Introduction
It has come to our attention that in the Multiverse, people rarely (if ever) die. This makes sense under normal circumstances when you think about it, because how often do people really die in a localized area?
But then you realize, hey, people die every day even in my hometown- that's what the Obituaries are for right? And then you look at the Multiverse with all of its armies, dangerous individuals and generally hostile atmosphere and some might think, 'Why do I never hear about non-NPC deaths?'
Logically one would assume this is because of the aspect that makes a player character special- namely, the Player. As a player you rarely want your character to die, because following traditional rules that is where the story ends for them. But this is inadvertant godmodding, as characters who don't die (when it would make more sense to than not) lack a major thing: character, yes even monstrous eldritch beasts can have character, believe it or not.
Of course this isn't to say that your character can't progress without dying- that would just be silly. And then that goes into a whole new realm of potential God-modding when you return from death, but honestly that's irrelevant to this particular venture. When a character is in combat, more often than not it is going to be against another being with power equal to your own, because you are not fighting a highly-trained soldier, or a Demon of immense power, or a small child with whimsical abilities. You're fighting another Player.
Fighting: Example 1
In example, let us say that two players have a reason to fight. One of them is an incredibly powerful Demon, and the other is a neko child. Now, logically, the Demon is going to destroy a simple child, but maybe the Neko's player has some tricks up their sleeve- incredible agility, transforming abilities, a hidden power that only comes out when threatened... etc. (But note it is good form to put this in the PROFILE, it's deus ex machina if you don't.)
Still, you'd assume that in this fight between a powerful Demon and a probably powerful, shapeshifting Neko, that one of them would die if neither of them concedes. Here lies the major problem inherent in the Multiverse; neither of them will for the simple fact that neither of the players want them to die, and neither player wants to concede the battle for one reason or another. Thus, any meaningful storytelling becomes bogged down in a quagmire of pointless near-misses, blocked or dodged attacks, and otherwise irrelevant (pardon the phrase) E-peen comparing.
Those few that allow their characters to die (or even be greviously wounded) are so few and far between, the hostile world where the MV would have killed many of the Nekos, little children, pacifist vampires and more, they would all be dead by now. It's insane that so many have survived and thus you feel no loss, your character turns into a mary-sue/gary lue, even if they weren't written as one.
Fighting: Example 2
In another example you have a frequent occurrence in the bar- two groups of soldiers about to have at it. This is a little different than in most cases, as most people that have larger groups are generally going to have them made up of simple, faceless grunts. Even then however, both players will naturally assume (unless they specifically make it otherwise for the purpose of character progression) that their squad is the stronger of the two.
Whether or not this is the case, it is a very rare thing that a firefight between mortals results in a complete lack of casualties once the bullets (or what have you) start flying. The main issue with ranged combat, and this could be said for most any combat, is underestimating your foes ability to aim. Out of cover, with five or more men shooting at you, unless you have the ability to teleport or otherwise completely phase out of existence, you're likely to be hit no matter how agile you are.
You also need to take into consideration that you're not up against some untrained rabble, but a trained soldier or group of soldiers. Men and women that have trained to shoot fast moving targets, because that alone keeps them alive when things get dirty.
It's worth noting also that if other people are in the bar, friendly fire or collateral damage is highly, if not possible, likely at least. You're talking high powered weaponry firing all sides, I don't care if you're a God, you will be hurt. Especially considering some of the weapons and powers people often sling around in the bar.
Mortality Rate
Which does bring around another point; obviously if you were to take into consideration every post containing an overpowered Doom spell, the casualty rates in the bar for people who want nothing to do with the fighting and are just mortals looking for a drink would skyrocket.
Another issue here is major indifference, in the real world if people started firing up in a bar, everyone would get down. Even the people who declare otherwise would do so. It's called self-perservation!
Unfortunately though MV is the worse offender here, it's difficult to do roleplays where killing is a major theme, as many people just won't let go of their characters. This is a small point, that should be considered due to the fact that dying is natural, and thus if characters die, it makes the RP go forward. It's not the main point. But I thought it should be brought up.
But back to the point before, MV should be expecting funerals everyday, in fact if you think about it, the mortality rate in that world would be dismal, because the manner of beasts, monsters, aliens and other strange species, they all kill in some way or another. Thus be expected that MV would be in total chaos.
Solution
To bring a point to the rant, fighting style in the Multiverse needs to change, or have real rules to it. Or better yet, be a cooperative storytelling effort rather than a contest of wills. It has been said that 'Anything goes' and most people take that and run it into the ground. Well, as much as a diverse background to pull from is good, it also ruins the roleplaying opportunities.
Think about it. In the bar, when was the last time you saw a real bar brawl break out? One that didn't involve weapons, or magical powers? When was the last time you saw a fight where one of the combatants was actually hurt beyond something superficial? Even more so, when was the last time you saw a fight break out and actually reach a conclusion without one or more of the combatants leaving, calling BS, or otherwise bringing the fight to a halt because they don't want something bad to happen to their character?
I can understand if it's a move that logically could not have taken place, or one that is simply too much too fast (which is debatable considering some characters that apparently move faster than light), but in a fight you are inevitebly going to be hurt going up against someone of equal skill.
And to put a cap on this, it should be assumed that anyone you fight- even that supposedly defenseless little girl- is of equal power before the engagement. Hell, if you really want to be a trooper about it, PM the opposing player beforehand and try to reach a logical conclusion before the blows even fly.
Conclusion
In conclusion it's the opinion of 'The Conspirator and I that something needs to change pronto, because it's clearly apparent many are getting angry at these problems and the fact there no death in the world because people are too scared is beginning to show. A world like the MV can't function on a problem like this, in fact it's downright detrimental. We've tried our best to explain why, and we hope if any who do this read this, learn from this. We know we can't force this to change, but the fact two people taken time to type this out, should high-light the demand the site has for things to improve.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/SIhYm4CyWCA/viewtopic.php
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