Power Emote

This isn't really related to anything, but I wanted to blog it simply because it was disturbing. After thinking about it for a bit I have decided to...

So, earlier this week I got a lot of hassle in game from three toughs in a bar trying to pick a fight.

Did you spill my pint, Human?

A normal day in the Scarlett Raven...

At first, the three guys who all decided to converge on where I was sitting were being mildly pushy, of the sort of 'Elf, your kind are not wanted here.' I responded, mildly rudely to them, and told them I had a room in the tavern which meant I was as entitled to be there as they were. However it became clear that they were doing that sort of squaring up that happens in pub fights in RL - ie, a lot of pushing and 'are you looking at my bird' before actually doing anything. So, being in a rather beligerant mood, I decided to respond in kind. I wish I had chatlogger working, but this is the gist of the conversation that followed:

Male Human 1: "Tree hugger"
Male Human 2: "go home, elf"

Me:"Better to hug a tree than such a very short stump"
/em eyes <Human 2>'s eyes dubiously (this is one of my macros)

Male Human 2: "Self indulgent elf."

Me: "Yes, the pleasures of self indulgence are indeed gratifying"

Me: "Humie, I have no quarrel with you"

Human 2: "Are you insulting my (insert important sounding rank and title of Human 1 here)?"
Human 3: "She is calling us humie."

Me: "It is just that you are so young to this world..."

Human 1 has challenged you to a duel.
I Decline.
Human 1 has challenged you to a duel.
I Decline.
Human 1 has challenged you to a duel.
I Decline.

Human 1: Fight
Me: I have no intention of doing that.

Human Male 3: "Let's see how you like to hug trees with my sword in you"
Human Male 1: "Get out of here"
Human Male 1: "You should run."
Human Male 2: "Leave Elf"

Me: "I may be older, but you are much stronger..."
Human 3: "That is the point."

Human Male 1 licks you
Human Male 2 draws his sword

Me: /em thinks about that time in Darnassus...

Human Male /em *whispers in your ear* You taste disgusting elf.
/em eyes <Human 2>'s actions dubiously
Me: I blame the Patriarchy

Me (whispering to human 1- so no-one else can hear) Can I log this please?
Human 1: ?
Me: I am a researcher
Human 1: for?
Me: The University of Sussex
Human Male 1:  Ok can you lie down.
(I'm still amazed that this didn't make them go away!!)

Human Male 1 gets out his axe.
Human Male hits you with the back of the head with the axe

Me: Let me go about my business, young ones.

Me: AAH!
Me: that hurt

Human Male 2 "10"
Human Male 2 "9"
Human Male 2 "8"

Human Male 2: "7"
Human Male 2: "6"

/yawn

Human Male 2: "5"
Human Male 2: "4"
Human Male 2: "3"

/em ducks

Human Male 2: "2"
Human Male 2: "1"
Human Male 2 stabs his sword into your stomach

Human 2: let's see how you like it now
Human 3: stupid elf
Human 3 loads his gun

Me: Right I have things to do...and am going to leave you gents here. But I have a room in this inn and I will return later today.

(activates the walk not run)
(leaves at a slow walk)

Human 3 shoots you in the back.

So three on one, converging on me in a tavern just as I had loaded in and trying to beat me up, and then 'actually' beating me up by using power emotes (using emotes to push you about or do something intrusive when actually your avatar is 'just' standing there not moving) when I refused to duel (they were approx 20 levels above me!). Charming. This is the sort of behaviour that in LARP, would get you kicked out, or simply ostracised by the rest of the players until you left or went away. Here, I wonder whether these guys thought they were roleplaying well. I wondered if they were hanging round the tavern doing this to everyone, or just decided to pick on the loan (female) elf. I also hope it was just lads burning off steam (the server had been down for three hours previously), although that in itself is a pretty shit excuse. I also suspect this happens rather a lot, but it is the first really serious grief I have had. In retropsect, walking away and not baiting them would also have been a good idea. Or would it? My thoughts at the time were that I had no intention of taking their hassle, and didn't want to exit the tavern just yet. And of course, no matter how much bluster, unless I duelled, there was no way they could make me leave or kill me. I could have ignored them and not spoken at all, but, why should I? I had no intention of being the defenseless female - in a world where we are supposed to fight to progress!

Hmmm...

Comments

[jude]

"I could have ignored them and not spoken at all, but, why should I?"

because as with naughty children so desparate for any attention that even negative attention will do...ignoring it works.

Because without the attention, without the response they would have stopped doing it and gone away. Probably to do it again to someone else in the hope that they would rise to the bait. But hopefully if everyone treats them consistantly and ignores their idiotic crap they'll try to get their thrills less cheaply. Maybe picking fights with more equally levelled characters and actually roleplaying themselves into duels they'd risk losing.

[Eddie]

/e picks your pocket for 22 silver.

/s ooh shiney. ta mister.

then leave. wait for the numpty to report you for hackzorzing their ebay'd gold, and laugh when they get a caution from a GM for breaking server rules after he's checked their chat logs.
:)

/ignore is your friend.