Capture RP

[MissEvelyn]

Oh goodness. It should say "Something is preventing your summons from coming through", or something to similar effect.

[Babylon System is the Vampire]

Like most things when it comes to NwN servers, I think captive stuff can be anywhere from spectacular all the way down to awful, and really comes down to the execution. If I was going to be on captive side of things, I would personally want to ensure I have a plan and a purpose-

I need to sacrifice a sun elf for some ritual to blot out the sun with some sharrans so my fellow drow and I can roam the island freely 24 hours a day

Something as simple as that does so much for the whole experience. It involves coordinating with another ebol group, and even potentially opens up your plans to be betrayed for another's agenda. It gives the would-be rescuers a realistic place to try and save the day in the ritual site. And it creates variety in the stories going on in the server, rather than just another surfacer gets kidnapped and now we are going to the underdark (again) to rescue them. Imagine what it could be if there was real creativity behind the starting point.

Now, doing something like this takes a bit of effort and patience. You need to lay the groundwork for what happens after you capture your sun elf with the people you are coordinating with long before you actually capture them. You need your captive to be flexible enough to be willing to be a captive for a day or two while things get sorted out with time zones and what not. And that means you likely have to go for a more established sun elf instead of just some random mid-level doing writs. Thats not as easy and will likely require yet another plan. Plans upon plans upon plans. But I personally still believe the juice is worth the squeeze.

The TLDR bit-

There are varying degrees of creativity in all of us, don't be afraid to tap into that.

[MarkRed]

Above else, communication is the only thing that matters in my eyes.

Capture RP is like a fetish, it can seem really cool to you and some other people, but majority of people don't want to touch it for so many reasons.

There are so many other avenues of RP that don't lead to fun situations for both sides or even one side, and the same applies to Capture RP. Creativity and fun are an afterthought on most people's minds when ANYTHING relating or that could transition to PvP is involved. You as the Captor can have the most creative and fun sounding idea to you and your crew trying to kidnap someone and create an interesting experience, but that doesn't mean I'll enjoy it, or want to participate in it. Not to mention the absolute time sink and schedule differences that can absolutely ruin it.(Which is communication, the only thing that matters.) It would be a huge kick in the nuts to spend time and effort setting up an elaborate plot and then come to find out your Captive has to leave 30mins after you got them, and now you have to spend the next.. however long being harassed and hunted and murder for something entirely out of your control.

And basing consent off of being revived is honestly pure BS imo. The only thing you know OOC when you're dead, is who you were last with, and how many times your body has been dropped and picked up. So unless someone explicitly messages you OOC (Which is communication, the only thing that matters.), you don't know who is reviving you. I've been in numerous PvP situations where I've died to an enemy, and ally finds me and I decline the rez because I thought it was the enemy, and vice versa, accepted the rez and ended up surrounded by enemies in a foreign place.

I personally have no interest involving myself in any form of capture RP, because 99.999...% of the time it is done horribly on all sides. Captor, Captive, Antag, Protag... none of it's fun in more than a majority of the time. And the few times it were fun and enjoyable for myself and most of the people involved, is when there were a CLEAR OOC communication between all of the groups, essentially stagging the entire process OOC, like a play, rather than it being a natural encounter.

Communication is the only thing that matters in this game, or any other game. I'm happy for those here promoting their pleasant times being a Captive, or however, but you're a minority for the situation.

[Ork]

I refuse to communicate OOC and check in "are you okay with this?" or "how can I make this fun for you" or "hey you okay with slave roleplay"? We can all make informed decisions about what is fun to us, and there are ways to exit a scene at any time - death being one of them. If I am capturing someone, and they roll with it, I'm going to continue and collaborate with that story thread. If I capture someone, and they refuse IG, I'm going to kill them and move on.

That's how it ought to be done. You don't have to like all the roleplay being thrown your way, but you should/ought to be respectful in how you engage in what people are putting out.

[MissEvelyn]

I refuse to communicate OOC and check in "are you okay with this?" or "how can I make this fun for you" or "hey you okay with slave roleplay"? We can all make informed decisions about what is fun to us, and there are ways to exit a scene at any time - death being one of them. If I am capturing someone, and they roll with it, I'm going to continue and collaborate with that story thread. If I capture someone, and they refuse IG, I'm going to kill them and move on.

That's how it ought to be done. You don't have to like all the roleplay being thrown your way, but you should/ought to be respectful in how you engage in what people are putting out.

To really bring this point home, the expectation of OOC communication automatically alienates anyone who is playing with -notells on. Rather, the mechanical tools available at our disposal should not leave us with a need for OOC communication.

It's not ideal that we have no idea who is reviving us, especially if that same resurrection-acceptance is seen as waivering of the 48 PvP rule. Maybe a small change in the consent text that informs us whether or not it's a party member reviving us?

EDIT: Typos,

[Anomandaris]

I refuse to communicate OOC and check in "are you okay with this?" or "how can I make this fun for you" or "hey you okay with slave roleplay"? We can all make informed decisions about what is fun to us, and there are ways to exit a scene at any time - death being one of them. If I am capturing someone, and they roll with it, I'm going to continue and collaborate with that story thread. If I capture someone, and they refuse IG, I'm going to kill them and move on.

That's how it ought to be done. You don't have to like all the roleplay being thrown your way, but you should/ought to be respectful in how you engage in what people are putting out.

I tend to agree. On one hand I champion the idea of being mindful of the other players’ experience, and enjoyment. It’s important to be considerate and remember it’s a game we’re all here to have fun playing.

On the other hand it may have swung too far and perpetuated a sense of entitlement that we should be able to control the things that happen to our characters to avoid experiences we don’t like, which is also toxic when taken to its extreme. It’s all take and no give basically.

I’m sorry but someone killing and capturing a character I’m playing, while perhaps slightly upsetting, should not be that emotional of an experience, or Arelith probably is not a good place to be for mental health reasons.

I understand and empathize that some may have triggers, but ultimately it’s on you to self regulate your exposure to triggering environments, especially when participation is voluntary, like in an online game setting. This server openly has mature themes like slavery, murder, and we’re participating eyes wide open that some people are playing REALLY EVIL personas.

Generally folks should stop being so worried about what happens to their character. A little emotional investment is human, too much more is bleed and no bueno.

Last thing I’ll say is OOC arrangement of IC plot outcomes, while occasionally necessary due to the limitations of the game mechanics, often seems like a cheap way to get IC “wins” that then get thrown around as soft power. I’ve seen it time and time again where a character has these great exploits they’re lauded for IC, but it’s quite obvious some or all were contrived ooc by friends on alts or whatever. It kind of feels like cheating when others are working to create the same organically, which is much harder. It’s not really a big deal but has been a bit of a peeve of mine, so besides courtesy and logistics purposes, I avoided ooc coordination as I think it cheapens conflict rp and associates outcomes while taking all the excitement out of it.

[MarkRed]

but you should/ought to be respectful in how you engage in what people are putting out.

Respect goes both ways. If you're expecting, almost demanding with this statement, a respectful response then you can put in the work for a brief OOC heads up. At the very least try to make an attempt. Especially when planning and dishing out things that can affect someone's entire RP world for days or weeks at a time in a way they have little to no control over, like Slavery or Capture RP.

After you drop someone, before revive them in their new cell/home, all it takes is "Hey there! Would you be okay with potentially being a captive/slave for a few hours, or up to several days?" Not everyone has been playing on this server for years, not everyone is aware that accepting a rez is "Consent" to your captor.

[Marsi]

I find OOC communication weird and off-putting. I'd rather just play the game. If something requires so much OOC consent-gathering and checking-in that it begins to resemble

a play, rather than it being a natural encounter.

it's perhaps an indication that it oughtn't be done.

I'd send a tell for raise-consent (it's up to the player if they want to take the risk), or as to not waste someone's time if I can't make a meeting. You can communicate intent through roleplay. Trust the intelligence of your fellow player.

[MarkRed]

You can communicate intent through roleplay.

Intent is absolutely capable of being communicated IC, but it's always safer to ask. Tone is not always the easiest to capture through text. Ontop of people using written accents that are hard for some to read, and non-native English speakers, intent can be lost along the way.

It's far far easier and less messy to get a quick go ahead OOC instead of wasting time and effort because of a slight miscommunication, that ends in little to no fun for either party involved.

I'd like to point out that you need OOC comms for DMs to run most events, and even during some DM events, or just any event really. An as simple as putting a chronus link in your event notice, or onto one of the Arelith discords, that's an OOC communication that makes the game run smoother, and I can sure as hell guarantee ALOT of people appreciate that.

[magistrasa]

I'd like to point out that you need OOC comms for DMs to run most events, and even during some DM events, or just any event really. An as simple as putting a chronus link in your event notice, or onto one of the Arelith discords, that's an OOC communication that makes the game run smoother, and I can sure as hell guarantee ALOT of people appreciate that.

The level of OOC coordination sometimes necessary for DM events is a big reason why I avoid them. If an event has a Chronus link and no other form of timekeeping, I don't bother trying to attend it. You're presenting your preferences as a superior standard of play, but the reality is that everyone has their own tastes. You appreciate how OOC coordination can round out the edges of a scene and set an expectation so that you don't end up wasting your time in a scene you won't enjoy. Others appreciate the immersion and spontaneity that radio silence affords them. It's just a matter of differing values.

One of my favorite moments of capture RP incorporated absolutely no green text whatsoever - and if there had been repeated insistences and assurances and interrogations to preserve my "comfort," I can honestly say I would have been made uncomfortable by it, and probably would have detached myself from the situation. I don't need my fellow players to treat me like a fragile little baby. If I don't like what's happening on screen, I'll simply figure out a way to remove myself from the scene.

As important as it can certainly be, I wouldn't say communication is "the only thing that matters in the game." I'd say a good story matters most of all. Good stories are what brought us here, and why we keep coming back. That's not to say they're mutually exclusive concepts, but one can easily be pursued to the detriment of the other. In my experience, the stories that need their hand held and need their performers to bend over backwards to accommodate it... generally aren't very good stories.

More than that - when you invest your OOC attention into a story that ends up sucking, that's where you start to get a lot of OOC resentment creeping in. I'm ashamed to admit that there are players I'm still trying to forgive for involving me in their self-gratifying slavery storyline, YEARS after the fact. Spending months of time and energy IC and OOC into trying to manufacture a fun and interesting arc for their character, only for them to turn around and find a cool and shiny new group to coordinate with and completely change the trajectory of the narrative we'd been building up together with absolutely no warning and no room made for negotiation because, "Well me and my other friends already agreed we'd do this instead so I can't leave them hanging!" And then, of course, the inherently OOC nature of our groups' relationships made room for the whole affair to be discussed and gossiped about among those new friends, and it spun out into this whole nasty Thing, and some people (myself included) ended up quitting for a while because of the intense toxicity it brought to our experience, and - like I mentioned, I'm still working on forgiveness. But it's that months-long series of events, alongside smaller-scale but similar situations, that informs a lot of my perspective on OOC coordination and my general aversion to it.

[Irongron]

I refuse to communicate OOC and check in "are you okay with this?" or "how can I make this fun for you" or "hey you okay with slave roleplay"? We can all make informed decisions about what is fun to us, and there are ways to exit a scene at any time - death being one of them. If I am capturing someone, and they roll with it, I'm going to continue and collaborate with that story thread. If I capture someone, and they refuse IG, I'm going to kill them and move on.

That's how it ought to be done. You don't have to like all the roleplay being thrown your way, but you should/ought to be respectful in how you engage in what people are putting out.

This is very much how I feel. I've been in countless conflict/capture situations, and have been on the losing side. Is it fun? Well it depends on how one defines it - when I'm really inhabiting my character sometimes it isn't. I might be frustrated, ashamed, angry or ovewhelmed. For me, playing a character is often about experiencing things from their perspective, and not (as is the case for some players I'm sure) being the detached puppeteer writing a story about a character I've developed.

Sometimes I've gone into PvP and conflict really wanting to win, hating to lose, fully invested in whatever motivation the character I'm playing currently has. Yet when I play such a character alongside many others playing their own I'm keenly aware there is an unwritten contract too - to go wherever it leads, to respond in-character and deal with the consquences without throwing my keyboard down with a cry of 'This isn't what I wanted! Where is the fun for ME!?!'

Of course is someone is just grieving another playing, harassing them, or otherwise motivated OOC to make their play experience as miserable as possible, then that's a problem, but I've always really disliked receving tells asking me if I'm okay with being raised, was okay with being killed, or otherwise enquiring after my OOC wellbeing. I don't log into Arelith to discuss my emotional wellbeing with strangers any more than I visit the local wildlife sanctuary to discuss my dinner arrangements.

I do understanding these OOC wellness checks are most-times simply well-meaning players trying to avoid any anxiety over causing anymore distress, but at times they can feel intrusive, inapprioriate, or even somewhat creepy.

So yeah, if in a conflict situation and you capture the enemy - exactly like Ork said; if you get the feeling they're not into it, exact whatever immediate punishment you feel is appropriate to your character and move on.

[The GrumpyCat]

See... here's where I get in trouble and on my first day back dissagree with the boss

I personally do believe in adding a little bit of OOC to capture situations - though I'll admit it should generally be kept only as a slight garnish. Too much can be over creepy, but I really susspect this comes down to playstyle! Personally I love being in capture situations (I love seeing my pcs suffer!) and if I'm on the other side, and intending anything remotly complex wouldn't hesitate to add a message just to check in on the comfort of the other player, to make sure they're not too pissed off - if at all possible.

So - at a glance... I susspect that this is one of those irritating things that's a matter of taste.

Some other thoughts:

Sometimes I think there's an art to... trying to work out what sort of story the other side wants to tell? My experience as a 'captor' is limited, so I can't say too much there- but I susspect it still holds a bit of truth.
But:

*If you're a captor, and the other person doesn't want to go with that rp -be it through lensing, hurredly respawning, rejecting your resses or whatever - don't sweat too much over it. Take a breath and try and move on.
*If you're a captive don't get angry if everything doesn't go your way - you did opt into this. Of course if things get too much, you've every right to complain/escape or whatever. But again - try not to sweat it too much if your captors don't do exactly as you want.
*If you're an onlooker (and this is really the big one) try and be chill ooc. Understand if the other person is a captive, it's likely through consent ooc (THOUGH NOT IC!), this is what they want to explore. And they've every right to. I know it's forcing a bit of a 'loss' on you, but so it goes. Violently expecting and forcing rp out of others rarely goes well, it generally leads to anger and bitterness. Offer rp, accept what's given, follow or move away as is fun for you.

[MarkRed]

I guess I'm cut from a different cloth, because I have no concept of how a simple 10 word or less message asking if someone is okay with continuing a plot in a certain direction is in any way creepy.

Someone like myself, who has had nothing but bad experience from Capture RP, is likely to just never go along with it, and rather just die and or roll the PC right there and accept that consequence, but if some takes the time to message me, and inform me how they'd like to continue forward, showing a bit of human emotion, I am much more inclined to accept something I otherwise wouldn't have.

I suppose I will continue sending "Creepy" OOC messages, if anyone has an issue then please -notells me. This is not a singleplayer game, this is a shared experience.

[Babylon System is the Vampire]

I'm also someone who doesn't want to break the atmosphere with a friendly tell in a hostile situation, but I doubt anyone saying that is going to hate you if you do feel more comfortable with it. I'll usually respond with something like "we're cool" and go completely radio silent after that because I have to be that way to enjoy it.

It does sometimes feel like when people bring it up that they are striving to make it an implied thing, like you have to prove how sweet you are behind the ebol villain you are playing, and that's why even I have reacted like Ork did by stating I never want to ooc communicate in hostile situations. But just to reiterate, I doubt anyone is going to hate you if you want to send a heads up.

Just read the room, and if the response you get is short (or even nonexistent) it's not personal it's just people preferring to keep it fully ic.

[MarkRed]

Just read the room, and if the response you get is short (or even nonexistent) it's not personal it's just people preferring to keep it fully ic.

Intent is absolutely capable of being communicated IC, but it's always safer to ask... intent can be lost along the way.

It wasn't my intent to sit there and spam someone with a thousand messages monologuing and detailing my entire evil place OOC, just a simple "Hey, would you be okay if this progressed into Slavery?", "Hey I'm the Orc that just killed you, if you accept this Rez would you be okay with Slavery or something else?" Or something else straight to the point, not just limited to Capture/Slavery RP, all it needs in response is a "Yes" "No" or "Depends". I'm not asking for or expecting a full blown conversation.

Fun and natural RP can still come from this, someone saying they don't want to be a Slave doesn't automatically mean they have to die. You could revive them, turn around and speak to one of your lackies or allies and give them a brief chance to run for their life, or simply say you got a bad look at them, they don't look strong or smart enough to be a slave of any use.

Also I am entirely against the train of thought that accepting a rez from an enemy automatically means you're consenting to slavery, when there are so many other things that can happen without just slaughtering them, and making all the /story/ that you've made so far completely vanish from that character's mind and story.

[Amateur Hour]

An assumption that seems to be coming up here that I don't think has been addressed: is it common for people who play with notells to participate in capture RP as the captor?

If I am the captured and I like playing with notells, if I find myself in a situation where I'm uncomfortable or I get unexpectedly caught in a lengthy RP session when I really need to be logging out, there is absolutely nothing stopping me from turning on tells long enough to tell my captors "hey, I need to be completely logged out within 15 minutes" other than my own stubbornness. However, if I am the captured and my captor has turned off tells, I suddenly have a real problem if I can't tell them "I need to go in 15 minutes".

[Power Word, Haste]

I guess I'm cut from a different cloth, because I have no concept of how a simple 10 word or less message asking if someone is okay with continuing a plot in a certain direction is in any way creepy.

This tbh. If someone gets "Hey are you okay with being raised for some prisoner RP?" as a tell and they get weirded or creeped out? I don't really know what to say because that doesn't make much sense to me.

[The GrumpyCat]

I... wonder...

So nowadays DnD and other TTRPGs have had various 'Safty Tools' introduced. Session 0s, Lines, Vails, the X card - ect. There seems to be a recognition that TTRPGs (Table Top Roleplaying Games) can be very immersive, and potentially be very upsetting.

Back in the day (And I'm talking as little as a decade, and certainly two+ decades ago) we didn't really do any of that - at least not as far as I know. Certainly I never encountered or heard of such things until relitivly recently. It was a game. A story. Who cares what happened to your characters! They're just characters after all!

Indeed nowadays there is some pushback - often from old guard, who see such safty tools as useless, or even things that can be exploited. And I do sorta 'get' the idea that use of ooc tells can be considered creepy. This is my character after all, Tony. Do what you like to him! It's not me! Why are you asking ME! If you're asking ME you must want to do such things to Me, right?! Now I don't feel comfortable!'

Maybe that's perhaps where some of the feeling comes from? I'm just musing.
For me I've always had a bit of ooc tells in capture rp - even if it's just confirming I want to be raised, and I'm happy to use it onwards, creepy or not, because I find that the best adversarial RP tends to happen when there is some trust between the two parties and a (little!) OOC communication can help with that.

[Hazard]

I don't mind getting an OOC check-up tell, but I can agree with preferring not to. I'll speak up/not go along if I'm not comfy, or just ping the DMs later if I feel like there wasn't even that option or that the players just weren't even trying to roleplay 'with' people but just being Snuggybear hats. Typically being captured is just such a lovely surprise over an instant corpse-bash I always welcome it, I can't think of a single time I would have turned it down.

Some people will ask OOCly and then not act until they give confirmation, though, and that REALLY takes me out of it. Now I'm making an IC decision through OOC tells and I'm not comfortable with that. That really pulls me out because my response will determine what roleplay happens next. Usually I'll just respond with a 'do whatever your character would do' or 'I'm easy, whatever happens happens' in an attempt to not influence them.

I don't send check-up tells during roleplay. Maybe afterwards I'll just make sure to thank them, but that's it. I can't remember ever sending any, anyway. Keeping it IC is best. The immersion can be unmatched, given the right circumstances. Our imagination is pretty neat.

Also, playing with notells is the best way to play, in my opinion!

[Spriggan Bride]

OOC tells or total immersion are both valid. It doesn't have to be a major clash- say "sorry I prefer OOC" if you get a tell you don't want. Or accept that your immersion will be broken for a line or two-- that's going to happen and you'll never have 100%. Likewise have some trust in a stranger if you need the confirmation and if they're terse and want to keep it IC, but their role play seems solid, take a chance.

When you try and bring characters and players you don't know into your RP you have to expect a wide range of responses. Someone preferring to play the game in a way you don't is not going to ruin your experience. (Assuming it's legal.)

[Cthuletta]

When it comes to not liking your immersion broken with a tell (totally valid and nothing wrong with that), that is why -notells exists!
I know plenty of players who do that for that reason alone, and only remove it if they have a question themselves.

[Marsi]

I do understanding these OOC wellness checks are most-times simply well-meaning players trying to avoid any anxiety over causing anymore distress, but at times they can feel intrusive, inapprioriate, or even somewhat creepy.

This is what I was referring to when I called OOC communication off-putting.

Over the years I've come to know a kind of player that uses a practised civility to bend the game to their favour. They send tells to politely brow-beat you into going along with their preferred outcome, guilt-trip you for killing their character, or outright fish for sentiment or information. It's very distracting and weird when this is happening to you mid-game. The material reality of the game state is not in their favour and they find it easier to "play" the player than the character. Maybe their intentions are more innocent, and they are just uncomfortable with a story that doesn't resemble low-volatility, well-rehearsed interactive fiction. It happened to me often enough that it forever soured me on seeing those green lines pop-up in my textbox.

[Hazard]

I do understanding these OOC wellness checks are most-times simply well-meaning players trying to avoid any anxiety over causing anymore distress, but at times they can feel intrusive, inapprioriate, or even somewhat creepy.

This is what I was referring to when I called OOC communication off-putting.

Over the years I've come to know a kind of player that uses a practised civility to bend the game to their favour. They send tells to politely brow-beat you into going along with their preferred outcome, guilt-trip you for killing their character, or outright fish for sentiment or information. It's very distracting and weird when this is happening to you mid-game. The material reality of the game state is not in their favour and they find it easier to "play" the player than the character. Maybe their intentions are more innocent, and they are just uncomfortable with a story that doesn't resemble low-volatility, well-rehearsed interactive fiction. It happened to me often enough that it forever soured me on seeing those green lines pop-up in my textbox.

+1!

[magistrasa]

Sending a tell to confirm a rez along the lines of, "I'm the guy who just killed you, is it cool if we raise you for some follow-up RP?" Yeah, sure, that's acceptable, I guess - after all, it's part of the rules of engagement, so I wouldn't grudge any player for doing that.

But let's say I accept the rez, and we're going through the scene, and things are progressing naturally in a way that's going to mean an unpleasant experience for my character. If I got a tell that said something like, "Is it okay if we do X?" or, "Is there anywhere you'd like for your character to be scarred?" or even, "What would you say is your character's least favorite finger?" - then that gets into some annoyance territory.

But sure, whatever, let's say I answer the inquiry, and we continue through the scene. But now, oh no, it appears my character is either too enjoyable to roleplay with, or too important or valuable as an asset, so I'm getting another tell: "Hey, is it alright if we make your character our slave?" Of course, that's going to lead to a whole conversation all its own, which will further detract from the scene as details are discussed and decided upon.

Then, assuming I accept the offer, that will most likely be followed up with, "By the way, we should coordinate playtimes, so what's your username on discord?" And by that point, your separation between IC and OOC is probably so muddled that you may as well just consider the character a self-insert.

I don't think anything past step 1 is really helping the scene or improving the roleplay experience. It's just taking me out to the moment and bogging the whole interaction down with OOC contrivances. When I get messages like that, it honestly feels more like you're uncomfortable with the roleplay, and you want to project those feelings onto me and put me in a position where I need to comfort you as a way to validate your choices. Don't play a villain if you don't enjoy doing villainous things!

Also, +1 to Marsi's comment.

[Morgy]

Sending a tell to confirm a rez along the lines of, "I'm the guy who just killed you, is it cool if we raise you for some follow-up RP?" Yeah, sure, that's acceptable, I guess - after all, it's part of the rules of engagement, so I wouldn't grudge any player for doing that.

But let's say I accept the rez, and we're going through the scene, and things are progressing naturally in a way that's going to mean an unpleasant experience for my character. If I got a tell that said something like, "Is it okay if we do X?" or, "Is there anywhere you'd like for your character to be scarred?" or even, "What would you say is your character's least favorite finger?" - then that gets into some annoyance territory.

But sure, whatever, let's say I answer the inquiry, and we continue through the scene. But now, oh no, it appears my character is either too enjoyable to roleplay with, or too important or valuable as an asset, so I'm getting another tell: "Hey, is it alright if we make your character our slave?" Of course, that's going to lead to a whole conversation all its own, which will further detract from the scene as details are discussed and decided upon.

Then, assuming I accept the offer, that will most likely be followed up with, "By the way, we should coordinate playtimes, so what's your username on discord?" And by that point, your separation between IC and OOC is probably so muddled that you may as well just consider the character a self-insert.

I don't think anything past step 1 is really helping the scene or improving the roleplay experience. It's just taking me out to the moment and bogging the whole interaction down with OOC contrivances. When I get messages like that, it honestly feels more like you're uncomfortable with the roleplay, and you want to project those feelings onto me and put me in a position where I need to comfort you as a way to validate your choices. Don't play a villain if you don't enjoy doing villainous things!

Also, +1 to Marsi's comment.

Interesting points! It's important to get the 'nod' for Rez-capture RP and slavery, but too many tells over small details can definitely get distracting/tedious to play along with.

Best thing to do is make sure it's obvious you're approachable OOC through tells as a captor, then after that, let things develop naturally.