Whispering =/= Party Chat or Tells

[Phantom Lamb]

Hey guys,

Just a reminder that you shouldn't abuse private chat channels, like tells or party chat, to avoid being overheard. People should always have a chance to overhear you.

Party chat, tells, and even special languages you've made up should be subject to being overheard and deciphered, to an extent.

[Kaeldorn]

Whispering into someone's ear isn't possible to overhear unless someone clearly attempts it, and should require a listen check.. I do sometimes use tells for that to keep from giving OOC knowledge people shouldn't logically have. Proper emoting and allowing others to try to listen in that way is what works best, imo.

[Phantom Lamb]

I'm trying to avoid people not emoting / giving a chance entirely. Even with someone whispering in your ear, you might have magical means to overheard. I'd prefer we didn't open up doors by using tells and party chat please.

[joker]

I think that a character's listen check is somehow applied in game and makes their whisper hearing radius a bit bigger. Corvus has overheard several people whispering. Sometimes he only hear one of the people and other times he can hear the whole conversation.

[Silas North]

This is hard to remember sometimes, but definitely worth doing. If you whisper, emote your character doing so. Unless your character knows ventriliquism or something, people will see your lips moving and likely react accordingly. If you speak in some kind of hand cant, have your character making gestures.

Another thing to consider is that npcs should be treated as pcs in a sense. No reason to speak only in whispers when pcs are around and yet blab on and on openly when surrounded by npcs. Realistically, you have no way of knowing that one of them is not an enemy spy or something. A dm may very well just play them as one.

It makes sense that your character will keep his voice down when having a private conversation, but then act accordingly and treat anyone around you (pc or npc) as being a reason to speak in low tones.

I'm guilty of the above, as well as forgetting that party-chat spams the dm channel (or something like that). Sorry about that PL.

Almost makes me wish there was some kind of talk that was between say and whisper. But God only knows if something like that can even be done and if it would not cause more problems in the end.

[Peridan]

To solve this problem, Peridan just never whispers =)

[Baculus]

Occasionally, as others have said, whispering directly in someone's ear needs to be a tell. Not everyone has magical hearing.

I think though, especially in an event, you should send a DM the the exact same tell with a note of what it is. You can always count on magical hearing. The same situation should be used if someone rolls a listen check. But, in my mind, it shouldn't be used unless there's a good reason.

Also, if you yell to someone as they leave(Zone in) using a tell and then saying it ingame is a good way to get em.

[MithrilBlade]

In my opinion also, whispering to someone's ear should be a tell, but I have been giving pieces of information for people so persistantly trying to listen a conversation before.

High listen just is a problematic issue, just like supernatural powers are, some people consider trying to hear what the engine wouldn't normally allow them to, godmoding. There are many factors that will affect hearing, for example if you had highly voice-empowering ears, you would suffer the negative effects equally empowered. It would be difficult, if not painful, to try and listen two people whispering from all the normal talk and noises that human encampment generates, so usually people just ignore these things and think their listen skill works always as the best benefit for them.

IMO players should be mature and try to respect other players, so if they really try their best to have a conversation very personal of nature, you shouldn't walk next to them invisible and make a roll for insane listen check.
Just the same, if there is a quiet day in the camp and two people are foolish enough to have their private conversation in front of an elf with nothing else to do, then they have just subjected theirselves to the listen check as the elf could propably hear them without even trying particularily.

[Phantom Lamb]

Bacc, you're missing the point. I'm saying, don't do it, not asking for opinions

Bottom line is, if you have something private and secret to say, and you don't want it overheard, find a private area. Pull the person aside so you're out of earshot. No more party chat or tells, unless a DM is supervising it please.

Yes, I have no way of regulating this. But remember DMs can see chat that isn't public. I personally consider this a minor expoit, and will bust anyone I catch from now on.

Thanks

[Saulus]

Yes, I have no way of regulating this.

But I do, and the chat system can block tells if I need it to... So lets hope people simply heed the warning.

[Thief Of Navarre]

I always (used to anyways when I was playing) roleplay overhearing things given two of my characters have ludicrous Hide/Move/Listen/Spot skills!

Its fun to spread gossip, thats what we have the 'rumours' threads for right

[Product of Void]

using tells to comuincate IC stuff like "Mind-speak" is lame.

Your avoiding interaction with other charactors or responsiblity your charactor would have to pay if overheard.

What fun is it to be a spy if you can not hear juicy gossip.

Now party chat CAN be a required way to communicate but that is strictly for a DM event were they need to know what is going on when in a different area. But that would only be under the request of staff/dm. Otherwise its lame.

I have always considered Party chat to be OOC banter and I like using Tells for OOC BSing with other players. (how the weather is, stupid things done in snow, charactor builds, etc). Stuff that is fun to talk about but nice not to spam the dm's with.

Plus staff has spoken. So don't do it.