On Extreme Role-playing Within XIV

[Puc]

Hate rping but wouldn't mind rping some discrimination against elezens maybe.

[DPZ2]

OP: "role-playing a character who might be racist, xenophobic or intolerant"

RP depends on the consent of all involved parties. As long as you have that consent up-front, I see nothing wrong with playing any of these particular characteristics.

What I fear is that you will encounter players who did not provide that consent, who are unaware that this is RP and who will, ultimately, report you for harassment under the ToS. Telling the GMs "I was only role-playing a character" won't cut it at that point.

Depending on how you play your character, you may find players unwilling to engage, or, worse, dismissive: "Oh, they're just that way. Ignore it, they're generally nice outside that one flaw".

In any case, limit encounters where the behaviours are on display to link shells and/or tells ... being public without consent from all parties will get you reported, and rightly so.

One final note: the use of the word "degenerate" in a public discussion is a moral judgement that should not be used lightly. It should not be used to indicate some amorphous "dislike". It has derailed your original post quite badly.

[Juzjuzz]

If the only way you can think of to make a character interesting or unique is to make them a bigot - then you really need to expand yourself a bit more.

Ofc it's not the only way but not everyone is good ah storytelling so taking a big flaw as a base can be a good start. And like you said it depends how it's done. Starting with a bigot is fine but staying only a bigot is the wrong way to play.

[Hyrist]

Time and place. Nuance and consideration. And most of all, consent and affirmation.

These are the key components to playing any sort of antagonistic character in any sort of roleplay. They're the same bedrock principles used in all kinds of roleplay. Yes, to many the bar scene RP might seem bland, but that is by intention for those who are seeking to alleviate other outside stresses. Mindlessly throwing an antagonist into that mix without consent or consideration might not be the smartest thing to do - and this is from someone who's played Garlean and mixed-blood Garleans before for Roleplay.

"Why can't I play _____" has clear and definable answers with exceptions you can work around. Follow guidelines and respect other people's intentions desires and personal spaces and you'll find that niche you're looking for - and probably provide a great experience for others looking for that sort of thing as well. That's how RP communities intend to work. (Harder in execution. Ego, drama, loss of personal detachment and social/interpersonal issues native to being invested in a story can and will all rear their ugly heads in RP environments.)

I think this is just a matter of looking for the right crowd to play with. There's multiple RP sites and communities available to reference and look for if you're wanting that. I've been out of the RP scene for a couple years now so any suggestions I'd make would be dated. Good luck.

[Batbrat]

Personally, I think it's way too far and even tiring to even THINK about this idea of "if you're someone who RPs as hating lalas then you're racist irl" I just. I'm so tired. It's both a joke and insult. Like please do not put a lalafell hater on the same level as someone who would gun me down simply for breathing, do not insult me like that. If you can't comprehend why even insinuating that someone pretending to be racist against made up characters is awful, I don't know what to tell you other than you're apparently extremely sheltered and perhaps are consuming way too much fiction. Please read about reality sometimes too. The two will never compare, it'll never be the same, you will never be the leader of morality that you think you are attempting to pull that self indulgent little trick.

And what anyway is the proposed idea in relation to this. Have there be one set of RP rules and everyone has to follow it to a T or they should be banned? Everyone should have the same views, the same mindsets, the same backgrounds-you all just wanna relive the same fart sniffing stories over and over again just to remain morally righteous in a video game? In a video game where both you and all the other main characters around you make morally questionable decisions from time to time???

Are we finally reaching that point where media isnt allowed to have conflict? Because I've seen it popping up with fan writers and other things. Like.. "well if you make a villain, you CO-SIGN what that villain does because you literally created him" Huh?? Then where does the good guy come in? Where's the dark to fight for light? It's ok to enjoy slice of life, but why does everything have to fit this bubble of an ideal perfect no one is ever hurt EVER world?

It's 100% ok to not RP with people you're not comfortable with. Regardless of the situation.
It's 100% ok to avoid someone for in-character and even out of character reasons. Regardless of the situation.
Everyone has boundaries. Everyone has preferences. That's good, that's great. Surround yourself with what you enjoy and others that enjoy you.
But for the love of god, please don't go and look for people who write in ways you don't like and then seek to have them thrown out of communities or banned or anything else. Just leave them alone. We don't need people trying to be the RP police about what others are and arent allowed to pretend in their own mind in regards to their made up character. Ok. None of it is real. None of it is real and the idea of potentially getting people in trouble for made up thought crimes is so unhinged it makes me worry for the future of story telling entirely. Enjoy Endwalker.

[LittleImp]

I tried to roleplay on 14 once.

I created an unconventional, highly flawed character with a visible physical disability.

People kept asking me why I would want to play such a flawed character, particularly one that wouldn't be considered physically attractive. I realized pretty quickly that virtually everyone who roleplays on this game plays the same cookie-cutter, self-insert, sexy, strong, calm, cool, collected, boring character, and that 90% of them are using ERP potential as their first evaluation of your character.

When you get a bunch of people who create characters that are essentially self-insert, better versions of themselves, it's not surprising that they'll heavily question why anyone would want to play a xenophobe or racist. Their immediate assumption is that you're creating your character for similar reasons, ergo you must be xenophobic or racist.

[Caurcas]

To address some of the issues presented. One, you can play a racist character without constantly having them hurl slurs all the time. A better way to do it is to be subtle, such as having your choices built around being indifferent and acting without remorse towards that which your character dislikes. Same thing for xenophobia and intolerance. Two, when everything is the same it gets boring and bland. Such is my issue with XIV's scene. In fact it kind of burned me out on rp as a whole, given as it's the game I spent the most time in. It's really needs to get spiced up a bit in my opinion. Three, the fact that it creates an atmosphere of unease is intentional. It creates a more textured, believable experience. This is a good thing, writing wise atleast.

[KizuyaKatogami]

I think a big problem is, at least from personal experience, even just having it in your search info that you rp as a garlean or an ascian is enough for people to harass you.

[Caurcas]

Some of these takes show exactly why 14 is becoming stale, and just not the rp scene. It's dreadfully tame and neatly packaged. There is no exploration on the themes presented, just surface level grazing. To allow and push for certain "extremity" of thoughts and characters makes the game far more diverse. Something that it currently lacks.

[Kikoten]

Some of these takes show exactly why 14 is becoming stale, and just not the rp scene. It's dreadfully tame and neatly packaged. There is no exploration on the themes presented, just surface level grazing. To allow and push for certain "extremity" of thoughts and characters makes the game far more diverse. Something that it currently lacks.

I believe there is plenty of potential in what you mentioned post-6.0. I'm certainly hoping for it, at least. I want to see more stories like the Bloody Banquet, where the line between good and bad becomes blurred and the protagonists are backed against the wall. I've never seen such an emotional response to any other part of the MSQ from the community than the Bloody Banquet.