How to play an asshole

[Refugee]

Just in case any assholes are feeling called out as a "cartoon villain", I'll just pipe up and say that I have never encountered anyone in this game I'd give that title to.

And sometimes characters you might think of that way turn out to have very deep, well thought-out personalities you just never knew about because you weren't around them when they showed.

[Dakota]

If you want to play like an asshole...

-Know the stereotypes that exist in the game.

-Play them up.

-Play like you've got nothing to lose (don't play to live long... that just sucks anyway and breeds shit RP).

-Have a strong concept behind your assholeness (that's a word and this is the most important thing).

-Your concept should not be vague that seeps out after a decade of RP.

-Assholeness shouldn't come from the role or position or rank. It needs be -character- based. Not reactive to anything but something internal. Assholes are assholes for a reason. They were an asshole before they got the power and are a more visible asshole -when- they have the power.

-If you play an asshole always be ready to see a mantis head but know you made the game better for everyone.

I know what I'm talking about.

/that is all.

EDIT: If you want to play an asshole and have an easy step into it... Play a c-elf b/c they took "Asshole" and made it into a secret primary class. But again... strong concept goes a loooong way. This isn't easy mode though b/c c-elfs are kinda gimped in a billion ways but are still the best class bc c-elfs (and elves in general) win.

[Barzalene]

If you are playing an asshole that is ruining the fun of others you are doing it wrong.

If you are playing an asshole that is creating fun for others you are doing it right.

The problem there is you can't make everyone happy. People should jus do the best they can. If your pc is an asshole, but you're not a griefer it should be fine.

[Delirium]

What I've noticed:

If you're an asshole in a way that directly supports the game documentation stereotypes and makes things interesting, people will love to hate you.

If you're an asshole in a psuedo-OOC way or in a way that's inappropriate to game documentation, people will hate to hate you.

Either way, you're still going to run into a LOT of pushback, because a lot of people playing this game haven't learned to handle conflict very well.

[Desertman]

I think one issue people have is they equate "kill other PC's" with "being a good bad guy".

I've officially killed more people with my good guys than my bad guys. Easily.

I don't kill a lot of people in general though. I find it usually adds very little to the game. If I am killing someone I want a crowd there to witness it, a lover there to mourn it, or better yet...I want to hire someone else to do it for me.

I think I can count the number of people my best played villains have ever killed combined on a single hand, and one of them literally forced me to do it knowing they would die.

My point is, if you are going to play an asshole/a villain, don't get caught up in "killing people makes me the super awesome bad guy". It doesn't. It can if it's done the right way, but usually, it just makes you a griefing douche. (Especially if you are  a high-karma laying waste to mundanes. It is somewhat more interesting and forgivable if you do it with a zero karma class because you are far more obtainable in terms of people coming after you and thus you really are sort of creating a plot and fun for heroes. If you are a high-karma shithill though that you know it would take ten people to capture you or they can't ever go to where you are to capture you anyways...you are just griefing.)

[Inks]

I have played some pcs who some people would consider bad. But in their own mind and some friends they have always thought they were doing the right thing.

I find many people don't take getting killed very well, in fact personally, and read into it whatever they want, from the pks I have seen they are almost always for IC reasons. I feel overall we have a very mature player base.

[KankWhisperer]

I'm a natural.

[Chettaman]

I love playing asshole characters that, at the same time, allow you into their life.
That's the secret to role playing an asshole.

if you're going to be an asshole, don't push everyone away. Reel them in. Make them want to be missjudged, abused, spoken down at. Give them a reason to want to be near your jerk ass. Giving them no choice is nearly the same, but as soon as they find a way out... they're gone for good.

If you're a merchant. You don't have to smile all the time. You have what the hell /they/ want. Either buy something or get out!