Equipment and clothing in descriptions

Full disclosure, I'm bringing this up because I got my description changed over this today. While I admit that the first version of my description may have gone into too much detail of my equipment, the second version merely mentioned that I wore armor.

The reasoning I got was that I could be looked at while dead and naked. This is contrary to what other imms have told me, which is that you can't specifically describe your armor, you can describe how your character wears it or the condition it's kept in. For example, you can't say that you wear battered steel plate armor, but you can say that the armor you wear is battered.

I've had plenty of characters with approved descriptions with specific mentions of jewelry. Is this okay? Can I describe any clothing or equipment? What's the official ruling?

I think the "You might be dead and naked" reasoning is a bit silly. Then you can't say I have flowing hair, because I might be wet. You can't say I have blue eyes, because my eyes might be closed. You can't say I have pale skin because I might be covered in blood. The list is endless. A description should not and CANNOT describe how your character might look in every possible scenario. It should just be a *typical* description of how your character may look if you were to look at them at any given time.

imo, jewelry is fine, basic clothing like a simple robe that could fit under whatever you're wearing is fine. tattoos in places you'd be able to see (head, neck, hands). hair, eyes, fine. it just needs to be reasonable.

not fine: wearing the sparkliest baddest armor and a huge sword when in reality wearing worn leather and wielding a spoon. i wouldn't necessarily describe armor condition since that varies based on the actual item (shiny steel boots, battered iron chest plate).

obviously different imms have different preferences on the little details but one thing we all agree on is don't put actions into the desc. for example i remember once i saw one where a guy was incessantly giggling which was very amusing, but no

I vote for a new chest piece to be made, called "Sparkliest, baddest armor"

Hi Divsky,

The reason I asked you to change your description was because it said your hair was popping out of your armor. If you're not wearing armor, your hair can't be popping out of it. When you die and have not grabbed your stuff yet you are naked and not wearing armor, and therefore your hair is not and CANNOT be popping out of your armor. Therefore, you need to remove the armor from your description.

I'm open to overhauling the description helpfile even more than it was last month if folks have major concerns or complaints. I don't mean to minimize your concern here Divsky and welcome feedback from you and everyone in this regard. Again, the "naked @ death" part was added to clarify the "no armor in your description" rule that has been part of the description guidelines for 20 years. If you feel that or other desc guidelines need to be adjusted somehow (which it sounds like you do) then let's get a solid discussion going about it to get everyone's feedback.

Current helpfile:

'DESCRIPTION' 

Syntax: desc  



Options:

desc +      add a line to the description

desc -              remove a line from the description

desc edit           open the advanced editor (type ,h in editor for help)

desc format         word-wrap description to 80 characters per line



A description appears when other players look at you, just before they see

your equipment.  Write as descriptive as you can, e.g. "He has black

hair" may be extended to "His long black hair curls at its edges and bounces

noticeably with every slight movement of his head."  Try not to

over-exaggerate features, and stay away from generic hunk/babe types.  



Your description should describe your own appearance and must not describe

your armor, clothing, or equipment.  Remember that when you die (and you

WILL die) and you are left naked, people will still be able to look at you

and should not see any equipment in your description at that point.  So

write your description with this in mind.  



Descriptions should contain physical characteristics ONLY - actions,

emotions, history, and purpose are to be left to interactions with others. 

No actions or anything similar to a social may be included (See HELP

SOCIAL).  Your description should only contain what we see when we look at

you, no actions of any sort and no telling us how we feel or what we think. 



Your description must be completed by level 10 and be at least five

formatted lines long.

Go.

Moving this dicussion to http://abandonedrealms.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10818