Staffing Suspicious Members?

[Anonymous 234]

I know it's not the greatest title in the world, haha, but it's a problem I've run into multiple times now xD

 

How do you guys go about handling new members that give you a suspicious feel? For example, I've received a member before that felt the need to have their character have the best weapons, a dragon (which is supposed to be pretty rare) and magic, all in the same go (which is immensely powerful in the RP world that we play in, and we felt there was no need to put a cap on it because people typically realize "hey wow that's a lot of stuff"). Not to mention, they've tried to add things to their inventory that you would need to buy but they never did, all in the name of, as my staff team and I believe, to be more powerful. Of course, those are the vibes we get, but may not be the case, but how would you guys go about handling a situation such as that?

 

There are always other cases such as ones that may be probing for information, or other things as such, lol. But I wanted your guys' opinions on it as well XD

Anonymous poster hash: 3a789...0d0

[CovertSphinx 710]

Is the person breaking any rules? Such as for example, that particular items can only be bought with the board currency. If so, I'd mention those first - as a stand alone "issue" for the member to correct. 

If not, or after that, I'd let the character be (as long as they weren't breaking any rules or lore) until the RPer starts misusing the character. Once the character starts to be misused and the IC power abused, that's when I normally step in and explain to the member that xyz is inappropriately xtra for no real reason and to please dial it back a bit. I have no qualms saying to somebody "Hey, we let you have xyz but you're clearly letting power get to your head and breaking the board. Take away 2 of the 3 Ulta-powerful doohickies and lets try again." Normally people that give me red flags quit the moment myself or my other members show them that we won't be 'bullied'. The caveat is that you have to let them oust themselves, instead of trying to preemptively strike. 

Edited August 13, 2018 by CovertSphinx

[Quell 249]

I would just be clear of the limitations, consequences, and expectations of having the type of character you are concerned about. 

 

I'm very much a "benefit of the doubt" type of person. So I rarely find anything or anyone suspicious or power seeking. 

 

When people come to my site looking to play the biggest bad, I have reminded them that being the biggest bad isn't always a good thing. And sometimes that helps them rethink things and other times they continue on. 

[Sparky Muse 16]

XD I saw this, and I couldn't get to sleep easy without stopping by for a reply. To be honest, I feel like it's a really good idea to drop in my two cents in this thread. XD

My advice? Do something like put them on "probation" for something like 10 threads or two weeks to a month or so, making sure they know as well, to try and get a feel for their style, how they intend to use the character, how they do things. If you're not comfortable with that much, I'd recommend sending them a message that starts out with something like "Hey, I'm sorry, but this is your first character, I don't really know you, but there are some things in your character profile I'm a little concerned about, and I'd kind of like to discuss certain things with you." From there, have them first walk you through the reasons for the way they made that character the way they are, try and get them to talk about their decision-making/design process, have them discuss a bit of the character plot and what their goals, threads ideas, etc. are for the character, see if they would be willing to reduce or remove some powers or work with you to try and make it more balanced overall. Some people (myself included) can be really, really slow and not really realize when we're doing something we're not supposed to, or need things stated straight-out, no mincing words, or we derp a bit on powers, because we're trying to write something we have a hard time figuring out the specifics on, because we might not have the best reference points to work with, trying to do something complicated, have no real experience and therefore don't really know what we're talking about/trying to make an equivalent-comparison of, etc.

The biggest thing is to try and be nice at first, and not make it sound like you're accusing them on trying to cause trouble or making it sound like you don't like them/nobody wants them there, or that favoritism is going on, because that's sure to probably tick somebody off or make them a bit annoyed. There's a chance they don't really understand- possibly not right away, as they might be able to guess later but never know for sure- what the reasons behind your decisions are, and in their confusion they might get mad that way, too, because they think they're being singled out, or again, that somebody doesn't like them. One of the more important things is probably stating in a way that they know unquestionably if there's something wrong and if somebody is willing to work with them on something, etc. so that even if they do decide to leave they don't make the same mistake elsewhere. First impressions can be a bit important, and if you somehow manage to "convince" them that the staff outright doesn't like them, even if it's untrue or an accident, even if it's not, that's a hard impression to shake.

I'm tired and I'm not really sure what it is I'm really talking about anymore because I keep losing my train of thought or getting distracted by other things. Not really sure if I said what I meant or if it came out the way it was supposed to, but meh, I'm satisfied enough I can probably get some sleep now, XD

Edited August 13, 2018 by Sparky Muse

[Sage 289]

Dude just be up front about it. If it were me, I would pend the app and then send them a PM/DM/etc. to say something like "hey this is a great start but for a new character s/he's got a lot going for them! Compared to other characters in play, s/he is very overpowered. Can you only pick 3 special abilities/weapons/etc. for them? You can build off them as the game progresses and buy more things in the shop later (or however your system works)." Don't be accusatory and don't attempt to coddle the new player - be impartial. Tell them it won't work and then provide a solution for them so it's not like you don't like them. Shut them down, but don't discourage them from playing.

 

You don't need to be lengthy about why something wouldn't work unless they specifically ask - esp if it seems like common sense. In my experience, it's either that they are purposefully trying to push your limits or they're oblivious to the things they're asking. So it's worked out for me to be short and sweet about it. And they'll usually either comply with your requests or get scared off because they can't get what they want without working for it. 

[Indy 23]

I'm seconding Sage's advice, if you don't have established rules but have those unspoken community rules that's the best option. Just tell them what you'd like them to do and don't go into details unless asked.

 

This is an issue that I've run into a few times in my early years of RPing, back then I'd let it lie and see it play out, like Thyme and CovertSphinx are suggesting. But later on I've covered my own ass by having rules specifying "starter limits" on items like weapons/transport/skills, scaled by character age/experience/position so it's coming from the "this is what you realistically could get your hands on" point of view rather than arbitrary rules. If they can convince me that it works for the character I'm not bothered. 

 

I understand not wanting to complicate an application system by including limitations when seemingly everyone else understands unspoken limitations, but in the end it saves you time and the player's time if you're playing in a style where items can boost a player into being overpowered and you find that's a concern of yours.

 

Like Thyme, I don't really register suspicion with players. If anything I'd term the specified scenario as overreaching or overcompensating. As for digging for information, isn't that just a player being engaged with what others are doing? Curious? Unless it manifests in metagaming, which can be handled by it being a general no-no, being curious isn't really a bad thing. It shows community engagement.

Edited August 13, 2018 by Indy

[clipsed 231]

We call them Special Snowflakes when they show up on our board. We let it slide as long as it's within board lore/rules and people aren't complaining, because they either a) disappear into the ether because they aren't a good fit or b) turn out to be AWESOME PEOPLE and then we feel guilty for judging them >.>

[Uaithne 543]

Instead of placing hard rules such as "you must have 17382 posts on 242 accounts in order to make level 12 necromancers," could you make guidelines to help newbies make appropriate characters?

 

On some roleplays, you NEED to max out the powers of your characters or else they'll just get run over by everyone else. So I don't think the member is "suspicious" as much as unaware of what to expect.

 

Guidelines can help them form appropriate characters and let them know more about the site culture. Further, you could include a disclaimer stating that staff may request changes if characters appear to be too powerful. It's hard to write specific rules because there will always be people doing their best to go around them and then saying "but it's not against the rules!" Having a general disclaimer instead of agonizing over the little things will help immensely and allow creative freedom.

[Rune 1,099]

 It I want a level 12 necromancer now!

 

Be upfront with them. "Hey, this guy has a lot going on. Would you mind toning it down? Also, we have a shop system in which you have to buy the items your listing there." 

 

Feel free to list the more outrageous things and why they're too much. ("Dragons are rare and so are your 14 thousand weapons. Pick one or the other please.")

 

Chances are since they can't game the system they won't stick around but it helps you establish what to do in the future.

[CovertSphinx 710]

7 hours ago, Rune said:

Chances are since they can't game the system they won't stick around

 This. All of this. 

People that are /intentionally/ trying to game the system and just stomp around the sandbox like Mr/Mrs Bossbaby will be turned away by the slightest boundary enforcement. 

Anybody who legitimately just weren't prepared for what to expect will bend over backwards (within reason of course) to work with staff. 

Edited August 14, 2018 by CovertSphinx

[Uaithne 543]

2 hours ago, CovertSphinx said:

 Anybody who legitimately just weren't prepared for what to expect will bend over backwards (within reason of course) to work with staff. 

 

I must disagree on this bit.  People will correct their mistakes to an extent, but they won't bend over backwards or go through changes that significantly alter their characters, even if it's within reason.  (Though "within reason" in and of itself is rather debatable, but that's beside the point.)  It's embarrassing to be outed by the staff when you're a new member, even if it's private.  People start perceiving that, no matter how nicely the staff is trying to handle it, the staff must think they're completely incompetent.  Plus sometimes you get gung-ho about a character as you're making it, and then when you find out you have to overhaul many of the neat things about it, it's easy to become disheartened and disinterested.

[JD Hart 72]

If you have an items shop or weapons and such then you need some form of purchase system. I don't have weapons or any kind of stats/shop system on my site so I might not be coming at this from the most experienced point of view, but personally if you have different levels of stuff like that, then you have to put in SOME form of rule - "no dragons for anyone under 500 posts" for example. That way you have a leg to stand on when you tell them "no".

 

If you're worried about people not sticking around to "level up" or are concerned that you world is just gonna be a load of lower level plays running about with wooden sticks for the foreseeable future, I would create some canons. With their items and weapons already in play. And say there is zero customisation in those allowed. aka. "You can have a more powerful character, but you have less creative freedom in return..." - swings and roundabouts. The people who are interested in power will take your canons and those who are interested in writing their own character will enjoy the process of levelling them up and building their dynamics and experience.

 

Try and encourage people to find other ways of being powerful too. So... they might not have a dragon but how about they are literate? (in a world where a lot of people aren't?) or are a fantastic forger - so they can fake letters and mess stuff up for people. Maybe they are a really good con artist, or they have knowledge of herbs and potions that change their appearance. People can have "power" in different ways - they don't just have to have a dragon lol. Suggesting other ways for them to be "powerful" that works a little better within your world would also sound better to them than just "no" all the time. 😄