Random thoughts and comments

A good example of the above is that I would be OOC somewhat ashamed to play another Gage Gritshaw in the current environment. He was a terrible rotten human being geared towards being the ultimate "Did he just fucking say/do that? What the fuck is wrong with this guy?", PC.

For the era he was part of, he was glorious. People loved him. But, the playerbase then was comprised of, shall we say, "less fragile", sorts of players for the most part.

Now if I played that sort of PC I would absolutely be reported, probably more than once, and I would never want to post that I played that PC in the current community culture. I would be blacklisted as a sicko.

During that era I could say, "It's the internet and the game is geared to be sickeningly hard as fuck. Get the fuck over it and don't be a whiny little sensitive bitch.", and people would back me.

Now, well, I would absolutely be the odd man out.




I'm willing to admit I'm not entirely sure that is a bad thing either. But, I also feel a strange obligation to point out the reality of it as well. 

You lucky dog


Also, I fucking love stories about Gage Gritshaw. He reminds me of a few different characters from Atonement. 

Hardened ganger scum. Kinda character that makes a game for me.

I don't disagree with that overall if not with every individual point.

i editted out the pic because of a player's RL name on it. even if there's a link to the twitter on the player's GDB profile, i'd rather not have that exposed and have to deal with hysterical cries of "THEY POSTED MY RL NAME I AM IN FEAR FOR MY SAFETY" like when 10 year old phone numbers and first names were accidentally out for all of 20 minutes not too long ago.

Interesting post on the GDB regarding people knowing if a psion is messing with their minds.

I just want to chime in since I know they read this board as much as anyone else.

A psion making you think something you would never think otherwise is not a reason to know it was a psion. A psion literally changes the way you think when they force you to think. They don't, "make you think the way you want them to make you think and if you don't agree then you get to know they are a psion".

If a psion is playing in a way that you believe is poorly, then wish up on the spot and/or file a complaint against that player. If staff agrees then they will make the decision on if what is happening is realistic. YOU DO NOT GET TO BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT A STAFFER!!!

They are a psion. Staff has entrusted them that amount of power. If you don't agree with how they are using it, report them. Otherwise, shut your mouth, play along with the things your character IS THINKING IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, and move forward.

"Oh I would never think that, this must be a psion.", is never an appropriate response. YES YOU THOUGHT IT! You may not like behind the keyboard that you DID. BUT YOU DID.



"Knowing it was a psion because I would never ever think that and I know I wouldn't and you can't tell me I would.", is not acceptable.

It is poor roleplay, and you should lose karma for it/be reprimanded.

I hope the psion players report you every single time for it.

You don't get to dictate what psion powers are capable of making your character do because you aren't the psion and staff hasn't entrusted you with those powers.

It's fine to think, "What an odd thought. I need to lay off the booze.".

IT IS NEVER FINE TO THINK, "Oh someone must be messing with my mind. PSION!!!!". 

That is probably the worst roleplay I can imagine in that sort of situation and you should be ashamed of yourself.



I've had multiple psions mess with me. I've never once roleplayed knowing it was a psion. Why? Because I care more about playing the game in a realistic manner than "winning".

I once had two psions forcing me to have a think battle with each other over the fate of my character and if they would live through a situation or not. I let them determine if I lived or died based on who won the thought battle in my head. I died.

I had another psion force my PC to sell him something I would normally charge two and a half large for. He wanted it for five small. He got it for five small. I think after it was over I thought something like, "Shit, I think I grabbed the wrong thing from bag there. Why would I do that? I would never sell that for five small. I never have. Oh well, I must be getting old. Mind is slipping. Good for him today I guess.". 

I once had a psion make a male PC of mine think something along the lines of he wished he had a vagina. I then went on for a while pondering what it would be like to have a vagina. This was an ultra masculine PC who would never think that of course. But, you know what? He did. I don't get to determine if he did or if I agree with it. HE DID THINK IT IF I LIKE IT OR NOT AND I DON'T GET TO KNOW IT WAS A PSION.


I think I saw an example in that thread along the lines of, "A psion once tried to make me think they were attractive so I knew it was a psion because I didn't want my PC to think they were attractive.". Really? That is shit level roleplay. That was handled poorly. You should have thought, "I guess this guy is looking better and better these days. Odd, I always used to think he was ugly, but, there's just something about him now, I don't know what.". Now, that doesn't mean you have to engage with them in an IC sex scene of course. That is against the rules. They can't force that situation on you. IF it got to that point you could think "OOC: I don't consent to an explicit scene btw. Just so you know.", and that player would then play along and not try and force you I'm sure. Taking it to an IC level of "I know this is a psion.", is worth losing karma over in my opinion if you have more than one or two points. 

Damn people. Learn how to play the game.

What worries me more is we have longtime players apparently who don't understand this. I absolutely would expect this from new players. As a longtime/veteran player you SHOULD know better, and if you don't know better, you need to turn in your "Vet Card", so to speak. You still have a lot to learn.

They would think psions exist the same way you and I think the Bigfoot might exist. Unless you have directly had interactions with one, even if another person says, "I saw one and it messed with me!", you would still look at them like, "Yeah, but....it's Bigfoot...are you sure? I don't know.".

(I've had characters come to my leaders on multiple occasions and tell me, "Sarge! A psion was messing with me! They made me think something!", EVERY SINGLE TIME I would look at them and say, "How do you know?", I never once got a good answer. Just fumbling over their words until they admitted they didn't know for sure and dropped it. Why? Because when you point it out IC that they are being a idiot, they quickly realize their stupidity. This happened at least half a dozen times with Koman Locke alone.)

With that being said and with that pushed aside, a psion's forced thought FEELS NO DIFFERENTLY TO YOU THAN ONE OF YOUR OWN THOUGHTS.

It is not different in any way.

It doesn't feel different. It doesn't make you suspicious. For reasons your character doesn't know they might be thinking things out of the ordinary, but, they have absolutely no idea or any suspicion that those thoughts are being fueled by an outside source.

NOW, with that being said, it's absolutely fine for a THIRD PARTY to see your character doing odd shit and say, "Amos, you are a baker, you have always been a baker, why are you insisting that you are now a master juggler and work for Tektolnes as his personal jester? You don't. You never have? Are you feeling well? There is something wrong with you.".

However Amos would, at least until someone's outside influence pushed him to otherwise see reality, think he was in fact Tektolnes' personal jester and juggler.

Psion players have a massive amount of karma. They probably wouldn't do shit like this without an extremely good reason and without good roleplay. Again, if you think otherwise, play along but report them. Staff will sort it out. YOU DO NOT GET TO DETERMINE IF THEY ARE PLAYING THEIR PSION CORRECTLY. IT IS YOUR JOB TO PLAY YOUR CHARACTER CORRECTLY, WHICH MEANS THINKING WHAT YOUR CHARACTER WOULD THINK, AND NOW, THOSE THOUGHTS ARE COMING FROM A PSION, SO PLAY CORRECTLY.

An extreme example, but, a valid one.

If a psion makes you think something, YOU THINK IT. YOU HAVE NO CHOICE AND GET NO SAY AS MUCH AS THAT MIGHT BOTHER YOU AS A PLAYER!!! If that psion truly devotes a lot of time and effort into molding your PC's thoughts, they can get you to believe and become some pretty great/terrible things. Getting you to think and believe minor things however shouldn't and wouldn't take much time and effort at all. You can be forced to think, "I like this guy. There's just something about him. Sure, I'll give him a discount of fifty coins today, I'm feeling generous.", even if you have always hated that guy, you have to go along with it. YOU DO NOT GET A SAY IN THE MATTER! YOUR CHARACTER THOUGHT IT AND BELIEVES IT, AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING! END OF STORY! (General "you", not directed at Hates.)