Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Why are people so uncomfortable with PvP?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="mhacdebhandia" data-source="post: 2579183" data-attributes="member: 18832"><p>I've noticed that many players who do "get into character" in the sense of pretending to be the person seem to assume that those who don't are necessarily making decisions based on anything other than the nature and personality of their PCs.</p><p></p><p>I don't think this is true.</p><p></p><p>It's true that sometimes I do think about the game in terms of what would be the more interesting choice for the story, in the immediate situation of the actual <strong>game</strong> side of things, or whatever.</p><p></p><p>But most of the time, the decisions I make are based on who my character is: what they believe, what they think of the other PCs and NPCs involved in the situation at hand, what their hopes and goals and fears are.</p><p></p><p>I just don't agree with those who believe you can only roleplay your character "properly" or "accurately" by pretending to be them - to think like them or whatever. For me, it's more like I'm thinking about an absent friend of mine, a friend I know better than anyone else at the table, and what they would do in that situation. This doesn't mean I pretend to be them - it means I utilise my extensive (indeed, absolute, given I am their creator) knowledge of the character's motivations and personality to make decisions as to what they do in the game.</p><p></p><p></p><p>This happens to me, too. Usually this is because the character is thrust into a situation either I or they have never considered. This is pretty much exactly the same as with those who do pretend to be their characters - ultimately, decisions about novel situations are driven by existing motivations. While I think about it intellectually - "What would Franklin do if a member of the family he left behind ten years ago came looking for him?" - I would suppose that players who identify with their character would simply feel the situation as they do - "My God, I haven't seen her for ten years! What do I do?"</p><p></p><p>This is pretty far from "moving my guy" around the battlemap, and it's made with reference not to the creation of a dramatic scene in the story but to the truth of the character's personality.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Part of that, of course, is always playing Heroes with a capital H - and that's far from given for most players in my experience. Even when you're not playing villains <em>per se</em> I've known PCs to act selfishly in various petty or grand ways.</p><p></p><p>The other part, of course, is in making the choice to create characters who will always, ultimately, work together for the greater good, if not in perfect harmony. Again, that's not always the goal of a given gaming group.</p><p></p><p>I'd like to be clear about my opinions on intraparty conflict:</p><p></p><p>It's not something any gamer should assume is permitted or banned at any given gaming table. When Hong invited me to join his Britannia campaign, he laid out his group's philosophy as regards teamwork and morality. As it turned out, I think I managed to surprise them while remaining within the boundaries of their "style" - my character's moral failings were not of the terribly destructive or even nonheroic kind.</p><p></p><p>All gamers should always <strong>ask</strong> a new group how things usually play out. It's no sense joining a group who will resent your bringing in a disruptive character - of any stripe, not just as regards intraparty conflict - nor in joining a group that allows things in their games that you find disruptive.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mhacdebhandia, post: 2579183, member: 18832"] I've noticed that many players who do "get into character" in the sense of pretending to be the person seem to assume that those who don't are necessarily making decisions based on anything other than the nature and personality of their PCs. I don't think this is true. It's true that sometimes I do think about the game in terms of what would be the more interesting choice for the story, in the immediate situation of the actual [b]game[/b] side of things, or whatever. But most of the time, the decisions I make are based on who my character is: what they believe, what they think of the other PCs and NPCs involved in the situation at hand, what their hopes and goals and fears are. I just don't agree with those who believe you can only roleplay your character "properly" or "accurately" by pretending to be them - to think like them or whatever. For me, it's more like I'm thinking about an absent friend of mine, a friend I know better than anyone else at the table, and what they would do in that situation. This doesn't mean I pretend to be them - it means I utilise my extensive (indeed, absolute, given I am their creator) knowledge of the character's motivations and personality to make decisions as to what they do in the game. This happens to me, too. Usually this is because the character is thrust into a situation either I or they have never considered. This is pretty much exactly the same as with those who do pretend to be their characters - ultimately, decisions about novel situations are driven by existing motivations. While I think about it intellectually - "What would Franklin do if a member of the family he left behind ten years ago came looking for him?" - I would suppose that players who identify with their character would simply feel the situation as they do - "My God, I haven't seen her for ten years! What do I do?" This is pretty far from "moving my guy" around the battlemap, and it's made with reference not to the creation of a dramatic scene in the story but to the truth of the character's personality. Part of that, of course, is always playing Heroes with a capital H - and that's far from given for most players in my experience. Even when you're not playing villains [i]per se[/i] I've known PCs to act selfishly in various petty or grand ways. The other part, of course, is in making the choice to create characters who will always, ultimately, work together for the greater good, if not in perfect harmony. Again, that's not always the goal of a given gaming group. I'd like to be clear about my opinions on intraparty conflict: It's not something any gamer should assume is permitted or banned at any given gaming table. When Hong invited me to join his Britannia campaign, he laid out his group's philosophy as regards teamwork and morality. As it turned out, I think I managed to surprise them while remaining within the boundaries of their "style" - my character's moral failings were not of the terribly destructive or even nonheroic kind. All gamers should always [b]ask[/b] a new group how things usually play out. It's no sense joining a group who will resent your bringing in a disruptive character - of any stripe, not just as regards intraparty conflict - nor in joining a group that allows things in their games that you find disruptive. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Why are people so uncomfortable with PvP?
Top