Notable names in the faith of <insert here>

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Alexan
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Notable names in the faith of <insert here>

Post by Alexan » Tue Dec 18, 2012 5:48 am

I was just wondering if the notable names are considered to be common knowledge that could be found with research, or if you'd have to be in the faith or know someone ingame etc.


More or less I just want to know how accessible the knowledge is to a standard person searching for it, or if I will need more specialized RP to find out.
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Athon
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Re: Notable names in the faith of <insert here>

Post by Athon » Tue Dec 18, 2012 6:19 am

My philosophy is that if it's in the help file and your character is up-to-date with current affairs, then the name is typically known. I wouldn't expect a normal, good Waterdhavian to necessarily know the notable members of Bane or Cyric or faiths with little presence in Waterdeep (but you could have a very good reason for knowing), but you just got to apply some common sense to it.

If it's in the help file, I say there's little reason to suggest you wouldn't know most of those names in passing, even if you've never met them.
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Alexan
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Re: Notable names in the faith of <insert here>

Post by Alexan » Tue Dec 18, 2012 6:29 am

Athon wrote:I wouldn't expect a normal, good Waterdhavian to necessarily know the notable members of Bane or Cyric or faiths with little presence in Waterdeep (but you could have a very good reason for knowing), but you just got to apply some common sense to it

That was more in line with my question. Because while it may not be normal, if I'm going out of my way to actively research, can I spend some time in the Keep or Westgate or the Orc village and count it, or do I literally have to RP meeting a native and asking them? Which brings more questions then, as if they lie to me and such.
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Re: Notable names in the faith of <insert here>

Post by Athon » Tue Dec 18, 2012 6:33 am

I don't see a reason to 'actively' research it. It's kind of like knowing who the Pope is, even if you aren't Catholic or really 'research' it. Just something you kind of know.

Edit: It just falls into the realm of common sense. If you're from Waterdeep, you don't need to "actively" research to know who the faith leaders of the Tyrran church are. The presence of the faith is strong enough that you could just assume your character has heard/knows the information from past events.
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Alexan
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Re: Notable names in the faith of <insert here>

Post by Alexan » Tue Dec 18, 2012 8:20 am

It's different though, in my opinion. Do I know the Pope? I certainly do, I even know the rabbis in my area, etc. etc. But if you asked, I certainly don't know notable things the Pope has done other than, "Become Pope." And I know that they call a council to choose the next pope, but what they consider, what he's done in the past... yeah

What I'm asking about is in the notable names, they give a bit of backstory to the character as well, which is the information my character is looking for.

It may be simple to say I know all the faith leaders, but I think it would be hard pressed for any character to just say he knows all their life stories, even within their own faith.

So it comes down to the same question I had, and while you did give me some clarity, I still would like to know how accessible their stories are.
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Re: Notable names in the faith of <insert here>

Post by Gwain » Tue Dec 18, 2012 9:11 am

Code: Select all

Famous Names
============
Famous people in Forgotten Kingdoms are those who have either reached the
pinnacle of their career, in the case of a hero or a faith manager, or a
character who has made some otherwise widely impacting contribution to the
roleplay of the realms as a whole. Some may have ICly sponsored a guild or
an organization, or be IC heads of various organizations.
 
Some heroes are determined by competitions or special events, others are
chosen by their deity, or faith managers, or members of an organization.

 (A) Elminster                           (B) Faith Managers                     
 (C) Famous Knights                      (D) Former Faith Managers              
 (E) Guiding Council of Rangers          (F) Other Famous Characters One        
 (G) Other Famous Characters Two

Other Famous Characters One
===========================
There are those characters who become famous for deeds or for being written
up in the tales of bards. Such characters deserve mention, as notable names
of the kingdoms. 
The helpfiles sum it up well in my opinion. The files serve two roles, one is to single-out noted player characters oocly as a record of what they did, why they did it for reasons in case one needs to contact them or knows of them find them or organization/faith help or infor etc. The other is hearsay, meaning that you can get useful bits of information from these helpfiles to further your own rp. The key is how you appropriate this knowledge.

Most hearsay is the same as overhearing a conversation about someone in a tavern or reading a small blurb on a monument, its a loosely based factiod that cannot be verified beyond what is there. Now there are some things that are there that a character would not know, such as who serves secret faiths or orgs and the intimate details of life, relationships and conflicts that are private. Usually its easy to see in the text what is public knowledge - heroic exploits, and what is not - secrets like memory loss or betrayals and faiths unknown to the public, but provided for these entries by those that wrote them.

Its all about being subjective and asking yourself "Should I know this?" Now of course this may differ from official policy but its usually how I play it. I find that save for a few details most of the information in these articles is general enough to be common knowledge while what's not is usually easy to discern or has been left out or to the imagination.

Since the helpfiles on chars has had entries entered for the last decade, much of what was common information at one point may be uncommon now. The best advice I can give is to be discerning and only rely on what your character would know. There is no shame in leaving a bit to mystery :D
Justice is not neccesarily honourable, it is a tolerable business, in essence you tolerate honour until it impedes justice, then you do what is right.

Spelling is not necessarily correct :)
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