Roleplaying Properly

[Knight Of Pentacles]

Seriously, if we were all speaking the "historically accurate" language we'd have to learn Middle English. A language I bet no one on this entire server could form a sentence in without heading straight to Google.   Modern British English is as old as Modern American English I'm afraid.

 Just because you have a "preference" doesn't mean you get to force it on every one else.   Nor should you judge others for not wanting to live by your baseless ideals.

This thread should be locked at this point, because it was never constructive in the first place and will just lead to more inflammatory posts.

[Yalta]

Forgotten Realms is loosely based on Tolkien Middle Earth. Trying to speak as close as you can to the way they do in LOTR is no bad thing.

[Pentaxius]

I think this thread has served its purpose. Opinions were expressed, and we've noticed that there is alot of heterogeneity in preferences at play here. From there on, We've just been turning in circles.

[djspectre]

I haven't read every response here, but I'll chime in after having been a player here for longer than most people who posted responses.

I get it, but I also don't.

For me, hearing modern slang terms, swears and other things does rattle the immersion level a little. I understand some people think it's okay and choose to do it, but a lot of times it's so sudden, that the dialog reads like a jerk and a punch rather than natural and flowing.

Someone said that because we are typing in real time that we are limited by that medium and thats totally correct.

How many times have you been typing a response, had to hit backspace several times and by the time you finish your typing, the person you were talking has walked through a transition? Yeah, frustrating.

The game doesn't allow for a '....typing....' thing to appear of above our heads to let us know a response is being formulated, and even if it did it would be distracting and irritating to see that above everyone's head during times when 10, 20, 40 people are all in one place.

So while speed is likely the excuse used for most people to use shortened versions of words, modern catchphrases and other things, there are ways to still type fast, communicate your idea and still stay within the bounds of your character, the setting and the D&D world itself.

That's why a lot of people use old english or basic commands to talk.

When you're party is rushing ahead "Hold!" or " A moment, please!" can do the job as well as "Wait up!"

It only takes a few seconds of planning BEFORE you login, to come up with these substitutions and honestly that's often a fraction of the time it takes for people to come up with the concept and ability list for their character.

So while it's frustrating to have to type out your emotes, I'm much more comfortable doing that than sitting at a table-top game play-acting (which I'm miserable at) a character.

I think we all just have to be more courteous and wait for a response instead of being impatient and walking off.

[Pup]

Why is this still open?  Really?

[Caddies]

These kinds of things boil down to taste, and Anthee is a chef de cuisine par excellence.

[SN]

"Properly."

[Calixto]

It's really not that difficult.

Watch Lord of the Rings, or Hobbit, or Kingdom of Heaven, or Robin Hood, or any movie set in the Middle Ages or a fantasy variant thereof. Read a novel set in a similar setting. Pay attention to the dialogue in those movies and novels.
How do the characters speak?

Well, I don't, and I bet 99% of the playerbase doesn't either, have the time or the means to watch / read enough Fantasy / Middle Ages novels / movies to acquire a "correct" vocabulary which will allow my chars to speak just like in the Middle Ages or whatever.

And the funnly thing is it would still not help. If you seriously consider LOTR, for example, a good reference for this, you are up for a big disappointement. You are right, nobody said "fuck" in these movies. The thing is, nobody said a single profanity in these movies as far as I remember. And the same happens for others movies / novels of this kind. It is an obvious fact that many authors use an artificial, unrealistically "polite" language in their works.

Or do you believe there wasn't slang in the Middle Ages?

Do you think a Middle Ages brigand would have said "Halt there, dear traveller, and let me relieve you of your gold" instead of "gimme your fuckin' purse and quick, cunt"?

Yeah, the word "fuck" was used in the Middle Ages. Which word do you think people used if not?

Therefore, what is the problem with it?

I really can't understand why people bother with these issues. One thing is obvious anachronisms like a character in a previous setting complaining about what the goverment was doing with his "tax dollars", but this is, let's face it, irrelevant if we are talking of good rp. As I said, there are countless things that should be changed if we don't want "modern" words in our setting.

Trams? Give me a break! System? Control pannel? Democracy? That term didn't come to exist in the English language until the 16th century. Etc...

[Nuclear Catastrophe]

My word.

Look.  I think the original point was this:

That seeing people going around saying things like

"SUP DUDES, WHAT'S GOIN DOWN IN UPPER.  FO SHIZZLE THIS IS GNARLY"  

Is probably going to be a bit immersion breaking if it happens.  If I see this I will probably crush you with gleeful abandon as a member of the thought-police.  It's what I do.  Generally you'll get away with it.

However, people are mostly excellent in their writing style, tone and dialogue, so I don't know what's pre-empted this thread, I mean, I have little to no complaints about how people roleplay their characters, you all seem to do a very good job!  Well done you.

[John Doe]

Lado has given me some valuable tips and talk-throughs when playing playing Slyd Radke that I didn't take as critism but as points for improvement.  No one's perfect and God knows I'm far from it.

The point he's made here is fair and valid and while I haven't seen regular misuse of the language, it is *still* a good point to make and to bear in mind.

.. and definitely not something that is worth some of this defensive and passive aggressive attitude that I've been seeing. Come on guys?

[Chris a gogo]

I have read through the whole thread and in truth while i agree with the OP to some extent i also use contractions like ok but unless the server has a slang language all of it's own much like the dialogue in A clockwork orange that is to say was created just for it,then the complaint is truely a non issue as there is no standard to measure it against other than personal preference.

I would add i believe the main reason there are so many hostile posts in this thread is that the OP was written by a DM,and when a DM says you should be doing this people read it as a rule or an order,i know when i read the first post i read it that way.

[mozi]

So I accidentally typed "Hey Todd" in-game about half an hour ago. I came here because I wasn't sure whether I should give you my character information or if you want a screenshot because I took one or what I should do so I came here just to let you know, and so you don't have to find out some other way. It was an accident and I'm sorry but if you think further action needs to be taken I'll just leave it in your hands.

I like the policy of doing this occasional grammatic bloodletting thread just to release vapours from the bubbling mass of dramatic tension. Let us always remember to give thanks that no one can take us any more serious than we take ourselves.

The funny thing is my RL buddy Todd had just dropped by when I was in-game typing so I finished typing but the wires got crossed and I typed his name instead. Isn't that embarrassing you guys? :rolleyes:

[Paha]

Such a troll, as always.

I believe everyone has had their share to say by now, with this latest one.