[Ranylyn]

It's also worth noting that it goes both ways.

Spoiler Tag A: The problems with the vast majority of attempted "villains" I've seen, and why they get such stiff opposition.

On the one hand, the lack of consequences for defying antagonistic characters often results in a level of courage that's completely undeserved and unreasonable. On the flip side, some characters I've seen try to act villainous... well... their player got OOCly butthurt over other players not thinking 4 foot lolis were scary, calling people metagamers and godmodders for their hardened warriors not quaking in their boots when their miniature anti-threat entered the room. Like, if a character like that was legitimately trying to act threatening, who WOULDN'T just try to kick them in the face and be done with it?

(Now, granted, this specific example was while I was living at my old place, and I moved here over 2 years ago, now. This was well before the revamped age rule, so I haven't personally seen this in quite some time, but it always stuck with me as something that made me ask, "The heck is wrong with the community, sometimes?&quot

If someone wants to play a villain, they need to be done right. And, unfortunately, most attempts at villainy I've crossed paths with were ambitious on scale completely unbefitting of small-time, unproven crooks. "Okay, I robbed Risu, next, it's time to assassinate the Emperor, their entire line of heirs/ministers/etc and take over for myself!" Sorry, but just no, that's not how a coup d'etat works, and if you don't know that, you probably shouldn't be attempting it. "Oh, but Ran, I OOCly know that, but my character was an IC idiot!" Then quit your bitching about people trying to stop you, because yeah, that plot would go nowhere, especially if you're bragging openly about it in front of guards.

Furthermore, some attempts at villainy have gone above and beyond just stupidity to the point that it just outright becomes OOC harrassment. For example, a Hero Group tangles with a Villain Group. Alts of characters from hero group get heckled/taunted/attacked by the characters of the villain group, or their alts. Major, life-changing events, such as an accident that disfigures someone and makes them completely unrecognizeable - go completely ignored as they use OOC info to pinpoint targets with perfect precision despite IC overhauls, etc.

I, personally, actually do have a few villains who have never been directly opposed outside of metagaming (Character A gets targeted, player also plays Character B, Character B tries to start something much later based on knowledge they can't have since there were zero witnesses to the event and character A did not survive to share that info, stuff like that) simply since there's a little thing called subtlety - I don't go to the arena to monologue about how evil I am, and I don't start crap in the middle of Cellsvich, stuff like that. It takes a slower, more personal touch. For example, getting to know someone, inviting them home, and then having a bunch of hired thugs waiting in rooms to come out and launch an ambush on your command. Full on ASPD stuff (Antisocial Personality Disorder; ACTING charming, but in reality, being incapable of feeling personal attachment to others and not caring about anything beyond yourself.) Also? I've never been arrested once. Why? Because I'm not an idiot. Starting crap in front of dozens of witnesses, attacking people in broad daylight, and so on, these are the actions of people who WANT their villains to fail.

Oh, and lastly? Aliases with the words "Spooky/Creepy" and edgy pictures/descriptions are just saying "Give me all the grief you can, since I'm trying too hard and don't understand anything about what I'm doing." Just don't do this. If you want to be feared, build up a reputation via roleplay,
and NO, that does NOT mean going "FEEEAAAAAR MEEEEEEEEEE!" like a complete and utter idiot.

Spoiler Tag B: About heroes and the forces of good. (Or, "some people just don't understand jack about the human psyche.&quot

So you want to be a good guy. You're a moral person and a law-abiding citizen. But answer me this: what drives you?

The simple answer is, on a base, primal level, humans are ALL selfish. Even when we act with selfless altruism, we do it because that's what we want - regardless of if we seek the smiles or praise of our peers, or if we simply want to feel like we've done well. When we follow laws we don't entirely agree with, we do so because we don't want to go to jail, since going to jail would impact our lives quite negatively. Our number one driving force will always be meeting our wants and needs: Food, Water, Shelter, Entertainment, Community, and Stability. We work because we need to eat. We work because we need a roof over our heads and an address for legal reasons. We work because we don't really have a choice: We need to get by.

Why is this important? Simple: Humans don't actively sabotage their own survival. Even a soldier risking his life on the battlefield does so since going AWOL would be even worse, and they become soldiers in the first place since they need a career. Sure, depression (since it can really block self preservation instincts) and suicide are exceptions, but that's an extreme when there's simply no desire to keep going at all, when those driving forces are exhausted.

Ask yourself this: If someone is acting all selfless, how do they live? People need to eat to survive. People need income, plain and simple. Unless you have some kind of wealthy patron who hires morally upstanding people to go out and smite villains for their own personal reasons (such as not wanting to be robbed) you really don't have nearly as much freedom to do heroic things. Furthermore, if you're a mercenary who fights for money, being unable to set your morality aside would make it damn hard to work at all, as another example.

I'm not saying no one should ever act heroic. I'm just saying that those that do need FAR stronger reasoning than "I'm good, they're bad." What's in it for the character in question? Do they stand to gain anything, compared to what they stand to lose? What drives them to get involved besides "Oh,
hey, this counts as roleplay, right?"

You know what a strong motivator is? Anger. If a character lost a loved one to an armed robbery gone wrong, for example, they'd likely carry that with them, whether intentionally or otherwise. This means that they may despise criminals on a level bordering on irrational, and jumping in to kick as much ass as they can get away with any time they see a crime, because that hatred for criminals overrides their self-preservation. If you look at vigilantes, how many of them have never been affected by crime before becoming one? Very few. Even if they weren't personally involved, reading about it could have left them angered by the injustice.

Basically, what I'm getting at is... characters shouldn't be taking actions that ICly pose a risk to them without a reason to do so. And no, "I'm great at PVP so why should I worry about some punk," is not justification due to the difference between a sportsmanlike spar with various rules and agreements to not go for the kill, compared to a serious fight with their very life on the line. Don't think about it in terms of raw mechanics, think about it realistically: "All they need to do is get that one lucky hit to get past my chestplate, and I'm dead. Is this really worth it?"