[MUD-Dev] Character evolution

[Marian Griffith]

On Thu 21 Aug, Jon A. Lambert wrote:

> > Caliban Tiresias Darklock <caliban at darklock.com> said....
> > Jon Lambert wrote:

> > > Here are some random thoughts/questions on the matter.  Would liasons
> > > be possible between PCs only or combination of PC/NPC?  

> > I just want to make one comment here.
> > Do NOT under ANY circumstances build rape code into your game. It's just
> > not an amusing option, and can have some serious repercussions for
> > survivors of such incidents.

> My initial thoughts were negative on this.  Yet Nathan had piqued my
> curiosity with questions on whether I was implementing a "deus 
> charis" concept.  Hopefully I got the latin right there.  Basically 
> it is the forced attention/attraction of mortals by deities.  This 
> shows up frequently in the Greek Mythos.  The rape of Cytheria, etc.
> It is also not uncommon in many darker settings like the Lovecraftian
> Mythos with Shub-Niggurath and other demonic beings. 

Neither the Greek nor Lovecraft  were particularly interested in the
emotional and mental state  of the female survivors of the incident.
They were creating (hi)stories where the rape / forced attention was
part of the dramatic development.  Much the same way as in contempo-
rary holywood movies women get attacked and murdered either to allow
some flesh to be shown or to spur the (male) hero into action.  When
developing games  you must be carefull  not to make the same mistake
some players make  when they justify their actions with: it's only a
game. Traumatic experiences do not care if it you are playing a game
or not.  Because it seems to be very difficult  for the average male
of about college age to imagine how emotionally devastating this ex-
perience is. This discussion however is hardly suited for this list.
Dark theme or not, there is little valid reason to include this kind
of commands  that potentially run roughshot over the emotions of the
players,  and a lot of valid reasons  to exclude them from your game
without becoming overly politically correct.

> Your "Do NOT under ANY circumstances" only encourages me.  Severe 
> violations of social standards/political correctness, yada, yada 
> appeal to me.  A recently arrived and departed(?) list member 
> sort of touched of some of these:

I know you well enough that you mean 'appeal' in a purely theoretical
sense. Personally I have seen (though thankfully not experienced) the
practical effects  of violations of social standards.  I can only say
that they do not belong in a game setting.

> While he was speaking of something perhaps more bizarre, (probably
> something dark lurking in JC Lawrence's mud world ;P) I'm looking 
> at the mirror as a portal to a fantasy or ancient world with all
> its attached moral/social baggage. 

> After all mine is intended as a role-playing environment and 
> one should be prepared to fit in with an ancient world where ones 
> views on slavery, human rights, treatment of women, other races,
> religion and sexual preference may well be alien and provoke strong 
> OOC personal reaction.  

...

> Now don't take this as a personal reflection of my own morals which 
> are often extremely at odds with my historical world theme. 

I already assumed that.

Marian
--
Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world,
out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of
my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again
will there be loneliness ...

Rolan Choosing Talia,
Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey