Fake Names

[Larrath]

If you can see OUT of your hood, then I can see IN. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

And if I can see out of my mask, you can see in it?
I think we'll just have to agree on disagreeing here.

[Agent_137]

If you can see OUT of your hood, then I can see IN. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

And if I can see out of my mask, you can see in it?
I think we'll just have to agree on disagreeing here.

Going to have to stand with Larrath on this one, kind of. Yes, it's possible to see a face under a hood, but you'll have to be pretty close, and make it obvious you're looking. Code kind of supports this interpretation. Hurray.

[Bestatte]

I can see your eyes. The only way I would -not- be able to see your eyes, is if they were obscured, or if it was dark and I couldn't see much further than the length of my arm anyway. And if your eyes are obscured, then you can't see past whatever is obscuring them.

Yes, these main description masks will hide everything, but they also hide everything ELSE in your main description, including whatever you put in it to describe your arms and legs and back and chest and feet. And yet - it's just a mask, that is worn over the face. Those main desc masks are the exception to the rule, and it's a code limitation and just plain doesn't count in any of these situations.

Normal masks (there are several for sale) show that they have eye-holes for the wearer to see out of. And that means I can see behind those eye-holes as well. I can also see your potbelly, and the long brown hair curling out from under them, and the shape and color of your neck if you aren't covering it with a collar. I can also see very long pointed ears sticking out from behind the mask, since it's only covering the face. And in some cases, I can even see your lips, so if they're extremely full, or slash-scarred, or scabrous, then don't count on me pretending I don't notice them...if your mask has an opening for the mouth.

Perhaps you don't read the descriptions of all these clothings and coverings, and perhaps you don't realize that they do NOT hide your face in most cases. And perhaps you don't even realize that some of these veils are SEE-THROUGH. But I read them, and I pay attention, and I notice, and I RP accordingly.

I hope you will all take that into consideration next time you go screaming "TWINK" when you were seen and identified while wearing a hood and a see-through veil in the middle of broad daylight on the city street.

[PantoufleNOTLOGGEDIN]

Fake names are no different than keywords.  If someone provides you with a name that is not part of their keywords, tough luck.  Use one of their existing keywords and deal with it.

[Angela Christine]

I think it is only an issue if people are trying to use code to get around the Way.  Nobody is impervious to psionics, unless perhaps you are a mindbender.  If you want to keep pesky aquaintences out of your mind, then work on maxing out Barrier -- eventually it does become a very useful skill.  
If I've got something to hide I use  Barrier everytime I see a PC or NPC Templar.  If I'm trying to hide (either to escape or to set an ambush) I use Barrier to decrease the chance of my persuer/prey detecting my presence through the Way (yeah, codedly it doesn't work like that, so what?)  There are lots of good reasons to use barrier, and barrier is the proper way to duck psychic communication.


AC

[Gaare]

I guess when PC could manage to get someone's mind,  gets at least- a piece of idea what of that person looks like. There was a post recently about names, descs. and their power in psionics and magic.

If a PC gets  in contact with a tall figure in cloak with dark veil's mind, then he gets a brief image of that figure.  Probably that image will not be wearing a cloak or a veil since that's an abstract image in one's mind.

There was a great explanation of "talking via way" in one of DARK SUN books, but could not find it though.

[Pantoufle]

Using a fake, non-coded name/keyword to avoid being contacted doesn't work.  You can still contact someone via their short description.  Heck!  You can even contact people on some occasions using their hooded short description.

[Angela Christine]

Heck!  You can even contact people on some occasions using their hooded short description.

Not if they own more than one cloak.  A desert cammo duster for the desert, a dark hooded cloak for the 'rinth, a dusty brown dustcloak for the Gaj, an rock grey greatcloak for the Bard's Barrel, a rusty brown cowel for Luir's, a colourfully embroidered cloak for Tuluk, etc., or they just buy a new cloak every few weeks and sell the old ones.  You could be aquainted with a person for years and never get a persistant keyword to identify them with, despite the fact that you ought to know them well enough to attempt contact.  Ok, you could try "figure" but you'll get plenty of wrong numbers with that one.  


AC

[Pantoufle]

Not if they own more than one cloak. A desert cammo duster for the desert, a dark hooded cloak for the 'rinth, a dusty brown dustcloak for the Gaj, an rock grey greatcloak for the Bard's Barrel, a rusty brown cowel for Luir's, a colourfully embroidered cloak for Tuluk, etc., or they just buy a new cloak every few weeks and sell the old ones. You could be aquainted with a person for years and never get a persistant keyword to identify them with, despite the fact that you ought to know them well enough to attempt contact. Ok, you could try "figure" but you'll get plenty of wrong numbers with that one.

You forgot the dusty sweat-stained stained bloodied new used torn worn leather and sandcloth hooded cloak embroidered in gaudy, horribly tasteless ruby red scorpions wearing a veil laced with<edited by staff>  sweat-stained wyverns.

In any event, young lady, the scenario you describe above is a prime example of how to avoid people in game.  There is nothing unrealistic about it.  If you don't know their name, and scarcely what they look like, contacting them should be difficult.  In this case, it's not supposed to be easy.  Therefore, I don't see that providing fake, non-coded keywords/names is bad form on an OOC level.

[Larrath]

The one problem--and this happened to me once--is that people will just go "tell Ferdy -nodding Nice to meetcha, Ferdy!" and then suddenly decide that there's just something about you that they don't quite trust, but they can't get their finger on it.

If people actually call you by it, it should be a keyword.  If it's a one-time fake alias that you dished out to get rid of someone, it shouldn't be.

[Angela Christine]

In any event, young lady, the scenario you describe above is a prime example of how to avoid people in game.  There is nothing unrealistic about it.  If you don't know their name, and scarcely what they look like, contacting them should be difficult.  In this case, it's not supposed to be easy.  Therefore, I don't see that providing fake, non-coded keywords/names is bad form on an OOC level.

It is possible to contact people without having seen them naked.  It is possible for blind people to contact people (and they've never seen anyone).  Therefore it isn't purely a visual thing.  Unless it is a magickal cloak, no cloak will disguise your mind, your essence, your voice, your manner of movement, or your "personal scent" so it should be possible to form a clear mental schema of someone without knowing what colour clothes they are wearing today.  You might have an ale and do a little trading with Ferdy in the Gaj while he is wearing his dusty, dust colored dustcloak a couple times a week for years, but if he changes into is red cape his mind is completely alien?

Personally, I think that providing only "false" keywords to people you have interacted with several times, for the purpose of making yourself psionically unavailable, boarders on code abuse.

The reason I don't like it is because it is an OOC stratagy that works equally well for (or against) the newly spawned half-giant who can only successfully contact 1 time out of 10 on a good day as it does the 80 day Psionicist who can make Tektolnes Himself cluck like a chicken.  They aren't using any mental skill to disguise the mind, and that is unfair.


AC

[sarahjc]

I think AC hit the nail on the head.  I mean yeah, people are looking for who they know you to be.

But here is something fun to toss out:

Lets say that my PC does a bad thing.. A very bad thing and he runs away.. and lives. He goes to another city, uses a different name, wears different clothes, cuts his hair and grows a beard. Just to make things fun, lets say he gets into a fight with a tembo and his face gets mauled as well.

So now Bill "the green-eyed, tribal braided man" is now "the bearded, green-eyed man".  Lets say an IC couple years goes by, Bill  (now known as Steve) gets into that fight and is now known as "The bearded, Scar-faced man".  So now Steve is formally someone different. He has stopped using the name Bill all together. Hell, he doesn't even look like that old Bill except for a tattoo or his build and height.

Can he get his old name taken off his Key word list? The player has gone through major changes not to be recognized as the old Bill. But if someone where to contact Bill. They would still get him.  

Now perhaps if someone were to look at Bill close up they would see some resemblance to the man they once knew.  But just by contact "Bill" via the way, you have an Idea about what to look for. I would just like to hear opinions on the opposing side of things.

Do you just pretend that you are seeing the old Bill?

[Tamarin]

I have tried to get a complete overhaul of my character, including having the original name taken off.  Everything else was fine (mdesc change, sdesc change, new keywords), but I was told that removing a name is not realistic, because a) that PC has had that name his whole life, and no matter how much time passes, it will still feel familiar to him b) it would be like starting a character from scratch, but with really really really high skills.