Post by ALEX on Jan 13, 2011 0:15:37 GMT -5
so you're an invalid !
we all love when our characters are hopelessly
afflicted with some horrible incurable disease.
but here's a little guide to roleplaying
disease and how it works.
but first, some quick cliches !
alright, let's all face it. we are sick and tired of teenagers with
cancer and bi-polarity. pre-mature heart disease is pushing some
serious limits, and what is it with the abundance of miscarriages
in seemingly perfectly healthy parents? when it comes to diseases,
physical or mental, we rpers are notorious for being particularly
uncreative and overdramatic. there are really not twenty cancer
patients within a single high school senior class. if there was, there
is obviously something in the water. furthermore, i realize that
depression and manic-depressive disorders aren't uncommon, but do
you think you could come up with something a little more out there?
there are plenty of other diseases that remain virtually untouched
by rpers and it's a shame, considering they all could glean some epic
plots.
this is how we do it !
okay, first and foremost, i must stress the need to learn about the
disease before you decide to make your character suffer through it.
google it, go to the library, whatever. just don't think you know every
little thing about it without doing some proper research. unless you
yourself are a victim of it, don't presume to know everything about
it. if you know someone with it, ask them about it if they're comfortable
with that. if you say that your character has cancer, PROVE IT. they,
most likely, unless they are deemed terminal and doomed to die within
the month, are probably undergoing treatments. Are they doing chemo
or radiation? what kind of cancer is it? what type of pain does it c ause?
does it alter their appearance? does it affect their behavior like a tumor
might? ask yourselves these questions when exploring the disease.
some ideas !
YOU LIKE CANCER!
so, you like to roleplay cancer. tsk tsk tsk. that is the biggest cliche
on this earth. furthermore, most of you are probably doing it wrong.
cancer is not a joke and you definitely shouldn't belittle it by toning
down it's affect on people. cancer consumes the body like wildfire if
left alone. chemo treatments can leave you hairless and exhausted,
underweight or overweight. radiation keeps you cut off from your
family and could later bring the cancer back. do you really want to
have every character and their mother have cancer? that's just too
much drama if you ask me (i know, i've been there), so hey, why not
come up with an alternative!
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome : AKA BASICALLY YOU'RE TIRED ALL THE TIME.
- Diabetes : need i explain? i'm surprised this isn't more commonly used.
- Autism : there are various types of autisms, all as different as the next.
do not take on this lightly. furthermore, learn as much as you can about
it as getting something wrong is pretty offensive. know your stuff and take
it seriously. we already have enough tv shows that belittle genetic diseases.
- Hemophilia: a dangerous disease at times, it could be a great plot starter.
what's more exciting than a character getting seriously hurt and their blood
doesn't clot?
- Anemia: a common disease characterized by fatigue or weakness. great
for a vampire rpg.
- Immunodeficiency syndromes: many are genetic whereas others such as HIV
and AIDS are blood transferred. Good way to make your character sick all
the time.
- Scoliosis: common in teenagers (myself included) it's a disease that does
a serious number on your self esteem without actually messing with your
head, simply because it does disfigure your body, slowly but surely.
- Paralysis: how many parapalegic characters do you see? NONE. THAT'S
RIGHT. embrace your inner Artie, gleeks.
- Asthma: this, my friends, is incredibly common, but i never see it. where
are all our inhalers kiddies?
- Allergies: okay, why are no characters ever allergic to anything? peanuts?
food dye? shellfish? and what of those obscure ones? my mother is allergic
to most alcoholic beverages. THAT is a plot right there. find some obscure
allergies and use them to your best advantage.
Any other disease you guys can think of?
YOU LIKE DEPRESSION!
i know that manic-depressive diseases are incredibly common and that
virtually every one and their brother is taking some sort of mood altering
medication, but let's be honest: is it really necessary to have every
character be an angsty sue? what about the 101 other mental diseases
left virtually untouched? the ones stupid religious nuts in the middle
ages used to kill over. here are some quick ideas:
- Nymophomania/Hypersexuality: haha. love love love it. seriously.
- Necrophilia: i mean, if you have a thing for vampires, i believe this term
could easily be applied to you, but what do i know?
- Amnesia: take a page out of 50 First Dates! beautiful, tragic, and totally
absurd!
- OCD: i personally would love to see more Monk's in the rpg world. they
are fiercely entertaining.
- Anxiety disorders: google it.
- Multiple Personality Disorder: as a drama kid, i come across this a lot and
honestly, it's really entertaining. it's like having multiple characters in one.
- Schizophrenia: like Chris Griffin's evil zit. you can make this comical or
very very sad, depending on the board and the character. in the end, however,
it is a very sad disease considering the victims of it seriously believe everything
in their head, even if they realize it's not real.
- Kleptomania: SO MUCH FUN. just saying. we all secretly want to be theives.
- Pyromania: hehehe. how can you NOT have fun with this? FIRE!
- Tourette's: self-explanatory. this could get your character into oodles of trouble.
- Factitious disorders: a tool often used by kids trying to get out of going to
school. kidding, but definitely plot stirring.
- Phobias: these are lots of fun and you can get into some really extreme
ones. arachibutyrophobia- fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the
mouth. bolshephobia- fear of bolsheviks. malaxophobia- fear of love play.
find what absurd fear best fits your character!
Anything else you can think of?
a final end note !
disease in roleplaying is fun, but please remember that while at times
they can be comical, to someone they are very very real and very very
serious. they make for great plots and great posts, but always remember
that your character is a person. imaginary, yes, but still real, in a sense.
learn your stuff, do your research, and be sensitive to the real life
affects these diseases have on real people's lives. we won't hesitate to
call you out if you push the limits of these things. to seriously make
fun of something or someone in relation to these disorders is mean and
cold-hearted and it pleases us to rip those type of bitches a new one.
capice? so play safe with your disease choices and always be wary of
how your posts will affect those who actually are afflicted with these
diseases.
we all love when our characters are hopelessly
afflicted with some horrible incurable disease.
but here's a little guide to roleplaying
disease and how it works.
but first, some quick cliches !
alright, let's all face it. we are sick and tired of teenagers with
cancer and bi-polarity. pre-mature heart disease is pushing some
serious limits, and what is it with the abundance of miscarriages
in seemingly perfectly healthy parents? when it comes to diseases,
physical or mental, we rpers are notorious for being particularly
uncreative and overdramatic. there are really not twenty cancer
patients within a single high school senior class. if there was, there
is obviously something in the water. furthermore, i realize that
depression and manic-depressive disorders aren't uncommon, but do
you think you could come up with something a little more out there?
there are plenty of other diseases that remain virtually untouched
by rpers and it's a shame, considering they all could glean some epic
plots.
this is how we do it !
okay, first and foremost, i must stress the need to learn about the
disease before you decide to make your character suffer through it.
google it, go to the library, whatever. just don't think you know every
little thing about it without doing some proper research. unless you
yourself are a victim of it, don't presume to know everything about
it. if you know someone with it, ask them about it if they're comfortable
with that. if you say that your character has cancer, PROVE IT. they,
most likely, unless they are deemed terminal and doomed to die within
the month, are probably undergoing treatments. Are they doing chemo
or radiation? what kind of cancer is it? what type of pain does it c ause?
does it alter their appearance? does it affect their behavior like a tumor
might? ask yourselves these questions when exploring the disease.
some ideas !
YOU LIKE CANCER!
so, you like to roleplay cancer. tsk tsk tsk. that is the biggest cliche
on this earth. furthermore, most of you are probably doing it wrong.
cancer is not a joke and you definitely shouldn't belittle it by toning
down it's affect on people. cancer consumes the body like wildfire if
left alone. chemo treatments can leave you hairless and exhausted,
underweight or overweight. radiation keeps you cut off from your
family and could later bring the cancer back. do you really want to
have every character and their mother have cancer? that's just too
much drama if you ask me (i know, i've been there), so hey, why not
come up with an alternative!
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome : AKA BASICALLY YOU'RE TIRED ALL THE TIME.
- Diabetes : need i explain? i'm surprised this isn't more commonly used.
- Autism : there are various types of autisms, all as different as the next.
do not take on this lightly. furthermore, learn as much as you can about
it as getting something wrong is pretty offensive. know your stuff and take
it seriously. we already have enough tv shows that belittle genetic diseases.
- Hemophilia: a dangerous disease at times, it could be a great plot starter.
what's more exciting than a character getting seriously hurt and their blood
doesn't clot?
- Anemia: a common disease characterized by fatigue or weakness. great
for a vampire rpg.
- Immunodeficiency syndromes: many are genetic whereas others such as HIV
and AIDS are blood transferred. Good way to make your character sick all
the time.
- Scoliosis: common in teenagers (myself included) it's a disease that does
a serious number on your self esteem without actually messing with your
head, simply because it does disfigure your body, slowly but surely.
- Paralysis: how many parapalegic characters do you see? NONE. THAT'S
RIGHT. embrace your inner Artie, gleeks.
- Asthma: this, my friends, is incredibly common, but i never see it. where
are all our inhalers kiddies?
- Allergies: okay, why are no characters ever allergic to anything? peanuts?
food dye? shellfish? and what of those obscure ones? my mother is allergic
to most alcoholic beverages. THAT is a plot right there. find some obscure
allergies and use them to your best advantage.
Any other disease you guys can think of?
YOU LIKE DEPRESSION!
i know that manic-depressive diseases are incredibly common and that
virtually every one and their brother is taking some sort of mood altering
medication, but let's be honest: is it really necessary to have every
character be an angsty sue? what about the 101 other mental diseases
left virtually untouched? the ones stupid religious nuts in the middle
ages used to kill over. here are some quick ideas:
- Nymophomania/Hypersexuality: haha. love love love it. seriously.
- Necrophilia: i mean, if you have a thing for vampires, i believe this term
could easily be applied to you, but what do i know?
- Amnesia: take a page out of 50 First Dates! beautiful, tragic, and totally
absurd!
- OCD: i personally would love to see more Monk's in the rpg world. they
are fiercely entertaining.
- Anxiety disorders: google it.
- Multiple Personality Disorder: as a drama kid, i come across this a lot and
honestly, it's really entertaining. it's like having multiple characters in one.
- Schizophrenia: like Chris Griffin's evil zit. you can make this comical or
very very sad, depending on the board and the character. in the end, however,
it is a very sad disease considering the victims of it seriously believe everything
in their head, even if they realize it's not real.
- Kleptomania: SO MUCH FUN. just saying. we all secretly want to be theives.
- Pyromania: hehehe. how can you NOT have fun with this? FIRE!
- Tourette's: self-explanatory. this could get your character into oodles of trouble.
- Factitious disorders: a tool often used by kids trying to get out of going to
school. kidding, but definitely plot stirring.
- Phobias: these are lots of fun and you can get into some really extreme
ones. arachibutyrophobia- fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the
mouth. bolshephobia- fear of bolsheviks. malaxophobia- fear of love play.
find what absurd fear best fits your character!
Anything else you can think of?
a final end note !
disease in roleplaying is fun, but please remember that while at times
they can be comical, to someone they are very very real and very very
serious. they make for great plots and great posts, but always remember
that your character is a person. imaginary, yes, but still real, in a sense.
learn your stuff, do your research, and be sensitive to the real life
affects these diseases have on real people's lives. we won't hesitate to
call you out if you push the limits of these things. to seriously make
fun of something or someone in relation to these disorders is mean and
cold-hearted and it pleases us to rip those type of bitches a new one.
capice? so play safe with your disease choices and always be wary of
how your posts will affect those who actually are afflicted with these
diseases.
