Types of characters you'd like to play?

[Marian]

They should've bought protection. Oh wait, they can't because they're poor. Haha.

Edit: pirates that kill are lame. The game needs it players. I liked that one pirate on Treefeather. The one that seduced Synthia, stole her ship and then dumped her. Now that was a story. John Morgan. Was played by Otherside.

I'd never heard that one. Hope I can run across some notes about it someday.

But yeah, in addition to being lame, and unimaginative, the idea of murdering characters in order to steal their things is madness. Look at the number of players and characters the game has vs the number of things and tell me which is the more valuable.Is there even a game here without other people to interact with?

[Kyriel]

Murdering characters because they took something that you'd left unlocked is doubly madness.

[*Wiro]

Murdering characters because they took something that you'd left unlocked is doubly madness.

But I was going to use that bike cart...

...said no one ever.

[Axiom]

They should've bought protection. Oh wait, they can't because they're poor. Haha.

Edit: pirates that kill are lame. The game needs it players. I liked that one pirate on Treefeather. The one that seduced Synthia, stole her ship and then dumped her. Now that was a story. John Morgan. Was played by Otherside.

I'd never heard that one. Hope I can run across some notes about it someday.

But yeah, in addition to being lame, and unimaginative, the idea of murdering characters in order to steal their things is madness. Look at the number of players and characters the game has vs the number of things and tell me which is the more valuable.Is there even a game here without other people to interact with?

I agree. As a pirate, I have to say that killing people is not only sort of mean-spirited but also much less enjoyable for everyone than letting them go. After all, hearing their impotent weeping on the radio as you sail off with their stuff is half the fun, right? Killing should be reserved for people who really deserve it.

Also, is it just me, or is there this pervasive idea that newspawn life is cheap? I had one character murdered out of hand for stealing a motorcycle (as in, I was immediately attacked without a word and only asked to return it when they ran out of people to attack me with) and another one almost murdered for being annoying. I dunno, do some people think that if you're young and you do something they don't like, it means you're detrimental to the game?

[Friar Briar]

I liked that one pirate on Treefeather. The one that seduced Synthia, stole her ship and then dumped her. Now that was a story. John Morgan. Was played by Otherside.

I'd never heard that one. Hope I can run across some notes about it someday.

Otherside's characters were pretty awesome.

After all, hearing their impotent weeping on the radio as you sail off with their stuff is half the fun, right?

I myself try never to get caught, but when I hear about this happening on the radio, my characters and I all .

Also, is it just me, or is there this pervasive idea that newspawn life is cheap? I had one character murdered out of hand for stealing a motorcycle (as in, I was immediately attacked without a word and only asked to return it when they ran out of people to attack me with) and another one almost murdered for being annoying. I dunno, do some people think that if you're young and you do something they don't like, it means you're detrimental to the game?

Yes.

I'm on my third account, and none of my characters have ever reached the age of 30. There is definitely a lot of prejudice against newspawn out there, the assumption being that anyone in their 20s doing anything out of the ordinary must be trolling.

[Marian]

Also, is it just me, or is there this pervasive idea that newspawn life is cheap? I had one character murdered out of hand for stealing a motorcycle (as in, I was immediately attacked without a word and only asked to return it when they ran out of people to attack me with) and another one almost murdered for being annoying. I dunno, do some people think that if you're young and you do something they don't like, it means you're detrimental to the game?

Newspawns, or really just about anyone still in their 20s unless the people already know you well. There is this persistent idea that the life of younger characters is cheap. Doesn't seem anywhere near as common as it used to be, but younger chars can still get killed just for being rude, and with a character on my old account I have a vivid memory of a guard threatening 3/5ths of the active population (including a 28 year old who had done resource runs for the town...) and sneering about how they didn't get to have an opinion on things until they were in her 30s, and the leadership backing him up on this. (The guard eventually hacked himself half to death about an axe while raving about how he hoped everyone got torn apart by pirates and raped by wolves, then paddled away on a raft to finish the job without interruption. This had been his...second...third? dramatic suicide attempt. So congrats to the leadership there for the excellent psychological screening process they used for their officials! )

And I've had a char not too long ago that got into a little trouble nearly killed while in the middle of cooperating and apologizing for a misunderstanding. They were literally passing the weapon around to this and barely acknowledging anything that was said until they'd gotten their just for fun hits in. So yeah, just something about younger characters that brings out the psycho in some people. May be a holdover from the days when suicidal newspawns thieves were more common. It's a weird meta thing too because even characters that have never seen this behavior will still roll their eyes at it and act like they're just so tired of it.

I remember hearing awhile back on the radio about a girl coming out of the mountains around Klojt somewhere with a crossbow and nice jewelry and being immediately arrested and I guess eventually killed for it because, I mean obviously she must be a thief.

Admittedly I understand people having a lot less patience for the 'begin stealing things the instant you spawn' kind (even if I have spawned plenty in the past... ) because I guess the idea is if they're not going to bother to act in a way that makes sense then why should you. My chars would at least be less inclined to go to any great lengths to talk things out with them, though none are really the 'attack first' kind.

[Kyriel]

There's times that I sort of wish that characters spawned at 18 rather than 20. At least then I wouldn't keep having this nagging suspicion that eventually I'm going to wind up having a character killed at age 29 for looking too rich or something.

There's also this pervasive attitude that if a young character does something you don't like, they must obviously not be roleplaying or intending to do anything with that character than cause trouble. And honestly, I think using a vehicle that's not locked makes more sense than killing someone for using a vehicle that's not locked. A young person takes a vehicle that's not locked, and people immediately start thinking they're "suicidal" or have a "death wish". Why is there that assumption that they want to die or are just going to abandon the character even if they get away? That's a meta assumption that I have no idea why it exists and is positively insane.

[Wolfsong]

I actually really enjoy the worthlessness of newspawn life. For a lot of characters of mine, that becomes a major sticking point - the loners, especially, who were shunned or ignored while young, or treated like a resource, and later went on to succeed despite it.

[Kyriel]

It's also the sort of attitude that seriously drives new players away from the game. If it's their first character and the honestly don't know any better, and they're murdered out of hand for something they hardly even understand the controls for, this is not going to be very welcoming for new people.

[*Wiro]

I tried to make a newspawn thief and they ended up going into politics. ):

[Friar Briar]

^^ So, mission accomplished, then?

[Marian]

A young person takes a vehicle that's not locked, and people immediately start thinking they're "suicidal" or have a "death wish". Why is there that assumption that they want to die or are just going to abandon the character even if they get away? That's a meta assumption that I have no idea why it exists and is positively insane.

'Suicidal newspawns' used to be really common. It was a very deliberate thing - you didn't like your location or your skills, so you start running around grabbing things and then hit the road where you know if you don't agree to turn around they'll kill you because there's not much else they can do, and nobody wants to waste hours or RL days following you.

In the past I had plenty of newspawn thieves so I'll argue they're not always suicidal, but to be fair I'll admit it doesn't make much sense from a roleplay perspective to go 'oh hey I exist! Won't bother introducing myself, time to grab everything not nailed down and run for my life!'.

I actually really enjoy the worthlessness of newspawn life. For a lot of characters of mine, that becomes a major sticking point - the loners, especially, who were shunned or ignored while young, or treated like a resource, and later went on to succeed despite it.

Yeah, for all we complain about it, it sure is sweet when you succeed despite it all. Two of my current five had crappy experiences as newspawns and it's had a major impact on how they view the world, probably making them better people for it.

[Kyriel]

In the past I had plenty of newspawn thieves so I'll argue they're not always suicidal, but to be fair I'll admit it doesn't make much sense from a roleplay perspective to go 'oh hey I exist! Won't bother introducing myself, time to grab everything not nailed down and run for my life!'.

Here's the problem. In a lot of games, picking up things on the ground is normal behavior, accepted and even encouraged. Most of them have gameplay that will actively punish you for not getting items when you can. And in most games, trying to move around doesn't instantly put you on a road that will take you hours even to turn around and go back where you came from, that a legitimately new player may not even realize. That's the meta problem with that reaction, there.

From a roleplay perspective... just because a certain behavior doesn't make sense to an onlooker doesn't mean they don't have a reason for it or that they're not actually intending to RP the character. For instance, I have one character who, for reasons of his own, doesn't like telling his name to people. Is it really that strange to think that what effectively amounts to a kid might see an unlocked vehicle and go "oooh, wheee! Let's see how it runs!"? That some players have, in the past, used antisocial behavior to be "suicidal" doesn't necessarily mean that these sorts of characters necessarily actually want to die or that they have no reason for what they're doing.

[Axiom]

I myself try never to get caught, but when I hear about this happening on the radio, my characters and I all

Understandable, but I'm learning that most people really do not give a damn about what goes on outside of their towns and won't go to special effort to catch other people's thieves unless it's convenient for them. I guess we'll see what happens if things continue in this vein for a while, though. Besides, it's not getting caught if I let them go so I can gloat about it, right?

Anyway, I won't deny that I typically prefer to play antagonistic characters anyway, but being consistently treated with disrespect for being young has greatly magnified the issue. Like, my pirate didn't become a pirate until she walked into a town, politely asked to use the smelter, and got sarcastic non-answers by people who refused to introduce themselves. I see how a glut of newspawns causing problems makes people dislike young characters, but treating them badly just creates a negative reinforcement cycle. I'm way more likely to do something bad to people who act like they're better than me than people who treat me with consideration and respect. Also, it's a really big turn-off to new players. If I didn't enjoy conflict, I might have decided the players of this game were just assholes and quit.

[Marian]

Is it really that strange to think that what effectively amounts to a kid might see an unlocked vehicle and go "oooh, wheee! Let's see how it runs!"?

That's a great excuse actually, and if RPed that way they'd be less likely to be killed or even punished. People are a sucker for those child-like chars.

It really depends on the town and the personality of the leader, though. And like I said, as much as it sucks, at least it's becoming a lot less common. And on the flip side, recently I saw a guy in his twenties jump in out of nowhere and start loudly berate a town leader for 'inappropriate' behavior, and instead of getting a battle axe to the face and a one way trip to prison he got an apology. The times, they are a'changin.