Fear
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I don't see your issue do you want your character to be feared because he talks alot but does nothing?
If thats the case it's not going to happen characters like that are ten a penny what makes a character feared is there actions.
When your enemies wind up dead and there friends are floating in the river you quickly get a rep as somone not to mess with.
Fact is Fear = Loss if character lose somthing gold and gear or life then they will start to fear your character. -
DMs should hand out more XP and even gold as a reward (like 1,000xp at a time say) to characters who display actual human emotions rather than trying to be ''robots of awesome'' and cut down the quest XP. I actually sent a surprised tell to someone when they showed a fear of my character - I just wish I had the power there and then to give them some XP for it!
Also people who actually try and be scary / creepy / intimidating (say by having the correct social stats, for a start) should be rewarded in a similar vein.
I'm sure that happens already - but it should happen more, and DMs should give characters that actually do some of the above more public praise. In my opinion a pat on the back is worth more than 10,000xp
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Years back when I had more time to play, people feared my level 6 wizard. I hit level 7 once, they got really scared of him.
I wasn't scared of him. Maybe because i was on his side? kinda? Was still careful around him tho.
Seriously tho people. Try playing a coward. I had great fun with my Militia member Samar. Not strictly speaking a coward, but very cautious. And there were some things that scared him outright.
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@21:
DMs should hand out more XP and even gold as a reward (like 1,000xp at a time say) to characters who display actual human emotions rather than trying to be ''robots of awesome'' and cut down the quest XP. I actually sent a surprised tell to someone when they showed a fear of my character - I just wish I had the power there and then to give them some XP for it!
Also people who actually try and be scary / creepy / intimidating (say by having the correct social stats, for a start) should be rewarded in a similar vein.
I'm sure that happens already - but it should happen more, and DMs should give characters that actually do some of the above more public praise. In my opinion a pat on the back is worth more than 10,000xp
I like to give out a free level to people who roleplay really awesomely sometimes. I just have to be in the right mood and have the right motivation.
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Meeting Dracart in the slums at night. Dispite having several invis and speedy run potions handy, I was downright shaking ooc and IG when she calmly asked why I had my bow out while in the slums and this was before I even knew of the Cabal or anything.
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@21:
DMs should hand out more XP and even gold as a reward (like 1,000xp at a time say) to characters who display actual human emotions rather than trying to be ''robots of awesome'' and cut down the quest XP. I actually sent a surprised tell to someone when they showed a fear of my character - I just wish I had the power there and then to give them some XP for it!
Also people who actually try and be scary / creepy / intimidating (say by having the correct social stats, for a start) should be rewarded in a similar vein.
I'm sure that happens already - but it should happen more, and DMs should give characters that actually do some of the above more public praise. In my opinion a pat on the back is worth more than 10,000xp
I like to give out a free level to people who roleplay really awesomely sometimes. I just have to be in the right mood and have the right motivation.
So thats how the Loviatans got to be such high levels.
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@Alonsis2:
Meeting Dracart in the slums at night. Dispite having several invis and speedy run potions handy, I was downright shaking ooc and IG when she calmly asked why I had my bow out while in the slums and this was before I even knew of the Cabal or anything.
I've found that most reactions to meeting vampires (or tieflings, lycans, etc) that are played by PCs is: "Eh, I've fought demons and dragons, you dont scare me." Also there's the "you have to have a DM to PvP me so I know I'm safe" mode also. I dont know how much of the prior is IC or OOC; and the latter part, is just straight OOC. It is frustrating though, to have someone cornered, fangs bared, and for him/her to go "Meh." if they dont have the stats to back it up.
((thanks for the compliment though. was a fun encounter.))
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Beat the shit out of them anyway - kill first, ask questions later imo.
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I find it easier not to "expect" an adventurer to fear you. Threaten a commoner with death and he will probably serve you for the rest of his life but an "adventurer" might probably not do so. The characters that we play are "adventurers" and have probably come to terms with the fact that any given day they might find themselves in the afterlife chatting up their deity.
You have to keep in mind that everyone here is playing their character and knows their character well. A player might be playing a fearless character, to the point of being reckless (Tymorans anyone?), and you cannot expect such characters to be scared easily. Fear isn't the only weakness a character can have. I myself have played a scaredy character before (My Talon was shit scared of Vrud and Dani) and it can be fun for both parties.
Having said that, fear is very real and can drive a characters actions. If you really want to scare a character you might go about it by finding his weaknesses and trying to use them to your advantage or so on. I know my "knight" did some crazy things (deals with necromancers and so on) because of his weaknesses/fears.
IMO the best way to go about it is to play your own character. If he wants to be scary, try the old fashioned knife to the throat way and if that does not work, find better ways i.e. research the character you want to scare and so on.
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I don't agree with this topic of the adventurer's life. We do not play "adventurers". Some of us maybe do. A tymoran greedy human who's constantly out looking for treasure. But I know I have not played a single adventurer in my years here. I do not, for example, consider Theo an adventurer.
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I don't agree with this matter of the adventurer's life. We do not play "adventurers". Some of us maybe do. A tymoran greedy human who's constantly out looking for treasure. But I know I have not played a single adventurer in my years here. I do not, for example, consider Theo an adventurer.
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http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&pwst ... d=0CBYQkAE
Under this definition, alot of people on the server are adventurers. Maybe they do not fit the cliche you expect, but they are adventurers.
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I´d like to see more fear. Fear is cool.
Every character should feel fear at least in some level. For example a valiant knight might not piss in his pants when cornered by dozens of thugs pointing crossbows at him, but he might definitely portray at least uncertainty. Even if he might in the end easily beat the thugs, he might portray uncertainty and consideration when the situation arises suddenly, mild fear if you can put it that way.
Fear can be shown in many ways. You don´t always have to show it to the extreme.
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Why would a cornered knight feel fear/uncertainty? The point is, I don't believe there is anything wrong with playing an absurdly fearless character. One needs to remember that spreading fear is not all about beating up people or threatening their lives in a fantasy setting that involves demons and undead and so on. A demon threatening to steal his soul would cause even a fearless knight to think twice.
Being scary and spreading fear are two different things imo. Tieflings, Vampires etc. are scary, maybe not scary to someone who's faced Balor Lords but scary still. Making someone fear you doesn't require you to be scary. You can, for example, consistently and successfully thwart his plans or something such. He might not shake in his boots in your presence but he will certainly not mess with you.
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I would put forth that we, as adventurers, are a fairly jaded lot, facing death daily, if not hourly, in all manner of absurd spots. Face hordes of poisonous vermin for a few coins? Why yes, sign me up, and do you know of any other low paying, high risk of death jobs opening up soon? We dash about from near death mission to near death mission with an almost suicidal glee, getting burned, stabbed, electrified, acid splashed, shot with arrows, poisoned, cursed, and who knows what else, just to earn coins to pay the rent. This sort of lifestyle would not "realistically" be for anyone with a low pain threshold, weak stomach, is easily frightened, or has hope for a long career.
And so, for the most part, we are unfazed by various threats. You threatened to kill me? So did that horde of orcs I just fought, and the bandits, and the local wildlife, and that was just walking into town. Everything is working to kill us, nearly all the time. So, this is where the OOC blends into the IC. IC, there should be ways to make even the most hardened sort squirm. Friends, allies, favored places, something that holds meaning to them and might be vulnerable. However, given the nature of the game and medium, those things aren't represented most times. Thus, how is "fear" to be generated by a PC ? Most often it's through the OOC knowledge that they can and will FD you.
Funny thing about that. It's often held that it's the fear of being FD'd that's the greatest fear inducer in a PC's arsenal. However, every non-dm controlled NPC is going to FD you, and we will cheerful take on hordes of them, often for nearly absurd rewards if you look at the risks you take. So, perhaps it's not the FD so much, nor even the looting, as it is pride, being defeated by another player that causes so much difficulty with things. When confronted by a DM controlled foe, I've seen very little of the same lack of fear in many characters. But perhaps that's merely OOC as well, not knowing what the capabilities a DM might have given someone.
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Firstly let me say that it depends on the character's personality and experiences.
Now that that's out the way, I disagree in general that adventurer's should be blaze about threats of violence, death and destruction. I doubt many adventurer's are just 'in it for the coin' although that may certainly be a motivator. Also, just because an adventurer stares down hordes of orcs daily doesn't mean the next horde of orcs won't instill some level of fear in them. Part of the fun of any adventure, RL or IC is the adrenaline surge you get from putting it all on the line and coming out victorious.
I think the biggest problem is there seems to be very little 'shades of grey' displayed when it comes to fear. The general consensus seems to be that you are either quivering in your boots or utterly nonchalant.
Part of the problem may be simply that mechanically speaking there is zero difference between being at full health and being at near death and so there is not always that appreciation of pain and suffering that any real person would likely want to avoid at nearly any cost. And so fear, OOCly doesn't kick in until there's an almost certain chance of losing those last two levels you worked so hard for.
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He might not shake in his boots in your presence but he will certainly not mess with you.
A rare word of wisdom from Mr. C.
I concur. -
I would put forth that we, as adventurers, are a fairly jaded lot, facing death daily, if not hourly, in all manner of absurd spots. Face hordes of poisonous vermin for a few coins? Why yes, sign me up, and do you know of any other low paying, high risk of death jobs opening up soon? We dash about from near death mission to near death mission with an almost suicidal glee, getting burned, stabbed, electrified, acid splashed, shot with arrows, poisoned, cursed, and who knows what else, just to earn coins to pay the rent.
I will probably repeat this over and over. I do not agree.
You are picturing the classic dnd adventurer, that leaves his family in search of fortune, going dungeoun crawling in the hope of finding the lost treasure of a forgotten kingdom.
That is maybe 25% of the server population. I see diplomats from other countries, mages studying in towers, law enforcers fighting the crime, heretics working to end the world as we know it. All of these, are not adventurers. -
It's a tricky thing. At the end of the day it does just come down to "Can I overpower this person(s)? Can they overpower me?"
A cunning bard might try and goad the snarling werewolf into transforming and trying to attack him in the middle of a well-guarded street, because the guards will certainly intervene. If the werewolf later catches him in the wilderness, alone, though, would he be afraid of what the Bard can do?
There's nothing much worse than being told you should be acting afraid or not of something. It's a matter of wisdom - an unwise character might continuously badger the dragon until it tears him apart, while a wise one might comprehend when the odds arn't in his favour and become very concious of their own mortality.
Do what comes naturally; it's up to the character trying to be scary to back it up as more than a bluff if the other character acts indifferent. Monsterous subraces like tieflings are unsettling, most people are uncomfortable dealing with them and some are hostile on a matter of principle - if it lives up to its heritage though and becomes a medium for all sorts of infernal and unholy attacks, desecrating holy ground and offering the souls of any who cross it to its demonic masters, people might be a bit more fearful, or even more hostile depending on the character. You could meet with someone at the Pride and they'd feel safe knowing you can't do anything much there without getting beaten up by the guards - that doesn't stop you, later, strapping them to a pentagram and sending their soul into the Abyss as a reminder to everyone of the benefits of remaining "just a face in the quivering crowd" to you.
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It's all OOC courtesy, in my opinion.
If someone plays a character that is supposed to be scary, intimidating, strange or mysterious, then give them the courtesy of at least reacting to such (fear, some trepidation, anxious, cold attitude or just standing a bit farther away from them…). It makes them feel nice and gives you something to RP with. I loved when people would react in odd ways to Malexia because I wanted her to come across as creepy.
Make it fun for others and lose the pride and attitude of "my character ain't afraid of anything" stuff...