Poll
Question:
Thinking back to your last well-played character, how many other characters do you think their life and death impact other characters both directly, and indirectly? Please vote once under each category.
Option 1: Directly affect 0 - 1 other characters.
votes: 10
Option 2: Directly affect : 2 - 5.
votes: 21
Option 3: Directly affect : 6 - 10.
votes: 9
Option 4: Directly affect : 11-20.
votes: 8
Option 5: Directly affect : 21+ other characters.
votes: 17
Option 6: Indirectly affect: 0-5
votes: 6
Option 7: Indirectly affect: 6-10
votes: 11
Option 8: Indirectly affect: 11-20 other PCs.
votes: 6
Option 9: Indirectly affect 10-50% of all other characters in their time.
votes: 11
Option 10: Indirectly affect >50% of all other living character during their time.
votes: 4
This is a poll to try and figure out what percentage of characters influence only a handful of other characters throughout their lives versus those who have a wide and deep social network and who may also indirectly affect the stories of many other characters' lives.
I am hoping the numeric answers to the above may work as an objective measure for how much "impact" your character may have had. "Impact" and "plot-starting" are terms we banter about often. Simply being heard of is not the point, but being remembered. Is your character missed? Did your character kill someone who was then missed? If so, +1 to directly affected. Is your character's death celebrated? Add a bunch to indirectly affected. It's a difficult question to answer, but think back to your last well-played character. Well-played does not necessarily mean long-lived, but this will usually be true also.
Obviously, the plots told and shared among small groups of PCs may be very significant, and the butterfly effect is real. Don't take this poll too seriously, as it's bound to be fraught with inaccuracy.
Also, please only discuss things safe to discuss on the GDB as per the rules, and no discussing currently-living PCs, or PCs whose stories and deaths may still impact the current gameworld. Use your best judgment please.
I've had a few characters that left a mark, I'd like to think. Though I think being one of two characters who began the process of making an RF camp a permanent fixture in the game world is still one of my best ones. Granted, I was warned that if I go through with it, I might begin a process that will make RF go extinct. Which is exactly what happened 2-3 years later. But eh, I'm cool with that.
In retrospect. Big Sigh. I miss Shalooonsh.
My last meaningful PC didn't die.
Torgun killed like 20 people in the service of the Arm. So I'd say he had an impact on them.
My last long-lived character that occurred long enough ago to talk about was at one point a leader in three separate clans simultaneously.
My current character has yet to meet a single PC. I wonder how long I can keep that up. Long enough to come back and answer this poll with a very different answer in three more years, I hope.
My last meaningful character was, by definition, a loner. She might have "entertained" a couple of other PCs. But really, her story was for my satisfaction. Is that wrong?
I'm not sure Gavin affected anyone, really. He just wanted to be a gladiator and never quite made it.
I rarely make purposefully memorable PCs, but I often end up with PCs that support memorable PCs in some way shape or form. I'm eternally the "Lieutenant to PC X" guy, it seems.
Quote from: Tuannon on March 28, 2016, 08:36:03 AM
I rarely make purposefully memorable PCs, but I often end up with PCs that support memorable PCs in some way shape or form. I'm eternally the "Lieutenant to PC X" guy, it seems.
I prefer that role. Other people can have the spotlight, tyvm.
My PCs tend to die before they can do very much unfortunately.
Quote from: solera on March 28, 2016, 03:10:07 AM
My last meaningful character was, by definition, a loner. She might have "entertained" a couple of other PCs. But really, her story was for my satisfaction. Is that wrong?
If it is, I don't want to be right.
Just look at that yummy bimodal distribution. :D
I also play side characters nearly exclusively. My last meaningful character directly impacted 2-5 and indirectly 11ish. That is a lot for me too.
I'm not sure what constitutes an actual "impact".
I have played a few that led dozens of other PC's during their time. One led hundreds of other PC's during their time at one point or another.
I suppose that could be considered to have had some sort of "impact" even if indirectly.
To think back on it though, in terms of PC's I would consider to have truly "impacted" in terms of really changing or influencing the development of their characters or their character's stories...probably just a dozen or so I guess.
For most of those characters my character would have been a footnote on their path to other paths I think.
I made someone laugh ic once.
All of my characters are "well-played"...however, I did have a new character sitting in a bar in Tuluk, and the former boss of the one that had died the day before came in, grumbling, growling and miserable, pound back a few and bitch about her death. (Big big big kisses! You know who you are!)
Then I had the next, next, next character run into a different friend of that same character who still remembered and spoke about them fondly. This was IG years later and it was so damn touching.
So...I voted two. Should probably be four, but I have no confirmation on the other two.
Quote from: Riev on March 28, 2016, 07:15:14 AM
I'm not sure Gavin affected anyone, really. He just wanted to be a gladiator and never quite made it.
"Gavin the Gurth" was a lot of fun to be around, which beats world changing any day of the week in my book. I seem to remember him giving me a hilariously dry-humored tour of the Byn compound in his earlier days... I might grep my logs for that when I get home.
I've heard the names of PCs I played years ago IC even recently and it's so weird.