This anime may inspire some new roleplaying habits

[Chettaman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Eo7C9774YE&list=PLSm-q0quS2aFm-SURRPOg7o3HiQg74AGP

I thought I'd share the anime "Overlord" with you all.
perhaps it will inspire you all like it did myself.

... of course, there are some bad habits to learn from the anime as well, but let's not kid ourselves. If you watch it - you'll know what the hell I'm talkin' about and some people already do it, but who cares? Just try to learn the good stuff anyway.

[Yam]

dude what

[Chettaman]

Just sayin', dood.

I learned a good bit of roleplaying in a game-world setting from watching this.
I mean... I'm already pretty good - heh heh - but I still learned some stuff.

[Kryos]

An opus to Bartle's A types.  As in my sorry self.

[Jihelu]

I mean.
Haven't you seen some of the shit I post on here?
This game is an anime.

[HavokBlue]

This looks like something maybe better suited for off topic.

[Chettaman]

This looks like something maybe better suited for off topic.

I thought about putting it in the off topic, but hilariously enough, I genuinely believe that if anyone who role played watched some of this, they might get a better idea of how to get plots going as a leader, definitely as a servant, as reasonable antagonists - since, let's face it. Most of the time when you get into a "serious" conflict whoever is conflicting you is going to be really good at what they do. I don't want to say... get ready to be thwarted as the antagonist every time... but I would like to see some thwarting done. I've seen it! And it's always made me feel great, but let's all be honest. It's usually all or nothing.

I genuinely believe, no matter how silly it is, that this cartoon about someone in a virtual game, playing the role of an elder litch that is attempting to increase his fame/infamy as well as knowledge so that he may take it for his own - while secretely he is just trying to find some other "real" people in the game like himself, because he misses them and it would be totally awesome to roleplay in a game like that with another actual person. (even if all of the NPCs are now technically real people)

[roobee]

For those too lazy to watch the anime
Mind giving some examples of what you've learned?

[WanderingOoze]

Touch minions bewbs. Is what I learned.

[Chettaman]

Touch minions bewbs. Is what I learned.

High five!

How to roleplay as:
a loyal servant - the main character's servants are awesome. They have their own personalities and they seem to even have their own wants and desires, while still being loyal or seemingly so.
a powerful leader - the main character is a rightous dood with the ability to make change. And he does so carefully and in character.

an attached, powerful character - his minions are all super-powerful. But they are indeed loyal and loyal for a reason (if not because of their programming) because of some other reason.

an unaware character -against- powerful characters, leaders or otherwise - these poor bastards have the misfortune of facing someone who is stronger than them in unbelievable ways, but they have no way of knowing. They just met him. They test him and fall.

an unaware character -around- powerful characters, leaders or otherwise - these people have the fortune of knowing someone unbelievably powerful and while they may sense or they have seen the power, they are still whoever they are. They may even take advantage of said strength. ... but the world goes on. They may even tell tales of this person, true or not. anyway... none of the people that were around him OOCly knew anything about him even if it were an MMORPG. They simply treated him like an incredibly powerful person who's strengths they couldn't know.

a magick user - the main character uses magick as if they were commands and so do we. The magick he uses has similar effects so anyone who uses magick could say, "Woah, dood. I wanna do that. And It'd totally fit into armageddon's setting and what not." Other than the main character, other characters use magick and the levels of magick they refer to as Teirs is on par with Arm's levels of magick and it's just cool to me that people cared about what level magick was being used because anything above "three" was inhuman. --- while the game was running, I'm sure level three magick was no big deal, but when the world became "real" everyone was terrified to hear of magick above three.

someone who faces certain, slow death - as well as the person giving the slow death. Panic, anger, self harm, fear, maybe even patience. OOCly you want your character to live no matter what so flee is the option! You don't want to die! You don't want to die! ... but what about the roleplay? You spam flee and then escape. The other character would need something to stop you. Heh heh. A locked door is the way it is usually done. (flee is a super power, man) The only way to stop someone and give you the ability to MAYBE roleplay giving certain death is with locked doors and while I've never seen a death behind a locked door go any way other than "The guy attacks you!" - I know it's totally possible. If you have a chance to give a slow, "certain" death. Do so. Please.
I'm a big mouthed asshole with little regard for things I should or shouldn't do, so I'll mention that there was one person I got into a fight with recently that I allowed to kill me IC. Could I of fled? Certainly. The gate was right there with guards. Did I have to chase him to begin fighting again? Certainly not. But my character... full of rage and anger... fought until he died. (there should be a flee failure echo, because I'm sure that guy thought I had just ran out of stamina) anyway. I fought until he ultimately killed my character. ... and it was so worth it. Even if I really planned on liking that character. The circumstances were that I should fight until someone was dead. So I did. - I even emoted getting tired and receiving the beating. Unfortunately there wasn't any great deal of roleplaying that had to be done other than him whoopin' my ass. Which was fine. -- which is why I think a final emote should be allowed after death.
example: You are dead - roleplay your death.
emote beheaded by ~dood, candy sprays forth from his neck and melts %dood dumbass! Eff you, dood! I can't believe you did this! Eff you! (xD Just joking)

someone who faces uncertain, sudden death - if you think you can kill someone. Do it. If at anytime your plan goes awry... heh heh. Just let it happen, man. Or run if you think that you can, but do so "reasonably" please. I can say that I've never had a chance to roleplay running away, because everyone insta-attacks and insta-kills me in PK situations. Except one guy... I was a breed that protected animals in the grass lands and I fought him to protect a ritikki. I disengaged 'cus I was clearly beaten and so did he. He acknowledged this and went on his way. Kudos to you, man. Kudos to you.

ANYONE who wants to start a plot, but doesn't think it possible - If you want cool stuff to happen then effing do cool stuff. It's your fault. I blame you. My characters, and some can testify, do near to nothing and I have to /avoid/ starting or getting into plots.

anyone who wishes to add to a plot, but doesn't find it appropriate or possible (this was me grasping, I think)

OOCly, one might even learn how to balance the world they play in with the real world they live in. Since the anime is about a person inexplicably still in a roleplaying MMO - who still very much has his real world consciousness (mostly), but roleplays the entire time. He does indeed, several times use some OOC knowledge, but he uses it in a way that makes sense to the setting of the roleplay. This combination of In game and Out of game knowledge and action taking, I believe, is crucial. And I believe that to some ... the balance is on the selfish note of acting /ON/ OOC knowledge and events (and not just game knowledge), instead of having the knowledge and using it to better roleplay. Also keeping events that have nothing to do with the game away from it. ... but it's all cool with me. This goes to that conversation about human frailties and such, and bla bla bla. --- anyway, I believe that the main character balanced his OOC knowledge well within the RP setting and it can be observed during watching this show.

[Rathustra]

I watched the first episode and thought the premise was interesting. 13 episodes later and I've watched it all.

It's a cool show if you're into D&D and that old-school style of RPG where you manage resources as much as you manage characters and plot. I think despite the obvious impossibility of Yggdrasil as a game the show works because it draws upon a lot of RPG tropes that are common to both the Japanese and Western RPG scene, but rendered a bit funny (some of those spell names!) by cultural divergence.

The fanservice was a bit dumb but whatever, after the first few episodes it thankfully fell to the background.

Having the main character be a bit morally ambiguous is something that is done wrong more often than not - but while it felt sometimes heavy-handed in Overlord (Ains seems sort of arbitrary in how he feels about people) - overall the effect is refreshingly different. The main character isn't always doing 'the right thing', but isn't some apathetic sociopathic loner either. Also being a skeleton is cool, goofy robes aside.

As for what the show can show you about Armageddon:

I have to disagree with you on how the show treats magick. The majority of the magick PCs will encounter in-game is elemental and elementalism shouldn't operate like a MMORPG spell list. Quoting spell names, planning combos and using spells as a series of distinct, discrete powers that can be arranged in tiers or classified doesn't really fit the premise of individuals cursed by an elemental affiliation and able to instinctively shape that power.

The spellcasting in the show reminds me more of sorcery, but without the dimension of defilement/preservation that is core to the theme of 'wizardry' in  Armageddon.

The interactions between the characters doesn't match much of what we have in Armageddon either. Fanatically loyal servants are earned and are as rare as metal - the typical minion should possess loyalty, but at cost and with limitation and exceptions. These weaknesses add depth to the relationship and meaning to when such relationships are tested.

The show's rather typical anime format of: conflict, revelation, exposition, counter-revelation, exposition, cliffhanger, exposition, counter-counter-revelation, etc. also doesn't match up with the way stories seem to form in-game. But the way the show keeps viewers informed and interested and shows all characters (and the viewer) being kept on the same page is perhaps something I might try some time as often relying on implication, context and for people to pick up on subtle clues doesn't translate into a text-based medium. There might be something to it!

[Jingo]

Hey that's some thoughtful analysis Rathustra.

Okay. Next do Le Chevalier D'eon. I kind of wish that magick in armageddon was a bit more like this series. The witchcraft is painted as frightening and perverse. Yet at the same it is always lingering beneath the surface, ready to emerge as disparate political actors make moves on one another.

There's probably a lot of content for noble and aide players as well.

[Chettaman]

I watched the first episode and thought the premise was interesting. 13 episodes later and I've watched it all.

It's a cool show if you're into D&D and that old-school style of RPG where you manage resources as much as you manage characters and plot. I think despite the obvious impossibility of Yggdrasil as a game the show works because it draws upon a lot of RPG tropes that are common to both the Japanese and Western RPG scene, but rendered a bit funny (some of those spell names!) by cultural divergence.

The fanservice was a bit dumb but whatever, after the first few episodes it thankfully fell to the background.
**
Don't tell me if you were somehow in a once virtual - now real world the first thing you wouldn't do is grope some minion bewbs... xD
lol. His hands were bones. He was totally boning her bewbs.

Having the main character be a bit morally ambiguous is something that is done wrong more often than not - but while it felt sometimes heavy-handed in Overlord (Ains seems sort of arbitrary in how he feels about people) - overall the effect is refreshingly different. The main character isn't always doing 'the right thing', but isn't some apathetic sociopathic loner either. Also being a skeleton is cool, goofy robes aside.

As for what the show can show you about Armageddon:

I have to disagree with you on how the show treats magick. The majority of the magick PCs will encounter in-game is elemental and elementalism shouldn't operate like a MMORPG spell list. Quoting spell names, planning combos and using spells as a series of distinct, discrete powers that can be arranged in tiers or classified doesn't really fit the premise of individuals cursed by an elemental affiliation and able to instinctively shape that power.
**
I'm not allowed to comment on this. (kind of joking. xD)
Reality Slash-ooh!

The spellcasting in the show reminds me more of sorcery, but without the dimension of defilement/preservation that is core to the theme of 'wizardry' in  Armageddon.
**
Agreed.

The interactions between the characters doesn't match much of what we have in Armageddon either. Fanatically loyal servants are earned and are as rare as metal - the typical minion should possess loyalty, but at cost and with limitation and exceptions. These weaknesses add depth to the relationship and meaning to when such relationships are tested.
**
I agree. I found myself wondering what his minions might do if they found out that his goal wasn't to become famous and take over the world through connections and such, but his goal was to become famous just in case there were other "real" people in the game to play with. I feel like at any moment the minions could turn on him for tricking them to do something so "meaningless". Or of course they would just find a way to justify his actions.

The show's rather typical anime format of: conflict, revelation, exposition, counter-revelation, exposition, cliffhanger, exposition, counter-counter-revelation, etc. also doesn't match up with the way stories seem to form in-game. But the way the show keeps viewers informed and interested and shows all characters (and the viewer) being kept on the same page is perhaps something I might try some time as often relying on implication, context and for people to pick up on subtle clues doesn't translate into a text-based medium. There might be something to it!