RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

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RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Nevrus » Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:40 am

There's been feedback threads about similar topics, but I wanted to ask it here.

In the context of Arelith, how can you successfully pull off a villainous scheme plot arc that actually has interaction all the way through?

A classical antagonistic arc would be something like this:
1. Something is wanted
2. Gather allies
3. Perform groundwork, let the recipients know something is afoot
4. Observe reaction
5. Orchestrate response to overcome reaction
6. Move plan forward, leave visible effects and make stakes clearer
7. Observe reaction
8. Orchestrate response to overcome reaction
9. Complete plan, overcoming resistance and getting the thing wanted
10. Resist reaction
11. Either keep the thing that was wanted or have it taken away

The problem, as seen, is that bored max-level characters with pvp builds will make the reaction to the groundwork... overwhelming force and destruction

Which leaves the options of either ignoring death as a penalty or just ending it there to give them a win

Because of this, the human response is to... Not leave clues, not preview what you're up to, just skip right to the end where you go for what you want with everything you can, which isn't an arc, it's an episode

Does anyone have advice, input, examples of how to successfully pull this off, specifically in the realm of Arelith isle proper (because Andunor and Skal are their own beasts where it's either expected or the response is expectedly more muted)
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by The Rambling Midget » Sat Jul 13, 2019 5:51 am

Have a goal that exists outside of the boundaries of PvP, so that if your plan is set in motion and you're killed, it will still happen. Utilizing fixtures is one of the classic ways of creating visible groundwork that other players can interact with even when you're not available, and it's a sign of good faith that you're interested in more than PvP. Overwhelming and violent reactions are often a result of uncertainty as to an opposing player's intentions. Too often, we have large groups going to hostile territory for no reason other than to look for a fight, and it's made everyone very shy about risking interaction and forfeiting the initiative.

I could talk about this for days without giving you a clear answer, because there isn't one, so I'll tell you a few things about an admirable villain of Arelith's past, instead. *puts on rose tinted glasses* There once was a Kobold Warlock called Vippin, who was bent on a variety of malign goals, and pursued them, typically not through direct action, but by gathering support on his end and creating a series of mini events wherein meetings would be held, rituals would be carried out, and machinery (fixtures) would be set up to put his terrible plans into motion. For the most part, RP was created for his confederates, with the opposing characters having to seek out either him or his creations to get involved. Along the way, he died many times, but every time RPed out a painful process of regeneration, and a period of weakness, as well as altering his tactics in whatever way necessary to avoid another such incident. (This was long before modern death stat penalties.) Much of the fear surrounding him came not from his combat prowess or successful overarching plans, but from his ability to amass support through sheer charisma and the determination that he displayed along the way. No one was afraid of him popping out of a dark corner and bopping them on the head. What terrified them was the knowledge that his will couldn't be stopped, and something would eventually happen beyond the power of any individual to stand against. At that point, stopping him wasn't a question of PvP, it was a matter of gathering information, outmaneuvering, and actively countering every development through RP.

Ultimately, his magnum opus was the destruction of Benwick, but to say that it was his alone would deny the efforts of the dozens of characters who had joined his cause and actively supported it. All of this took months, and the success was not in the final battle, it was in the countless hours of roleplay that were generated through the process of planning and preparing, and it was possible because he, as a leader, was willing to wait for a distant goal rather than trying to show up at the gates of old Benwick with a party of PvP bruisers, and take the city by force.

The lesson to take from this, in my opinion, is that the best way to get your opponents involved is to make them want to come to you for interaction. You don't have to leave out specific clues to your master plan. What you need is their attention and their respect. Demonstrate your ability to engage in hostile RP that doesn't involve direct conflict, and more players will be willing to give you some leeway in setting up your denouement.
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Sea Shanties » Sat Jul 13, 2019 6:35 am

I think you'd do a lot better here if you switched 1 and 2. Don't go in with a goal looking for allies. Gather the allies first, get to know what they can/want to do then start making goals that you know others will share interest in.

If you want to be a villain with longevity and reach here you should realize there are a lot of people with the same idea. Don't try and compete to be the leader right away, try to be someone who facilitates meetings and hookups. There's a lot more power in being a go-between for different settlements or factions than in running a district or leading a little army.

Truth is there are probably more evil characters running around at any given time than good ones. The good ones are just better organized, have lots of friends and tend to stick around forever instead of deleting after 3 months.

Of course you could disregard this advice and try to be the charismatic leader Vippin was. But do you think the person who played a mastermind like Vippin would need to ask this question on the forum?

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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Aodh Lazuli » Sat Jul 13, 2019 8:11 am

Nevrus wrote:
Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:40 am
The problem, as seen, is that bored max-level characters with pvp builds will make the reaction to the groundwork... overwhelming force and destruction
As seen in feedback threads or as seen on the server?
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by xanrael » Sat Jul 13, 2019 8:54 am

I'm going to go about this another way. Instead of having a plan and hoping people get involved with it look at other events, factions, etc and think about how to work with their preexisting roleplay. Start as a minor character in someone else's RP and then after time has passed begin to be a villain from within the context of that RP.

Imagine watching a movie about a news organization, which of the following is probably more fitting:
A. A reporter wants to be the one getting the front page spot and begins plotting shady methods to accomplish this along with hard work in writing articles.
B. Demonic invasion.

B is going to lose everyone. Maybe A seems petty, but people playing out the newspaper RP should be receptive to it, especially if it is done as a way to build on instead of nix their RP. Continuing to build from there it could lead to forming a propaganda campaign that vilifies rivals, gathers support/blackmail money, and says great things about a puppet that eventually wins a settlement election. Probably its going to go south or shift direction somewhere in there as other factions become involved but you can work with their RP to move towards your PC's path to villainy.

At each step though you're getting involved in the RP of others, letting the spotlight shine on them and being receptive to their RP even if it isn't exactly your cup of tea. That shows them you're genuine in wanting to RP with them instead of at them and they're more likely to want to be involved with you and your PC's actions.

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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Red Ropes » Mon Jul 15, 2019 4:50 pm

i usually just play in the game and try not to overthink what i'm doing

im not afraid to fight with characters if it makes sense

also memorize this

https://youtu.be/670ZGMBjrPI
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by thief of light » Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:36 pm

make your log in Red Ropes.

done.
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Red Ropes » Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:42 pm

thief of light wrote:
Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:36 pm
make your log in Red Ropes.

done.
LOL
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Cortex » Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:20 pm

Red Ropes has played many of the most memorable villains ever since he's started playing Arelith. If you who his characters are, they'd make for good role models.
:)

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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Seven Sons of Sin » Wed Jul 17, 2019 3:24 am

The Rambling Midget wrote:
Sat Jul 13, 2019 5:51 am
Have a goal that exists outside of the boundaries of PvP, so that if your plan is set in motion and you're killed, it will still happen. Utilizing fixtures is one of the classic ways of creating visible groundwork that other players can interact with even when you're not available, and it's a sign of good faith that you're interested in more than PvP. Overwhelming and violent reactions are often a result of uncertainty as to an opposing player's intentions. Too often, we have large groups going to hostile territory for no reason other than to look for a fight, and it's made everyone very shy about risking interaction and forfeiting the initiative.

I could talk about this for days without giving you a clear answer, because there isn't one, so I'll tell you a few things about an admirable villain of Arelith's past, instead. *puts on rose tinted glasses* There once was a Kobold Warlock called Vippin, who was bent on a variety of malign goals, and pursued them, typically not through direct action, but by gathering support on his end and creating a series of mini events wherein meetings would be held, rituals would be carried out, and machinery (fixtures) would be set up to put his terrible plans into motion. For the most part, RP was created for his confederates, with the opposing characters having to seek out either him or his creations to get involved. Along the way, he died many times, but every time RPed out a painful process of regeneration, and a period of weakness, as well as altering his tactics in whatever way necessary to avoid another such incident. (This was long before modern death stat penalties.) Much of the fear surrounding him came not from his combat prowess or successful overarching plans, but from his ability to amass support through sheer charisma and the determination that he displayed along the way. No one was afraid of him popping out of a dark corner and bopping them on the head. What terrified them was the knowledge that his will couldn't be stopped, and something would eventually happen beyond the power of any individual to stand against. At that point, stopping him wasn't a question of PvP, it was a matter of gathering information, outmaneuvering, and actively countering every development through RP.

Ultimately, his magnum opus was the destruction of Benwick, but to say that it was his alone would deny the efforts of the dozens of characters who had joined his cause and actively supported it. All of this took months, and the success was not in the final battle, it was in the countless hours of roleplay that were generated through the process of planning and preparing, and it was possible because he, as a leader, was willing to wait for a distant goal rather than trying to show up at the gates of old Benwick with a party of PvP bruisers, and take the city by force.

The lesson to take from this, in my opinion, is that the best way to get your opponents involved is to make them want to come to you for interaction. You don't have to leave out specific clues to your master plan. What you need is their attention and their respect. Demonstrate your ability to engage in hostile RP that doesn't involve direct conflict, and more players will be willing to give you some leeway in setting up your denouement.
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by malcolm_mountainslayer » Wed Jul 17, 2019 2:17 pm

Something that has actaully always been a mystery to me is how does one making scheming/meetings have real substance. Like the kobold's actions led that led to the fall of Benwick. When did the DMs go, "hey, we are deciding this is real". What is said at said/done st these meetings before they are given real substance?

Did they have rituals at locations arbitrarily decided by themselves and hope the DMs happened to watch and agree said rituals were real and had an impact?

I just never understood how one can make others want to come to you to undo your plots if your plots have no real substance to back it via having an impact on the world around you.

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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by The Rambling Midget » Wed Jul 17, 2019 11:17 pm

malcolm_mountainslayer wrote:
Wed Jul 17, 2019 2:17 pm
I just never understood how one can make others want to come to you to undo your plots if your plots have no real substance to back it via having an impact on the world around you.
You just do.

The way you've phrased your question implies to me that you're looking for some guarantee of success, but you'll never have that. A lot of the famous plots throughout Arelith's history have started for the benefit of those involved, and no one else.

Someone in the BBEG group gets the idea to do a ritual to summon a big demon or whatever. So they have a meeting to plan who's going to be there and when and where it's going to be. But someone was scrying or spying on that meeting, and they pass that along to their contacts in the goody-goody groups. They can't let a demon be summoned because that's bad, so they start making their own plans, and they step up their surveillance. Maybe they even send agents to keep an eye on the usual suspects or take out some of the people they know are involved. Skirmishes break out, security steps up, news spreads, more people get involved, the UD hears there's an unstable situation on the surface and decides to raid a settlement in the chaos, and all the while, the DMs will be hearing little tidbits that they may decide to act on. "Nothing" has happened yet. No demon has been summoned. But the island's in an uproar. Maybe that demon never gets summoned. It doesn't matter, because RP was created and notoriety was gained.

The beautiful thing about Arelith is that you generally don't need the explicit consent of a DM to add to the game world. I honestly prefer it when they don't get involved, or when they only add a sprinkle of atmosphere and VFX to an otherwise player driven plot. You do still have to remain within the bounds of what's possible for a PC, and what you can physically change in the world, but there's a huge range of possible activities in there that are often overlooked. You don't need to build a castle or open a volcano in the center of the island to have a real impact on the RP environment around you. The aforementioned Kobold created a giant weapon in the UD that was meant to blow up the Surface. There's no way it would have ever worked, because the staff would never destroy the entire Surface to support a single character's plot, but even knowing, from an OOC perspective, that it would never be a real threat, it still created a huge amount of RP, and in all of my interactions surrounding it, never was there a DM involved.
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by ReverentBlade » Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:04 am

The -best- way to run a villain is to be a character tangentially related to the server's main plot line, with ample cooperation with the DMs running it. That can be as a true foil to the PCs, or as someone trying to twist the events to an outcome that is personally beneficial.

Of course, there needs to be a plotline to integrate into to begin with...

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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by malcolm_mountainslayer » Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:40 pm

To the rambling midget: success nor failure is not my concern. Auto-nothing (neither success nor failure). To me the confines/limitation of a PC hits me before the meeting even happens. There are no keys points to do rituals and there is no ritual so there is no meetimg to happen. To host the meeting despite this would require me (from how I see/feel/process things, not trying to limit others here) to play a character that is either deluded or making stuff up and lying through his teeth. Most likely the other because id need someone/something to feed my character the false information to be deluded to begin with.

I'm fine with failing, what im not so fine about is arranging a meeting for a made up ritual in my insane guy's head only to have no one spy or react so that all the made up rituals happen perfectly without interruption or failing for nothing to happen. I much rather fail than for nothing to happen.

I think this is one of the many reasons I think PvP is appealing to people because it has concrete substance. I have not been involved in PvP for years, but neither have I had the joy of being involved some major story/plotline. I feel both due to how littke i play compared to some of the major players over the years. I prefer story over PvP any day, but i have troubles believing/creating stories with pseudo substance behind them.

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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Ork » Fri Jul 19, 2019 12:06 am

malcolm_mountainslayer wrote:
Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:40 pm
here are no keys points to do rituals and there is no ritual so there is no meetimg to happen. To host the meeting despite this would require me (from how I see/feel/process things, not trying to limit others here) to play a character that is either deluded or making stuff up and lying through his teeth. Most likely the other because id need someone/something to feed my character the false information to be deluded to begin with.
Dawgs, that's literally roleplay. Making shit up is 100% part and point of this game.

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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by xanrael » Fri Jul 19, 2019 12:47 am

Or just focus on smaller acts of villainy. There are other numbers than 10 on the scale of villainy.

Barring OOC cliques a complete unknown has to take time to build up interest and expectations. This can easily take longer than the rush to 30.

Starting small IMO is good, come up with something that just needs one PC, then if someone else shows interest come up with something that's fun for two PCs and those they're working against, etc. It may not even come on that character, but people will say "oh login_name_1234 had some interesting stuff on their last character, I might try to get involved on their next one." Player reputation is valuable if you're interested in having a larger influence.

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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by The Rambling Midget » Fri Jul 19, 2019 1:00 am

malcolm_mountainslayer wrote:
Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:40 pm
To me the confines/limitation of a PC hits me before the meeting even happens. There are no keys points to do rituals and there is no ritual so there is no meetimg to happen. To host the meeting despite this would require me (from how I see/feel/process things, not trying to limit others here) to play a character that is either deluded or making stuff up and lying through his teeth. Most likely the other because id need someone/something to feed my character the false information to be deluded to begin with.
You're thinking like a player. You know it's not real, and it's all made up. We all do. But, your character doesn't. In a sense, you're metagaming in a way that ironically only hurts yourself.

This is why I said it sounded like you were looking for a guarantee of success. The ritual, or whatever it is that you want to do, doesn't need to be mechanically supported. You, as a player, don't need a guarantee that it will accomplish something in a mechanical sense, in order to have your character make the attempt. It's all a bunch of MacGuffins, anyway. Regardless of the result, you can get RP out of it, and advance a plot.
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by malcolm_mountainslayer » Fri Jul 19, 2019 3:55 am

The Rambling Midget wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 1:00 am
malcolm_mountainslayer wrote:
Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:40 pm
To me the confines/limitation of a PC hits me before the meeting even happens. There are no keys points to do rituals and there is no ritual so there is no meetimg to happen. To host the meeting despite this would require me (from how I see/feel/process things, not trying to limit others here) to play a character that is either deluded or making stuff up and lying through his teeth. Most likely the other because id need someone/something to feed my character the false information to be deluded to begin with.
You're thinking like a player. You know it's not real, and it's all made up. We all do. But, your character doesn't. In a sense, you're metagaming in a way that ironically only hurts yourself.

This is why I said it sounded like you were looking for a guarantee of success. The ritual, or whatever it is that you want to do, doesn't need to be mechanically supported. You, as a player, don't need a guarantee that it will accomplish something in a mechanical sense, in order to have your character make the attempt. It's all a bunch of MacGuffins, anyway. Regardless of the result, you can get RP out of it, and advance a plot.
I most definitely am not metagaming.

What you see is what you get is very much how i do what you hear is what you get. I feel like making up knowledge my character never discovered is like some weird reverse meta gaming. I don't think like a player, I try to think how my character thinks. And I just dont get the whole make up stuff my character never learned about to begin with stuff (mechanics or not).

I mean i suppose its plausible a warlock would know some ritual and therefor can RP it. But I don't think my troubles with made up lore of land and rituals is a meta gaming one which is use of OOC info IC. Like ill buy into other people's plots because i have no ic reason to doubt it, but i feel like id be betraying the integrity of the world around me and my own character by fabricating knowledge/lore they never encountered/learned.

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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by The Rambling Midget » Fri Jul 19, 2019 4:31 am

malcolm_mountainslayer wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 3:55 am
I feel like making up knowledge my character never discovered is like some weird reverse meta gaming. I don't think like a player, I try to think how my character thinks. And I just dont get the whole make up stuff my character never learned about to begin with stuff (mechanics or not).
Why can't your character know things? Why can't they read books and talk to people, and get vague ideas to work from? For that matter, why do they even need to know things? Why can't they go out and try, based on little or no prior knowledge? What's to stop them from experimenting and adventuring? What's the point, if they don't seek to learn and grow?

If you really don't want your character to know things pertinent to their goals, why not hire or otherwise recruit someone else who knows things? That has the advantage of getting someone else involved, so you're already one step closer.
malcolm_mountainslayer wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 3:55 am
I mean i suppose its plausible a warlock would know some ritual and therefor can RP it.
The ritual example was just a placeholder for whatever your villain wants to accomplish. You're not required to do magic stuff in order to be a BBEG. Pick "A Thing"™, gather up some people who want to help you with "A Thing"™, plan for "A Thing"™, and then go out and do "A Thing"™. It can be anything.
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Seven Sons of Sin » Fri Jul 19, 2019 1:58 pm

malcolm_mountainslayer wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 3:55 am
The Rambling Midget wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 1:00 am
malcolm_mountainslayer wrote:
Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:40 pm
To me the confines/limitation of a PC hits me before the meeting even happens. There are no keys points to do rituals and there is no ritual so there is no meetimg to happen. To host the meeting despite this would require me (from how I see/feel/process things, not trying to limit others here) to play a character that is either deluded or making stuff up and lying through his teeth. Most likely the other because id need someone/something to feed my character the false information to be deluded to begin with.
You're thinking like a player. You know it's not real, and it's all made up. We all do. But, your character doesn't. In a sense, you're metagaming in a way that ironically only hurts yourself.

This is why I said it sounded like you were looking for a guarantee of success. The ritual, or whatever it is that you want to do, doesn't need to be mechanically supported. You, as a player, don't need a guarantee that it will accomplish something in a mechanical sense, in order to have your character make the attempt. It's all a bunch of MacGuffins, anyway. Regardless of the result, you can get RP out of it, and advance a plot.
I most definitely am not metagaming.

What you see is what you get is very much how i do what you hear is what you get. I feel like making up knowledge my character never discovered is like some weird reverse meta gaming. I don't think like a player, I try to think how my character thinks. And I just dont get the whole make up stuff my character never learned about to begin with stuff (mechanics or not).

I mean i suppose its plausible a warlock would know some ritual and therefor can RP it. But I don't think my troubles with made up lore of land and rituals is a meta gaming one which is use of OOC info IC. Like ill buy into other people's plots because i have no ic reason to doubt it, but i feel like id be betraying the integrity of the world around me and my own character by fabricating knowledge/lore they never encountered/learned.
The most fun is when your villain/antagonist is using knowledge that's almost explicitly not-true from an OOC perspective, but in-game, they've convinced themselves that it is such a fundamental truth they become fanatical.

If relied entirely on Arelithian influence to create our villainous plots, we would never have gotten a Bhaal presence (as one example). We *need* stuff from outside the realms of the server to create new and dynamic plots.

There are many more things to be concerned about when roleplaying a villainous character, and being concerned about the lore should be low on that list.
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by thief of light » Fri Jul 19, 2019 4:55 pm

time for a not meme post.


When I set out to play a villain, my order of operation is this:

1.) Observe the current dynamic and atmosphere of the server.
2.) Identify a target. I'm going to be straight up and honest in saying that a lot of the time I field who I'm going to be targetting for my villain stuff, and I'll explain what I'm looking for later.
3.) Research my subject. I determine what kind of story event would be relevant and interesting for the current dynamic of the server and would either compliment or fill in for a part that's missing to help plot lines and stories progress.
4.) Execution. I formulate a loose concept and build, and I try to be low key so I can learn things IC and let things progress organically from here.
5.) Feedback feedback feedback. I always ask for feedback while I'm villaining after doing a scene with someone, and very important, when I win a pvp and capture someone I try to stay in communication. I want to know what the player I'm trying to entertain is comfortable with, I try to find out if they have something they'd like to have happen because it would do cool things for their story. I find out if they just want a lens so I can shake my fist at them and yell about their dog. Step 5 is critical to the villain process.


I feel like a lot of people when they play a villain do not realize that it is not a role you need to 'win', it's a role you play to entertain and help push a story. While it's good as a story teller to set goals for yourself, I try to keep in mind that the objective is never to win, its to engage and tell a compelling story that lots of people can enjoy.

Expanding on my personal process, step 1 is usually when I take time to find out what kind of villain would flourish the best. Something subtle, something wild, something personal or something that'll kick a hornet's nest.

Step 2 is perhaps more controversial. I will be 100% honest with this. I often field my targets for villainy well in advance, both IC and OOC. I look for people/factions who are 1.) New to the server/new to me 2.) Have no current ongoing plots 3.) Are receptive OOC to conflict. I actively avoid smug hero types, and anyone who will *smirks* or *laughs* through a scene, or I know will be sending mean tells, or say really nasty things about me as a player. Nothing is worse then spending a lot of time to plan something cool and menacing only for the other character to mock you the whole time and not take anything seriously. Sure, that could be the character, but it's not very compelling or fun to work with. I'd rather just be conscious of my audience and who I'm writing for at any given time and interact with these players in a different fashion that will be more fun for both them and me.

Step 3 ends up happening mostly IC and fluctuates a lot. I don't really have a method for this. Most of the time I make it up as I go or try to let it happen organically. The majority of my plots and concepts are made off the cuff in the moment.

Because of that, step 4 is usually the make or break of the character. By this point I have either found a plan, a target, a goal and a general mission, or nothing stuck. If I have found something, my personal style is to take baby steps in escalation. This lets me be flexible and adaptable to an ever changing narrative, and also allows me to back off if whatever I'm chasing down has proven to be a bad idea.

Step 5, feedback is really, really, critical to the whole thing. Its important to communicate (not too much, you should never be scripting out scenes) and make sure that the people you're entertaining with your villain dance are having fun and feeling engaged. Sometimes people are going to be receptive and love you, sometimes you're going to accidentally kill 8 cordorian guards and forget about half their bodies while panicking with the other three you picked up and reasonably the other side is cross with you. And sometimes people are going to be plain unreasonable. Be flexible, be humble, take criticism, work to improve, and know when to use -notells.


In closing:
->Identify what the current story is missing and the most effective way to shake things up.
->Make loose story beat objectives, and let IC happen organically, but otherwise bullshit your way through
->know your audience. *smirk* rpers don't want to hear your monologue
->do the cool thing, even if its not going to give you an edge
->Some people don't like conflict. be receptive and open to criticism to adapt, but also throw alchemist fires at their PC house and steal their NPC children, bathing in their tears.
->Recognize and reconcile that OOC drama is going to happen. Focus everything IC and try to see the silver lining and cool narrative standpoint in the RP and make something fun with it.
*-> Dig your heels in. Do the thing. Yesterday you said tomorrow. That tomorrow is now today. You are all the resources you need to be successful. Destroy the status quo and bask in the chaos.


Thanks for coming to my ted talk
DM Marduk: the -unrecommend button is !

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WanderingPoet
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by WanderingPoet » Fri Jul 19, 2019 5:54 pm

thief of light wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 4:55 pm
I feel like a lot of people when they play a villain do not realize that it is not a role you need to 'win', it's a role you play to entertain and help push a story. While it's good as a story teller to set goals for yourself, I try to keep in mind that the objective is never to win, its to engage and tell a compelling story that lots of people can enjoy.
I think this is worth reiterating, both from being a villain and being a hero - but especially being a villain.
Path_of_Play wrote:Fear, intimidation, anger - All these, the tyrant's tools.
Laughter, encouragement, play - not simply just for fools.
These tools reveal,
More is learned,
From another in an hour of play,
Than in a year of contention.

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Zavandar
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Zavandar » Fri Jul 19, 2019 6:15 pm

I actually think the "good guys" and "heroes" need that lesson more because we're too quick to just quickly and violently stamp out our antagonists. It's a lost harder to be a "bad guy" because of that, especially with the current climate.
Intelligence is too important

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thief of light
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by thief of light » Fri Jul 19, 2019 6:29 pm

Zavandar wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 6:15 pm
I actually think the "good guys" and "heroes" need that lesson more because we're too quick to just quickly and violently stamp out our antagonists. It's a lost harder to be a "bad guy" because of that, especially with the current climate.

This is critical. No one wants to give anyone else a chance. But a story cant progress with stalemates. And sometimes to progress a story that means bending your rp and giving some people some slack. Also considering if what youre doing is everything you can be doing to encourage a fair, fun, and engaging enviornment.
DM Marduk: the -unrecommend button is !

Sea Shanties
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Re: RP Philosophy Topic: How to villain in the context of Arelith?

Post by Sea Shanties » Fri Jul 19, 2019 10:02 pm

I haven't played too many lawful good law enforcement types but from my experience it makes you a little paranoid.. Like everyone unfamiliar and a little shady is trying to pull one over on you, even if they actually aren't. I think that's a natural and understandable impulse but one to be conscious about when playing a good guy, you as a player have to actively make sure you're giving people the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise.

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