Being nice to each other

[maclypse]

Why do our fictitious, non-existent, roleplay characters have to be nice?

Sure, be nice, courteous et cetera out of character, but please, please, please differentiate that from your characters.

Be an ass. Don't say 'please' when you're threatening people. Don't ask permission from a neutral party to shoot people. Act like a pirate. Act like an imperialist pig. Act like a brutal revolutionary.

Too many characters and factions are being ridiculously accomodating when they shouldn't be.

Roleplay chars do not have to be nice, in fact a lot of them are downright nasty! The mercs, cops and pirates I run into from the other side can be real mean... That being said, this is a roleplay server, and the key as far as I'm concerned is to NOT live up to the stereotype. Mean pirate. Polite cop. Sneaky smuggler. It's been done.

I aim to be different, always. I give my characters a personality - trying my best to make people go "lolwhut?" in their minds when they meet me. Give them something different, something new. Not all Rogues have to be hardcore nutcases. Some may just have been pushed into it by circumstance, and feel guilty about what they do to make a living. Not all cops have to be all "Good day sir!". They can be grouchy officers on the take.

I recall a Libery Rogue in NY with a constant hacking cough and a bone to pick with ALG, for having been exposed to toxic waste while working for them in crappy conditions. THAT's a story, and a guy with a personality. That's a guy you remember. When was the last time someone got pirated because "They have my wife, and will kill her if I don't work for them. I'm sorry, but I have no choice. Now drop the cargo; my wife's life means more to me than yours."

I always try to think of the person behind the characters, wanting this to be fun for everyone. That doesn't mean one or two of my chars can be real psychotic bastards. Usually though, my chars are pretty friendly and even excessively polite -even my pirates- because that's what I feel most comfortable RPing. I like being nice, and being a hardcase can feel very forced for me. I'm just more believeable as a nice guy, than as a hardcase.

I find that a bit of a gentle touch inspires more RP between opposing factions, than being a hardcase will. When you say "Gimme the cash or die! NOW!" that's pretty much the end of the RP. You either do it, or die. Where's the fun? Where's the room for haggling, bargaining, and striking a deal? I'll rather RP for 30 minutes with a pirate and end up dead, than spend 15 seconds on "/givecash XXX 2000000" and live (unless I'm just in it for loads of money fast, and i'm usually not these days).

I will abolutely agree though, that it is madness for a pirate faction to have standing orders to be nice. That's just no good. I'd much prefer standing order to be flexible and resonable for the sake of RP and fun. Some chars are mean, and we should let them be mean!

mac