How Do You Handle OOCness?

[Stoutblade]

I'm just curious what other RPers views are on handling player interactions that exist outside of what we typically want out of roleplay. Let's take "l33t-sp34k" for instance. Most hardcore roleplayers will speak in full, coherent, and generally properly spelled English. The question is (assuming you are one of these) do you ignore those who do use "l33t-sp34k"? Personally, I consider it another language within the game world, albeit one which my snobbish characters would never use but may at least learn to understand over time.

Then there are factors which I personally deal with on a character-by-character basis. Player vendors, for instance, pose a unique problem. In most fantasy novels magic items are unique and rare and require a good amount of questing. In Ultima Online the marketplace is flooded with magic items, many of which are relatively cheap. I could just ignore this phenomenon to try to preserve the high fantasy feel that I am looking for in roleplaying. As a rule, however, I try not to ignore any kind of game mechanic and try to take the world at face value (although I might lobby OOC for the devs to make changes to the game world to make it more RP friendly). My approach, then, depends on my character. If I am playing my chivalrous paladin I find the marketplace odious (and all the moreso since the centre of commerce on Catskills is the holy city of Luna). If I'm playing my evil necromancer, however, I find the marketplace a delightful shortcut to power with which to attempt to destroy the world.

So how do you all deal with these issues? What other, similar issues exist that you run into? I am curious because depending on your take on these issues it can radically alter your view of the game world and therefore the way you roleplay. Personally, I am always looking for more elegant forms of RP and solutions to OOC problems.

 

[Gildar]

If somebody says something in game, and my character is around when it happens, that becomes IC knowledge. The only thing that is OOC is what happens outside of the game.

With that in mind, most discussion in game is about things that my characters have no knowledge about, so when somebody talks about the weather in Virginia, my character has no idea where they are talking about or how to get there. They likewise don't know what the weather actually is like in Virginia, they only know what some people claim the weather is like there.

Any leet-speak is simply english, but with an "accent" and some slang. I treat it no differntly than I would somebody typing as though they were Celtic, or had a lisp, or anything else.

Lots of magical items on player vendors? So what, it's Sosaria, not the world of "most fantasy novels". Sosaria happens to have a whole lot of magical items.

 

[Guest]

As a general rule of thumb, I used to generally disregard anything that stood in direct contrast to what I believed a typical fantasy enviroment should be like. On the other hand, with the decline in roleplay on most servers, I found myself increasingly having to work with people who do not roleplay whatsoever, and therefore had to adapt and adopt a stance similar to what Gildar is talking about. Sometimes it is annoying, but sometimes you have to bend the rules a little to continue roleplaying and yet embrace the game to its fullest.

In some ways, discussions of real life events and locations are really going to depend on your own personal interpretation. On one hand, you could ignore them outright unless they specifically address you. On the other hand, according to the official canon Ultima lore, the Avatar was in fact from the earth himself, and would make frequent trips back and fourth between Britannia and his homeland. Lord British, Lord Blackthorne, and Katrina were also natives of earth - therefore, you could assume that a list of heroic figures actually travel regularly through the black moongates, and therefore would have an intimate knowledge of this strange land known as earth (in fact, one roleplayer I knew once left the game for a few months during her pregnancy, and when she returned, her characters spoke of visiting a land with humans who ride in the bellys of metal dragons, tall glass towers, and magical crystal balls that project images from afar).

Sometimes I just have my character smile, nod, and mentally remind himself that this blackrock is making some folks very ill and halucinate.

As far as l33t-speek, most of the roleplayers I know have considered it some form of slang or lingo used by a particular group - just as we have such jargon used by certain groups in real life. 'Duelists' who inhabit the Yew Moongate use such lingo frequently, and are looked down upon by my more 'sophisticated' characters.

As far as the long list of magical items, you do have a point as far as the vendors. I tend to look at Luna as a former fortress of Holy Paladins, but as the years have worn on and the Britannians have virtually taken over Malas, it has slowly been converted into a glorified marketplace, fallen from its former glory. The magic items themselves, the developers have recently implied that many of the artifacts were never meant to be so rare and superior, therefore its not like they are some unique artifact of great power that is being hawked by a street vendor. Those items who have a special and unique history are those items that have, in fact, spawned under unique circumstances or those who I have earned from player-run quests (I still keep an old suit of Shadowiron platemail that says "Crafted by the Shadowlords", which I leave on display in my house. It was made by a roleplayer and was used during an RP event ages ago, and in character it has alot more value and power than any Holy Knights Breastplate or Heart or Royal Leggings of Embers, even if game mechanics dictate otherwise).

I think the problems I run into are less a matter of OOCness in the game, and more a matter of conflicts in lore and interpretation with other roleplayers.

 

[Stoutblade]

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I think the problems I run into are less a matter of OOCness in the game, and more a matter of conflicts in lore and interpretation with other roleplayers.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's the downside of a sandbox game I guess. I'll take it over the strict structure of other MMOs any day though. Sometimes eliminating headaches=death to RP.

 

[imported_GalenKnighthawke]

l33T 5P3aK, like WarderDragon, I take as a kind of slang language used in Felucca. As Galen travels to Felucca, he can understand the language but rarely speaks it, if ever.

Something said OOC that can be said in-character, I RP that my character "hears" it in-character.

Example: "I am only 115 swords!" "Really, you suck, I'm 120!!" "You suck man." is said in-game.

Galen hears something like: "I'm a good swordsman but I bet I'm not the best yet." "I got the best scroll and I'm as good as it can help me to be." "You suck, man."

Something that cannot possibly be said or understood in-character I just roll with. If I have to go out of character I'll use brackets, or I will stop using capitals and punctuation and abbreviate some words. "You to "u" and so forth. Hard to seem in-character that way.

Over the years, I have found that surprisingly large numbers of non-RPers will appreciate and go with RP when they are given the chance.

-Galen's player

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Over the years, I have found that surprisingly large numbers of non-RPers will appreciate and go with RP when they are given the chance.

-Galen's player

[/ QUOTE ]

I have found this to be the case as well. There are alot of people who don't normally participate in roleplay or know a great deal about the lore, but when they are given the chance to interact in some way, there are a suprising number who are willing to give it a shot.

I have seen large PvP guilds get involved in roleplay scenarios and actually roleplay, just so they could have the chance to participate and have a little fun. I have seen people, who were speaking l33t speek only six months before, now part of a roleplaying guild and speaking in fluent english (or sometimes even Renaissance-faire grade Elizabethan) and having fun with the rest of us. Its kind of cool when you see people tap into their creative side like that.

 

[Jhym]

It would largely depend on your characters' roles.

I tend to let my characters deal with people however they feel like. Several of them are very "live and let live" characters and they tend to "go with it" and try to understand whatever the others are saying, responding in how they normally talk.

One of them is very particular in how she deals with what she considers lesser folk, but she doesn't pick fights over weird speech. She just assumes they are insane or uneducated and lets them blab.

My undead fellow pretty much has to nod and emote and use his special bell for most of his talking, so he's a special case.

And my elf queen is very much uninterested in speaking human tongues, though she deals with it in order to further her aims.


After all, in real life, when someone starts talking about sport team stats or mechanics or particle physics, we generally nod and smile and just listen rather than announce "You are speaking some UNKNOWN tongue and I SHALL NOT TALK TO YOU."

 

[Sister Annorah]

My character also sees it as a different language or accent. They are, to her, a clan of odd individuals she refers to as the "Dudes" and treats them as any other race. Come on, role players are interacting with vampires, dog deamons, shape shifters, undead, etc. It's not a stretch for them to be able (or should be able) to deal with some weird "speaking."

I love roleplaying around nonrpers and do so often. It's fun and on the rare occassion have gotten someone interested in RPing. I also run in to former RPers who gave us, due to bordem or OOC nonsense and now just pvp or go to Doom. They see me RPing and will occassionaly jump in.

That, like the abundance of magical items, are just facets of her world, Sosaria and are just "normal" for that world. Sure, maybe in OUR world, items wouldn't be that accessible or in other worlds, but on Sosaria, magic is everywhere.

 

[Stoutblade]

I think my thoughts on the abundance of magic items may have been misunderstood. The problem is not that the magic items market is unrealistic, the problem is that it makes magic items less special. I just don't feel like a specially chosen champion of the Virtues if every blacksmith, animal tamer, bard, and mage are running around with the exact same magic items that I am. In fact, to get that feel I almost feel like I need to go the opposite way and not use magic or at least not generic artifacts.

On another note, I too have found that most people will try to join in RP if given the chance. Mostly that has happened with random encounters while out adventuring, which is becoming a rare thing indeed with the reduction in player base. I've always wanted to try to stir things up with the bank sitters but just have never found (or made) the time.

 

[Gildar]

<blockquote><hr>

I just don't feel like a specially chosen champion of the Virtues if every blacksmith, animal tamer, bard, and mage are running around with the exact same magic items that I am.

[/ QUOTE ]If you are running around with the exact same magic items as every blacksmith, animal tamer, bard, and mage are running around in... you probably aren't a specially chosen champion of the Virtues. Sounds like you need to go talk to whoever specially chose you to get them to give you something unique.

One of my characters has a spellbook containing not only the standard 8 circles of spells, but wards embedded within many of the pages effectively working as "invisible ink" descriptions of many lesser known spells (multiple spellbooks, actually, as well as two notebooks with alchemical data of a similar nature).
One of my characters has two knives that were crafted out of a special material capable of trapping souls, and a scimitar that was sharpened by spells cast by a wisp.

The actual items may be no different from the items another player has, but ICly they've got a lot more meaning that is very unique to those characters.

 

[Guest]

If there existed in Ultima Online, a special list of items and unique artifacts that were so rare and of such value that by posessing such, your character would immidiately obtain that distinct aura and the feeling of a "Champion of the Virtues" that you describe, then I could guerentee you that the only people that would posess such items would be scripters, cheaters, and the typical ilk that usually ends up with items like these - while roleplayers as usual would be left out of the loop.

The problem is that with Ultima Online, is not that I do not disagree with your sentiments, but that this game runs under such different mechanics that the world you describe, drawn from the pages of your favorite fantasy novel, would be impossible. You see, in these very novels, only a rare few individuals ever rise above mediocrity (while other settings like Forgotten Realms attempt to maintain such a facade). On the other hand, a world like Ultima Online, there are thousands of heros that have risen to such a distinct position, and to expect that you should be able to rise to the point of hero with that unique set of armor would be possible under normal game mechanics.

Then again, as Gildar described, there is no reason that you cannot use your imagination to its greatest potential. Take that sword of yours, dye it a color with the Tokuno Dyes, and give it a distinct name with the weapons engraving tool. Give it a history. Give it a purpose. It might be the same "Holy Sword" or "Blade of Insanity" that everyone else has, but in roleplay, it is 'The Fang of the Ancient Wyrm Azuraestryx' or something like that.

I know, there is a level of frustration involved with this. I, for one, usually am not so much worried about eventually obtaining something to develop a character, so much as at some point, I usually have managed to develop an image of my character within my mind that is just stuck there, but then I realize that somehow I cannot replicate that appearance in game (especially under the AoS system), and it usually manages to drive me bonkers by the end of the day, but I usually cope.

Some of the things I have done in the past, include giving a history to my own weapons, or giving them some sort of purpose. I was once part of a roleplaying guild where my character was an evil wizard, and the Black Staff that he carried (Spell Channeling with a few other properties) was said to posess the soul of a slain dragon, and that at its top was a stylized golden dragons claw clutching a large crystal (described in my profile and/or in my emotes). I may have been wearing normal black robes, but in roleplay they were embroidered with golden runes along the hem that granted my character special magical defenses against posession. The list went on. Eventually stories began developing around the items - the character is now, in a sense reincarnated, and the staff is seeking a new owner and is taking on a life of its own, posessing people and causing issues of its own in the world of Britannia. Who ever thought the villian of a story might be an inanimate object?

Anyways though, in summary, just use your imagination.

 

[Guest]

Here is how I handle OOCers.

OOC Guy (OG): Sup bro
Me: Hello, there! *smiles* How fare you today?
OG: im aight lol, wut u up 2?
Me: Just on my way to the library. I am in need of a specific tome.
OG: lol, cool.
Me: I am Maelikai, by the way! *folds his hands at his waist and bows deeply, the light glinting from his bald head*
OG: i am pknoob.
Me: A pleasure to meet you, lord... *tilts his head a bit, looking thoughtfull* May I call you Noob?
OG: yas u may lord maelikai
Me: Fantastic. What an odd name, what land do you hail from?
OG:i am from britain
Me: Aha, as am I. Britain Brothers we seem to be! *laughs melodically*
OG: aye. well, lord maelikai, i must depart for now
Me: Ah, a shame. It was a pleasure speaking with you, lord Noob.
Me: *bows deeply*
OG: farewell

As you can see from this example (which is fabricated, but taken from true experience), if you continue to roleplay with people who are OOC, they will eventually start to fall in to the groove of things. I firmly believe most people enjoy roleplaying, just to a lighter extend than us hardcore heads.

 

[wolffin]

I think the middle class who enjoy "light role play". As above poster said a lot of people will fall into role-play when they realize they are speaking with someone who is role playing.

Personally, I really enjoy role playing events and taverns. Usually I don’t bring the real world into my gaming chat unless I am speaking to people I feel a true friendship with. I find voice chat more disturbing to my immersion in gaming than anything else.

I think people should also take an empathetic look at how people view hardcore role players and OOC. As someone who sits in the middle ( I consider my self leaning more towards role play because I really hate l33t names but I don’t let it ruin the game)it would seem there can be role players who can be so uptight about OOC that they are just as Offensive as l33t dudes.

Picture this

New player just arrives in the game. At which time he finds three players. Leet Dude, M'Lord Hardcore RP and James RP-light. Leet Dude starts in on M'Lord about how role play is Lame. M'Lord responds with comments about Leet Dude's fictitous Family tree and upbringing.

It escalates, Leet dude starts spouting profanities and M'Lord is announcing to the world every rule that leet dude is breaking and promising punishment from a GM.

At this point New guy is certain he doesn’t want to have anything to do with either of them. He ends up making friends with James RP-light who starts offering New guy a helping hand. And they end up riding off into the sunset to slay monsters and gain wealth and prestige and are happy ever after.

Moral of the story. Gaming is about fun, and different people enjoy different styles of play. If we play with an empathetic outlook over that of zealot we make more friends. Not to mention better impressions.

Not to mention Role Play may mean different things to different people. Some people might think its not role playing anymore when there’s a list of regulations and a police squad to enforce them.

Or they might think its not role playing when a smith talks like a noble when in truth a smith would more likely have very little education beyond there trade and most likely not able to read. As most in such an era would not unless they joined a clergy were royalty or came from a wealthy merchant family. As they would be plain spoken using the slang of the era.

Just food for thought.

 

[davehibb]

The Baronship of Cove and the Europa RP Community in general treat leet speak as a strange or foriegn dialect and as such interact as best we can much the same as BluGnome's example.

With regard to magic items they are simply not allowed by the RoE that the Europa RP Community by and large adhere to. There are occasions when a magic weapon might be used for internal guild plotlines and scenarios etc. but these "artifacts" are usually destroyed or passed over into the care of the "Church" and as such not in everyday usage. Some guilds too waive this rule for internal guild hunts against tougher foes so I believe.

Places such as Luna or any other player run vendor spots are treated pretty much as an IC market place even if the sellers are dressed garishly and offer exotic wares.

The spamming of portals to vendors at WBB are just considered to be crazy merchants spouting gibberish I guess and are for the most part ignored IC.