Roleplaying dead here?

[Woman of Faith]

Mmm, what sort of RP is it?

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

Okay, we actually did that in the Consi threads. My main character, Asha, was what I had called a member of the Pra Yer order. She was a Pra Yer warrior. I based it off books by Joe Dever, who had Kai lords and they used a combo of martial and magical arts. With the Pra Yer the power came from God, it was not magic.

What I'm saying is we cannot have anything that sounds like any form of magic, which makes it really difficult for a Fantasy RP. In the the Case of the New Christia, we would need it to sound like only God is the source of our powers, like ever. I see what you mean, but that plane is not gonna fly with me on it. It does sound cool though. But cool isn't enough, only God is enough.

 

[Woman of Faith]

Here is a link to Asha's character description, if you are interested.

Asha

A word of caution, there is a LOT there. It'll take you quite a while to read it.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

Mmm, what sort of RP is it?

It's an RP based on my idea of The Reality Project Structure, simply put it is an open ended Science Fiction RP.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

Here is a link to Asha's character description, if you are interested.

Asha

A word of caution, there is a LOT there. It'll take you quite a while to read it.

I'll probably read it tomorrow then, I get out of my last class for the day at around three. So if I don't post before then, you know I'm at school.

 

[Woman of Faith]

I do understand and, in Asha's case especially, that is how it is. The issue is what do you call it? How does it manifest? There are different ways power from God is manifested in the Bible. Take the two witnesses in Revelation for example, stopping the rain is a very different effect from breathing fire. Also, not every Christian actually does these things. It takes a VERY long time to develop the sort of faith it takes to manifest God's power in those ways. You must have a deep personal relationship with the Lord and it must be cultivated daily.

I am going on and on, I need to let you reply.

 

[Woman of Faith]

I'll probably read it tomorrow then, I get out of my last class for the day at around three. So if I don't post before then, you know I'm at school.

Okay, sounds good.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

Okay, to be specific, I understand what your saying, but God doesn't use magic, he uses his own power, which is way more powerful than any magic. So if if you call it something like Mana, or anything that may seem like magic, it could have a negative effect. An Example would be my character Blank. Through Jesus, he can do anything and has no limit, but personally he prefers to limit himself all of the time in many different ways.

One particular way would be in what he calls his True Formes. Which let him only do a set of specific things.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

I call this power Holy Power, or Miracle Power. The power to do anything through Jesus, that is.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

In Blank's Planetarian True Forme, he draws power from the planet he is on, and how the power to do different things depending on the type of planet he is on. In Contrast, his Heavenly Holy Trinity True Forme, let's him become completely one with God and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in order to do God's Will.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

It's up to you how this manifests. Just don't call it anything related to Magic, and make sure it's not magic and you'll be fine. To put it bluntly, God does things differently than people who use magic will do with a power that seems similar.

 

[Woman of Faith]

I agree, we want God getting ALL the glory, so magic, mana or any other euphemism would have to be right out. The thing is, in a fantasy setting, it is difficult to say your character can do anything and still have a good story. Good stories have conflict. You cannot have a bunch of PCs running around, all able to do anything. At least I can't. All power must come from God, yes. However, not all Christians are able to use their faith at will to do whatever they want.

I like an element of reality in my stories and it is not real to say any PC can breathe fire, stop the rain and raise the dead at will. Now, can these things be done? YES! Through the power of God. However, being able to channel that power must come from a deep, personal relationship with the Lord. Jesus Himself prayed daily, He needed to commune with the Father. He needed that contact. A PC who hopes to wield great power and overcome great odds must also have that contact and that communion with the Father, lest he suffer the same fate as the sons of Sceva.

 

[Woman of Faith]

I am still thinking in terms of a Christia type setting, a fantasy RP where characters most grow and develop under the guidance of a GM. I could not, as a GM, allow a starting PC to have such abilities as you describe Blank having. There is no room for growth there.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

I completely agree. But the thing about Blank is unless he needs to use that power, he Always Limits himself. Usually to Human Form. So he will have to grow beyond what his powers let him do. Especially, how difficult it is to manage others being Jealous of his power is. There is room for growth in both relationships with other characters, and with his Spiritual walk with God. Not to mention the fact that if he sins at all he will lose all of his powers. And he is usually always in a Limited Human Form.

But if you honestly believe there is no possible way to have a fun story with an Overpowered OC, then how do you think God keeps it interesting because he is so OP? Blank is not God, but the situation is somewhat similar.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

And plus I was only using Blank as an example for what can be done with God's Power, anyway.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

As an aspiring writer, I understand that Conflict is crucial. That's why Blank, as overpowered as he is never fights, unless there is a threat that only he can solve, or that only God can solve and wants to use Blank to do it.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

What is your honest opinion on all of this? Blank can and will limit himself to be a human if he needs to be. But I want to know what you think.

 

[Woman of Faith]

I think we can agree God is God and He can do whatever He wants. We can also agree Jesus is God. However, there are very few other examples of anyone having so much power and being able to keep from abusing it. Therein lies the element of reality. In the stories I run, or help run, no one gets to be so powerful as Blank is.

I am not saying there shall be no powerful characters, not at all. Look at Asha! When you do, you will see she was VERY powerful. I caught a lot of flack for her being so powerful, in fact. Still, she was not invulnerable nor omnipotent nor omniscient. In fact, she had some serious weaknesses. The thing is, the story was put first and, in order to have a good story, you need everyone to be able to contribute. When you have such an extremely powerful character, who can do anything and everything, what need is there of anyone else?

It's no fun to play in a story where your characters don't contribute.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

Well, Blank is really meant for my series of short stories about him. He's overpowered I admit, so he wouldn't be good for any RP, that I can agree with. I was just saying that if he always limits himself, let's say to be a human who can die, and bleed, and everything else, and he commits to that for the entire RP, he is no longer really all that overpowered. But I am a creative enough guy that I can think of enough characters to fill a room, so honestly speaking I'll probably use one of them, I don't want you thinking I was going to use Blank at all anyway. He is meant to be the main character in my series of short stories.

 

[Coleton Bryce Ritmanich]

Anyway, I'm done putting up a defense for Blank, if you want to have a chance to speak now. Sorry for going on and on about this, the character is really important to me is all.