Intrigue RP and the Duchal Court

[DM Golem]

Dear Playerbase,

We are just posting this message as a reminder for people to keep their reactions in RP, particularly political and intrigue RP, in character, and react to developments in an in character ways not by out of character complaint. Trust of DMs and of each other is vital for such sort of plotlines to work. "IC is IC" it is literally an essential rule for a proper RP persistent world and we must all work to make it our first recourse. We are telling a collaborative story together, and a mindset of OOC competitiveness does not help in that regard.

We have a few DM plotlines currently that include what one might call "intrigue", that is to say involve clandestine actions and events, secret information, and spying. While as a matter of policy we are very loathe to support plots that are directly character vs character, guild vs guild, certainly not mechanically, these sort of intrigue plots are the closest we come. They often involve numerous PCs and guilds competing for information, or for status in the eyes of NPCs. Examples of these plots include the competition for status, recognition or influence over NPCs or in some cases entire settlements. One example of a permanent RP arc of this type is the Duchal Court. The Duchal Court is an intrigue setting.

When people play here, we ask that they attempt to honour a few key concepts. Gold standard play, as we view it, is inclusive, in character, and conducted in the spirit of out of character trust and friendliness. Sometimes being inclusive clashes with being in character. Sometimes there is no trust between two PCs and this can and should affect in character roleplay, but it is important for trust between the players to remain. Generally we do like it a lot when people include others in plots and RP arcs. We do not, however, ask players to have their PCs to break character to achieve this.

We would like players to have little concern about playing their characters as true to their core natures. Our goal is for in character conflict to be encouraged, and out of character conflict minimised. This is particularly important in intrigue arcs, as they often represent political conflict driven by PCs and moderated by NPCs - the Duchal Court certainly does.

The true meaning of being inclusive in an intrigue arc is not allowing each and every PC to be involved in everything, but in allowing each and every PC to impact the shared narrative that goes forward in a way that makes sense with the setting. This does mean, though, that its possible to have set backs in intrigue RP. Its possible to "lose", its possible to have efforts fail and gains lost, although we are careful always to make this happen slowly and allow counterplay. This makes intrigue RP quite unique on the server. It is a shared story, and it is best viewed that the ups and downs of the story are shared by all as a narrative experience. A mindset of "winning" and "losing" can make this difficult.

Clearly, therefore, for intrigue arcs to function it is paramount that in character actions are dealt with and reacted to firstly in-character. This is a corner stone of any RP world, and Baldur's Gate is no exception. It is true of each and every aspect of the server RP plots, of course. It is a core rule. In intrigue, such arcs literally cannot function without this being the case. It is no fun for anyone involved when long running cloak and dagger arcs come into the light and they are met first with OOC query and doubt, not IC reaction. It is no fun for anyone involved when each red herring or ruse is met with requests for spoilers rather than in character investigation.

Unfortunately over the past few years this has become the default situation. While there are times when OOC clarification can be sought and the IC nature of events checked, the guiding principle must remain IC is IC. Note the team is aware that communication could be better from our end, in particular there being more readily accessible server lore so everyone is RPing in the same setting - we have to better set out the framework and politics of the city and the lands. Despite that, the golden principle of keeping IC as IC must stand.

We do not think we can say it plainer than that if those who wish to dip their toes into intrigue RP environments do not keep their reactions firmly in the realm of in character, it is not possible for intrigue arcs to continue. We cannot have a reactive Duchal Court if the actions of the Dukes are queried on an OOC basis, or the political manoeuvrings of courtiers are questioned. We cannot likewise allow groups to lobby for influence in Beregost, or Soubar, or Nashkel, if other players will cry foul if they do so. It will just become too much headache, but it will mean we end up with an ossified, static world, something we are attempting to make significant steps to change, currently. That requires your trust, of us, and of each other.

We can assure you that during political and intrigue RP we have well thought out personalities, goals and objectives for each NPC, and we are open to attempts to influence them but there is no guarantee that they will succeed. We do owe you, as best as our time can allow, the ability to play your characters as you would and to take account of your RP within the setting. We do not, however, owe you success. This is because its simply impossible for all characters of all stripes to succeed all at once when often their goals are mutually exclusive.

We can understand that this level of trust, and the level of willingness of players to have their characters success rise and fall, may vary from player to player - we have many play styles here on the server and we endeavour to cater to them all. However, intrigue is not one where we can. We would ask if this is not your cup of tea to not invest too heavily in intrigue RP nor participate in intrigue guilds, as in a dynamic persistent world, you cannot be guaranteed control over your character's story nor their impact upon the world, as they do not exist in a vacuum.

The DM Team