Old one with more than one bad RPer
So, a while back, I made the mistake of opening up what had been a closed thread between myself and two others. One of those others left the site in question, and the other person and I decided to abandon the plot we'd had with the person for our pirate captains to capture two of their characters in order to end up eventually involved in a larger plot, and just continue the thread as a two-pirates-go-after-the-same-target-by-chance type deal. Anyway, after making the mistake of opening it up (still not quite sure why), two others joined in. One as a character in a stasis pod 'found on the way' which, yeah, what are the odds, but okay. Makes sense, considering the ship in question was a government vessel on a supply run to a shady research installation, that they'd reel it in, see the alien lifeform inside, and decide to drop it off while they're there. The government in question isn't exactly known for its strong morals. No big deal.
The one I have the problem with is the one who had a character who somehow managed to slip around the security of wherever the ship originated (which almost certainly would have had psychics among their guards). We sorted that bit out over PMs, but what comes next sticks in my craw. One of my pirate's crew is an insectoid capable of altering its scales to match the color (specifically, the wavelengths of light, both reflected and projected) of its surroundings. Now, I wasn't clear on the exact workings of the camouflage, and that's entirely my fault, but the part that irritates me, aside from the blatant dismissal of said pirate's camouflage as primitive (and therefore worthless, apparently. Nevermind that there are animals who can become virtually invisible through similar means.) is that he heard the "...subtle noises..." (which itself was put in a way which makes it less a descriptor by the character and more passive-aggression/sarcasm on the part of the player) of her walking. Really? I'll grant you it's across deck plating, but you REALLY heard subtle scratching of a natural-born predator of at least human intelligence walking slowly and as lightly as possible while on a ship that, having just been hit by pirates, is going to have all kinds of sirens and alarms blaring, and, depending on the state of the crew, gun/blasterfire? Especially with pirates shooting any bodies to make sure they're really dead? Really? Admittedly, my reaction to that and what came next was on the godmodey side (putting me at least as much in the wrong. Basically nullifying a light-based weapon using said camouflage. Short version: Relying on wave interference.), but, while I'll buy that he saw her (hell, they were in front of a stasis pod. Maybe the reflection did something weird with her camouflage, or there were odd shadows or something. We handwaved the stowing away on a ship crewed and guarded by psychics, remember?), I really don't think he should have been able to hear something like that, given the situation. So, am I right in taking issue with that, or is this one of those 'acceptable breaks from reality' things and I'm the only one in the wrong (and I know I was in the wrong either way. Not denying that one bit)?
The one I have the problem with is the one who had a character who somehow managed to slip around the security of wherever the ship originated (which almost certainly would have had psychics among their guards). We sorted that bit out over PMs, but what comes next sticks in my craw. One of my pirate's crew is an insectoid capable of altering its scales to match the color (specifically, the wavelengths of light, both reflected and projected) of its surroundings. Now, I wasn't clear on the exact workings of the camouflage, and that's entirely my fault, but the part that irritates me, aside from the blatant dismissal of said pirate's camouflage as primitive (and therefore worthless, apparently. Nevermind that there are animals who can become virtually invisible through similar means.) is that he heard the "...subtle noises..." (which itself was put in a way which makes it less a descriptor by the character and more passive-aggression/sarcasm on the part of the player) of her walking. Really? I'll grant you it's across deck plating, but you REALLY heard subtle scratching of a natural-born predator of at least human intelligence walking slowly and as lightly as possible while on a ship that, having just been hit by pirates, is going to have all kinds of sirens and alarms blaring, and, depending on the state of the crew, gun/blasterfire? Especially with pirates shooting any bodies to make sure they're really dead? Really? Admittedly, my reaction to that and what came next was on the godmodey side (putting me at least as much in the wrong. Basically nullifying a light-based weapon using said camouflage. Short version: Relying on wave interference.), but, while I'll buy that he saw her (hell, they were in front of a stasis pod. Maybe the reflection did something weird with her camouflage, or there were odd shadows or something. We handwaved the stowing away on a ship crewed and guarded by psychics, remember?), I really don't think he should have been able to hear something like that, given the situation. So, am I right in taking issue with that, or is this one of those 'acceptable breaks from reality' things and I'm the only one in the wrong (and I know I was in the wrong either way. Not denying that one bit)?