Tradeskiller, moral dilemma

[superfresh]

I play a tradeskiller on a multiple-character server and have a large and friendly group of "customers," all clans & factions. I enjoy relaxing, socializing, and slowly levelling in the Plaza, but sometimes I need more action. I have an alt (same faction) who is fairly high levelled, and lately have been assisting other clans in my faction recapture or defend their OP's. I don't PvP anywhere but in OP settings, and even this is pretty new to me. At the last OP war I was at, I ended up in a skirmish with someone my tradeskiller had serviced and chatted with a lot in the Plaza. Somehow he made the connection between this character and my tradeskiller, and asked "[Insert name]!!! Why are you helping these people?!"

Well I felt kinda bad. At the same time, I've always been under the assumption that, as a roleplaying game, what one of my characters does has nothing to do with how I play the other.

Other tradeskillers have this experience? I'd rather have the business in the Plaza, but my alts can only hunt so many mobs before they...need...something...else...

[bounty]

if you are roleplaying properly, shouldn't you play it off as though you don't know who he was talking about very well, ie don't give yourself away that you are the other person.

[Archeus]

If both your characters are of the same faction then you shouldn't really be.

But if you have an OP character who is say FA, and a tradeskiller who is TT then you should really only be doing trades with the TT not the FA people.

Some of this already goes on in Pluto. For example SXR* are kind of blacklisted by some FA, and SXR return the favour (saw Freaky offering pokes to enemies for 15k a poke up front).

* (Nothing wrong with SXR, the lot of them are sound just have to stop trade as it's assisting them in killing FA people).

[Beefheart]

What he (bounty ) said.

On a multi character server some people choose to have all their characters in the same faction, some even chose to have them all in the same clan and some even choose to make the connection obvious (ie: with names like Bill's tank, Bill's Psi, Bill's PE etc....)
If you wanna play and blur or obscure that in-game connection thats perfectly appropriate and you should play it off and try to develop diff personalities for each one.

Some people take this game way too serious, I can just imagine that guy saying "you helped THOSE people ???????" sounding like you were actually putting the weapons in the hands of those dastardly, marauding bands that attack and over-run the city. I'm guessing your friend was on the receiving end of a CS at some point from "THOSE" people, but death is just an inconvience in the game and not something to take so seriously.

So RP it your own way and don't feel bad or guilty about making weapons for "THOSE" people. You are afterall playing the role of a businessman constructor.

[greendonkeyuk]

its your game dude, you play as you wanna play, as beef said, i got all my guys in my one clan. its cool. i prefer it that way. but at the end of the day its your game.

[superfresh]

Good input. I think people should treat OP wars with the sportsmanship of a football game.

[libbo]

Beef is certainly onto something here. Some of these folks get WAY too serious. I could think of a bunch of reasons arguing for and against mixing up your alts - but in the end it is totally up to you how you elect to play your characters.

Considering one of my characters is a tradeskiller, I know that drumming up business can be hard sometimes. I have entertained the idea of cutting off enemy factions from my services but I have mouths to feed. :p

[HellHound]

Don't take his comment too seriously. A lot of people have alts in opposing factions, it is an RPG after all and if you can manage to keep them seperate in your head it shouldn't be a problem. Personally, I once got my tank wasted by helping someone find Protopharm HQ, completely forgetting he was Tsunami..... :o

[Bob Monkhouse]

As a constructor on Saturn I often build for all sorts of enemy Factions and clans. My rules about who I do or do not build for are simple- If you are an ignorant, rude arrogant arsehole then chances are you will not get me to serve you. If you are pleasant, friendly and polite, Ill go out of my way to help you.

I get on well with several members of "the big bad clan":) on Saturn. I wont help them attack runners of my faction or spy for them, but I WILL make weapons for them. Why? Mainly because the "WTF ARE YOU DOING BUILDING FOR TG" people tend to be from two clans in my faction that I despise, because MANY of their members are rude, stupid and arrogant.

My pet hate are people who run up, open trade (without asking if you are free), stick parts and a BP in the trade window, then run of leaving you with a derisory tip and not even a word of thanks.
Most of these runners come from my own faction.

A few days ago I built for the Pking spy with the foul mouth (TM). HE was friendly , polite and generous. Now tell me again why I should prefer to deal with the pricks in my own faction rather that this guy or people like him? (BTW , I stay in my faction for political reasons, I have deep reservations about many enemy factions that means I could never reconcile joining them with my conscience)

[jernau]

Originally posted by superfresh
I think people should treat OP wars with the sportsmanship of a football game.

Kick the legs out from under of each other in the mud and rain then have buttsex in the showers?o_O


/edit - like the others said though it's up to you. I have some alts I let people know about and others I don't so I can play them differently. If it were one of the latter I'd DM him and ask him OT to keep it under his hat and maybe ask how he heard.