Role Player Vs Ubers ,..Ahhhhhhhhhh

[Anubis1179]

I have a friend who just dose not get the Fun of role playing.
I told him the i was going to get 250 brewing and 200 baking so I can RP a Drunken Troll Cheff.
Well he was like WTF why would you want 250 in brewing its not a good skill you should do smithing it turns a bigger profit. We then had a 30min talk about it and I understand what he was saying. Im not even close to a "uber" player like him and I have more fun RPing but no matter what I said I could not get it in to his thick skull. This is not the first time i have had this kind of talk with an uber player before. WHY is it so hard for UBER players to understand that some of use have more FUN RPing, SO what if this is better then that MABY just MABY we want it because it will help use RP and that is what is fun to use.

O well one thing he said i will have to think about is that 250 baking would be better since there was more high end baking then there is brewing. But we will see

[Krazick]

Why do some people like to climb mountains? To Go Scuba Diving? to go Sky Diving?

How about running a Marathon... or working a jigsaw puzzle, reading a book, taking a walk, swimming...

Everyone is different. There are some folks that love to climb mountains, even without any thing but their bare hands. Yet, this would scare other folks out of their minds.

If you compare people who like to take a mountain hike to those who like to free climb mountains... Sometimes, they can be the same person... but not always.

There are people at all extremes... and the same goes with those who play EQ. There are folks that see only the extreme of super-uber gaming as the "only way" to play EQ. And don't see any fun in partaking in the roleplaying, because they don't have fun with it. And rarely do you have people that love the super-uber extreme risky gaming as well as the fun and relaxing roleplaying side.

And there are folks in the middle, who can do some roleplay, and some slightly risky stuff... and still have fun.

Everyone should play the game in the way that they have fun with it. Don't think there is only one "right" way to play. Don't force people to playing your way. But certainly invite them to participate. Encourage them to experiment and find what brings them the most joy.

And if that means you are a Drunken Troll Chef who pulls out the chopper whenever a halfling stumbles by... then do so. Play it with gusto.

[Boleslav]

Heck, you don't have to be GM in either skill to role play that. Why not role play a Troll that is drunk on swill that no one else would touch and gorges himself on food unfit for humanoid consumption? Maybe Boot Beer and Edible Goo. You could get a lot of mileage out of that. Then, as you slooooooowly gain skill you can start to convince others you hang with to actually sample some of your stuff.

As an aside, I have had a lot of RP fun with baking and brewing. My favorite was giving a troll buddy of mine some Skunkbreath Ale to help with is halitosis problem.

Boleslav Forgehammer
Paladin of Brell in his 63rd Campaign
E'ci – Sacred Destiny

[Cigarskunk]

If you're going to RP a drunken troll chef, shouldn't you GM baking and 200 brewing? Otherwise, as a 250 brewer and 200 baker, you're RPing a fat troll drunk?

[Sylphan]

Feel sorry for him. He doesn't understand one of life's pleasures and likely never will. He'll think he's going through life just fine, and may even be proud of how well he's doing, totally oblivious to what he's actually missing out on. Like someone who doesn't understand opera, or doesn't think oil paintings are beautiful. He may even be incapable of understanding what you do, just like some people can't distinguish the color blue from the color green, or can't walk around without a wheelchair.

[kiztent]

Feel sorry for him. He doesn't understand one of life's pleasures and likely never will. He'll think he's going through life just fine, and may even be proud of how well he's doing, totally oblivious to what he's actually missing out on. Like someone who doesn't understand opera, or doesn't think oil paintings are beautiful. He may even be incapable of understanding what you do, just like some people can't distinguish the color blue from the color green, or can't walk around without a wheelchair.

More pretentiousness please.

[Zeralenn]

I had a good friend of mine who used to get on my case for tradeskilling instead of leveling -- and for playing my alts instead of playing my main. We started out around the same level -- in fact, at one point in mid-career, I was a couple levels ahead of him. He's 65. I'm 56. Is he happier than I am? Maybe. Maybe not.

The thing I really enjoy about EQ is the ability to play a character many different ways. Just because HE has certain goals doesn't mean you have to share the same goals, or that either of you are wrong. It's how you choose to play.

That's the reason I've been 56 for more than a month now. That's the reason I belong to a small, family-type guild rather than an uber guild. It's how I choose to play. What he expressed is how HE chooses to play. You're slamming him for wanting to play his characters they way he wants to play them, just as he slammed you for wanting to play your characters your way.

Next time he does that, do what I did: I told my friend that I played the way I wanted to play and was happy with that.

...Zera

[Morani]

More pretentiousness please.

Why do you do that? Why do you choose words that bait people and are just going to offend/hurt? It's just plain rude. If you have a point to make, you CAN make it without offending people.

You may have intended to only offend Sylphan, but you've managed to offend me too. Partly because that statement seems to say "you've annoyed me so I'm going to return the favor" more than anything else. And partly because I think I understand and I agree with what I think Sylphan is saying: that there is little enough fun, joy, pleasure, etc in life and anytime ANY door to those things is closed for someone; it's a sad thing. That people would probably be better off, and very likely enjoy life more, if we could learn to get pleasure from more things in life. Unfortunately, people don't work like that and we are not capable of finding enjoyment in EVERYTHING. But most importantly, what I understood from Sylphan's comment was that he/she wished other people could experience the joy he/she feels when doing certain things.

Because I agree with Sylphan, I too must be pretentious for wish people could have happier lives.

[Lothay]

Unclench your fists people. Deep breaths. Relax.

No need for anyone to start getting nasty.

~Lothay
~Moderator

[Sylphan]

I was blunt and direct. kiztent was blunt and direct in his response. I find that more appropriate than offensive. By the way it's true... my post was even more pretentious before I edited it to that.

I suppose his response could be interpreted as a personal attack. But I'm not sure... it was only three words, and it wasn't off-topic. This board has a low tolerance for negativity or even disagreement, even in this forum, but I don't think it's over the line (yet).

Actually, I should be glad nobody attacked me for kinda sorta comparing people who don't like roleplaying to cripples.

[Morani]

Alright, I saw something different. Thank you for clearing up your side Sylphan.

Kiztent, if I misunderstood you too; I'd like to know. To me, a lot of your posts seem overly gruff and it bothers me. If I'm simply not understanding your intent or where you are coming from, I'd like to fix that.

I tried hard to choose words that would communicate my perspective and not come across as antagonistic. It seems I didn't reach my goal. I apologize.

[kiztent]

Alright, I saw something different. Thank you for clearing up your side Sylphan.

Kiztent, if I misunderstood you too; I'd like to know. To me, a lot of your posts seem overly gruff and it bothers me. If I'm simply not understanding your intent or where you are coming from, I'd like to fix that.

I tried hard to choose words that would communicate my perspective and not come across as antagonistic. It seems I didn't reach my goal. I apologize.

Just one of those things that relates from my experience as a long time GM. I have a tremendous lack of respect for anyone - especially "real role players" - who looks down their noses at people's playing styles that don't meet up to their high standards and act smug because their expert role playing skills demonstrate their obvious superiority in life.

I mean, someone that plays EQ competitively (AKA baby eating uber) is as handicapped as someone in a wheelchair because they cannot appreciate the subtle nuances of roleplaying? Puh-leeze.

I think pretentious is a perfect descriptor of that attitude. If I seem by my words not to respect it, it's because I don't.

[Morani]

Ok, that makes a LOT more sense to me than the three words you posted initially. I can now see that you understood (and where replying to) something vastly different than what I understood.

[Cigarskunk]

Calm down folks - no need to get snobbish towards the levelers and no need to bait the RPers.

There is no right or wrong way to play EQ - that's why it's held it's appeal for so long with so many different players.

Obviously, most of us here seem to feel that tradeskills are the be all and end all of the game - that's our passion - we've got more respect for a member of the 1750 club then for someone who's 65 with max AAs.

Conversly, there are plenty of folks whom are more than willing to use the phrase "waste time with tradeskills" - these are the folks striving for 65 with max AAs.

That's the beauty of EQ!

You can be a tradeskill junky.

You can be a RP nut.

You can be an uber idiot.

But be you a junky, nut or idiot, we're all playing and enjoying the same game.

This same philosophy is why Baskin Robbins has so many different types of icecream - should we say that the folks who prefer plain vanilla are dumb and unsophisticated since they don't like our rocky road? Or perhaps those of us who prefer chocolate should let those who prefer strawberry know that they aren't getting anywhere nearly as much pleasure from thier icecream as we are.

As long as you aren't hurting anyone else's fun, then there's no more of a wrong way to play EQ as there is a wrong choice for a personal favorite icecream.

[Reflan]

Why not just be a drunken troll who eats too much in real life?

It's faster, you don't need to wear anything special, you barely even have to move if you order in, and your liver's rate of regeneration is sky-high for years!