#in another hes a tiefling who was accused of murder at a young age and is now an almost militant pacifist.

[isaacathom]

have thought about it and i think the key thing about florians gender is that no matter what hes trying to pull he would just look the same. this man is just vibing. maybe in one universe he has tits but its not going further than that

[dearest-and-nearest]

Anyway, I finally decided to make a big post with Red's biography. Because some events I mentioned, but I've never given the big picture yet.

By the time the game starts she's about 40 years old (37-38 maybe?), she's a paladin of the Oath of Conquest and she's basically an animal, at least in other people's eyes. And Glassred is a nickname she gave herself (no meaning, she just wanted to be cool), and her real name is Saorsie.

Saorsie (or Glassred) at her 16

As a child, she was no different. A bulky girl for her age with a habit of getting into fights. The foster parents, who picked up the baby, certainly did not expect this when they told the girl that the Tieflings were not very fond of her and that she could be abused. Saorsie was eventually the one who abused everyone. Overall, it's important to clarify that despite being poor, her parents were loving and tolerated her aggression to the last, trying to explain that it wasn't allowed. Eventually they got fed up with it at some point and punished the child for another fight. That same night, on impulse, Saorsie killed them both.

People didn't accuse her of murder, though, thinking it was a robber. She had been taken in by her foster mother's sister, a paladin and a generally decent woman. Thanks to her, Saorsie grew up at least relatively adequate and civilized, because unlike her first foster parents, this woman raised the “rabid creature” strictly and harshly, as people raise dangerous animals.

Glassred grew up to be a bully anyway, capable of throwing another novice of the order to her death purely because Red thought she dared to lay eyes on a guy she liked. The funniest part was that the guy didn't like either of them, but that was something Red couldn't believe. Overall, it came as little surprise that she had vowed to take Conquest, since c'mon, she's still a fuckup now, and when she was 16 it was even worse. That said, it was somewhere around 15-16 that she just started seeing and interacting with Sceleritas. Urges didn't scare her and generally wanting to brutally kill someone seemed perfectly natural and normal to Red, she'd be more surprised to find out someone didn't have one.

At 17, she'd slaughtered her entire order and then earned a burn on her face from her foster mother for trying to kill her daughter. Killing didn't work, but maiming did. A couple hours after that Red came to Sarevok, finally giving up her old name and taking her nickname as her new and real name. She was soon followed by the then very young Orin (about 9 years old, no more).

She met Gortash at around 25+-. She didn't like him at first, like almost everyone else around her. Gradually, however, she grew to respect “Steak” and the nickname went from being a promise of his destiny to just a joke. It was she who helped Gortash to get ahead, as those who could hinder him in the future happened to be connected to one murder or another, and Red has a good imagination for murder.

She lost her arm about five years after she met Gortash. They were in his workshop, as usual, when he suggested she take something to look at. She took a prototype bomb, which exploded in her hand. Luckily for Gortash, Red didn't die on the spot, nor even dying from blood loss while he panicked and tried to bandage the rest of her arm. Thanks to the blood loss, however, she didn't eat him on the spot, but allowed herself to be convinced to wait. Her prosthetic was made of infernal metal and made specifically to fit her, weighted to keep Red's balance comfortably. In theory, the thing can be broken, but it takes a lot of effort.

And one thing, important to understand why she ended up choosing to deny Bhaal instead of gaining power from him. Triggers! Rape, incest, plans for forced reproduction! Skip the next paragraph if you don't like that.

Now, let's move on. She was created primarily for one purpose: reproduction. She is essentially an incubator, a breeding mare to bear more children by Bhaal. Children that would be of particularly pure blood, as much a part of him as Red herself. Fortunately, he didn't plan on forcing her to give birth before she accomplished anything significant, so he limited himself to 'preparation'. Rituals in which Bhaal, in the form of the Slayer, was raping Red on an altar while the rest of the cult stood nearby and praised him and their future children. Glassred had forgotten about it, but once those memories returned, once she remembered her own helplessness and disgust, she didn't even consider whether to obey her Father. Only abdication. Even at the cost of death, but not becoming a brood mare.

Otherwise, her biography doesn't differ from what was told in the game. Except for an important point: Red is in perfect harmony with herself before the game starts and after. She doesn't care that she kills people, for her being herself and doing what her nature dictates (namely being a fucked up psychopath) is as natural as breathing. That's why she doesn't have a conflict of “ah, I want to kill, I remember the corpses and how horrible it is”, all her conflicts are purely external. Bhaal's violence, Orin's betrayal, the tadpole in her head - all her problems are only from the people around her, Red has no internal conflict as such, she can't and doesn't want to change, like a wild animal can't and doesn't want to change.

Actually, it's that delicate balance between wild animal and sentient being that she is. A predator, but in her case her hunting grounds are the city. So yes, if Halsin had survived, she would not understand his desire to hang out in nature, hugging birch trees, at best. It's natural for her to know the city, to be able to blend in with the crowd (despite being a six foot horned beast), to track a person down alleys sometimes all day.

Oh, and a couple things that for some people will be scarier than the fact that she kills people, lol. Glassred is racist (primarily towards the shorter races. She basically doesn't take them outside of snacks and walking throwing weapons) and doesn't take any mental problems or illnesses seriously because she hasn't experienced such things herself and can't, so it's just dope to her. Also, with literally only a few exceptions in the form of Gortash, Gale and Laezel, she doesn't listen to the opinions and feelings of those around her. Astarion's trauma, Shadowheart's amnesia, Wyll's worries - for Red it's all equally uninteresting and just treated as background. She basically lacks even the slightest empathy

I'm still thinking about her ending, but it's probably a control the brain. But even if she decides to defeat it, she's still herself: a cruel, heartless, and dangerously savage creature ready to kill you for any word she doesn't like.

[theofficialrphq-blog]

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CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT

Star Wars the Old Republic

Darth Azhrael

What inspired you to create this character?

"I had done about 3 months of very light roleplay in WoW before leaving that setting and had been playing DnD for several years but really wanted a more immersive roleplay experience. Five guys around a table caring more about number crunching and making jokes just wasn't cutting it anymore. I had played a Death Knight in WoW because it was the closest thing to a Sith Lord in my opinion. And I had just finished playing in an evil DnD campaign as a Tiefling Paladin when I realized I greatly enjoyed playing morally ambiguous or down right villainous characters. And since my character archetype that I had based my Death Knight on had been a Sith Lord I naturally drifted to SWTOR and thought of how cool it would be to grow from a struggling acolyte into a Darth and train others in the same way. So I made an entirely new Sith Pureblood character."  -- Azhrael

What is your favorite part about roleplaying this character?

"I love the Sith Code, so using that and Sith culture as a whole to firmly root the character was a ton of fun and significantly shaped the way he behaved. It wasn't about twirling a mustache and being "Evil", it was about not having any limits and overcoming whatever obstacles stood in his way. Something that I partially disliked was not having him be very outwardly emotional. When he was a younger Sith he was much more prone to savage bursts of violence, but as he matured in his beliefs he came to understand that if he wasn't in control of his emotions they were in control of him and thus limiting him. So for the vast majority of his interactions he was calm, cool, and collected, which was very satisfying to play. The problem came in that he never really showed affection, so it forced me to be very clever in how he complimented others, which he rarely did, or displayed an attachment of any kind to another character. This was a good exercise for writing, but a part of me wished he had become a bit more charismatic and manipulative in a very personal way."  -- Azhrael

What was a defining moment in the rp history of this character?

"I was still a student and my master was an incredibly cruel woman without a greater purpose, which was hard for my character; but as a roleplayer I loved it! One of the things she enjoyed was attempting to take control of my character's mind to force him to do her bidding. During an event our Order was given the option of aiding a particular Darth, but most of us chose not to intervene, including myself and my master. But another Lord for which she had plans engaged. My master took control of my mind briefly when I refused her command to enter combat and protect this Darth. When I regained control I threatened to kill her if she ever did so again, even though I knew I was hopelessly outmatched. She just laughed and attacked me. In the end, the second in command, who had come through the academy with my master and in whom I had previously planted the seed of such an intervention, spoke of how she had witnessed the senseless malevolence of my master and would no longer abide it. They dueled, and ultimately the second in command crushed my master's heart with the force. It was found that my master had been a traitor to the Order for some time as was revealed soon after her death. But being responsible for the death of one's master is the dream of every Sith, and it was no different for my character. It was an incredible night of rp and was integral in forming him into the Sith he ultimately became."  -- Azhrael

What have been your best rp experiences with this character?

"My best roleplay experiences have been with my apprentice. I knew from the very first time we interacted and then from watching her interact with others that she was the perfect clay to mold into a true Sith. She was already more a Sith than the vast majority of my fellow Lords and Darths and I nurtured that potential. We had a ton of fun together and working alongside one another we managed to manipulate events to achieve a long term goal, claim leadership of our order and ridding it of heretics. It was glorious."  -- Azhrael

Azhrael's theme song is about freedom, which is one of the central concepts to understanding what it means to be Sith.

 ARTICLE SPOLTIGHT

The People Who Roleplay As Cops In Grand Theft Auto

"They use mods to don police uniforms and drive law enforcement vehicles, some of which are made by fellow fans. They create scenarios such as routine traffic stops and patrols, sometimes even engaging in high-speed car chases. ... Because GTA wasn’t built for people who want to play as the police, players have to set it all up for themselves. The form groups and assemble in small shared instances of the game where they act out a script or improv."  -- Zack Zwiezen "Some do it for the fun of pretending to arrest other players who roleplay as criminals. Others do it to satisfy the fantasy of driving in to save the day. ... Depending on the session and the platform, players will use mods or chat to roleplay actions that GTA V doesn’t support, like ticketing or arresting players. ... LSPDFR adds new animations, custom uniforms, improves the the AI of the computer-controlled police in the game, allows players to pull over and arrest suspects and more."  -- Zack Zwiezen

Game Players Are Failing In Our Duty To Be Evil

"Most game players find evil paths in narrative games a big turn-off. Overwhelmingly, they follow "good" paths as the default option. Statistics presented by Microsoft technical evangelist Amanda Lange at GDC today showed that, in narrative games where "good" and "evil" were clearly defined as story paths, only 5 percent of players opted for "evil" on a first play-through. The number jumped to around 50 percent on a second run."  -- Colin Campbell "So what is the lesson for game designers who create "evil" narrative paths, and want players to experience those stories as viable first-play options? She said that presenting pure evil without context is a bad idea, because most people find the concept off-putting. Adding friction to evil is counter-productive. Evil should come with its own risks and rewards, as it (mostly) does in real life. "People love to have their emotional boundaries tested," she concluded, adding that evil paths can create the most interesting moral problems."  -- Colin Campbell

Actors play patients to train medical students for real-life work

"Medical schools are turning to part-time actors to help students polish their bedside manners, long before they reach a real patient's bedside. The actors take part in elaborate role plays, simulating patients to help mimic the challenges of hospital work. This could mean playing a distraught family member, a patient who cannot speak English or a senior doctor."  -- Linette Lai "As an actor, you just go by the script," he said. "As a simulated patient, you may be able to pre- empt responses, but it's not a fixed script on the other end."  -- Daphne Ong

Press Start: Crafting the ultimate role-playing game

"There's something special about spending dozens of hours in the same world, wrapped up in its lore, playing a pivotal role in how the story shapes out. It's addicting committing to a character you create and shape and see his or her personal growth throughout the game. There's no such thing as a perfect game, role-playing or otherwise. But what if there was? What would it be like?"  -- Jake Magee

MUSIC SPOTLIGHT

RP ADVICE SPOTLIGHT

On Writing & Roleplaying Older Characters

Many writers and roleplayers, especially those in relatively young age groups, find themselves faced with the challenge of portraying many characters who are quite a bit older than themselves - and with no personal experience to go on, this can sometimes present a challenge. And as it's hardly realistic to just try and wait until you're as old as all of your characters are supposed, here's some advice and tips for those of you having a hard time with this.

RP COMMUNITIES SPOTLIGHT

- TABLETOP

Turn Your Table Top Into an Interactive Display with the Touchjet Pond

"The Touchjet Pond interactive Android based projector can totally transform your gaming table bringing your dungeons, and dragons, into the future. Using the Touchjet Pond projector for my roleplaying games, I was able to present the professionally drawn maps provided by Paizo’s Adventure Paths and interact with them right on the table."  -- Ryan Hiller

‘Dungeons & Dragons’ in AR Teased by Wizards of the Coast Digital Games Studio

"Playing Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition using AltspaceVR was one of my first multi-hour VR experiences. It combined something that I was familiar with and brought it to new life with new capabilities using the power of virtual reality. Whereas Dungeons & Dragons in VR brings anyone from around the world to the same location as you to relish in the joy of tabletop roleplaying in a digital setting, AR would bring digital augmentations into the physical world to enhance a physical game. "  -- David Jagneaux

- MMORPG

Ark: Survival Evolved Roleplay

"Dinosaurs aren't the only thing that's big about Ark: Survival Evolved, there's a massive community of roleplayers trying to survive on The Island too."  -- Steven Messner

I was drugged, forced to sing, and accused of murder in one night on an Ark roleplaying server

By Steven Messner February 16, 2017

"And that still wasn't the most uncomfortable thing that happened to me."

"The Roleplayers of ARK: Survival Evolved This will be a public group to those who wish to RP in the game ARK: Survival Evolved. All RPers are welcome, including clan/tribe/guild leaders and their members. If you know someone who has an RP server, wants to promote it, etc, please recommend this group to them! If you have a Roleplay-oriented site for ARK, we can promote that here as well! PLEASE NOTE: This steam group does NOT have 'one' server that we will all be playing on. It is primarily for RPers who play ARK, to 'search' for other RPers, or RP servers. "  -- https://steamcommunity.com/groups/ARKPublicRoleplay

Getting to know the wonderfully mad community of EVE Online at their 2017 fanfest

"EVE Online has the nicest, craziest fanbase you could hope for. We explore their 2017 fanfest."  -- Alex Donaldson

Life of Rome MMO Brings You Back to the Ancient Rome - Release date 2017

"Life of Rome is a third and first-person MMORPG set in the persistent world of 320 AD Rome. Players can choose to be Roman allegiance or Rebels, the game is designed to emphasize roleplay and community using family systems and player-driven politics. The in-game world is a 50km2 representation of Rome and its surrounding areas, including small villages, Rebel camps and Roman forts. Now the game is in Steam early access alpha. "  -- Serena, mmosite.com "Players interact with each other in a series of locations spread across the area. Major roleplaying-based storylines, purely optional, will be started and run by developers as well as players. Players in a position of power may also affect gameplay by setting a faction’s agenda, creating long-term political, economic, or military goals, which are broken up into missions handed down through a faction’s hierarchy in the form of player generated and driven missions."  -- Serena, mmosite.com "Players can form or join families with other players, and earn prestige for the whole group. The leaders of the most prestigious families in Rome who meet the Prestige requirement can elect to join the Senate, with the two highest ranking leaders as Consuls. During Senate meetings, these players can vote to enact a single benefit which will apply to all players loyal to Rome until the next meeting."  -- Serena, mmosite.com "Rome and the surrounding territory will contain many Temples and Shrines to a variety of Deities, each with a selection of different Benefits. Players can select a Religious Benefit every 24 hours by visiting and praying at a temple or shire dedicated to a specific deity."  -- Serena, mmosite.com

Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Release date 2017

"Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is a group-focused MMORPG based on challenging gameplay and open world high fantasy. It takes place on a world populated by deities and heroes, called Terminus. Mortal and planar shards which have collided create the dramatic and epic environment of Terminus. With some of those shards came deities and demigods that, over time, raised empires which forged the turbulent political landscape. Centuries later, new planar collisions have occurred that will pull the players into the world and its politics. The player is a legendary hero, stripped of his or her powerful relics and left to explore the dramatically diverse and epic regions of Terminus with hopes of reclaiming their relics and those of lost heroes."  -- mmorpg.com

Rift Wardrobe

 - LARP

Disney is mooting an overnight Star Wars LARP resort

"Disney is contemplating opening a luxury Star Wars themed resort next to the Hollywood Studios park at Disney World, which could feature multi-day live-action role-playing games that run overnight, with guests staying all night in the park to interact with costumed characters and automated elements (droids, etc) to game out scenarios."  -- boingboing.net

ARCHITECT SPOTLIGHT

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