Self description and persona

Drauka

I did a search and noticed there was a thread on the old forums, but not this one. Just curious for review of mine.

He is a frog-like grook. He is a short creature with a scar beveled across his face, starting from his bald forehead to 

the bottom of his thin upper lip. His face appears too relaxed on his left side, with the skin under his eye and his 

bottom lip on that side drooping farther than his right. His eyes are large and jet black. He has a limp on his left 

side, but is not that pronounced yet still noticeable. The index finger on his left hand is missing, with discolored flesh 

surrounding the stump where it once was. His clothing appears clean and orderly.

I like characters with flaws. I also followed a rule of writing where I don't tell you what to feel. I would like him to appear physically damaged but not unkempt.

Also have (just found accent/voice ability): Your current Voice is: winded, raspy.

This would make it sound like I may be damaged physically inside my body too, instead of just the outside.

Part of this being ironed out is I can have an image of the persona of my character instead of just me Being John Malkovich, and be more comfortable in the character instead of sorta in a "oh my gosh, what do I say that doesn't sound lame... jeez you're taking too long to say something... what you just said was not impressive and boring, maybe next time" manner I have now.

I'm not asking for anyone to do this for me or anything, but tips/suggestions/advice/what-have-yous would be welcome.

Synbios

Just avoid any disabilities that can easily be handwaved away with EAT <cure>, APPLY <cure>, etc.

Drauka

Thanks! 

I seemed to have spaced on the whole "you can cure almost all afflictions and physical damage" thing. Need to figure out how to be somewhat interesting other than being in perfect health and like every other grook out there. Maybe if I was deformed from birth?

I did meet @Melodie earlier today and she gave me soap. 

(Seems me being stinky on purpose isn't a good idea. Before gaining citizenship today I also had to wash off the stink.)

Aepas

Aepas is mostly blind, which is something that is difficult to RP with mindseye. Atop that, everyone is blind as it's a common defence.

Such things can exist though, but you can't just be like "Lol iz blind" and then be obnoxious about it. I always assumed that bayberry worked in a way that caused increased blood pressure to the eyes, overloading your retina as temporary blindness can happen this way RL. So, I always pictured the "Mindseye" tattoo to look a little bit like, idunno, daredevil. I assume you can see everything, just not in the bright vibrant colors the world is normally in. This also leads aepas to interact with his spirit forms more often. For instance, he will pretty much ignore most sights unless he is in a morph with keen eyesight, like a bird or the hydra, with it's many heads and eyes. While those are not physically there, I do assume that the spiritual bond allows him to sense presences much more accurately. It's hard to play but can just as well be put into a way that can interact with other players, such as asking about colors of things they present. (he was not always blind, so has a good concept of color)

His scales are mostly gone as well, replaced by the black sinewy scars that reptiles will show if they suffer a scar that is too bad to allow scales to regrow. It makes him cherish what few scales he has left a lot more.

This was all caused by a long meditation in his grove which of course attacks him. As he tried to commune with his lost love(the grove) she simply refused and mangled him for days on end, until he finally died to her.

So yes, Anything can really be cured, but it's just as easy to play out a good deformity as long as you cover all your bases. I did do a bit of reserch into what the "Mindseye" really did, but nobody seems to think about it, so I just play with it as I sees it.

My last bit of advice would be to never overplay the deformities you have. At times they will come into play, so use them properly, don't outright point them out.

(edit: Back to the eye thing, it's major corneal lacerations that caused the front of his eyes to grow back milky white. This is why he can see lights, but not colors. Most "blind" afflictions are caused by effects that deal with bright lights/bloodflow/chemical reactions, which is the only reason I keep them like that. I know there are a few ent and denizen attacks that call for "clawing out your eyeballs" but yaknow, his grove had a lot of time to herself and his poor eyeballs.)

Drauka

That's some great advice and I appreciate it. From what I know of you from these forums (that brotherhood thread), I'm impressed. I'd like to get there eventually, but I do need to research it more and stuff.

I love the way you have this whole backstory for things, even if they never come into light. I know that helped me with D&D to know what my character would do instead of what I would do, and I got the greatest enjoyment out of it that way.

Fortunately/unfortunately, I'm also roleplaying that I have no memory of my former life. I can have memories come back in flashes or something, I'm not sure. Was monkeying with the idea of feeling biased against stuff based on a memory I thought I had, which may not be a real memory or a dream. Dunno. My backstory is only about RL week in-game.

Maybe for the description I'm trying too hard and should just focus on the color of his skin/eyes, etc, and move on to focus on the character outside of it.

Melodie

Hi @Drauka!

I don't remember giving you soap, but Melodie giving people soap is definitely a very Melodie thing to do. She has a thing for being and keeping clean. She's a clean freak without the trait, even.

Onto actual thread topic: Scars and etc are typically very difficult to do, because often it can be cured, and even if not, a trip through Maya's Thoth's Halls can more or less give you an entire new body, spic and span. There's been a lot of debate about this over the years, and some of the information I have found is thus:

-Some scars aren't just skin-deep. Depending upon the infliction, some wounds can run much, much deeper than the physical body can for the actual character. As @Daeir pointed out, Melodie at one point suffered a Chaotic parasite within her (which was -after- Flair cursed her). Even after it's been "fixed" through various IC dealings, she never quite lost all the weight, and a scar remains on her stomach (not that anyone ever sees that anyway, it's just something I personally know as the player). If you wish to do something major like that, it's best to back it with a story.

-The best "differences" come over time. Rather than actually forcing scars just because you want to be different, going out of your way to roleplay and be involved in things that can -potentially- cause them is a better way to go about it. Obviously you don't want to be stupid about it, but having a story for why you are as you are tends to make for better background and general interactions.

-Subtle hints. Rather than outright explain a scar, best to use fairly subtle language to describe it. Some things you have to be a little more obvious about (Melodie isn't just fat because she's fat, for instance, so I had to make a mention of a "malady" type of thing), but most things can just use very subtle details, and then from there, people can pick up on it and ask questions, if they're bold enough.

-Make sure it makes sense. I've certainly had things happen to Melodie that I would think would be appropriate to have scars, but due to how the situation has gone, it wouldn't make sense, such as a very recent ritual in which she lost her wings and became human. So instead of being horribly scarred, I roleplayed the switch by having her unable to walk correctly - she was very off-balance, over-compensating, and falling often at first. Slowly, she began learning how to walk correctly. She often sat, because she hurt from standing (girl is spoiled from hovering!), and etc etc. Find what makes sense. Scars don't always. If they don't, roleplay it another way.

Hope this helps! If you have any exact questions, I'm happy to answer in less general detail.

Xith

I can see what Melodie means, but I think scars are safe. However, if you're a newbie or have never seen a raid in your life, don't be heavily scarred without a reason. RP permanent fixtures you acquire, including cosmetic tattoos. Approach someone who tattoos and have them rp the non-magic tattoo inking for you instead of just suddenly having a dragon on your chest.

Need an alibi for whatever's happened to you. So avoid whimsy or "special snowflake" as some call it.

Chryenth

1) We *do* have the Descriptions Wanted thread. http://forums.achaea.com/discussion/168/descriptions-wanted-1-0#latest If you want people to look at your description - now, or later - post there. I can guarantee I'll get back to you, if no-one else. 

2)

He is a frog-like grook. He is a short creature with a scar beveled across his face, starting from his bald forehead to 

the bottom of his thin upper lip. His face appears too relaxed on his left side, with the skin under his eye and his 

bottom lip on that side drooping farther than his right. His eyes are large and jet black. He has a limp on his left 

side, but is not that pronounced yet still noticeable leg, a subtle disfigurement that lend him a distinct gait . The index finger on his left hand is missing, with discolored flesh surrounding the stump where it once was. His clothing appears clean and orderly.

First bolded is because you've contradicted yourself slightly - 'not pronounced' followed by 'noticeable'.

Second bolded is because your clothing appears in your description anyway, so you don't really need that line.

3) Listen to Melodie, she knows what she's talking about. Aepas too.

4) If and when you decide to start roleplaying something that causes you an injury - Mel's wings example is a good one - don't forget to change you description if it needs it. For several (IG) months after a failed ritual, Chryenth was walking around with no eyebrows. Fire does that.

5) Read point 3 again.

Tahquil

I'm heavily into scars having huge psychological backing. As pointed out, every time you die you are granted a fresh body from MayaThoth. I've got the basics of a IG lecture sketched out about it but I doubt I'll get the motivation to ever finish it so I may as well sketch it out here.

When you're granted a new body from Thoth it's just this vague shape, a blob that's vaguely humanoid and it's not until your soul fills it it begins to gain definition based on your memories, subconscious, self-perception. You know you're a 3 foot dwarf with gnarly facial hair and so when you merge with the blob, the blob turns into a 3 foot dwarf with gnarly facial hair. 

Alchemists are able to form versions of themselves in their general shape in the way of homunculus and vacant shells they grow in the physiology laboratories but they are flawed because your soul doesn't wholy inhabit those vessels. Homunculus for example will always be tiny, bald, empty looking midget versions of yourself. The shells in the cubicles will ressemble the creator a bit more, maybe acheiving roughly the right height and race, but are in a state just waiting to bloom into whatever soul inhabits it. Kinda like a doll that hasn't been customised. When an alchemist merges their soul to the doll gains things like skin tone, features, hair colour/length/style, tattoos, birth marks, scars and it's suddenly you. Forestal and devotion rezzes are different are different because you start with the soul, and basically just pack in building materials to suit it.

THIS IS THE PART ABOUT SCARS:

Scars themselves are just physical manifestations of psychological memories that we can't, or won't let go. Experiences that were so traumatising that, while a person has come to grips with it on the surface, it still lingers in the subconscious and shows on the skin. Same with scars from ritual scars, something we are (maybe only at the time) extremely proud of, or love, or basically have a very large emotional connection to will linger even if we no longer feel the same about the situation that brought on the scarring, those old feelings linger beneath the surface and the scars persist. With time or severe mental conditioning, scars can fade as new memories overwrite the old and you might lose them. Because we don't have this huge emotional connection when hunting, because we expect to get hurt, scars don't form as readily. Which is why you can gut disembowled by a grizzly twenty times in a day and be fine.

I had some self RP of Tahquil working on her scars over time to make them dissappear, but when she realised her theory was actually working and her scars weren't going to be there anymore she reacted so violently she'll probably never be able to get rid of her scars. Instead she's come to term with them and uses them to remind her where she's been.

Aerek

I actually have a sermon I give IG to people on the topic of scars, but then Tahquil came and gave it as a science lecture instead.

Melodie

Science trumps faith again.

Drauka

In a world full of magic and gods that actually exist, "faith" isn't really the same as in religions in the real world.

In Achaea we can witness a God doing god-like things. In the real world, you just kinda have to have "faith" in the notion that a man named Jesus was a/the God and did god-like things.

I think in Achaea, "faith" is more a "this God's teachings are superior" or "this God is more badass/important". Almost mind blowing that gods actually exist and interact with mortals. We can't relate to anything like that. Those of us that are sane, anyways.

TL;DR- Science and faith in Achaea isn't really conflicting as both actually exist and are facts that can be proven.

Melodie

I don't disagree. Comment was mostly made in jest!

Nakari

unless you're Mhaldorian. Then you're back to faith.

Drauka

Oh oops! Hah

Tahquil

Sorry Aerek

The reason I've never finished the lecture is because I can't think of any way to explian why we are remade fully clothed that doesn't sound like a cop out.

Trevize

Tahquil said:

Sorry Aerek

The reason I've never finished the lecture is because I can't think of any way to explian why we are remade fully clothed that doesn't sound like a cop out.

Because the gods don't want to frighten people.

Synbios

I usually explain most instances of 'scars healing/not healing, all my clothes and inventory recreated on revival, etc' under the handwave called 'loldragonOrb/lolRebirth perks'.

Jonathin

It actually kind of saddens me that people don't ask about defects in people's appearance. Mosr's missing fingers have a pretty good story behind them (at least I think it's a good story), along with the scar on his face and his "regrown" eye. 

Nobody actually asks about it, so I've only ever gotten to reference the accident when I tell a story or something. At this point, if there wasn't some kind of RP reason for keeping them in my description, I would've made him normal-looking.

Iocun

Yeah. People really should bring up aspects of others' appearance more often (other than "I like your boobs"). Many people will have a backstory behind those things and bringing them up can cause interesting RP interactions. I really should do it more often myself.

It's just sometimes hard to do it in a way that doesn't seem blunt and impolite, like "hey, what's with that wart on your nose?".

Drauka

I should LOOK at more people myself. I'll make a point to do that.

Kyrra

Every time I see Melodie's description, I've always been curious. However, I was raised to have manners, prying is rude, and so asking was just too awkward for me.

Xith

Iocun said:

Yeah. People really should bring up aspects of others' appearance more often (other than "I like your boobs"). Many people will have a backstory behind those things and bringing them up can cause interesting RP interactions. I really should do it more often myself.

It's just sometimes hard to do it in a way that doesn't seem blunt and impolite, like "hey, what's with that wart on your nose?".

@Iocun I like your boobs.

Hyraeth

Kyrra said:

 However, I was raised to have manners, prying is rude, and so asking was just too awkward for me.

Same here. I like looking at people's descriptions, but I very rarely commented back in the day. These days, not at all.

Hermaldo

Xith said:

Iocun said:

Yeah. People really should bring up aspects of others' appearance more often (other than "I like your boobs"). Many people will have a backstory behind those things and bringing them up can cause interesting RP interactions. I really should do it more often myself.

It's just sometimes hard to do it in a way that doesn't seem blunt and impolite, like "hey, what's with that wart on your nose?".

@Iocun I like your boobs.

I know right? Iocun was talking to Hermie about sparing mhuns and Hermie was all like...terrific boobs...what did he say?

Kyorkcha

@Tahquil so basically in less descriptive terms, upon entering the flame and/or being brought back by Thoth, your body is formed from your residual self image (like the matrix) possibly including your clothes, because I don't know about you guys but I don't always mentally see myself as being naked... I know what clothes I'm wearing.
It would make a lot is sense considering how those characters with a higher self esteem, bordering on self-absorbed ego-maniacal tend to have perfect bodies, as they believe they are perfect.

Aerek

Because, upon receiving the gift of life from Maya/Thoth, they retrieve your broken remains from wherever they lay, fix them up, and stuff your sorry soul back into them.

It doesn't account for Vivisect, because when Thoth shows up, he says, "Nah, that's just too cool looking," and grows a new bod for you, just taking all your stuff.
All vivisect corpses are nude cadavers, true story.

Tahquil

Kyorkcha said:

@Tahquil so basically in less descriptive terms, upon entering the flame and/or being brought back by Thoth, your body is formed from your residual self image (like the matrix) possibly including your clothes, because I don't know about you guys but I don't always mentally see myself as being naked... I know what clothes I'm wearing. It would make a lot is sense considering how those characters with a higher self esteem, bordering on self-absorbed ego-maniacal tend to have perfect bodies, as they believe they are perfect.

See, this is sorta were I start to go 'eeeee, sorta.... sounds good enough' in my theory, and then feel repulsed by my compromise. I tried reasoning that people can develop deep emotional ties to their clothing such as a uniform, soldier's armour, priestess robes.etc. However what about the people who just don't give a stuff about what they are wearing? Or people who envision themselves in clothing grander than they have?

Also, I never really been a matrix fan. Maybe I did rip off the theory.

Trevize

Tahquil said:

Kyorkcha said:

@Tahquil so basically in less descriptive terms, upon entering the flame and/or being brought back by Thoth, your body is formed from your residual self image (like the matrix) possibly including your clothes, because I don't know about you guys but I don't always mentally see myself as being naked... I know what clothes I'm wearing. It would make a lot is sense considering how those characters with a higher self esteem, bordering on self-absorbed ego-maniacal tend to have perfect bodies, as they believe they are perfect.

See, this is sorta were I start to go 'eeeee, sorta.... sounds good enough' in my theory, and then feel repulsed by my compromise. I tried reasoning that people can develop deep emotional ties to their clothing such as a uniform, soldier's armour, priestess robes.etc. However what about the people who just don't give a stuff about what they are wearing? Or people who envision themselves in clothing grander than they have?

Also, I never really been a matrix fan. Maybe I did rip off the theory.

Quite simply, people know what 'is' or 'should be' and can't change that mental image - much.

Nim

Random related note: Don't souls still have their worn stuff on them, when you LOOK at them?

It might just be that you don't have a conscious or even subconscious choice in the affair, and that your soul just has its belongings imprinted into it, no matter how important or unrelated it is.

(Even though it's actually probably just a programming simplification/oversight)

Delphinus

@Tahquil, @Kyorkcha:

How did we even bridge the gap from scars to clothing? You have bodily "wellness" as you understand it (be it scarred, lame, or otherwise), and Thoth puts you back in that state. That's fine because descriptions are utterly in the realm of roleplaying, start and finish. Inventories are another matter, and you might as well ask why you can't loot a player's corpse.

Not that I'm in the business of discouraging RP, mind you, but this might have the adverse effect -- like when someone mentions computers on CT, and a bunch of people say, "What's that? Are you going insane?" when they could just tacitly ignore it or explain in tells.

Anyway, ghosts are clothed because a wizard did it. There is a tower of wizards dedicated to the concealment of shameful ghostly wang.