Roleplaying
From Neverend
[edit] Character types
"It irritates me how players of every MMORPG will write pages upon pages deconstructing or reverse-engineering the combat/crafting systems in order to maximize efficiency and then say one is less of a grind than another.
Then you're left with the bulk of the population fixated on one "optimum" character class or combination of characters, and everyone who tries to be a bit creative or who doesn't fit the mold is labeled a noob or idiot."
MMORPGs tend to develop a "winning" mindset in players. Even if they like being creative and expressive, they will tend to go for the "best" armor, the "best" items, the "best" jewelry or clothing, the "best" spells and weapons. They want to be efficient, in a robotic sort of way, rather than being unique.
In D&D, you'd upgrade stats that you KNOW would help your class out, such as STR for fighter, DEX for rogue, and INT for wizard. Could you have a smart thief, a quick handed mage, and a fighter who preferred talking diplomatically instead of fighting? Sure, if the DM planned to have things outside of combat. But when the game is focused on combat rather than talking or interacting, then combat is all that matters.
People frown on players who pick odd class combinations simply because they're cool looking. In FFXI, you have a subjob that is meant to aid your main job- choosing a subjob that doesn't help your main job at all is frowned upon, such as warrior/black mage.
Can a game exist where any job or skill combination is acceptable? Sure, as long the game has some form of accomplishment outside of combat. When a game is focused on combat, players want either the highest damage output or fastest damage output.
Some things that a non-combatant can do:
Persuade NPCs to do things Persuade attackers to calm down, surrender, accept sex or a bribe Tame enemies Make friends with enemies Convince enemies not to attack, or work for an enemy Gamble Haggle with vendors Lie when questioned Win an arguement or accusation Have more hirelings for greater periods of time Seduce, persuade, intimidate Look cool and impressive instead of dumb and brutish Be accepted in snobby clubs and guilds Have NPCs look up to you, trust or rely on you Talk to spirits or demons that would attack others Know more information about an item or incription Recall some history or lore about something Threaten and coerce others to your view Spot hidden markings, traps, storage areas, doors Pick locks, disarm traps Cast fear on others Present an aura of coolness and badassness that makes others hesistant, less likely, and afraid to attack you Respect
lead groups - as a tactician giving bonus to a party Pathfinding - increased movement survival - increased movement in rough terrain (these might have a group bonus too) disguise - as a an adequate mob
[edit] Consequences
Imagine a player is running around town naked, griefing others, using leet speak, insulting players, jumping around, performing lewd actions, or generally harassing players. Now a GM could always warp him to "jail" and give a stern finger pointing lecture, but would it really change the behavior of the player?
Instead, there could be in game consequences for being a bad player. Players would submit names of disruptive players, botters, scammers, cheaters, and l33t d00ds, and GMs would view them invisibly. If the player was continually disruptive, they would find the game more "challenging." Monsters, ghosts, and assassins would tend to hunt them down. Thieves would target them more than other players. They would be targetted by powerful monsters and spells more than others. Being on a GM's hate list would be something to fear, so that players would not try to incur the wrath of a hateful GM.
Think of it as a pen and paper game where the GM can kill you in any way he pleases. You want to cooperate. You do not want to anger the gods. Or imagine a special ogre,a ugly smelly nast one, that hunts said player no matter where they go and always a higher lvl than the player only to beat them down and rape them on the spot.the ogre's name could be bounty hunter or something like that so the gaurds would do something funny like cower in it's presence.
It could even be a quest reward or something of the like,what about a small tower? It could fit in the spot of a house because the base size would be roughly the same in size.the only problem would be hight,nobody has ever tried housing like this.could be worth a thought.
It wouldn't be just monsters, but "bad luck." The player would, as in mythology, become a tragic figure. This wouldn't show itself all the time, but in very random chances such as an unlucky roll 1 out of 50 times.
Other circumstantial consequences can include missing and doing less damage in PVP, failing more often at pickpocketing, failing stealth, etc. The penalty wouldn't show up all the time, just rarely enough to be seen as severe bad luck.
