Text-based RPGs: RP Cliche Traps and How to Overcome Them

Few things are more annoying to an RPG player than a poorly executed cliche. Those who play a cliche character require attention, work, and often don’t get any more bearable as time goes on.

This is not to say that these cliches are impossible to play, just that there are inherent difficulties with reproduction that are often overlooked or ignored. The goal of this guide is to offer ways to make these types of role-playing games more bearable, specifically those that feature a “disabled” character. This guide is not about those who actually have a disability in real life, but about players who decide, for whatever reason, to give their character a physical or mental ailment.

Many of those who work with newbies, at one point or another, have come across a character with an interpreted disability. These are often poorly made, sloppy, and not well thought out. And unfortunately, it is also quite common for them to resist each and every cure attempt, falling into the traditional ‘a magician did it’ defense (or something equally incredible) to explain why their disability is resistant to all. the medicines. . This is, frankly, jarring and annoying and should be avoided at all costs.

There are two basic things to keep in mind when playing the role of a disability: it requires a strong “what and why”, and a high degree of restraint and flexibility.

The “what” is the most obvious of the three: what happens to the character? Many appear by default to have physical disabilities or problems, a missing or crippled limb, blindness, deafness, inability to speak, and other similar actions. While it is possible to interpret them, it is difficult to show them convincingly if the mechanics of the game can prove you wrong.

Unfortunately, mechanics almost always have to trump RP, and this is one of those cases. Interpreting a missing arm can be confusing if you are suddenly forced to wield a sword in your supposedly non-existent hand, or if an attack hits you in your right hand. Similarly, if there are cures for blindness, deafness or stuttering, it makes no sense to interpret them as disabilities. For example, in Achaea, blindness is cured with an epidermal ointment or a mind-eye tattoo: someone who plays the role of a blind monk in Achaea is likely to drown in a sea of ​​epidermal ointments and the inks necessary to create a mental eye. Explaining why a cure that works for everyone else on the planet but not for you can be a very complicated proposition.

Rather than playing a role as common as physical ailments, playing some other problem can be just as entertaining without suspending the belief necessary for more noticeable disabilities. Perhaps your character is allergic to a food or animal, or is afraid of birds. Whatever the choice, care must be taken that it makes sense and that it does not demand too much of others, which leads to the next topic, moderation and flexibility.

There are two things to consider here: your impact on others and your dependence on others. A deaf / blind / dumb character will have trouble with many tasks and will probably need someone else to help him on a regular basis. These are the kinds of disabilities to avoid, if another character isn’t there to help yours then you won’t be able to do a lot of things without breaking the role. A healthy degree of independence must be maintained or the character quickly becomes unviable in the long run, you will get bored just like other players.

Similarly, your character should not be too demanding of others. Other players are not required to help yours in every trial of their life, and you should not force yourself on them. Such actions will likely make your character unpopular and quick to be ignored whenever the opportunity presents itself. This also leads to a hostile and unpleasant environment. Allowing other players to ‘opt-out’ in role-play situations whenever they want will allow you to engage in role-play with a willing group, yet still allow them to do whatever they want.

Although more work is required, playing a disabled character is not entirely impossible, just unlikely, and all role-plays associated with it must be approached with due caution. Remember, when planning your character, that mechanics often trump role play and your character must stay within the limits of possibilities. You should also exercise proper restraint: forcing others to constantly take care of your character will not win you many friends and can serve to alienate you from other players. Proper care must be taken to ensure that your disability does not interfere with the fun of others.