Fed II Star - March 26, 2006

DEAR JESSY
by Jessecka

Dear Jessy,

I've been reading a lot about role-playing in the Star and went to a few role-playing classes. I'm just beginning to get into the deeper role-playing aspects of Fed and I must say, I never really thought it would be this much fun until I tried it. But something bothers me. In our circle of role-play, we have one person who insists on trying to move the storylines to their advantage. That is very hard to explain. This person seems to want to force the storyline to go the way they wish it to. I'm not quite sure how to deal with this. It would be nice if you could give me some pointers on this.

RP Adict on Rhea

Dear RP Adict,

Yes darling, you have run into a form of power-gaming that was discussed in the March 12 edition of the Star Chamber in the Fed II Star. When someone forces the RP storyline to go the way they want it to, it can stifle role-playing and make the whole occasion uncomfortable for most. Since Fed II is an environment that encourages free form role-playing, most of the time it is best to let storylines just develop.

Let's think about it like this. Say you have a storyline going in which 4 or 5 players are involved. The storyline has a conspiracy going on, and no one really knows who the leader is. Then one player decides he doesn't like one of the other players. So he forces the player he doesn't like to become the leader, even though he might not want to be. That blocks people into responses that they may not have wanted to have, or forces them to become something they didn't want to become. Maybe one of the other players wanted to be the leader of the conspiracy, but now he can't, because you have already forced this other guy into it.

In a situation like this, as was talked about in the Star Chamber, it is much better to let something be implied. So you don't like that person, and wish that he was the leader. Using role-play, you can tell others that you suspect that person of being the leader, but leave a way for the player to get out of it if he doesn't want to do it. I promise that you will find that letting a storyline take you where it will instead of forcing can be much more fun, surprising, and much closer to a real life experience.

As far as dealing with a fellow role-player that plays in this way, the best thing to do is tell him. Get some of your fellow players together, ones that have noticed this about him as well, and just explain to him that you are not comfortable with this type of role-play. If he is the type of player who likes have a general idea of the way a storyline might go, then think about having OOC (Out Of Character) chats with everyone involved, just so that you can talk about where the storyline has come from and what might be fun to see it do or where it might go. But don't just assume that everyone wants to talk about it OOC. There are a lot of role-players who do not wish to discuss the storyline in advance; they prefer to be surprised, amused, or whatever, when the story takes a twist.

If all else fails, then maybe you should just gradually leave this person out of the role-playing, until they are no longer involved. You have to think about it like this - Fed is a game that you play for enjoyment, and if you are not enjoying it, then what's the point?

If you have a question for Dear Jessy, contact her at Jessecka123@yahoo.com or in the game.