Dragonwriter
First Post
Uh, I don't think any of us said Aaron wasn't sticking to his values/playing his character. It's more the super-strict adherence to those values that makes Barrik question of his state of mind and the future of the mission with Aaron around.
And it was later (effectively) revealed Barrik's reasons were out of loyalty to his family - a merchant family, not warriors. And the half-orc did say something to the effect of 'I'll stick around and at least see this through' (it's been a while, and I'm not going to dig up the post right now).
I think things were (slightly) better between Aaron and Barrik before the battle at the cottage. The ambush, the road attack - both fights went through with reasonable teamwork, cooperation and the like, and didn't give either one doubts about the others convictions.
Where I see the character conflict starting is when Smiley took the door (just before slicing Marda) and Barrik was having a hard time with the soldier. He called for assistance and didn't even get an answer... He's not such a hard-ass that he can't ignore one little thing. Then the business with Marda getting dropped and healing came about... I think that's where Barrik really clashed with Aaron. Aaron ordering Torrent in at the expense of Torrent's safety didn't sit well with Barrik (similar to the expression of 'throwing good money after bad'), especially after Barrik gave a perfectly-good reason and explanation for having Torrent hold off.
BTW, Barrik does understand wanting to see your friend healed and survive (and said as much). It wasn't a lack of compassion. And it was also at this point that Barrik took a sniping shot at Aaron:
That got Aaron to call Barrik selfish, which also prompted more argument.Barrik said:
Torrent stepped in, healed Marda and nearly got herself killed for it. Next few lines of speech (notice how they're all between Barrik and Aaron?
):And that was more-or-less the end of the exchange between the two, thanks in part to an interruption by Torrent. By this point, they're each effectively wondering about the values and priorities of the other, and the steps they will take to achieve them (Aaron even momentarily considered attacking Barrik, I might point out). And I'm actually assuming very little about that, seeing as how it was at least alluded to in our own posts.
I'm not saying what Barrik said was fair or right, but it was what he said, given what he had seen (Aaron's extreme devotion being the biggest factor). I also would like to note a couple of things relating to this (re-quoted from above):
Fangor said:
Barrik never claimed Aaron wasn't helping in the fight. In fact, it was Aaron who questioned Barrik's contributions!
(According to the IC speech, Barrik challenged Aaron's oath - I'm guessing the one about protecting Cyrstin - by... calling him to help another ally, when Cyrstin wasn't being threatened by anything else. That also feeds into Barrik's opinion of Aaron being a blindly dogmatic fanatic.)As for your comment about the intent, allow me to say this: personally, it was not antagonizing to me. Barrik, on the other hand, did not like the assertions made about him, his motivations, and his contributions. Having gamed with you a little while now, I'm quite sure you quite understand the separation of character and player values/opinions.
Personally, I think I'd like it more if this little group got along better than it does... At this point, I think Barrik and Marda are the most-open characters (which isn't saying much
), but there hasn't really been a lot in the way of talking between the PCs or sharing of histories/experiences. Part of it is likely the hurried aspect of the adventures - we're kinda on a time limit, after all. The other part (IMO) seems to be a lack of interest all around. Our group was brought together in a semi-mysterious way, with only a vague sense of just who the others are, and our characters all appear to be somewhat content to leave it that way.In any case, my comments in the OOC sblock were relating to the earlier posts and my view on the situation. If Aaron cools down a bit, I don't think there will be significant issues. Tension probably, but a little tension doesn't break groups. Not trusting the guy who is supposed to have your back breaks groups. Not liking the other players (which is not the case here, at all, in the slightest) breaks groups. Clashing characters can certainly add another dimension to the game. It's when the clashing makes things difficult to continue with the characters that it becomes a problem.
(BTW, I'm no stranger to potentially-clashing characters. Fangor, you read through some of the earlier Off to War, right? Check out how Jareth started out... Talk about clash!
)On a semi-related, somewhat lighter note: *looks up* ... Wow, I didn't quite realize I had Summon Wall of Text on my class list.
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