VNPC Interactions

[CalmThyPalm]

How do y'all conduct or plan to conduct yours? Do you? I knew PCs who emoted taking care of their kids while having conversations with others, and I personally do 'think (responding to a message sent through the Unseen Way) <insert message here>' when having conversations with virtual family while alone during off-peak hours. Got any memorable VNPC stories, or are they more of an afterthought for the majority?

[Kavrick]

VNPC interactions are usually things for me that happen 'off camera'. It's characters that my character interacts with while I'm logged out and I'll refer to while I'm logged in, that sort of thing.

[CalmThyPalm]

How do y'all conduct or plan to conduct yours? Do you? I knew PCs who emoted taking care of their kids while having conversations with others, and I personally do 'think (responding to a message sent through the Unseen Way) <insert message here>' when having conversations with virtual family while alone during off-peak hours. Go any memorable VNPC stories, or are they more of an afterthought for the majority?

[Redacted.]

[CalmThyPalm]

VNPC interactions are usually things for me that happen 'off camera'. It's characters that my character interacts with while I'm logged out and I'll refer to while I'm logged in, that sort of thing.

Makes sense, makes sense. Guess I've just spent a lot of time playing off-peak that doing solo RP with the world and VNPCs while looking for other online folks has become second nature to me.

[dumbstruck]

My use of vnpcs is mostly off camera, not because I don't like doing it. But because I find it awkward as hell to simulate interactions with a vnpc that I'm not supposed to use code getting around it so it looks normal rather than like jarring af. NPCs I will interact with more than vnpcs because of code awkwardness.

[Riev]

I know some may feel that its "not giving others the opportunity to discover" but most of my vNPC interactions are in my bios. I'll flesh them out in the bios, but I don't play them out in game. Its my preference, I play Arm for the social interactions with other players, not to write a story with my own characters.

That said? I have ZERO issue with people occasionally saying stuff to a vNPC wetnurse or some noble speaking to a page that "isn't codedly in the room"

[Lizzie]

I have occasionally included the VNPC world in my RPing. Responding to room echoes is sometimes fun.

>A soldier hoists a gemmed up and tosses them out of the bar.

emote watches the activity near the entrance and snickers.

Or if I need to log out and I'm in the middle of a scene with other people -

say (reaching for her temple) Oh - it's my Lady Mother. I have to dash off! Toodles!
stand;west;quit

Or maybe I'll do something unusual for the setting, and include a stare or raised eyebrow of a passerby.

And a couple of times I've RPed out rolling my wagon over a VNPC elf. But I was playing a Fale, and that's actually one of the job requirements!

[bracken]

As a generally off peak player, if I was all alone in the byn sparring hall, I'd end up creating a few vpnc sparring partners. (One highlight was a staff taking over one of them for the rest of the bout).

My only male PC was a young family man, so to try and get in his head/ body I took him home regularly to visit his horde of sisters, and practise being a bro.

[eska]

One of my PCs took care of his children and tasked some of his people to look after them when he was gone.
A few times, I sparred with VNPCs when there was noone around.
Many times I watched people sparring.
Also had a lot of VNPC interactions when I was the only Bynner logged on in the afternoon trainings. Once played out merchant-gith-bynner in guard training day. It was interesting at the beginning and turned into a boring activity. Latrine days and general tidying days were more fun to solo RP.

[FantasyWriter]

VNPC interactions are usually things for me that happen 'off camera'. It's characters that my character interacts with while I'm logged out and I'll refer to while I'm logged in, that sort of thing.

Same here. Some notable exceptions would be a vNPC prostitute one of my PCs favored as a OOC excuse to avoid romantic entanglements with PCs, and at a different time, interacting with a close friends VNPC children (we lived together at an isolated "tribal" camp.  They used the sdesc of the babies and later young children in their emotes, and as I developed a relationship with the children, I would interact with them through emotes as well.

[CalmThyPalm]

Some notable exceptions would be a vNPC prostitute one of my PCs favored as a OOC excuse to avoid romantic entanglements with PCs, and at a different time, interacting with a close friends VNPC children (we lived together at an isolated "tribal" camp.  They used the sdesc of the babies and later young children in their emotes, and as I developed a relationship with the children, I would interact with them through emotes as well.

Ooo, changing VNPCs' sdescs as you grow older to have them grow with you... am taking notes.

[Agent_137]

I like to bring vnpcs to life around my pc. Just simple stuff that isn't arguable.

My indie tribal would go out to a specific spot and setup a tent and emote interacting with his tribe.  It was a big driver for him and his goals so doing it completely off camera woulda been more jarring than not. Plus I always hoped someone would randomly come by. 

[Evilone]

I think interacting with vnpcs is a given for those in offpeak. I do come up with sdesc's for family, and children. I've never done fake way conversations though, that's something I might try in the future.

Is that okay with staff for players to use something like think (in a way conversation with an older, grey-haired woman) Hey mother, how are you doing?"

[Feu de Joie]

I used to have massive amounts of VNPC interaction. I would talk to shopkeeps, wanderers, soldiers. I would make up family members for my character to interact with. I've had NPC children, mates, siblings, and parents.

More often than not, I would adjust how I emote to make the VNPC more realistic. At one point, I got amazing at rearranging the emote command to reflect someone speaking, in sirihish, with game grammar.

First, it became a rule not to animate VNPC's and make them look like they are talking.

Then, after a few interjections from staff that 'I can't do that' or 'That's not how you use VNPC's', I just stopped.

No real edifcation was given, I was just limited and restricted to the point that I barely ever mention or emote with an VNPC.


After enough time like this, going on in this vein, and very rarely rarely being rewarded, I don't really interact with NPC's, either. I don't ask for staff animations because in my experience, a request for interaction with an NPC turns into a challenge to provide me with an adventure.





Now, I just go off of what others are doing. Are they interacting with an NPC? Ok, me too. Just about the only time I use emotes to reflect the virtual world is to remind a Player what is around them and reinforce realism.

[val]

I've done a couple types of things with VNPCs.

1. Brought out a baby or small child to show off to the tribe/other parent. This is probably the most involved I have had a VNPC in a scene. If someone emoted smashing the baby on the head or something, that would have been a very bad day for my character.

2. Emoted bumping into people in places, like running into someone in the bazaar or way out of the bar, usually to illustrate that a character is drunk or in a crowded area.

3. Bitched about them to others, or had their lives affect my character. For instance, a character's mom dying off scene had a huge effect on her.

4. Had a VNPC lover so that people would lose romantic interest. Sort of.

5. Put conversations that were had with them in bios.

I never tried to make any of them talk, appear to be talking, or talk to other characters. I never arranged objects in rooms to reflect them because I was always worried about something like someone stealing grandma's rocking chair (and therefore grandma?).

I do interact a lot with NPCs, but I don't try to make it look like they're reacting back, or speaking back, unless it's something like a clan guard that I have actual coded control over.

[Lizzie]

I'm with Val on this. I don't ever nest speech in emotes. First off, that bypasses the language code. Why would an elf who doesn't have the sirihish language on their skills list, know what the human aide's 8-year-old kid is saying?  But also if I'm allowed to have a VNPC talk, so is everyone. And that means someone else might have my character's adorable little son blurt out about my character getting crotch-rot from the local elf.

I rarely keep VNPCs around for more than a sentence or two, mostly because of the whole "if someone were to bash them over the head" thing. I don't bring those VNPCs around for conflict, I only bring them around to add a little environmental flavor to the scene.  Things like - if you're a gemmed half-elf wearing rinthi clothes hanging out at the bar, maybe you want to reflect that at least SOMEONE doesn't approve of your existence there, and gives you a dirty look before THEY leave the premises. Or your noble PC might shoo away a sycophant VNPC while strolling through the market.

[flurry]

Aside from one-offs of passers-by or bystanders, I've used VNPC's just a few times. I don't like to use them and I think it's difficult to do well over multiple emotes.

I'm with Val on this. I don't ever nest speech in emotes. First off, that bypasses the language code. Why would an elf who doesn't have the sirihish language on their skills list, know what the human aide's 8-year-old kid is saying?  But also if I'm allowed to have a VNPC talk, so is everyone. And that means someone else might have my character's adorable little son blurt out about my character getting crotch-rot from the local elf.

I realize your point here is about speech, but you mentioned something else here about multiple people using the same VNPC.  I wanted to offer a different perspective without  looking for an argument. Specifically when it comes to VNPC family I prefer to think of them as an extension of the PC, in the sense that just one player will be emoting for them. I guess I put another player's VNPC family in the same category as someone else's bodyguard or someone else's mount, in that I wouldn't emote for them either. Just a different view -- as far as I know there isn't an official policy on this.  Thankfully this is a super rare issue so perhaps a moot point.

[Lizzie]

Aside from one-offs of passers-by or bystanders, I've used VNPC's just a few times. I don't like to use them and I think it's difficult to do well over multiple emotes.

I'm with Val on this. I don't ever nest speech in emotes. First off, that bypasses the language code. Why would an elf who doesn't have the sirihish language on their skills list, know what the human aide's 8-year-old kid is saying?  But also if I'm allowed to have a VNPC talk, so is everyone. And that means someone else might have my character's adorable little son blurt out about my character getting crotch-rot from the local elf.

I realize your point here is about speech, but you mentioned something else here about multiple people using the same VNPC.  I wanted to offer a different perspective without  looking for an argument. Specifically when it comes to VNPC family I prefer to think of them as an extension of the PC, in the sense that just one player will be emoting for them. I guess I put another player's VNPC family in the same category as someone else's bodyguard or someone else's mount, in that I wouldn't emote for them either. Just a different view -- as far as I know there isn't an official policy on this.  Thankfully this is a super rare issue so perhaps a moot point.

Unfortunately that can (though I don't recall if it ever has) result in some major metagaming. If your VNPC is for your use only, then that means I would be accused of poor RP if I attacked it. It also means I can't try to plant an illegal substance in your VNPC buddy's pocket, or steal from it. The VNPC is codedly immune to - everything. That's why I don't use them for more than the odd random interaction with the environment, and I find it awkward when other people use it for anything more than that. I don't think there is an official policy on it, you're right. I'm just posting how I feel about the subject and how I personally engage in it.

[Agent_137]

If someone is trotting around a vnpc buddy or family, then I think that's cool. I wouldn't emote for them, but I might interact with them and expect the player to respond appropriately. And if they don't, then I'd escalate to staff.

When I had a small virtual human tribe and a completely virtual camp for them, my PC never shared their name and location but once because realistically they could be a target for his enemies, and if they were targeted I'd be rolling with that!