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--- lb:wod [2026-04-02 04:34:43] – [Demon: The Fallen & “Breaking the Cosmology”] ninjasr
+++ lb:wod [2026-04-02 04:35:15] (current) – [Why do Fishmalk exist?] ninjasr
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 For some reason – probably that I saw it mentioned a few times online – I started thinking about why the stereotype of the silly Malkavian player exists. Obviously, I'm not super experienced (and I prefer <cite>Requiem</cite>), but I think it's pretty obvious so I'll lay it out.
-To start with, the Malkavian lore actually makes it very very difficult to roleplay. They're insane, but they aren't insane because that's how they are (necessarily) but because they're connected to the Madness Network and they can also see the future. They're insane because it's hard to tell whether the voices are lying to you or not. But for a player, that's actually quite a lot.\\
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-How is a player supposed to – without a script – roleplay a character who can see the future sometimes and is often hearing voices in their heads seriously? The Malkavian lore is well-suited to pre-written characters (see //Bloodlines//) but not very well-suited for roleplay in real-time.\\
+To start with, the Malkavian lore actually makes it very very difficult to roleplay. They're insane, but they aren't insane because that's how they are (necessarily) but because they're connected to the Madness Network and they can also see the future. They're insane because it's hard to tell whether the voices are lying to you or not. But for a player, that's actually quite a lot.
+How is a player supposed to – without a script – roleplay a character who can see the future sometimes and is often hearing voices in their heads seriously? The Malkavian lore is well-suited to pre-written characters (see //Bloodlines//) but not very well-suited for roleplay in real-time.
 So most players will probably just default to that insanity thing, right?
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+<div passage>
+The other part to consider is that the <cite>World of Darkness</cite> takes itself way too seriously. This is despite how silly and insane a lot of the lore actually //is//. I don't think this is a problem though, because contrast helps horror. Constant horror will just make players numb. But horror interrupting comedy? That works.
-The other part to consider is that the <cite>World of Darkness</cite> takes itself way too seriously. This is despite how silly and insane a lot of the lore actually //is//. I don't think this is a problem though, because contrast helps horror. Constant horror will just make players numb. But horror interrupting comedy? That works.\\
 Malkavians are the most explicit way for players to just act silly without being told <q :en>you're roleplaying wrong</q>. Malkavians are //supposed// to be weird and silly, so the Storyteller can’t get mad at you. This is why I also think that the emphasis on ‘violent insanity’ is probably an error. The game should become less serious, not more.
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 So I think that these factors contribute to the existence of the Fishmalk.