Thoughts on roles

[HardCarbon]

I often see staff and other folks  listing special roles.


 For myself.. I like to RP my way to a role (and yes get gakked now and then ).     My BEST role was one that was 'not' availible.. but I RPed my way into an aide job how do you all feel about  that vs  emailing to get a role?

[Larrath]

Sometimes I feel like building up from nothing, and sometimes I don't.

Most of the time, though, I do prefer to start at nothing.

[Intrepid]

Odd thing, since I'm usually in the minority about this, but I often just
want to start off with as much as I can and get into the plotting that would
have happened afterward regardless.

Besides...some things must be born into on Arm.  Like nobility.

[Agent_137]

I like to see special apps for things that require birth or insane pre-conditions  (a free mul, or a sorc, for examples).

Other stuff, less so.

Of course, I haven't seen any special roles that don't require birth or insane pre-conditions to happen. It's mostly just family members of merchant and noble houses. Even templars are birthed into a noble house at first.

So, what's the big deal? What roles are you talking about?

[RunningMountain]

I've given up on the special roles.

[IAmJacksOpinion]

I've never had a major role of any sort at all. My characters always die before even making private for whatever reason, it seems. Though, I often think about special apping for stuff, the only app I actually ever sent was from back when I was a noob and I had the most outrageously awesome concept. 'Coarse, it was probably pretty stupid as they never even emailed me back.  :oops:

When I do get stuff going for my character though, (usually connections that are hard to come by) it's fun to look back and see how you got there and just smile about how it happened and pat yourself on the back for starting at nothing and gaining this.

Sure, if the staff's looking for a Sarge and you want to be a Sarge, special app. Otherwise, just work your way up there the long route. It gets you funner interaction, and you'll have soo many more stories and anecdotes than if you just made up your entire past with the House.

[Intrepid]

I've never seen a difference in interaction between starting in a position
and working my way up.  The anecdotes all tended to be the same.

[JollyGreenGiant]

I suppose it depends on exactly what you're apping for. Noble, templar, trusted slave and merchant family roles aren't things you can "work your way into", so you're pretty much stuck with applying for those. I'm not sure about bastards, but I would imagine that if you plan on making extensive use of that quality in your background, you'll need approval from the appropriate immortals - and there are definitely some House positions that are typically given only to bastards (at least in the south) which you'd have to apply for.

Also, it's pretty understandable when, say, the entire PC population of the Byn is wiped out that the Byn needs a PC Sergeant or two on the spot rather than waiting for a player to come up through the ranks. I can think of a few other reasons to special app. You could work your way up to playing an aide, and that's fun. As an alternate, you might want to play a character who was born to one or both parents in a House, having grown up and eventually working for said House yourself (thus starting out with a much higher measure of trust in you by said House.)

[Rindan]

I don't see much of an issue.  Some times a role is either blood related (nobility, house family members) or needs to be filled quick and no one is qualified to take over the spot.  I really don't see much stuff being posted by the imms that let people skip to the front of the line unless it meets one of those two critera.

That said, I think people vastly underrate how much fun it is to NOT advance.  You don't need to be big and powerful in order to have an affect on the game.  Being a small guy just changes the scope of the game.  Your Kuraci senior merchant worries about getting knots of spice to various people and organizations.  He works with representatives of various rich and powerful people and organization dealing in thousands of 'sid.  He never worries where his next meal will come from.

Now take your average 'rinth spice seller.  This poor bastard needs to smuggle his stuff into city and has to constantly worry about being nabbed by militia or templars when he is in the city.  Even once he has stuff to sell, he needs to find people to sell it to at profit, and worry that some else might decide to mug him for his spice, or flat out kill him because he is competition.

I am not saying that your rich Kuraci merchant isn't neck deep in life or death plots and deals in an interesting world.  I am saying that you shouldn't discount being a small fry.  Being small and poor doesn't mean your life is suddenly without conflict and action, it just means that you change perspectives and your entire scope of what 'conflict' is becomes entirely different and far more personal.  If anything, standing on the bottom rung of society's ladder can some times offer far more conflict and interesting interpersonal relationships then being a rich bastard who sleeps each night with a full stomach and a glass of water by his bed.

[HardCarbon]

Actually I might have worked my way into being a merchant family member   Might... would have cost me but.. might have managed it.

I suppose it depends on exactly what you're apping for. Noble, templar, trusted slave and merchant family roles aren't things you can "work your way into", so you're pretty much stuck with applying for those. I'm not sure about bastards, but I would imagine that if you plan on making extensive use of that quality in your background, you'll need approval from the appropriate immortals - and there are definitely some House positions that are typically given only to bastards (at least in the south) which you'd have to apply for.

Also, it's pretty understandable when, say, the entire PC population of the Byn is wiped out that the Byn needs a PC Sergeant or two on the spot rather than waiting for a player to come up through the ranks. I can think of a few other reasons to special app. You could work your way up to playing an aide, and that's fun. As an alternate, you might want to play a character who was born to one or both parents in a House, having grown up and eventually working for said House yourself (thus starting out with a much higher measure of trust in you by said House.)

[jstorrie]

In some cases I like working my way up more - military positions especially. In others I don't think it's appropriate to work your way up - Zalanthas is not supposed to have a lot of class mobility. If you start as a scrappy nobody homeless commoner, you shouldn't segue straight into prestigious aide because your desc looks pretty. You're just street filth.