How to RP Thu'um

Post » Sun Nov 27, 2011 11:57 pm

Silence effects spells because to cast a spell you need to speak. Read any of the ingame books that feature it. However most rps don't allow were creatures and Vampires period so..it kind of shoots that out the window. I say within given viabilit and as long as it doesn't become an I win button for that character and have come up with a good reason to use the Thu'um. Like Nords can or really any human (As they all came from Atmora IIRC) And I'd imagine people from Akavir would be able to do it easier due to dragons being central to certain cultures. (I have a Half Po'tun khajiit character that possesses said ability to some degree.) But as long as people don't know every shout or only a few words to the shouts I think it'd be fine.

Just like knowing Mastery level spells, if you know those in a particular school then other schools wouldn't be as high due to the time spent studying the specific school. (Unless your a long lived elf :P)
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Oyuki Manson Lavey
 
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Post » Sun Nov 27, 2011 8:32 pm

Silence effects spells because to cast a spell you need to speak. Read any of the ingame books that feature it. However most rps don't allow were creatures and Vampires period so..it kind of shoots that out the window. I say within given viabilit and as long as it doesn't become an I win button for that character and have come up with a good reason to use the Thu'um. Like Nords can or really any human (As they all came from Atmora IIRC) And I'd imagine people from Akavir would be able to do it easier due to dragons being central to certain cultures. (I have a Half Po'tun khajiit character that possesses said ability to some degree.) But as long as people don't know every shout or only a few words to the shouts I think it'd be fine.

Just like knowing Mastery level spells, if you know those in a particular school then other schools wouldn't be as high due to the time spent studying the specific school. (Unless your a long lived elf :P)


Yes but Vampire and weres are sometimes considered overpowered, and I would consider any form of Thu'um to be in the same regions of Vampries/weres in terms of power. So unless its explicitly stated that Thu'um is allowed, it should be avoided on most character sheets entirely. Using simular abilities from foreign lands (as you said with the Ka'po'tun) would be prefrable on a bog standard character, it could just simply be treated as an alternative way of directing magicka, something I also did -- a character that directed magicka to be released from the mouth so he wasn't hindered when using his weapon (a two handed naginata) but the ability was still on the same level of strength as an average mage, not that of a user of Dragonshouts.
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Danielle Brown
 
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Post » Sun Nov 27, 2011 6:13 pm

Silence effects spells because to cast a spell you need to speak. Read any of the ingame books that feature it. However most rps don't allow were creatures and Vampires period so..it kind of shoots that out the window. I say within given viabilit and as long as it doesn't become an I win button for that character and have come up with a good reason to use the Thu'um. Like Nords can or really any human (As they all came from Atmora IIRC) And I'd imagine people from Akavir would be able to do it easier due to dragons being central to certain cultures. (I have a Half Po'tun khajiit character that possesses said ability to some degree.) But as long as people don't know every shout or only a few words to the shouts I think it'd be fine.

Just like knowing Mastery level spells, if you know those in a particular school then other schools wouldn't be as high due to the time spent studying the specific school. (Unless your a long lived elf :P)

The reason I don't like trying to compare Thu'um usage to Werewolf/Vampire usage isn't their power level, it's the "All of them are Chaotic Good rebelling against their evil Kin. All of them".

On the other hand, Ulfric Stormcloak can be considered a "typical" non-Greybeard Thu'um user. The question to ask simply becomes "Is Thu'um acceptable in the RP", not "Are Thu'um users who are completely different from other Thu'um users acceptable in this RP?"

Hopefully
skyrim Werewolf spoiler:
Spoiler
The nature of the Companions will permit more Good-aligned werewolves to be played in RPs that have sufficient scope to justify them, and reduce the "I'm special!" for being a non-monstrous weredoggy.

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Bek Rideout
 
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Post » Sun Nov 27, 2011 5:59 pm

The reason I don't like trying to compare Thu'um usage to Werewolf/Vampire usage isn't their power level, it's the "All of them are Chaotic Good rebelling against their evil Kin. All of them".

Hopefully
skyrim Werewolf spoiler:
Spoiler
The nature of the Companions will permit more Good-aligned werewolves to be played in RPs that have sufficient scope to justify them, and reduce the "I'm special!" for being a non-monstrous weredoggy.


weres/vamps was just something from the top of my head, it could also apply to other over powered things such as mages on the level of Mannimarco or Manka Cameron or Thieves/assassins on the level of the Gray Fox (lore gray fox, not oblivion gray fox) unless there is a specific role they fit, like in war RP's there could easily be an army of Necromancers led by some one of the power of Mannimarco, but on the level of individual action/adventure/dungeon rp's it doesnt really fit.
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Rhi Edwards
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:19 am

weres/vamps was just something from the top of my head, it could also apply to other over powered things such as mages on the level of Mannimarco or Manka Cameron or Thieves/assassins on the level of the Gray Fox (lore gray fox, not oblivion gray fox) unless there is a specific role they fit, like in war RP's there could easily be an army of Necromancers led by some one of the power of Mannimarco, but on the level of individual action/adventure/dungeon rp's it doesnt really fit.

It fits in Adventure RPs of epic scope. Just not the stock crawls.
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Del Arte
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:05 am

It fits in Adventure RPs of epic scope. Just not the stock crawls.


Agree'd, Mechanical Hearted Menace springs to mind -- the kind of adventure scenario where only the best of the absolute best would be sent, or that other RP that got remade nor long ago, it was the first RP I joined so the names fuzzy but basically Tamriel experienced an Ice age, and a survival scenario like that would weed out the weak obviously. But in scenarios where some one might end up shipwrecked (the island or simular RP's spring to mind) it might be better to downplay such epic'ness in characters. After all, whats the liklihood that the Divine Crusader, the listener of the Dark brotherhood, the arch-mage and the kind of worms would all end up in the same place at the same time unless events lie MHM or the Ice age called for it?
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sw1ss
 
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Post » Sun Nov 27, 2011 6:26 pm

Thu'uming vampires who know the Shehai? And ride flaming Altmeri birds? With Dwemer lazer rifles?
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Lance Vannortwick
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:47 am

God what happened to all the lore people knew well before Skyrim? Greybeards are not the only people who have used the Thu'um, warriors and great chieftains did, they were known as Tongues. I'd imagine around Skyrim's time that it became much rarer than it had been before, and if you would read children of the sky which has been around since morrowind we'd see a whole new realm of possibilities for using shouts. Shouting a weapon sharp, shouting hundreds of miles from your location and whatever else you could make up. Gagging a tongue or greybeard has shown to put a stop to it. Not really all that complicated. Im very against limiting and reducing the tongues.
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Horse gal smithe
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:55 am

God what happened to all the lore people knew well before Skyrim? Greybeards are not the only people who have used the Thu'um, warriors and great chieftains did, they were known as Tongues. I'd imagine around Skyrim's time that it became much rarer than it had been before, and if you would read children of the sky which has been around since morrowind we'd see a whole new realm of possibilities for using shouts. Shouting a weapon sharp, shouting hundreds of miles from your location and whatever else you could make up. Gagging a tongue or greybeard has shown to put a stop to it. Not really all that complicated. Im very against limiting and reducing the tongues.

Meanwhile I'm all for cutting them out. ;)

I have no problem with Tongues, but Thu'um on the level of the Dragonborn is another thing entirely.
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Gisela Amaya
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 1:52 am

Not having played Skyrim, can the Dragonborn shout down entire city gates or walls? The Tounges could, so what do you mean 'on the level of the dragonborn'?
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Natasha Biss
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:31 am

Not having played Skyrim, can the Dragonborn shout down entire city gates or walls? The Tounges could, so what do you mean 'on the level of the dragonborn'?

No idea actually, I just simply assumed that since the dragonborn can absorb souls directly from dragons to power his Thu'um that he'd be drastically more powerful than the average shout user. Though I wasn't aware that Tongues could do that level of damage, it seems a bit implausible that such force wouldn't have an equal and opposite reaction and obliterate the source (body) when "shouted". But maybe thats just me with my wierd train of thought which doesnt even make sense to me.
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YO MAma
 
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Post » Sun Nov 27, 2011 5:17 pm

Aye, the old Nordic Tounge Warlords need not bring siege weapons on campaign because they would just 'shout' the walls of the city down and let their axemen rush into the city. The Dragonborn's Thu'um is no powerful than anyother, its just that instead of having to spend a lifetime in dedication to learning it he can absorb dragonsouls and learn it much much quicker.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Thu%27um

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Adam Porter
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 1:57 am

Agree'd, Mechanical Hearted Menace springs to mind -- the kind of adventure scenario where only the best of the absolute best would be sent, or that other RP that got remade nor long ago, it was the first RP I joined so the names fuzzy but basically Tamriel experienced an Ice age, and a survival scenario like that would weed out the weak obviously. But in scenarios where some one might end up shipwrecked (the island or simular RP's spring to mind) it might be better to downplay such epic'ness in characters. After all, whats the liklihood that the Divine Crusader, the listener of the Dark brotherhood, the arch-mage and the kind of worms would all end up in the same place at the same time unless events lie MHM or the Ice age called for it?


I dunno... those "All the Awesome People End Up in One Place" could be pulled off if the RP's punchline is awesome enough.
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Solène We
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:25 am

Maybe put a limit on the number of shouts a day
in the game you get a magic bar and health and stamina and they regenerate quickly but they dont in rps
if you get shot with an arrow you dont heal instantly you get healed and it takes time and over the course of a battle your stamina and magic decrease at the players own digression usually after a quick break and meal
so just increase the time it takes in between shouts
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GPMG
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 7:07 am

The limitations are simple, learning it is difficult yes but finding the words and such would be even harder. Unless someone purposely goes down into old Nordic burial sites and fight through hordes of Draugar and then mystically finds a dragon wall and learns a word from it. Then there comes the need for them to be actually able to say the word properly and learning it could take days/weeks/months. Just like spells, enchanting, conjuration and such.

As for people using it I reckon it would be best to remember that in towns and cities shouting can and will scare people and the guards may come and grab you for whatever property damage you may have caused so there could be legal repercussions from it. Then it comes down to common sense use, if someone starts using it as their 'I Win' Button in every fight or using it allot it would come down to the GM asking them to slow down or cut back on its use or add some kind of repercussion in the rp itself.

I think it just comes down to how each individual GM wants to work it within the individual RP. If the character does have the ability to use a Thu'um make sure they add it in their background how and where they learned it and why and try and make sure its a good reason as to how it was acquired just like what we'd do with artifacts and ebony armour and the like.

Wow. When did you become so literate. ;)

Also hi Craig.
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Mr.Broom30
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:54 am

Maybe put a limit on the number of shouts a day
in the game you get a magic bar and health and stamina and they regenerate quickly but they dont in rps
if you get shot with an arrow you dont heal instantly you get healed and it takes time and over the course of a battle your stamina and magic decrease at the players own digression usually after a quick break and meal
so just increase the time it takes in between shouts

The thing is, it's hard to limit things by day in most RP's unless theres a seriously strong GM element to it (like TES Bioshock) and sometimes a single day could be multiple threads long.
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Enny Labinjo
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:25 am

Also hi Craig.


What the [censored] are you still doing here? : O
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Mandy Muir
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:08 am

What the [censored] are you still doing here? : O

I smell a plot..
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bonita mathews
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:24 am

Wow. When did you become so literate. ;)

Also hi Craig.



I dyed my hair black! :P
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Kim Bradley
 
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Post » Mon Nov 28, 2011 6:16 am

What the [censored] are you still doing here? : O


What's up with all the old people coming back?

It's like the dragons being awakened in Skyrim.
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Ana
 
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Post » Sun Nov 27, 2011 8:27 pm

What's up with all the old people coming back?

It's like the dragons being awakened in Skyrim.

Thing is, i don't die when people shout at me, I just turn my iPod on.
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Christina Trayler
 
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