[Poruku]

Back after a small break from sl2, I have been pushing back responding to this thread, but I'll try to give my response to some things here.

I feel like ganking especially for people who are looking to get into antagonist characters with no real prior reputation for it is a bit more detrimental than beneficial.

I think it's a necessary evil in SL2. We have very limited options, despite the fact many people will say things like "we need more rp antags, we need more subtle antags" etc. It's not only difficult, it also means most people just won't know about you and not much will happen. I'd love to see a guide on how to make a RP-only antag because I haven't figured out a good formula yet besides being a general annoyance. Any RP-focused antag will inevitably need a lot of build up, and that runs the risk of easily losing all your progress, getting found out or metagamed, not reaching enough people or being just dismissed and ignored, like shujin said.

And to be clear, most of my ganks are scheduled. However, I will be more vocal about giving people an out in the future. I added more information about etiquette and keeping things fun in the guide.

For people who don't need a lengthy explanation on why making disposable characters whose proposed defining trait is that they're looking excessively murderable and mentally ill, you can just not do it.

This guide seeks to put some sort of divide between any usual character and a character with ideals who will come into or cause conflict.

Advice regarding ganking is just rather poorly explained or just handled in a rather unhealthy way. You mention asking others to lower their numbers to match yours. There's no advice to always do the same for others without having to be asked.

Masturbatory is still the right word for the segment about character archetypes.

1: You make a solid point. Though I have to disagree with a few things.
First of all, I think fantasy madness is just as if not more offensive to people with actual disorders because it cheapens the idea of mental health. Countless times I've heard people talk about legitimately interesting characters (not in SL2, in other media) as just crazy. Or hell, think of all the memes about mental illnesses like schizophrenia. How is me doing research more harmful than using insanity as a weird plot point? To clarify, not a single time in my SL2 life did I make any mention of mental illness in the actual game. And usually, I think about a character I want to make first of all, and then try to do research to make it more realistic. I am sorry if you think that's offensive but I'd much rather address it than just sweep it under the rug. It's something important to me, having dealt with many people who struggle with disorders in my life. I believe roleplaying characters that are well developed and share those issues allows me to better understand these people. That's part of why roleplay is so important to me, so that part will stay and I will continue exploring this territory.

2: This is the first line of part 0 of the guide:
"Being an antagonist is not a black and white concept. I use the term because it's widely recognized, but the line between a normal character and an antagonist can and should be blurry. You don't need to "be an antagonist" to shake things up, create conflict, or oppose other people."

3: I'll add that. It's something I've done in the past and I think it's an essential part of ganking as a group! You should never outnumber someone in a gank.

4: I just put that chart there because it's funny. It's literally a reference to a meme and I don't feel like going into "popular media" characters to get examples. I think the explanations are good enough. I'm going to keep the chart there because it's funny to me personally.

I suppose this has been a lot of rambling to simply say that- if there is a good 'solution' to antagonism in SL2, I haven't quite seen it. Every avenue comes with tradeoffs, every risk the antagonists take will be punished to a severe degree, and if they don't take risks- the protaganists will feel as if they can't do anything at all about the situation at hand.

This is exactly my sentiment. My guide isn't meant to be an end-all be-all solution to the perfect antagonist. I don't have it all figured out, although I realize the guide comes on strong. This is simply what I've found works for what we have.

SL2 antagonism is far from perfect. In fact, it sucks. But I am not going to stop, because despite the sea of conflicting views and issues and shit being flung at me, it's still something I love doing and I love this game. And I don't want to leave it stagnant, even if it may put me at odds with some people who don't enjoy my antags.