All the World's a Stage: Ten Commandments of Roleplaying

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-16-2008 @ 10:55PM

Sean Riley said...

How flexible do you think #4 is? Let's say I make a Night Elf who has a birth-mark in the shape of the crescent moon, with a story behind it that has her prophecied to play some major, undefined role in Azeroth. Certainly, this makes her important to the world, but does it overpower the other characters?

I say no. You could play it to _make_ her overpower other characters, but if she's still vulnerable and human (well, elvish) then others have a chance to shine too.

You can be epic, while still playing well.

3-17-2008 @ 3:07AM

David Bowers said...

I think the crux of it is that nothing you or your character does can have an actual effect on the Warcraft universe as it is. Whatever happens, at the end of the adventure, everything has to be put back exactly the way it was when it started.

This is true with all fan fiction -- the very nicely done machinima story, "Tales of the Past 3" is a good example. The main character of that story ends up taking on the Lich King himself and winning. But just when you think the story is over, here comes the epilogue...
http://www.warcraftmovies.com/movieview.php?id=53953

Model viewers and special effects programs make stories like Tales of the Past work out okay. But for roleplayers to try and get away with something like that, they'd have to create (and level -- ick!) a paladin named "Arthass" or something, who was supposed to represent the villain in this story.

Not only is this an example of unwitting Mary Sueing for a roleplayer, but these player-character controlled badguys simply don't work. Leveling up a character simply takes too much time for him to be ever be "defeated" and either reformed or cast aside. It could only work in a scenario like a children's TV cartoon program, where Dr. Claw keeps on coming back in every single episode, and where he never truly gets defeated. Again, nothing really changes in the world, and the true emphasis is on the characters' interpersonal relationships.

3-17-2008 @ 6:52AM

TomWolf said...

[with a story behind it that has her prophecied to play some major, undefined role in Azeroth]

Is the prophecy something everyone in the world is supposed to know about? No? Good. Then we don't even know if the prophecy is true. In real world Bush said he was put to the precidency by god for a purpouse. There are prophecies that said the world was coming to an end 1994.

So, you can always play a character with a prophecy, the important part is not to implement it so that the king himself thinks that it's the true prophecy and that the city of StormWind was designed to help her fullfill it.

Personally I find a greater joy in playing the small stories and having a character that takes pride in taking part in and improving other players personal stories as well. Rather be part of several small stories where someone is searching for their father who got lost during the war (he deserted and is in hiding) or where a gnome is looking to avange his best friends death by killing a certain Horde Warlock player then having that grand epic tale on my shoulders.

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