If I was to sum up these kind of topics on forum it’s like this :
“Much like Blizzard players can’t find the right balance with how they RP, it’s either all of it or none of it.”
I just don’t RP openly confrontational characters. It’s more likely that they’ll never go against a fight they know they can’t win and if they’re in said fight, they’ll beg their way out or escape the situation.
However I agree that some people RP the character like they know that only the person behind the screen can ever let them be wounded or die.
Then ask them how their real life looks like.
For some ppl RP is just fun.
Playing fear can be hilarious.
But for others… well You arę going to find out.
I think some players have an unrealistic expectation of fear in other players, because they expect others to fear them by virtue of their trp profile or class.
Should my perfectly ordinary priest of the cathedral be scared of Dennis Plagueman, the Ebon Blade ravager master of carnage in his mythic Dreadwyrm set? Probably. Unfortunately, Dennis Plagueman is walking around in the middle of Lion’s Rest, immediately threatening anyone who questions his presence, or disparages his state as an undead with death threats, knowing that the npc guards surrounding him obviously won’t do anything. I simply cannot find it in me to indulge power-players like that (shout-out to the guard rpers who have to deal with these people eventually). At that point, if he’s not willing to account for the world around him, why should I bother to account for any of his traits?
Is it in-character for a death knight to behave like that? Maybe. I don’t personally think it is. But I already know Dennis Plagueman isn’t interested in his extremely ripped (he hasnt decayed much cuz hes a frost dk btw), 8ft tall murder machine suffering any consequences for his behaviour.
It is not. Death knights are good, but not invincible. They may indeed respond with hostility at times, yet they should also be sensible enough to know when to tone it down. Sadly in some cases this is beseeching the gods
I think this is a extreme case, sadly way to common for Death Knights and Demon Hunter RPers.
All in all, the moments a proper Death Knight Roleplayer does end up in Stormwind/Orgrimmar for whatever case; most other classes/RPers should fear him/her/them.
But then again a proper DK RPer won’t enter Stormwind/Ogrimmar without a good reason and certainly won’t enter the Lion’s Pride Inn proclaiming death and destruction to every random passerby!
TL’DR; a Good DK RPer should and will be feared, but just not when they randomly throw death threats and enter bars and act like a random living.
Dodging? Pah. That is the moment you reveal that your throat was a sealed portal to the void all along and now that it’s open an old god is crossing over.
(Please note that if that ever actually happened in one of your random Stormwind RP encounters, I had no association with that person)
My most common character archetype is the conniving coward, with all the fear and tribulation that such a concept entails. Whilst I personally really quite enjoy the fun and opportunities it can bring, I can also see why others do not engage quite so readily with it.
As others have said in the thread there are definitely individuals that are actively looking to be intimidating and threatening, sometimes playing the other half of that dynamic can be a world of headaches. It has happened in multiple instances that in humouring one persons power fantasy, it has become a boring repetition of that being the sole interaction. I don’t blame anyone hesitant to fall into that situation.
Whilst it isn’t my cup of tea, I can certainly see the appeal of roleplaying a fearless, hard-as-nails character especially given the fact that roleplay does sometimes entail a degree of escapism.
I think fear, at least self preservation needs to be drilled into the community. For no reason other than. If you play a noble knight/guard/hero, and I have a rogue/villainous character, I can literally approach you, and proceed to completely devalue the entire concept of your character by refusing to accept any consequences for my action, and it is so heavily apparent in RP these days. Everyone you meet is absolutely a fearless badass because they know, there are no consequences for their actions. It’s why I usually RP characters who are nice
