Optimally different!

One of the reasons I keep coming back to Threads is that it has provided me with some exceptionally challenging characters. One such type of character I've been given on a few occasions is the devil's advocate, the character who is there to represent, often antagonistically, an opposing point of view for the players to deal with. In some of these cases I've read the description and said "I don't think I can do this", like playing a racist border guard or a crusader bent on killing everyone that won't convert in an "infidel" city. And yet, as with many of the things I've said that about, I've never regretted doing it anyway. I find the exercise of trying to squeeze myself into the headspace of a character, even one whose position I would never personally espouse, very rewarding. Everyone has assumptions, preferences and prejudices that allow them to believe the things they believe, and the challenge of attempting to understand (or at least approximate) that kind of headspace provides insight both into how one who believes such things could justify it to one's self and into my own assumptions by defining alternatives. I don't presume to say I understand completely how group X thinks, as I have a lot of problems with those kinds of assertions in general, but it is useful to explore how one member of group X could think, and how and why I differ from him.

This brings me to the character who has been dubbed by some, "Dirk the friendly magical Nazi", and who has strangely become one of my all-time favorites to think about and play.

First, some background about the character and the game, then a roleplaying dilemma with which I am currently dealing, and about with I welcome advice (Threads players, be warned, this could be a bit spoilery, but probably not too much).

( The Character )

( The Issue )