A matter of character
For some reason, I felt like opening this post with "I wonder what I'd do if I weren't a roleplayer." After the last couple weeks, though, I actually have a fair idea. I can't say I consider doing without to be that much better or worse, just different. Still, I prefer to be able to RP.
Our RL D&D campaign is winding down. Okay, so we haven't actually played in three... four(?) weeks. Still, it's pretty clear the end is coming up and we should be playing again next weekend. I think I'll be GMing the next one myself. Gosh, I feel out of practice, but I have enough to start on. As long as I can pull off the proper atmosphere for the game world, I think it'll work out well. It's a little different from my usual fare. Heh. It also requires a PC mindset vastly different from that of our current game (where Plan A is to offer ale, Plan B is to brutally crush any opposition, and a Plan C hasn't really been necessary). I guess we'll see how things go in a few weeks.
And then there's online. Things have been slow lately. I haven't seen much of the few people I play with on FurryFaire, and a lot of time has been taken by simple, boring travel on FF:DA. That's all been in some cyclical cause-effect relationship with sharing a single phone line between two Net-users. With luck, QWest will get things right this time and we'll have a second line tomorrow. That will stabilize some of the issue, at least.
Still... I find myself considering a new character on FF:DA. Generally, I don't like making more alts - I have half a dozen or more characters on Faire and I rarely play more than one or two over the course of a few months. It feels like a waste. Even on a good night, though, I find Tryssa's place in things somewhat stifling. Sure, she's just taken summoner and has the whole class ahead of her, but she's really advanced to the point where it matters little. No, she can't overcoming anything, but with her armor she can hold her own in heavy battle, and mastered geomancy gives her a magical edge. Any other statistical increases at this point are just icing on top of a cake that has plenty already.
And then there's the social side of things. I like Rei. We get along well and have fun. But I'd be lying if I said I wanted to RP with one person forever. Part of what makes online RPing great is the wide variety of people involved. There was a time I thrived on that, and I'd like to see what the other 85+ percent of RP on FF:DA looks like. As it stands, there are characters out there I'd like to interact with more, but never have the chance. Tryssa has actually *talked* with Tristan what? Once? Twice? Heck, I'm living with Dart's player, and it's been a couple months or more since Tryssa and Dart were in the same room. There are others Tryssa's never met, and won't because her "place" in things doesn't allow for it.
And I'm not married (okay, neither is Tryssa technically), so you'll have to help me out here. When you leave home to go to work, or the mall, or to visit someone - whatever the occasion may be - what sort of response do you get? Is it "Bye/see you/have a good time" or "Oh, can I come with you?" I ask because, very close to always, Tryssa gets the latter answer. To me, spending every waking moment with a specific person seems ludicrous, but so does having to say "no" to a friend in order to avoid it. And... mrrf. Well, enough on that line of thinking for now.
Bottom line there: I'm pondering a new character with which to experience things Tryssa cannot. Unfortunately, just like saying "no," making a new character feels like some sort of insult to a friend. It also means having to divide my time among one more character, so there's going to be a loss in attention from me somewhere. Plus, I'm so horribly out of the habit, I'm not sure I can make a character that will fit two important points: ability to generate/be self-sufficient in an RP sense (thus avoiding the "there's nothing to do" syndrome), and avoidance of getting locked into a similar situation as Tryssa (thus having the same narrow view of people and events).
One parting thought:
Why does this have to be so difficult to begin with?
Our RL D&D campaign is winding down. Okay, so we haven't actually played in three... four(?) weeks. Still, it's pretty clear the end is coming up and we should be playing again next weekend. I think I'll be GMing the next one myself. Gosh, I feel out of practice, but I have enough to start on. As long as I can pull off the proper atmosphere for the game world, I think it'll work out well. It's a little different from my usual fare. Heh. It also requires a PC mindset vastly different from that of our current game (where Plan A is to offer ale, Plan B is to brutally crush any opposition, and a Plan C hasn't really been necessary). I guess we'll see how things go in a few weeks.
And then there's online. Things have been slow lately. I haven't seen much of the few people I play with on FurryFaire, and a lot of time has been taken by simple, boring travel on FF:DA. That's all been in some cyclical cause-effect relationship with sharing a single phone line between two Net-users. With luck, QWest will get things right this time and we'll have a second line tomorrow. That will stabilize some of the issue, at least.
Still... I find myself considering a new character on FF:DA. Generally, I don't like making more alts - I have half a dozen or more characters on Faire and I rarely play more than one or two over the course of a few months. It feels like a waste. Even on a good night, though, I find Tryssa's place in things somewhat stifling. Sure, she's just taken summoner and has the whole class ahead of her, but she's really advanced to the point where it matters little. No, she can't overcoming anything, but with her armor she can hold her own in heavy battle, and mastered geomancy gives her a magical edge. Any other statistical increases at this point are just icing on top of a cake that has plenty already.
And then there's the social side of things. I like Rei. We get along well and have fun. But I'd be lying if I said I wanted to RP with one person forever. Part of what makes online RPing great is the wide variety of people involved. There was a time I thrived on that, and I'd like to see what the other 85+ percent of RP on FF:DA looks like. As it stands, there are characters out there I'd like to interact with more, but never have the chance. Tryssa has actually *talked* with Tristan what? Once? Twice? Heck, I'm living with Dart's player, and it's been a couple months or more since Tryssa and Dart were in the same room. There are others Tryssa's never met, and won't because her "place" in things doesn't allow for it.
And I'm not married (okay, neither is Tryssa technically), so you'll have to help me out here. When you leave home to go to work, or the mall, or to visit someone - whatever the occasion may be - what sort of response do you get? Is it "Bye/see you/have a good time" or "Oh, can I come with you?" I ask because, very close to always, Tryssa gets the latter answer. To me, spending every waking moment with a specific person seems ludicrous, but so does having to say "no" to a friend in order to avoid it. And... mrrf. Well, enough on that line of thinking for now.
Bottom line there: I'm pondering a new character with which to experience things Tryssa cannot. Unfortunately, just like saying "no," making a new character feels like some sort of insult to a friend. It also means having to divide my time among one more character, so there's going to be a loss in attention from me somewhere. Plus, I'm so horribly out of the habit, I'm not sure I can make a character that will fit two important points: ability to generate/be self-sufficient in an RP sense (thus avoiding the "there's nothing to do" syndrome), and avoidance of getting locked into a similar situation as Tryssa (thus having the same narrow view of people and events).
One parting thought:
Why does this have to be so difficult to begin with?
The 'can I come to' syndrome. I don't know if going to work would apply to this, since it isn't really a 'job' thing. I mean, if Tryssa was a castle guard, it would be pointless for Rei to ask 'can I come to?' He's not a guard, so no, he can't. But the other examples, yes, if Cat says she's heading to the mall, or to visit friends, or to the movies, or what-have-you, 99% of the time, I'm along for the ride. Because going with her, we get to talk, share insights, and enjoy one another's company. To show how things could be, however, just look at my mom and dad. They do very little together, except visit the coffeeshop. My mom has other friends around, and if she didn't, she be lonely. My dad visits the coffeeshop when he's not with her, he goes out driving without her, and when he's at home with her, they watch TV and don't really talk to one another. And then there's the time my dad decided to visit a strip club. My mom was quite upset when she found out - and she only found out because dad had left his wallet or something there, and she got a phone call from them for him. That can be a part of it I guess. By getting to 'go with', you feel wanted, and it is a form of security. If you don't see your partner for most of the day, any time you would get with them is special.
ReplyDeleteAnd what about when you see your partner *all* the time? ... But I guess that's a fundamental difference between how you and I see our characters' existences online. You presume they're off doing other things when we aren't online. I see the entirety of their existence based on what gets played out when we're online. That's a generalization, I admit, but it seems to usually be the case. As to the rest... hmm... Perhaps it really is a married/single perspective issue. Do you tag along with your other roommates are much as with Cat?
ReplyDeleteHmm. Well, when Rod lived in the House From Hell with me, we'd hang out together and go do things together a lot. The exceptions were when he was doing things I was not a part of, such as work, or fencing class.
ReplyDelete