LotC Mages: What Draws the Line Between a Good Mage Roleplayer and a Bad Mage Roleplayer?

[EndCallCaesar 484]

All CRP should have a means of escape regardless of MA’s or CA’s. Otherwise it’s just ‘legal’ powergaming. That’s my 2-cents.

[FreeHongKong 934]

[Slic3man 484]

1 hour ago, SquakHawk said:

a mentality to win over a mentality to have fun

 

[HurferDurfer1 2584]

give me the mage that does street performances for kids over the mage using his or her might powers to one shot the boss

[Skyrunner 257]

Bad magic rpers stem from the same branch which breeds PVP goons. A desire to win above all rather than story telling becomes overly important. This leads to the individual not respecting the RP behind the magic, immediately being perfect in casting, using magic to it’s greatest extent, collecting meta-magics, constant talk of “I should be able to do this because X and Y therefore I am,” and a general attitude of having a magic meaning you are better than other individuals. I don’t think it needs to go any further stated that these are issues which can crop up in mundane RPers, and we usually identify these traits with newer players. They are ideas of building a character who is the story rather than a part of a story. If you are at an event and get hit by an event creature, you aren’t getting up from it immediately and running back to where the creature is in one emote. Actually consider the effects which occur and get some great RP out of that.

[JustMeMorgan 1000]

4 hours ago, EndCallCaesar said:

All CRP should have a means of escape regardless of MA’s or CA’s. Otherwise it’s just ‘legal’ powergaming. That’s my 2-cents.

I see your point but also:

 

For this scenario I’ll use 2 types of mages:

 

1- Mages who are assholes and charge in secret (e.g. walks away, emotes up their spell in quick succession as they don’t have to wait for anyone and then returns and just blasts you instantly)

 

2- Mages who actually cast in combat properly (e.g. you get in a fight, they back away, begin charging. You approach and one of the mage’s friends distracts you by getting in the way etc, this is long enough for them to charge up a 4 emote spell at close range and BLAP you)

 

You say all should have a means of escape but it is essentially the same as the crossbow dodging

 

From a short distance the chances of total escape are slim, you’d at least pierce your side/hit idk what spell they’re using

 

From a moderate distance you might be able to escape 1 but if its a double volley the second may hit

 

From a long distance you might be able to quickly run out of the way and/or get into cover

 

 

You say ‘means of escape or its powergaming’ (paraphrase) but the way I see it, all spells have a means of escape. Its called the first 3 emotes, on average that’s around 24 blocks (8 blocks per emote), that could get you into cover easily and stuff

 

The most damaging spells with like a 90% fatality rate are ones which have the highest cast time, if you’re taking like 6 emotes to get to a person you’re doing something wrong not the magic or the mage.

[Mavromino 513]

Bad mage rpers are crp mages who don't take cover while casting, serioudly people don't just stand there while you're charging.

[Demotheus 649]

Part of the problem with magic is the fact that mages feel entitled to awesome power because at the end of the day they have a fuckton of stupid restrictions that may or may not make sense. Mage weakness? Sure. I’ll bite one. Especially since it’s at least now very well defined and not a “mages are noodles” situation. 

But magic takes a lot of “focus” which mechanically translates to people being unable to move or dodge or they’ll automatically lose focus and can’t continue casting their spell? That’s so stupid. Unless it’s some ritual or /super/ intense spell being cast, it should be easy to move fairly quickly, dodge ****, while casting like half the spells a magic is capable of. Like T3 and under. But people throw fits about it. 

*Charge small fire bolt.*
*Charge small fire bolt, almost ready to cast!! (yo in what world does charging a handful of fire take so long for?) 
*Someone forces you to dodge or move quickly to avoid an attack. Fire ball makes fart sound and disappears. * 
“Uh, uh. Okay, it’s fine!” *Starts again* 
*gets ******* stabbed. Can’t cast for the rest of the fight, plus is weaksauce so can barely fight as it is.* 

it’s stupid. Beyond stupid. And it sucks. It really feeds into the tendency for players to min-max their magic because guess what? 

Everyone who doesn’t use magic min-maxes their character already. They just throw it in their backstory that they trained with the sword, and the bow, and the warhammer, and the mace, and basically can fight and do everything super well and has the best aim and the best reflexes. Meanwhile mages historically need to spend like 3 months learning their magic – and god forbid their teacher is inactive or something. 

As it stands now, a tier system is the standard. And you have to be allowed to progress to the next tier by your teacher. Problem with this is if your actual learning of spells isn’t going as quickly, teacher goes inactive for a bit, etc. You can’t progress at all, not even one of the biggest parts of learning magic which is to be able to become “stronger”. Realistically you should be able to be “Tier 3” but if you put the time in but weren’t also being taught new things about the magic you should be able to cast at the level of a higher tier just fine. 

 

Least that’s how I’ve understood it. 

 

There’s so much wrong with combat RP itself that it handicapps magic. Nothing is really regulated outside of powergaming which is so vaguely defined on a case by case basis that it only serves to create arguments between players if you call someone out for doing something past what should be the limits. 

How much time is an emote really? Is it a range of time? Anywhere from 1 second to five seconds? How far can you move in that time? Can you feasibly make multiple strikes on someone in one emote? A lot of real life fighting involves overwhelming your opponent with fast and strong blows and movements. In LOTC it’s just made harder because nothing is defined. When someone (like me) suggests implementing a decent but simple combat system it’s shot down because “this ain’t dnd, boomer.” Doesn’t need to be, zoomer, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have structure. Every bit of extra structure it can have will reduce the ooc bickering and debating exponentially. 

 

/endrant

[Chthonian_ 99]

remove mana and lifeforce, make a soft magic system, **** IT

[Demotheus 649]

3 hours ago, Chthonian_ said:

remove mana and lifeforce, make a soft magic system, **** IT

Soft? Elaborate! 

[NotEvilAtAll 9926]

5 hours ago, Chthonian_ said:

remove mana and lifeforce, make a soft magic system, **** IT

Soft magic would only work if LOTC players actually knew how to roleplay. It would be hella interesting if players used it responsibly, but I doubt people would be so responsible.

[Rickson 300]

5 hours ago, Chthonian_ said:

remove mana and lifeforce, make a soft magic system, **** IT

 

While I agree a soft magic system would make for better RP overall it puts too much trust in those few magic RPers who already powergame a ****-ton.

[Demotheus 649]

Just now, NotEvilAtAll said:

Soft magic would only work if LOTC players actually knew how to roleplay. It would be hella interesting if players used it responsibly, but I doubt people would be so responsible.

Mana and life force are both "soft" resourses anyway. Thank ******* christ for that, too, because that would make it that muhh more useless compared to the swordsman that seems to barely show fatigue over a thousand ******* emotes. 

[argonian 12836]

when I was a boy I was playing outside with my friends when they cast a spell to turn me into a pizza 

I laid there on the ground, unable to move 

For pizzas have no arms nor legs 

As I lay there helpless I felt an IMPOTENT RAGE swell in my chest

As soon as I was freed from my malediction I charged at my friends, with naught but vengeance in my little heart 

I swung a left hook at Harry, shouldered Martin, and charged my way for the ringleader, Scott

He took off, running down the road faster than I’d ever seen him run

But not fast enough, I was gaining ‘pon the scoundrel

I was mere inches away, reaching out to grab at him and stop his flight 

But then another spell was cast and I was turned back into a pizza

I collapsed into a heap on the ground, and Scott made his escape

 

I never did see Scott again. 

[Vermy 1346]

12 hours ago, Skyrunner said:

Bad magic rpers stem from the same branch which breeds PVP goons. A desire to win above all rather than story telling becomes overly important. This leads to the individual not respecting the RP behind the magic, immediately being perfect in casting, using magic to it’s greatest extent, collecting meta-magics, constant talk of “I should be able to do this because X and Y therefore I am,” and a general attitude of having a magic meaning you are better than other individuals. I don’t think it needs to go any further stated that these are issues which can crop up in mundane RPers, and we usually identify these traits with newer players. They are ideas of building a character who is the story rather than a part of a story. If you are at an event and get hit by an event creature, you aren’t getting up from it immediately and running back to where the creature is in one emote. Actually consider the effects which occur and get some great RP out of that.