I recently had a conversation with someone who claimed that the concept of god moding (roleplaying your character in such a way that nothing bad can happen to them) doesn't apply to GS. I've always been of the opinion that GS had de facto god moding any time two two characters that are more then ten levels apart interact (unless the player of the higher level character goes out of their way to even the odds mechanically). So, I'm curious what others think about this?
Starchitin
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
OM1E5GA
PEREGRINEFALCON
Re: God moding
04/08/2017 08:22 AM CDT
>> I've always been of the opinion that GS had de facto god moding any time two two characters that are more then ten levels apart interact (unless the player of the higher level character goes out of their way to even the odds mechanically).
I'm not sure I even understand your question but unless the two characters are rping in a vacuum then there's always going to be someone (or something) on the sidelines that can dispel that persons illusions of grandeur. No?
I suppose you could still roleplay that way but it would be more of a delusion than a reality.
-- Robert
A powerful whirlpool is suddenly overtaken by a windy vortex!
I'm not sure I even understand your question but unless the two characters are rping in a vacuum then there's always going to be someone (or something) on the sidelines that can dispel that persons illusions of grandeur. No?
I suppose you could still roleplay that way but it would be more of a delusion than a reality.
-- Robert
A powerful whirlpool is suddenly overtaken by a windy vortex!
KANDOR
Re: God moding
04/08/2017 01:35 PM CDT
Players will continue to do things like this as long as there are no IG consequences for doing so. Moding is much more common in games that don't allow PvP, or in free-form play where characters can be amorphous. Some games require players to pick from a list of weaknesses when they are created, or as they age/progress, to help diminish the concept of invincibility. I'd like to see savants released to see how much it impacts roleplaying here. Usually, releasing a class to a game that centers around mind control and manipulation brings in a ton of this.
UBERWENCH
Re: God moding
04/12/2017 04:07 AM CDT
I might be misunderstanding what the term means, so I'll talk about both possibilities.
If you mean using RP or game mechanics to become effectively untouchable, of course it applies to GS. It's sometimes a challenge to deal with the gap between a character's mechanical capabilities and their roleplayed ones, yes, but it's incumbent on the players to handle that responsibly. My character could obliterate any new character, but I should generally restrain her from doing so because that's no fun for anyone and doesn't give stories a chance to unfold organically. Conversely, a newly created character may appear old or be played as wise, but if the character expects others to bow to him/her without offering any proof of why others should show deference -- barring an established relationship between individual characters, that is -- that's likewise a breach of etiquette.
Characters either have to earn the reputations others give them, or their players have to work out in advance how these particular characters interact. Otherwise, you're asking to get shut out. I can't flee quickly enough from any scene in which someone rolls up a turnip farmer and pretends to be the mouthpiece of the Patriarch or something, for instance. That's god-moding at its worst, to me.
If you mean building in character flaws to avoid a bad case of the Mary Sues, that's a different kind of challenge we all face to some extent. We're predisposed to play characters we ourselves enjoy, and few of us enjoy being intentionally wrong. We'll be evil, maybe, but not wrong if we can help it. That sometimes leads to meta-gaming our characters' decisions so we don't have to face some of the worst consequences of being wrong, which in turn can go too far and give characters more wisdom and sense than they might otherwise have. Perfect example is what happened with Chaston Griffin. Sure, we saw that he wound up being a crazy cult leader bent on destruction in the end, but when he first came onto the scene, there were few reasons for Liabo-aligned characters not to like him -- and yet almost no one fell for it as characters because we as players knew this was the Big Bad from the moment he appeared. On a personal level, I sometimes have trouble getting enough wickedness in Lylia's daily diet because as a person, I tend to avoid conflict.
I think a certain amount of meta-gaming is fine, though. Ultimately, we should play what we enjoy, and it's tough to enjoy the role of "unwitting dupe," "punching bag," or "that guy no one wants to be stuck talking to at the party." As long as we don't go too far in that direction and refuse to commit to any decisions because they might put our characters in hot water or briefly cast them in a negative light, we're fine.
--- Lauren, Lylia's player
If you mean using RP or game mechanics to become effectively untouchable, of course it applies to GS. It's sometimes a challenge to deal with the gap between a character's mechanical capabilities and their roleplayed ones, yes, but it's incumbent on the players to handle that responsibly. My character could obliterate any new character, but I should generally restrain her from doing so because that's no fun for anyone and doesn't give stories a chance to unfold organically. Conversely, a newly created character may appear old or be played as wise, but if the character expects others to bow to him/her without offering any proof of why others should show deference -- barring an established relationship between individual characters, that is -- that's likewise a breach of etiquette.
Characters either have to earn the reputations others give them, or their players have to work out in advance how these particular characters interact. Otherwise, you're asking to get shut out. I can't flee quickly enough from any scene in which someone rolls up a turnip farmer and pretends to be the mouthpiece of the Patriarch or something, for instance. That's god-moding at its worst, to me.
If you mean building in character flaws to avoid a bad case of the Mary Sues, that's a different kind of challenge we all face to some extent. We're predisposed to play characters we ourselves enjoy, and few of us enjoy being intentionally wrong. We'll be evil, maybe, but not wrong if we can help it. That sometimes leads to meta-gaming our characters' decisions so we don't have to face some of the worst consequences of being wrong, which in turn can go too far and give characters more wisdom and sense than they might otherwise have. Perfect example is what happened with Chaston Griffin. Sure, we saw that he wound up being a crazy cult leader bent on destruction in the end, but when he first came onto the scene, there were few reasons for Liabo-aligned characters not to like him -- and yet almost no one fell for it as characters because we as players knew this was the Big Bad from the moment he appeared. On a personal level, I sometimes have trouble getting enough wickedness in Lylia's daily diet because as a person, I tend to avoid conflict.
I think a certain amount of meta-gaming is fine, though. Ultimately, we should play what we enjoy, and it's tough to enjoy the role of "unwitting dupe," "punching bag," or "that guy no one wants to be stuck talking to at the party." As long as we don't go too far in that direction and refuse to commit to any decisions because they might put our characters in hot water or briefly cast them in a negative light, we're fine.
--- Lauren, Lylia's player
INIQUITY
Re: God moding
04/18/2017 06:19 AM CDT
<<I can't flee quickly enough from any scene in which someone rolls up a turnip farmer and pretends to be the mouthpiece of the Patriarch or something, for instance. That's god-moding at its worst, to me.>> - Lylia
Heh. Remember the grandson of Marlu?
<<Perfect example is what happened with Chaston Griffin. Sure, we saw that he wound up being a crazy cult leader bent on destruction in the end, but when he first came onto the scene, there were few reasons for Liabo-aligned characters not to like him -- and yet almost no one fell for it as characters because we as players knew this was the Big Bad from the moment he appeared. >>
This is a great source of irritation for those of us who really are clairvoyant. ;)
At 1300+ years old, Xorus should be like 50x capped or whatever, so I worked in an internal-logic-of-how-magic-works explanation for his power being Magneto'd. Which amounts to him becoming much more restrained and deferential than he would be otherwise. The way warding spells originally worked meant there was always at least a small chance, maybe 5%, of anything being able to hit anything. In other words, straight level vs. level, but you never make it to pure immunity.
So it would always be possible for the kid with the twisted wand to have a d20 chance of knocking Achilles down to his knees. It would actually be pretty annoying to walk through a hunting area 50 levels below you and getting warded, but on the other hand, is it really right to ever feel safe walking around some of these very obviously dangerous places? Black belts will still get sucker punched or stabbed if they're looking the wrong way. It isn't terribly realistic for people to be walking around feeling invincible just because of +X DS, +Y TD, and whatever, when that does not actually mean you will not be hurting bad if something makes contact.
- Xorus' player
>'=explain Who would deny, after all, that a rhetorical question is merely a statement?
You may not explain with a sentence ending in a question mark.
Heh. Remember the grandson of Marlu?
<<Perfect example is what happened with Chaston Griffin. Sure, we saw that he wound up being a crazy cult leader bent on destruction in the end, but when he first came onto the scene, there were few reasons for Liabo-aligned characters not to like him -- and yet almost no one fell for it as characters because we as players knew this was the Big Bad from the moment he appeared. >>
This is a great source of irritation for those of us who really are clairvoyant. ;)
At 1300+ years old, Xorus should be like 50x capped or whatever, so I worked in an internal-logic-of-how-magic-works explanation for his power being Magneto'd. Which amounts to him becoming much more restrained and deferential than he would be otherwise. The way warding spells originally worked meant there was always at least a small chance, maybe 5%, of anything being able to hit anything. In other words, straight level vs. level, but you never make it to pure immunity.
So it would always be possible for the kid with the twisted wand to have a d20 chance of knocking Achilles down to his knees. It would actually be pretty annoying to walk through a hunting area 50 levels below you and getting warded, but on the other hand, is it really right to ever feel safe walking around some of these very obviously dangerous places? Black belts will still get sucker punched or stabbed if they're looking the wrong way. It isn't terribly realistic for people to be walking around feeling invincible just because of +X DS, +Y TD, and whatever, when that does not actually mean you will not be hurting bad if something makes contact.
- Xorus' player
>'=explain Who would deny, after all, that a rhetorical question is merely a statement?
You may not explain with a sentence ending in a question mark.
NAAMIT
Re: God moding
04/18/2017 08:10 AM CDT
> and few of us enjoy being intentionally wrong. We'll be evil, maybe, but not wrong if we can help it. ~Lauren
I'm becoming more comfortable with forcing my characters into self-sabotage for the sake of seeing what happens, pushing storylines along, or to foster/quell engagement. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it goes horribly awry. Yet I've learned something about myself, my characters, and those around them in that process each and every time. I encourage everyone to try it. :>
I'm becoming more comfortable with forcing my characters into self-sabotage for the sake of seeing what happens, pushing storylines along, or to foster/quell engagement. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it goes horribly awry. Yet I've learned something about myself, my characters, and those around them in that process each and every time. I encourage everyone to try it. :>
OM1E5GA
Re: God moding
04/18/2017 11:16 AM CDT
> and few of us enjoy being intentionally wrong. We'll be evil, maybe, but not wrong if we can help it. ~Lauren
<I'm becoming more comfortable with forcing my characters into self-sabotage for the sake of seeing what happens, pushing storylines along, or to foster/quell engagement.>
This has more to do with metagaming (using knowledge the player is aware of but the character wouldn't be), which has always been rampant in GS... much to my annoyance. Storylines and casual RP are usually much more rewarding when you act based on what your character would know rather then what you, the player, knows. If you can't answer the question "How does my character know this" without including OOC resources (the wiki, profiles, FAME, another character you play, etc) in the answer, they probably don't.
Sadly, the game encourages this as much as it discourages it. Telling the specs of our gear requires mostly IC methods, but we can tell most of another character we've just met's name, profession, skill level, culture, etc with three or four OOC commands even when they're actively trying to hide them.
It drives me nuts how many people comment to me, in character, about how my Angstholm gnome is awfully mischievous and out-going for his bloodline. How do all these giantkin and dark elves know so much about one of the most reclusive bloodlines of one of the most reclusive races? How do they recognize the bloodmark on him? Even if they did know a bit about bloodlines, why do they think he's Angstholm when he acts more like a Rosengift most of the time?
Starchitin
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
<I'm becoming more comfortable with forcing my characters into self-sabotage for the sake of seeing what happens, pushing storylines along, or to foster/quell engagement.>
This has more to do with metagaming (using knowledge the player is aware of but the character wouldn't be), which has always been rampant in GS... much to my annoyance. Storylines and casual RP are usually much more rewarding when you act based on what your character would know rather then what you, the player, knows. If you can't answer the question "How does my character know this" without including OOC resources (the wiki, profiles, FAME, another character you play, etc) in the answer, they probably don't.
Sadly, the game encourages this as much as it discourages it. Telling the specs of our gear requires mostly IC methods, but we can tell most of another character we've just met's name, profession, skill level, culture, etc with three or four OOC commands even when they're actively trying to hide them.
It drives me nuts how many people comment to me, in character, about how my Angstholm gnome is awfully mischievous and out-going for his bloodline. How do all these giantkin and dark elves know so much about one of the most reclusive bloodlines of one of the most reclusive races? How do they recognize the bloodmark on him? Even if they did know a bit about bloodlines, why do they think he's Angstholm when he acts more like a Rosengift most of the time?
Starchitin
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
MOURNE
Re: God moding
04/18/2017 12:39 PM CDT
>I'm becoming more comfortable with forcing my characters into self-sabotage for the sake of seeing what happens, pushing storylines along, or to foster/quell engagement. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it goes horribly awry. Yet I've learned something about myself, my characters, and those around them in that process each and every time. I encourage everyone to try it. :> -Naamit
Similar. I've always enjoyed playing flawed characters, but most of them were quietly flawed. I'm finding myself more and more comfortable exposing those flaws at the drop of a hat for others to poke at; it can be -really- engaging for all parties involved, and has probably garnered me more interaction on my most recent flawed character iteration than any of those previous. Being willing to step up and be a foil, be wrong, be weak, be a butt of jokes, makes me feel like I'm contributing to a rich roleplay environment, far more so than playing yet another perfect protagonist or untouchable bad guy would.
---
Cendadric says, "Hmm, a most impressive weapon of note. I'll give you 110 silver coins for it."
Similar. I've always enjoyed playing flawed characters, but most of them were quietly flawed. I'm finding myself more and more comfortable exposing those flaws at the drop of a hat for others to poke at; it can be -really- engaging for all parties involved, and has probably garnered me more interaction on my most recent flawed character iteration than any of those previous. Being willing to step up and be a foil, be wrong, be weak, be a butt of jokes, makes me feel like I'm contributing to a rich roleplay environment, far more so than playing yet another perfect protagonist or untouchable bad guy would.
---
Cendadric says, "Hmm, a most impressive weapon of note. I'll give you 110 silver coins for it."
NAAMIT
Re: God moding
04/18/2017 12:52 PM CDT
> This has more to do with metagaming (using knowledge the player is aware of but the character wouldn't be), which has always been rampant in GS
Not necessarily, though I'm not going give color the situations I alluded to. :P
Not necessarily, though I'm not going give color the situations I alluded to. :P
UBERWENCH
Re: God moding
04/19/2017 01:54 PM CDT
>Heh. Remember the grandson of Marlu?
Yes! I do! The one who had a name that sounded like Gargamel's cat? I remember him. Not fondly, but I remember him.
Yes! I do! The one who had a name that sounded like Gargamel's cat? I remember him. Not fondly, but I remember him.
INIQUITY
Re: God moding
04/19/2017 06:47 PM CDT
No, no. You are thinking of his father Astaroth, who apparently was the son of Marlu.
Gargamel's cat forced itself on his mother, making him half-Daemon.
- Xorus' player
>'=explain Who would deny, after all, that a rhetorical question is merely a statement?
You may not explain with a sentence ending in a question mark.
Gargamel's cat forced itself on his mother, making him half-Daemon.
- Xorus' player
>'=explain Who would deny, after all, that a rhetorical question is merely a statement?
You may not explain with a sentence ending in a question mark.
UBERWENCH
Re: God moding
04/19/2017 09:08 PM CDT
>Gargamel's cat forced itself on his mother, making him half-Daemon.
I don't know that I've read anything funnier than this for a month, and I frequent a lot of political forums.
I don't know that I've read anything funnier than this for a month, and I frequent a lot of political forums.
INIQUITY
Re: God moding
04/22/2017 09:58 PM CDT
Wish I could claim credit for it, but unfortunately that is just telling it the way it happened.
Redeeming the Ur-Daemon was part of why I made them part of Xorus' backstory.
- Xorus' player
>'=explain Who would deny, after all, that a rhetorical question is merely a statement?
You may not explain with a sentence ending in a question mark.
Redeeming the Ur-Daemon was part of why I made them part of Xorus' backstory.
- Xorus' player
>'=explain Who would deny, after all, that a rhetorical question is merely a statement?
You may not explain with a sentence ending in a question mark.
