From: s892341@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (Matt=Goodall)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Carrying weapons around (was Re: META: Swords, etc)
Date: 11 Nov 92 03:36:48 GMT
Organization: RMIT Computer Centre
NNTP-Posting-Host: minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au

seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp) writes:

>	Well, guess you'd be suspicious of an awful lot of the gamers I
>have gamed with over the years. Several of them carry loaded large-caliber
>handguns with them at all times. They aren't psychotics out to kill
>someone, but they feel that there are enough "bad people" out there so that
>it is worthwhile to carry a good piece of self defense around with them.

I would be suspicious of someone carrying around a pistol regardless of
who he was but then again I don't live in America, thank god :-).

>>	Self-defense is a good argument if you live in a place of
>>the world where every minute you live in fear for your life.  The
>>less the risk is, though, and the more you start sounded paranoid
>>and possibly dangerous.  I'd dare say that the same goes for a
>>medieval world.
>>	"Well, I'm an adventurer, get it?  Adventurer."
				           ^^^^^^^^^^^		
>>	"Yeah, that's what the last ten mercenaries said.  We don't
>>like assassins and we don't like mercenaries here in BlahBlah City."
>>	"Look, I'm a GOOD GUY.  I kill goblins for a living!"
>>	"Uh-huh.  Right.  There ain't no goblins here, so you mind
>>explaining that sword you're carrying around?  Mind telling me where
>>you found that sword while you're at it?"
>>	"It's MY sword.  I got it from my dad!  I use it for
>>protection!"
>>	"Sure, sure.  How about we discuss this in the prison?  And
>>don't cause no trouble 'cuz my friend Rolfr's ready to stick an
>>arrow in your back if you move funny..."

>	Well, that depends very much on the world, eh?
>	In my world, Adventurer is a recognized profession. People 
	             ^^^^^^^^^^		
>admire Adventurers (they occupy much the same position in society as,
	^^^^^^^^^^^
>say, major movie stars do in the US) and want to be like them.
>	Weapons are worn as a matter of course in almost all cities,
>and most certainly will be worn by adventurers. Considering that legal
>issues are often resolved by the principals involved and not the 
>local constabulary, adventurers are well-known to be vulnerable to
>attack at any time. An Adventurer who was walking around completely
			^^^^^^^^^^
>unarmed in my world would be thought either crazy, or else he must
>have something REALLY nasty up his sleeve.

How do people know he's an adventurer? Does he have "Adventurer: Charge me
twice your normal price" written on his shirt?

>	In fact, the social strata higher up REQUIRE that you come 
>armed -- especially if you are going to meet the King. To be disarmed
>is to indicate not only a lack of trust but an insult and an implication
>that you offer yourself helpless before your host.

	The useage of the word "adventurer" is beginning to annoy me. 
Thanks to T$R, gamers everywhere use the word indisciminately in and out
of character. Out of character is OK, "In the woods the adventurers will
encounter 5 trolls" but in character "We seek noble adventurers...", 
"The adventurer's Guild" etc etc is terminally stupid. Try the words "hero",
"explorer", "mercenary", "trouble shooter" etc etc instead after all very
few of your characters are actually professional "adventurers".

	Adventurer is such a general term that it describes nothing at all
for example "we went adventuring", "joined an adventurers group".

	This is not flaming anyone in particular, but I think Sea Wasp might
have a think about how mediveally realistic his world is with adventuring
recognized as a profession.

Matt

-- 
Matt Goodall
s892341@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au
Famous last words: "Who's the bitch with the spiders?"