I'm not Scared! (Why people don't role playing fear.)

[sharringtonm]

thinking that Max is going to start demanding others show their faces when he meets them.

I forsee Max getting a bunch of beatings

[Ebannon]

Logan on the other hand has been running around terrified of getting caught, which has got to be fun and very scary.

It has its moments, the bad part is 95% of the things on Sundren happen at Exigo trade camp, where Logan basically can't go. Its a lot of standing around in empty areas which isn't so much fun as .... well the opposite of fun.

[nickbeat]

Yeah Eb, that has got to be a drag. You need a posse. What is the evil equivalent of the campfire?

And yes, I expect Max to be a the target of much evilness. He's a nice guy, but he IS a frickin' cop now!

What was that Loll said about the conversation digressing?

[Dark presence]

Tieflings don't even look different from humans or each other in NWN2. I don't see a particular reason for people to fear them when they all look human with some tiny costume horns.

Now if tieflings were all different and could have hooves and tails and more obvious fiendish features, then it might be relevant. Everything just has to be imagined with them which really hurts any possible fear factor.

People naturally fear the grotesque and different, and NWN2 tieflings are pretty much neither. Elves and dwarves should be more scary in all honesty.

[TheBrogueadier]

Heh, there have been numerous attempts to organise an evil group, all of them fell apart after a few days or so when rather than focus on the real problems, like all the good players, everyone just started to argue and try to kill each other.

I've tried being evil, tried inspiring fear.. Hells, half of what I've said to the good players would have got me stabbed to death in a few minutes down my local pub but everyone just smiles.

Eira "I'm the will and the weapon of Auril, favoured with her touch and wrapped in her icy breath. I'll see this world smothered in snow and all those who don't show fealty entombed in ice forever!"

Other folk: "That's nice dear. Say, your new looks rather nice. Who's your tailor?"

Eira: "Your birth is an accident from where you mother was banging a farm boy while your father couldn't get an erection"

Nice folk "Really? Can't say I know that seamstress.. You must introduce me."

I'll give up on trying to be subtle soon and start dropping blocks of ice on people instead.

As for the topic; Eira's been scared a lot but deals with it in two ways: Violence, either verbal or physical. Or by running like heck.

[Raksha]

First, massive exclamation point bolded and emphasized: No one but a DM can police RP. And even we don't like to do it. Players who say "you should fear X" or "you should hate Y" or "you should do Z", can only speak for themselves and their characters. Because if you start stepping in and saying "you should fear tieflings", and then every tiefling the character meets is basically harmless, why should they? There's no legitimate reason.

I try my best to strive for "in-character stimulus equals in-character reaction, period." A character who has fought and killed a balor singlehandedly is not going to be overly terrified of a succubus, especially if they have enough Lore and Knowledge to know what they're dealing with. Another, though, would be horrified.

But that doesn't always work, because...

The real reason (one of them) that Tamryn and Hano are on vacation: Sometimes, acting true to character is OOCly discouraging for players, and can lead to frustration and bad feelings. I have on many occasions played Tam "softer" than she really should be, out of consideration of others. She wasn't as vigorous in pursuit, or as quick to challenge to a duel, or as ready to be suspicious and probing. Why? Because if it came to in-engine conflict, it would all be over, she'd drag the subdued character in, jail, perm. I don't want characters who slip up a little bit to be banished forever away from everything that happens in Sundren, because it's around the Exigo campfire.

And apparently, players of evil /drow / evil drow aren't afraid to ask for OOC consideration either. I was about to have my prankster elf pull down the hood of a drow in the trading post (as a prank, she didn't think he was actually drow), gave an OOC note to the drow player, who immediately refused it. He didn't want to be exposed, despite the fact that he was hanging around in the trading post and speaking drow. While I can't speak for him, I can speculate: It's probably because grinding a drow up to threat level takes a long time, and having it "undone" can be discouraging.

[Larando]

hrm...I RP Larando's fear. It is dependent on whether he initiates an encounter or if someone else does. But, I do RP fear. If you don't believe me, ask Cirion about Larando spraying puke out both sides of a gag onto Katie Blake in a botched kidnapping/extortion plan. I will take credit for that being genius humor in RP!

As for handling fear IG, Larando looks at orcs/half orcs as tools (as is so often the case in an evil wizard mastermind's scheme) often speaking to them in their native tongue to find out if they have strong blood (played evil/barbaric) or weak (played like shrek...I know, he was an ogre). But, he would quickly dissappear should one become angery with him Teiflings hold a special intrest for Larando as he sees them as a possible key to unlocking some fiendish power to help in his reign (yeah, laugh it up, but that's the way he's RPd). This also gives him a reverent caution of them. So, while he isn't overly fearful of them, he watches them closely when in close proximity to them.

As a side note, he stays stocked up and ready on get-away spells for that unpredictable ranting paladin that may start harassing him! Dimension Door and Illusionary Wall (along with others) stay memorised when he's not cave trolling (pun intended) just for the sake of RP encounters.

P.S. By the way, thanks to devs for the really awesome addition to some spells that have enriched my RP experience beyond imagination.

[caveman_282]

I personally loved it when Zack got his ass kicked by the three-four other PCs, and they were thinking of ways on torturing him because he was simply a tiefling.

That's how it should be.

That was fun lil short rp due to server reset and being late.

PS im curious how Zack likes the new cut on his horn though.

[wangxiuming]

I have to admit I don't tend to enjoy playing fearful characters - the only times I can remember Aly being afraid was when Phaedriel took over (the second time), and more recently when he ventured into Shar's Abaddon and was basically about as useful as a piece of gum stuck in your hair. And even then, I'm not sure the fear came across as successfully as I would have hoped. Two times over a year of playing ... =X

That said, I can understand how seeing fearless characters charge into battle without any worry might grow really dull ... fast. I guess the point is just to encourage people to branch out from the stereotypical intrepid adventurer, and play some more realistic emotions.

[Maevan2]

I think one of the major problems with fear, running away and such things is that nobody wants to be the ass that let his friend die while he was having a beer at the next inn. People are afraid that nobody will want to have them in their party after that and they would consider them to be an RL ass that just logs when things get too tough.

Nobody asks you to jump on the next table when you see a white mouse. But fear is a natural and very usefull instinct. Mankind would have never gotten that far if we didn't know fear. Fear keeps you alive.

You should also consider that there is a difference between fear and panic. Your paladin's feat might say that you are immune to fear. But i consider this rather to be immunity to panic: You have learned to controll your fear. But if anyone claims that his level 3 paladin is not afraid of a red dragon then the paladin is either another Forrest Gump or completely drunk.

[EndsBeginning]

Yea, Vannie feared and hated Zack when they first met. Zack SOMEHOW managed to get past her instinctive hatred to the point that while she doesn't like him, she's just not waiting for an excuse to kill him either. She would have the same reaction to Nocte if she had a clue...but well, how is a fighter supposed to recognize the smell of the infernus?

[Jai_V]

I agree with a lot of what's been said here, especially Maevan's regard about no one wanting to be the lame-ass that leaves their buddies to get slaughtered.

Another problem with fear I have is that I never see the DM spawned NPCs fleeing in terror or some sort of script programming the mobs to run when their group of 10 ambush 4 PCs and half their ranks get cut to pieces. (Seriously, when was the last time even those pathetic Spittlefist Boltboys ran from you when you hacked up most of their buddies?) Mind you, I haven't been in a lot of instances, so I can't say the DMs never have the enemy run, just that I, personally, have never seen it.

I've basically decided, when I'm playing Cazen, I was going to handle fear like this:

Another PC succeeds Intimidate: He's going to step (or jump) back and (reflexively) reach for (or maybe even draw) his blade. Congratulations, you've just succeeded in making my character lose his composure and probably get himself into trouble.

Another PC that he should fear threatens him: In the tradition of all dashing Rogues, he's going to be a smart-ass to them and let his mouth get him in deeper trouble.

He encounters Vampire/Werewolf/Demon/Devil/Dragon/etc.: Well, if it's obviously not humanoid, creepy/scary, and making itself known as an enemy? He's going to run away and cry like a little girly man, probably in a tavern over a lot of ale (much like that incident with Syran a while back). And if he's trapped? He's not going to fight to the death, he's going to attack like a cornered rat and scurry off into the safest nook or cranny, unless someone he really cares about would be left behind to die.

Faced with losing someone he cares about: No defense, no witty remarks, no "draw thine sword," this is the truest form of terror for my character and will render him all but useless.

[Cirion]

Yes... back when Cirion was terrified of things, great times...
Especiallyafter he lost his paladin status and was terrified of many things. My favorite was the battle at Sestra, long ago, the man was shaking in his boots the whole time. Only thing that kept him there was his need to protect those that he cared for(his friends) and those that he had to protect out of a sense of duty(the people of the village.)

Other times he was afraid, he would keep looking around and his eyes wouldn't focus on one thing, I even had him hesitant to attack at times. Other times he felt cornered and drew his weapon and was about to lash out.

Though he did find other ways to hide his fear for a long while through the use of certain potions...

Talking about the whole racial bit:
Cirion's belief of the races.
His belief Tieflings is that they aren't to be trusted and wonders why everyone has to be so foolish as to believe in them and kind.
He's wary of half-orcs. And while he'll not trust most, there is at least one half-orc that he can call a true friend so he won't dislike them all.
Cirion met a drow once, when he was a paladin... Quite a funny encounter too, since he was there hitting on her the whole time. But unfortunately she was too terrified and couldn't understand all the come-ons. *sighs* Too bad her common wasn't the best. Though he never really did trust her and will have an extremely hard time trusting a drow in the future.

[sharringtonm]

Hey JaiV, how would you handle intimidate in the following situation?

JaiV- "What's under your hood? Who are you?"
Zek- *Snarls* "None of your damned buisness, you're better off never knowing!"
Intimdate roll, intimdates JaiV


Please don't say you'd draw down on them. That makes you the bad guy.

[Jai_V]

Good point, Sean. I don't think drawing down on someone trying to scare you necessarily makes you a bad guy, though. As I said, people handle fear differently...and I've determined that a seemingly surmountable threat, however imposing, warrants an angry response. I mean, it is being afraid, it's just not the sycophantic approach to fear. (In retrospect, I suppose I'll reserve that approach for when Cazen actually respects the person trying to punk him.)

Also, I don't see the example you used as the normal modus operandi of how the Intimidate is used in Sundren. I'm not going to say what I think Intimidate is used for most of the time, because it's not my place to criticize other people's RP.

But because you asked an honest question, suffice it to say this is why I gave my character a certain blithe demeanor and general "acceptance" of his surroundings and the people there. He judges people based on their individual merits and, for the most part, doesn't care about what secrets they're hiding, unless they seem immediately threating.

I can't think of a reason Cazen would try to defrock Abel...especially considering they've fought together a couple of times and he's got respect for him.

Still not enough? ^_^ Fine then...it would go something like this...

Caz: "What's under the hood, eh? Can we have a peek?"
Zek: *snarl* "None of your damned business." *rolls Intimidate v/s Caz*
Caz: *takes a step back, hand almost going to his blade reflexively* Whoa, whoa Abe, easy...sorry I asked. How 'bout we go have couple ales, instead? *rolls Diplomacy v/s Zek*