Poll: how do you act in rpg's?

[InnerRebellion]

If I can find a duster/cool coat (bonus points for fedora and cool glasses/goggles) in game for my character to wear, I will have the world think I'm a good guy, fighting for them. But then... my character snaps, shoots up/slaughters a town or whatever he may come across, and from then on, will always spend a good amount of time debating whether to help the NPC, or kill them.

 

[katsumoto03]

I'm almost always Lawful Good. Seriously...

 

[ninja555]

I do most quests out of my own selfishness. Will helping out this town help me out later? Will I get some special stuff? That is general what i think while playing RPGs. Though they don't always give me that kind of freedom. For example:

Spoiler: New Vegas

So, during the main quest I met a robot called Yes Man. He told me that i could become the head of New Vegas with his help. He also told me to secure alliances with various factions for my up-coming coup. So I thought that I could take over Vegas for myself and secure the NCR in power with me(I didn't really like Ceaser's Legion). So I went about securing alliances a building up rep with the NCR. And then when i went back to Yes Man to tell him I had secured alliances with the people I needed I got a notice saying that if I continued on my current path everyone would turn against me. That was a bit of a kick in the balls and ruined my grand plans for the Mojave Wasteland.

 

[Malgorath]

I'm always evil in RPGs. When people leave their best gear out for anyone to take, it's their own fault it isn't there when I leave. But I don't kill people randomly. In Oblivion, I will go through the Dark Brotherhood, but I won't attack random NPCs unless they deserve to die (like the Adoring Fan).

 

[DrFecka]

For a first play-through I try to challenge myself and not do anything evil. But after my 2nd play-through well... let's just say you don't want to be a random villager I happen to pass by. The only game I've never been evil in was the mass effect series. I don't know why i just can't do it.

 

[-Ulven-]

I like to play rogue like classes, or just straight up warriors. The way I act in an RPG is much like the way I would act in that situation if it really was me, as long as the game isn't stupid about it's NPC's and stuff, then I don't really care about the lives of 'em, but yeah... as long as I have a good living world (like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Oblivion (mostly)) I will act as I would act myself. I border the evil/good line on neutral.

 

[RatRace123]

All I do is play nice. And mage or rogue, depending on mana regeneration rate.

I'm nice, but greedy. NO MONEY FOR THE POOR!

Also, I hate EVERYONE who played the uber-generic Human Noble Warrior in Dragon Age. Whether good or evil, you are Mr. Generic Pants.

True dat, City Elf 4 life man!

At any rate, I usually play someone who's good, but neutral enough that it won't seem out of character for me to kill the people who really deserve it, or who really annoy me, or because I want to make a quick buck... or because I'm bored.

 

[Magicman10893]

Since RPGs usually require me to be a hero, I always go with the most noble character that has ever existed. Although in games with moral choice systems (I mean they actually have points and meters to track exactly how good or evil you are)I play as a good guy first and then as a completely evil bastard to see every different possibility.

 

[lighto]

I tend to go with a good aligned character generally, I feel bad if i go evil xD

 

[arbiter592]

I do what Yahtzee said he did in Fallout 3, steal everything, but do all of the good karma quets so I can keep Fawkes in my party.

 

[twaddle]

now I think you should have had a more detailed description of what your asking. In most rpgs I play you have one or two choices: Being a goody 2 shoes, or being a complete jerk off. Now MMORPG or MMO style rpgs tend to be the good guy who only kills bad guys and is overly nice. But i also live be the policy in the game "it's not a real kill unless it's an OVERKILL". This applies mainly to grinding insanely long hours so i can obliterate bosses with incredibly overly powered attacks (see final fantasy X when i fought Seymor Flux and he had 7000HP left and I killed by using everyone overdrive and followed by BAHAMUTS Mega Flare that did 10000+ damage) In short i play as the good guy but I'm a complete dick torward eneimies and will even go as far as to torture them healing them over again so they can suffer more pain from my blade......is that so wrong?

 

[Shadowsole]

I'm always a thief, And in oblivion I tend to be slightly racist, It's not like the other races arn't towards me.

 

[Benny Blanco]

I tend towards a generally good approach with the obvious corollary that anything I can steal without causing NPCs to become overtly hostile is fair game.

Just started playing Fallout NV recently and in uncharacteristically masochistic fashion started playing in hardcore mode.

Basically, I had to be the biggest kleptomaniac in the Mojave just to stay alive. Also, the subtle differences (such as the shitty duration of magazines- apparently my character's head wound has screwed up his progressive memory so badly that he can't remember anything he read in a magazine for more than a minute or two...) screwed me over so I'm going to start again in normal mode tomorrow.

I haven't encountered any big issues of bugginess with it yet, but I did find it vaguely annoying that when I shot the head of the powder gang dead just after meeting him for the first time (made sense to me) I was told I'd failed a quest I didn't know existed.

I like the crafting stuff, I'm sure it will make the game more fun and I'm looking forward to being a gunsmith extraordinaire...

 

[GodofCider]

On occasion, I lose control of my body and go through the motions of slamming my sword through an innocent bystander; courtesy of a mis-clicked button.

Viewed in RL: I'd stop swinging my sword at you if I could; which I didn't want to swing in the first place.

 

[Gahars]

Depends on the RPG.

I often like to play as a heartless bastard, both for the catharsis and the fact that in games like Oblivion not doing so just means that there is much less to do.

However, in games like Mass Effect, though I do a dark side run through first, I always find the light side/paragon/Gandhi run through to be much more fulfilling.

Maybe there is some good in me after all. Who knows?

 

[ApeShapeDeity]

This is an interesting topic because not only does it reflect your own character, but it reflects the nature of the game dynamic.

Many games have no real consequences for being evil. Plus, even if they do, it's often more rewarding to be, well, kind of a prick.

We know that. So, it kinda leads us to being a bit of a sociopath. I'll steal anything that's not nailed down, kill any NPC in my way (or with an annoying voice), hell, I'd probomably rape some kid's pet puppy if the game allowed it...

The thing is, that's pretty well the polar opposite to what I'm like in real life... So, perhaps the real question is 'Am I really just a massive prick waiting for a consequence free environment to screw you over?'...Probably.

 

[BakaSmurf]

Chaotic Good [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChaoticGood] with Kleptomaniac Hero [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KleptomaniacHero] tendecies.

I'm going to do everything in my power to help those in need, and I'd be more than willing to break the law to do so, but don't expect me to pass up an opportunity to recieve a reward afterwords, and if I'm not presented with a reward, don't be surprised when you realise that your pockets have gotten noticably lighter after I've left.

Hey, I'm working my ass off and risking my life to save the damn world here, you can spare a few damn gold coins and/or cans of beans and/or dishes to help me buy a new set of chainmail armour so that I may have an easier time not getting killed while I'm defending your little backwater town from Satan's Hellspawn, and if you won't give it to me willingly, well, then I'll just have to take it, preferably when you're not looking.

Hey, if you're not working with me, you're working against me, after all.

 

[Something Amyss]

Depends on the game, my character choice, the scenario, and my whims. There's no hard and fast answer. I like playing the defender, the destroyer, and the rakish rogue.