Are people afraid to RP with a more realistic character?

kittyotix · August 2013

Ok, I so have created a character who comes from a background of drug abuse, violence and prostetution. The character has minor mutant powers, mostly relying on Kali weapons (Filipino martial arts). No one seems to really take the time to rp with her even when I instigate it, but i notice that people would rather rp with angels and 'uber' darkness people (same old same old...).
For example last night (players names have been changed to protect the innocent)
Frank says to Bill "I sense you have a demonic aura". Bill says to Betty "Shall I show him the power of darkness". Betty says to Bill "Do it" Bill roars and glows and gets all scary. To me thats not great rp, its the same thing Bill does day in day out.
What I need to know is, is it worth making more grounded characters, or should I go and make Satans Mom or something?
Speak Soon

K

scorpagor · August 2013

You really shouldn't create a character you don't like just to please the general RP crowd.
Because the general RP crowd is terrible.

Though Satan's Mom sounds like a great parody character, if you want to play something less serious :biggrin:

I don't really get why so many people want to play as demons, gods or dark lords. But it's not something that's exclusive to Champions. In most games people tend to favour the "villain" side, maybe because it's something which you can't express in real life (without getting arrested).

sekimen · August 2013

Play the character you feel like playing at the moment. I've RP'd both silly and serious with lighthearted and dark characters alike. You can always find stuff if you look at the right places. Try checking out CORP if you'd like to find new people to RP with.

kittyotix · August 2013

I think the reason so many people make demonic or god like chars is that its easy. It makes it easy to have a background where someone can have a freeform mix of non-related powers. It doesn't matter if they are non-themed, coz im a demon and I can do anything. Also it just means they can go around rp-bullying people, and when offered a duel, they rp fight only, and block every attack, suck out your eyes, don't get hurt, heal instantly, eat your spine, bum-hump your twitching body and finally eat your soul. Even if you are lvl 40 and they are lvl 6 ;p.
What Turnips

klitty · August 2013

Demonic/wolves characters are the starter pokemons of RP games

vitalityprime · August 2013

I think that a lot of people play these games to get away from real world issues...or to just simply relax and have a good time.

We see enough of the terrible things happening in the world on the news.

I personally wouldn't want to deal with drug abuse and prostitution in RP in a superhero video game.

To each their own.

kittyotix · August 2013

Fair point, Vitalityprime, but personally, i feel there needs to be some degree of realism, even with demons and such. After all, if you read anything written in most of the religious texts, demons come in all shapes and sizes. No one is ever a crappy little minor demon that wipes Satans bum after he's had a poo. No they are all the worst, nastiest, most powerful uber doober demons of death and lords of chaos. Why some creature that could eat God would be walking around, posturing in MC is beyond me.

I once had a demonette type char on CoH, and by her own admission, she was pretty crappy and weak even against most heroes.

drgmstr · August 2013

Personally, when I make a character I try to make them to a side of my personality. When you meet one of my toons, that is how I would act in real life. I rather not try to act someone that I am not. Every one of my characters are all good guys, but each one a different side of me. For instance, my main can be my artistic side, he can draw, play music, design stuff, cook, all this I can do IRL. Another character is a big strong guy, but shy. Then I have another who is playful, high spirited. List can go on. Again all of this is a side of me. It is easier to RP a personality of a toon that you are familiar with, and nothing is more familiar than your own.

bwdares · August 2013

I love the Mythology of the Greeks Gods, so I made many of them to do my personal take and give them an updated background. Playing such characters has lead to some of the best RP I have ever been apart of. Though it helps that I play them off how they are in comics and not allpowerful.

I also have all sorts of original characters I play as well. Anythign I play has some sort of personal/original aspect to it.

It all depends on the maturity of the players involved. I am one who doesn't care for over dramatised characters, so dealing with toons from a background of drug abuse, violence and prostetution is not somethign I am generally too intrested in. They tend to come off as whiney poor me, the world sucks type personalities which I dont care to put up with when I am trying to have fun.

OP: maybe your character is different. Afterall, the types of characters I play tend to be played as UBER-OP by others. So there are stereotypes on all ends.

pwkampfykaufmann · August 2013

I recommend to you CORP.

They offer a different take on the random walk-up RP you find in Caprice. Maybe you'll enjoy it more, maybe not. In any case it's something you could check out.

meedacthunist · August 2013

One of my favorite RP characters is a hardcore villain and can't even go into Caprice (personally I ignore all evident supervillain characters there as I do with children characters - RP wise they shouldn't be in this club in the first place).
First world problems.

As for grimdark characters, they have this problem of not being very suitable for social interactions which is something that should be always remembered when creating such toons.
Most of people in the club are either into more lighthearted RP or said demons and demonettes.

And truth be told, CORP may also be not the best choice for you if your character is more like someone from the Ultimate Marvel line as majority of CORP is focused also more on silver age tropes, lighthearted RP or magic.

I was thinking a few times that it may be a smart idea to establish a separate network or "subcommunity" for more bronze/iron/modern age realistic RP toons.

cybersoldier1981 · August 2013

pwkampfykaufmann wrote: »

I recommend to you CORP.

They offer a different take on the random walk-up RP you find in Caprice. Maybe you'll enjoy it more, maybe not. In any case it's something you could check out.

Really? Because that's where I see most of CORP. Or Carl's doing PVP. Sure, they may leave for a while- but I see most of their members in Caprice, or at least people with 'CORP' in their bio. And personally, I think there's no more or less talent there than anywhere else.

I recommend not so much against CORP, but finding a niche and branching out. Look for a SG that meets your needs. Use CORP as a networking element.

As far as 'realistic' goes, it depends. Personally, I find the 'plainclothes elitists' to be nearly as insufferable as the demongodwolfninjakingwizardcommandos.

epelesker · August 2013

meedacthunist wrote: »

And truth be told, CORP may also be not the best choice for you if your character is more like someone from the Ultimate Marvel line as majority of CORP is focused also more on silver age tropes, lighthearted RP or magic.

I was thinking a few times that it may be a smart idea to establish a separate network or "subcommunity" for more bronze/iron/modern age realistic RP toons.

I'm not really sure that this is necessary. CORP's supposed to be a general community for roleplayers, and while those players who actively frequent it (myself included) may swing towards the more classic of tropes, there's nothing stopping others who might prefer the more "modern take" from introducing themselves and contributing to the community in some way.

As for the OP's question, it really depends on the character, and how the player plays him/her. Grit can define a character well, or be "annoying".

mrf0rz1 · August 2013

Being mostly PvP I've only bothered to RP once or twice a year. But when I do it it's only with the character I have on my sig, I often get asked alot of questions that I will gladly answer and the very nature and look of this character will easily shrug off the whole 'POWER OF DARKNESS' types and other 'evil Gods'.

I place my bet on curiosity rather than ease of interaction because people wouldn't hesitate to bully you with their BS. Confrontations can still go out of hand with what people think their character is supposed to be doing.

meedacthunist · August 2013

epelesker wrote: »

I'm not really sure that this is necessary. CORP's supposed to be a general community for roleplayers, and while those players who actively frequent it (myself included) may swing towards the more classic of tropes, there's nothing stopping others who might prefer the more "modern take" from introducing themselves and contributing to the community in some way.

It's all about keeping things user friendly.
There is no need to bring some kind of tropes to community that isn't interested in those.
Sometimes it may be quicker and more practical to create something new than to change old things.

epelesker · August 2013

Just because certain tropes aren't prevalent within the community doesn't mean people aren't or won't ever be interested in the possibility. The other thing to consider is that just because characters may seem to be golden-agey boy scout on their surfaces doesn't mean that it precludes them from interacting with edgy characters or participating in darker-themed events.

I don't think it's very "user friendly" to split up a community and writing off the possibility of introducing something new to said existing one because no one seems interested at first glance.

itsbrou · August 2013

cybersoldier1981 wrote: »

Really? Because that's where I see most of CORP. Or Carl's doing PVP. Sure, they may leave for a while- but I see most of their members in Caprice, or at least people with 'CORP' in their bio. And personally, I think there's no more or less talent there than anywhere else.

I recommend not so much against CORP, but finding a niche and branching out. Look for a SG that meets your needs. Use CORP as a networking element.

As far as 'realistic' goes, it depends. Personally, I find the 'plainclothes elitists' to be nearly as insufferable as the demongodwolfninjakingwizardcommandos.

The last place the OP wants to be is any place where they can see CORP chat.

kittyotix · August 2013

I just wanted to clarify a couple of things. My edgy darker character is not an elitest wingebag who complains about her past. In fact she is ashamed of it and doesnt really talk about it.What it does do is give an idea as to why she behaves as she does. ****ty upbringing often leads to ****ty adulthood. Think of Rorschach in Watchmen. His childhood was awful and it goes some way to show why he sees the world as he does. Also if we are honest, if we saw our entire family killed my a marauding baddy as a kid, dont you think that would screw you up (a'la Batman), not turn you into some golden boy super scout?
Tally Ho!

kittyotix · August 2013

----As far as 'realistic' goes, it depends. Personally, I find the 'plainclothes elitists' to be nearly as insufferable as the demongodwolfninjakingwizardcommandos.----

As are cyber-nano-tech-halfrobot-gun toteing soldiers

theravenforce · August 2013

drgmstr wrote: »

Personally, when I make a character I try to make them to a side of my personality. When you meet one of my toons, that is how I would act in real life. I rather not try to act someone that I am not. Every one of my characters are all good guys, but each one a different side of me. For instance, my main can be my artistic side, he can draw, play music, design stuff, cook, all this I can do IRL. Another character is a big strong guy, but shy. Then I have another who is playful, high spirited. List can go on. Again all of this is a side of me. It is easier to RP a personality of a toon that you are familiar with, and nothing is more familiar than your own.

^ This. All of my main toons represent sort of a facet of my personality, in the way I would act or deal with people in real life.

I tend to enjoy more "in game life" style of RP, realism is always great but the darker side of realism can be off putting if someone forces it upon you (not saying you do).

I would say play something you enjoy and know you'll have a blast RPing.

RPing with self proclaimed "gods" and angelic beings as well as "EvilDarkLordOfSupremeDarknessZOMG" is not my preferred style, to me it doesn't really make sense.

If I was to RP that type of character why would I bother to sit in a club full of mortals and pick fights? Sounds lame.

I find that in the main going into the main RP place Club Caprice results / shows you only are there for:

- "Cyber relations" to put it lightly

- To fight with some Super God Modder

- Or to meet some demon who wants to steal your soul.

- Or to fend off sexual advances (if it wasn't your intention to go in there for that)

Whilst I personally have found some gems within the RP community and enjoy RPing with a few people, it can be off putting going into some RP places in game and encountering evil lords etc.

I guess as others have likely said: People use RP as an outlet and a form of expression for inner thoughts and actions which would likely get them into trouble in RL, this applies to sex as well as violence.

Your character that you described sounds real enough, but I've seen people take that to the extreme which is also off putting.

I find that being approached by dark lords who, and I quote: "Sense your light and wish to extinguish it" is not a fun way to start and RP session with someone, just as slapping their arse as they walk by isn't a great start.

rexcelestis · August 2013

cybersoldier1981 wrote: »

I recommend not so much against CORP, but finding a niche and branching out. Look for a SG that meets your needs. Use CORP as a networking element.

I find this thought the key element of CORP. It is a great place to start looking for like minded RP-ers and to bounce ideas off of. There are some great RP-ers there, but they may not be what you're looking for.

Personally, I prefer more realistic toons. I'm a fan of the Bronze Age and it's willingness to look at social issues, but I also enjoy Modern Age take what it would mean to be a superhero in today's world, books like Supurbia and Jupiter's Legacy. My RP tends to mix those ideas and have actually included a fair amount of drug use, abuse, and prostitution.

I've been fortunate. Through CORP, I found similarly minded RP-ers early on in my CO experience. (I've been a player for over 1,200 days.) We've attracted and lost players in the same vein ever since. I've never felt the need to go into Caprice to look for RP.

For me, I've stayed true to the characters and style I enjoy playing and have found other RP-ers I fit with well.

Best of luck in finding the right crowd for you and your characters.
a

skylyger · August 2013

To be honest my problem with anyone posting threads like this is

1. It comes across as an indirect attack on others RP styles by ******** about the Superior Being concepts which frankly in CO belong alot more then the common man hero concept. The games balance is largely geared towards people being well rounded do it all in one builds. As the majority of complaints about content difficulty usually come from those who either refuse to build such with FF or those stuck with archtypes and more dependent on others in pugs.

2. It shows a distinct lack of imagination when it comes to viewing a world filled with super human beings. Infact it can be rather insulting for those who like to immerse themselves in a world of endless heroics to see people write bios filled wish such RL based atrocities that we like to imagine just dont ever happen in the games world. Many( not all) CO iconic heroes origins are not due to direct evil acts of human men, aliens sure, but even when the people are behind something its usually after a random accident has occurred. This is just a part of the setting you have chosen to come play in.

For example my superior being Psike, a true psion who is in no way overwhelmed by the sheer scope of his ability to be in the minds of all sentient life in the universe, and capable of telekinesis and teleportation has for the extent of his career which goes back to the roaring 20s, prevented all those deplorable acts the OP has mentioned in their character background. I dont even allow them to be possible in this game world I like to escape into.

meedacthunist · August 2013

Voicing different opinion about what kind of RP one is liking more isn't an attack for other tastes in RP.

People these days really needs to grow thicker skin because this hysteria when someone is offended just by the fact that other people can have and ask for different tastes is ridiculous.

skylyger wrote: »

This is just a part of the setting you have chosen to come play in.

Not very true because Champions Universe is a much more complicated setting than CO shows.

It has also its fair share of grim and gritty characters and all power levels and tropes available in comic books. Dark Champions setting is also a part of the same universe.

One of official Champions Universe characters is a bloodthirsty vigilante headshooting supervillains with a pulson sniper rifle. He has a Punisher-worthy kill count.

Now, it's true that Cryptic managed to do only a poor parody of this setting, but it's a thing of their inability for good writing/lack of care about bought game setting. It's not one and only face of this universe.

skylyger wrote: »

For example my superior being Psike, a true psion who is in no way overwhelmed by the sheer scope of his ability to be in the minds of all sentient life in the universe, and capable of telekinesis and teleportation has for the extent of his career which goes back to the roaring 20s, prevented all those deplorable acts the OP has mentioned in their character background. I dont even allow them to be possible in this game world I like to escape into.

It really sucks for characters with this level of power written in their bio when they are unable to read or affect minds of other people because this kind of godmoding can be and usually is rejected by others in RP.

If he's in the minds of all beings in the universe, why he was unable to do anything when VIPER started their career in the known with launched assaults on world leaders? :biggrin:

drgmstr · August 2013

skylyger wrote: »

For example my superior being Psike, a true psion who is in no way overwhelmed by the sheer scope of his ability to be in the minds of all sentient life in the universe, and capable of telekinesis and teleportation has for the extent of his career which goes back to the roaring 20s, prevented all those deplorable acts the OP has mentioned in their character background. I dont even allow them to be possible in this game world I like to escape into.

That right there sounds like the text book definition of god modding.

kittyotix · August 2013

Totally agree with drgmstr

kittyotix · August 2013

-QUOTE To be honest my problem with anyone posting threads like this is

1. It comes across as an indirect attack on others RP styles by ******** about the Superior Being concepts which frankly in CO belong alot more then the common man hero concept. The games balance is largely geared towards people being well rounded do it all in one builds. As the majority of complaints about content difficulty usually come from those who either refuse to build such with FF or those stuck with archtypes and more dependent on others in pugs.

2. It shows a distinct lack of imagination when it comes to viewing a world filled with super human beings. Infact it can be rather insulting for those who like to immerse themselves in a world of endless heroics to see people write bios filled wish such RL based atrocities that we like to imagine just dont ever happen in the games world. Many( not all) CO iconic heroes origins are not due to direct evil acts of human men, aliens sure, but even when the people are behind something its usually after a random accident has occurred. This is just a part of the setting you have chosen to come play in.

For example my superior being Psike, a true psion who is in no way overwhelmed by the sheer scope of his ability to be in the minds of all sentient life in the universe, and capable of telekinesis and teleportation has for the extent of his career which goes back to the roaring 20s, prevented all those deplorable acts the OP has mentioned in their character background. I dont even allow them to be possible in this game world I like to escape into.

It really sucks for characters with this level of power written in their bio when they are unable to read or affect minds of other people because this kind of godmoding can be and usually is rejected by others in RP.

If he's in the minds of all beings in the universe, why he was unable to do anything when VIPER started their career in the known with launched assaults on world leaders? :biggrin:[/QUOTE]

Also, you seem to think i ONLY have griity chars? Wrong..I have an Essex girl animal rights activist who became a walking particle cannon, a witch and her daughter, a 16 year old girl who carries a sword that once drawn, swaps places with her and becomes a sentient being who swings an enormous weapon (ooh err missus)

fudgemonsta · August 2013

kittyotix wrote: »

Also, you seem to think i ONLY have griity chars? Wrong..I have an Essex girl animal rights activist who became a walking particle cannon, a witch and her daughter, a 16 year old girl who carries a sword that once drawn, swaps places with her and becomes a sentient being who swings an enormous weapon (ooh err missus)

I'm pretty sure meedacthunist was supporting your point, and directed that towards skylyger, who, mentions that this is an indirect attack against other players.

If you read the person you quoted, they make multiple points that would support that. Don't worry, they're on your side.

theravenforce · August 2013

skylyger wrote: »

For example my superior being Psike, a true psion who is in no way overwhelmed by the sheer scope of his ability to be in the minds of all sentient life in the universe, and capable of telekinesis and teleportation has for the extent of his career which goes back to the roaring 20s, prevented all those deplorable acts the OP has mentioned in their character background. I dont even allow them to be possible in this game world I like to escape into.

Not only is this a perfect example of god modding but, you have to wonder was this really thought through well?

Think of all the psychic noise even an amateur telepath can get from people around them not to mention on a universal scale, he'd get major headaches and possibly die.

Why hasn't Menton been locked down and had his power shut off by Psike? So many things are wrong here.

Not to mention all the Lore wise destruction in CO which has occurred, assuming you look around the in game world and don't live in Club Caprice.

Aside from that, saying that your character has stopped such acts from happening in SOMEONE ELSES background fails to give their character a reason to exist. (If that wasn't the intention of what you meant then you might want to rephrase it slightly).

I find it interesting that godmodders tend to be level 6 which is hilarious.

scorpagor · August 2013

skylyger wrote: »

To be honest my problem with anyone posting threads like this is

1. It comes across as an indirect attack on others RP styles by ******** about the Superior Being concepts which frankly in CO belong alot more then the common man hero concept.

You're saying non-superpowered heroes don't "belong" in this setting? Playing a regular human being can be very interesting because you DO in fact stand out in a crowd of metahumans, aliens, and demons.

The games balance is largely geared towards people being well rounded do it all in one builds.

Are you implying the combat effectiveness of a character is directly correlated with their power level in an RP setting? The whole point of RP is being creative with your character's abilities. Restricting yourself like that is plain stupid.

As the majority of complaints about content difficulty usually come from those who either refuse to build such with FF or those stuck with archtypes and more dependent on others in pugs.

I don't see how this is relevant.

2. It shows a distinct lack of imagination when it comes to viewing a world filled with super human beings.

Creating a normal human character is actually quite imaginative, considering what 95% of roleplayers come up with.

Infact it can be rather insulting for those who like to immerse themselves in a world of endless heroics to see people write bios filled wish such RL based atrocities that we like to imagine just dont ever happen in the games world.

Newsflash: Regular people do, in fact, exist in the Champions Universe.

You should be happy people are playing as normal citizens. It makes your superultraepiclyawesomeubertelepathicovermind stand out more.

For example my superior being Psike, a true psion who is in no way overwhelmed by the sheer scope of his ability to be in the minds of all sentient life in the universe, and capable of telekinesis and teleportation has for the extent of his career which goes back to the roaring 20s, prevented all those deplorable acts the OP has mentioned in their character background. I dont even allow them to be possible in this game world I like to escape into.

And here I thought Mentella was OP :rolleyes:

kittyotix · August 2013

fudgemonsta wrote: »

I'm pretty sure meedacthunist was supporting your point, and directed that towards skylyger, who, mentions that this is an indirect attack against other players.

If you read the person you quoted, they make multiple points that would support that. Don't worry, they're on your side.

Sorry, copied the wrong quote in the text - I have amended it now

meedacthunist · September 2013

So let's see how many people is in reality interested in this kind of RP. If it's indeed a larger crowd, or only few isolated pockets.

For the start a category on PDB made just to make it clear that it 's indeed this kind of RP character.
http://primusdatabase.com/index.php?title=Category:ChampionsMAX

And ingame chat now has ChampionsMAX custom channel. Purely OOC one, just to make finding RP easier for all people including those who, for various reasons, don't want/can't use CORP channels.

Are people afraid to RP with a more realistic character?

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