Playstyles: No-nos and Yes-yeses?

[Renomaki]

For many months, applicants have suggested a number of difference play-styles to prove that they can be interesting predators. However, more often than not these styles tend to have serious issues...

From hunting larva, flipping out over the sight of blood, focusing heavily on ranged weapons, all the way to even targeting only a single faction to the death, creating play-styles that don't involve dishonor or power-abuse is quite hard.

It is this reason why we tend to have so many predators with very laid-back, simple styles. Sticking with what works is safer and easier, rather than trying something new that no doubt is going to cause trouble in one way or another. That is why I made this thread: To discuss what gimmicks CAN work, and why certain others can't.

So... What CAN work? What kinds of predator personalities would be lore-friendly? What could you get away with doing without dishonoring yourself? What gimmicks can work? I ask you, since most of you guys are much more experienced with the role than I am. I may have killed many serpents, but I have yet to have the skill to take on a queen compared to a lot of other predators here. What say you?

[doodeeda]

You could probably capture people with cable restraints and go from there.

[Boltersam]

A good gimmick that not many people have exploited is a religious gimmick, holding rituals after killing prey, creating shrines, etc.

I think I'll lax my stranglehold on playstyles a bit, but they should have a gimmick, they shouldn't be a copy-paste of what we do in addition to our playstyles already.

[Biolock]

I'd rather keep my playstyles to myself so they don't become another generic predator niche, but in terms of behaviors, ya could try not being hyper butt-buddies with all the other preds. I don't understand why all the preds get along so damn swimmingly, especially since they're mostly from different clans. Roleplay as the A-type personality you signed up for and light some fire under your nuts.

[Sarah_U.]

I don't frown on spitting on other preds once in a while. Especially if my pred believe they're wrong or doing something wrong.
I sometimes seek to find a reason to straight out honor duel other preds to add a spice here and there, but not too often since I don't really want to start a war / internal feud. Need a solid reason and I ask admins prior to.

[Nick123q23]

Have a different playstyle per round, or just never make up your mind about what your playstyle actually is.

Worked for me so far.

[Renomaki]

Huh.. A bit concerning this is.

Other than kidnapping, there seems to be not much else for predators TO do... Mainly due to honorcode and metarules denying most other forms of play. You can't be a doctor nor a slaver anymore, so all there is to do is hunt like most others.

... Kinda makes the whole "Playstyle" thing pointless when you realize how restrictive it really is.

[Feweh]

You can be a slaver

[Boltersam]

You can be a slaver

Apop disallowed it here viewtopic.php?f=137&t=10352

[Feweh]

Apop disallowed it here viewtopic.php?f=137&t=10352

Ya, no idea how or why this stopped being allowed.

But Yautja absolutely can take slaves.

That isn't to say they can become "pets" or "soldiers".
They are Slaves, they build shit for you, potentially heal you, defend your shit as a guard dog.

[ShortTemperedLeprechaun]

Ya, no idea how or why this stopped being allowed.

But Yautja absolutely can take slaves.

That isn't to say they can become "pets" or "soldiers".
They are Slaves, they build shit for you, potentially heal you, defend your shit as a guard dog.

If I'm correct, and bolter, cornocopia of pred information can correct me, but I believe yautja live on a caste system. Slavery wouldn't be far off for them to be honest.

[Boltersam]

I'm not correcting shit, given how xenophobic Yautja society as a whole is, I personally believe that even if not all of them took slaves, a fair amount would, and there may even be clans specialised in the capture, training, and trade of slaves, from other races.

[Nubs]

last time me and a pred tried to take a slave, (we found a survivor in the sw sandstone that wouldn't budge, was unarmed and injured) apop himself spawned in and said we had disgraced ourselves for taking a slave, then hacked the slaves head off. So after that i didn't think it was allowed.

[Renomaki]

From what I assume, the only known slaves (at least, I assume from what Apop said) are crippled or weak predators. While I could be wrong, it probably would be logical for the broken and worthless to live a life as slaves and servants, whose only use is to provide assistance and tend to the mighty and proven. Probably the WORST fate for any predator.

That isn't to say that it is impossible for preds to have human slaves, but unless there is proof of this happening within legit lore, it probably will be shunned by Apop.

Stuff like this kinda makes me wonder why we still judge people based on playstyle, if there really aren't a whole lot of lore-friendly, legal playstyles that you could perform that won't upset staff, players or the predator themselves?

Should we really get all snobby when a person comes up to us and is all "I'm gonna be a predator that sneaks around in the darkness, spooks people and tries to find good game to hunt and kill", when that is pretty much what ALL of us do? I understand that it can be useful for determining a person's thought-process and if they could handle the job responsibility, but at the same time I begin to wonder if maybe we should rework the app to something that would be easier to work with and judge.

A predator's backstory is used to see how much they understand lore and to hint at their playstyle, but THE playstyle section can sometimes be a bit difficult to judge. Just because a person says he'll do the same as another predator doesn't mean they'll be boring, after all, but that is just me I suppose.

[Nick123q23]

Actually, in whatever movies it was where the predators taught early human civilizations how to build pyramids, you could say they had made all those people into servants.