Guilds and Roleplaying and Mechanics, Oh My
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 10:09 am
Last night I asked about the mercenary guild on the Questions channel, and I wanted to expand the topic somewhat in a non-in-game-spammy way. I want the GMs, especially Jirato, to know where I'm at.
My primary focus is roleplaying. When I created Rakon I had a general idea of what he's like; what he might or might not do in certain situations for varying reasons. Rakon does stuff for Rakon's benefit. While that in and of itself doesn't make him a mercenary, he's definitely the sort who'd fit the merc description as it is on the wiki: "The Mercenaries of the Western Coalition are a group of 'free men' who claim no alliance to religious ties or other affiliations. They believe in elitism in combat and in good pay." Rakon also enjoys good food, but that can be had for enough money. He wouldn't fit into a guild that had strict rules for behaviour or edicts on where/when a merc can ply his trade. He's kind of a loose cannon who doesn't like being told what to do (unless there's a clear and worthwhile reward for what he sees as mindlessly following orders).
I've played on games, both live tabletop games and online MUDs, where if you didn't select your skills/proficiencies/guild very carefully you wound up at a disadvantage later on. Said games were typically at least somewhat munchkinny/min-maxy and while I do enjoy a small amount of that, opting out of a guild that seems to fit my character's personality and outlook because of a game mechanic makes me sad too. In the early days of D&D, the classes were defined in broad swathes: a fighter could be a knight in shining armour, a swashbuckler, or an archer. It all depended on how you played, and what equipment you used. As character customisation became increasingly more complex, the practical upshot was that a player had to work harder to play what they really wanted within the scope of the rules of the game. Maybe there are six different archer templates, but none of them suits what you want to play.
Which brings me back to CLOK. The Mercenaries guild seems to be what I'm looking for with Rakon, but I do want him to be able to enjoy the benefits other members enjoy without changing how he fights. I was cautioned that once I choose a guild it's forever (getting kicked out notwithstanding), but there don't seem to be any others that suit Rakon. The Brotherhood of the Fist is probably next closest, but while Rakon's supposed to be good with his fists, he favours short blades as weapons. He does fit the description of a 'street fighter' or 'ruffian', though. He's more a city-type, though he's learning to survive in the wilderness, mostly so he can be self-sufficient and not have to rely on others too much. I even looked at the Utasa, but I think they're too gaea-concerned for him. Rakon doesn't make any particular effort to 'walk softly on the land', but neither does he go out of his way to cut or burn down entire forests. What would be the point of that, he wonders.
Maybe it is a little munchkinny of me to be concerned with the lack of dagger skill bonuses in the Mercenary ability set. But this is a MUD, and as important as RP is, I'd be foolish to ignore the mechanics. If I have Rakon join the mercenaries, I can certainly still train his dagger skill, etc. And I'm very likely to have him join the mercs anyway, because it suits his character and there are no drawbacks for him in his fighting style (mercs don't have penalties to dagger, dodging, or two-weapon fighting skills). While there are abilities I wouldn't pursue (e.g. hafted specialisation), their existence doesn't make the guild utterly unsuitable. The addition of dagger specialisation, modeled after the other specialisations, wouldn't go amiss, however. :)
I think I've prattled on long enough. Thanks for reading!
My primary focus is roleplaying. When I created Rakon I had a general idea of what he's like; what he might or might not do in certain situations for varying reasons. Rakon does stuff for Rakon's benefit. While that in and of itself doesn't make him a mercenary, he's definitely the sort who'd fit the merc description as it is on the wiki: "The Mercenaries of the Western Coalition are a group of 'free men' who claim no alliance to religious ties or other affiliations. They believe in elitism in combat and in good pay." Rakon also enjoys good food, but that can be had for enough money. He wouldn't fit into a guild that had strict rules for behaviour or edicts on where/when a merc can ply his trade. He's kind of a loose cannon who doesn't like being told what to do (unless there's a clear and worthwhile reward for what he sees as mindlessly following orders).
I've played on games, both live tabletop games and online MUDs, where if you didn't select your skills/proficiencies/guild very carefully you wound up at a disadvantage later on. Said games were typically at least somewhat munchkinny/min-maxy and while I do enjoy a small amount of that, opting out of a guild that seems to fit my character's personality and outlook because of a game mechanic makes me sad too. In the early days of D&D, the classes were defined in broad swathes: a fighter could be a knight in shining armour, a swashbuckler, or an archer. It all depended on how you played, and what equipment you used. As character customisation became increasingly more complex, the practical upshot was that a player had to work harder to play what they really wanted within the scope of the rules of the game. Maybe there are six different archer templates, but none of them suits what you want to play.
Which brings me back to CLOK. The Mercenaries guild seems to be what I'm looking for with Rakon, but I do want him to be able to enjoy the benefits other members enjoy without changing how he fights. I was cautioned that once I choose a guild it's forever (getting kicked out notwithstanding), but there don't seem to be any others that suit Rakon. The Brotherhood of the Fist is probably next closest, but while Rakon's supposed to be good with his fists, he favours short blades as weapons. He does fit the description of a 'street fighter' or 'ruffian', though. He's more a city-type, though he's learning to survive in the wilderness, mostly so he can be self-sufficient and not have to rely on others too much. I even looked at the Utasa, but I think they're too gaea-concerned for him. Rakon doesn't make any particular effort to 'walk softly on the land', but neither does he go out of his way to cut or burn down entire forests. What would be the point of that, he wonders.
Maybe it is a little munchkinny of me to be concerned with the lack of dagger skill bonuses in the Mercenary ability set. But this is a MUD, and as important as RP is, I'd be foolish to ignore the mechanics. If I have Rakon join the mercenaries, I can certainly still train his dagger skill, etc. And I'm very likely to have him join the mercs anyway, because it suits his character and there are no drawbacks for him in his fighting style (mercs don't have penalties to dagger, dodging, or two-weapon fighting skills). While there are abilities I wouldn't pursue (e.g. hafted specialisation), their existence doesn't make the guild utterly unsuitable. The addition of dagger specialisation, modeled after the other specialisations, wouldn't go amiss, however. :)
I think I've prattled on long enough. Thanks for reading!