Originally posted by Caellach

 

*sigh* who even needs anything beyond words to roleplay anyway? Having done a couple of systems that relied on just 1d6 and a lot of talking skills its impressive that roleplayers are wanting to be "limited" by other systems to make it more real for them (granted it could also be highly UNreal for another die hard roleplayer)

 

Nah. I've tried a word-based mmorpg (Guild Wars) where the character actions were so limited that the players mostly relied on gathering in outposts, sitting down and talking. It wasn't very entertaining, but I guess it's all about what you're used to. I bet pen and paper RP can also be fun for that matter, though I had to give it up after a few poor, unsucessful attempts. But many of those who would rather RP on mmorpgs do it for the visual part. It's just a personal opinion, but I would love to actually -see- my character sit, laugh, walk, sneak and fight another character.

 

 

So far, many interesting points have been made in this thread. (We're still doing an unofficial market analysis. Note unofficial, I'm still studying this and we won't make any fancyass game... in the nearest future.) To sum up a bit , it seems as if many think a roleplaybased mmorpg should be as strict and realistic as possible. After going on a game-testing spree, hearing the opinions on this board and asking other RPers, we found out that any mmorpg should, above all, be satisfying. After testing the games for RP possibilities, (WoW, GW, KOTOR, EQ2, ect etc) we ended up with the usual "Good, but... something is missing."

 

My conclusion is that a possible mmorpg for roleplayers should be as satisfying as possible.  That's why, I'm against realistic games where the characters die permanently, no magic, dragons, ect. Let me explain:

What happens in RP? Action. Action, blood and intrigues. Mostly guild feuds or complicated love affairs. A very few would be satisfied with playing your average peasant who never walks out of the village because he would be killed by wolves and bears. Players need to be able to create a character they feel is unique. The whole meaning with RP (imo) is to be able to escape reality and do something impossible. Players want to play a brave hero, a clever thief, a powerful mage, not a John or Tom who is killed on his first attempt at fighting a monster or arrested for his first crime. Sure, a universe where everyone is awesome isn't realistic, but it pleases. (And good roleplayers would create weaker bi-characters if their storyline requires it anyway)

If I was in charge of making a mmorpg, I'd rather focus on:

Graphics and design. It should keep the eye happy. It's mentioned before, but such a game must  have an advanced character creation sheet, all the basic emotes such as walking, sitting, sleeping, and I'd also add things like being able to carry other characters (Man, this was annoying in the mmorpgs I've tried. "No, we're not walking in a row. I'm carrying her!") and generally ensure that players had tons of emotes and actions to choose from, all put in a systematic, easy-to-browse system. Graphics and design also refer to environment, costumes and details. You can have an awesome story, tons of races/classes/professions, a well-functioning duel/fight system and it will still make me wince if the character's feet and arms look like lego-squares.

It should be the game developers' responsibility to ensure that the RP doesn't turn one-sided by constantly adding new challenges. Pirate-raids, new threats, ect. I'm honestly not sure how this can be done correctly to keep the RP varied, but I believe it would make the game more exciting anyway, and some RPers would probably take advantage of such in-game events as they would give consequences for their characters. (A wild idea that crossed my mind would be to have a few GMs with the sole purpose of making trouble by controlling various enemies, monsters, criminal clans since RP with computer-controlled chars doesn't work well.)

I think the challenge is not to re-create an online society where everything is as realistic as possible, but to keep the majority of the players content. And people want bread and circus after all. I would make a game that visually depended little on imagination and much on creativity. Varietas delectat. 

I realize however that there are lots of challenges coming with my idea, but problems like invincible characters, dissatisfying/unfair pvp systems, guides for newcomers and how to prevent people from ruining gameplay by going OoC have already been mentioned and should of course be considered as the game is worked on.

I just wish that game developers would see what previously released mmorpgs lack and improve, instead of releasing game after game with the same minor but annoying flaws. *coughs in Aion's direction* 

I really have nothing to add, just read this post. :D

I agree with what Ceallach writes about grafics. Good grafics are important.

But I don´t agree with most of the rest.

I don´t want action and blood. Or if this things are in a game, I don´t care much for them. It´s important, the game offers some satisfaction for me also. And this doesn´t come from slaying monsters or other players. In fact such activities are rather boring in my eyes. I prefer to roleplay an everyday person (like e.g. a farmer). It´s important, I don´t have to slay monsters to get anywhere in a game. What´s fun to me is e.g. crafting and economics. If the economy is really player based and I manage to afford myself a house (maybe a farmhouse), am able to decorate it and or to buy myself some new clothes (not armor), I am happy.

Sounds boring to most of you? Yes maybe it is. But I think, a game has to be satisfaying for more than just one kind of player. And I am for sure not the average MMO-player, you can find usually in such a game or who posts usually here on this bords. That´s why you won´t get answers like mine very often.

I am female and more than 30 years old. That´s alone a fact, which separates me from the average MMO-player. And If I don´t play Neverwinter Nights 2, I play games like Ceasar, Pharao or the The Seddlers (the old city-building games). I have never played a shooter game.

A few days ago I have read some statistics. It says about the following: It was assumed, women would like to play multiplayer games, because of their social components (talking to others etc.) and therefore games with a multiplayer function or even MMOs would attract female players.

But the findings where completly different. While many women play games nowadays, only very few play MMOs. In this statistics it said only about 3 - 4% (it´s a german statistic, may not be true in all the world).

In fact during my own time playing I did not meet many other women and I don´t know one single woman, who does play an MMO (most my age love The Seddlers or such games). Of course there are many female chars, but it´s men or boys playing them. And some women do play because of their boyfriends or husband - not because it´s really fun to them (one said to me once, it´s the only way to make her husband talk to her - if she does not get him off the computer, she plays with him).

I think MMOs are missing the female part. Like a movie with only male actors, which consists of only action scenes and no talking and love scenes. This may be an inconvinient finding and not very convincing in times of emancipation. But I really don´t think emancipation has anything to do with us women becoming like men and sharing all of their interests.

MMOs are a male dominated genre and therefore the male players always get more of the features they like and the women get nothing.

Of course I am exaggerating this a little bit and of course there are women, who like to play action games too. But I also think, there is some truth in this. Many game designers want to make women play their games. I have seen another questionaire a few week ago. It had the title: "How can we make women like our shooter-games?". This question itself is crazy, from a female perspective. I don´t like shooters. They are boring. Nothing else to add to this. My answer was of course: "Don´t try to change us, change the games. Do away with the shooting and put in social gameplay".

O.k. I hear the shouting again: "We don´t want a game like the Sims! How terrible, how boring".

But I admit, I am female. I may not meet most male players standards. But I don´t care about this. I am not a teenager anymore. I don´t have to show the boys, what a cool girl I am. And I admit I like the Sims, I like building houses, I like crafting and playing an everyday character and not a hero. Why should I want to be a hero? I am what I am and I am very satisfayed with myself :D.

I only wish, there where more games (online games, because I do like to play with others!), which meet my interests.

Hm, hm... I think you got me wrong, Lilalu. We wouldn't want to make a game full of action and blood - only. All I said is that an overly realistic game where your character dies at the first attempt at fighting a beast (and dies permanently) would be boring for most people. Most (I say most, there are so many opinions out there and you cannot satisfy everyone) people don't want to play a game where it takes you one year to create a decent warrior (who still would be wiped out by a dragon, cause, well, that's realistic) It doesn't have to do much with action, only with the fact that most people want to do and see things that don't occur in real life. And hey, no one would force action upon you. If you want to RP an average peasant, that would also be possible. (You'd even gain respect from other players for being different is my guess) The whole point with a roleplaybased MMO is the freedom to choose, right? Which can be hard in a game with a strict, realistic system.

Imagine a game with permanent death. You're a newcomer who aren't completely sure of how things work yet. You spend 2-3 hours getting out of the tutorial area, you feel bold and attack a bear - and die.

Or you're a veteran who played your character for nearly two years, you plan on marrying another character or start your own tavern - and are accidently killed by bandits. That would please a small part of the customers - the most hardcore ones - but would make a great deal of  less hardcore players back out from the game rather fast.

The best solution I can conjure for the "RP death" problem is to have resurrection - however - as this can tempt people to go a little bananas (Once witnessed an assassin resurrect 3 times in one evening) it should take a lot to be resurrected (valuable items, assistance from an ally) + death penalty in the form of a temporary (1-2 weeks) ban of the character. That should sting enough to not make players get reckless.

Imagine a game where everyone start out as a weak, average, everyday-life person. The tedious progress of climbing the social ladder is too frustrating for someone who wants action. While this might be what you prefer - which is fine - I still think the system shouldn't be so strict.

But no, I'm not after making a huge action-and-blood filled game for guys. I'm a - le gasp - female as well, and while I personally think combat is pure love and conspiracies and plot twisters make me squeal like a little girl, I'm aware that too many MMOs don't satisfy the interests of female players because of too much hack & slash. But again, variety. Theoretically, we want to reach the general customers - which means both sexes. If you prefer crafting, leave the fighting to the other players and play a merchant. There's nothing wrong with that.

(Let me tell you something. When I RPed on WoW, there were a lot of players, female and male who barely knew what combat meant. They focused on crafting, spent time on long discussions in taverns and hired escorts if they wanted to travel. The rest could create as much action as they wanted. It worked. WoW is far from ideal - it doesn't provide enough opportunities to advance without combat as you actually need to fight to get really wealthy, gain materials, ect - but at least you could choose to be average or super-strong. I think however that many female players have a lot of wrong ideas concerning MMOs. For example, my female friends run as soon as they see something related to WoW, saying it's "only hack & slash for boys". But it doesn't have to be like that. )

The problem is, most MMO players nowadays are male teenagers :D. They want to be little heros with big stuff and they want to get everything quickly. Don´t get me wrong. I think male (and sometimes female) teenagers should be allowed to have fun too and therefore there should be such games.

But when it is easy in a game to accomplish this,  a majority of little superheros in great gear will run trough the game :D.

And I really don´t think, a game with an average player base like this will ever be of any interest to me. Their interests are just to different from my own and (no offence meant to anybody!) the atmosphere in such a game to me seems just ridiculous. And that´s, what most women my age think and therefore most don´t play this games.

No, I really don´t think I would have fun, playing a lonley crafter, while all the others just run about slaying monsters and making a fool of themselfs, because they get excited so much about the new pixel-sword they got.

I really don´t think, there will ever be a game which suits everbody. That´s what game designers try to do. And that´s a mistake! They will never succed, because people are different. What is fun for a 14 year old boy, is just plain boring to me and the other way round.

And I think game designers ask the wrong people mostly. They ask the gamers, what they want. Ask those, who do not play MMOs, why they don´t. Than you will know, what most games are missing :).

I've pointed that out before and I've gotten the answer that just because developers are making money, it doesn't matter to them if they're missing a huge segment of the market, so long as they're making a buck doing what they're doing.

I agree with you, I have no interest in mindless death and destruction, I'm a roleplayer first and a PvPer... not at all.  I have no interest in hack and slash and gear grinding, those things bore the hell out of me and I want nothing to do with them.

What I do want simply doesn't exist in the MMO market at all.  The people who seem to think there is roleplaying out there seem to view it in the Final Fantasy mold, being dragged by the nose through a barely interactive story that you have no real control over.  That's not roleplaying, that's reading a book.  I want more.  I just can't find it.

I simply don't look for role playing opportunities in MMOs. I like to role play in forums, IM and such. However, when I role play, the number one thing I like to do in a role play is fight people. A battle between two skilled role players is probably the best reading I've ever had. I like violence and warfare. I love the art in it. A sword fight between two masters of the art is quite a beautiful thing.

I like medieval fantasy as well as futuristic science fiction. The reason is I find reality to be extremely boring. In medieval times there were knights who dressed in plate mail and had jousts (sp?) and sword fights. The future hasn't happened yet so, a story based in it can be about anything.

I really wish I could find more people that like my kind of role play.

I'm exactly the opposite, I don't want combat.  I look upon combat as a failure, not as a success.  If you're really interested in roleplaying a single character long-term, putting them in the way of bodily harm is silly, combat should be the very last resort, not the first.

Yes, I agree with Cephus here. Life in Middle ages was short. People did not get old. When you really want that feeling, you should play NWN 2 on a permadeath server. People don´t fight constantly there, because fighting is what it should be - dangerous.

To each their own I guess. I'm someone who believes in learning to solve conflict over avoiding it. The reason I role play or play video games is because I want an escape from reality. I want a place where I can do things I never could in the real world. In real life I wouldn't live long if I got into fights all the time, in video games this can be possible. I don't mind losing some realism in order to be able to do what I want. Obviously you guys don't care for this so a game like I'm describing wouldn't work well for you. This brings us back to the point that no MMO could possibly cator to the wants of everyone.

Beating the crap out of someone is not "dealing with conflict" sorry.  I have no reason to escape from reality, I'm very happy with reality.  Roleplaying provides a way to exercise the gray matter upstairs and perhaps see things from new and interesting viewpoints.  That's not to say that your way is wrong, everyone's enjoyment is subjective, I'm just tired of there being *NO* MMOs for what I want, and *ALL* of them for what you want. 

Yes, I agree with Cephus. I am an optimistic and rather happy person. I really don´t miss being able to fight someone in real life.

I prefer to have fun with people instead of fighting them. Playing a roleplaying-game for me is nothing but fun in my spare time. It´s better than watching a movie or reading a book. It´s not just consuming,  what others wrote or made up. I am actually creating a great roleplaying-story together with my fellow players. Roleplaying for me is interactive creativity. It´s a great experience and I would not want to miss this in my life.

But I agree, there have to be different games for different people. Games should be fun and everybody should be able to get what he/she is looking for.

Originally posted by Lilalu

But I agree, there have to be different games for different people. Games should be fun and everybody should be able to get what he/she is looking for.

True. But I still believe in the general game. Currently setting up a detailed list of what such a game - from a roleplayer perspective - should contain. MMOs differ from other games because they can be rather wide and frequently updated. Sure, some basic things have to be set (Genre and design style), but a MMO should appeal to a larger part of the audience than a regular RPG or shooter game does.

The problem with too specific games is that they don't live long. A MMO based on the Hello Kitty or Simpson universe will only attract a few, specially interested players, and it's hard to keep the communities alive (which makes us poor developers aka moneybags very sad. ) I think it's better to have a MMO which satisfies many of the customers' interests.

On the other hand, you cannot satisfy everyone. This is why game developers should instead try to "correct mistakes" seen in previous games and be more innovative.

Sorry for being so blunt, but currently there's just so much crap on the market, and yet I don't see much progress. Same systems, same purposes packed in new wrapping paper.  In older days *grandma voice* there was at least a slight change in graphics for each new game, always a little better adjustment of game flow, more creativity. I don't expect the current trend to change though. *waves with dollar slip*

Yes, your right. Most games are nothing but crap.

But I don´t think, there ever will be a "general" game. There is not one general game and never will be. Games (especially MMOs) in my eyes are nothing but another media.

Like the more traditional media (e.g. movies, books), they can have many purposes. They can be used for entertainment, but also e.g. for education. Nowadays almost every houshold in my country has internet access. MMOs in a few years can become what TV is now. And almost everyone could play them.

As it is now, only a small percentage of the people is interested in MMOs. But MMOs really could become a mass medium.

The children might play for their school lessons (why not teach history in an e.g. medieval MMO - not a fighting RPG of course) , the older brother might have fun playing a fighting game like Master_Razor wants it, the younger sister "My Pony Farm Online" , the parents a hardcore roleplaying game and grandma might grow her plants in "My Fantasy Garden Online", if she can´t afford to have a real garden. She could also compete with her garden neighbor, who has the most beautiful roses :D.

Sounds crazy, hm? But why not? Do you really think, grandma will want to fight Master_Razor in a hardcore PvP fight? O.k. just joking about the roses :D and some grandmas maybe like to fight :D.

Because of technical advancements, it also will become cheaper to develop games in the future.

Of course there always will be "mainstream" games to.  But as it is with movies, why shouldn´t there be also non-mainstream productions or different games for different people and purposes?

Originally posted by Cephus404

Beating the crap out of someone is not "dealing with conflict" sorry.  I have no reason to escape from reality, I'm very happy with reality.  Roleplaying provides a way to exercise the gray matter upstairs and perhaps see things from new and interesting viewpoints.  That's not to say that your way is wrong, everyone's enjoyment is subjective, I'm just tired of there being *NO* MMOs for what I want, and *ALL* of them for what you want. 

I actually am not currently playing an MMO because they don't have what I want. While I want fighting and wars, I care a whole lot more about game mechanics like how much farming I have to do.

You are completely right. Even just within the "MMOs for entertaiment" branch, there are bound to be all sorts of games in order to have a variety in genres. Real life, sci-fi, medieval, and so on and so on. I'm all for non-mainstream productions of MMOs. The problem with these is that they tend to die rather fast (and then why invest money and time in them when you can use old technology to produce another specific but mediocre game aimed at a small part of the customers?)

I'd say your description was a little ambitionous though. Games should be games. We want a variety in media as well, and it would be bad if the MMOs (and virtual reality in general) took over too much. So let grandma grow her flowers in real life. *laughs* But that's a completely different issue - I digress.

To stay on topic: It may not be possible to create a game which both Master_Razor and grandma enjoy, but I think (being my ambitionous self) that it should be possible to create a game where the majorty of roleplaying gamers, provided that they're interested in the genre and design of the said game, are satisfied. Sure, if the game was sci-fi for example, medieval fantasy fans wouldn't even look at it. But those who are into swords and fireballs would enjoy it whether they want to fight criminal groups, or form families and sell pelts. After all, it's up to the players to create the story, no?

Not claiming anything though. It's just a theory, so it might never work in reality for all I know. But take a look at PlaneShift for instance, where you can be rewarded both for living as an adventurer and as a normal citizen.

Yes,  you are right again. Of course I was exaggerating my description a little bit and I would not want MMOs to take over to much :).

But books did not vanish, because we have TV now. I still  like to read a good novel sometimes. I also enjoy watching a movie on TV and roleplaying online. I don´t think we will get some kind of MATRIX-reality, just because MMOs become interesting to a broader audience and not only to the average gamer.

And grandma (I start to get fond of her :D) may enjoy her Online garden, when she lives in a big city and does not have a garden in real life.

Unfortunatly it´s not a matter of game design, if people get along with each other or not. It´s the people themselfs, who are the problem in online games. The bigger the game, the more people there are, the bigger the problem. Publishers of online games will have to face this in the future and they actually have to deal with this already. It´s a not at all cheap problem, because every customer may drive away another potential costumer.

Because yes, adventurers and others could get along with each other, you can design a game, that´s rewarding to both groups. But they very often don´t get along well with each other anyway. And then there still is the problem between roleplayers and non-roleplayers ....

I am really happy, I am not in the games industries :D.

Originally posted by Lilalu

Unfortunatly it´s not a matter of game design, if people get along with each other or not. It´s the people themselfs, who are the problem in online games. The bigger the game, the more people there are, the bigger the problem. Publishers of online games will have to face this in the future and they actually have to deal with this already. It´s a not at all cheap problem, because every customer may drive away another potential costumer.

You must be confusing an industry as large for some non-profit organization.  World of Warcraft has what? 10 Million subscribers and plenty of them are total nuisances to everyone around them.  Fact is they won't address the problem because gamers (not just Role Players) aren't putting their foot down enough to hurt their income.  You or I might leave because of it, but for every 1-2 people putting their foot down there are 1-2,000 more who will put up with it and keep playing.

Originally posted by Lilalu

Yes, your right. Most games are nothing but crap.

But I don´t think, there ever will be a "general" game. There is not one general game and never will be. Games (especially MMOs) in my eyes are nothing but another media.

Like the more traditional media (e.g. movies, books), they can have many purposes. They can be used for entertainment, but also e.g. for education. Nowadays almost every houshold in my country has internet access. MMOs in a few years can become what TV is now. And almost everyone could play them.

As it is now, only a small percentage of the people is interested in MMOs. But MMOs really could become a mass medium.

The children might play for their school lessons (why not teach history in an e.g. medieval MMO - not a fighting RPG of course) , the older brother might have fun playing a fighting game like Master_Razor wants it, the younger sister "My Pony Farm Online" , the parents a hardcore roleplaying game and grandma might grow her plants in "My Fantasy Garden Online", if she can´t afford to have a real garden. She could also compete with her garden neighbor, who has the most beautiful roses :D.

Sounds crazy, hm? But why not? Do you really think, grandma will want to fight Master_Razor in a hardcore PvP fight? O.k. just joking about the roses :D and some grandmas maybe like to fight :D.

Because of technical advancements, it also will become cheaper to develop games in the future.

Of course there always will be "mainstream" games to.  But as it is with movies, why shouldn´t there be also non-mainstream productions or different games for different people and purposes?

 

 

 

 

The fact is that most people's lives are fairly boring the majority of the time and a person wants to watch a T.V. show, movie, read a book or play a game that doesn't capatalize on what is boring. We want to read something that entertains us. Not to mention that the longer we spend in front of a computer the less productive we are in society and (no offense) the fatter people get. I really don't want to get into what people should do with their lives, but I know everyone can agree that spending most of our time in front of a computer isn't ideal or healthy. Learning in front of a computer in a MMO, then coming home to plant a garden or whatever on an MMO, and then going to bed in our MMO right before we go to bed in real life is a bit much and is at best a stretch to believe our world will turn to such means of entertainment.

There will always be a lot of people who would rather be on their feet doing something than sitting in front of a computer for several hours every day.

I really, don´t think we should sit in front of the computer screen all day long. But this isn´t a reason, not to use the computer in education. Who says, you have to do this all day long? Everyone has to decide for him/herself how many time he wants to spend playing a computer game.

Actually I am using the computer for education, work and entertainment. But I still read books (many of them, because I like to read a lot) and I am active in alpine sports (hiking and some free climbing) also. We can use modern media with the necessary responsibility - but nevertheless, we can (and should) use them.

Here in my country there are many TV shows, which focus on everyday life and don´t show much violence. They are called "soap opera". We have one, that has been running for almost 20 years now and people still are crazy about it :D. Can´t see why such stuff (when millions of peope just in my country love to watch it, should not work in an MMO).

In fact I would never play a game, which offers nothing but constantly repeated monster slaying for nothing more real but a new pixel sword. I´d much prefer a roleplayed (sometimes tragic, sometimes funny) "Soap opera".

Originally posted by Lilalu

I really, don´t think we should sit in front of the computer screen all day long. But this isn´t a reason, not to use the computer in education. Who says, you have to do this all day long? Everyone has to decide for him/herself how many time he wants to spend playing a computer game.

Actually I am using the computer for education, work and entertainment. But I still read books (many of them, because I like to read a lot) and I am active in alpine sports (hiking and some free climbing) also. We can use modern media with the necessary responsibility - but nevertheless, we can (and should) use them.

Here in my country there are many TV shows, which focus on everyday life and don´t show much violence. They are called "soap opera". We have one, that has been running for almost 20 years now and people still are crazy about it :D. Can´t see why such stuff (when millions of peope just in my country love to watch it, should not work in an MMO).

In fact I would never play a game, which offers nothing but constantly repeated monster slaying for nothing more real but a new pixel sword. I´d much prefer a roleplayed (sometimes tragic, sometimes funny) "Soap opera".

I spend a lot of time on my computer too. I use it for education and entertainment. In fact, I spend the majority of my time online. I think it is very unhealthy (my back and neck hurts after a while), but thankfully I am a Martial Artist, so I spend about 2 hours at my martial arts school 4 days a week. Once I start my career (doing a career change at 29 yrs old), I will hopefully only spend at most 2 hours a day online. Anyhow, that really doesn't matter and it isn't my place to tell someone how they should live and how much time they should spend online.

Now that you mention it, I do remember Soap Opera's. We have several that have been around for 30 or so years. What makes them interesting is the drama involved, with backstabbing, rivalries and so on. However, they really don't get into work and family raising. So basically, you know this guy is a doctor and that girl a nurse and they are having an affair while the doctors wife is on business elsewhere, but you never really see the every day tedium of being a doctor or nurse on T.V.  So people watch these shows for the drama, which is entertaining. There really isn't much drama involved in running a shop or business or planting a garden in MMORPGs.

I agree that repetitive monster killing games get old and are boring. I would love to play a Knight in a MMORPG. Not only would I have the responsibility of leading soldiers in combat and keeping them trained (when wars occur), but I would also be responsible for maintaining the land I own and taking care of its inhabitants. So as you can see, not only can I participate in combat, but also in politics, city building, social work and so on. I would be roleplaying as a Knight as I do all of those things. MMORPGs are missing that aspect. Take Paladins for example. We know they are servants of the church, yet you never see them do anything really religious. Instead, you see them using holy magic, wielding a large sword, completing these delivery missions and commiting acts of immorality when they commit genocide on the inhabitants of the game world.

Wouldn't you find it interesting to live in the midevil time period where Knights, Kings, Lords, and etc. existed. Sure, you could play the Innkeeper or whoever you want and never fight, but wouldn't it be nice to know that you were in a believable world? A world where anything could happen and at least you have people willing to fight when those things do happen? What if what you were doing impacted the world. A soldier cannot participate in politics, but you being a bright young scholar could participate in politics, making decisions of where troops will go, where boundaries are laid for kingdoms, treaties and trade agreements between nations, building a nation from scratch and maintaining it and so on.