So what do you think regarding my character Ulrich. He grew up as a spoiled nephew of his rich uncle, and his family is insanely wealthy. He has always had a very high opinion of himself and believes that he deserves anything he wants. Along those lines, he is an arrogant, selfish young man who is also a womanizer. He is also a bit of a coward, and commands archers because he is afraid of the front lines of battle. That is his character, and it only shows up in RP's. When he sends letters or reports to the realm, he portrays himself as brave, noble, and moral. In your eyes is this a fair Medieval character? or is his rogue character to far from historical accuracy?
Seems reasonable enough given:
1. Your family actually
is very wealthy, so it makes sense to RP that way
2. Your character is going to some length to
look like the civilized, chivalric, dignified noble which "Default Medieval Atmosphere" would pay lip service to.
However, the devil is always in the details. So your character is a womanizer; okay.
In what way does he fulfill that trait? Seduction itself differs culture-to-culture. So, for example, going to a gala and finding a woman to take home for the night after dancing with her is strikingly modern (we like to imagine Medieval balls, but in reality such things were likely extremely rare). Being a womanizer among
noble women would also be relatively difficult.
But if you do it by picking up nuns off the side of the road (Medieval England had to establish special laws against the seduction, kidnapping, and/or rape of nuns), entirely plausible. Or maybe by creeping around the peasant festivals and waiting for a vulnerable young lass to have a bit too much to drink. Or, do the classically Medieval thing, and just rape her, and deal with the backlash later (backlash such as: unhappy peasants, bitter vendettas by claymore-wielding Scotsmen, angry illegitimate revenge-seeking heirs)
I'm not arguing characters have to be nice and good (though I dispute the idea that RPing a virtuous or conventional character is boring). I'm arguing that the
manner of their behavior, good or bad, should manifest itself
in relation to Medieval (or effectively RPed original) cultural standards.
This isn't just about characters' personal morality. I levy the same complaint against:
1. Democracies
2. Voting in general
3. Blanket religious freedom
4. Appeals to liberalism
5. Appeals to nationalism
6. Appeals to centralized authority
7. Outlandish dress
8. Modern ideas of justice
9. Modern ideas of spirituality and ethics (most common examples: IC atheism and utilitarianism)
10. Low regard for oaths and claims
11. Many, many others
You will note that my description of myself on this forum is "Stodgy Old Man in Training." There's a reason for that. I'm a grumpy, picky person.
