Sense and Sensibilities

I had an anxiety attack earlier today, so I won't be talking about that till tomorrow, I also had a mind to discuss something to do with polyamory, but again it's still a little close to home. So today is another LARP topic, which is sensible behaviour.

This is the weirdness about leaving all our sensibilities at the door when asked to do something that OC we know is blatantly a trap, or will blatantly create misery for our PC's, and I guess it comes down to playing the game.

So your PC has a love of their life, they are blissfully happy and really there is no reason for them to go back into the den of inequity and trouble that is the main game. 2 choices, retire said character to live happily ever after, or go into the den, knowing OC that it's likely your PC will be a broken shell by the end. Most of us would pick the second option, unless the happily ever after was our end game, and I'm not sure about most of my (limited) readership, but it is never one of mine.  At this point I may point out that character goals for me tend to be the 'see what happens' type goals that involve tea drinking and finding my place in a natural flow kind of way, which either works amazingly, or not at all. I did read a comment on a friends LJ post recently that stated that PC's had to check their common sense at the gate (I paraphrase) which is why it is so easy to be led astray, after all, IC we are thinking 'please don't let this end badly for me' whereas OC we're thinking 'omg this is the worst idea I've had in a long time, why would I do this....oh yeah, game'

And I think that is the answer, if you get precious over your PC nothing will ever happen, there will be no growth, there will be no story arch, there will be nothing to ovver come, or even to be swallowed by. I have also noted that game helps to push me as a player.  A few years ago I struggled to play anyone with a hint of a bad side, then there was the necromancer incident and after a while I found it fun, I found the sneaking around behind peoples backs and manipulating them into helping out the bad guys a giggle, and it taught me about my own abilities. It pushed me, just a little. Now the idea of being a little bit evil, it makes me smile, makes me want to become all mischievous and naughty

I'm not very good at the focus thing. Now, not everything is about letting common sense go, if someone walks up and says 'I laid out this trap for you, isn't it shiny?' You can say, 'not really, no thanks' and walk away, but there are the times it's borderline.

Now a while ago I liked the if you know it OC you can know it IC, it made it easier when people started discussing their nefarious plans in front of you to foil them, now if someone threatens to slot my IC loved ones, I find myself unsure as to whether or not to tell them, because that could be seen as meta gaming, and as a rule I am a lousy meta-gamer, I think it's a lack of energy thing. Common sense would say that if your loved one were stupid enough to run round in the dark on their own, then it could be anyone and not necessarily the guy who told you about the death threat, and this is where I can talk myself in circles all night.

I think for me it is finding the balance between finding game lack of common sense, and IC stupidity that becomes a thing (and as a player who skirts that line pretty finely I am aware of its dangers).

This does mean I have a tendency to check my IC stupidity against other players, and this is when I notice they fail to take notice. It's a thing. And when everyone else tells me it's safe? yeah, sometimes it makes me look stupid.