Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4536066-20140428041456/@comment-4530750-20150703192855

Jon Varré wrote: Lor-break wrote: Adair Devil wrote: If that is towards me? Nope i just think people should do a little research into a  role before comitting to it no one should be limited. That's not what I said at all. To be honest, doing research applies to everything and every type of character and profession. My personal policy is to never create a character with a skill I don't at least have a theoretical grasp of. Because of this, I know how to do a lot of anachronistic things IRL. Whether that's blacksmithing, swordplay, medieval politics, or similar for RS, or strategy and tactics, as well as in-depth knowledge of age-of-sail naval warfare and the various types of firearms and cannon for WoW, or the nuances of Star Trek-era medical practice for ST:O, I clearly am way too into this hobby. (These are just a few examples. I also have a terrifyingly in-depth knowledge of herbal poisons and remedies and a very strong understanding of lightsaber combat, marksmanship, and artillery spotting, among other things.) Some of these things have become hobbies in and of themselves. I'm a re-enactor of various wars throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, I'm a medieval weapons enthusiast and take medieval martial arts classes, and I like to practice marksmanship on a range. I've been RPing for more than ten years now, and it's had a huge impact on my life. That's actually a very good policy. Even though you acquire a skill in-character through development, it doesn't mean that you actually know how any of it works. You can roleplay a doctor, and not know anything about herbology or medicine. You can RP a character with a mental illness very wrongfully because you didn't do any research.

I respect your passion for the art, but not everyone gets so into it! Not everyone does that much research and looks into those things the way you and I do (I picked up traditional martial arts, read into all types of plants, learned about medicine and supposed historical applications of magic and the theory behind it).

As you learn, so too can your character, which isn't to say that every character should have mastered everything, or should, in my opinion. People will always surprise you regardless: there's always a new, interesting way to apply theory and knowledge and something new to learn about.

That being said, while the journey is half the fun, that doesn't mean the end-game has to be the end of it all. Following that point, characters still have things they can do. Even after you've finished your education and acquired the highest position for your profession, there are still things to do. Such as live and teach. I've always found it sad that people see characters that have a lot of development and think it should be the end of it. That's not the way people work, and that's not how it should be for how we roleplay either.