RL Appearance Conflicts With PC

S

siriuslyyellow

Newbie
My sister and I intend on playing Alliance for the first time ever at the Crossroads June event. We would like to PC our first event.

We came across what I imagine is an unusual problem: We're identical twins, but the characters we created are not related.

I know in the rule book it says that you look like however you really look, which makes total sense. It also says that if you play a race, you need to adhere to that race's rules, which makes sense as well. We both want to be human, and I think trying to be a different race wouldn't work for either of our characters, especially since the point of that would be to have face make-up on to tell the difference between us, so being a Barbarian or Gypsy won't work.

We came up with a few different ways we could play it:
1-We ignore the fact that we look alike and play unrelated PCs.
2-We make it that one of us was cursed or enchanted to look like the other one.
3-One of us plays a make-up heavy race.
4-We play long lost sibling PCs.

We'd prefer 1, but the other options work as well. My question is this: Would you, as a player seeing twins walking in town, automatically assume they were related in-game? Is there any way we could pull off the "Yeah, we get that a lot" card and just be unrelated PCs? Or do you think either an explaination, face make-up, or us playing relatives is necessary?

This might seem like a silly question, but we're actually pretty concerned. If we can't just ignore it, then we have to change our PCs stories. It's not a huge deal, but I'd like to know what you all think about this, and sooner rather than later if possible, since we may need to brainstorm new PC ideas.

Sorry for the really long post, and thanks for reading it! We appreciate any help you could give us! Thanks!! :D
 
You can absolutely ignore it! Play what you want and tell people what you want in game.

There are some other lower make-up options if you want to go the different races route. Elves are just pointy ears, hoblings are just sideburns, female dwarves are just a foo-stache and goatee, dryads don't have to be terribly heavy on the make-up if you work the leafy bits in elsewhere.

Play what you're comfortable with. The heavy make-up isn't for everyone.
 
Were I you, my biggest worry would be other players being able to tell you apart on an OOG level. I think that's the biggest obstacle you should worry about getting over; the other stuff really just depends on you two and how you want to play your characters. In my experience, folks at Alliance are really great with playing pretend, which includes pretending that identical twins aren't related. :)

We had a set of identical twins playing a little over a year and a half ago in OR, one played a Gypsy and the other played a Sarr (if I remember correctly). I can't speak for everyone, but I didn't have any problem automatically thinking they were related, though they were playing vastly different races. I've played with several siblings and OOG I know they are related, but IG I have no trouble separating their familial ties, I suspect something similar would work itself out.

Like I said, as long as people can tell you apart OOG and there's a way to limit those "Oops, I thought you were that other person!" moments (which will happen, but less and less with time), you'll be right.
 
This is awesome news! What a relief! Thank you so much! We appreciate all of your help! :D
 
There are quite often people who look very similar enough to be confused for twins who are completely unrelated. You could compare such stories as the Prince and the Pauper, for example.

This issue is no less a problem for people who play multiple characters, also. (In fact, I heard that apparently one of the players in the alberta chapter got mistaken for his alt at one event...)
 
You ought to play a downright evil, rotten, trouble-seeking necromancer, then run off and have the rest of the town hunt down your twin. Hurray for scapegoats! ;)
 
Gandian is 100% correct you should scape goat each other all day...but on a serious note I would not worry about it too much. As long as you dont get made about occasional confusions about identity than it should be all good. As long as you dont both play human scholars who dress all in black and carry a staff I dont see to much confusion really coming up. Hope you enjoy your first events
 
Gandian Ravenscroft said:
You ought to play a downright evil, rotten, trouble-seeking necromancer, then run off and have the rest of the town hunt down your twin. Hurray for scapegoats! ;)
Click to expand...

DON'T THINK I HAVEN'T CONSIDERED THIS AS A VIABLE OPTION!! XD

But yeah, I'm glad to hear that it shouldn't be a problem. Our PC petsonalities are different enough that I think most people will be able to figure it out! :P

Thanks again for all of your help, everyone! We can't wait to start playing! :D
 
If you have any other questions as you head into your first couple events these boards are a really great tool, try the search function first but than if you dont see what you need to know just ask.
 
We had a couple of twins play in our game up here. We even considered how to best utilize them if they NPCed (mwuahahaha). But they played a snakekyn and a gypsy, iirc, so it was never really a thing.

You could go ahead and be twins, come up with something fun and non-rulebreaking, or do something more. You might not even have to go full makeup - you'd be surprised how quickly people associate an accent and some identifying clothing to a specific character. You could even have fun with some liquid collodion and give one you horrible scars.
 
Great ideas! Thanks to all! :D

*plots in the corner* :P
 
Yeah I would say just ignore it.
 
I would ignore it but you will get mistaken for each other a lot at first. My friend, Bond (Seattle Owner) and I play OR together. He and I are both big, white dudes, with sideburns, and similar hair color. We get mistaken for each other a lot and I have goatee and he doesn't. We both play humans but have very different costuming. This happens in the dark and from a distance. I think being twins might be a bigger problem. Playing different races would really help from an OOG perspective.
 
That was my thought with the wholw different races thing... But honestly, it seems like the non-human races are SO non-human that they wouldn't work for my character. At least not this one. If both of us being humans doesn't turn out well, then I'll try something different. But right now, I'm gonna stick with it! :P
 
Costuming. As long as you dress in notably different styles, you will avoid most problems. On a similar note, if you use different weapon combos or if one of you casts and the other doesn't, that will also help a lot in avoiding problems.

Sure, you will deal with the "Are you related?" questions for the first few events, but the simple answer is "No, she just also happens to be good looking."

-MS
 
mikestrauss said:
Costuming. As long as you dress in notably different styles, you will avoid most problems. On a similar note, if you use different weapon combos or if one of you casts and the other doesn't, that will also help a lot in avoiding problems.

Sure, you will deal with the "Are you related?" questions for the first few events, but the simple answer is "No, she just also happens to be good looking."

-MS
Click to expand...

Great idea about the clothes, weapons, and casting! :)

I WILL BE USING THAT LINE. MOST DEFINITELY. :D

Thanks! :thumbsup:
 
mikestrauss said:
Sure, you will deal with the "Are you related?" questions for the first few events, but the simple answer is "No, she just also happens to be good looking."
Click to expand...
And if a non-human asks, you can say that's racist. What? Do all humans look a like to you.
 
evi1r0n said:
mikestrauss said:
Sure, you will deal with the "Are you related?" questions for the first few events, but the simple answer is "No, she just also happens to be good looking."
Click to expand...
And if a non-human asks, you can say that's racist. What? Do all humans look a like to you.
Click to expand...

That's perfect for my sister's character! And so hilarious! Thanks a lot!! :D

*lolling 5eva* XD
 
siriuslyyellow said:
evi1r0n said:
mikestrauss said:
Sure, you will deal with the "Are you related?" questions for the first few events, but the simple answer is "No, she just also happens to be good looking."
Click to expand...
And if a non-human asks, you can say that's racist. What? Do all humans look a like to you.
Click to expand...

That's perfect for my sister's character! And so hilarious! Thanks a lot!! :D

*lolling 5eva* XD
Click to expand...

What? You all look alike.
 
Lol! It's still funny. :P
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top