Character Development

So now we're progressing, we've discussed the basics to get you going, what to think about when creating your character, what about when you've been in the city for a while?

This page is going to be dedicated to how you further develop your character and understanding why a few things have to happen, why it's good for developing your story beyond anything you could've imagined.

With the amount of time people spend playing on their characters, you are undoubtedly going to get attached. In a lot of cases a persons main character resembles them as a person quite a lot, which is okay, but this can lead to emotions spilling out of the city and becoming personal.

First things first - If you feel you're getting stressed, frustrated, annoyed, angry, then you need to take a break, whether it be an hour, a day or a week, if you are getting frustrated with how roleplay is progressing then please take a step away and have a breather. If you are encountering bad RP stay as relaxed as possible, get evidence and make a player report! Remove yourself from the rule breakers and find something more enjoyable to do.

So you're playing as a character, you will have people say mean things to you, you will say mean things to people, you will maybe flirt with people. You might have ongoing disputes with a gang, group of players, or just 1 person, regardless of the interactions remember this!

EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO, EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOU, IS ALL YOUR CHARACTER NOT YOU

This isn't to say people aren't being toxic, it has to make sense on why an interaction is happening, if you feel someone is taking things to a personal level and you're being harassed then make a report stating your case for staff to review.

But please before you take things to this stage, really consider, are they mad at me or at they mad at my character?

We also have zero issues when a situation gets extra spicy in city, swear being thrown and people appearing to be genuinely angry. We have no issues once all interactions are complete, you just reaching out via discord and just saying "Hey, just wanted to say that was all in character and not with you as a person". This promotes a positive interaction and makes sure that what happens in city stays in city.

So we have the rule in place that's Improper Initiation of which is designed to stop situations from going 0-100 quicker than you can sneeze. Similar to above, your actions need represent the situation, you need to think about what you're doing and why you're doing it, and quite simply to be a dick isn't the answer!

So! Lets give you a scenario example of how a story can change dependent on your actions and how sometimes not over reacting can give more positive outcomes and better roleplay routes.

Setting the scene : - You and your friend have a trunk full of drugs that you are planning to process and sell, you're cruising through the city in a car you own blasting through red lights like nobodies business. An officer sees you doing a little over the speed limit and running reds so catches you up and gives you lights and sirens to pull over.

Key points to remember : The car belongs to you, you have the correct and valid license to be driving the vehicle, the only parts the officer knows is you were speeding and jumped a red light.

Improper Escalation

You've pulled up in a safe location on the side of the road, awaiting further instruction from the officer

👮 - Shouts - Can you please switch off the engine of the vehicle and roll down the drivers window
🦸 - Switches off engine
👮 - Steps out of vehicle and proceeds to walk to drivers door
🦸 - Shoots officer before they can even say anything about the reason of being pulled over
🦸 - Zooms off into the distance and officer is dead 💨💀

This scenario has created zero roleplay, if anything it's the complete opposite, you're killing roleplay before it has even had chance to start. So now lets look at the ideal steps this interaction would've taken, and then an alternate route that would have a different ending.

Proper Escalation (Scenario 1)

You've pulled up in a safe location on the side of the road, awaiting further instruction from the officer

👮 - Shouts - Can you please switch off the engine of the vehicle and roll down the drivers window
🦸 - Switches off engine
👮 - Steps out of vehicle and proceeds to walk to drivers door
🦸 - Hello officer how can we help you?
👮 - I noticed you were slightly speeding back there, my radar clocked you 10mph over the speed limit and you also jumped a red light, can I have your license and registration please.
🦸 - Hands over license to officer
👮 - Thanks, does the vehicle belong to you?
🦸 - Yes officer it does.
👮 - Alright give me a couple of minutes to check your details in our database and I'll get back to you.
👮 - Runs vehicle details and names through database and finds nothing worth noting, heads back over to pulled over vehicle.
👮 - Okay sir, looks like you have no warrants for your arrest, your license is clean and the vehicle does indeed belong to you. Do me a favor and keep the speeds down through the city, don't want to see you get into a wreck.
🦸 - Takes back license - Thanks officer appreciate that.
👮 - When my lights are off on my vehicle you're safe to proceed, make sure traffic is clear before you merge, have a good day.
👮 - Heads back to vehicle and turns lights off
🦸- Drives off with no issues no fines, no arrests, drugs still in trunk continuing day

The outcome here is so much more positive, there was no need for it to progress to something so extreme so quickly. By slowing down and reacting to the processes that took place it created a better interaction.

So now lets change this slightly, lets up the stakes that changes the outcome of the situation.

Setting the scene : - Less than 1 hour ago you were in a situation where you were nearly caught, you manged to get away but you now likely have a warrant out for your arrest. You and your friend have a trunk full of drugs that you are planning to process and sell, you're cruising through the city in a car you own blasting through red lights like nobodies business. An officer sees you doing a little over the speed limit and running reds so catches you up and gives you lights and sirens to pull over.

Key points to remember : The car belongs to you, you have the correct and valid license to be driving the vehicle, the only parts the officer knows is you were speeding and jumped a red light, however you do have a warrant out for your arrest.

Proper Escalation (Scenario 2)

You've pulled up in a safe location on the side of the road, awaiting further instruction from the officer

👮 - Shouts - Can you please switch off the engine of the vehicle and roll down the drivers window
🦸 - Switches off engine
👮 - Steps out of vehicle and proceeds to walk to drivers door
🦸 - Hello officer how can we help you?
👮 - I noticed you were slightly speeding back there, my radar clocked you 10mph over the speed limit and you also jumped a red light, can I have your license and registration please.
🦸 - Hands over license to officer
👮 - Thanks, does the vehicle belong to you?
🦸 - Yes officer it does.
👮 - Alright give me a couple of minutes to check your details in our database and I'll get back to you.
👮 - Starts heading back to the vehicle to run your details and the vehicle details
🦸🥷 - Gets out of the vehicle and points weapons at the officer
🦸🥷 - Officer put your hands up, don't touch your weapon or your radio or we'll shoot, stay facing away from us
👮 - Puts hands up and stays facing away
🦸🥷- Walks up behind the officer, grabs car keys, weapons, handcuffs & license back from the officer, throws keys off to the side a good distance away, handcuffs officer to the car, runs back to their vehicle and gets away

So the outcome has changed slightly, there is still nobody dead, but due to prior interactions you couldn't allow the officer to find out you had a warrant for you arrest, or risk them calling for backup as this may result in you getting jail time.

TLDR for this? Think about what information they know, what the risk is, and whether it's worthwhile creating a bigger risk out of something that might not necessarily need it. The situation above is pretty basic, but something police deal with far too often is people fleeing a basic traffic stop with no risk, creating a pursuit where shooting happens for no real reason at all.

You're in Los Santos, the city where the sirens never stop and the violence is rampant. It's easy to assume that in such a violent city that injuries are a norm and nothing more than a flesh wound, but that's not the case.

We do expect you to respect your injuries and don't act like a God who can take a thousand bullets in one play session.

Roleplaying your Injuries

When it comes to roleplaying your injuries, you should be doing your absolute best to show you are injured. If you walked up to someone in the real world, and see their arm bent unnaturally at a 90 degree angle and they flatly responded to you with "Oh, I broke my arm..." you would be very confused. (Note: Shock does exist, but I think even if you're in shock you'd still be freaking out seeing your arm like that!)

Ways to roleplay your injuries:

• Pained groans (Tip: Sound like you just woke up and you're feeling very tired, with the occasional "uuugh...")

• Panic! HOLY SHIT, MY LEG SHOULDN'T BE BENT LIKE THAT! OH GOD THAT'S SO MUCH BLOOD!

• Yelling & Screaming (Don't make people's ears bleed! If you want to scream without getting an eviction notice or without damaging the hearing of those around you, have a shirt, pillow, or blanket handy to scream into to muffle the noise.)

Approaching the Medics

The goal of Los Santos Medical Services is to provide the best of the best services to you, and in return it is encouraged to make their time worth it. They pursued this line of RP purely because they want to enrich your experience and it is encouraged and required to do the same for them. You may be familiar with our already existing rule, Improper Medical Roleplay-- and this elaborates on that more.

Overall, it is ESSENTIAL that you provide good roleplay to the medics, and avoid treating them like heal bots or bandage dispensers. They are more than just that and deserve your attention and dedication.

_______________________

The DOs and DON'Ts

DO: RP your injuries accordingly.

DO NOT: Lie and say you "just fell" so you do not have to be taken to the hospital.

DO: Make up fun and interesting stories

DO NOT: While you might think its funny to ask for treatment to your genitals, this is inappropriate and could be considered harrassment. Do not do this.

DO: Take time to let your injuries heal after leaving the hospital. Just because you have been treated doesn't mean you are 100% better.

DO NOT: Go back to life as usual. You have been just let out of the hospital. You may still be in pain, limping, or even in a wheel chair

Example: You were hit by a car while running down the street and become injured. You come to Mt. Zonah to get treated by a medic on duty.

BAD: I need a bandage. I just fell and scraped my knee.

GOOD: I am not feeling well, I was hit by a car and think I need some medical attention.

Okay so the title of this section is a little harsh, but bare with us here, we have a point! Far too often we see people going into situations with a win mentality.

Win mentality is the killer of roleplay, but a big problem is for a lot of interactions there is always 1 winner and 1 loser, and rightfully nobody really likes losing, but within roleplay losing actually can provide bigger avenues of RP.

Think of your RP story as a heart rate monitor, at times it'll be dormant waiting for the next spike, you'll have the peak and you'll have the downs, but ultimately it keeps on ticking through all the time you're roleplaying. And because of this you need to take a loss when it happens, you can be frustrated and disheartened, but remember that is your characters frustrations not yours.

For example :

You're in the cells and disagree with the officers charges, nobody is budging and things are getting heated, no lawyers are available so it's just an argument between two people, instead of sitting for 20 minutes going back and forward think about the following.

• Allow the officer to send you for the charges.

• Once you are out of jail seek out COSA either via Discord or in city, make your case

• Court date arranged allowing you to make your case to a judge

• Police have to defend why they made the choices they did, you defend why they are wrong

• Decision gets made.

By taking the loss in the cells, letting the officer process you for the charges they think are correct although you may not have agreed with them, taking this route has opened up huge avenues of roleplay not just for you, but also other people.

Not winning in the moment a lot of the time is okay, as in the longer run it gives you more depth and more avenues to take your RP, roleplay isn't always about being in the moment but thinking about the bigger picture.

So your roleplay will only take you as far as your mindset will allow you, being a solo cash grinder, avoiding interactions, avoiding people is not roleplay and you'll find yourself getting bored really quickly.

Your storyline is created by you! How you interact with people, how you approach situations and the ideas you have will ultimately dictate your experience within roleplay. Be the person who brings ideas to the table, encourage your friends to go on a hike up to mount Chiliad, down to the race course for time trials, to hire microlights and explore Sandy from the skies.

Don't be someone who just plods along hoping the roleplay will find you, it can happen but you'll struggle. Keep a fine balance of grinding for some cash and making sure you take some time to get to know the people around you.