Half-Elf Roleplay

[DustMight]

You know - there seems to be this growing sense of "woe is me" attitude that half-elves have and while half-elves may be embittered by their birthright, I don't see it formally supported in the documentation on half-elf roleplay.

Half-elves tend to be independent and also tend to want to find acceptance in a group. The documentation for HE roleplay (like Mul RP) is very rich and dumbing it down to "woe is me" is to make it uninteresting.

I'm pretty sure that an fiercely independent half-elf that struggles for group acceptance (whether consciously or unconsciously) and desires a sense of self-worth via both external and internal acceptance would make a helluva murderous bandit and not someone who would end up crying into his beer about his unfortunate life.

Half-elves might be more keen on rejecting others before being rejected, manipulating others to need the half-elf and to tout their accomplishments in an attempt to gain group acceptance.  When the the latter doesn't work, they might well return to rejecting and manipulating in a great-big single-finger salute to the world.

There are variations of personality, of course, but half-elves do not have to play depressed individuals.  In fact, playing a character blissfully unaware of his own internal conflict might be quite interesting.  How many of us really understand the deep-seated needs that motivate us toward or away from certain actions?

[BleakOne]

I think a lot of the half-elf depression comes from many half-elves living in a constant state of being hated, often even by themselves. Couple this with a shifting sense of identity and the general crappiness of the Known, it's not surprising many are rather... unhappy.

Of course, they're individuals too, and I imagine some half-elves would enjoy making the world that hates them suffer. Others would try to find those who will accept them and cling to them, or maybe reject them.

[musashi]

I think the emo half elf jabs exist almost solely on the GDB as a tongue in cheek remark, rather than IG.

[Cutthroat]

I think constant rejection and being treated as a pariah can lead to depression. It can also lead to other things.

[Fujikoma]

Haven't really seen so many half-elves running about to get a growing sense of anything, maybe they're playing in another city.

[spicemustflow]

I think the emo half elf jabs exist almost solely on the GDB as a tongue in cheek remark, rather than IG.

It's not all tongue in cheek, I've seen lots of such comments in serious half-elf rp threads. It's a really bad example for our newbies.

[Desertman]

I do not think your typical half-elf would be all, "Oh, everyone hates me, I never have any real friends, I'm so depressed."

The majority would have the mindset, "Everyone hates me, I never have any real friends. Well fuck them. I don't need any friends. I don't need them to like me. I can stand on my own two feet. I take care of myself."

Mixed slightly with, "But if someone does show interest in me, or value me, I will probably have a soft place in my heart for them somewhere, even if my fiercly independent rough outer shell makes that hard to see most of the time."

At least that is how I play my breeds.

Usually it's something like a lot of this personality:



Blended with a fair bit of this personality (Ranger mode, not King mode, Fellowship of the Ring Only):



Then lightly crusted and topped with a dab of this personality:






My next half-elf ranger = StriderBlade Eastwood.

[Refugee]

I think you always have to consider, when choosing your PC's personality, how he would have survived to his current age.  Pretty sure the woe-is-me sort would be viewed as a crippled antelope to the average Zalanthan, an easy victim who really needs killing, and probably wouldn't have made it to a playable age.

There has to be something strong in someone with such a disadvantaged start in such a brutal world, to make them survive.

[musashi]

I think the emo half elf jabs exist almost solely on the GDB as a tongue in cheek remark, rather than IG.

It's not all tongue in cheek, I've seen lots of such comments in serious half-elf rp threads. It's a really bad example for our newbies.

Wait ... Wait ... There are "serious threads" on the GDB?

Get the fuck out of here   

[Patuk]

The majority would have the mindset, "Everyone hates me, I never have any real friends. Well fuck them. I don't need any friends. I don't need them to like me. I can stand on my own two feet. I take care of myself."

Mixed slightly with, "But if someone does show interest in me, or value me, I will probably have a soft place in my heart for them somewhere, even if my fiercly independent rough outer shell makes that hard to see most of the time."

This. This, so very much. It's what I do, too.

Yes, half-elves often go through phases or conversations where they want to be loved. Yes, they want people to like them sometimes. Yes, they will try to draw attention to themselves.

This is not an excuse to make them whiny little drama queens.

Breeds may want things they won't get, but they're not retarded. Trying to be accepted isn't chasing behind people shouting 'love meeeeee' like the gdb seems to imply, it's having a job and doing it, being a friendly/useful person, and not being an idiot. Conversely, wanting independence is at least as much part of a breed as trying to fit in. This means that breeds sulking all day over having nobody to talk to other than their beetles is downright silly; they're far more likely to have the independent side in them go 'Well, their loss,' and continue on with being the solitary survivor badasses that they have to be.

Breeds may have a different mindset from other people, and they might be treated worse, but how they deal with that is up to them, It does not make them more prone to depression than other races.

[Morrolan]

My next half-elf ranger = StriderBlade Eastwood.

say (speaking to ~chair) You're better than a kank. You'll never die off and leave me.

[Patuk]

I think the emo half elf jabs exist almost solely on the GDB as a tongue in cheek remark, rather than IG.

It's not all tongue in cheek, I've seen lots of such comments in serious half-elf rp threads. It's a really bad example for our newbies.

Wait ... Wait ... There are "serious threads" on the GDB?

Get the fuck out of here   

This would be funny if this didn't regard questions asked by actual newbs. Just don't.

[Harmless]

I play my HEs like desertman. I think borderline personality or any cluster B fits better than just "depression." Antisocial. Aloof. Cycles of seeking approval. Oversensitive to rejection. Love hate duality. Etc.

[Fujikoma]

If people in Zalanthas were really as cruel as some people seem to want to portray them, they'd be swapping stories about how old they were when they decided it was time to kill their parents because they just weren't as strong or useful anymore. Since I haven't seen this IC yet (Sorcerer kings and nobles don't count, motives are different), I'm going to start with the assumption that they do perhaps have some kind of freaking humanity to them, even if nowhere near as pronounced as in our world.

Strength is not linear, there are many dimensions to it. Otherwise there'd be only one stat.

[Riev]

PC Cruelness and the Cruelness of the world are not the same thing.

A lot of people feel that, since its another Player's Story they are dealing with, they are going to have a different outcome (read: Not so cruel). Most of the time, there's muggings, killings, hunting accidents, and tons of ways to die. But PCs make up, really, a small percentage of the population. Just because you don't see it IC, portrayed by PCs, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

So far as this applies to half-elves, what Refugee says is near gospel. You have to think if your current behavior got your PC to live as long as they have. Moping at the bar, drinking from a shitmug on purpose just to say "look at me! look at me!", telling everyone "Oh man, woe is me, I am le breed. Nobody could like me, and I am just so worthless"... these things are NOT conducive to longevity, because whether you've seen it ICly or not, these attitudes would lead the virtual muggers and cutthroats to just target you time after time. Its a harsh, desert world, where (virtually) water is incredibly hard to come by. People drink booze just because they can't afford to actually get a skin of water. Now a Woe Is Me breed is walking down the street, being mopey and down... whats a cutthroat to do? He's got a knife. Its dark out. That breed seems to have a skin of water... would a PC do it? Maybe not, because they're in the minority. But before you took over YOUR PCs life, would he have been mugged, virtually?

[Marauder Moe]

Meh.

Water isn't hard to come by, it's just expensive.  Ale is mostly water, so is most liquour.

Muggings are not very common due to the brutal and pervasive law enforcement in cities.  Also, this notion of muggers prefering to target people with depression is kind of ridiculous.

Fujikoma is right.  For a societies to exist there needs to be some baseline of behavior level somewhere above murdering psychopath.  Most Zalanthas are probably nice, decent  folk just trying to get by.  Occaisionally they may have to do hard things, but that doesn't mean they like it.


As for the actual topic... well I'd say you can play a self-pitying half-elf if you want, but you don't have to.  Either way is valid.

[Morrolan]

Most Zalanthas are probably nice, decent  folk just trying to get by.  Occaisionally they may have to do hard things, but that doesn't mean they like it.

+1 with gravy on top

[Fujikoma]

He's got a knife. Its dark out. That breed seems to have a skin of water... would a PC do it? Maybe not, because they're in the minority. But before you took over YOUR PCs life, would he have been mugged, virtually?

Likely not, given their backgrounds. As far as some of them have been concerned, can't go into specifics, most of these kinds of issues arose AFTER spending a good long while trying to prove themselves to others, even then, wasn't that pronounced. I usually start mine out like, ok, been socially withdrawn, not sure what to expect but now is the beginning of a potentially great adventure for my character.

Do they get upset because they feel cheated, mistreated? Yeah, eventually. Do they spend a lot of time moping about it? No, they spend time thinking about ways to get back at people, such as, by saving their life, giving them coin when they really need it, maybe just make a fuckload more money than the people who hurt them. Figure there's no greater revenge than letting a breed hater know they owe something to the thing they hate, or getting some kind of leg up on them to show them they aren't so great.

Certainly not Clint Eastwood, or Blade. I'm not trying to portray the perfect or most badass anything. I like my characters to have flaws, not to be the stoic, silent type, even though they may have flaws that aren't obvious.

[Refugee]

Play it out however makes sense to you, of course, but realize that other people are going to do the same.

[ShaLeah]

Most Zalanthas are probably nice, decent  folk just trying to get by.  Occaisionally they may have to do hard things, but that doesn't mean they like it.

+1 with gravy on top

I don't agree.

I would say that most BREEDS are probably nice, decent (primarily) human folk just trying to forget they have any elf in them.

To generalize for the populace I'd say most Zalanthans are highly aware of their environment and begrudgingly must do things they wouldn't normally to survive. Sometimes they like it, a lot, sometimes when it's over they're just glad it wasn't them in those boots.

I haven't played a breed (that I can remember) but I think I'd opt for a personality full of highs and lows, a propensity to addiction, envy, longing and a huge tendency to volley between extremes in thought primarily. I think it and muls are the hardest races psychologically.

[Fujikoma]

I think it's pretty safe to say that most well adjusted individuals able to conceive of long term consequences would be able to look at a particularly wicked act and weigh many factors, such as, does the potential reward outweigh the potential risk? Will I get more out of doing this now or continued interactions with this individual? What can I USE this person for instead?

To simply say "Well, I want them boots and I'm going to cut this sad fecker's throat for them." doesn't take a lot of imagination, whereas conning him into paying you money could get you many pairs of boots, or ripping him off for the things he's trying to sell, would be much more profitable. To say "Well, I don't like breeds so I think I'll kill this one." is not quite as imaginative as "How can I make this fucker really SUFFER?".

To look at this guy and say "Wow, he's dumb, I bet I could kill him." when you should be saying "Wow, he's dumb, I bet I could rip him off again and again." is counterproductive. To say "I hate this guy and want him to suffer, so I think I'll make him bleed out real quick." is missing the point. What are your motives, and how do you get the most out of them?

You see, a troubled person is much more complex than a sick scrab...

[ShaLeah]

To say "Well, I don't like breeds so I think I'll kill this one." is not quite as imaginative as "How can I make this fucker really SUFFER?".

You see, a troubled person is much more complex than a sick scrab...

Before someone else says it: Yes, I know you don't know what the person is -thinking- but I see an awful lot of public breed love and respect, waving, chatting, flirting.
I don't care if you're a merchant and this breed is providing you with shit you need at a cheap ass cost, they -should- be all over you like fresh corpses on the pile to get that business, undercutting everyone to prove their independence. Meanwhile, back at the ranch the "how can I really make this fucker suffer" hunter that hates the breed for undercutting them dies... to a scrab... because the breed has a shitload of friends hunting with him. Friends who really hate him/her but are making the breed suffer by making them THINK they're liked and respected just to use them for profit. Yeah, okay. Subtlety and what not.

I and all my characters gravitate towards kill them bastards, kill them all. Fuck long suffering, how is it suffering if they don't know they're suffering? Breeds suffer their trauma inside their ugly heads enough, it's really more of a mercy killing. 

[Fujikoma]

Annnnd... Characters like that make things interesting. It's not as much fun to play a paranoid character if NO ONE is out to get you. Actually, the people out to get my characters make it all the more rewarding to survive and sometimes provide some payback. Whether it's just "Haha! I survived!" or "Wow, those guards sure hauled them off quick.", to "Well, now I know that hooded figure is out to get me, I'll just take some wild ass route to krath knows where and hopefully lose them.".

Luckily, I'm guessing, haven't run across you in game, ShaLeah. Get lots of "I wish you would just die." to "I like hurting you." to "Just fecking shut up already!", but no arrow to the head= mantis head. Maybe it's because *secrets*.

[musashi]

I think the emo half elf jabs exist almost solely on the GDB as a tongue in cheek remark, rather than IG.

It's not all tongue in cheek, I've seen lots of such comments in serious half-elf rp threads. It's a really bad example for our newbies.

Wait ... Wait ... There are "serious threads" on the GDB?

Get the fuck out of here  

This would be funny if this didn't regard questions asked by actual newbs. Just don't.

A newb didn't start this thread or ask any questions about half elf RP.

I'm making light of it because I haven't ever seen half elves portrayed as drama queens, except in snarky posts on the GDB. I have an account note from staff that says "seems to love his half-elf rangers" or something to that effect because I've played them so often from my first PC rolled onwards, and it never occurred to me to make any of them a whiny emo. The first time I ever got raided was with my first gicker, and it was by a half-elf. I have literally never encountered any half-elf character being all moody broody and dark about their heritage.

So, ok ... we can talk about how half elf role play, like anything else, is not actually a cheap punch line the way it's characterized on the discussion boards, but that kinda seems like stating the obvious. Like pointing out that hey btw ... Dwarves don't actually universally speak without capital letters and punctuation.

[Patuk]

I think the emo half elf jabs exist almost solely on the GDB as a tongue in cheek remark, rather than IG.

It's not all tongue in cheek, I've seen lots of such comments in serious half-elf rp threads. It's a really bad example for our newbies.

Wait ... Wait ... There are "serious threads" on the GDB?

Get the fuck out of here  

This would be funny if this didn't regard questions asked by actual newbs. Just don't.

A newb didn't start this thread or ask any questions about half elf RP.

I'm making light of it because I haven't ever seen half elves portrayed as drama queens, except in snarky posts on the GDB. I have an account note from staff that says "seems to love his half-elf rangers" or something to that effect because I've played them so often from my first PC rolled onwards, and it never occurred to me to make any of them a whiny emo. The first time I ever got raided was with my first gicker, and it was by a half-elf. And have literally never encountered any half-elf character being all moody broody and dark about their heritage.

So, ok ... we can talk about how half elf role play, like anything else, is not actually a cheap punch line the way it's used on the discussion boards, but that kinda seems like stating the obvious. Like pointing out that hey btw ... Dwarves don't actually universally speak without capital letters and punctuation.

I urge you to hang out in Allanak more