Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

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Delia
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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#21 Post by Delia » Fri Oct 31, 2008 2:33 am

The only red cheeks you'll ever have will be from a good old fashioned spanking, you naughty elf you.
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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#22 Post by stilgar » Fri Oct 31, 2008 4:23 am

Herst wrote:Bah, I hate it when all you emo kids try to turn this mud into a soap opera!
Yes, everyone wanted to be a Drizzt.
I know well that people DO LIKE if a certan character type is behaving a certain way. I was frowned a lot for playing My evil char in a LOT different way it was usually done by others. He was demoted, then removed from the guild he was the member of. So what? Nothing... I would personally call rubbish instead if a certain scene isn't roleplayed properly.

Who is the emo kid here then? :twisted:
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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#23 Post by triska » Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:17 am

Hey i am not an abomination, i am a pretty little elf. My green skin and red cheeks just prepare me for christmas
People hang 'Balls on Christmas trees too!!
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sun
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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#24 Post by sun » Fri Oct 31, 2008 10:39 am

gojin wrote:This made me think about what motivations drive living things in the fantasy world of Geas. Having given it some brief thought ive come up with a few motivating factors and archetypes. Keep in mind this would the average human from Arborea(not an Asral Priest or Crusader) and the average elf from Elvandar(not a Taniel Cleric).

Factors - Food&Water, Sex, Religion, Wealth&Power, Recreation, Following Societal Norms/Peer Acceptance.

Human Archetype -
1)Food&Water 2)Sex 3)Wealth&Power 4)Peer Acceptance 5)Religion 6)Recreation

Elven Archetype -
1)Food&Water 2)Societal Norms 3)Religion 4)Sex 5)Recreation 6)Wealth&Power

These are my summations but I would be very interested in hearing how others' view on what drive Geasians.

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What was your purpose of the question, actually?

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#25 Post by gojin » Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:30 pm

sun wrote:What was your purpose of the question, actually?
The purpose of the question, before the thread got hi-jacked by rosy-cheeked elves and emo kids :wink: , was to figure out what players believe are the motivating factors in the thought process of chars in Geas. Or more simply put what do chars think is more important/why do they do things.

The example of the Asralite-Gwennite love affair brought about a specific question; does the average being on Geas place religion over sex. I know Crusader's do, but is chastity a rare action? Would the average Arborean(asralite) human not pursue sexual relations with an attractive Gwennite female because his god would disapprove? Does this limit his mating options only to Asral worshipping women? And if religious moderates are so frowned upon im assuming every female who worships Asral is also a warrior so... does every Arborean female walk around in platemail?

With the emphasis on conflict most seem to want Asral and Gwen at each other's throats. While they may be polar opposites I dont see them as mortal enemies, just my opinion. To sum it up I am asking if others believe the extreme beliefs of some PCs are considered the beliefs of every invisible npc in Geas. If so, I have one last question. If the extreme is normal what then is extreme?

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#26 Post by tessa » Fri Oct 31, 2008 9:56 pm

Again, I'll say that code-wise, the rivalry between Asral and Gwen is essentially the same as the rivalry between Sathonys and Evren, and Taniel and Lilith.

With that in mind, I don't think it leaves a whole lot of wiggle room in the Asral/Gwen regard.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#27 Post by isengoo » Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:04 am

I don't think the conflict between life and death is even remotely comparable to the conflict between love and war, as the hippie movement in America has shown (they burned out pretty quickly, but people still fret about dying). It's naive to say otherwise.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#28 Post by tessa » Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:09 am

Hence why Gwennies and Asralites aren't at each other's throats violently like the other faiths are.

But keep in mind the rivalry comes from the gods themselves, not necessarily what they represent. I agree that Asral and Gwen aren't as black and white as the others as far as aspects go, but they still personally loathe each other as much as the next pair.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#29 Post by isengoo » Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:30 am

Sure, but followers of any gods are usually divided between the devout and the not so devout, with the not so devout making up the vast majority. So, in that regard, I disagree when you say the conflict comes from the god. The conflict comes from the belief, which comes from the god. The belief can either be strong or weak, and usually it is weak. So, mostly, there shouldn't be a tangible problem between followers of Gwen and followers of Asral, not like the problem between the followers of Evren and Sathonys.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#30 Post by luminier » Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:31 am

It could be the fact gwen and asral are also minor gods.
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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#31 Post by isengoo » Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:33 am

Exactly, their influence is not as significant as other gods. They have motives and drive, certainly, but in the grand scheme of things, it is just less.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#32 Post by tessa » Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:41 am

isengoo wrote:So, in that regard, I disagree when you say the conflict comes from the god. The conflict comes from the belief, which comes from the god.
I was speaking of the faith malus Gwennies and Asralites get when teaming with each other.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#33 Post by gojin » Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:47 am

isengoo wrote:Sure, but followers of any gods are usually divided between the devout and the not so devout, with the not so devout making up the vast majority.
This is what I originally wanted to discuss. It is my belief that the 'not so devout' make up the majority of worshippers of the various gods. IMO, too often is rp criticized as unthematic if a char is not played as devout or if a char does something that ventures from the devout point of view.

Ive no problem with devout chars. I only wish they recognized the right of the MAJORITY to play 'not so devout'.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#34 Post by tessa » Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:01 am

Except devout and not so devout are punished all the same by their respective god if they do something that's unliked by said god.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#35 Post by Drake » Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:09 am

luminier wrote:It could be the fact gwen and asral are also minor gods.
So far as I have ever been aware there is no such major/minor gods in the world of Geas.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#36 Post by gojin » Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:20 am

Except devout and not so devout are punished all the same by their respective god if they do something that's unliked by said god.
Thats fine, as long as things like an asralite/gwennite affair or similar thing arent considered bad rp.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#37 Post by isengoo » Sat Nov 01, 2008 5:48 am

tessa wrote:Except devout and not so devout are punished all the same by their respective god if they do something that's unliked by said god.
So, their favour or karma goes down with the god, but they get the immediate satisfaction they were looking for in the first place. Sounds about right, and about in line with how humans (and how I would imagine any sentient species) really act. Generally, people claim to be followers of a certain god (Christian God, for example), while still doing what many would argue goes against that gods teachings (sex before marriage, to follow my example). These two things aren't ever mutually exclusive because people just generally don't give a crap about their favour or karma going down. Existential problems are less worthwhile than...tactile (?) problems (to stupid people, which make up the majority).

The question which should be at hand is - is this a problem? Should players be forced more one way or the other? The answer, certainly, is no. Anyone who really worries about their favour or karma is free to do so, whereas the players who don't can still have their god a certain way and their karma be a mess, and have a perfectly viable roleplay reason for doing so. More roleplay options = better, less roleplay options = worse.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#38 Post by sun » Sat Nov 01, 2008 6:19 am

I think a gwennie and and asral or who know nothing about each other would have the default stance as "enemies" or "almost enemies". It is very possible that two of them start to talk to each other, but that does not necessarily lead to a heated debate. But my point here is that I do not think it is very likely that they will, because they have a "we and them" kind of thinking. It's like an upper class guy going to sit at the table of the lower class schlem - it doesn't happen. Then there are of course exceptional love stories about people with a very specially designed background and life who might through a series of unrelated "accidents" end up talking nicely to each other and eventually fall in love. But the biggest boundary is the first, they are two different groups of people who normally would not talk to eachother. Once again, we and them. I do not think it is so much about what your character thinks, but rather about the status and acceptance of yourself within your group. If you go over and chit chat with a Gwennie the rest of your Asral pals will start to wonder why the hell did he do that. It's kind of like group pressure. If you fall in love and plan to marry, I'd say that both groups would have some serious objections and probably in the end completely shut the other out. The Asrals would even try to kill the couple for honour. So.. 1) your friends will hate you if you do it, and people are generally very loyal to "their" group 2) you think about the other group as foreign and wrong because that is all you ever heard.

The "oh lalala this is not my religion" argument is kind of silly.. IMHO. Nobody is such an extremist or such an extremely devout person to completely block himself from doing things on that level. Unless you are maybe a high priest of Asral or the like. Maybe I should add here, that with the presence of known gods, it is a lot stronger reason than IRL, but I still think there are many more factors which might be more influential.

Ok that was my view. And I'm sorry for dumbing your thread Gojin..

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#39 Post by tessa » Sat Nov 01, 2008 6:38 am

Thats fine, as long as things like an asralite/gwennite affair or similar thing arent considered bad rp.
If you RP the consequences, including the hit to your favour from your respective gods, it's fine.

If you run off to your shrine to madly sacrifice to gain favour each time you start to convert due to your choices in RP, then yes, it's considered not only bad, but abusive as well.
Generally, people claim to be followers of a certain god (Christian God, for example), while still doing what many would argue goes against that gods teachings (sex before marriage, to follow my example).
I still don't agree with comparing RL religion to game religion. IE;
Argh!! You feel the Mother stealing your soul!
Asral just left you!!!

You feel Asral's wrath!
Your wounds start to bleed.
ARRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!
God and Satan don't do that kind of shindig when you play with stuff you shouldn't be playing with.

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Re: Sexuality and Character Motivation in Geas

#40 Post by Drake » Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:17 am

gojin wrote:Thats fine, as long as things like an asralite/gwennite affair or similar thing arent considered bad rp.
Except that it won't be an asralite/gwennite affair for very long. About as long as it takes for one to lose enough favour from their god to no longer be a follower.

Yes, the system allows devoting to a god fast enough to keep favour ahead of losing it for playing at snuggle time. But do any of you honestly think that it would be appropriate to do so?

The system might allow it through its limitations, so it boils down to people's roleplay to to take over and follow the prompts given to them by the code, not find ways around it.

Its for reasons just like this that the favour and karma system was changed, to in theory at least, clearly show to everyone that the gods do see, often care for individual acts, and will react to what happens.

So roleplay the consequences, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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