Seminar: Consent

[Zami Wahye <wahye@yahoo.com>]

Hello folks,

I know a lot of you have had questions about how consent works and how
can it work on a world such as ours.  I've pulled together the
following document in hopes to help you folks understand.

Rather than holding a formal seminar about this and thereby missing
some players because of time zones and the like, I'm sending out this
document and ask you to submit your questions about Consent to me
directly:  wahye@yahoo.com.

I will go through the questions and answer them to the best of my
ability and then post all of the answers on the website under a FAQ
section. I will also be posting up other examples of Consent RP if it
is required as I get questions.

Thanks for your time and enjoy!

-Zami, Admin@DuneIII MUSH


 =========================================
 Table of Contents
 =========================================
 
  1.  What is Consent?
  2.  Do's and Dont's
  3.  General steps to Consent
  4.  Example combat scene
 
   Pointers for references that may be helpful if you are looking for
more info can be located on the Dune3 Webpage.
 
 =========================================
 1.  What is Consent?
 =========================================
      To begin with, let us dispel any preconceived notions by stating
to call a game "consent-based" implies that there are games without
consent; and that, in itself, is a fallacy of thought.
      All games, great or small incorporate some type of consent.  If
you don't consent to playing, you wouldn't be there.
      So what we are really comparing is a diced system vs. a
non-diced system.  On one extreme, a diced system, the events that
happen are subject to randomly generated numbers.  The probability of
how ever many times you can land on a particular number determines how
successful you are.  On the other side, a non-diced system relies on
the agreement of both parties of said events; an agreement that
perhaps is akin to the process laws or contracts are made.
      Almost every game thus far created on-line has been a
combination of the two forms.  Where games use "dice" or random
numbers to determine results, the player is usually given at the start
certain "bonus points" that will allow them advantages in one or more
areas.  Many times these points are distributed by the player and thus
allowing the player to consent to the type of character they want.
      Other games, such as Dune3, remove the dependence on complex
systems and puts the control in the player's hands.  The idea of
"bonus points" are still present; only unlike its counterpart in other
systems, these points are used merely as guidelines.  The points are
considered an agreed upon "currency" of which one may compare to
another.  If we did not have an agreed upon "currency" it would be
difficult, as it sometimes is in real life, to compare.
      The basic concept behind such worlds as Dune3 is that everyone
is playing because they want to play and the character created is the
player's property and answerable only to the player.  All players are
expected to act in a respectable, considerate manner with those they
interact.
      One important concept that needs to be considered at this point
is that of POWER PLAYING.  POWER PLAYING is when you force an action
upon another player without their consent.  For instance, if you wish
to hit the other character, or any form of violence towards another
character, you should consider contacting that person OOC'ly first
(via pages) to see if this is all right.  You should never pose the
actions for an NPC of a prop that you do not directly own.  Should you
do something that will drastically affect another player's RP, such as
putting them in jail, it needs to be done with the player's okay or
you are POWER PLAYING.
      In the next section are some guidelines to consider while
role-playing in worlds such as Dune3.  This list is only a guideline. 
It is not meant to cover all situations that may happen during
role-playing.
 
 =========================================
 2.  Do's and Dont's
 =========================================
 DO
 ------------
 o have open-ended poses to allow others to react
 o contact before walking into a private role-play
 o call in an arbitrator if you feel there may be disagreement or
conflict
 o remember everyone is in it for fun!
 o use stats as a guideline for what MAY happen... not what MUST
 o keep reactions realistic; no one is a superhuman in which they
ALWAYS survive unshaved [not even Leto II or Paul!]
 
 
 DONT
 ------------
 o assume actions onto other people
 o count on a retcon if you disagree with the outcome; resolve issues
at the moment, not afterwards
 o force absolute abiding by results of a comparison
 o POWERPLAY -- forcing another player into a situation in which they
were not aware was to happen prior to the event and did not agree to
 
 =========================================
 3.  General steps to Consent
 =========================================
      Here is how a combat scene may be stepped through.  First thing
to note is to ALWAYS log the events as they happen in case they are
needed for reference later.:
 
 1> correspondence via page, @mail, or previous agreement is made
between both parties
 
 2> agreement is made on extent of conflict
   i.e., are lives at stake, do parties wish to kill, maim, subdue?
imprisonment?
   i.e., are players willing to abide by results?
   i.e., do results want to be agreed upon prior to the RP or are both
accepting the "unknown"
 
 -=OR=-
 2>  use the +duel command and let the computer decide your fate.
     - the results from the +duel are still subjected to agreement. 
If you don't agree with the results, you can discuss other
alternatives and chose not to follow what the computer has randomly
generated. (thus the CONSENT part of this system.)
 
 3> does an arbitrator need to be called?  generally, if results are
not agreed upon, it is advised an arbitrator be involved
 
 4> check stats to give a general idea how the two of you compare
 
 5> pose actions in an orderly faction (one at a time) with open-ended
statements which clearly state your reactions to previous pose, your
motion, and your intended target/location.  Let the other player
decide the hit and reaction.
 
 6> if you disagree with a reaction or what happens to your character,
discuss it at the moment; pause action and call in an arbitrator if
you must.
 
 7> if the other party does not wish to be involved in said conflict,
try to be creative.  If it doesn't seem to make IC sense to you, call
in an arbitrator.
 
 =========================================
 4.  Example combat scene 
 =========================================
 {The following example is provided for entertainment purposes only. 
It is to help explain just how you pose your actions/intent in your
combat without overstepping the control of the other player.  The
participants in this particular scenerio decided to stick with the
decision that the +duel came up with.  During the seminar, we will be
discussing some of the other interactions going on during this RP that
we don't see here in the log.}
 
 Setting:  Before the Imperial throne that has quickly been setup for
the visiting Emperor in the Harkonnen stronghold on Arrakis.  (For
those of you familiar with the book/movie, this is establishing the
final battle scene between Paul and Feyd.)
 
 Feyd says, "Is the Atreides ready?"
 
 You say, "May thy knife chip and shatter!"
 
 You paged Feyd with 'Ready?'
 
 Feyd pages: "Yes"
 
 COMBAT: You initiate offensive stance combat with Feyd.
 COMBAT: Feyd responds to your combat with an offensive stance.
 COMBAT: Feyd defeats Paul in a long and very difficult duel.
 
 You paged Feyd with 'Oh man.  Well, I said I was game.  So let's do
it!'
 
 Paul says, "Shall we fight, cousin?"
 
 In a slow semi-circle, Feyd begins to taking on his fighting posture.
 His kindjal weighing nicely in his hand as he lightly tests it to and
from one hand to another.
 
 Following, Paul takes to the same circling pattern.  His feet cross
before one another, his blade raised before him.  He watches Feyd with
great attention.
 
 Feyd suddenly leaps, feigning first to the right but then double back
with a strike to the left that he aims towards Paul's shoulders.
 
 Paul sees the leap and then the feign.  His body, being since
untrained from the slow attack of the shield, easily ducks below that
of Feyd's.  In return, he moves beyond Feyd and then strikes
backwards, as if to take out Feyd's stance with a blow of his knife to
the back of the leg.
 
 Feyd is still moving forward, and thus, allows his body to roll
forward to clear away from Paul.  As such, the blade barely misses the
back of Feyd's leg, leaving a scratch, but no blood on the leg.  "My
leg!"  Feyd suddenly shouts out, "Does the Atreides play with poison?"
 
 Paul, regaining his position, merely offers Feyd a cold smile and
then begins to initiate the circling this time.  Within seconds
though, he spin into Feyd and attacks straight for the midsection.
 
 In a haughty display, Feyd merely leaps a step backwards from Paul's
attempt.  He counters with his own thrust forward, feigning at first
the slowness of a shield; but then as he draws near, correcting... for
this Harkonnen has fought many a slave without the need of a shield.
 
 Paul is taken off guard and finds himself with a blade piercing his
armorless body.  He lets out the faintest cry, preferring instead to
hold it in as is proper for a Fremen.
 
 With triumph near, Feyd retracts his blade and proceeds to move
inwards again.  Never say a Harkonnen didn't enjoy adding insult to
injury.  Feyd moves in with the blade, casually making two matching
marks down the side of Paul's face.
 
 Paul doubles over, seeing more than feeling the blade come across his
face.  With the last of his strength, he collapses on the floor.  His
eyes roll backwards and his body suddenly untenses.  With his dying
breath, he seems to almost let out a deep sigh of relief.
 
 Feyd holds up both hands and begins to prance about the circle, "I
killed the Atriedes!  I did it!  _I_ am victor!"  Then he slows as he
nears the form of Chani, a wicked smile passes over his face.
 
 <rest of log cut....>
 

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