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[Bacchanalian]

This one's probably gonna last about 24h.  Or something.

But seriously, it makes me wonder.  How can one justify to themselves putting up an IC façade of a badass with a bio talking about how you're wanted by CONCORD and considered extremely dangerous for your extensive history killing capsuleers etc when you've got less than 30 killmails to your name?

I can't really wrap my head around it.  I guess it goes back to my history with SF's put up or shut up culture from when I was with them in my first days of arpee, but I'd feel kinda dirty OOC if my IC character was walking around talking about how much of a meanie I am when I've barely fired my guns in anger before.

This isn't a "you're doing it wrong" post so much as it is a "I don't get it and want more insight into it" post with a hint of "you're doing it wrong" because I'm sometimes a smug fuck and can't help that creeping into my posts.  But in all seriousness, on one of my arpee alts that has literally like 2 killmails to his/her name (sekrit alt is sekrit), I don't claim to be the Red Baron.  I claim to aspire to be the Red Baron and recognize that I need to spend a lot of time flying with better pilots so I can learn how to be the Red Baron.  v0v

I guess there is a side to it of "talk the talk and people assume you walk the walk", but there's also the fact that those who walk the walk don't need to talk the talk because it's well known they walk the walk.  If that doesn't make too many heads spin.  I mean, you're not making a wrong assumption when you assume that Verone has a lot of kills under his belt.  He does.  And he doesn't need to write it in his bio for people to know it.  Ditto Jade.  Ditto Gorion Wassenar (I feel dirty even saying that, but he's got twice as many kills logged on BC as Jade, which kinda makes my head spin when I think back to Mito). 

I dunno.  Maybe it falls into the same category as writing up epic battlereports of running a level 2 mission or arpeeing in IC channels about the heroic fight you're having against the level 1 serpentis invasion of [highsec system of choice].  And end of the day people can arpee what they want to arpee.  I guess I just wonder why more people who arpee being a badass pilot don't get out there more and actually make shit explode more.  v0v

[Saxon Hawke]

First, the type of behavior you're talking about is not just native to Eve RP. I'm also a member of a Star Trek RP group that grew out of a play-by-email sort of format.

The group is very clear in their handbook (yes they have an 80-page handbook) that you either start out as an enlisted crewman or as an ensign. Yet, when people fill out their bios, they create these backstories that have their characters having decades of experience serving as everything from Chief Engineer of Commanding Officer. And then you look at their rank and their an Ensign.

When I was a dungeon master in my pen and paper days, I used to give players a XP bonus to come up with a detailed character background. I found that taking the time to tell the characters life story to date helped the players form a more concrete idea of who the character is and what their motivations were. Even then, I got a few backgrounds that made me go, "Okay, if all this happened to him, why would he be a first level thief?"

tl;dr: People sometimes get carried away with the story when they are creating a character, even if it flies in the face of logic or game mechanics.

Alternatively, it might be that the bio is an IC lie meant as a bluffing bit of bravado. I've been in enough bars to have seen men exaggerate all manner of their experiences in an attempt to impress anyone within earshot.

[Matariki Rain]

Differences in roleplay culture, I think. And, given the demographic of many newly-licensed podder characters, a certain amount of try-hard bad-assery is probably in keeping (and will get eyerolls from the rest of us).

What happens in space really happens. Killing Serpentis is still mass murder. The approach that "killing other pod-pilots is the true test of skill" is almost the elitest "gamer" side of in-character podder life, which is also highly in keeping with the world and the demographic.

[Mithfindel]

Well, the "I'm a princess" thing is in no way strictly limited to EVE. Another silly thing is this long-running fad on having citizenships revoked. Having rights revoked, sure, but I'd assume that being a citizen isn't just all right, but also some duties - which can be used to mess up with the said citizen, I'm quite sure - especially in the EVE setting. You don't want to be responsible of what the said citizen does? Declared fugitive, then (which is even implemented ingame - with negative standings, specifically lower than -5).

[Bacchanalian]

Alternatively, it might be that the bio is an IC lie meant as a bluffing bit of bravado. I've been in enough bars to have seen men exaggerate all manner of their experiences in an attempt to impress anyone within earshot.

I suppose there's something to this and it's kinda what I wondered.  Is it perhaps intentional? 

What happens in space really happens. Killing Serpentis is still mass murder. The approach that "killing other pod-pilots is the true test of skill" is almost the elitest "gamer" side of in-character podder life, which is also highly in keeping with the world and the demographic.

But surely slaughtering 7 serpentis frigates in your Drake is less, uh...intimidating than killing another pod pilot's Drake in your Drake?  I dunno.  And CONCORD don't seem to mind when you kill rats in my experience anyway.  I get sec boosts and a paycheck whenever I do it. 

You don't want to be responsible of what the said citizen does? Declared fugitive, then (which is even implemented ingame - with negative standings, specifically lower than -5).

This is kinda in game, as you say.  Low faction standings, low sec status, factional warfare etc.  There could be boosts/adjustments to it (including allowing a player to tick a box or something declaring themselves hostile to certain entities--WoW originally had this feature, though it was never used and eventually taken out, but for a while you could tick an "at war" box next to a standings bar and it'd automatically make you KoS to them). 

[Matariki Rain]

But surely slaughtering 7 serpentis frigates in your Drake is less, uh...intimidating than killing another pod pilot's Drake in your Drake?  I dunno. 

I could argue "intimidating to whom": pod pilots bounce back.

And CONCORD don't seem to mind when you kill rats in my experience anyway.  I get sec boosts and a paycheck whenever I do it. 

Which you've done a lot more than I have, as we've previously discovered.

But surely you're not letting CONCORD determine your morality...

[Mithfindel]

You don't want to be responsible of what the said citizen does? Declared fugitive, then (which is even implemented ingame - with negative standings, specifically lower than -5).

This is kinda in game, as you say.  Low faction standings, low sec status, factional warfare etc.  There could be boosts/adjustments to it (including allowing a player to tick a box or something declaring themselves hostile to certain entities--WoW originally had this feature, though it was never used and eventually taken out, but for a while you could tick an "at war" box next to a standings bar and it'd automatically make you KoS to them).

Faction Warfare? Admitted, the implementation isn't quite as flexible as that, but they let in practically everyone. (Pirates will already KOS anyone, so only the Empire factions are to be considered - admittedly, this does miss the Ammatar and the Khanid.)

[John Revenent]

People RP the way they want tbh. If they are bad ass for killing NPC's let them.

ICly its my job to kill capsuleer's or NPC pirates I use both in my RP, I do not see a big problem with it. OOCly I could see how people would laugh at them with the crazy big ego's people have.

/John goes full "retard"

[Kaleigh Doyle]

I'd be curious to see someone actually admitting to this and explaining why they did it. 

[Bacchanalian]

ICly its my job to kill capsuleer's or NPC pirates I use both in my RP, I do not see a big problem with it. OOCly I could see how people would laugh at them with the crazy big ego's people have.

You kill people.  I have no problem wrapping my head around your RP.  v0v  I've both shot you and been shot by you, in fact.  I think you were final blow on my ill-fated Vulture back in Provi in fact.   

[Vendrin]

I'd be curious to see someone actually admitting to this and explaining why they did it. 

I did this pre mito, and I think part of it is the game itself if you run a lot of missions as it makes you feel like a badass when you warp into a mission and kill tons of mooks. I was defending the state day in and out, killing pirates and slavers.

Sure I learned a bit fighting the rogues, but since they were small and we could swarm/push them off the field even if taking losses, i still felt like hey we ares winning space battles.

Then mito grad happened and I learned, and decided if I was going to rp a badass it wouldn't be through piloting skills.

[Myyona]

I am pretty bad-ass because I have been playing EVE for nine years, not done (much) Pew Pew against other players and have not gotten bored yet!

Truthfully; it is not that easy to build up a character identity around non-violent activities in New Eden and still have engaging game play.

[Seriphyn]

It is reasonable to say you are a badass to non-capsuleers. But I think its fair if you want to project the same attitude to other capsuleers, then the regular hoo-ha won't cut it. you might be an awesome footballer to kids, but you may not be to the grown professionals

[Desiderya]

Well, it's easy. Call them out on it, ICly, ask for a duel if it bothers you so much. Also, since this is RP, you could for example be a god in a capsule and a weakling out of it - or vice versa.
Apart from that even the greenest capsuleer is pretty badass, compared to Johnny Baseliner. You can take on impressive odds right from the beginning, and while the Raven pilot might smile over the rookie in his destroyer, the one taking on other capsuleers on a daily basis will smile over the mission runner or incursion pilot. Let's spin the wheel of eliticism \o/.

Also, Jade, great post. In every possible meaning of that word. 

[Louella Dougans]

I don't like it.

for several reasons, including:
saying character X is wanted for Y crimes in Z systems etc, to me, feels a bit like dictating to others, how competent the planetary entities are.
e.g. if someone claims to have escaped from things n times, then it makes Planet Z's police look like the Keystone Cops.

the Jita 4-4 chronicle, mentions how station police pretty much can kill any capsuleer they find outside the capsuleer section of the station, without any justification needed, because capsuleers = trouble more or less.
stating that character X can evade all this sort of thing time and time again, just seems silly to me.

"I landed on Pator, sneaked into Shakor's house and rearranged his furniture, so he'll trip over it" for example. If you were to accept that statement, then you agree that the Republic authorities, Shakor's security, and Shakor himself are by and large, buffoons. If you reject that statement, then it's far too easy to be accused of accusing people of "doingitwrong".

Of course, there is no obligation for a character to believe any other character.
If someone says they are a master of the Jin-Mei martial art of Dimac, the Iron Fist, the Invincible Way, and so on and so forth, then that is a thing that people have to agree to. It is not something that can be done unplanned or unconsensually. There is no way to make someone believe a character is a Dimac master if they don't want to.

There are a few things that are not ship-to-ship based where a character can do things.
If someone says they are an elite infiltrator, who has a huge network of contacts and agents across new eden, then no-one is under any obligation to believe them. That sort of thing can be acted upon though, however if the characters actions extend only to petty corp theft and hiring highsec-based mercenaries against 0.0 based individuals, then that is a bit daft.

it is depressing.

There are ways to become recognised for inspace things that do not necessarily include kill/lossmails, and then a character becomes "Hey, it's (name)!" and people know who they are and so on.

overall, vOv. People can do what they like, as long as they realise that others don't have to believe them, and may call them out.