Trading and haggling, bartering and bargaining

[BobBobson]

Fair point - though having a thieving/murderous PC being hunted down by posses, a slight annoyance and XP gain in most games, could be an effective method of balance in a game where every fight could potentially leave you dead or with a crippling injury...

[Gaspard]

(...) Minor acts might raise the local trade prices (a strong incentive when you barely have enough bartering goods for another slice of lefse), while bigger or repeated outrages will see exile and violence introduced(...)

I like the thought that your rep in a given area might affect the traders' attitudes during bartering with the PC

Especially if there could be a slightly more complex, realistic way of doing it than bad rep = higher price. Certain traders might know that they can rip off the goody-two-shoes who goes around rescuing cats from trees. And likewise (take that, Baldur's Gate reputation system!) if the infamous Butcher, thief, bandit and murderer, strolls into your shop, it doesn't make much sense for you to work your way onto his list of victims by insisting he pays higher prices on everything.

The reason that bad characters are usually penalised is because otherwise it throws game balance right off. More loot + more experience + lower prices vs people smiling at you when you walk down the street?

I'd take the loot, xp and more loot anyday.

My friend said it very well - "I don't like it when people don't like me". As dumb as it is - that's the reason why I have not been able to play an evil character in any game. Also - it just feels plain dumb to insult people just to be evil õ_õ And insulting and attacking seems to be the only way you can roleplay an evil character...

[mvBarracuda]

Please avoid quote pyramids ;-)

[rowanthepreacher]

Fair point - though having a thieving/murderous PC being hunted down by posses, a slight annoyance and XP gain in most games, could be an effective method of balance in a game where every fight could potentially leave you dead or with a crippling injury...

Ok, so you commit a bad action and then you're screwed, unless every posse is willing to listen and potentially ingratiate you with the community again.

My friend said it very well - "I don't like it when people don't like me". As dumb as it is - that's the reason why I have not been able to play an evil character in any game. Also - it just feels plain dumb to insult people just to be evil õ_õ And insulting and attacking seems to be the only way you can roleplay an evil character...

I know the feeling. I always play goody-two-shoes characters, because I just can't bear to tell the NPCs how shitty their quest reward is.

[BobBobson]

I get what you mean, Gaspard - and from a writer's point of view, if the player actually cannot bring themselves to play 'evil' because they find it too distressing/repellent, you know you're on the right track.

Equally, if the player's so disengaged from the world and the characters that their in-game persona can cheerfully run around murdering wholesale without them having any kind of thought or regret about their actions, then you've failed...

[rowanthepreacher]

I get what you mean, Gaspard - and from a writer's point of view, if the player actually cannot bring themselves to play 'evil' because they find it too distressing/repellent, you know you're on the right track.

Equally, if the player's so disengaged from the world and the characters that their in-game persona can cheerfully run around murdering wholesale without them having any kind of thought or regret about their actions, then you've failed...

But in PARPG, we should be trying to cultivate a confusion over which side is which. How many times have you run into a goblinoid camp, killed everyone inside and then looted the bodies, before going home to your virtual wife and kids to smoke a pipe and warm your slippers by the fire?

You'd never do that with the "good" places, so we must make the distinction hazy to the point of non-existence.
You'll just end up picking one group of survivalist arseholes and hoping they don't get worse.

[zenbitz]

(...) Minor acts might raise the local trade prices (a strong incentive when you barely have enough bartering goods for another slice of lefse), while bigger or repeated outrages will see exile and violence introduced(...)

I like the thought that your rep in a given area might affect the traders' attitudes during bartering with the PC

Especially if there could be a slightly more complex, realistic way of doing it than bad rep = higher price. Certain traders might know that they can rip off the goody-two-shoes who goes around rescuing cats from trees. And likewise (take that, Baldur's Gate reputation system!) if the infamous Butcher, thief, bandit and murderer, strolls into your shop, it doesn't make much sense for you to work your way onto his list of victims by insisting he pays higher prices on everything.

I have some ideas on this stewing around... but the short answer is "yes".