Character Secrets

EtherialNeko · Joined: 15 Sep 2009 Posts: 1444 Location: United Kingdom

I am sorry if you disagree. But too many people have tried to circumvent my rules with their secrets, God moded / Metagamed (manipulated someone else's character behind their back, and kept it a secret OOC so the person wouldn't know),"

The issue here is blatant godmodidng, not keeping secrets. And I mean keeping secrets about their own characters, not htings that affect others, say, giving them an anesthetic and removing their hands withotu them knowing, that's godmodding.

Turning out that your character is actually a hundred years old, and just doesn't act like other vampires? Affects no one. YOur rule should be against godmodding..not others secrets..
Not that I am telling you what your rules should be at all. It's your room, I'm just saying, that your instances are more godmod problems, than secret problems. ...Well, as I see it anyway.

CountVladDracula · Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Posts: 8139 Location: USA - NY

And the instances where there's a "surprise reveal" that an intended victim is a vampire too? If I keep heeding those Dracula comes off like a complete idiot. And that happens a surprising lot.
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EtherialNeko · Joined: 15 Sep 2009 Posts: 1444 Location: United Kingdom

Again, that's forcing something that affects others, instead of something that is just you, yourself.

Preseas daddys illness is a secret, I like it secret. It doesn't affect anyone, so I'm happy with it..
If someone said they were a vampire, around dracula, then yes, they may want to check if dracula would be able to sense that.

Or, if they do it, wanting the surprise, then you could always politeley remind them. "Dracula would be able to sense they're a vampire, so it's best you start again"
Unless amybe they have a spell on, to disguise their vampire aura.

CountVladDracula · Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Posts: 8139 Location: USA - NY

That father plot of yours...

Too many characters in my game can smell the dead and were in the immediate area. And you never know how a secret like that can effect others, those that can smell the dead or with psychic abilities should have been able to sense that. The vampires and the werewolves should sense it / smell it. Keeping something like that a secret is exactly why I don't allow character secrets from the players, because you never know what another player might need because of their own characters abilities.
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EtherialNeko · Joined: 15 Sep 2009 Posts: 1444 Location: United Kingdom

CountVladDracula · Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Posts: 8139 Location: USA - NY

Vanator · Joined: 03 Mar 2009 Posts: 1 Location: USA - MA

EtherialNeko · Joined: 15 Sep 2009 Posts: 1444 Location: United Kingdom

Well primates and humans don't really look as similar to each other, as say, a vampire and a human would...

How about saying like..a boy and a girl? If you meet someone in crossdress...if they're good at it, I've been fooled many times!

((Just putting quickly, in case I get misinterpreted, I do not think crosdressing is bad in any way))

So I could not tell a boy from a girl, sometimes, I couldn't "sense" that.

Predators...now that's...hmm.
Most of the predators we know ,are animals, like lions, and things, that have a very definate smell, even to us humans.
I mean, lions pee to mark their territory, don't they? Things like that...are an obvious smell...whereas we, as humans, and so on, use soap...
(I assume vampires use soap? Oh wait...water hurts some vmapires...hmm...well, anyway, I hope this makes sense))
It's fun to think about, wether sensing each other would be doable, or not.

As for the list, if you feel it would be too long, it wouldn't take too much time to say ((I'm sorry, but he's Dracula. If your character was a vampire, he should, and would know that, so please restart.))
No feelings are hurt, people have learned, you get your rp with someone as Dracula knowing they're a vampire, and if they argue, it's your room, so you can kick them, if you want. ^^

((Uh, again, i'm not trying to dictate how you run your room. >.< It's only a suggestion!))

....Actually..If I think about it, many humans do hunt, don't they? I mean..we HAVE hunters..((Which I very very very strongly disagree with, by the way!))
Can they smell each other?
That's interesting.

As for vampires biting each other...Well, somehow, I doubt they would be abele to without a fight, right?
I mean, if they have good reflexes, one would go to bite, and just in time, the other would turn into black fog, or a wolf, and then, realization.

maybe? It's interesting to think about, anyway! >.<

CountVladDracula · Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Posts: 8139 Location: USA - NY

CountVladDracula · Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Posts: 8139 Location: USA - NY

StarPhoenix · Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 1024 Location: USA - GA

CountVladDracula · Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Posts: 8139 Location: USA - NY

That's right and even if you do manage to mask the smell (which seems kind of difficult in and of itself) the smell is still there, just under another scent. And many creatures, including insects, would still smell it. Flies, gnats, maggots, ect...

Years ago when I was a child one of my neighbors died. He was an old man and no one found his body for two weeks. My mother's friend noticed insects all over his window and asked for my mother's help to look inside. When she was boosted up to the window she could see the body. I wasn't close enough to it to see anything of the body but later I was told the feet were entirely gone adn when the fire department came to force open his door they staggered back from the smell. The smell was so bad in the apartment that no matter how thoroughly they cleaned the place no one wanted to rent it for over ten years.
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Manathayria · Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 265 Location: USA

Going to be mildly ranty here, not intentional, but thinking a lot and just want to post it before I forget my train of thought on it.

There are still some secrets that should be fine to keep. That said.. we already stated if it's going to be something a person needs to know OOC for a reason - it should be revealed, but it's a short list of things that really applies to.

OOC/IC no one has the right or the need to know every last detail about every secret conversation and meeting anyone in that room has had. Things that that character can reasonably pick up on - scent, species etc are things that should be need to know - or at least supplied when asked, and not hidden from the room. I think most of us get that.

Not surprisingly, it is my opinion, due to the nature of well... someone sleeping with someone else, if a character were cheating on another and either party isn't human - the person getting cheated on is going to notice a difference in scent etc - which means it'd be nearly impossible for them to hide a relationship like that. It could even be argued that with a pregnant woman, her scent may blend some with the person that they had it with due to the mix of genetics etc with the baby inside them.... which means hiding a pregnancy with anything that picks up pheromones around isn't going to work. Hiding things like that OOC from someone else OOC if they trust someone not to cross IC/OOC is silly.... and if they don't trust them in that case, why are they playing with them to begin with?

Just as you don't want to have to have a gigantic essay on what's going on, what people can sense what etc in a room for every new comer, no one else wants to have to sit typing a giant life's essay on the forums stating where they've been/what's happened to them, what they're involved in, who they're involved with, who they've been involved with etc.

If I list my character as psi-blind both on my home page, and the forums (which I've done) and disclosed my other abilities - along with history - which you'd be ignorant of IC unless I specifically told you, and would be ignorant of her abilities unless told. I have the right to not post my thoughts and not allow the meta-gaming and demands that I share every secret that character has in posts the second I enter a room - history is already up and open, no reason to constantly repost into a room.

Yes, I do post scent/other if it applies in a room - IE if my character(s) recently killed anything (to include animals) I post that there is a scent of blood (and if it's slight etc) because some creatures would pick up on it. Sometimes I'll do it even if I don't know for certain unless told otherwise.

There is a vast difference between keeping a character's past secrets, or associations secret, or not posting every thought, and them trying to not tell you their race/gender or the basic information which could be readily available through normal/natural senses or heightened senses.

Which... I believe is key, I don't cut out sensory information in posts when a room is moving quickly - but I do cut thoughts if it's taking longer to type out. One is important to anything that's not human and may have better senses - the other is only important to a few invasive abilities such as telepathy or mind reading.

It is my opinion that telepaths/mind readers of any sort should be posting that they're actively/passively reading people's thoughts if it's part of your character - this is because from everything I've been taught, that should be an attempt, as it can be considered a type of offensive move. It's an ability that a character is actively using on someone else's character which may have an impact on IC information. No one cannot force a connect with another character - which also means they cannot force mind-reading.

Recall the characters in Dracula's story who he couldn't read. He had to make an attempt - you making the attempt to read a character's thought lets them know that your character can do it if they don't know the lore for him, and it keeps you from metagaming/god-moding.

Yes, I get that room owners/mods control some of what occurs in a room - setting for a series of vampires being able to sense one another etc. But there is a point where control over the room ends and meta-gaming begins to set in.

That said, every book I remember reading with vamps - they know each other on sight, in some series that is up to and including being able to sense another just entering their territory - unless the other vampire is powerful enough to mask their presence. In which case in meeting they'd still know each other by scent. This isn't a new concept, nor is it one that should be overlooked. While a character like Dracula isn't necessarily going to be the founder of all vampires - he's not a two or three day old newborn that's still confused on what's going on.

I get that some people will post a character's thoughts because they're exploring the character - however, just because they do it, doesn't mean everyone else has to post their character's thoughts. It also doesn't mean anyone is being deprived of any of the storyline - as thoughts can be broadcast clearly with actions, body language and expressions.

[Edited to ensure language is more neutral - Not trying to fight, just expressing my opinion and pointing out a few things people may not consider for whatever reason.]

CountVladDracula · Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Posts: 8139 Location: USA - NY