Cowardice

[Nihm]

Why is it that all characters will fight orcs, skeletons and whatever else, but are afraid to duel someone who challenges and insults them?  Instead they'd much rather wait until that person is alone and then gank them with a band of friends.  
I am really tired of people who emote "doesn't hear a word you say" or "ignores you."  If your character is a coward, own up to it IC instead of trying to have the best of both worlds, consistently portraying him as brave against Npcs but pretending he doens't hear or acknowledge one obnoxious person who really isn't frightening compared to most else on the island.
 
What it comes down to is that people sort out the mechanics in their heads and decide they may lose in a fair fight, so best ignore this one.  That's metagaming not courage.
 
And don't tell me every single character on the ziggurat is the sort of cold calculating type who doesn't mind looking like a worm if they can get revenge later.

[lovethesuit]

Is there something you'd like to share with us? I get the feeling you have something you want to get off your chest.

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

Maybe they don't want to be humiliated by a Power Built Elven Barbarian/fighter who smells bad and has bad grammar?

I mean, for those fellows, you obviously use a powerbuild.

[RIPnogarD]

I actually have issues on the obverse side of this coin. Why do some PC’s act all big and bad in non PvP areas with NPC’s all around and call people out when they know PvP can’t be done without a DM but yet when they are found alone in a PvP area they get all upset about getting “ganked” by the four people they called all sorts of names an hour ago. Common sense to me; if you can’t to the time, don’t do the crime. You want to be the toughest guy in the bar, be ready to defend yourself around every corner because eventually you are going to get “ganked” or beat by somebody tougher.

It’s not always a matter of cowardice; sometimes it’s a matter of not wanting to bother trying to get a DM for some player that is trying to be tough in a no tough guy zone.

[iBard]

Let's put it this way.

Some immature and annoying child, ten years younger than me (I'm 17), is shouting pathetic insults with no base to them whatsoever.

Do I go over and beat the stuffing out of that child? No. I ignore them.

Relate this situation to your predicament.

[lovethesuit]

I have to agree with iBard (I'm 21). This isn't something you should be concerned about. The actions of other players are not yours to criticize (They're other people). If, however, you're saying you'd like to see more one-on-one fights and duels, well then, that sounds like a good goal for a lawful character to aim for (I'm Red Knight).

I'm going to end a block of text with a single line because it's poignant.

(I'm poignant.)

[JackOfSwords]

Orcs, skeletons and whatever else are monsters, not to mention NPC's that you can't have meaningful dialogue with (i.e., emoting "Ignores orc") and instead automatically attack you.

"Ignores you" -IS- certainly an IC choice, and not metagaming.  I ignore stupid, insulting people all the time IRL, without feeling that in some way I must engage in their rhetoric or fight them.  IMO, fighting with someone who insults you is -NOT- courage, but rather cowardly, as obviously you must be afraid that people have a reason to believe their insults.

[SnottySnitch]

What it comes down to is that people sort out the mechanics in their heads and decide they may lose in a fair fight, so best ignore this one. That's metagaming not courage.

....

Why is it that all characters will fight orcs, skeletons and whatever else, but are afraid to duel someone who challenges and insults them?

All the other points aside, I think that these two questions/statements deserve an answer. Having been in numerous situations over the months I've played here, player cowardice, and "reverse metagaming", when faced by other PCs occur regularly (most probably unintentionally, but still).

[Jayde Moon]

Deserves an answer from WHO, exactly?

The only CvC I've actively participated in, I thought my PC was gonna die.  IC AND OOC I was confused about the situation.  All both me and my character saw as she walked up was 8 folks surrounding a buddy.  She had no concept of what was going on and did not know ANY of the 8 PCs surrounding him.  As soon as action happened, she just jumped right in to help.

Luckily for both me and my character, it was actually only a CvC situation against two of the folks.  The rest were just onlookers.

That said, the immediate threat to friends and folks she cares for aside, I don't think she'd want to try to engage big human warriors in the Ziggurat even though she'll happily face down a tribe of orcs with her buddies.  Because that big human warrior is ALSO capable of facing down a tribe of orcs with his buddies.

And when she faces down a tribe of orcs, its usually WITH HER BUDDIES.  She's little, not stupid.  Big guy in a metal suit with a big BIG knife... she's not gonna fuck with.  Whether he's level 2 or level 9.

This is all hypothetical as I've yet to encounter a situation where she's had to avoid CvC.  But if she ever did, it's because she's smarter than you think and knows how to calculate the odds.

Course, by the same token, she isn't talking shit to folks all the time.

So that's just me.  Nothing to do with cowardice.

Bravery should not be confused with stupidity.

[9lives]

These posts would probably be better received if they were not, in a way, OOC potshots at other players.

Players shouldn't be lecturing other players on their characters, or playstyle.

Do your own time, focus on your own playing, and you will be the happier for it.

[Nihm]

Maybe they don't want to be humiliated by a Power Built Elven Barbarian/fighter who smells bad and has bad grammar?

No stat below ten and pure barbarian, thanks.  Also does not only challenge people I know she can beat.
 

Some immature and annoying child, ten years younger than me (I'm 17), is shouting pathetic insults with no base to them whatsoever.

Do I go over and beat the stuffing out of that child? No. I ignore them

No, I don't go over and beat the stuffing out of them, I get four buddies and kill or humiliate that child later on.  And of course take all its potions because "it made me use some of mine" to gank it.
 

Is there something you'd like to share with us? I get the feeling you have something you want to get off your chest.

Yes.  I need you, desperately, Lovethesuit.

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

No stat below ten and pure barbarian, thanks. Also does not only challenge people I know she can beat.

Precisely.

[Gwydion]

There have been numerous threads/posts about when to FD a character and when not to.  

In real life, its usually only an insane person that kills another for a relatively minor slight.  Warnings, non-lethal beatdowns, shakedowns are the norm in real life - and IMO, would make far better RP and server action than buffing, invising and ambush/killing another PC.

Fear of the consequences should make killing another person avoid it unless its necessary.  Whether its fear of the law, or vengeance from someone's friends/associates.

$0.02

[Xorisai]

I think the consequences are what's important.  Killing a troglodyte is consequence-free; nobody is going to get on your case for doing it except the other troglodytes in the quest area, but they would be on your case whether you killed that troglodyte or not.

Killing a citizen has real consequences, as any character who's been around the Ziggurat for long knows.  All the murders and reprisals, the vendettas and assassinations, and now the new legal code on top of that - any character who's been around at least a few days and isn't a moron will understand that one must be far more careful when dealing with citizens. Every Ziggurat citizen lives in close proximity to the friends and allies of that guy they just killed, not to mention the legal authorities.  If your character lived in the trog cave they'd probably be more cautious about killing trogs, too.

[Mort]

Just take a step back. Breath. Some actions will always never be to our own personal standards. I guess, part of it is being tolerant and manning it up.

 * * *

This has nothing to with duels and turning them down, but, it's educational and related to neuroscience, so I'm hooking people up!

http://www.scn.ucla.edu/pdf/WhyRejectionHurts(TICS).pdf

This study is pretty sweet. Just with a small computer game of volley-ball where the player's brain activity is monitored, they noticed that players who were ignored (i.e. two volley-ball players pass the ball between eachothers ignoring the third player) activates the same brain regions for pain (anterior cingulate cortex) as if you were receiving actual physical pain.

Pretty wicked that you can cause physical pain unto someone just with a computer game by ostracism?

Part of attenuating this is making the distinction in your mind EXTREMELY clear between ooc and ic. Play always with enthusiasm, but a feeling of detachment is necessary so you dont take everything that happens as personal.

Break-down in OOC relationships between players is probably the biggest objective that you want to avoid, here. :(