Conquest of the Horde

Full Version: The Ten Commandments of Character Descriptions
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1. Thou shalt not force actions or thoughts upon the viewer.

If at any point you make the assumption that a character is going to do something or going to think something, such as stare at a certain part of our anatomy, drool, vomit, wave, cower, or whatever, you're doing something wrong. Not all characters behave or react in the same manner, or they may not be capable of reacting at all.

2. Thou shalt not put your own actions in a description.

Similar to number one, your character may not act the same way. Giving a coy wink to someone your character finds hideous is fairly nonsensical. On that note, your character may be distracted or not capable of giving actions at all.

3. Thou shalt not call thyself beautiful.

...or handsome, pretty, cute, ugly, or anything else of that nature. What is beautiful to one person is not beautiful to another, especially in the world that is Azeroth (case in point, the Orcs in WC3 called quillboar prettier than humans!) If you want your character to be attractive, describe traits that you find attractive in a person. The best descriptions can make a person sound beautiful without ever using the word.

4. Thou shalt not describe anything about your character's body as "angelic."

...or demonic or something equally nonsensical. As angels are something your average person likely has never seen, this is fairly silly to use as a description of a physical quality. Similarly, this bears the exact same problem described in #3: what might be "angelic" to one person would not be to another.

5. Thou shalt not recreate Mary Sue.

If you do not know what a Mary Sue is, I suggest you look it up, as you may be a culprit. Mary Sues are, in brief, characters made purely for wish fulfillment. While this is often done in RP and writing situations, it can also be done in descriptions. As an example, creating someone with what is described as flawless grace, unearthly beauty, young age with extraordinary abilities is most likely a Mary Sue. The male version also exists, someone as handsome save for a scar, strong with perfected fighting abilities and lightning reflexes, usually in black leather or something equally "cool." Such characters are not only idealized to an extreme, but are also as a result wholly unbelievable.

6. Thou shalt not describe a character not fitting with the Warcraft universe.

This includes, but isn't limited to, characters that are half-dragon, half-demon, god-children, or something of that nature. As these characters cannot even exist in WoW, there's no sense in describing them now is there?

7. Thou shalt consider thy race and class in your description.

Certain races favor certain builds. Certain classes favor certain builds. If you're an Orc, you're going to at least be muscular whether you like it or not. If you're a Blood Elf, you're not a body-builder as much as you might wish you were. Warriors tend to be more muscular than other classes, cloth casters tend to be weaker. Also, don't go outside of the normal skin/eye/hair colors that your race allows.

8. Thou shalt not describe clothing in your description.

Clothing is what equipment is for. On top of this, there may be times where your character is stripped, in a different outfit, or whatever. You can, however, describe things that are likely always there or aren't visible on the character, such as jewelry or tattoos.

9. Thou shalt not describe personality or background in a description.

That is what character profiles are for. Descriptions are, in general, things used to convey what a character would know ICly.

10. Thou shalt proofread thy work.

...as there is nothing worse than a typo everyone is going to see. Also, people do sometimes miss typos in their description. If you spot one, let the person know so he/she can fix it.

This was written as some people are using FlagRSP...and already I'm noticing some people doing strange things with it. :p
A fun threads dscussing RSP and RP:

What do you not like about RP servers?:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread...8465&sid=1

Things we don't want in our RP:
http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html...0683&sid=1

The second one is actually pretty good.

Draenei names and ages:
http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html...1&pageNo=2

FlagRSP rant:
http://feathermoon.net/log/index.php?top...4.msg15885

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Some general ideas of what peoples hate! A lot of what Garr said.

Some thoughts...

I don't get the aversion to scars and tatoos. This is wartimes and we are told to describe physical appearance. I guess there is a fine line with describing such for appearance and being all "I'm cool and have tats, lololroflcopter". But ya, if have scars that are noteworthy, I don't mind reading about them. And hell, some of the races have tattoos as a matter of culture.

Demons and dragons. Okay, so I agree you can't be -half- a demon or half a dragon. You kinda are or aren't right? And really, dragons are like... demi-godish, so avoid it... BUT! Dragons in elf form ARE established in the world of Aezeroth. And uhh... the aversion to demons is something I never got. The whole game is based on a demonic invasion... So it is kind of a HUGE part of the lore. Again, we shouldn't all go around being Illidan level demons, but like... it's not abnormal in a world of runic magic, demons, warlocks, and yes, a history of demonic possession (read the story of Medhiv and his mommy). So ya, I don't see the big issue with this one. Unless people are playing like.. half-mortal demons.

My thoughts!

****Broken links ftl... hrm.
Quote:If you're a Blood Elf, you're not a body-builder as much as you might wish you were.

You've clearly never heard Lord "BLOOD FOR BLOOD" Sanguinar.

But then, I think that guy's on all kinds of 'roids.
Heheh, someone withing the first page of the "Things we don't want in our RP" thread mentions " I'd personally love to see a Fire Elemental posessed character".

*fistpump*

Eheh. But yes, excellent points. I was talking to an Ironsong friend over breakfast the other day, and she mentioned her pet peeve, which I agree with. She said everyone seemed to be a poor lonely orphan or horribly abused or both. Her point was that, yes, there were a lot of orphans in war, and yes, abuse happens, but they don't happen to everyone and if they do, they don't have to effect your character's every action.

What else? Read up on the race's general lore, at least. Know how the race in general reacts to other races, demons, etc. Same goes for your class. It doesn't mean you have to follow it to the letter, but if you're a paladin that hangs out with warlocks, at least be prepared for your co-paladins to think you're batty and/or corrupt, whether or not you actually are.

And try playing commoners and people who aren't at the top of their game. We're pretty good on this here, but it's amazing how many nobles and princesses and masters of whatever there seem to be. It's amazing they can get dressed, with the general lack of peons to help them. :) Also, you are not the best (insert class here). That level 40 trainer just showed your level 60 butt how to do a good chunk of your tricks, and he's shown those tricks to hundreds of other punks who think they're the best, too.

Er. /endrant
Speaking of commoners, I just cooked up a few commoner looking characters on the model viewer (Yes, I spend way too much time on it!).

But speaking of how your character is supposed to act... True warriors are mostly plate wears yes? Just because you are a warrior though, dosint mean you HAVE to wear all plate armor. By free will a character should be able to choose what the would personaly like to wear (if they would rather wear something less protective than plate.) It would be less effective for protection, but choices will have there concequences and its up to the character to make those choices.

Some Warlock that is all about the light or something, however.. Thats kinda... Well, yeah. :|

Guest

Mary Sue males are called Gary Stu :)
/applaud Grak'

Good show!

On the warlock note, not all people have stereo-typical motivations. So anything is possible actually.

Here is mine:

You are not Sepiroth.
You are not Bleach.
You are not Naruto.
You are not Goku.
You are not Scorpion or Raiden.
You are not playing yourself.
You are not all knowing, neither am I.

You are not a god.

Server Admin is God.

Respect other players roleplaying style, yours is not right either.

This is not Dungeons and Dragons™ Forgotten Realms (any edition).

Spells and their capabilities are what they are like on live, nothing more.

Try to keep your powers in scale of what a level 'whatever you are' can actually do. If you are a young <class>, then you aren't supposed to be level 70 with Tier-x armor and 'Glow-Me' weapons from the Outlands without some semi-sober rolelpaying reason.

Get some normal/different clothes to wear.

Oh and don't invite people in your immaculate preordained plot outcomes, they might think they actually have some input into the story and will get disappointed when they find out they were just window dressing to your ego all along. Try to be open to accepting different outcomes to your plots. (This was rampant everywhere I played on live and elsewhere.)

(Personally)...and god-modded, Demon-LoL, power-gaming plots and factions are boring as counting sand. The meek shall inherit Azeroth, or team up 39 other people to slay said demons/monsters over time to 'make it so'. So you are not invincible.
We are not ourselves, but I have always beleaved that a character often will reflect the players own personality to a point. Thats just me though. :p
I don't want to cause drama but I do want to voice my opinion, unfortunately doing one of the two often results in the other following.

I disapprove of pretty much any half-anythings, but there are always some rare exceptions. There is, of course, no such thing as a half-dragon or half-demon in warcraft lore. Though there are demons that masquerade as others as well as dragons who do the same.

My main point is that there will always be exceptions and there will always be people who are more powerful than they seem, some might not even be what they seem. Take Addramalech for example. I roleplay a very powerful character who is, in fact, a non-human who wears the flesh of one. I think that it isn't the power of the person you play that matters, rather its how they act. No one should have a character so powerful that they can freely run around shooting thunderbolts out of their fingers, shouting insults at everyone and their dog boasting their unassailable immortality. I also feel that if you -do- play a powerful person that you should take steps to establish critical flaws that have the ripe potential to utterly cripple your character. Addramalech is a monster in Deadwind Pass, the source of his constantly-channeled power but to balance his immense strength there, in Kalimdor, on a completely different continent he can hardly even walk on his own, and has no magical capability whatsoever apart from pre-scribed scrolls and basic warlock curses.

Playing a character who has some supernatural background or power takes a lot of responsibility and covert actions in a world determined to stand up to the 'overpowered.' The wise wolf never casts off its sheep clothing, even the wolf can be trampled by a herd of sheep-turned-rams. Why did Ragnaros die? Because the people of Azeroth knew he was there. Why did Onyxia meet her end? Because the people of Azeroth knew she was there. Why was Nefarian vanquished? Because he was foolish and let the people of Azeroth know he was there.

Why are the Nathrezim so successful in their objectives? Why are dragons? Because they don't let the people of Azeroth know that they are there. A human will likely take advice from another human, a dwarf a dwarf, an orc an orc and a Blood Elf a... never mind. Azerothian interaction is largely based on psychology and patterns. The cunning wolf observes, and acts in accordance with local law and custom to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

If a powerful character can shroud themselves in mystery, rumor, hearsay and attract only the quirk of a brow with a description of powers then I don't see why they shouldn't be able to exist.

Even Kretol is likely bound by this basic philosophy. Kretol's accepted for what he is and what he's done, but if he ever became tainted, corrupted and went rogue do you really think the population of Azeroth wouldn't band together to end him? Even Archimonde was defeated by Azeroth. In fact, I bet Azeroth could kill a titan if they really needed to.

The moral is this, being a predator doesn't mean that you can't still play the prey.
Quote:Darktannan wrote:
...

Spells and their capabilities are what they are like on live, nothing more.

...

I'll have to second this one since I tend to play a lot of priests, mages, and pallies. If you are roleplaying class powers, your mind control or transmute to sheep will not last 'days' or 'forever.' If you want to purge a 'magical possession', according to WoW-lore it might take a pallie "Cleanse"; or if it's a curse, a mage's "Remove Curse." A pallie's Exorcism spell is an undead/demon holy DD in this world, nothing more.

It's important to know what your class (and others) can do, and roleplay them within normal bounds to avoid god-modding your powers to something outrageous.

-Shmoo
Quote:ShadowMoon wrote:
Quote:Darktannan wrote:
...

Spells and their capabilities are what they are like on live, nothing more.

...

I'll have to second this one since I tend to play a lot of priests, mages, and pallies. If you are roleplaying class powers, your mind control or transmute to sheep will not last 'days' or 'forever.' If you want to purge a 'magical possession', according to WoW-lore it might take a pallie "Cleanse"; or if it's a curse, a mage's "Remove Curse." A pallie's Exorcism spell is an undead/demon holy DD in this world, nothing more.

It's important to know what your class (and others) can do, and roleplay them within normal bounds to avoid god-modding your powers to something outrageous.

-Shmoo

I'm of two minds about this point. Is it important to follow guidelines to allow for some stability in interactions? Yes. Should we be bound to the mechanics of a game that functions off of PvP considerations and end-game raid capacity and NOT the intended -lore- based abilities? No.

Live is flawed because the purpose of skills is not to reflect what is possible in this world. It is to balance out PvE and PvP for gameplay. I personally feel being limited to this mechanic is frustrating and unrealistic. That doesn't mean we should all have a free-for-all on character skills, but that creative use when accepted by all parties is welcome and lends a depth to the roleplay.

If I shoot your ass with fireballs and you shadowstep them every time... well... it may be acceptable game mechanics on Live, but it's ridiculous to think your pants won't get singed. Also, certain classes were designed (again, for PvP purposes) to own one another. Rogues own casters, warriors own rogues, warlocks own the world.... etc. Again, not realistic in a Roleplay world to assume these things.

Sooo... for me personally, break the mold! But be fair and realistic in your interactions.

Guest

I hate this thread! Now I can't make my vampire half night elf half troll princess goddess who everyone loves, whose family was totally slain in battle, who has alluring but tragic-filled eyes and is secretly dating Illidan to purify his soul, who defeated Jaina and Thrall in a magic duel at the same time despite being unable to cast due to her inability to speak but can sing and everyone loves it, and who you feel immediate attraction twoards at first glance! HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Quote:AIRs wrote:
I hate this thread! Now I can't make my vampire half night elf half troll princess goddess who everyone loves, whose family was totally slain in battle, who has alluring but tragic-filled eyes and is secretly dating Illidan to purify his soul, who defeated Jaina and Thrall in a magic duel at the same time despite being unable to cast due to her inability to speak but can sing and everyone loves it, and who you feel immediate attraction twoards at first glance! HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

........


[Image: bowroflarms.gif]
AIRs, she still single?

But seriously, all this is because we don;\'t have Kretol's cell phone number so he can referee for us.

Again, it's like DnD in a way, the spell powers are as written for a reason, to avoid fights.

I chalk a lot of this up to the nature of referee-less roleplaying, which is always fraught with danger. So it's better to defer to the written rule most of the time.
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