me of my first paladin, I uncursed someone who said their weapon was cursed not realizing they'd want to keep it cursed. I guess sometimes its better roleplay forgetting some of the stuff you learn about OOC game mechanics. Here I'd lay it up to game balance, good weapons are often cursed for the inability to be disarmed and in that light, its not meant to be a dehabilitating hindrance. I wouldn't call it bad roleplay to use the -str items, but I would call it stellar roleplay if you didn't.

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>1.b) ...for a good aligned (or Sylvan?) character to take
>advantage of demon-faced talismans to use no_remove
>weapons?
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>I don't know about CF, but in AD&D there is a lot of lore
>about demon's and their talismans. Using them to reduce
>strength doesn't seem right.

Theoretically, you could assume demons are a natural part of Thera. Its a talisman bearing a demon, not necessarily a demonic item. I wear a necklace depicting a demon, I don't worship demons or anything.

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>2) ...to tell your groupmate not to sacrifice the mob's
>limited weapons while leveling because you know they'll return
>without the weapons?

This falls under game mechanics as well. Two things, I don't understand why people would naturally go through the trouble of sacrificing every scrap of crap they come across and at the same time, I understand why mobs just don't load up on the stockpile of weapons at their feet. Its sort of like, if you're fighting a cityguard and a hero hands the city guard a level 52 quest sword, why doesn't he wield it? I don't consider this bad roleplay, its just something you have to ignore in game.

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>Your first thought is to destroy, but in Thera it actually
>works to your advantage to leave them lying on the ground.
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>3.a) ...to know know questy stuff with characters that have
>never been to that quest area?
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>I've never known what to make of this. Should our characters
>not know what phrase to say to invoke unique object X, or how
>to gain entrance to area Y? Should our characters know what
>various equipment does? Should our characters have to pretend
>to relearn the steps through Hell each time we go? Should we
>know how dangerous certain areas are, and how to minimize that
>danger?
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>3.b) ...to know general game knowledge?
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>Should a level 1 with a hometown of Udgaard know the way to
>Balator? Should a level 1 know the stats on pale skull rings
>and wide copper bracelets? Should a character of one class
>intimately know the skills of another class and the usefulness
>of those skills?
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These two can be summarized easily. I usually add into my role somewhere that I learned alot about items from frequenting auctions, or learning from a mentor, or a stringent education, or eavesdropping on merchants, or whatever. Your knowledge might be from a map you bought from a smuggler in Seantryn Modan, or you heard a tale about a staff of striking from a soldier in your guild, or whatever. If you don't have a reason to know something you really shouldn't, stellar roleplay is purposefully including things you don't know but its not horrid roleplay to know something more then what you look like when you roll a new level 1 character.

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>4) ...for a gnome to kill gnomes of Hillcrest for that
>gnome only sword?
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>Ok, I know the answer to this one... but... but...

Yeah, this bothers me and I don't know why. I think its because ideally, no neutral or goodie would kill someone/something specifically for their armor except in certain circumstances. Would a reasonable, non-evil human kill someone to steal their car? No, that would be killing someone out of greed, IE an evil thing to do. However, thats idealism, in reality the game would be terribly hard to play if goodies for instance could only gear off of evils (and then, only if they had a legitimate reason to kill the guy) and by requesting. In fact, I also find it awfully hard to justify requesting something from a mob who apparently needs their item. IE, Basilica is under siege and you're going to strip its generals?

It boils down to game mechanics, and for the most part, just turn a blind eye. It would be stellar albeit incredibly difficult roleplay to never kill anything just because you wanted the armor they have.

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>5) ...to know zilch about the leader of your cabal because
>you are never on at the same time as them?
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>One of those unavoidable problems, I suppose.
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I know about the president and yet I've never personally met him. Same applies, stories travel, you have to assume your character is living in a real environment and in this environment they aren't blind. How do you know someone's name when you first meet them (before you meet them)? Magically you see a duergar and you know his first and sometimes last names, as well as their guild standing, title and etc. In fact, a voice echos in your head and you know the same thing, and a person who you may have known for 200 years with your elf, you can't recognize their voice because you have dirt in your eyes. Some things are based on the fact that this is a game, and you have to cope, and other things you should just know because the heroes and leaders and etc of your character's day are infamous in the world of Thera.