Past and RP

Rhyot

So I just have a quick question for the game as a whole, because I'm curious where everyone stands on this and see if maybe my beliefs are shared.

I get that we're a roleplay game, but sometimes when people come back to the game after long periods of not playing... They are typically not the same person. Their mannerisms are different, their goals are different, their drives and ambitions are different, and they may even play different aspects of the game from their previous time. 

So my question is this: Should a player still be held accountable for what they may or may not have done in the past, especially if coming back from an extended break? And if so, why??

Emir

Yes and no? I don't pretend like my character doesn't exist when I'm not online or actively playing. They're always up to something, just off screen. So if I go inactive for 10 IG years then 10 years have went by in game and who knows what happened off screen while I wasn't playing. It is perfectly acceptable for Emir to be a different person by then. You have every right to assume that they're same person, as well, and if you want to roleplay that way then feel free, just understand that the world keeps spinning even if you're not logged on, and your character doesn't just have to stand there doing exactly what you were doing when you logged out. 

Oonagh

With tools like retirement and stuff, I have been able to reinvent myself in different capacities, or...sometimes the same....to which I found dislike for them again and left them behind. I think accountability for roleplay and character choices is important. I know personally some of my choices were pretty bad, though from a character standpoint...totally on par and classic bologna for those characters.

If I was to come back and be totally different, from an RP standpoint I would have to find an explanation for that, sure I could go the amnesia route, but I would eventually learn what I did and feel pretty garbage or resentful.

RP is like onions it has layers, you can definitely handle it in many ways.

Xenia

People reinvent themselves all the time, and it's perfectly fine to do, but keep in mind that everyone else around you won't share that same continuity. It doesn't mean you have to stage or create these elaborate scenes but instead an evolution that nobody understands upon return. I've seen characters return with amnesia and down right refuse they were whoever they were. This meant for the continuity of story that the character just flat out no longer knew anyone and story line had to be established all over again.