A Topic on Disguise, Masks and RP/Mechanical Limitations

[stevebarracuda]

Hello,
This must have been discussed in the past, but I just can't make the search engine find something to answer my topic.

Disguises:
Obviously, it's difficult to run around disguised, since the game floats names over a toons head. And, yes, that is and should be considered metagaming to just "know" a toon because you see the floating name.

However, how then to effectively have a disguise?

Masks:
So, IG we have masks (for Helmut appearances), but they are limited...well, they look like masks you'd see at a fancy ball. Or, a reject Captain America. Most of the time they just make your toon look silly, and kinda weird.

Full-face hoods:
These are understood to cover the face completely, keeping your identity unknown. This is an RP agreement on this server, correct? I don't just want my toon to remain hidden, but to be "out there" but their identity hidden behind the disguise.

So, I'm not asking for some new system where you can effectively change your toons look or remove the floating name. What I am asking is how to go about interacting/RPing with a disguise, such as, fake hair, fake nose, etc..

Are there current rules already on this? Does anyone know about a mask/helmet appearance that is like a "generic" face, that we could add to the server?

Essentially, I'd like to be able to have my toon interacting on the server as himself, but also with a disguise now and then, and using their Bluff skill to, hopefully, to keep from being known. Is Bluff the appropriate skill, or would it be Perform?

Is it simply a situation to, when I run into known PCs, to OOC ask them to consider my toon in disguise during our interaction, and to ask them to role a successful Spot against my disguise? What would be a fair DC to calculate?

Any help on this front is greatly appreciated.

[Darkshard]

Hi Steve,

In terms of how to effectively play and use a disguise, you would be better off seeking advice from fellow players who have experience doing it. There are a good few around who do this regularly and do it well.

From the DM perspective, this is another area where we feel we should not have to rule, but will do so on a case by case basis if we must. In general, because of the technical limitations of the game, face coverings of any kind—including the rather limited hood & mask appearances—are considered adequate disguise and must be uncovered through RP. Players cannot require DMFI skill rolls from one another, and this goes both ways; while someone cannot simply roll Spot and say “I recognise you”, neither can you tell them to roll and declare they cannot. If both parties agree to a roll then that is completely fine, but if they believe they do not need to roll and can recognise you for (good) RP reasons, then you should probably accommodate them. It is give and take, as always.

If I were supervising an interaction like this and I required rolls, I would apply several modifiers to either the roll or the DC depending on the circumstances, the main variable being how well the recogniser knows the disguised. This is also where the disguised folk most often trip up; thinking that changing their appearance is sufficient. Importantly, disguise entails behavioural change. You might change the way you walk and move, change your regular “giveaway” emotes, change your RPed accent and the language you tend toward.

As the disguised, the most important thing to remember is to help out your fellow players as much as possible by giving them the OOC information they need to be able to react to you. If you change your face with make-up, you need to tell your fellow players this, and not get angry or impatient if they forget or do not notice your cues.

RPing disguise needs to be more cooperative than adversarial.

[sobebop]

There is no current way around metagaming. So, imo, just send an ooc tell letting the other player know you are in disguise, and allow them to roll a spot, if they want to. Once they understand you are disguised, they might have no need, or desire to id you.

This is an area where you'll have to go outside the mechanics of the game, and discuss your play ooc, so everyone is on the same page. A little more work, but you can accomplish your goal, and ferret out the RPers at the same time.

Cha-ching.