Better Role Playing...

[crowebird]

I have a question for those of you that role play your games: How do you put aside "staying in character" if said actions will really hamper your ability to reach your pre-defined goals or if staying in character sacrifices opportunity?

For example I am currently play a new Old Gods start, with the goal of reforming the faith and seeing how far I can spread it. My character I built up to be a Martial power house but he also ended up with the content trait. I had great opportunity for eating up land around me but if I was role playing this, should I not have stood pat and only gone on raids? (For that matter sometimes the owner of land I want finds themselves in a war, and under normal circumstances attacking would result in an easy loss on my end, but with their power tied up it is the perfect time to strike).

There is also the question of murdering your children to ensure the correct succession line. Since I am forced into Gavelkind until I reform, losing a bunch of my land that I just gained because of succession is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. Maybe this is the "gamey" route, because if I am RPing my character who has no negative opinion of any of his sons, why would he ever sanction the murdering of his child just so the favored son (me being the player favoring a specific character here) gets the better outcome?

(Another scenario: my character ended up with the lust trait and had a few children, luckily for me it was one son and a lot of daughters so keeping the kingdom together was in the cards. His wife died while he still had quite a few years left on him, but I didn't want to risk having another child. I also had a brother with good stats lined up in case anything happened to the son - and the brother also had a son. So my succession seemed pretty safe, and there would be no Gavelkind split-up, but really my character would not have been passing on the opportunity to tumble).

Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with losing. Sometimes the most fun can come out those challenging situations that end up in a loss, but I have a hard time continuing to RP when I know it is going to go directly against my goals, especially when a lot of maneuvering may have just taken place to get to the current state.

 

[twsharp12]

When I role-play I play to the characters strengths. I have 700 years to reach whatever long-term goals I have and I feel that they don't need to be rushed. Eventually I'll have some dynasty members come through that want to conquer. Sometimes I'll have godly and zealous men that was to go on pilgrimages and convert the pagans. Other times I'll get business men who want to establish trade routes and build cities.

It's ok to take hits to the chin for the sake of Role-playing. Losing land and delaying goals is not a bad thing when playing like this.

 

[RX2000]

I never really role play based on traits.

 

[Philthy]

This has re-affirmed my desire to play a more strict roleplaying run.

 

[Big Bad France]

I think if you are role-playing a content character, you shouldn't go against your liege or screw over your subjects to put your demesne on better land, but attacking heathens and expanding the realm is fair game, especially if your character is zealous and has high martial ability.

 

[naisel]

I had your problem when I started to roleplay my characters (wich I didn't expect it would happen, I came to CKII from EUIV, without thinking to be so taken from the RP aspect); usually if there was a real big oppurtunity to further my goals I had to do some real hard mental gymnastic to convince myself that my just and kind characters would really want to plot to kill children and the like.

My actual solution is not a real solution: I stopped having a main goal when I start a campaign, I truly roleplay my characters, everytime there is a succession I form specific goals for the character I'm playing, based on their personality, and I'm having much FUN because I never know how a campaign will evolve.

Incidentally that's the main reason why I disliked the threat mechanics, I am myself the main obstacle towards my success and expansion, but if my character happens to be greedy, diligent and ambitious there will certainly be a burst in expansion during his lifetime.