Season 7 Episode 18
May 26, 2012 19:16:10 GMT -8
Post by HyveMynd on May 26, 2012 19:16:10 GMT -8
Great episode, as usual guys. Welcome back Tappy! Your offensivness has been missed.
In regards to the "how long is it OK to hold onto negative character aspects" question, I totally agree with the answer you put forward; until it starts to affect the enjoyment of the other players and/or derail the story. But I also feel that if your racist/sexist/xenophobic/whatever PC get's greenlit by the GM, then you should be given a few sessions to play that character.
Back in the Savage Worlds fantasy game that I've bemoaned before, I tried to play a racist character. I created a Pelor worshipping fantasy version of the Islamic faith (complete with dietaty restrictions, daily prayer requirements, and the full length burqa for women) which the GM approved. Basically he let me detail the Arabian/Persian themed country as long as I followed two rules; Tieflings had to be present and the country had slaves. So looking to Islamic mythology, I decided that Tieflings were descendants of the Islamic devil figure, relegating them to second-class citizens at best. Any Tiefling who refused to convert to the state religion and cut his/her horns to show this, was an undesireable. This was all approved by the GM and supported by his decision that "free" Tieflings were notorious slavers who raided caravans and kidnapped people to sell into slavery.
So, my PC was a woman (covered from head to toe in a burqa) who fully followed the state religion and believed in a strict heirarchy of social standing based on religion, race, and gender. Now mind you, I did all this knowing full well that one of the other players would be playing his Tiefling character from the previous "chapter". I thought that my PC's attitude towards him would create an interesting dynamic, and hopefully turn the game into more than the tedious hack and slash-fest it had become.
The GM had approved all this, yet seemed to expect my PC to change her attitudes right out of the gate. I don't feel that I derailed the game at all now, I only did little petty things; intentionally not standing next to the Tiefling, repeating what he said to the other PCs as if I had thought of it, refusing to listen to or follow his advice, etc. Nothing game breaking I feel. And the other player seemed fine with it. Yet I got the distinct impression that the GM wanted us to be all super buddy-buddy right from the get go.
So, my advice on this topic, especially for GMs is this. If you OK a PC with negative character aspects, you should give the player a chance to actually play the PC they've created. Unless the player is simply trying to torpedo your game, there is a reason they want to try playing that sexist or racist character. Don't take that away from them.
.
In regards to the "how long is it OK to hold onto negative character aspects" question, I totally agree with the answer you put forward; until it starts to affect the enjoyment of the other players and/or derail the story. But I also feel that if your racist/sexist/xenophobic/whatever PC get's greenlit by the GM, then you should be given a few sessions to play that character.
Back in the Savage Worlds fantasy game that I've bemoaned before, I tried to play a racist character. I created a Pelor worshipping fantasy version of the Islamic faith (complete with dietaty restrictions, daily prayer requirements, and the full length burqa for women) which the GM approved. Basically he let me detail the Arabian/Persian themed country as long as I followed two rules; Tieflings had to be present and the country had slaves. So looking to Islamic mythology, I decided that Tieflings were descendants of the Islamic devil figure, relegating them to second-class citizens at best. Any Tiefling who refused to convert to the state religion and cut his/her horns to show this, was an undesireable. This was all approved by the GM and supported by his decision that "free" Tieflings were notorious slavers who raided caravans and kidnapped people to sell into slavery.
So, my PC was a woman (covered from head to toe in a burqa) who fully followed the state religion and believed in a strict heirarchy of social standing based on religion, race, and gender. Now mind you, I did all this knowing full well that one of the other players would be playing his Tiefling character from the previous "chapter". I thought that my PC's attitude towards him would create an interesting dynamic, and hopefully turn the game into more than the tedious hack and slash-fest it had become.
The GM had approved all this, yet seemed to expect my PC to change her attitudes right out of the gate. I don't feel that I derailed the game at all now, I only did little petty things; intentionally not standing next to the Tiefling, repeating what he said to the other PCs as if I had thought of it, refusing to listen to or follow his advice, etc. Nothing game breaking I feel. And the other player seemed fine with it. Yet I got the distinct impression that the GM wanted us to be all super buddy-buddy right from the get go.
So, my advice on this topic, especially for GMs is this. If you OK a PC with negative character aspects, you should give the player a chance to actually play the PC they've created. Unless the player is simply trying to torpedo your game, there is a reason they want to try playing that sexist or racist character. Don't take that away from them.
.