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Special Sections: Shadowbane Related
Note: This Article originally appeared on our Shadowbane Affiliate Site, Aerynth Atheneaum So you've decided that you want to play with others before you can actually play the game. You've surfed from board to board, you've seen the role-play stories emerging out of seeming thin air and you want to get involved because it seems like so much fun. Before you jump on in, you may want to take a few minutes to get to know where you are and understand what you are getting yourself into. Most boards, that have continuing stories, have been carefully thought out by the participants, they have taken hours of their time to set the scene, get their characters into the scene and then begin a dialogue with the other players. There are certain unwritten rules too that you must be aware of before you type that first hello. Before you start, you might want to remember you are a guest of those that live on those boards. They sometimes have their own rules of engagement, but I'm going to stick with the standards. Rather than list the rules, I'm going to set the scene a bit and give you some examples to make it easier for you to spot the pitfalls you can easily stumble into either from inexperience or out of ignorance. Don't forget to take your time first and read through as much of the previous posts as possible to get to know those that you will be interacting with. Let's go for the very common setting of the town tavern. This setting is chosen most often because it's easy and the assumption is that many different kinds of people can frequent it. The tavern should be thought of as on the outskirts of town so that anyone that would normally be KOS (Kill on Sight) can come and visit without the town guards yelling at them. "HALT! HALT VILLAIN!" It wouldn't make for a very fun time. Usually the tavern is run by npcs (non-player characters) and so the actions you take with them shouldn't overly affect the play that goes on. If the tavern is run by pcs (player characters) you may find yourself in a bit of a bind but as long as you haven't lopped off a head or anything, you may yet be saved. Ex1 an NPC Bar Wench: Mal'korian Sarent limps into a dark corner of the tavern clutching his side. He sits down and calls the waitress. "Wench! I'll take your best ale and a bowl of that slop you call stew!" Being that the "wench" is a npc she can't exactly become offended by the insult over the tavern stew. Let's say you've stumbled into a bar run by pcs instead and you are caught completely unaware. Ex2 a PC Bar Wench Named Millie: Mal'korian Sarent limps into a dark corner of the tavern clutching his side. He sits down and calls the waitress. "Wench! I'll take your best ale and a bowl of that slop you call stew!" Retort: Millie wanders over to the new stranger carefully carrying the ale and stew. She stands next to him and smiles sweetly. "Here is your ale sir," she says as she pours it over his head. "And here is the slop we call stew," she says as she dumps it in his lap. "Please enjoy your stay at our tavern." No harm no foul. Remember when you take direct action with someone you should give them a chance to react. You have NO control over someone else's character and can not MAKE them do anything and you definitely can't hurt them unless you have been given permission. Let's move on shall we? Let's see what good ol' Mal'korian will do know. Ex 3: Mal'korian Sarent leaps up as the hot stew lands in his lap. He roars in pain as the heat burns through his thin breaches. He looks about the room and notices the innkeeper talking with some other guest of the inn. With the pain of his limp and the pain of the burns he makes his way over to the innkeeper placing his knife against his throat. " I think I'll be having the rest of my stay on the house don't you reckon?" A small trickle of blood emerges from under the knifepoint as Mal'korian attempts to control his rage over the insult. If the innkeeper is a npc no line has been crossed. If the innkeeper is a pc…no line has been crossed. Wait wait wait, you said they couldn't be hurt without permission. Ok, you're right, they can't be hurt without permission or at least hurt badly. As you notice, the innkeeper only has a tiny nick from the knifepoint. It's not as if the innkeeper has been killed. There are no broken arms or legs either. No harm no foul. Ex4: Robert the Brave Leaps to the aid of the innkeeper pulling the enraged fighter away from him. Look! Someone else has joined in the fray and has done it the right way. All he's done is interjected himself between the innkeeper and Mal'korian without harming anyone. Here is the wrong way to get involved. Ex5: Robert the Brave Leaps to the aid of the innkeeper, swinging his sword before him and cleanly lopping off Mal'korian's hand at the wrist. Oops! Just remember no matter how angry you get, you can NOT cause them permanent disfiguring harm. You must contain yourself and give them a chance to react to you. Sometimes it may get frustrating. Sometimes you may want to call the town guard (if you reside on those boards) and have them haul the guest off to be tortured but you can't. There are rules of conduct for hosts too but I guess that will have to be seen in- So you want to be a board role-play jockey! The Host Part II. Until then, have a great time on those boards! Discuss: Comments
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