Crayfishchris

Kristian mutters to himself as he reads over the letter, his eyebrows furrowing. "It seems this fight takes a different turn… well… I… hm…" He frowns again, and turns to the Lumi'drim who are beginning to gather. "A'right, lads. Time to begin trainin'… I've got a feelin' we're 'eaded off to war pretty soon."

I play a guard and a villain, and I can honestly say it is the fault of both sides. For guards, heck, we're all getting a tad OOCly annoyed whenever we see a criminal and that affects how we RP. It gives us a very bad tone OOC and makes people want to RP with us less. Expect there to be a little bit of crime. You live in a big city. It'll happen. But getting annoyed OOCly (hey, I'm guilty of it too), does nothing to solve any problems~. Guard gates more. Set up patrols. Get a presence. Force these villains to resort to other methods than going into the city square and slaughtering everyone. For us villains, well, I can say that there are plenty of awesome villains out there, and there are a few bad ones. However, lately, all but a select few seem to playing the same type of villain (a killer). Here's how I view Villain Applications. The reason we have them is so we can sort out the bad villain RPers and the good. Think of it as a mini event team. It's… a job, I guess. We're there to provide good RP for everyone else, not just ourselves. If your RP seems to be annoying people, take a step back and look at what you're doing, maybe change up your character's style. Make it interesting and fun. As for solving this, we don't need OOC limitations, we need common courtesy. Head to another city if killed. Or just switch characters so you aren't tempted to return in a half hour. When killed/arrested/jailed/whatever-ed, do the kind thing and don't bug anyone with the same deal a half hour later- goshdarnit, even an hour later. I'm looking at both guards and villains.

As I have said multiple times, this is my preferred type of villain. Since I play a guard, I constantly have to deal with the psychos out to kill and make their name, and I just feel like it has become too common. Maybe I was hasty in naming this topic 'The Best Kind of Villain', but I am not attempting to brag, I am not attempting to hate, I am not attempting to push the server in one way. I'm just here to show people that there are other ways to play villains than being a crazed mass-murderer. You have the street-rat, you have the conspiring politician, you have the bully. So many ways to make villain RP interesting without killing and making yourself incredibly infamous.

You have a good point. Still, I feel that many people think that they deserve to see these reports, see who is getting banned and why. I myself remain neutral on this matter.

Okay, let's view this in terms of pros and cons. Pros 1. We get less OOC bullcrud. 2. It is probably decided quickly. 3. People would think more before posting a BR. Cons 1. It's just as easy to share a Ban Report out to the community 2. It's harder for the community to tell who has done what, and who is in there. 3. The community doesn't get as much of a say. It's a tradeoff... either cut down on the drama or get the community's opinion on the matter. (Ban appeals should be public... I'd like to know who exactly we're letting back in... and hey... it would show if a person was banned or not publicly)

I see your point. This is my version of a preferred villain. Someone who is unique, and provides fun. The sneakiness isn't mandatory. I never intended this as hateful or anything along those lines. This is more of a guide. If the person RPs their psycho well, then yes, I'm all for it. There are plenty of psychos and mass murderers and just generally violent people who I have fun RPing with. But, as you said, it has become a bandwagon, and I'm here to remind people that we don't all need to be that crazy psycho. Also, I never encountered Knox, but I'd like you to refer to my last point in the main post. If he was a well developed and interesting character, then yes, he is an excellent villain. You don't need to meet all these points to be a good villain... but if you meet none, you might wanna rethink how you're RPing that type of character.

Yeah, after a good bit of thought, I think it'd be a good idea to do that. This isn't really 'Off-Topic', anyway. Could an FM please move this to roleplaying guides? (Or someone... I'm not really sure how this works.)

Everyone has their own view of what the 'best' type of villain is. However, I've noticed that lately we've all been the same type of villain. This is my view of how it should be. Heck, maybe I'm wrong and you're all secretly planning to destroy Anthos and just doing a really good job at hiding it! :P I'll respond to you guys a little more in depth tomorrow. On the 'red eyes' issue. Yeah, there are peaceable characters with red eyes, but they are few and far in between. I've generally taken it for granted that someone with red eyes, strange tattoos, cultist robes... you know, all that good stuff, I've taken it for granted that they are a villain. Those obvious things that essentially shout to the world that you're evil (although it is not always the case).

Hey everybody! I'll try to be brief... ah, who am I kidding. Listen up, I got some things to say. To fully understand why I am writing this, you need to understand the events of today. This may come as a bit of shock to the Lumi'drim, and the Delvers, and a good few of the people in Malinor. To the rest of you, bear with me, I make my point. My character, Kristian von Craw, was a spy. He was feeding information from the Lumi'drim to a high elf named Zaniil Tinuvriel for about 6 ingame years. Rosters, known criminals, activity that they were doing. He gave it all away for a good while. Later, he signed on known cultists to the guard force, knowing full well of their position, attempting to destabilize the Malinorian guard (and hey, it worked a good bit, didn't it? ;P). Heck, even up in Herendul, a company that he helped run was protected by the Antag! Now, Kristian is regretting his actions and is working to repair his country, but today, these events led me to a massive epiphany. The best kind of villain is one who remains secret. I never told you guys anything (besides you VA folks, who had to know). IC, OOC, nothing. I doubt many of you knew about this until today. I was keeping this a secret to keep people from accidentally meta-gaming and excluding Kris for no apparent reason, but I feel like this actually adds to the severity of what he did. A lot of stuffs was leaked and a few infiltration missions were planned (they never really got off the ground), and no one had a clue. You see, villains shouldn't be blatantly obvious. In the real world, villains are people like you or me. When you walk down a crowded street, I would bet any amount of money that there was at least one person in there who was a thief. Or a fighter. Or a vandal. Or a conman. But you can't tell. They look like us. They work like us, act like us, have lives like us. The best kind of villain is normal. For goodness sake, people can tell you're evil if you have red eyes (for no real reason), or if you reveal it to us through L-OOC. It ruins the fun of the villainy. A real villain is working behind the scenes, and you wouldn't normally be able to spot him out of a crowd. (Now, Antags and monsters and the like... that's a bit different. You guys are corrupted). It's incredible to finally realize who the thief was, or who was terrorizing the town. It adds fun to the RP when you realize someone who you regarded as a best friend was actually a murderer, or a torturer, etc., etc. We have so many obvious psychos on the server, but you know what? Psychos are people too. When you hear reports about those serial killers, no one ever saw it coming. "Oh, Timmy was such a nice boy. A bit secluded, but always sooo... polite." Little did that person know that Timmy was kidnapping little girls and feeding them bit by bit to the squirrels in the oak tree outside. You don't see it coming, even if your person is crazy. Having cultist robes, tons of weapons, and freaky (not just shy, really creepy) is just not feasible... at least not on a daily basis. The best kind of villain is a unique villain. We've all seen the person going into town and just attacking someone for the fun of it. Or the cultist sacrificing someone to a dark power. Heck, it's regarded as a common thing nowadays! When I see unique villain RP, I just feel all happy inside, as I know the person put time and effort into making their character and making the villain events that they create special. In LoTC, the best kind of villain is one who does villainy for the benefit of others. There is so much potential RP that can stem from a person turning to villainy. So much. And if it is interesting, and afterwards people go "Wow... that was pretty neat..." then the villains have done their job. I feel that in LoTC that we want that certain sense of fame gotten from being that well-known villain who is on every wanted poster. We want to get out there, I know. I'll give an example here. I had a blast figuring out who maskman2303, casanova9, and GurenRycerz's antags were, because they made the RP incredibly interesting without screaming to the world that they were a villain (off-duty, of course~). They created RP for everyone. They did their job. The best kind of villain is a character, too. The great thing about LoTC is that we're all characters. Unlike a movie, where you have one main character and the rest get little to no development, everyone here has gone through something. That one guy in the background? Yeah, he's got a story. That street rat stealing apples from the market stall? Of course there's a reason he's like that! And finding out these reasons and knowing that there was development towards this is just the reason why villains are so... cool. And when a villain became a villain because of OUR influence? That just makes it that little bit cooler. tl;dr: In short, I don't mind villainy... but as villains, let's do our job and be /real/ evil. Let's play behind the scenes. We don't have a need to make a forum post, we don't need to scream it out on the skype chats and teamspeak. Let's be truly evil and pull strings, steal food, and maybe kill when necessary. Make villain RP special. Alrighty, that's it. Thank ya for reading! -Crayfishchris

Hm... a lot of people are asking this. So, therefore, I SHALL TOO! OOCly, what do you think of my RP and Kris as a character? (I know we haven't had too much time for RP, but I'm a bit curious.) And in RP, how does Nienna regard Kristian?

What is your opinion on river-dwelling crustaceans?

Kristian grins. "Let's see what this meetin'll show, aye?" He marches off in the direction of Lil'talaran.

Kristian gives a small grin as he walks up to his home. In his hand was an application. "Now... let's give 'em somethin' to think 'bout... shall we?" He dips a quill in ink and begins to write. (MC name): crayfishchris (RP) Name: Kristian von Craw Sub Race: In your tongue, I am Valah. Human. I am a northerner. Age: 38 Gender: Male Do you have a family, if so how many members will be residing with you: I have two daughters and a son, but my eldest daughter may be moving away soon. ((Please state your time zone)): EST ((Please state your average playing time)): 3 hours per day on average, around 5-6 on weekends. ((Do you have any official offenses against the server? IE: Bans, strikes, revocation of a VA or MA, if available, please provide a link/brief description of the offense.)): None ((Can we trust you to take your job seriously and contribute?)): Of course! ((Do you use skype?)): Yes, you guys have it. ((How long have you been on the server?)): Nearing 7 months, I think? I'm unsure. I know I'm about 6. ((Why, as a player, do you wish to join the high council?)): I believe I can do a lot to help this nation prosper, as I've been working to make the Lumi'drim better since day one of being in it. I think I'm ready to take up the challenge of being a nation leader, and this was generally Kris' goal for the past few ingame years. Whilst I really do want to help Malinor and make it just an awesome place to RP in, I'm also interested in what the High Council's reaction will be ingame to this application. I'm just pushing social boundaries here~ :3 Do you have any work experience, if so where and what: Valiant Soldier/Instructor- 8 years Delver Pathfinder- 9 years Lumi'drim Guard- 8 years I also am one of the owners of the White Onion Trading Company (farming, mining, and all your basic needs), which is run up in Herendul. Do you hold any allegiances to other nations and or organizations/guilds? If so state them, and their nature: House Valois was the human house I served under during my time as a Valiant, but they are little more than shambles now. I am a part-time Delver, but the organization is a non-militant one. Do you have a criminal record, if so state your offenses: Nothing. Express why you are suitable to be a Prince/Princess of Malinor: I am here as a voice for the people. I listen to the streets, I listen to what people say. I know how they feel. I myself was born a commoner and have been a commoner all my life, but have been blessed with the chances that I've gotten. I've proven myself in Oren and in Malinor, on both the field of battle and in the field of politics. I am a leader by heart, and have shown this by my actions. And, in the time I have been here, this place has proven itself to be my home. More so than Auvergne or Abresi ever was. I would do anything for this nation. I want this place to be a shining gem among all the other nations of Anthos. And I think, no, I know I can make it that way. State your history of leadership or political role and how that experience benefits your leadership/political skills: I was a Valiant Caporal, the first officer rank of the Valiants. I was also the Comms Officer for the Valiant Regiment (Essentially, second in command) once it was absorbed into the Royal Orenian Army. This shows I have the ability to lead soldiers, and communicate my ideas effectively to all those around me. During my time here in Malinor, I have climbed the ranks of the Lumi'drim. I became a human Warden (and later Captain), something that was apparently impossible. I have aided Malinor in the rebuilding of her army, and I daresay that the situation here has improved the last few months (though we still have work to do). I have had multiple leadership roles, military or not. Outside of the military, I have helped the White Onion get jumpstarted, and made us one of the richer companies out there. Explain how the high council works in detail: Motions and possible laws are brought forward to the High Council. The Princes and Princesses then vote to make a conclusion. Normal Prince/Princesses have one vote, the High Prince has two. Getting a motion carried is generally by a majority vote. A Prince/Princess may be impeached. High Prince/Princesses may step down or be voted out, and then the council immediately decides a replacement. Other than that, I have seen no evidence of a 'term' for High Council members. State any comments that you think may add to your application here: If you haven't noticed, I'm a human. I will always be a human (because there is no magical way to change your race). And yes, one of the requirements for the High Council is for you to be an elf... why? Why do the minorities of Malinor have to live with no voice on the High Council? We have Kha, we have humans, we have all manners of people living in our nation. We are literally a melting pot of peoples, and we have the audacity to exclude them? They need a voice. They need someone who will stand up for them. I believe I have proven myself to Malinor time and time again. If this application will be denied on the spot simply because of my race, then I will be ashamed. Ashamed at the fact that you would ignore someone based on the shape of their ears and the length of their life. I am Kristian von Craw. I have lived here for nearly ten years and this is my home. I will do anything to improve it, to defend it, to preserve the ethic. Who are we to discriminate? This is a haven. A place where all can speak their mind and do what they wish. Discrimination puts us on a bad path to a nation I don't want to see us be. I thank you for your time. ~Captain Kristian von Craw He finishes the application and sends it off via bird, a stoic expression plastered on his face.

"Now 'old on... I remember nothin' of this... I'll need to see this 'Fyre's' criminal record... until then... ya won't really receive a reward from Malinorian officials..." Kristian stuffs the note in his pocket, off to show the High Council.

"What 'as the world come to?" Kristian sighs. He neither has the money nor the ability to save this poor girl. "She 'as an orphanage... for Creator's sake..."

Huzzah! I'm perfectly fine with all of these changes... here's to a new year!

Kristian notices a poster, a wry smile crossing his face as he reads it over. "'Oly Creator... it's been a while, ain't it..." he says, rubbing his goatee thoughtfully as he mulls over the possibility of a renewed House Valois. "We shall see where this leads... heck... I may pay Alexander a visit..."

MC Name: crayfishchris RP Name: Kristian von Craw Race: Human Age: 37 Gender: Male Skills/Talents: Sword-fighting, skill with the morningstar, fifteen years of military experience. I can also make a bloody good pumpkin pie.