Hello There.

Way out yonder in Thera, you might know me as Mossi(!), the semi-insane, gnomish cake creating Herald.

Now, this has been bothering me a bit and I'm just wondering if it bothers anyone else... That is, this:

!!A Complete And Utter Lack of Realism In Roleplay!!

Now, I'm probably guilty of this a bit myself, but I try to stay as realistic as possible when I roleplay. Mossi is a gnome... she's round and she waddles. She can't do backflips, so she doesn't. She can't sing, so she doesn't.

But there are those who just walk into a roleplay and are instantly capable of doing humanly (or felarly or arially or giantly or whateverly) impossible things. Or simply not realistic things. I understand a thief, trained in acrobatics, doing a backflip onto the bar. I don't understand a bard doing triple backflips and landing with relative ease on an unsturdy stool with a big grin flourish. I don't get that.

I've been brooding over this awhile. Maybe I just notice it because I play a Herald and Heralds deal a lot with things like that, but it's beginning to really bother me. Even little things, like making food in the Inn... it can be at least semi-realistic. But no... somehow the Inn has a limitless supply of whatever.

I'm just a little worried because it seems, sometimes, that my character is the only one around that is "human". Of course, not human, because she's a gnome, but you know what I mean. She's not a super, uh, woman. Yeah. If she's the only one who can't sing like an angel, can't dance like (hehe) Meladori, can't do backflips like a thief, can't cook like the Inn has a limitless supply of everything, can't write poetry... well... you get it... then what's left?

What's left for the, uh, little, er, girl?

I dunno.

Anyway, please rant back if you feel so inclined.


----- Alaminore, Of Course! -----

The major point of my reply is going to be this is a fantasy roleplaying game. Fantasy is a break from reality. Now granted, alot of things are geared to be as realistic as possible, as much as a land of magic, dragons, demon and gods can be. Why can a bard do acrobatic feats? Maybe it's a pastime of his. I have known people who never trained in gymnastics who would show off with a backflip. Ok, not a triple backflip onto an unsteady stool. The feasibility of a person's roleplay is for the most part their choice. If they feel they are capable of such a feat, then I suppose they are, so long as it doesn't take the option of another's roleplay away, such as the emote of landing a kick midway through those flips that breaks someone's neck. Unlimited food? Well, it is a popular inn, and as such constant deliveries are likely to take place, much like the unending supply of alcohol. A dry bar is an out of business bar. Why don't you see that detail? Maybe it's too boring to show the labor hauling crates through the inn every two minutes. Maybe it's meant to be left to your own imagination on why the food and drinks are always available. Maybe it was even just an oversight. At some point realism has to take a back seat to enjoyment, otherwise everyone would be firmly rooted in the real world, where swords are decorations and magic might make a good movie.

Yes, I understand that it is a fantasy mud, but at the same time... Thera is full of realism itself. It's actually quite realistic, for a fantasy MUD, if you consider it. Everyone is still bound by basic things, like gravity. You can't fly unless you have wings or some sort of magical potion. You can't use flails unless you're trained to use flails, otherwise you don't know which end is up or down.

Oh well. I spent about three years roleplaying on a MUCK (devoted simply to roleplay, no killing of things) and I think I got a little stuck up on it from that. I've been trying not to let it bug me too much but I personally feel (and this is just a personal thing here) that there's something to be said for someone who can roleplay a "human" and not someone who has god-like abilities. That is, someone who isn't a god being able to do... god-like... things. Yeah.

I'll be quiet now like a good little gnome. =)



-------- Alaminore, Of Course! --------

As Gherian pointed out, a lot of 'personal' roleplay is left up to the individial doing the roleplaying. However, the example you gave of a bard doing a triple backflip onto a barstool is one I would argue with you on, since I can easily see it happening. Why? You might ask. Well, look at bard titles, Dancer, Juggler, Singer, etc etc etc. All of these point to some facet of bardly training...and if a bard chose to, 'roleplay-istically' speaking here, focus on one of those aspects for certain performances it makes sense. That being said, if you look at a lot of skills certain classes have there are certain other abilites that it is not so odd for them to have. A felar warrior being a gracful dancer, or a shaman being a good singer, or even a ranger being a good cook....all of these things could have a case made for them based on other skills within that classes/races repitoire.

That being said, I know exactly what you're talking about. There are a lot of Therans who are amazing in their multi-talentedness, and while I won't site it as a lack (or even poor) roleplaying...I think that they certainly don't stand out nearly as much as the people who, like you, chose to take a more 'realistic' stance in their roleplay and aren't jack-of-all trades. I think if you look at many characters who have stood out and been held up as paradigms of roleplayedly goodness you'll see that they were people who limited their character in some way. Since in a lot of ways, a rather amazing test of a character is to put a limit on him, and stick to it. If someone out there has never tried it, I suggest trying it, it's very interesting to place boundries and limits on yourself. A lot of times they'll piss you off and hinder you from doing something amazing, but on the other hand...just by having a roleplaying reason not to do something is often just as slick as having a roleplaying reason to do something.

>Everyone is still bound by basic things, like gravity.

And, after you've successfully cast earthbind on that pesky cloud giant, gravity even acts pretty much like it does in this universe.

Bizzarre role play can be a challenge to work with. Sometimes I chalk such things up to (hopefully useless) powers on the part of the other character. Sometimes I chalk such things up to wishful thinking on the part of another character (kinda like I sometimes tolerate typos when I can figure them out). Sometimes my character is just really self centered and doesn't even notice that anything unusual is going on.

I'm sure other people have other good ideas for this kind of thing.

Good luck.

At least it is for me. You know the books you love the hero/heroine in, but they always have some kind of flaw, or weakness they have to overcome? And even the villains have something about them, usually, that you kind of can feel for them and understand why they went bad.

That's what I always try to do with my characters. Do they have some really great abilities? You bet. Sylvrin could sing like a bird and dance with the grace of a swan. But she had flaws too. She was naive, gullible, emotional, over-eager sometimes. I think a well-rounded character needs some of that to keep them interesting. I'm not saying everyone can or should do this, but it DOES make your character more fun and interesting to interact with.

That said Roleplaying is a very subjective thing that requires some skills and talents that not everyone has in abundance. You need to have some good imagination, some skill in writing, the ability to think fast on your feet to give just the right witty wisecrack answer, and you need some decent typing skills (something I lack pitifully). I think for people who are new to it, it's just easier to make that super-I-can-do-it-all type character. But I think, given time and experience, most people who enjoy RP get past that.