banditrp What is GOOD banditing?

[gremlockgremlin 323]

I have seen many debates over discords, many torn thoughts about the infamous Bandit roleplay. 

 

I want to know what is good bandit roleplay? 

 

What makes it fun to bandit or be bandited? 

 

What makes it less interactive? 

 

I like that bandit rp forces you to take risks, it makes you have to venture out and interact with people who might end your persona. I made friends by being a bandit while playing my goblin and I will not forget them who I had great rp with. 

 

Being bandited is not so fun from what I have heard. I think a conversation about it could be useful to highlight the good and bad about banditing. 

 

I believe conversations about these topics can help to shed light on the pains associated with them so that the climate can improve as well as the moderation/rules surrounding them. 

[AlternisJ 128]

As a former bandit who recruited the people I banditted before, you gotta make it more interactive instead of "take items okay we kidnap you", in some of the banditing we done, we literally had people save the people we bandited on our own side in secret just to drive a more interesting plot. It got to be more story driven and less "we murder crp you!"

@juliaINC can confirm to this as someone I have kidnapped and ended up recruiting for my orc clan by just being nice and not after items

[gremlockgremlin 323]

1 minute ago, AlternisJ said:

As a former bandit who recruited the people I banditted before, you gotta make it more interactive instead of "take items okay we kidnap you", in some of the banditing we done, we literally had people save the people we bandited on our own side in secret just to drive a more interesting plot. It got to be more story driven and less "we murder crp you!"

@juliaINC can confirm to this as someone I have kidnapped and ended up recruiting for my orc clan by just being nice and not after items

I would have never interacted with @Zemzy_Oakheartunless I bandited and well that capture roleplay was interesting to do as I got arrested afterwards which led to good legal and court roleplay. I must shout out the Balian gamers for that one. 

 

But yeah banditry successful or not can be very rewarding as you do not know what will happen. 

 

For me it broke the mold of the regular rp cycle. But I think a huge contributing factor was that I made sure oocly that this was just for rp and not some alternative motive. 

 

I think some good sportsmanship is needed from both sides of the coin. 

[Zanael Moonstrider 275]

I've had a moment not too long ago where I was tricked into being kidnapped whilst I was in LC.

I was really high up in the air building and didn't hear the shout emotes until I was sent a msg asking if I could hear the emotes.

 

I went down to check what was happening and was tricked into being lead away from my building which lost me a day of LC.

All so they could summon some creature.

 

I would have been fine with this had I not been in LC and had I not been told they had been to 5 places before coming to me. Making me feel like they saw I was online and knew I'd be in my town.

 

Other than that though...

 

Banditry can be good if implemented properly and roleplayed to a good standard.

 

Because I've witnessed some poor banditry RP and just lose all interest in giving it any attention. It makes travelling along the roads not worth it anymore.

[Jihnyny 2572]

i had a phase last map where i needed money and began banditting

i first tried to make it productive (though my RP wasnt as good as it currently is) and banditting at that time was at a very distasteful view. From that experience i seen that even if you try to make the banditting productive, the victim of said banditting probably wont. They'll either rp denying and risking their life then complain about doing so in OOC after dying, or theyll simply run away or log off.

Banditting is a highly difficult RP to do due to the fact that it involves conflict (which is a whole nother topic) with people you dont know OOCly and the taking of pixels (mfs would legit take 5 hours of complaining and a ban than lose one item or 5 mina).

Only way to make banditting good is changing the nature and taste of the server, so people wont
a) risk their life due to their character actually liking it, and not knowing thta theyll just respawn np
b) hate the rp immediately after the first emote
c) find out that pixels dont matter

also a lot of bandits are murder hobos and loot goblins, which provides this sort of view unfortunately. Which should change too.

[StingyParrot 132]

In my limited opinion, as I've only been here for a year or so - It's unfortunate that banditry and highway-thievery has had its fine legacy marred by those only in it for the 'precious pixel items' etc. Bandit roleplay is still roleplay and thus must be engaging for both parties, unsavoury as it is to have your belongings stolen. Even if your character has no other intention than to separate their victim from their Mina or items, I think that the bandit should be at least interesting to interact with/fight.

[MeteorDragon 2822]

A majority of my interactions with Bandits on the roads throughout the years has just been a bunch of people running up with weapons already drawn in their first emote and they stop 1 block away from you and, if there are multiple, they surround you. When I see something like this start, it does instantly put a bad taste in my mouth because it feels like they aren't actually there to rp. This bad taste does usually make me want to just want to get out of the situation, making my rp usually worse as a result as I don't wish to entertain it.

This is a problem. It's an issue when people are just wanting to kill people for their loot and not generate a fun story for all parties involved, like what Hairy_Sonic mentioned. The moment a bad taste is put into a party's mouth, the rp will become worse and Bad Faith RP is likely to be more prevalent.

In my opinion, two main things are true. For one, the Bandits are almost always the ones initiating the RP, so it is up to them to make a good first impression to not set that initial "bad taste". Secondly, it is then up to the ones being bandited to play into it once that good faith rp has been initiated. This can be done in multiple ways, like trying to talk to the bandits, or maybe even trying to "play the hero" in some way. No matter what, there should be an understanding that the good faith rp is meant to be, well, good faith and generate a story for all the involved characters. This should not stop after the first round of emotes, of course, and the bandits should play into the ones they're banditing as well, such as verbally responding to them. There have been a few instances where the bandits never even speak to the people they're banditing.

Personally, I do think it's difficult for banditing rp to get a good leg up because so many people have given it a bad name by being extremely bad faith, using it just to get items and murder hobo. Another issue I see is that pixel gooning. While it is the point of banditing to grab people's items or mina, it should still be a fun story with it. For example, steal someone's wedding ring or their heirloom sword! Maybe give them a hint where to find you so they can try and steal it back. Wanting to PVP and then pop someone will almost always leave a negative impact on people, so try to avoid killing and if you do have to kill someone, let them SS, but maybe take an item or two. If you do end up killing someone, at least make the RP fun for them as well, this goes for both sides. Give and take is extremely important and losing can still be fun if you get a good OOC story out of it that you can tell your friends. For example, "Oh yeah, I got killed by some bandits, but I managed to chop one of their hands off in the process."

Overall what I'd like to see is people rping for the story aspect and for the fun of it, on the sides of both parties. Start your banditing with respect and you'll receive respect back. One decent encounter comes to mind where my character was stopped in the forest, searched, and then let go because nothing interested the bandit. This wasn't a bad interaction, and if this was more common, then banditing wouldn't be hated as much. We're all on lotc for the story, so make it a good story. Sorry not sorry for the rambling

[Rigorous 1548]

Not every role-play experience is intended to be pleasurable.

 

If I am playing Baldur's Gate 3 for instance, or Dark Souls 3, there is going to be a moment my character "dies" and respawns.

On LoTC, the gravity of consequence is often not applicable whatsoever. My friend Sam killed his enemies multiple times but they never perma killed, and then once they killed him he did - this is not a equal scale for consequence, some people PK and others do not.

A consequence of that freedom to keep a persona and not have to re-roll is that sometimes, you will die to competitive people in obscene and unfun ways. When I see the "Game Over" screen in mini-games, I get mad too. Except in this community for some reason, instead of calling hacks, people cry and bemoan the fact they have to face adversity whatsoever.

 

I advise the people who despise bandit rp so much to actual rp consequences and politely communicate with the people they're role-playing with. A lot of the time, if you show an openness for discussion and a willingness to negotiate consequences, other players will respond positively.

When both sides act uncharitably, as is characteristic of LoTCers who spend the majority of their own free time with their own proverbial foot in their mouth repeatedly shooting themselves over and over and making the game unfun for everybody, you cannot complain if your enemy does not extend you that charitability themselves.

 

TL;DR

 

It's a video game, you don't always die, soulbinds exist, and if you just chat with people and make the best of a bad situation, you're stoic and cool. If you complain about every little thing, sincerely from the bottom of my heart go **** yourself, you're a loser.

[gremlockgremlin 323]

56 minutes ago, MeteorDragon said:

A majority of my interactions with Bandits on the roads throughout the years has just been a bunch of people running up with weapons already drawn in their first emote and they stop 1 block away from you and, if there are multiple, they surround you. When I see something like this start, it does instantly put a bad taste in my mouth because it feels like they aren't actually there to rp. This bad taste does usually make me want to just want to get out of the situation, making my rp usually worse as a result as I don't wish to entertain it.

This is a problem. It's an issue when people are just wanting to kill people for their loot and not generate a fun story for all parties involved, like what Hairy_Sonic mentioned. The moment a bad taste is put into a party's mouth, the rp will become worse and Bad Faith RP is likely to be more prevalent.

In my opinion, two main things are true. For one, the Bandits are almost always the ones initiating the RP, so it is up to them to make a good first impression to not set that initial "bad taste". Secondly, it is then up to the ones being bandited to play into it once that good faith rp has been initiated. This can be done in multiple ways, like trying to talk to the bandits, or maybe even trying to "play the hero" in some way. No matter what, there should be an understanding that the good faith rp is meant to be, well, good faith and generate a story for all the involved characters. This should not stop after the first round of emotes, of course, and the bandits should play into the ones they're banditing as well, such as verbally responding to them. There have been a few instances where the bandits never even speak to the people they're banditing.

Personally, I do think it's difficult for banditing rp to get a good leg up because so many people have given it a bad name by being extremely bad faith, using it just to get items and murder hobo. Another issue I see is that pixel gooning. While it is the point of banditing to grab people's items or mina, it should still be a fun story with it. For example, steal someone's wedding ring or their heirloom sword! Maybe give them a hint where to find you so they can try and steal it back. Wanting to PVP and then pop someone will almost always leave a negative impact on people, so try to avoid killing and if you do have to kill someone, let them SS, but maybe take an item or two. If you do end up killing someone, at least make the RP fun for them as well, this goes for both sides. Give and take is extremely important and losing can still be fun if you get a good OOC story out of it that you can tell your friends. For example, "Oh yeah, I got killed by some bandits, but I managed to chop one of their hands off in the process."

Overall what I'd like to see is people rping for the story aspect and for the fun of it, on the sides of both parties. Start your banditing with respect and you'll receive respect back. One decent encounter comes to mind where my character was stopped in the forest, searched, and then let go because nothing interested the bandit. This wasn't a bad interaction, and if this was more common, then banditing wouldn't be hated as much. We're all on lotc for the story, so make it a good story. Sorry not sorry for the rambling

I whole heartedly agree that it is mainly up to the bandit to step up and iniate good faith rp. The first impression depends a lot but I think banditry that involves information rather than the aforementioned items, crp kill and mina is a way better objective to achieve. Banditry in my opinion should have a end goal more along the lines of a anti hero. 

 

Getting that book to save a close friend from x magical condition, receiving the names of those who wronged a friend and gathering information about x person to plot a assassination attempt are all examples of more story driven bandtry than the "mina or die" which is unfortunately the expected. 

 

I think if you steal a very personal/important item like the aforementioned wedding ring, it would be good if the victim could regain it by having the bandit leave clues behind for a potential counter heist. 

 

I hope that we as a community can bring forward tips and tricks to better improve the experience for all. I truly like that I got to do a whole lot of cool rp and I intend to continue. Gathering some friends and going on a bandit adventure is truly a good way to breed community when the everyday rp get's stale. 

 

Bandit for the sake of seeing what comes next not your newest st item is my motto. 

Edited March 20 by gremlockgremlin

[Turbo_Dog 1432]

This reminded me of something I read under guides. I think it says a lot of good things the comments are saying and even adding to. Take a read if you have time!

 

 

[gremlockgremlin 323]

7 minutes ago, Rigorous said:

Not every role-play experience is intended to be pleasurable.

 

If I am playing Baldur's Gate 3 for instance, or Dark Souls 3, there is going to be a moment my character "dies" and respawns.

On LoTC, the gravity of consequence is often not applicable whatsoever. My friend Sam killed his enemies multiple times but they never perma killed, and then once they killed him he did - this is not a equal scale for consequence, some people PK and others do not.

A consequence of that freedom to keep a persona and not have to re-roll is that sometimes, you will die to competitive people in obscene and unfun ways. When I see the "Game Over" screen in mini-games, I get mad too. Except in this community for some reason, instead of calling hacks, people cry and bemoan the fact they have to face adversity whatsoever.

 

I advise the people who despise bandit rp so much to actual rp consequences and politely communicate with the people they're role-playing with. A lot of the time, if you show an openness for discussion and a willingness to negotiate consequences, other players will respond positively.

When both sides act uncharitably, as is characteristic of LoTCers who spend the majority of their own free time with their own proverbial foot in their mouth repeatedly shooting themselves over and over and making the game unfun for everybody, you cannot complain if your enemy does not extend you that charitability themselves.

 

TL;DR

 

It's a video game, you don't always die, soulbinds exist, and if you just chat with people and make the best of a bad situation, you're stoic and cool. If you complain about every little thing, sincerely from the bottom of my heart go **** yourself, you're a loser.

I do not know you personally nor do you know me. 

 

This is exactly why I wanted to bring this up. If I bandit I'm always willing to pk my persona and if I get bandited I would probably pk said persona I was on if it resulted in death. 

 

I think as a community we can do better and try to foster a better enviroment by acknowledging our misstakes. Let people bandit and let them learn to bandit better. 

 

None knows how to be good at something before even trying and being quite new myself. I must admit I make misstakes but I intend to improve and be better in my roleplay. 

 

As you said it is a videogame and as the meme says "It's only game why you have to be mad?". 

[Rigorous 1548]

2 minutes ago, gremlockgremlin said:

I do not know you personally nor do you know me. 

 

This is exactly why I wanted to bring this up. If I bandit I'm always willing to pk my persona and if I get bandited I would probably pk said persona I was on if it resulted in death. 

 

I think as a community we can do better and try to foster a better enviroment by acknowledging our misstakes. Let people bandit and let them learn to bandit better. 

 

None knows how to be good at something before even trying and being quite new myself. I must admit I make misstakes but I intend to improve and be better in my roleplay. 

 

As you said it is a videogame and as the meme says "It's only game why you have to be mad?". 

 

To be clear, the tone of my post is not directed at people posting here, but more so at the people who behave in the way I am describing. I apologize for any confusion!

[gremlockgremlin 323]

7 minutes ago, Turbo_Dog said:

This reminded me of something I read under guides. I think it says a lot of good things the comments are saying and even adding to. Take a read if you have time!

 

 

Thank you @Turbo_Dogfor highlighting this! very good observation of you as I had no clue if such a guide existed. Maybe this needs another look to be brought up to standard with maybe more advice to bring fourth better banditry roleplay. 

[Orlanth 3539]

Roleplay is what you make of it. Contrary to popular belief I'm not solely a bandit player, nor have I always been a player that wins encounters on roads. I was banditted a lot (and lost a lot) when I was a noob and really that was ok. In fact, a lot of the time I actively wish I would run into more conflict rpers on the roads now. A lot of people with this story let it define their eternal hatred for bandit rp oocly and are instilled with frustrations pretty much forever. For me personally, it was incredibly rewarding to eventually beat / become a bandit. 

Ultimately what you take away from an encounter and make of it is what leads the development as a character. A lot of players have set outcomes they want for every given situation and when they deviate from that they let it ruin the roleplay which is inherently an issue. That's not to say all bandit RP provided is inherently good, but it is to say that people often blame the bandits when in reality it's their own refusal to work with a situation that leads to their frustrations. In my own interactions with players I can either create a fantastic narrative about a player ending up in conflict with bandits (whether they win or lose), or I can run into someone that immediately emotes dying to get out of the situation and lets it ruin their day. 

I usually see "Well I died so how am I supposed to make roleplay out of that" as a common response, especially for PVP. For one, death is also largely what you make of it on LOTC. You can choose to pk, or if you don't you can still try to take some permanent consequence in order to further a story with your character. A lot of players also forget that you can communicate with others and ask about specifics of death outside the bounds of the rules. If any person has ever asked me about wanting to RP having been in a PVP fight in which they died, I have near always said "Yes, just roleplay it as you were knocked out." or something to that end. 

In regards to the matter of villainy characters taking consequences or pks- I will be blunt in the fact that I do not believe anyone should feel the need to PK in any circumstance now given that the position of their enemy is seemingly not willing either. For whatever reason it may be, most people are just not inclined to PK to each other on lotc right now, and this was especially well demonstrated by certain captured NLs during the most recent war. If people do not hold themselves to this standard, I won't hold myself to it for them either. Of course, this mentality self generates and it leads to the situation we find now. That being said, I've never particularly been afraid to RP consequences of conflict that are less intensive than PKs. Missing limbs, scars, mental afflictions, or whatever else it may be, it's a good thing on the part of a bandit to have stories to tell just like any other character. There are exceptions, like with all things but generally speaking it's best that people accept consequences.

For fear of too much yapping on this thread, I will not be making another comment but if you'd like to have a conversation on this matter, my dms are open. @gremlockgremlin

[gremlockgremlin 323]

1 minute ago, Rigorous said:

 

To be clear, the tone of my post is not directed at people posting here, but more so at the people who behave in the way I am describing. I apologize for any confusion!

Nah I was not confused in my opinion. I wanted to merely stretch out a hand from one player to another.