Genre Sins

[Morrigan 1,826]

So I roleplay a lot of different genres but there are certain things that some people do and some admins allow that sometimes is just uber annoying. They are genre specific and get on your nerves. Tell us about them here.

 

For my first one it's Sci-Fi:

"Was there for the early development of X technology"

 

Your character is 35 years old. They would have been five when the development started for this. Pick something else!

[Death Kitten 200]

Old World of Darkness Tabletop, specifically Vampire the Masquerade: Malkavians are supposed to be horrifying, unsettling, uncannily in tune to things they shouldn't. They should be broken in some way.

 

People play cuddly over the top hyper cute crazy. Something that fits in on Animaniacs, not within a version of arkham asylum.

[Honorem 219]

In a similar vein to Morrigan's sci-fi example: "Invented X technology". It's often a very large part of the setting, but some think it's alright to slap in there that they invented it without asking. It's kind of a big deal, and it irks me. Rather just see stuff like that kept vague as to who invented it.

 

In fantasy: lots of constitutional peasants (see the Monty Python and the Holy Grail skit). Characters whose personality is very modern; they see all the injustices of feudalism as if they're an enlightened soul looking in. Problem is most would see nothing odd about it given it's the world they belong in. Not that it bothers me much, but it's there nevertheless.

[Death Kitten 200]

Anyone else notice the abundance of mind readers in Scifi RP, particularly ones that don't actually list it in a bio, but gee, they know exactly what you're thinking? >.< Or is it just that I played with too many bad writers in past RP?

[Rune 1,099]

Fantasy, specifically anything with werewolves: Crazy murder happy werewolves. Especially an issue with modern RP. You realize that it's really hard to hide a murder, right? And other werewolves who kinda want to stay unknown are probably going to come out of the woodwork to kill you to keep themselves safe. Just sayin'.

 

Anything modern: Feral children. People never research and they're always well adjusted adults with, say, no idea what a washing machine is. That isn't how feral children work. At all.

[Amelia 25]

Oh gosh yes in the modern genre. Not only werewolves but also vampires I have read that massacred  like 20 people in a night on one place and just left the bodies behind. Thinking that they would get away with it because they are scary vampires and I was just reading that and was stunned. 

[Death Kitten 200]

3 hours ago, Amelia said:

Oh gosh yes in the modern genre. Not only werewolves but also vampires I have read that massacred  like 20 people in a night on one place and just left the bodies behind. Thinking that they would get away with it because they are scary vampires and I was just reading that and was stunned. 

Maybe I play too much VtM, but wouldn't that usually lead to a visit from a sherif and directions to get out of town or meet final death? Or maybe no warnings, just being staked on a rooftop and left for sunrise?

[Rune 1,099]

3 hours ago, Death Kitten said:

Maybe I play too much VtM, but wouldn't that usually lead to a visit from a sherif and directions to get out of town or meet final death? Or maybe no warnings, just being staked on a rooftop and left for sunrise?

You'd think, but people seem to think that they have some mastermind character or something. We had to make it a thing we actively critique for to keep the murder happy morons at bay by reminding them that cities are ruled by someone in a lot of cases and they won't tolerate someone else screwing up their homes.

[VirusZero 176]

I'm going to second when characters claim to have invented core/important tech as being a pretty big sin. But I'm going to go even further beyond and say that it's an even bigger sin if the tech they claim to have invented was created by someone else (and it's known who/when). Unless of course they're only claiming to have invented it because their character is supposed to be a fraud. But if that's the case then there should be a note somewhere in their profile mentioning that. 

Or if they introduced a technology that has no place being there. (For example time travel devices in a setting where they're only at the level of steam engines. )

 

Another thing that is a pretty big sin, for military based games, casual disobeying the commanding officers. I mean your character just ignored their orders... so why is it now a surprise when the commanders issue punishments? I mean if a character steals a prototype high tech piece of equipment (that isn't ready for active use and characters were told not to take) why be surprised when HQ dispatches a team to hunt down the thief and retrieve their tech? 

 

[Death Kitten 200]

1 hour ago, VirusZero said:

Another thing that is a pretty big sin, for military based games, casual disobeying the commanding officers. I mean your character just ignored their orders... so why is it now a surprise when the commanders issue punishments? I mean if a character steals a prototype high tech piece of equipment (that isn't ready for active use and characters were told not to take) why be surprised when HQ dispatches a team to hunt down the thief and retrieve their tech? 

 

OMFSM, I mostly play in trek rp online, and this right here drives me up a wall. You ignore or defy orders, get caught or leave a trail, there will be consequences. End of discussion.

 

If you throw attitude at superiors, you will be dressed down. If you abuse your authority on those below you, and they lodge a formal complaint, you will get dressed down. You do something stupid and don't conduct yourself as an officer should? There will be a reprimand.

 

Why is this hard? And I even see people who try to say that Starfleet isn't a military, it's a science and exploration organization. Pfft. It's organized like a military, and when the Federation is attacked, they respond as the military. If it quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, it's a duck.

[Honorem 219]

21 hours ago, Death Kitten said:

Anyone else notice the abundance of mind readers in Scifi RP, particularly ones that don't actually list it in a bio, but gee, they know exactly what you're thinking? >.< Or is it just that I played with too many bad writers in past RP?

Yeah, you're not alone there. I think in sci fi they tend to be more abundant. I often get excuses like 'oh he has a cybernetic implant that lets him sense it', or 'he was trained like the mentalist', etc. I think modern and beyond just gives them more justification for their metagaming.

 

1 hour ago, VirusZero said:

Another thing that is a pretty big sin, for military based games, casual disobeying the commanding officers. I mean your character just ignored their orders... so why is it now a surprise when the commanders issue punishments? I mean if a character steals a prototype high tech piece of equipment (that isn't ready for active use and characters were told not to take) why be surprised when HQ dispatches a team to hunt down the thief and retrieve their tech?

 

Indeed, agreed. You get characters who stroll into the company of a very influential and powerful character, and just mouth off at them as if there would be no consequences. Or start shooting at a bunch of enemies, therefore sealing the fates of everyone else who was trying to remain calm, but will now be caught in the crossfire. I don't think players like this realize how much they utterly ruin a scenario and everything in it by doing these kinds of things.

[VirusZero 176]

Don't get me wrong, I can understand if something changes in a mission and the standing orders don't make sense. (Like if the mission was to scout out an area but not to engage hostiles but then the enemy forces started blasting the area players were in to test a new weapon... Sure, adapt then.) But in those cases there is a tolerance for variation. They had good reason to disobey and in those cases it makes sense. But deciding to ignore an order to stay stealthy just because felt like it might not end so well.

 

Spoiler

I recall in one chapter where the goal was to stop a group of airships from attacking a man-made floating city that was still under construction. Players ignored the airships and focused on the general leading the assault. They killed the general... but by the time they'd done that the city had suffered severe damage and was left 6 years behind schedule to be completed. A cost of millions of dollars as a result. Needless to say they got reprimanded and assigned a new commander.

 

Though to be fair, the commander of that mission was also a double agent... so something bad was going to happen anyway. I just kind of used that whole disobeying orders bit to my advantage to make things worse. 

 

[Guest Archaic Cyborg]

@Death Kitten , those 'rebel against authority!22!' character types drive me up the wall like there's no tomorrow. I don't play in anything military-based anymore, because holy shit, the number of characters who break rules left, right and center (or just one big rule) and then cry when they're reprimanded. I don't care that this is 'pretend fun times =/= anything remotely bad and not-fun'. We're writing a story, staying true to the given world's boundaries; that includes IC rules be it military, a laboratory, any other workplace, someone's house rules, so on and so forth. If IC Admin / Boss / Leader / Insect Overlord states that employees / soldiers must _______ and cannot ______? Abide by it, or face the consequences. I expect the same if it's just between two citizens, Character A says don't put your feet on the coffee table? Don't do it. While the consequences for both differ, the rule-breaker shouldn't be let off 'because this is fuuuuun I don't want my character hurt or losing their privileges omg ur mean wtf ur game sucks!''.

 

/soapbox

 

Echoing what others have said; murder-happy werewolves and vampires. Stop, please and thank you. Murder-happy normal serial killers who have been killing since they were 8, and don't try to hide any bodies. You'll have been found out by now.

 

Medieval anything:

"Character is an expert blacksmith  / swordsman / knight / etc by the time they're 21'.

 

This also goes to modern settings, ala 'top brain surgeon at age 23'. REALISM, I love it, and need it. It bothers me when other staff accept this as the norm.

[Death Kitten 200]

OMFSM, I don't even get the whining. I have an npc I adore, and he's got a conduct unbecoming on his record because his drunken serenade got him into a fight with a Klingon. It was magnificent because the woman he was trying to woo actually arrested him, he got brig time for it, and he still got the girl. AND he learned his lesson and shaped himself up as a result. It can be a fantastic avenue to character development!

 

Firefox for Android hates mentions on this forum, I really should stop trying to use them. Pretend the mention was at the beginning of this, please? @Blackjack Bart

[Honorem 219]

On Saturday, 14 May 2016 at 11:46 AM, Blackjack Bart said:

Medieval anything:

"Character is an expert blacksmith  / swordsman / knight / etc by the time they're 21'.

 

This also goes to modern settings, ala 'top brain surgeon at age 23'. REALISM, I love it, and need it. It bothers me when other staff accept this as the norm.

Haha yes! Everyone is Doogie Howser!