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Author Topic: Overcomplication  (Read 2284 times)

Casiella

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Overcomplication
« on: 30 May 2012, 16:56 »

So I have a character - oddly enough, the one whose name I use on this forum - who has entirely too many past associations and unresolved storylines. I've thought about biomassing her or starting over, but even though her RP has gotten as out of control as my daughter's hair when she wakes up the morning, she's got 60m SP and still provides lots of gameplay fun. Most of this is in SCIENCE! and industry, but she flies quite a few combat ships with all the appropriate support and weaponry skills, too.

Just from what I can easily remember, Casiella Truza's past includes (in no particular order):
  • Minmatar Republic (particularly Republic Security Services but also militia)
  • Angel Cartel
  • Sansha Nation (very brief dalliance way before the modern craziness)
  • Thukker tribe
  • Brutor Tribe
  • Syndicate
  • Rogue drone research

And because of all that, she eventually became something of a techno-anarchist, seeing every power bloc as corrupt and focused on self-serving goals rather than whatever else their outward ideology might also include. The unfortunate side of that is that she's painted herself into a corner: if you trust no one, no one trusts you, and so she's solo out of necessity. No friends, no alliances, and she's unlikely in her current state to align herself with anybody that has or seeks any power. Information wants to be free, man! (This isn't a pity party: I have lots of friends OOC and am enjoying the game tremendously, both with this character and my FW character.)

As I see it, I have two options:
  • Stop playing her, likely in favor of a similar but fresh character.
  • Find a way to reboot her so that she keeps her skills and general personality without so much baggage.

I'd appreciate any feedback anybody has on how to approach this problem.
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NISYN Aelisha

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #1 on: 30 May 2012, 17:04 »

Personally, I feel a reboot is a very broad-strokes and telling method of bleaching a past out of a character.  Firstly, i would ask a few short questions of your character:

1. What was her upbringing like?
2. Was he/she happy in their parent nation?
3. What effect did capsuleer tech have on their ambitions/life?

Think of the first few years of capsuleer life as a second adolescence - you;re immportal, unbound and this can lead to hyper-conservatism and immobility (sticking to a single faction for comfort) or a radical movement from group to group.  The stakes are higher and the swings in ethical/political leanings much more telling, but in many ways the early choices of capsuleers mimic that 'finding yourself' stage. 

Without a supporting network of steady friends to keep you (IC) in one place, this is even more understandable.  It is unlikely that a given character has made any  lasting impact in their faction, or contributed overly to a coup or other noteworthy catastrophe, further allowing, with careful and clever writing, the portrayal of a character finding their way. 

SO though it may be premature, I would suggest having a look at those three questions and thinking of 'how deep' you went into your listed factions.  This will give you a more clear starting point to renovate your image and justify or repent your old affiliations.  Note that some may still hold your past against you -  this is fertile ground for some amazing rp or rivalries!
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Gottii

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #2 on: 30 May 2012, 17:13 »

My first question would be, "what direction do you want her to go?"

If you wanted to go back toward "traditional" Minmatar culture, then it should be actually fairly straightforward.  Minmatar culture seems big on redemptive type social conventions.

One of the huge flaws of the Minmatar is that they almost never give up on their own, even when they should.  Whether they're slaves in the Empire they've never met, or criminals from their own clan, the Minmatar refuse to give up on their own.  This is a culture that takes murders, rapists and various sorts of criminals and trains them as spec op soldiers.  If Minmatar tolerate Valklear, even glorify them a bit, Im sure they'll "take back" Casiella.
« Last Edit: 30 May 2012, 17:15 by Gottii »
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Lyn Farel

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #3 on: 31 May 2012, 06:15 »

Minmatar are also very little inclined to forgiveness. But Valklears is a possibility, though I do not really see how a capsuleer would suddenly become a Valklear.
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Malcolm Khross

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #4 on: 31 May 2012, 06:25 »

This is going to sound like a shameless plug but I promise it isn't intended that way.

Based on what you've said, you're basically looking for a reason to have Casiella learn to trust again (at the core). I get this impression because you indicated that her allegiance-hopping and history made her grow very distrustful of people (especially those in power) and that keeps her separate from everyone else.

So, my question would be, what happened if she learned to trust again? What happened if she found someone, or a corporation, that (in spite of her suspicions) earned her trust? It doesn't even have to be an existing corporation, maybe she meets an NPC (a character you made up) that defies everything she's grown to suspect about people in positions like that and it forces her, against her better judgment, to trust them?

Even a window of trust can be a foundation upon which she can open up a bit more to people again, realizing that not everyone is a scheming liar. There are a number of corporations that promote open business and honesty with their dealings, I know Rho Dynamics is one (and they're Minmatar based), the Honor Guard is another (it's Caldari based) and I'm sure there are others. Maybe you should see if you can bend her just enough to find a way to trust again.
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Bastian Valoron

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #5 on: 31 May 2012, 10:53 »

  • Stop playing her, likely in favor of a similar but fresh character.
If you feel like Casiella character has lost her direction and the main reason why you would keep playing her are the skillpoints, you should definitely create a completely new toon for role-playing. I mean, who cares about skillpoints?

Just my 0.02 ISK.
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Casiella

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #6 on: 31 May 2012, 12:01 »

Thanks for lots of awesome responses.

Think of the first few years of capsuleer life as a second adolescence - you;re immportal, unbound and this can lead to hyper-conservatism and immobility (sticking to a single faction for comfort) or a radical movement from group to group.  The stakes are higher and the swings in ethical/political leanings much more telling, but in many ways the early choices of capsuleers mimic that 'finding yourself' stage.

I love this thought. Although I can appreciate that you meant it for the character, it sort of applied to my entrance into EVE also. "Hey look at all these cool things... and this one... and this one over here... holy crap this looks cool too..."

If you wanted to go back toward "traditional" Minmatar culture, then it should be actually fairly straightforward.  Minmatar culture seems big on redemptive type social conventions.

One of the huge flaws of the Minmatar is that they almost never give up on their own, even when they should.  Whether they're slaves in the Empire they've never met, or criminals from their own clan, the Minmatar refuse to give up on their own.  This is a culture that takes murders, rapists and various sorts of criminals and trains them as spec op soldiers.  If Minmatar tolerate Valklear, even glorify them a bit, Im sure they'll "take back" Casiella.

That's a real possibility. Of course, I'd have to figure out how a SCIENCE! character could fit into the Republic, but it's not impossible. (Whether other players trust her is another matter, of course!)

Minmatar are also very little inclined to forgiveness. But Valklears is a possibility, though I do not really see how a capsuleer would suddenly become a Valklear.

No, she'd never be a Valklear for all sorts of reasons. But the Minmatar do forgive their own, looking the other way (this is clear in TBL, for example, among other places) as long as they haven't been out and out traitors, like helping to enslave their own people. Casi never did that, although she might have shot at a few Minmatar ships in Curse from time to time doing missions.

Based on what you've said, you're basically looking for a reason to have Casiella learn to trust again (at the core). I get this impression because you indicated that her allegiance-hopping and history made her grow very distrustful of people (especially those in power) and that keeps her separate from everyone else.

I didn't really think of this in isolation, but this really captures a core point as well. The converse, of course, is that she may not be very trusted by large factions yet, but that comes with the territory.

A few ideas occur to me out of all of this.

First, "wiping the slate clean" through a cloning accident or mindwipe or whatever probably isn't necessary. I suppose that a really interesting and well-played story arc could do it, but you've convinced me that I don't need to do it.

Second, she can maintain some loose ties to the Republic and bind them closer later on if desired and appropriate. After all, the RSS originally asked her to work with the Cartel. I could possibly work out an angle in the murky world of covert ops.

Third, I probably should have her settle down and focus on SCIENCE! for a bit. Not sure right now whether that means W-space (where she's more than qualified and has lived in the past) or K-space for exploration and S&I (which is usually more casual, I think, but not sure if this would turn into :work:).
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Kybernetes Moros

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #7 on: 31 May 2012, 12:31 »

I'd say that there's a lot of room for science in the Republic if that's where you felt like taking her; improvements to infrastructure and logistics seem like they'd be in demand with the influx of Starkmanir and Nefantar mentioned in a couple of news articles. Eifyr's existence suggests to me that there's a place for more cutting-edge work, too, although I personally love the idea of applying science to those relatively mundane problems.

The specifics of how you'd get out of the situation you mention really depend on where you intend to go, but charting at least some of it up to "the character was a bit overwhelmed by all the shiny things available" seems to me like it'd be a solid theme common to whichever you went with. I'd definitely try and avoid the clean-slate approach, though; some good RP could come from working through it, and ultimately, that won't do a great deal for other's perceptions. It'd help the issues of the character herself, yes, but people would still look at the employment history and see "Okay, Minmatar paramilitary- oh my, White Rose Society, and then Angels".
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Saikoyu

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #8 on: 31 May 2012, 13:15 »

I know I had a similar problem with Sai, and I didn't figure it out, so good luck and be sure to let us know how it turned out if you can.  And good luck, sounds like you have a good idea though.

Second, since Rho Dynamics was menctioned, I have to say Rho Dynamics is gone for the forseeable future, until RL gives me some money back.  And I'll shut up about that now.

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Gottii

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #9 on: 31 May 2012, 15:07 »

I'd say that there's a lot of room for science in the Republic if that's where you felt like taking her; improvements to infrastructure and logistics seem like they'd be in demand with the influx of Starkmanir and Nefantar mentioned in a couple of news articles. Eifyr's existence suggests to me that there's a place for more cutting-edge work, too, although I personally love the idea of applying science to those relatively mundane problems.

The specifics of how you'd get out of the situation you mention really depend on where you intend to go, but charting at least some of it up to "the character was a bit overwhelmed by all the shiny things available" seems to me like it'd be a solid theme common to whichever you went with. I'd definitely try and avoid the clean-slate approach, though; some good RP could come from working through it, and ultimately, that won't do a great deal for other's perceptions. It'd help the issues of the character herself, yes, but people would still look at the employment history and see "Okay, Minmatar paramilitary- oh my, White Rose Society, and then Angels".

Kyber, Im kinda worried how often we find ourselves in agreement. 

But, yes, what Kyber said.  "Tribal" doesnt necessarily mean "primitive" or even "spiritual", it simply means tribal. Sebbes are the best at applied sciences in the cluster, so science no doubt has some place Casi's tribe in particular.
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Louella Dougans

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #10 on: 08 Jun 2012, 08:12 »

"I was close to being one of those amoral Mad Scientists that you see on those terrible Gallente holo-films. The allure of discovering things was so great, I lost sight of a lot of things.
I got better though."
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Casiella

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #11 on: 08 Jun 2012, 08:21 »

<3 Louella
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Silas Vitalia

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #12 on: 08 Jun 2012, 09:43 »

Often times other RPers aren't nearly as aware of our RP baggage as we'd like to think. We often assume everyone else knows all out little details, but they don't.

My point being you can always run the path you want, and down-play past associations, only make them as important as you'd like.

IE pick a new fun direction and then make it work, fudge over minor character inconsistencies as you go and have fun.
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hellgremlin

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Re: Overcomplication
« Reply #13 on: 08 Jun 2012, 18:07 »

To OP directly:

You are a one in a trillion fluke that can handle capsules without going perma-catatonic. There are approximately 300,000 of your kind in existence, in a cluster of unknown trillions. Your mind can command a 100 million tonne warship with weapons that can poke holes in a planet's crust or burn themselves a footnote in history. Having a multifaceted past, I feel, is something that comes with this territory. Every single one of the factions you've dabbled in has a hard-on for capsuleers, whether to make use of them, or become them, or eat them or infest them or whatever. I am/was tied to pretty much every organization in this fashion, having influenced the fall of some and the rise of others. I don't think it's overcomplicated.
« Last Edit: 08 Jun 2012, 18:10 by hellgremlin »
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