Post by Protégé on Jan 10, 2006 21:13:23 GMT -5
As I browse around the site, even though I know I should be posting, my nitpicker side takes over so I start looking for mistakes in other people's posts. As I read through them, one error jumps out at me, which vastly annoys me. It is what I call overempowerment, which means "giving oneself a large amount of power in some way, shape, or form due to a lack of restrictions in the ways they can empower themselves". I have seen it happen in a few forms, but I will give you the most basic forms it comes in. I assume that if you are smart enough to RP here, you can take and figure out what other forms of overempowerment there are. Of course, since the administrators have told me that they would like to reduce this and would be willing to crack down harder on it, I think if there is any doubt you will learn.
First, let me explain the main ways that overempowerment can occur. First off, it can occur through the character's past, as in training or experiences they say they have had. Secondly, it can occur through the way of how the person is now, as in race, effects of the past, things like that. Thirdly, it can occur through exploiting the lack of restricition on what the class of character can do. That's why I'm typing this paper up for free, to see an end to this stuff. Overpowering oneself is like a contagious disease. It happens in a post, which is read by three or four people at least. Each one of those people becomes a carrier of the disease. Some have strong enough immune systems to resist the impulse to overpower oneself, and cut off a branch in the tree. However, others will succumb to the disease. They, in turn, put it in a post, which is read by 3 or 4 more people. It keeps going and going until something is done to cut this tree off at the roots. And that is the purpose of this paper.
Let me explain the first one, which I don't see that often but you can tell its there through how people will use incredibly complicated techniques in their first fight in the site. I am talking about the past influences. Okay, I understand it is possible for your character to have been trained in every school or magic and can turn the earth into a smoldering pile of ash in an eyeblink. Too bad, you ain't allowed to do that. That's what I think should happen. I have seen a character post that they were trained by elves and got gifts from elves. Unfortunately, that means nothing. I understand your need to make youself feel special, but I don't give a damn. Yes, it is human nature to want more power, to be more dominating. But you control that in real life, don't you? If you wanted to be powerful and dominating, you would probably lift weights and eat little to become a huge hulking intimidating figure, and then beat people up to show you think you are the boss. But with RPing sites, you believe you can do that with no work. Sorry, but I say that ends. I believe you should be allowed rudimentary skills, but if you want more, its a trade off. You want your character to be more agile and flexible, able to run quickly? Fine, I will allow you more of that than average, but you gotta give up weapon skill or strength for that. You cannot say that your character if much faster than anyone else and your weapons have a life of their own and you can destroy everything (at another site, I once got in an argument and a person said that to me using those exact words. I'm suprised they managed to spell "a" right.). Imagine that you came to Avaren with nothing except a basic weapon (like a sharpened stick or an iron sword) after having some small training but mostly just sitting at your house eating, blinking, and breathing. It's like playing a game where you design the character: you can make yourself any way you want within reason cosmetically, but you can't have them so skilled that they can beat everything with a single blow.
Now for the second point, the way the character is now. I have been wanting to rant about this "elf" stuff for awhile (e.g., my character is an elf, my character was trained by elves, my character has elvin stuff). Even though what the elf thing I am about to say will seem as if it applies only to elves, it doesn't. It goes for anything other than human (elf is just such a good example, because then the people who do this will see me referring to them and get pissed off about it, thus arguing with me and I can shoot down what they say with administrator support probably, and then they can either fix it or leave). The admins have not referred to any specifications as for what an elf is or can do. I could have Protege be an elf, and say that they have dog like hearing, the speed of a cheetah, the dexterity of an olympic gymnatist, the strength of God, the magical skill of a master, and unbelievable powerful weapons made from some metal unknown to man through secret forging ways that give them special powers and allow them to chop through anything. Why could I do that? Because B.T.A. (Before This Article), the administrators did not think too much of it so they did not map out restrictions about it. I am. It is as I said before, no elf stuff, nothing other than human. And as for other things about the way thy are now (maybe born with a special magical spell contaminating them that made them more skillful, or junk like that), I'll say that you can probably maybe have something special in yoru history, but nothing that gives you an advantage over regular man. Also, as a final note, please do not immediately assume your character is the level 7 thing. Just because your character is going to move along that skill path and could have been one in the history does not mean that they are in Avaren. So don't say your character is a dragoon when he isn't or something like that.
Lastly, and my favorite part, exploiting the lack of restricitions on class things. First off, let me point out something. Read the damned level thing in the positions thread. Ricard has clearly spelled out, to be Level 4, you need 250 posts AND 1 TOURNAMENT WIN. I have seen two mages who have, in their personal text, level 4. YOU ARE NOT LEVEL 4, SO CHANGE IT AND LIVE WITH THE FACT YOU EITHER LOST A TOURNAMENT ROUND OR YOU DID NOT COMPETE. Sorry I had to make a big deal about that, but when something is so clearly already spelled out, it gets my blood boiling to see someone blatantly disobey it. Anyway, onto the other forms. I have seen an RPer (coincidentally, one of the offenders of what I just said, the level 4 but not level 4 thing) who apparently is studying neuromancy, yet apparently can shapeshift into at least 2 forms and can control water. For one, I would say even a level 3 person who is going to go on the shapeshifter tree could not change anything other than their human appearance. Two, I would say even a person who is planning on having water as the element they master fist in the elementalist skill tree is using too much control for not even being an elementalist, but, then again, I think a level 3 elementalist would only be able to work with pre-existing materials (they cannot automatically use it, like a level 3 person planning on freezing a tree with no water around) and even then only loosely. To my knowledge, you can only go on one path on the skill tree. It is something that exists, it's called specialization. A person cannot be a doctor of everything, so they are a brain surgeon or a heart surgeon or a doctor of diagnostic medicine. Therefore, a mage cannot use powers from more than one skill tree, and a member of the militia can only use their chosen weapon on the path, though I think we could allow maybe a small knife around level 4. Also, as a final note, I know the admins will agree with me on this, the spells created by Justin are not official spells and therefore do not work. I have asked judges and they agree, if you say your character used one of his spells the admin will say it does nothing, anything after the spell is null and void, and you are completely open to attack, or you have lost because you used a spell of his to protect yourself from an attack but they don't work and you are hit.
Thank you for taking your time to read this. Have a nice day.
First, let me explain the main ways that overempowerment can occur. First off, it can occur through the character's past, as in training or experiences they say they have had. Secondly, it can occur through the way of how the person is now, as in race, effects of the past, things like that. Thirdly, it can occur through exploiting the lack of restricition on what the class of character can do. That's why I'm typing this paper up for free, to see an end to this stuff. Overpowering oneself is like a contagious disease. It happens in a post, which is read by three or four people at least. Each one of those people becomes a carrier of the disease. Some have strong enough immune systems to resist the impulse to overpower oneself, and cut off a branch in the tree. However, others will succumb to the disease. They, in turn, put it in a post, which is read by 3 or 4 more people. It keeps going and going until something is done to cut this tree off at the roots. And that is the purpose of this paper.
Let me explain the first one, which I don't see that often but you can tell its there through how people will use incredibly complicated techniques in their first fight in the site. I am talking about the past influences. Okay, I understand it is possible for your character to have been trained in every school or magic and can turn the earth into a smoldering pile of ash in an eyeblink. Too bad, you ain't allowed to do that. That's what I think should happen. I have seen a character post that they were trained by elves and got gifts from elves. Unfortunately, that means nothing. I understand your need to make youself feel special, but I don't give a damn. Yes, it is human nature to want more power, to be more dominating. But you control that in real life, don't you? If you wanted to be powerful and dominating, you would probably lift weights and eat little to become a huge hulking intimidating figure, and then beat people up to show you think you are the boss. But with RPing sites, you believe you can do that with no work. Sorry, but I say that ends. I believe you should be allowed rudimentary skills, but if you want more, its a trade off. You want your character to be more agile and flexible, able to run quickly? Fine, I will allow you more of that than average, but you gotta give up weapon skill or strength for that. You cannot say that your character if much faster than anyone else and your weapons have a life of their own and you can destroy everything (at another site, I once got in an argument and a person said that to me using those exact words. I'm suprised they managed to spell "a" right.). Imagine that you came to Avaren with nothing except a basic weapon (like a sharpened stick or an iron sword) after having some small training but mostly just sitting at your house eating, blinking, and breathing. It's like playing a game where you design the character: you can make yourself any way you want within reason cosmetically, but you can't have them so skilled that they can beat everything with a single blow.
Now for the second point, the way the character is now. I have been wanting to rant about this "elf" stuff for awhile (e.g., my character is an elf, my character was trained by elves, my character has elvin stuff). Even though what the elf thing I am about to say will seem as if it applies only to elves, it doesn't. It goes for anything other than human (elf is just such a good example, because then the people who do this will see me referring to them and get pissed off about it, thus arguing with me and I can shoot down what they say with administrator support probably, and then they can either fix it or leave). The admins have not referred to any specifications as for what an elf is or can do. I could have Protege be an elf, and say that they have dog like hearing, the speed of a cheetah, the dexterity of an olympic gymnatist, the strength of God, the magical skill of a master, and unbelievable powerful weapons made from some metal unknown to man through secret forging ways that give them special powers and allow them to chop through anything. Why could I do that? Because B.T.A. (Before This Article), the administrators did not think too much of it so they did not map out restrictions about it. I am. It is as I said before, no elf stuff, nothing other than human. And as for other things about the way thy are now (maybe born with a special magical spell contaminating them that made them more skillful, or junk like that), I'll say that you can probably maybe have something special in yoru history, but nothing that gives you an advantage over regular man. Also, as a final note, please do not immediately assume your character is the level 7 thing. Just because your character is going to move along that skill path and could have been one in the history does not mean that they are in Avaren. So don't say your character is a dragoon when he isn't or something like that.
Lastly, and my favorite part, exploiting the lack of restricitions on class things. First off, let me point out something. Read the damned level thing in the positions thread. Ricard has clearly spelled out, to be Level 4, you need 250 posts AND 1 TOURNAMENT WIN. I have seen two mages who have, in their personal text, level 4. YOU ARE NOT LEVEL 4, SO CHANGE IT AND LIVE WITH THE FACT YOU EITHER LOST A TOURNAMENT ROUND OR YOU DID NOT COMPETE. Sorry I had to make a big deal about that, but when something is so clearly already spelled out, it gets my blood boiling to see someone blatantly disobey it. Anyway, onto the other forms. I have seen an RPer (coincidentally, one of the offenders of what I just said, the level 4 but not level 4 thing) who apparently is studying neuromancy, yet apparently can shapeshift into at least 2 forms and can control water. For one, I would say even a level 3 person who is going to go on the shapeshifter tree could not change anything other than their human appearance. Two, I would say even a person who is planning on having water as the element they master fist in the elementalist skill tree is using too much control for not even being an elementalist, but, then again, I think a level 3 elementalist would only be able to work with pre-existing materials (they cannot automatically use it, like a level 3 person planning on freezing a tree with no water around) and even then only loosely. To my knowledge, you can only go on one path on the skill tree. It is something that exists, it's called specialization. A person cannot be a doctor of everything, so they are a brain surgeon or a heart surgeon or a doctor of diagnostic medicine. Therefore, a mage cannot use powers from more than one skill tree, and a member of the militia can only use their chosen weapon on the path, though I think we could allow maybe a small knife around level 4. Also, as a final note, I know the admins will agree with me on this, the spells created by Justin are not official spells and therefore do not work. I have asked judges and they agree, if you say your character used one of his spells the admin will say it does nothing, anything after the spell is null and void, and you are completely open to attack, or you have lost because you used a spell of his to protect yourself from an attack but they don't work and you are hit.
Thank you for taking your time to read this. Have a nice day.