I would tend to agree with same_difference that there are many reasons why characters do not respect the chain of command. I don't think it's a case of people not wanting to do what they're told on an OOC basis (and tbh, I would really hope that BLADES average member is more mature than that) nor do I think it's a question of heroics.
With regard to Hel (in particular) delegating more to close friends and small groups than acting as a lone commander then this /is/ her intention. The people she patrols with the vast majority of the time are people that she knows and she feels no need to patronise them by giving them orders for every little thing. This, in her opinion at least, should also mean that on the occasions she does give a direct and specific order others will realise that she is serious about it and should be obeyed since she doesn't waste their time telling them what they already know or to do what they would do anyway. Whether this would be a valid RL manner of command I don't know but it works in game.
Also, I would like to take up magicaddict's point that: when someone signs up to patrol they should behave as though they are in the military. I do, however, feel that this doesn't happen (BTW - although I can take a good guess at the people involved I would be interested in knowing who the examples referred to...) I can see that the way several characters (and Hel has done it too) listen to the official mission commander's orders and... creatively reinterpret them is possibly not what would happen in a RL military. However, often the military commander has been chosen for arbitary reasons and is rarely the person who is actually best at understanding the situation and giving the correct orders. In this sense many characters ignore orders given by their military superiors since the orders given are, frankly, rubbish. If your problems have arisen from this then nothing I say will be convincing since I do not believe that characters will, or necessarily even should, follow orders that they know are wrong. If the IC command structure was based on IC merit or competence rather than OOC rank I think things would be very different.
On an early mission in the 5 Mages year, Hel took command from Azrael mid-mission when Azrael had got himself stoned. On the most recent 36 hour, Hel broke the chain of command to give orders when it was clear that Fiddelo and Eagleson weren't going to.
I don't think that this is something that is always a bad thing. However, if a military character does ignore orders, refuses to accept orders (privately advising your superior that their orders are wrong and persuading them to change is a different matter) or gives their own contradictory orders then it is something that should be brought to the attention of the GM, campaign or character ref who can ensure that there are IC consequences.
This all comes back to my initial point - I do not believe that there is any IC stigma (nor can I see why there should be any OOC stigma) on playing a Guard at low-level. Each new year of characters start from scratch with minimal preconceptions about other characters from class or guild. It is then up to the players of individual Guards (and other Defenders to a lesser extent) to prove themselves. Unfortunately, year on year, we have seen players of Guards prove themselves to be incompetent leaders, poor tacticians, or get bored and quit playing. Once a character has proved to their peers (the other characters of their initial year) that they are competent and their orders can be relied on, those peers will help defence their reputation against others who dislike Guards or the military 'on principle' or on past experience.
I note this by personal experience. Hel doesn't like Justice priests - yet every time this has come up in general conversation someone has jumped to defend them using Liana as an example. Characters will go by their own experiences, not by what others tell them to expect.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2007-04-04 11:26 am (UTC)With regard to Hel (in particular) delegating more to close friends and small groups than acting as a lone commander then this /is/ her intention. The people she patrols with the vast majority of the time are people that she knows and she feels no need to patronise them by giving them orders for every little thing. This, in her opinion at least, should also mean that on the occasions she does give a direct and specific order others will realise that she is serious about it and should be obeyed since she doesn't waste their time telling them what they already know or to do what they would do anyway. Whether this would be a valid RL manner of command I don't know but it works in game.
Also, I would like to take up
On an early mission in the 5 Mages year, Hel took command from Azrael mid-mission when Azrael had got himself stoned. On the most recent 36 hour, Hel broke the chain of command to give orders when it was clear that Fiddelo and Eagleson weren't going to.
I don't think that this is something that is always a bad thing. However, if a military character does ignore orders, refuses to accept orders (privately advising your superior that their orders are wrong and persuading them to change is a different matter) or gives their own contradictory orders then it is something that should be brought to the attention of the GM, campaign or character ref who can ensure that there are IC consequences.
This all comes back to my initial point - I do not believe that there is any IC stigma (nor can I see why there should be any OOC stigma) on playing a Guard at low-level. Each new year of characters start from scratch with minimal preconceptions about other characters from class or guild. It is then up to the players of individual Guards (and other Defenders to a lesser extent) to prove themselves. Unfortunately, year on year, we have seen players of Guards prove themselves to be incompetent leaders, poor tacticians, or get bored and quit playing. Once a character has proved to their peers (the other characters of their initial year) that they are competent and their orders can be relied on, those peers will help defence their reputation against others who dislike Guards or the military 'on principle' or on past experience.
I note this by personal experience. Hel doesn't like Justice priests - yet every time this has come up in general conversation someone has jumped to defend them using Liana as an example. Characters will go by their own experiences, not by what others tell them to expect.