So I recently came to a realization about a certain character type and it's meta-game consequences, and I thought it might be fun to share with the class. This might seem super-specific to Alric, but hopefully it's helpful to other people.
In a collaborative storytelling setting, one of the most important things to learn right off the bat is to not "god mod" other player characters. A good player protects and encourages the agency of those around them, and doesn't attempt to lock down or restrict another PC's agency.
In The Secret World, people get kidnapped, tortured, and even killed sometimes. This happens with some regularity to player characters, and is at the discretion of those character's players. Usually, these plots are really fun; they involve other players, run fun rescue missions, and encourage fun, inclusive RP.
So here's the thing about playing the Security Guy: Your character is gonna suck at his or her job. You have to, or else your robbing other players of agency over their own characters. Imagine how much of a dick I would be if I said to Ian or Cass's or anyone else's player, "Nope. You can't get kidnapped. Alric's too good at his job so you can't run this awesome subplot."
Failure and success are a part of any good story. But fair warning, if you play the Security Guy, your character is going to lose. Hard. Think about it, if a real company's security chief had the same record as Alric (0/4 now, I think), would he still have his job? Probably not.
Maybe one solution is that if your character is going to be regularly charged with protecting others, have them shift their perspective on what that means. Don't have your character say to themselves "It's my job to keep this person from getting hurt," but instead have them say, "It's my job to help this person when they get in trouble." Maybe that'll prevent your character from declaring jihad. Maybe not!
This shouldn't be taken as a complaint or me whinging on about how my character isn't enough of a badass. Just... don't put your character in a position to ICly deny other player's agency. Trust me. It goes poorly.
In a collaborative storytelling setting, one of the most important things to learn right off the bat is to not "god mod" other player characters. A good player protects and encourages the agency of those around them, and doesn't attempt to lock down or restrict another PC's agency.
In The Secret World, people get kidnapped, tortured, and even killed sometimes. This happens with some regularity to player characters, and is at the discretion of those character's players. Usually, these plots are really fun; they involve other players, run fun rescue missions, and encourage fun, inclusive RP.
So here's the thing about playing the Security Guy: Your character is gonna suck at his or her job. You have to, or else your robbing other players of agency over their own characters. Imagine how much of a dick I would be if I said to Ian or Cass's or anyone else's player, "Nope. You can't get kidnapped. Alric's too good at his job so you can't run this awesome subplot."
Failure and success are a part of any good story. But fair warning, if you play the Security Guy, your character is going to lose. Hard. Think about it, if a real company's security chief had the same record as Alric (0/4 now, I think), would he still have his job? Probably not.
Maybe one solution is that if your character is going to be regularly charged with protecting others, have them shift their perspective on what that means. Don't have your character say to themselves "It's my job to keep this person from getting hurt," but instead have them say, "It's my job to help this person when they get in trouble." Maybe that'll prevent your character from declaring jihad. Maybe not!
This shouldn't be taken as a complaint or me whinging on about how my character isn't enough of a badass. Just... don't put your character in a position to ICly deny other player's agency. Trust me. It goes poorly.
