[Trexmaster]

I believe it's important to take into account what you provide on your end when it comes to collaborative writing. I will preface this by saying I respect anyone trying to introduce antagonists into this setting as conflict is necessary to keep things from becoming stagnant, as the environment currently makes it extremely difficult to do without EM support or significant OOC collaboration.

Taking the example of playing an antagonist, when your character is all but using the list of invalid reasons to start conflict per the Rule of Roleplay as the basis for a character it should come as no surprise most players will not believe it in good faith that you wish to inflict harm on their character with one that's reason for engaging in conflict is 'i'm crazy/evil/literally eat babies'. There is a time and place for such antagonists though many will not take kindly when they are suddenly thrust into such situations. OOC communications may happen in the moment but some players may feel pressured to consent when suddenly approached lest they feel they're being rude, then lament the fact afterwards.

Yet on the same note, some take even minor levels of spontaneous antagonism as casus belli to throw them in jail forever/toss them onto every wanted board in Korvara. Taking an L on an antag usually means losing your character. Taking an L to an antag usually means an injury at worst and said antag effectively being marked for death. It's understandable why it is the way it is but when very few people are interested in selling to antags, or selling in general, it means antags are often forced to take nothing but Ls for the work they do to bring life into the environment. Hence why so few people are willing to do it in the first place with things as they are if it isn't OOCly organized in advance.

I only wish there was a more supportive system for those who wished to play contentious characters, if not a well defined avenue to take for those interested, much like how the application system gradually came to be what it now is. As it stands, those making antagonists without ringing up relevant nation leaders and/or consulting EMs to back them up will be at the mercy of the good will of those they encounter and feel they absolutely have to run the most meta PvP builds to last more than one encounter, if that. It perpetuates a vicious cycle of its own, where those being randomly jumped by freelance antags resent their builds, build for meta to win, and in turn force those wanting to randomly inflict conflict to sweat even harder on their builds.

I understand this is a tiny bit of a deviation from the topic as presented, but it's ultimately what the topic is focused on. Antagonism and conflict and how it is handled between the various styles of roleplay.