Child RP?

I recently had an idea. What about child RP? They have loads of possibilities. They may not be able to do magic due to it being very complex, but they could be very useful in some situations. For example, the criminal guilds could use children to do menial jobs and/or spy on rivals. The guard guilds could use them to spy on criminals. They could be used in hostage situations, and who doesn't love it when a badass is beaten up by a gang of kiddies?

What are your thoughts on child RP?

Hint: I am not suggesting using gnomes.

I would suggest against it, but nor am i going to throw a fit if people want to roleplay one.

Use Noggenfogger. Pygmy oil is to expensive.

Skarain wrote:I would suggest against it.

No matter how cool it sounds in practice. Having seen it done it's just ridiculous.

Really?

I've seen it done, particularly using Gnomes. It is always terrible in my opinion, from what I've seen, and the idea of it makes me squirm slightly. For the same reason that seeing Cat form druids pretend to be kitties makes me squirm.

If you really want to, then sure. But I think role playing child labour (in relation to what you said with criminal guilds) is rapidly going to upset people on a very base moral level.

Oh no, not child labour! They get paid, and are used because they're gonna be unsuspected. Cruelty to children is something I don't wanna RP.

Don't RP a child. It's always retarded.

Jack Noodlemeister wrote:...For example, the criminal guilds could use children to do menial jobs and/or spy on rivals. The guard guilds could use them to spy on criminals. They could be used in hostage situations, and who doesn't love it when a badass is beaten up by a gang of kiddies?

Using kids to do menial jobs and spy on rivals are things done by real criminal organisations, and it rarely includes payment. But even if you did pay them, that is still child labour, as child labour refers to "...the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful." - In fact, because you are talking about a criminal organisation, you're damaging the moral and social development of those children (in teaching them to spy on city guards, possibly getting them a criminal record) and therefore this is already looking very objectionable. It isn't as simple as just whether or not you pay them.

As for kids being used in hostage situations, just no. A 'badass' being beaten up by kids might sound like laughs, but it is again morally objectionable for similar reasons as kids being used in criminal guilds mentioned above. Not to mention rather unrealistic.

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This may sound like I am being very harsh, but these are the kind of moral objections you are likely to receive if you start using kids in criminal RP. It happens in the real world, it is morally reprehensible, and depicting that is likely to get you criticised. I, personally, believe that nothing should be off limits to roleplay, because I believe that roleplay serves a purpose in exploring different aspects of the real world - just like, and no different to, films or video games in general. But it will leave a foul taste in the mouths of many people, and not just because most people who RP kids are normally bad at doing it.

It's always done badly; even role-players that I admire have never been able to achieve a decent child character. Not to mention the sick acts of perversion that we dare not mention further.

A badass beaten up by a bunch of kids sounds too anime for me.

Skaraa wrote:

Jack Noodlemeister wrote:...For example, the criminal guilds could use children to do menial jobs and/or spy on rivals. The guard guilds could use them to spy on criminals. They could be used in hostage situations, and who doesn't love it when a badass is beaten up by a gang of kiddies?

Using kids to do menial jobs and spy on rivals are things done by real criminal organisations, and it rarely includes payment. But even if you did pay them, that is still child labour, as child labour refers to "...the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful." - In fact, because you are talking about a criminal organisation, you're damaging the moral and social development of those children (in teaching them to spy on city guards, possibly getting them a criminal record) and therefore this is already looking very objectionable. It isn't as simple as just whether or not you pay them.

As for kids being used in hostage situations, just no. A 'badass' being beaten up by kids might sound like laughs, but it is again morally objectionable for similar reasons as kids being used in criminal guilds mentioned above. Not to mention rather unrealistic.

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This may sound like I am being very harsh, but these are the kind of moral objections you are likely to receive if you start using kids in criminal RP. It happens in the real world, it is morally reprehensible, and depicting that is likely to get you criticised. I, personally, believe that nothing should be off limits to roleplay, because I believe that roleplay serves a purpose in exploring different aspects of the real world - just like, and no different to, films or video games in general. But it will leave a foul taste in the mouths of many people, and not just because most people who RP kids are normally bad at doing it.

You do sound a tad harsh, but yet again, I can't argue with anything you say.

I'll drop the idea.

What's even fun about Rping a child?

the main reason against child rp is that there are no children avatars to use to rp with.

Personally I don't mind teenage characters if they're not like 12 or something (15 is like my limit), there's also battlepets that are basically kids. Kid characters in general don't leave a lot for you to do though.

Also, without exception, every single child RPer will use magic or something along those lines to age their character into an adult.

Vaell wrote:Also, without exception, every single child RPer will use magic or something along those lines to age their character into an adult.

Or the opposite way around!

Or they talk and act like 3 year olds no matter what age they are at.

Don't get me wrong, some people RP having children very well; carrying the baby around in acceptable circumstances and largely keeping it at home visits etc;
But RPing the child itself rather than the parent opens up a lot of potentially 'dodgy' scenarios. And, yes, there are many stereotypes, like those touched on by other commenters, which go back to the "most people do it very badly" objection.

It's a touchy subject, much like the feral druid kitty cats.

I don't think there really are any races you can pull this off with in a convincing way. I already laugh at whenever there are mobs that are suppose to be young ones and they're only downsized from the regular mobs, with the exact same visual looks. Teenagers work with some races, I suppose, but that's about it.

Child rp is always a travesty, please don't.

And if you do insist on playing a child, please have the decency to play a boy; due to the sexualization of all female models in this game your character's lolita levels are bound to well exceed the limits of common decency.

I've seen someone try playing a child using a shrunken draenei female model...Yuck. Never again.

I literally don't understand the mentality of those that do child ERP.

Try reading/watching Peter Pan.

...And Lolita.

Arabella Greene wrote:I literally don't understand the mentality of those that do child ERP.

Neither do I, it's just twisted.

Honestly, avoid having a sole character devoted to child RP, (Which I think you've come to the conclusion of!)

But if you're interested involving younger characters within your RP, why not attached a liability onto your mature characters, maybe a nephew they end up adopting due to unfortunate circumstance, something you can just get out occasionally when you invite a friend over to your characters home, and can be brought up in conversation and further used in plot points in the future! (Lil Jimmys been captured by Illidan!)

Doesn't have to be your actual character, if you keep the scene between yourself and say two other players, you can always just emote the characters presence and reaction.

Key interactions basically, don't have the little blighter running around all the time.

I have some fond memories on The Sha'tar of my Troll Priestess having a child she cared for, resulted in a few tribe meetings being held at her little hut for the sake of the little nuggets legs.

In a game where you can control the powers of time and space, wield double two handed weapons, converse with demonic entities or rise from the dead as a dark knight, I shall choose to be a child! But not just any child! No my friends! I shall be a sexy shrunken human female child and I will talk like a three year old! Me can do et if I wan coz I am cute tehehehe

I was kinda considering my Defias rogue having her younger sister as a sidekick, but figured it would just get awkward to RP with.