Hey guys,
Allow me to take a break from my trivial article-writing, to address something that's close to the heart: OOC versus IC talks.
Now while I don't mind everyone OOC planning their adventure/diplomacy/whatnot with each other, please don't substitute it for IC talks. This is as much a game of intrigue and court maneuvering, and it *really* hampers certain arch-types, characters and realms, if you talk out of character all the time and try to force others to do the same.
I know that there's always the fear of being misunderstood IC, or the need to know that you are "safe", but that's just the point - it's part of the game to allow for misunderstandings and live with the hint of paranoia that the treaty you just signed will come back and bite you in the ass. If you worry about it (ie. your character worries about it), deal with it IC... don't poke the player ooc and ask him if he "really means it?". In the worst case you could force a player into a morale dilemma where he has to decide, whether to lie to you out of character (which I doubt anyone wants to or will do) or come out in the open and confess that he is indeed trying to pull wool over your head and trick. And if he doesn't want to do that, he suddenly finds himself compelled to actually go through with something his character might not have.
This is especially the case with diplomacy and treaty-discussions, where one part will often try to sidle a few concessions or benefits into the mix, without the other side discovering it (the NPC's will be doing it ALL the time, I can assure you that). That becomes much harder ooc, because it will then be the player who tries to trick another player, instead of leaving it to the characters to sort out.
The reason I advocate so strongly against it, is that I have seen some unsavory types use exactly these means to "bully" other people into doing stuff that they normally wouldn't have in other games. I'm not saying that anyone here is doing that - I don't believe that to be the case. I'm just saying that it *has* happened before: we are generally nice people, and want to get along ooc, even if our characters hate each others guts. That means that what you agree with each other ooc - "player to player" will have a completely different measure of trust, than what is agreed to IC. And if that trust is broken, it's not your character that was lied to - it's you.
I know this is something that has been discussed before (and I wrote much the same last time), but I'll be damned if I can find the post.
OOC is all well and good when all parties agree to it, or if you are really pressed for time - but don't force OOC talk on those that don't want it. And please do not substitute it for In Character conversations. Pretty please. With a cherry on the top.
- Thorsten
