Its only 'creepy' and wrong because adults shouldn't be playing children characters in an RPG.

The only children characters in an RPG are normally the NPCs played by the GM as they happen to occur in the campaign's ongoing events.


- Ed C.

I don't see why you should forbid an adult from playing a child if it fits the theme and that is what they want but clearly it takes a skilled roleplayer to play a child well.

In a 1930s Vampire the Requiem game I played in, a friend of mine basically played Shirley Temple as recently turned vampire. I was skeptical, but she made the character ludicrously fun, deadly and chilling in turns.

Mind you, she also made the character with the understanding that probably wouldn't come to a good end.

I've been in a ShadowGURPS game where one of the players portrayed a runaway kid from a rich environment who was also a mage. The character actually was a lot of fun, though the fact that it wasn't meant to be too serious or realistic has a lot to do with that.

Quote from: RPGPundit;446679Leaving aside for the moment those particular games like little fears where the PCs all supposedly play children, what do people feel about having some player wanting to play a child PC? For child, read, "under 14".  Have you ever actually seen this work out well?

RPGPundit

In games where inhabiting the character is central to the experience I have seen awesome child character play.  But someone who always wants to play the young adolescent or younger character in any game does make me uncomfortable.

Quote from: Koltar;447045Its only 'creepy' and wrong because adults shouldn't be playing children characters in an RPG.

- Ed C.

I've never seen it work out well, mostly due to the annoyance factor, but to say that it is creepy or wrong? How do you figure?

Quote from: Koltar;447045Its only 'creepy' and wrong because adults shouldn't be playing children characters in an RPG.

Why is it inherently "creepy" and "wrong"? You've never seen someone play with a "Kid" template in Star Wars d6, ever? How about someone with Down syndrome? I played a character with Down syndrome in a Call of Cthulhu game once. Is that inherently "creepy" or "wrong," too, though I actually knew people for real with Down syndrome and didn't use the character as some sort of way to make fun of handicaped people?

Is it wrong for me to play an addict in an RPG? Does that mean I'm inherently making fun of addicts in real life, no matter how seriously I might play the character?

How about women? I can't play women as a male player because if I do that'll be creepy and wrong automatically?

How about playing an agent of secret services? Is that inherently wrong and creepy because I'm trivializing people who work in intelligence services for real and put their real lives on the line? No matter how believably I might want to play the character?

Fuck that!

It's only "wrong" or "creepy" if you suck ass as a role player and use these types of opportunities to wreck the game. It's the player's fault, and that is wrong, stupid, or creepy depending on circumstances, but that doesn't invalidate these types of character choices for other players who actually can role play them believably.

ITT: people engage in a notoriously futile activity.

Quote from: Benoist;447116Why is it inherently "creepy" and "wrong"? You've never seen someone play with a "Kid" template in Star Wars d6, ever? How about someone with Down syndrom? I played a character with Down syndrome in a Call of Cthulhu game once. Is that inherently "creepy" or "wrong"?

It's only "wrong" or "creepy" if you suck ass as a role player and use these types of opportunities to wreck the game. It's the player's fault, and that is wrong, stupid, or creepy depending on circumstances, but that doesn't invalidate these types of character choices for other players who actually can role play them believably.

Because he's Ed. All the testimony in all the world won't sway Ed, it's impossible. This from someone who genuinely likes Ed, BTW.

-clash

Added: Different people have different levels of tolerance about different things. I think these things may indeed be wrong for Ed without being wrong for J. Random Roleplayer.

Quote from: flyingmice;447120Because he's Ed. All the testimony in all the world won't sway Ed, it's impossible. This from someone who genuinely likes Ed, BTW.

-clash

I too like Ed!

Sometimes I'm just not getting where he's coming from, though. This is one such instance.

Quote from: HombreLoboDomesticado;446936That's probably because kids of that age most of the time are either:
a)creepy
or
b) annoying
or both.

No. Its because people's motives are wrong.  And they don't play them in a credible way.

I've seen a 16 year old trying to play an adult, and it is often kind of bad, because they have no context by which to effectively play someone in their 30s.
But its far, far worse to see someone in their 30s trying to play a 10 year old.  What you get is some kind of absurd caricature.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;447130No. Its because people's motives are wrong.  And they don't play them in a credible way.

I've seen a 16 year old trying to play an adult, and it is often kind of bad, because they have no context by which to effectively play someone in their 30s.
But its far, far worse to see someone in their 30s trying to play a 10 year old.  What you get is some kind of absurd caricature.

RPGPundit

When I was in medic school, we had to read a bunch of crap about pediatric development, and then do some clinical time at Childrens' Hospital. I was a bit surprised by how little I knew about the cognitive development of children, how they act, or what you can expect from them. I don't see why that many gamers would know more about children than I do.

Maybe what people who seriously want to portray a child need to do is read a little on the subject first, just like anything else.

Yeah, I get that it doesn't usually go very well, and that playing a child well would take a skilled player. I have no real desire to play a child in any RPG (with maybe the exception of playing a weirdly adult child--like Alia from Dune). But I don't at all understand why it would be considered inherently or morally wrong. What gives?

Quote from: Benoist;446786Oh! He did? Oh okay.

Well there's nothing wrong with having a kid in a group of Call of Cthulhu, or using the actual Kid template in Star Wars d6, is there? I've seen guys carry characters like this pretty well.

I saw the Kid in Star Wars thing go badly, but it was ENTIRELY the GM's fault...to the point that he soured the player on EVER playing Star Wars again, under ANY GM.

Quote from: two_fishes;447137Yeah, I get that it doesn't usually go very well, and that playing a child well would take a skilled player. I have no real desire to play a child in any RPG (with maybe the exception of playing a weirdly adult child--like Alia from Dune). But I don't at all understand why it would be considered inherently or morally wrong. What gives?

Who said it was?!

RPGPundit