serious A Treastise On Roleplay & Conflict

[Priceflash 757]

Hello, fellow Lord of the Craft users. I am writing this post to address a certain attitude I see that many LoTC users hold -- and I've been arguing with them about it since 2013. 

There seems to be a misconception that mechanical actions, or anything that takes place within the game of Minecraft, is not "roleplay". This is a serious roleplay server -- therefore, the actions you take within the game are what your character is actually doing. There is not a magical divider between the game and "roleplay". If you are fighting someone with PvP, that is roleplay -- some will try to argue against this, because they are stuck in their ways, but especially in the Orcish nation PvP fights have determined several nation leaders and settled disputes. Every war on this server is mostly fought with PvP; how are events that change the history of the server, create countless new governments, and alter the entire structure of nations on the server not roleplay? I ask you this: if mechanical actions are considered as mostly "not roleplay" or lesser than text RP, then why host LoTC on Minecraft rather than something like IRC, or a platform more suited to text RP? This is a Minecraft server before anything else, so I think y'all should consider that when you're arguing about "roleplay".

 

Anyhow, that's not even the main point. Another problem I see is how server changes, plugins, and systems "affect roleplay", or "inhibit roleplay". For example, today I saw someone argue that Hiebe's mina/bank changes affects someones ability to roleplay in a negative way, because they have to grind for mina or something to keep their nation alive. Well, besides the fact that I think that the new changes actually will lead to more roleplay opportunities, I think it's important to address the fact that this is a SERIOUS roleplay server. This isn't medium or light RP -- this is SERIOUS roleplay, and with that comes the fact that there's very little handwaving in terms of pretty much everything. Yes, your nation SHOULD be sustaining itself, producing food for its citizens, and everything that comes with being a nation. I see countless characters that are farmers for their nation, miners for their nation, or warriors for their nation, and they all do plenty of roleplay whilst contributing simultaneously. For people who argue about the server prioritizing roleplay constantly, these users seem to be against things that actually expand roleplay opportunities and create roles for individuals to fill.

 

This brings me to my next point, which is the unfortunate "Tavern RP complex" that I see with many of these players. They will use the "that inhibits roleplay" or "that's not RP" or a plethora of other arguments, but the fact of the matter is that's a guise for "I don't want to actually roleplay the full extent of my character, or the full extent of my nation. I want to sit in a tavern or area of the city with my friends and engage in text RP with them throughout the day." That's perfectly fine -- I have nothing against these players, and they bolster activities in nations. However, the problem here is that these players want everything to be catered to their specific type of RP, and if it isn't they start getting vocal. These players are against most conflict RP on the server, and tend to want things to remain peaceful as to not interrupt the status quo. These players get mad if they have to do anything other than sit in the tavern or whatever they're doing -- they don't want to participate in the active & dynamic roleplay universe that is Lord of The Craft. They want to participate in their own RP universe driven by personal relationships and drama, but would rather take a massive step away from anything outside of that. These players also tend to be the players who handwave the most so they can continue doing the type of RP they prefer, but this leads them to getting mad when people can actually get a benefit from doing activities they usually handwave. For example, Vortex. If a player can get an advantage by actually roleplaying what their characters profession is, and actually putting work into making items or mining or whatever it may be -- these players get extremely mad. Why? Because they don't want to do that, but they still want their character to be supposedly skilled in several things, when they in fact don't roleplay training or doing things that are inherent to their character.

 

This is problematic to me mainly because Lord of The Craft, at it's heart, is a giant immersive universe where players should be able to influence and affect the server by their own initiative and will. I mean, come on, the servers hook literally is Build your own nation, learn and cast powerful magics - Become a King, an Emperor, a Wizard, or a Warrior. Your path is your own, what will you choose?". The "Tavern RP complex" leads to these individuals trying to inhibit dynamic roleplay in favor of their static roleplay if they perceive anything that might force them to do anything but engage in it. The fact of the matter is, most dynamic roleplay or server plugins will not have a huge affect on most of these individuals. In that case, why does it seem like conflict rules and other systems tend to cater or heavily consider these users when they in reality will not be the main participants or actors? Those with a "Tavern RP complex" tend to be against any mechanical systems, or anything outside of Text RP, because the type of roleplay they engage in is primarily through text and nothing else. However, these users are the ones who tend to participate in the actual game the least, so why are they considered so much in these systems? Just food for thought.

 

I'm not saying these players don't matter, either. They definitely do, and I'd actually say they're critical to the longetivity of the server. However, these players shouldn't have an influence on systems they don't want to participate in. If anything, these players should have systems and rules that allow them to avoid conflict or mechanics or whatever they want so they can continue to do their preferred form of roleplay in peace. It's not necessary to make restrictive conflict rules to please these players; it's necessary to add a few lines that allow them to avoid it. It's not necessary to refrain from using mechanical systems heavily on the server; it's necessary to make an alternative for these players or some concession so they perceive less of a threat to their preferred roleplay. If the server took an approach more similar to this, I think both sides would be more satisfied than they are currently. Polarization leads to hatred between the two ideologies of LoTC users, and that deters cooperation. In reality, if the server and its users took a cooperative approach, conflict and mechanics could coexist with other forms of roleplay and preferred playstyles. 

 

Unfortunately, what we see is based on who's an admin, or who's a team leader, they tend to morph everything to their chosen ideology instead of considering all players. There is compromise possible, we just need to all put aside our differences and stop being such purists or roleplay crusaders to make the server more hospitable for everyone.

 

That's just my opinion, but I think I made some very valid points. I love tavern RPers and LoTC pvp fiends all the same, we just need to work together.

Edited November 27, 2020 by Priceflash