OOC Information (No this is a different conversation, really)

[AmandaGreathouse]

I love and adore accents that are spelled out. Writers do it all the time. There's a reason to not leave regional accents to the player - they're not just there to add flavor to individual characters, but to actually give a hint to where the character is coming from. It needs to be recognizable by all characters as 'northern', 'southern' or something else, but you'd have a hard time trying to get players to all type out the same northern or southern accent.

I agree, but at the same time, I think that spelling things out to sound how they're intended is a lot better way to handle it than just sticking commas in to replace letters.

Like don't... don', dun, dunno, etc. The ways where it shows you the difference in pronunciation, rather than just a missing letter.

[Synthesis]

this is not the thread you're looking for

[Cindy42]

start a dude who pisses off some tribe or merchant house. Throw an anakore's head into the Sol Lanah Kah's camp every few weeks, leaving a detailed description of yourself in a drawing beside it. Throw magickal artifacts into the Tuluk gates once a week. Toss a dead songbird into an arabet camp once in a while. Do ALL of this as one character. App a like-minded family of Shit Starters. Start raiding great merchant house caravans, and throw their occupants' heads at the guards of city-states at the gates and then run. Set the rumor boards and templars' tempers ablaze. Get caught and killed impressively faster than you thought you would.

I've dreamed of becoming a 'gicker noble in Tuluk who, with staff permission, manifests in a packed bar and kills most of the npcs trying to escape and none of the other pc nobles, but I'm not about to waste my time on that.

I guess you could app for a tribe that isn't particularly friendly towards outsiders with a sociopathic character who decides his tribe is slowing him down and needs to die. Tell staff what you're doing, ask for permission, figure out a way to start a war that ends in a lot of pointless bloodshed.

I want to see a tin deposit in the northlands for christmas. That'd be neat.

[Taven]

this is not the thread you're looking for

[Lizzie]

I was thinking about the change in the way plots work. And how someone recently said that with the way things are there's not enough room for politics.

It's really hard to get a big plot off the ground. I think it's hard when you're an imm with a bunch of imms to coordinate with and the ability to watch everyone and hear every thought and animate the people who pay the people who will eventually do the leg work, and make several characters to move the plot along.

Without that it's just daunting.

This isn't a real suggestion. This is throwing a thought at the wall to see if it splatters pretty.

I'd like to do come ooc coordination.

What I do want:
Hey Bob, I was thinking if I played Rennik and you played a Jihaen templar I could go after some area that belongs to someone and you could react. I could try and make friends and once I have a few, you guys could take it back. I could do something agressive. What would piss you off? Ok, cool, well if I had a lot of friends at that point, you could hire someone to kidnap me and hold me for ransom. What could we do to invest someone else with a stake in that thing/person/place? Cool. After your guys kill my noble you should do this.

What I don't want:
Hey Bob. What if I play a Rennik and you play a Jihaen and we try to start a war? We should start by taking out so and so.


It shouldn't be used to gain an advantage or to a player who isn't privy to the conversation's disadvantage. It should be possible only to try to figure out how to find an arc of conflict. Once conflict is in motion communication should stop.

SO! Does anyone else have something to contribute to the actual topic of this thread?

Here's mine: I'm not fond of "setting up" plotlines oocly. I know of some games that do this, and they're contrived. The only kinds of "setting up" I like are, for example, when I'm logged in, something interesting is going on, I know that the player of another character who -would- be interested, isn't logged in, and I IM him to tell him "hey. This might be a good time to log in, if you can." I don't need to tell him why, or what to look for, or even to find my PC's mind..only that this is the moment of an unscheduled RPT.

So my vote would be against the ooc setup. My vote is -for- ooc heads' up (such as, "My character would probably have reason to interact with yours, if you were to be logged in.") and they get to find out ICly whether that reason is to kill them, befriend them, hire them, or frame them.

[maxid]

SO! Does anyone else have something to contribute to the actual topic of this thread?

Here's mine: I'm not fond of "setting up" plotlines oocly. I know of some games that do this, and they're contrived. The only kinds of "setting up" I like are, for example, when I'm logged in, something interesting is going on, I know that the player of another character who -would- be interested, isn't logged in, and I IM him to tell him "hey. This might be a good time to log in, if you can." I don't need to tell him why, or what to look for, or even to find my PC's mind..only that this is the moment of an unscheduled RPT.

So my vote would be against the ooc setup. My vote is -for- ooc heads' up (such as, "My character would probably have reason to interact with yours, if you were to be logged in.") and they get to find out ICly whether that reason is to kill them, befriend them, hire them, or frame them.

I'm down with this.  And I dig it.  So long as it's not used to call for help.

[BleakOne]

I tend to get into enough trouble ICly without OOC communications to stir up plots, but as long as nobody abuses it by calling for help in a fight or anything, I'd be ok with it.

[Lizzie]

I tend to get into enough trouble ICly without OOC communications to stir up plots, but as long as nobody abuses it by calling for help in a fight or anything, I'd be ok with it.

There's no way to moderate ooc communications out of the game itself. That's why the staff is so strict about the rules. By even -discussing- the idea here on the forum, there will be players who think, "well obviously the playerbase is cool with this, so I'm gonna go ahead and create the next batch of Klestion brothers."

And then, y'all will only have yourselves to blame, for saying you have no problem with OOC creation of IC plotlines. That is *exactly* what the Klestions did, and it spun out of control -because- there is no way to moderate OOC communications.

[Bacon]

Who the hell are the Klestions?

[Qzzrbl]

Who the hell are the Klestions?

Apparently the Klestions were a family a oof players came up with.

Every time a brother would die, one of the players would roll up a cousin, uncle, son, father, etc., etc., so on and so forth. And it kept going on in this fashion for a long while.

[Bacon]

Okay but what does that have to do with OOC plotline discussion? We have a limit to the numbers of family members you can have now. Although, I don't really see a problem with doing what they did. You make a family group or group of any kind in game and others want to tear it apart just to tear it apart. So what if they decided to keep making new family members to keep it going? There's no rule against making a new pc in the same clan you just had a pc in is there?
All that rule does is make it easier for other players who want to break your new toy, simply because it is there, to do so.

[Marauder Moe]

There isn't a rule, no, but it's discouraged.

[Barzalene]

The idea about letting people know to log in has merits. I think that, however is a different discussion. I don't think it is a solution to how to create global plotlines.

The Klestion discussion is more on point. It ties in with the idea of scripting, which I agree is not what we want.

What I would like is some facility to putting pieces in place to start the ball rolling toward big (BIG) conflicts. If they can arise out of personal plots that's even better. But once the pieces are in place the plot has to live or die on it's own. The ooc has to stop at some point, preferably early.

[Synthesis]

You make a family group or group of any kind in game and others want to tear it apart just to tear it apart.

All that rule does is make it easier for other players who want to break your new toy, simply because it is there, to do so.

Welcome to Armageddon

[Fathi]

Who the hell are the Klestions?

dude bad thing happened a decade ago must stop all things remotely like it so bad thing does not happen and break game again

[maxid]

Who the hell are the Klestions?

dude bad thing happened a decade ago must stop all things remotely like it so bad thing does not happen and break game again

[Erisine]

I definitely have mixed feelings towards this, because I can see where it would be abused and made "exclusive" (i.e, plots made specifically for x number of people, and screw everyone else), but I also understand the OP's point.

One of the things that drew me to Armageddon several years ago (I have just returned and am currently enjoying N00b status once again) was that I had the potential to DO anything -- you know, with a lot of patience and creativity and pizazz I might one day roll a sorcerer and get to play a dragon myself, or found my own group bent on subverting the integrity of the Tuluki nobility.  When I hear things that suggest that this game doesn't have any room for plots which disrupt the status quo, I get discouraged and feel that my time will be wasted here.  If there are rules in place to put a stop to "unrealistic" goals or changing the face of the game world -- be it a player-initiated mass RPT or a whole new faction or a massive attack against XYZ -- then where is the game going?  Why should it look exactly as it does 10 months from now?  Is that really what you think fun us?

There is also this weird idea that you can't DO anything if you have a "new" character.  This bugs me, too, because I really don't think it's wise to invest a year+ or more into a character before trying to decide if I want to maybe sorta get involved in this tiny little plot that will eventually fizzle out (and that is what this thread SEEMS to be suggesting).  I play quick succession characters -- I think they have the potential to be high impact.  I want to get in on a plot and play and have fun with it, and then when it gets boring or ends, move on.  Power to the folks who can sit there and play the SAME character 18 months straight -- but that's not for me.  Why would my playstyle -- which is no less pro-roleplay -- need to effect my involvement in starting large plots?  Sure, I won't go running out and fisty-cuffing mekillots, but seriously.  Is that what matters?

I also understand that it sucks to be an overworked, under-appreciated staff.  So... meh.  :/

[Thunkkin]

TLDR ahead!

The opinions stated in this thread may or may not accurately reflect reality. I'd suggest that you attempt world-shaping plots and see how your experience matches up.

In regards to the necessity of living a long time: You can't get "stuff" done without other people. Many people play a succession of characters (sound familiar?) or don't have endless time to commit to the game. This means that any "stuff" takes 10, 100, or 1000 (or more) times longer than you would think.

Let's say you have a scheme to have a minion assassinate a noble that you hate for you and then pin it on a noble from the other city in order to start a war. Well, you have no assassins. So you have to be awesome enough to: attract a player of an assassin awesome enough to be skilled enough and dedicated enough to do the job for you. However, most such minions will suicide, store (I'm guilty), or stop playing. So you'll need to try over and over again until you get just the right assassin who manages to be skilled enough (both coded skill, the player's knowledge of game mechanics, and the player's creativity) to get the job done. This will take a while. At that point, the noble you were going to assassinate in order to make it look like an act of murder committed by the other city state in order to spark a war has stored. The only other active noble plays in a totally different time zone from you and your assassin. So you start to alter your plans. At this point, a mindbender sniffs out your plot and rats on you (subtly, perhaps, or perhaps not) to a templar who summons you to an apartment where five goons who just created their characters in the last week manage to pummel you to death behind a locked door.

Welcome to Armageddon.

Ok, so it's not always like that ... but do you see the necessity of living a long time? It's not necessarily a staff rule saying, "No, you may not assassinate a noble and make it look like the other city did the deed in order to start a war." You just have to play a long time to get it done. And what if you want to be a solo-assassin (guild assassin, in the following case) who pulls it off without messing about with all the minion crap?

Well, now you need to: train your combat skills and train your stealth skills. That takes time, especially the finer points of combat. Then, you're going to need a steady supply (and knowledge) of poisons. Where are you going to get those? Well, you're going to have to buy them or get a boss/friend who trusts you enough to start passing those things on to you. Both of those take time. Oh, and you'll need cures, too, for when you fail with the poison. So you'll need a friend/boss/coins who can provide you with those. Now where and how will you practice backstab? How twinky are you willing to get? Etc., etc., etc.

Ok! Ok! Enough with the assassination, you say. I just want to dig up Steinal. Well, OK. You think finding the location is going to be quick? Do you think getting the technology/tools to unearth it will be quick? All of the above applies all over again, especially because you're going to need combat people to protect the expedition, hunter types to lead the expedition through storms and handle the huntery aspects, certain other peoples to have the skill to search the ruins for you and uncover secret doors and disable the locks if necessary, etc., etc., etc. Again, you'll need coin and minions. See where this is going?

But, but, but you say! I don't want to LEAD an expedition to Steinal. I just want to INSPIRE one with my week old character. Well, let me tell you, you're going to have to be one hell of a con artist to trick a leader into devoting huge amounts of his/her OOC time plus huge amounts of IC time/resources/minions to this fun idea of yours and to carry on doing it once you get bored and go on to the next character.

I'm not saying all this to discourage you. Both of the above scenarios (Princess-Bride-assassination and finding Steinal) are awesome plots that I'd love to see in game and that 100%. would. be. possible. (I'm not saying the imms will build Steinal for you, but I'd warrant that if you invested the time, you'd find SOMETHING interesting out in the sands). So you can do those things. But you can't do those things without huge initiative, determination, and time.

[Erisine]

My problem is not that getting something "big" done would be a lot of work. 

My problem is that there is this general pessimism about it.  Ok, so there's no "official rule", right -- well, there's still the fact that if you talk about something cool, everyone who's already jaded with the game is gonna frown at you.  It's no longer, "Well, this COULD be a pretty cool idea -- let's give it a try!" it's, "This is a lot of work so I'm going to give you 20,000 reasons why you shouldn't even bother.  Here, play this nameless Bynner instead and go cyber -- I mean, have story-appropriate mudsex."

Take my, "I want to be a dragon!" aspiration.  Rather than going, "That's neat.  Here's some things you can do first to learn how to play a role like that..." and then getting these suggestions about what kind of roles would interest someone like me, I get things like, "That's IC.  Go find out IC!  IC!!!!!!!!!!!!" (especially in response to questions that would otherwise be inappropriate to "find out IC"), or "ROFLCOPTER!  Newb." or "We really don't accept sorcerers-wanting-to-be-dragon apps anymore.  See x Policy, Chapter 7, Article 2."  It's a buzzkill.  I lose any interest to play.  It's not that the game isn't FUN, it's just that the knowledge that none of my awesome goals are really attainable bums me out and now, thanks to you (the jaded guys out there), I'm jaded too.  And now I frown at n00bs who want to do cool stuff.   Eventually, I do get tired of playing the same three races and the same five classes.



A bit back on topic -- a long while back, I had a hard time trying to get even personal plots going because of the OOC rule.  I'm ALL for respecting IC and OOC boundaries because it's just not cool to screw someone over when the purpose of a social game like this is to have SHARED fun.  The policy gets taken to a point where it longer has any common sense in some situations, and as a result, negatively effects the game and the spirit of this idea of "shared fun."  I personally don't want to try and randomly start a plot with some random guy if the kind of plot I'm looking for requires some short-term cooperation:  take for instance, the kidnapping scene.

Maybe it's not like this anymore, but back when I played some years ago, players had a knee-jerk reaction to just kill people.  If someone was trying to kidnap me -- how in the hell would I know that, rather than them trying to just PK me straight-up for my shiny chalton boots?  It's way more complicated than that -- if I were to get kidnapped, the kidnapper's PLAYER has to have the semi-comfort of knowing I will cooperate through roleplay:  I'm not going to just wait for him to log off and go, "Pffft", take off my virtual ropes, and walk back to Allanak.  ICly, I would not be able to do that because his character would have virtual control over mine -- but OOCly, he either has to trust me to "play along" for the sake of the fun of it, or he has kill me (which is not the point of the RP).  As the kidnapee, I have to trust that he's not going to tote me off to his seekrit hideout and then leave me there to sit on my hands emoting to myself for 6 RL days. 

Adding in "coded" ways to keep me from being an OOC douchebag, like say, coded ropes, would be a TERRIBLE thing to do, because what if I play six hours a day and he only plays two?  Well, that's punishing ME and not my character, and that's not cool.  So in the end, something like that HAS to be OOC arranged for everyone to enjoy it and to see something come of it.  There doesn't need to be any silly agreements like, "I promise not to kill your PC", but there needs to be, "This is what we intend to do and this is how we can facilitate it if we work together."

In the end, I have NO problems what-so-ever with a player PMing me or whatever and going, "Hey, the game's been kind of boring.  What to try something cool?"  In fact, I'd be syked that they'd want to include me.

[Ocotillo]

My problem is not that getting something "big" done would be a lot of work. 

My problem is that there is this general pessimism about it.  Ok, so there's no "official rule", right -- well, there's still the fact that if you talk about something cool, everyone who's already jaded with the game is gonna frown at you.  It's no longer, "Well, this COULD be a pretty cool idea -- let's give it a try!" it's, "This is a lot of work so I'm going to give you 20,000 reasons why you shouldn't even bother.  Here, play this nameless Bynner instead and go cyber -- I mean, have story-appropriate mudsex."

Take my, "I want to be a dragon!" aspiration.  Rather than going, "That's neat.  Here's some things you can do first to learn how to play a role like that..." and then getting these suggestions about what kind of roles would interest someone like me, I get things like, "That's IC.  Go find out IC!  IC!!!!!!!!!!!!" (especially in response to questions that would otherwise be inappropriate to "find out IC"), or "ROFLCOPTER!  Newb." or "We really don't accept sorcerers-wanting-to-be-dragon apps anymore.  See x Policy, Chapter 7, Article 2."  It's a buzzkill.  I lose any interest to play.  It's not that the game isn't FUN, it's just that the knowledge that none of my awesome goals are really attainable bums me out and now, thanks to you (the jaded guys out there), I'm jaded too.  And now I frown at n00bs who want to do cool stuff.   Eventually, I do get tired of playing the same three races and the same five classes.

You seem to be confusing the GDB with the game.

Not everything said here is true. Or as true as you/they think it is.

[Jeshin]

In the interest of playing devils advocate here. Consider the following.

1. In theory kidnapping is an OOC consent scenario.

tl:dr - Situations which significantly affect a PCs playability should be viable for consent. If given then it's an indication they intend to play along and RP the scenario properly.

I'll qualify this with the simple logic that is a character is given consent rights for torture, disfigurement, and graphic scenes. There's really no reason not to allow for kidnapping consent. Since kidnapping someone is significantly affecting their play [possibly like enslaving them would] I wouldn't imagine that asking OOC - You have been kidnapped. Consent to kidnapping? -after- the deed is done would be out of line.

If they consent, then it should be implied that are playing along. If they do not, then you off them. It's a shame if they choose not to consent but if your plan requires player co-operation and could possibly significantly affect their playability, then it's really only right. Kill em off or ask the staff if the PC can be stored and their vnpc retained as a hostage. etc etc etc.

Any further thoughts or work-arounds would require staff input, but consent means co-operation and no consent means death or a work around approved by the staff. Ta da.

[Thunkkin]

Sounds like you want to be a dragon.

1) I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but saying, "Could I become the third most powerful (commonly) known being in the Known?" isn't going to get you a response of "Sure! Here it is! Have fun and drive responsibly!"

2) That's a neat goal. You can go achieve it. No one is going to give you truly detailed suggestions, because many players have no clue (me included) how to really go about it. Your assumption that step #1 is "be a sorcerer" might not even be correct, for all you know. Maybe you have to pull a magick sword out of magick stone in a magick castle somewhere. If I were going to attempt this with a character you can play NOW, though, I'd operate under the following guidelines that might also serve as grist for your imaginative mill: A) make it your character's goal to understand magick AND history as much as possible, B) spend a lot of time pondering how the God-king's operate - everything from the big picture to some of the little tiny details of their laws and start piecing together information that will help you with part A, and C) figure out a social position or role in the Known that would allow you to do all this, or maybe look the other way while you did it, or maybe help you. Pursue all this, and you'll be well ahead of me in game knowledge and even if you don't end up as a God king, you'll end up as a bad-ass who knows lots of cool dangerous stuff and has so many ancient magickal texts that he uses them for toilet paper.

3) If you're wanting an OOC long term strategy to play a sorceror: play a character who is compelling and file regular reports until you get a point of karma and keep doing it until you get two points of karma then try out a gemmed water mage. Make the character old, frail, and possibly unappealing (half-elf, rinthi, weird mutant, etc.). Do you like the experience of playing a loathed and limited water mage and did you really enjoy the magick system? Did you demonstrate to yourself that you can handle an extremely lonely and sometimes stultifying existence? If yes, keep playing compelling characters, following the OOC rules, and exploring varying magick-related roles (taking breaks for mundane fun, just to learn more game mechanics and to keep your play fresh) until you are within 4 karma points of a sorcerer. Start special apping sorcs at regular intervals while maintaining a trustworthy and high level of play. Demonstrate to staff that you can responsibly handle the most powerful of roles and can be both a compelling character and someone who can handle isolated experiences. Demonstrate that you can keep secrets, that you can survive ICly and are worth the time setting you up in a very special role, and that you are a trustworthy player who also doesn't go all drama-queen on the staff whenever the game doesn't go your way. Eventually, you'll probably get a shot at playing a sorc.

4) All of the above isn't a chore. It's not obstacles. It's FUN. I really mean that. And you can really achieve it. Or, even if you don't achieve it, you'll have so much fun along the way that the goal you started with won't really be that important in the end, because you've been doing other awesome stuff and have discovered that there's actually whole dimensions of the game that you never guessed at and that are way cooler than being a flashy dragon.

5) You can combine my point #2 and my point #3, too! You can do both at the same time. So get out there and have fun and see where you end up. If you want to play a dragon tomorrow. Or this week. Or this year... well, probably not. But you may be surprised by what cool stuff you stumble into.

Is that positive enough? It's not mean to be sarcastic or condescending. I just kinda inspired myself ... into wishing I had the play time that I once had.

p.s.: The players who actually know about magick, dragons, and sorcerers are probably all snickering at my suggestions. That's OK. You can start where I'd start. Or start with some other plan of your own. It doesn't matter. You'll either get there or find something even better along the way. Go get 'em!

[Erisine]

Sounds like you want to be a dragon.

1) I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but saying, "Could I become the third most powerful (commonly) known being in the Known?" isn't going to get you a response of "Sure! Here it is! Have fun and drive responsibly!"

2) That's a neat goal. You can go achieve it. No one is going to give you truly detailed suggestions, because many players have no clue (me included) how to really go about it. Your assumption that step #1 is "be a sorcerer" might not even be correct, for all you know. Maybe you have to pull a magick sword out of magick stone in a magick castle somewhere. If I were going to attempt this with a character you can play NOW, though, I'd operate under the following guidelines that might also serve as grist for your imaginative mill: A) make it your character's goal to understand magick AND history as much as possible, B) spend a lot of time pondering how the God-king's operate - everything from the big picture to some of the little tiny details of their laws and start piecing together information that will help you with part A, and C) figure out a social position or role in the Known that would allow you to do all this, or maybe look the other way while you did it, or maybe help you. Pursue all this, and you'll be well ahead of me in game knowledge and even if you don't end up as a God king, you'll end up as a bad-ass who knows lots of cool dangerous stuff and has so many ancient magickal texts that he uses them for toilet paper.

3) If you're wanting an OOC long term strategy to play a sorceror: play a character who is compelling and file regular reports until you get a point of karma and keep doing it until you get two points of karma then try out a gemmed water mage. Make the character old, frail, and possibly unappealing (half-elf, rinthi, weird mutant, etc.). Do you like the experience of playing a loathed and limited water mage and did you really enjoy the magick system? Did you demonstrate to yourself that you can handle an extremely lonely and sometimes stultifying existence? If yes, keep playing compelling characters, following the OOC rules, and exploring varying magick-related roles (taking breaks for mundane fun, just to learn more game mechanics and to keep your play fresh) until you are within 4 karma points of a sorcerer. Start special apping sorcs at regular intervals while maintaining a trustworthy and high level of play. Demonstrate to staff that you can responsibly handle the most powerful of roles and can be both a compelling character and someone who can handle isolated experiences. Demonstrate that you can keep secrets, that you can survive ICly and are worth the time setting you up in a very special role, and that you are a trustworthy player who also doesn't go all drama-queen on the staff whenever the game doesn't go your way. Eventually, you'll probably get a shot at playing a sorc.

4) All of the above isn't a chore. It's not obstacles. It's FUN. I really mean that. And you can really achieve it. Or, even if you don't achieve it, you'll have so much fun along the way that the goal you started with won't really be that important in the end, because you've been doing other awesome stuff and have discovered that there's actually whole dimensions of the game that you never guessed at and that are way cooler than being a flashy dragon.

5) You can combine my point #2 and my point #3, too! You can do both at the same time. So get out there and have fun and see where you end up. If you want to play a dragon tomorrow. Or this week. Or this year... well, probably not. But you may be surprised by what cool stuff you stumble into.

Is that positive enough? It's not mean to be sarcastic or condescending. I just kinda inspired myself ... into wishing I had the play time that I once had.

p.s.: The players who actually know about magick, dragons, and sorcerers are probably all snickering at my suggestions. That's OK. You can start where I'd start. Or start with some other plan of your own. It doesn't matter. You'll either get there or find something even better along the way. Go get 'em!

Well, it was an exaggerated example to begin with, but this is more in line with what I feel would be a better response to ideas, so thank you for the post... especially since you said you even inspired yourself, and that's what I think we (as a community) should try to do.  Inspiration > Pessimistic "you can't play that way" bullcrap.

In the interest of playing devils advocate here. Consider the following.

1. In theory kidnapping is an OOC consent scenario.

tl:dr - Situations which significantly affect a PCs playability should be viable for consent. If given then it's an indication they intend to play along and RP the scenario properly.

I'll qualify this with the simple logic that is a character is given consent rights for torture, disfigurement, and graphic scenes. There's really no reason not to allow for kidnapping consent. Since kidnapping someone is significantly affecting their play [possibly like enslaving them would] I wouldn't imagine that asking OOC - You have been kidnapped. Consent to kidnapping? -after- the deed is done would be out of line.

If they consent, then it should be implied that are playing along. If they do not, then you off them. It's a shame if they choose not to consent but if your plan requires player co-operation and could possibly significantly affect their playability, then it's really only right. Kill em off or ask the staff if the PC can be stored and their vnpc retained as a hostage. etc etc etc.

Any further thoughts or work-arounds would require staff input, but consent means co-operation and no consent means death or a work around approved by the staff. Ta da.

This is definitely one way to do it, but my play-style is a little more "friendly" than that, OOCly speaking.  I don't really think it's all that cool to go around PKing people without a LEGITIMATE IC reason to do so, or putting them in a position where they have to choose to significantly alter their style or kiss their PC goodbye.  Usually when you set out to kidnap someone, then it means you don't actually intend to kill them:  doing so really negates the entire purpose of kidnapping them, and probably not just gives that player a really bad day, but it can also potentially screw over your own plot line.  You can chock it up to an "accidental death", but then you're just making excuses for something that would not have happened "IC", but you had to do because you pidgeon-holed yourself.  Thus, waiting until AFTER you have 'kidnapped' someone is sloppy, at best.

[musashi]

I think that it would be a good idea to allow for a player to ask another player for OOC consent to rape/kidnapping/torture/whatever via staff and the request tool.

That way you could do so without having to OOC'ly tip your hand and be like "Oh yeah BTW you probably shouldn't go anywhere alone with me since I'm asking if you're cool with being kidnapped."

[Erisine]

I think that it would be a good idea to allow for a player to ask another player for OOC consent to rape/kidnapping/torture/whatever via staff and the request tool.

That way you could do so without having to OOC'ly tip your hand and be like "Oh yeah BTW you probably shouldn't go anywhere alone with me since I'm asking if you're cool with being kidnapped."

I like this idea, actually -- it also allows you to remain semi-anonymous, so you can safely make such requests without fear of bumping into that one Bad Player.