Continuity friend, continuity.
Example: *i*, the author of my character, knows the dalek overlords are kickin back and drinkin cold ones in my lab.
My character does not.
I have 2 choices as an author. I can jump the shark, and invent some nonsense reason for him to go straight there, and avoid any fun narrative that could happen on the way, or I could have him react to the events around him, and run the risk he may never get there.
I find the actual people respond in the latter sense. "If only I had known!" Is a very common lament. Having characters experience that, and respond like real people makes them more belivable, and exposes more about their personality than if they just do what the author wants. The interplay of different forces and motives between different authors in a community roleplay like this one creates that miring conflict in goal pathing, which creates wild stories, and brings the characters to life.
If your character did something, someplace that nobody knows about, their characters don't have clairvoyance, and as such, don't react to the action.
For instance, right now: somebody is being raped, or stabbed, or given concrete shoes. I am aware that this is happening as a base statistic, but I don't know on a personal level who is doing what to whom, and when or why. As such, I can't react.
Likewise, my roleplay persona cannot react to unseen stimulus, and cannot understand nuances of the actions of other people without demonstrating abnormal superhuman qualities that break the narrative.
The superhuman qualities I have chosen for my character strongly mirror the ones I actually do posess, with a teensy bit of imbelishment to make it more fun. I really do know what a schwartzchild radius is, for instance. (It's the minimum spherical radius of volume a set amount of mass can be packed into before the gravitational force of that mass overpowers all other forces, and it implodes infinitely into a singularity. The radius is tied to mass/energy. For a given volume of mass, the radius will be specific to that mass. For instace, the schwartzchild radius of the earth is about the size of a golfball. Pack it that tight, blammo! Black hole. Every time.)
I know all that without consulting wikipedia, because astrophysics is bad ass awesome, and I eat new information like candy. Its the way I am. As such, its the way my character is, and is also why he is a necromancer, while I am not. I *have* researched magic and magical philosophies, because I find the minds of other people to be interesting, and you can learn a lot about a culture by understanding its superstitions. As such, I know a scary amount about different kinds of magic as practiced by many disperate cultures, but do not actually practice any myself, because it has no objective basis.
My character, however, has been plunked down into a world where necromancy is real. As such, his innate "knowledge is candy bitch! Gimme the jar! I want some sugar!" Hangups he inherits from me would have literally driven him to learn every scrap of mgic he could get his fat little dwarf fingers on. As such, he would always be willing to trade some delicious scrap of arcanum he's already thuroughly digested for some new, fantastic morsel to snack on. I introduced him to necromancy by having him swap recipies with a well known human necromancer that got posted on the forums, who was notorious for being clearng "atypical" as far as necromancers go: "mrs. Luc Bakecakes". Luc's book about the truth of immortality is light hearted, with crisp and poignant prose. She is highly social, enjoys talking with others, and enjoys a nice marital life. She also raises zombies as a hobby, and has mastered immortality. I traded the secrets to perfect puff pastry, for the secrets of life and death. We found the deal equitable.
My character does not know any other forms of magic, simply because opportunities have not materialized. Given the chance for quiet study, and opportunities to gain it, he would pick up as many practical skills as is possible. Let's face it, raising zombies is damned practical when you think about it. (need a combat dummy? Just use a corpse. Need slave labor? Corpses. Etc.) For ethical reasons, he prefers not to raise the bodies of sentient beings if at all possible, because it is disrespectful of the dead. As such, he is not keen on raising armies of the undead and conquoring the world, though his combined talents in the present environment make that a distinctly possible career path.
He prefers a nice, quiet, domestic lifestyle, free from unnecessary entanglements and surprises. He is very unhappy about the recent "activity" at the fortress, but does not walk away from responsibilities. That's why his decisions have all been focused on the overall good of the fortress, even when a personal matter is crossed. (His desire to make the fortress fit to live in again was the primary motivator in putting the bane of his research existence inside the most deadly killing machine ever devised, for instance. His reservations are more in line with worrying how this other person will make use of that power, and his own inability to retract it, should a problem manifest. Responsibility is a core precept in his psyche. Its why he doesn't want to rule the world. The responsibility involved in "doing it right" is just too stressful to even consider.)
All this long character bio for him should be completely unnecessary. His quirks, flaws, personality, and deeds should be directly revealed by his actions in the world he has been cast in. He doesn't exist to prove anything, he just exists, and is making the most of it, like everyone else. As such, his actions have no real, super-divine meaning. They simply are manifestations of his persona, and they come and go with the flow of the narrative.
As of this current twist, his immediate goals are to re-secure the upper fortress, then put as may surviving kobolds inside as many dalek casings as he can coax into operating, even half-assedly, because they are safer inside those than they are anywhere else, and they might just be able to help purge the madness that has descended on the place.
He has forgotten all about his need to go analyze his vial of blue goop, because the dalek cannons he picked up are a more effective deturrent to his original offensive capabilities. Once the upper fortress is secured, and a rational plan of attack to secure the lower fort, and to defeat clockwork hugo can be devised, he will proceed methodically and with purpose. Until then, he is hell bent on creating a defensible position from which to stage an effective resistance effort. His own destruction is a foregone conclusion if such a defense cannot be mounted. He's doing that, because it's what I would do.
If he does not and cannot know anything that is going on outside of his immediate awareness, then he cannot be expected to react to it, and therefor, will not react to it. That's just how it is.
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Topic: If Bay Forum were a Mountain Hall... (Read 447000 times)