What Concepts Don't Work?

[Manhattan]

I might add to this list later on.

After the death of my last PC (good grief, he was SUCH a bore to play), I got to thinking about player concepts that just don't work for Armageddon. Before you guys counterpoint that by saying we have the freedom to play all sorts of PC's, cmon let's be realistic...there are some PC types that just do not fit with the world. You're either gonna be bored out of your mind, or you're gonna die so quick that you won't have sufficient time to enjoy it.

Here's some stuff I came up with from personal experience:
1. Your regular joe, laborer PC with nothing special going on. Sooner or later you're gonna want to start rousing up some plots...because playing the average Zalanthan is sheer boredom. Leave the boring shit to the NPC's, let them be average. In an escapist fantasy, you'd just be killing yourself by playing a normal dude.

2. A buff, hardcore badass type from the get go. Because of code limitations, it NEVER makes sense to write your PC's background as a hardened warrior, elite assassin, deadly mage, or anything like that...unless you special app, which is rare. These types you have to build slowly while you play the game.

3. A quadriplegic. Imagine playing one. Seriously, imagine it. No? That's why.

4. PC's that cannot socialize, or PC's that have an IC reason not to interact with other PC's. Unless you love solo RP, you might end up storing/suiciding/doing something ridiculous. This game is all about interaction. Lack of it will suck the fun out. On the other hand, it would work to make an ICly antisocial PC that is OOCly very social...if that even makes sense. The creeper dude in the dark corner of the Gaj won't talk to your PC because he's playing with his imaginary friend in his own fucked up dreamworld. But he can interact with you as a player by throwing out interesting emotes or says! The concept that I'm claiming won't work at all, is the PC that cannot provide those OOC-type of interactions. For instance, PC slaves that absolutely must stay indoors...

5. Having in your background that you're an ex-member of any clan. Will never work, trust me. Established clannies already in-game will PWN you. And there goes your concept.

[musashi]

A hand to hand martial artist, monk type character. The code is weighted entirely in the favor of wielding weapons.

[jstorrie]

A crafter of almost any sort who fights. That one definitely bugs me.

I mean, you can do it, but subguild crafting frequently sucks.

[Manhattan]

A crafter of almost any sort who fights. That one definitely bugs me.

I mean, you can do it, but subguild crafting frequently sucks.

Does it bother you because you think that it's unrealistic RP wise...? Or because you think that the coded combo is retarded?

[Fathi]

I've found that concepts for middle-aged+ PCs don't really work if you plan on doing many types of coded jobs. The stat penalties applied to PCs past a certain age threshold are very severe. It's codedly possible, but the bottom-rung stats will make it a painful process if you plan to play a fighter or sneaky type.

I think there's a reason why most of the geezer PCs we see are mages.

[Me]

Someone with severe handicap - blind, paralyzed, no hands, no limbs. (not counting benders, sorcs or any special app or high end karma guilds)

Beggars.

Whores. I personally find it's SO hard to be a whore without ending up becoming someone's assistant/aide. So props to anyone who could manage to play a good ol' Zalanthan whore and stick with it for a long long time, rping out STDs zalanthan style.

A dumbass. Literally a dumbass and no, not a half-giant, but a pure-blooded human/stump/elf that is mentally handicapped.

Although I'd probably put whores and dumbasses under the category of what concept is HARD to play.

[jstorrie]

A crafter of almost any sort who fights. That one definitely bugs me.

I mean, you can do it, but subguild crafting frequently sucks.

Does it bother you because you think that it's unrealistic RP wise...? Or because you think that the coded combo is retarded?

It bothers me that I can't do it. Subguild crafting skills always seem like they have awfully low caps. Dude who is an awesome maker of <thing>, but also swings around an <other thing> is a great fantasy trope!

[Akoto]

Anti-social characters, more so when based in a city. You can play one, but if you habitually sit separately from everyone and wait for them to initiate the dialogue, you're going to end up bored. I've played leaders who certainly would've interacted, but had no IC excuse to strike it up with random quiet commoner #4071, who insists upon giving nonspecific emotes to work with.

Unless that's what you enjoy, of course. If so, more power to you. It has just been my experience that the 'mysterious tough guy who sits in the dark corner' concept doesn't fly well.

[jhunter]

A crafter of almost any sort who fights. That one definitely bugs me.

I mean, you can do it, but subguild crafting frequently sucks.

I've done that multiple times and it has worked out very well for me. It just takes a while on the crafting end, and no, you will not be as good as a merchant-crafter, but you can get pretty damned good.

[number13]

The code is weighted entirely in the favor of wielding weapons.

Well, not -entirely-.

[Qzzrbl]

2. A buff, hardcore badass type from the get go.

It's -so- much fun when you can make one of these last long enough to be as badass as they act though.

[Riev]

2. A buff, hardcore badass type from the get go.

It's -so- much fun when you can make one of these last long enough to be as badass as they act though.

Laurentide?

[Aaron Goulet]

I've found that concepts for middle-aged+ PCs don't really work if you plan on doing many types of coded jobs. The stat penalties applied to PCs past a certain age threshold are very severe. It's codedly possible, but the bottom-rung stats will make it a painful process if you plan to play a fighter or sneaky type.

I think there's a reason why most of the geezer PCs we see are mages.

I disagree with this.  I played a fairly long-lived (I think he was over twenty-something days) character back in 2002-2003 (I think) by the name of Ivor Tome.  He was an old man. Warrior/lumberjack.  He became bad-ass enough to take on two halflings at once (without ever sparring or having clan training).

The only reason he died is because some ranger snuck into the room, stole his mount, ran away until he was out of stamina, and then filled him with arrows (it took almost fifteen of them).

[musashi]

How did they steal your mount when it was hitched to you?

[Aaron Goulet]

How did they steal your mount when it was hitched to you?

I think it was because I was fighting something else at the time.  I dunno if that automatically unhitches mounts, or if they wished up for it to happen (no complaints from me if they did, fighting with two weapons AND holding reins seems unrealistic), but they pulled it off somehow.

[LauraMars]

2. A buff, hardcore badass type from the get go.

It's -so- much fun when you can make one of these last long enough to be as badass as they act though.

Laurentide?

Code Select Expand

The masculine, muscle-bound man shouts, in southern-accented sirihish:
    "To the LEYJAX!"

The masculine, muscle-bound man walks north, dragging the curvaceous, honey-eyed woman behind him.

[5 day lifespan]

My very first character was a man in his thirties who had extensive experience fighting.  Before he settled down and became a farmer with his mate and children.  Then circumstances pushed him back into merc work.  That's how I could use my description of his stance and the advise he would give, yet code wise still sucked.  And I didnt live long enough for the stats to become an issue anyway.

[Synthesis]

ATV lumberjack.

Narcoleptic mantis.

Merciful templar.

[jhunter]

Halfling stablehand.

[bardbard#4]

Non-annoying gypsy.

[Sandstone]

Suddenly I foresee this thread being closed.

[AmandaGreathouse]

For me?

Most roles which don't allow you to leave the city when you want to.

I've had a few enjoyable ones that didn't, but when I'm playing nonpeak and -no one- is around, and my pc has little to nothing to do, I tend to want to take them exploring. Even though that sometimes means they will die.

Luckily, it's no longer 'always means they will die' since I've learned a good bit of the wilderness and safer routes through it.

[jstorrie]

A dumbass. Literally a dumbass and no, not a half-giant, but a pure-blooded human/stump/elf that is mentally handicapped.

It is pretty easy and incredibly fun to play a moron. My most successful PC was moronic and batshit crazy. You just have to make sure not to go full retard–never do full retard.

[musashi]

A dumbass. Literally a dumbass and no, not a half-giant, but a pure-blooded human/stump/elf that is mentally handicapped.

It is pretty easy and incredibly fun to play a moron. My most successful PC was moronic and batshit crazy. You just have to make sure not to go full retard–never do full retard.

I laughed ... a lot. Awesome back-reference.

[Manhattan]

Thanks to Lizzie on another thread...but it's the word I was looking for, "filler" characters. These can be incredibly boring. How can you be creative playing a Red Shirt?
If you got too creative with it, you'd cease to play just a filler character.

[Ourla]

Half-giant burglar, pickpocket, or merchant who makes a living with their main guild. 

... I still -really- want to get marked by a well-played HG burglar, though.  It would be majorly kudosworthy.

[Wasteland Raider]

That's not a bad thing. PCs as filler characters that develop into full-blown awesome PCs are... well, awesome.

[Manhattan]

A big one:

PC's that cannot socialize or have an IC reason not to interact with other PC's.
Unless you love solo RP, you might end up storing/suiciding/doing something ridiculous.
This game is all about interaction. Lack of it will suck the fun out.

However, I understand that interaction includes beyond just sitting at the bar talking to people. You can interact for example by throwing out antisocial emotes (em glances around with shifty eyes, hugging his knees), or watching somebody from another table with a creeper smile on your face, or doing handstands on a busy street, etc and people would respond accordingly...but I still think that these are gimmicks that would wear themselves out pretty quickly.

[Zoltan]

Autobots and Decepticons.   

[musashi]

Autobots and Decepticons.   

lulz

[Xeran Van Houten]

Malikon supierior - Amosbot inferior.

[spawnloser]

I mean, you can do it, but subguild crafting frequently sucks.

I must disagree.  Subguild crafting just starts off crappy.  I have never played a subguild crafter that wasn't eventually able to make profit off those subguild crafting skills.

I've found that concepts for middle-aged+ PCs don't really work if you plan on doing many types of coded jobs. The stat penalties applied to PCs past a certain age threshold are very severe. It's codedly possible, but the bottom-rung stats will make it a painful process if you plan to play a fighter or sneaky type.

I think there's a reason why most of the geezer PCs we see are mages.

I disagree with this.  I played a fairly long-lived (I think he was over twenty-something days) character back in 2002-2003 (I think) by the name of Ivor Tome.  He was an old man. Warrior/lumberjack.  He became bad-ass enough to take on two halflings at once (without ever sparring or having clan training).

Aging code didn't work in 2002/2003.

Half-giant burglar, pickpocket, or merchant who makes a living with their main guild. 

... I still -really- want to get marked by a well-played HG burglar, though.  It would be majorly kudosworthy.

I've done HG merchant twice, and both times, quickly made money.  In fact, the HG merchant has some advantages that make it not too bad at all.

[Manhattan]

Just thought of another one.

Writing ex-anything into your background. Like ex-militia, ex-Byn, ex-Salarr, etc. I don't think this flies well with the other clanned PC's that are already established in-world.

[BuNutzCola]

The above her can be a problem. I had an older pc start out, having done a short tour in the legions when he was younger (to justify the warrior guild). Anyhow, the first time I ever mentioned that in game, I had some old legionaire pc jump down my pc's throat about how he'd been around for decades and my character was nothing but a dirty liar.

'cause, y'know, that pc knew every single one of the 10,000 tuluki soldiers by name and face.

[Manhattan]

'tis true. By design, some concepts just won't work in this game.

I've always wanted to play a retired executioner haunted by his past and the souls he's taken...but can't think of a way to justify that kind of background.

[Erythil]

A big one:

PC's that cannot socialize or have an IC reason not to interact with other PC's.
Unless you love solo RP, you might end up storing/suiciding/doing something ridiculous.
This game is all about interaction. Lack of it will suck the fun out.

This.  THIS.  In particular, though I've not seen this too much on ARM, get so tired of the character that's either too cool or too emotionally unstable to talk to people.

Also, people who try to play some kind of variation on Guts from Berserk.  I'm sick of that.

[Aaron Goulet]

I mean, you can do it, but subguild crafting frequently sucks.

I must disagree.  Subguild crafting just starts off crappy.  I have never played a subguild crafter that wasn't eventually able to make profit off those subguild crafting skills.

Especially with the addition of tools.  Does anyone remember back when we didn't have tools?

[Cutthroat]

Also, people who try to play some kind of variation on Guts from Berserk.  I'm sick of that.

I like how I didn't know what you were talking about, so I searched for it in google, to find that Guts is described as "a tall, muscular male". Wyn. (Do kids still say wyn?)

Anyway, about this:

Writing ex-anything into your background. Like ex-militia, ex-Byn, ex-Salarr, etc. I don't think this flies well with the other clanned PC's that are already established in-world.

So long as you don't overextend yourself, I think this is perfectly okay. What I mean is, don't make your previous rank and choice of clan impossible for your character. Kinda hard to be an ex-AoD sergeant, for example, without dying. If your PCs are just spending their virtual time as runners/recruits, you shouldn't get any trouble at all.

[Gimfalisette]

So long as you don't overextend yourself, I think this is perfectly okay. What I mean is, don't make your previous rank and choice of clan impossible for your character. Kinda hard to be an ex-AoD sergeant, for example, without dying. If your PCs are just spending their virtual time as runners/recruits, you shouldn't get any trouble at all.

Yeah. You're not going to be ex-AoD unless you're quite old, or extremely crippled, because it's a life-oath job for anyone of Private or higher rank.

Ex-Byn or ex-Salarr or ex-anything-not-life-sworn would work, though.

[Ghost]

ex gemmers are kick ass

[Reiloth]

ex gemmers are kick ass

especially when sacrificed

[Malken]

Like 10+ years ago, I knew an ex southern Templar playing in Tuluk, but at some point he was promptly "teleported" back by I think Nessalin, and beheaded in Allanak.

I don't know why I remember that, but I'm pretty sure the Templar's name was Nathaniel.

[hyzhenhok]

Just thought of another one.

Writing ex-anything into your background. Like ex-militia, ex-Byn, ex-Salarr, etc. I don't think this flies well with the other clanned PC's that are already established in-world.

If the ex-whatever part of the concept is a key thing, I'd get it cleared with the staff first.

If it's just some flavor in your background, who cares? If people can't handle the idea that there is a vNPC population, and that population is where our PCs are drawn from, just file a player complaint.

[FantasyWriter]

Just thought of another one.

Writing ex-anything into your background. Like ex-militia, ex-Byn, ex-Salarr, etc. I don't think this flies well with the other clanned PC's that are already established in-world.

If the ex-whatever part of the concept is a key thing, I'd get it cleared with the staff first.

If it's just some flavor in your background, who cares? If people can't handle the idea that there is a vNPC population, and that population is where our PCs are drawn from, just file a player complaint.

Also, I don't think you should have ever gotten past the absolutely bottom rung of any clan at all: ie. runner/recruit/etc.

[Good Gortok]

Ex-anything will be rejected unless you get clearance from that clan's staff. Even something as inconsequential as "he had a brief stint in the Byn" essentially takes a sepcial app.

[BuNutzCola]

The above isn't true, either that or I slipped by. Used ex-legionaire as the specific reason for having the combat skills my character did.

[Gimfalisette]

The above isn't true, either that or I slipped by. Used ex-legionaire as the specific reason for having the combat skills my character did.

If you used the Legions for the background, and yet the Legions are a life-sworn clan, and PCs are not ever allowed to leave it--then you can't really blame the players or the game world for your PC's failure to conform to the documentation    It would be no surprise for PCs to react realistically to your PC by disbelieving the story. It's a concept that "doesn't work" because it doesn't follow the docs, much like a metal-skinned PC would not follow the docs.

I am not sure whether the Legions are a life-sworn clan, but if they are, the above is true. The Allanaki militia is a life-sworn clan, and PCs at Private rank or above would only ever be granted dismissal in very, very rare and special circumstances.

[Intrepid]

An average human from 20th century Earth, who plays muds and mmos,  being dropped into Zalanthas.

There would be a betting pool as to how many seconds that one lasts.

[Reiloth]

The above isn't true, either that or I slipped by. Used ex-legionaire as the specific reason for having the combat skills my character did.

If you used the Legions for the background, and yet the Legions are a life-sworn clan, and PCs are not ever allowed to leave it--then you can't really blame the players or the game world for your PC's failure to conform to the documentation    It would be no surprise for PCs to react realistically to your PC by disbelieving the story. It's a concept that "doesn't work" because it doesn't follow the docs, much like a metal-skinned PC would not follow the docs.

I am not sure whether the Legions are a life-sworn clan, but if they are, the above is true. The Allanaki militia is a life-sworn clan, and PCs at Private rank or above would only ever be granted dismissal in very, very rare and special circumstances.

As far as my experience with the Legions goes, a Private can be dismissed or discharged if they weren't privvy to some f-ed up shit. If they were, eh. They kind of get disappeared instead.

[Gimfalisette]

Female on male stalker, in the style of The Donnas song "I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me)." I can't conceive of this working in ARM, even if I was playing a filthy 'gicker. Or a 'rinthi. Or a horrendous mutant. Because it doesn't work if the stalkee likes it.

[Cavaticus]

Female on male stalker, in the style of The Donnas song "I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me)." I can't conceive of this working in ARM, even if I was playing a filthy 'gicker. Or a 'rinthi. Or a horrendous mutant. Because it doesn't work if the stalkee likes it.

Make the female an amorous half-giant and I think your idea is full of win.

[LauraMars]

Female on male stalker, in the style of The Donnas song "I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me)." I can't conceive of this working in ARM, even if I was playing a filthy 'gicker. Or a 'rinthi. Or a horrendous mutant. Because it doesn't work if the stalkee likes it.

My one long-lived male pc had a couple of female pc stalkers.  I had them both killed.  Sorry, girls!

[flurry]

Female on male stalker, in the style of The Donnas song "I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me)." I can't conceive of this working in ARM, even if I was playing a filthy 'gicker. Or a 'rinthi. Or a horrendous mutant. Because it doesn't work if the stalkee likes it.

At one point, I was thinking of making a character like the stalker/fan Mel on Flight of the Conchords. It might not work, but it would be funny to try.

Edit: For those unfamiliar with Mel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2sa6iHWF8I

[Incognito]

I think a half-giant Nilazi - would be a difficult concept to pull off - coz it requires quite a decent amount of thought, planning and intelligence.