Your View: Antagonist Traits

[chaotikal 2392]

1) What do you believe are the key qualities that one should have for it to succeed in creating a worthwhile overarching antagonist?

      Organized group, with an admin that has a direct friendship almost relationship with the members. A secondary group that is more inclusive of players a la cultists.

 

2) What do you believe are the qualities that one should avoid in an antagonist?

    Whateve the **** happened with undead in Athera.

 

3) What do you believe an antagonists job is?

   **** **** up for players, and force them to fight back. Become something that all players, evil or non evil, see as a threat, and not just the usual raid, but see as an actual "they may come and take over my city and corrupt it and I won't be able to live here anymore" type of threat. The threat that gets players going.

 

4) What do you believe would give a more enjoyable experience, an overarching antagonist entity or a splintered group of antagonist entities, or something else?

   Doesn't matter. As long as the OOC organization is unified, it'd work.

 

5) Any other information you would like to give on the topic?

   I was part of what the server considers one of the best antagonists. I should know about this.

 

[Fimlin 1997]

1) What do you believe are the key qualities that one should have for it to succeed in creating a worthwhile overarching antagonist?

believable storyline

new enemy that isnt magical and ancient

 

2) What do you believe are the qualities that one should avoid in an antagonist?

It cant be a circlejerk group

Can't be directly evil

cannot overruse "ancient enemy returns exclamation point exclamation point exclamation point"

no edgelord magic, have it be perfectly normal things

no OP magic instead something like a health buff 

 

3) What do you believe an antagonists job is?

provide something for otherwise neutral people to do

provide entertainment beyond oren-dwarf warclaims

 

4) What do you believe would give a more enjoyable experience, an overarching antagonist entity or a splintered group of antagonist entities, or something else?

splintering groups but not majorly splintered instead just eventlines that force action

 

5) Any other information you would like to give on the topic?

dont go around recruiting every PVPer

don't open it to the public nearly as much

[Eurielle 1189]

1) What do you believe are the key qualities that one should have for it to succeed in creating a worthwhile overarching antagonist?

A perceivable and measurable threat. The antag should have a goal it is working towards that should be worked towards with consistent pacing as to create a pressure upon the players, nations, and guilds to acknowledge it. Not only should the antagonist create constant pressure it should also be able to be measured in some loose sort of manner, one that allows political RP and decision making to happen in a reason able manner.

2) What do you believe are the qualities that one should avoid in an antagonist?

One that has no front or appreciable way to fight. Prime example is the mid-Vailor magic ash plague thing. It appeared as an inherent constant over the map and their was no perceivable force to contest, ya got sick and that was that. ALSO DON'T USE PLUGINS AND MOBS USE RP REEEEEEE!!!

3) What do you believe an antagonists job is?

A force that represents a consistent adversary to the main player base. One that can't be ignored but also does not steal and overwhelm RP from the players.

4) What do you believe would give a more enjoyable experience, an overarching antagonist entity or a splintered group of antagonist entities, or something else?

If player base spooks are not incorporated an overarching entity but if player base spooks are incorporated use splintered groups. I know damn well that we are not unified in any relevant manner and anyone who says different is bullshitting.

5) Any other information you would like to give on the topic?

Eh, not in the mood to type large, unformatted, rants. You win today.

[drfate786 1690]

1) What do you believe are the key qualities that one should have for it to succeed in creating a worthwhile overarching antagonist?

 

The number one quality is ambition. If an antagonist has no goal or ambition that conflicts with the common views of others then what are they? The biggest issue with villainous personas on LoTC is the lack of ambition. For example, when was the last time we saw a necromancer with a large ambition like.. culling all of Xans' followers, or even attempt to influence big nations like Oren. An antagonist needs ambitions in order to have an impact on the server, without ambitions an antagonist is nothing more then common a player. That is not to say that they will succeed in their goals, but it will force players to take action against them to prevent them from obtaining their goals. For example, if I were a cliche necromancer and attempted to raise an army of ghouls to lay siege to Oren, I would surely be defeated, but the resulting antagonist RP would provide a stable source of antagonist RP until my character or group were defeated. 

 

You don't need to be a dark magics user to be an antagonist, anyone can sow the seeds of conflict. You can be a bandit lord that ruthlessly mugs all that dare cross your path. Or a political figure that will do anything to obtain power, even if that meant killing his emperor or king. 

 

2) What do you believe are the qualities that one should avoid in an antagonist?

 

Circle jerks have to be avoided at all costs. If you're an antagonist you need to allow your influence to spread, let people hear of your deeds and more importantly have them fear the actions you have forced upon them. Your goal is to sew chaos and conflict where there is none. If you isolate yourself like the current cliches have, all you do is devoid the server of antagonists. 

 

3) What do you believe an antagonists job is?

 

An antagonist is meant to sew conflict where there is none while also obtaining their own goals. If my goal were to become a tyrannical ruler as an antagonist, then I would do anything in my power to obtain that goal. Even if it conflicts with morals and the lives of the innocent. 

 

4) What do you believe would give a more enjoyable experience, an overarching antagonist entity or a splintered group of antagonist entities, or something else?

 

The answer is all three. A overarching antagonist should be a puppet master that manipulates the splinters to obtain his own goals. Alternatively, you can have a chaotic mix where the overarching antagonist is incredibly powerful, like a Daemon or Aengul. Meanwhile every other antagonist can be splintered into groups that conflict with the overarching antagonist but also conflict with everyone else. This would create an unstable mix of villainy and conflict.

 

5) Any other information you would like to give on the topic?

 

Circlejerks need to be culled, if a group of players possess antagonistic traits and never use them for whatever excuse they may possess, then they should be culled. For example, if a group possesses a dark magic and never uses it to fulfil their ambitions then what is the point of entrusting them said magic, is it not he LT's job to judge them? If said group became a circlejerk where only 'trusted' individuals that the ring leader likes are invited to join them.. then what are we left with? Such bias circlejerks should have their leaders such as *cough* Geoboy *cough* *cough* promptly banned from teaching magics/antagonistic traits and have said traits given to someone else who will use them to fulfil their own ambitions that conflict with the ambitions of others. Their characters should also be given a PK clause, forcing them to PK the next time their character is slain, because if they can't RP antagonists correctly and create conflict then why should they be allowed to be an obstacle to those that want to create conflict? 

 

Note:

 

The reason why I am mentioning circlejerks is because most of these groups have failed to pose a significant threat and can be easily ignored/belittled by nations and players. Nowadays, players see a "spook" and they instantly white-knight it, killing it on sight. Or they simply ignore it and some even go as far as to belittle them in RP. Basically, no one takes *cough* Geoboy *cough* *cough* -Oh man I've been sick all week, seriously enough to do anything about it in RP.