I dont see anyone that has made a post about this and I wanted to get a general idea about the best way to handle this...
Now since everyone automatically knows everyone else's title and name and such can we assume that there is some sort of connection with everyone that causes this to happen? Maybe some sort of magical ebb or mental connection. It just doesnt seem proper to show a message (name) says, "My name is (name), nice to meet you."
This isnt to say that everyone already knows everyone's background and such but as far as titles and names are concerned maybe when you see someone that person automatically reflects his or her name and title that they choose.
Thoughts? Ideas? Disagreements?
DDAVIS5
DOUG
Re: People, Names, and Titles
09/27/2015 02:46 PM CDT
By default, yes. But there are options that allow the player to tune that a bit. Titles, last names, professions, affiliations. . . all of these can be controlled by the individual player.
Still - there's not a good sense in my view on how to handle the name. It would seem that introductions are set aside in favor of being able to see who is talking and who to interact with.
There are groups of players, though, who always insist on introducing themselves. And they do an absolutely fantastic job of tracking with whom they have already made an acquaintance. I haven't been able to trip any of them up that I can recall.
Doug
Still - there's not a good sense in my view on how to handle the name. It would seem that introductions are set aside in favor of being able to see who is talking and who to interact with.
There are groups of players, though, who always insist on introducing themselves. And they do an absolutely fantastic job of tracking with whom they have already made an acquaintance. I haven't been able to trip any of them up that I can recall.
Doug
DMWCINCY
Re: People, Names, and Titles
09/27/2015 03:03 PM CDT
I do try to introduce my PC and do try to wait for introductions to go by someones name. Sometimes i am good at it sometimes i am not. I also look at the situation though. Public officials or leaders of militias...there is plenty of rp to say a person asked a townsperson who is that. It really comes down to how the first interactions turn out between two characters.
DOUG
Re: People, Names, and Titles
09/27/2015 05:01 PM CDT
>>there is plenty of rp
This is a really great point, too. Is there anyone who doesn't know who the Landing Mayor is, by name? Or who wanted to be? And I don't necessarily mean among the player base.
But a character who didn't know would be viewed as a 'new arrival', at best.
Doug
This is a really great point, too. Is there anyone who doesn't know who the Landing Mayor is, by name? Or who wanted to be? And I don't necessarily mean among the player base.
But a character who didn't know would be viewed as a 'new arrival', at best.
Doug
MOURNE
Re: People, Names, and Titles
09/27/2015 08:42 PM CDT
I don't automatically know who you are, regardless of being able see your name and title plastered across my screen. If I hear you referenced by name in my presence, I might know that X name goes with Y face. If you introduce yourself to me, or are introduced by someone else (or someone else says to/near me "That elf with the green eyes and beaded braids? That's Soandso.") then I'll know your name. Unless your reputation precedes you in some way, I'm not going to know your title.
There is no magical force that allows me to Just Know. The game would arguably be more of a pain in the backside if we all had our names masked until you actively REVEAL NAME to that person next to you (though that could be neat). As such, names being a default thing you can see walking into a room is a mechanical ease-of-use thing, not some information my character automatically knows by dint of insert-mystic-woobly.
That said, I'm also not going to crucify someone who calls me by name that I've never met. I'll just assume they overheard a shopkeeper talking to me, I was pointed out to them by someone, or possibly something more sinister. You may get some odd looks and a bit of wariness on my part. Because I don't know you, and you know who I am, and that might just make me nervous. Or I might think so highly of myself that I just assume EVERYONE knows who I am.
Your title can often be reflected by how you present yourself, but sometimes not. You might be famous enough in game for me to have an idea of your displayed title once I can put a name to a face, as it were. You might have the title of Fugitive showing but look like a perfect gentleman - I might infer a subtle caginess in your demeanor and wonder, but I'm not going to run and tell the constable unless I'm given a good reason to. You might see me sporting a Fortuneteller title but not have my runes out, and make an assumption/have a vague recollection/have heard a rumor that this person is a fortuneteller. But you don't Just Know Because Magic. Have a reason. Feel free to contrive it, but please, make it plausible. There are so many ways we can know bits and pieces about each other reasonably without some mystic construct.
PS: Highlights are my preferred method of keeping track of which names I know, and they're especially great for a mental prompt when I disappear for a few years.
---
With great effort you combine the value of your two bloodscrip, leaving you with a single parchment bloodscrip valued at 2112.
You think to yourself, "Another toy that helped destroy the elder race of man..."
There is no magical force that allows me to Just Know. The game would arguably be more of a pain in the backside if we all had our names masked until you actively REVEAL NAME to that person next to you (though that could be neat). As such, names being a default thing you can see walking into a room is a mechanical ease-of-use thing, not some information my character automatically knows by dint of insert-mystic-woobly.
That said, I'm also not going to crucify someone who calls me by name that I've never met. I'll just assume they overheard a shopkeeper talking to me, I was pointed out to them by someone, or possibly something more sinister. You may get some odd looks and a bit of wariness on my part. Because I don't know you, and you know who I am, and that might just make me nervous. Or I might think so highly of myself that I just assume EVERYONE knows who I am.
Your title can often be reflected by how you present yourself, but sometimes not. You might be famous enough in game for me to have an idea of your displayed title once I can put a name to a face, as it were. You might have the title of Fugitive showing but look like a perfect gentleman - I might infer a subtle caginess in your demeanor and wonder, but I'm not going to run and tell the constable unless I'm given a good reason to. You might see me sporting a Fortuneteller title but not have my runes out, and make an assumption/have a vague recollection/have heard a rumor that this person is a fortuneteller. But you don't Just Know Because Magic. Have a reason. Feel free to contrive it, but please, make it plausible. There are so many ways we can know bits and pieces about each other reasonably without some mystic construct.
PS: Highlights are my preferred method of keeping track of which names I know, and they're especially great for a mental prompt when I disappear for a few years.
---
With great effort you combine the value of your two bloodscrip, leaving you with a single parchment bloodscrip valued at 2112.
You think to yourself, "Another toy that helped destroy the elder race of man..."
GS4-SCRIBES
Re: People, Names, and Titles
09/28/2015 12:11 PM CDT
I treat names and titles as OOC information, personally, but don't condemn those who don't. Arguably, who's to say someone didn't whisper in your ear, "Oh, did you know that's Lord So and So?"
Likewise, our fairly defunct FAME system would offer an argument that if someone has a lot of fame, then gosh darn, they must be famous and well known!
GM Scribes
Likewise, our fairly defunct FAME system would offer an argument that if someone has a lot of fame, then gosh darn, they must be famous and well known!
GM Scribes
BLACKKOBOLD
Re: People, Names, and Titles
09/29/2015 07:23 AM CDT
I see names/titles as OOC information provided as a convenience to the player. How you choose to handle that information is up to the individual player. As others have mentioned, you might plausibly know a famous character's name and title based upon their reputation, word of mouth, etc. Or you might require an introduction. Maybe you're a seer who claims to have met the person in a dream? Who knows? Regardless, I try to keep in mind that everyone is not walking around with a name tag on even if I can SEE their name on the screen.
~Taverkin
~Taverkin
ENCELADAN
Re: People, Names, and Titles
09/29/2015 09:38 AM CDT
This was actually relevant to something that happened over the weekend. During invasion-related hijinks on Friday night, my character was informed by another who happened to be inside the Hendoran Outpost that there were intruders inside where there should have been none. They were named by this individual, so I initially proceeded as if my character was going to know who it was.
Turns out that they all wore masks, and because they moved so quickly, I was never able to actually look at what they were wearing. In fact, unless I know I actually ought to look at someone, I'm not in the habit of doing so. I don't know if the player of the character who alerted mine saw the masks or not; I'm assuming not, for similar reasons of my own. They were characters known to us, any other time.
I had to consider how well my character would recognize them. I could've rationalized two of them, one by deliberate mannerism and another by speech patterns. Admittedly it may have been stretching a bit if I'd done so quickly, but it became moot for another reason. Not two days before, my character's wife was told a story about a very unique item with a unique history that one of them wore after it was given as a gift. Said person was one of the masked individuals before us, and though the character had removed other things that might identify, this particular item was overlooked by the owner.
This was pointed out by my character's wife, which unraveled the plot in one of the most brilliantly-handled IC manners that I've ever witnessed. It ended up being a real encouragement to persuade myself to pay more attention to this kind of thing in the future, rather than fall into a name on the screen habit again.
As a side note, not even twenty four hours later, at least two people who weren't there at the time had knowledge of their identities, and of specifics on what happened as a result. Stuff that otherwise couldn't have been known outside of anyone present. Sometimes you gotta accept that some will decide not to play it straight.
It does tend to be worth it, though.
-AM
(After Bristenn uses the branding iron on a trivial wound)
Speaking to Bristenn, you say, "That's the sort of thing that makes me wish I didn't know you."
Turns out that they all wore masks, and because they moved so quickly, I was never able to actually look at what they were wearing. In fact, unless I know I actually ought to look at someone, I'm not in the habit of doing so. I don't know if the player of the character who alerted mine saw the masks or not; I'm assuming not, for similar reasons of my own. They were characters known to us, any other time.
I had to consider how well my character would recognize them. I could've rationalized two of them, one by deliberate mannerism and another by speech patterns. Admittedly it may have been stretching a bit if I'd done so quickly, but it became moot for another reason. Not two days before, my character's wife was told a story about a very unique item with a unique history that one of them wore after it was given as a gift. Said person was one of the masked individuals before us, and though the character had removed other things that might identify, this particular item was overlooked by the owner.
This was pointed out by my character's wife, which unraveled the plot in one of the most brilliantly-handled IC manners that I've ever witnessed. It ended up being a real encouragement to persuade myself to pay more attention to this kind of thing in the future, rather than fall into a name on the screen habit again.
As a side note, not even twenty four hours later, at least two people who weren't there at the time had knowledge of their identities, and of specifics on what happened as a result. Stuff that otherwise couldn't have been known outside of anyone present. Sometimes you gotta accept that some will decide not to play it straight.
It does tend to be worth it, though.
-AM
(After Bristenn uses the branding iron on a trivial wound)
Speaking to Bristenn, you say, "That's the sort of thing that makes me wish I didn't know you."
PFLATS
Re: People, Names, and Titles
09/29/2015 11:17 AM CDT
I generally treat prename titles as IC information. If a Vaalor Legionnaire or a Mayor or a Lord is walking around with their title on, I'm assuming they have either enough of a reputation or are carrying themselves in such a way such that they are recognizable as a Mayor or whatever.
Agree with the rest, though.
Agree with the rest, though.
UBERWENCH
Re: People, Names, and Titles
09/29/2015 01:51 PM CDT
I just assume my character has either heard someone's name from a shopkeeper or acquaintance or had previously inquired about it offstage. Other people have introduced themselves to Lylia, which also works, and I'm happy to go along with that too. While the idea of seeing only descriptions until you learn someone's name sounds good in theory, the convenience to players of having visible names on the screen is so large that it outweighs the slight bit of retconning we might have to do to explain how Person A knows Person B's name even before an introduction. We make plenty of concessions in the game already -- if I tried to stuff 100 pounds' worth of items into my coat pockets in real life, it wouldn't work out too well, for instance -- and this one seems like a pretty easy one to rationalize IC.
>Not two days before, my character's wife was told a story about a very unique item with a unique history that one of them wore after it was given as a gift. Said person was one of the masked individuals before us, and though the character had removed other things that might identify, this particular item was overlooked by the owner.
Now that's very cool and clever! In a such as that where people are masked and clearly not supposed to be recognizable, keying in on a familiar item is a brilliant way to unravel a deception. I remember quite a few months ago when another character was disguising herself for some reason in town, and she looked visibly different although her name remained the same. She stayed entirely in costume and helped everyone else play along with her not looking like herself. Playing around with costumes, masks, and hidden identities is fun if everyone there can agree that it makes IC sense.
>Not two days before, my character's wife was told a story about a very unique item with a unique history that one of them wore after it was given as a gift. Said person was one of the masked individuals before us, and though the character had removed other things that might identify, this particular item was overlooked by the owner.
Now that's very cool and clever! In a such as that where people are masked and clearly not supposed to be recognizable, keying in on a familiar item is a brilliant way to unravel a deception. I remember quite a few months ago when another character was disguising herself for some reason in town, and she looked visibly different although her name remained the same. She stayed entirely in costume and helped everyone else play along with her not looking like herself. Playing around with costumes, masks, and hidden identities is fun if everyone there can agree that it makes IC sense.
UBERWENCH
Re: People, Names, and Titles
09/29/2015 01:56 PM CDT
Please add the word "situation" to where it's missing in my previous post. Ugh, I wish we could edit. Failing that, I wish I hadn't tried to post while doing three things at once.
