I feel consequences are a really interesting aspect of roleplay, especially when you think of how Event A led to Event B, which in turn led to Event C. Most of the time, however, we mean "You did something bad to me, so I'll do something bad to you" when we talk about consequences.

A character once got shot in the hand because of something he did. He had surgery on the hand, but ended up losing it. Another character got shot in the hand and, three days later, used that same hand to swing a bat around and beat someone up. Full disclosure -- My character was the one doing the shooting in the second example.

I'm sure a lot of us wouldn't want our characters to lose a body part every time they had to face the consequences of their actions, but as a writer, having my character shoot someone who doesn't really play out those consequences feels a bit defeating.

I don't mean just the physical consequences of actions either. The absolutely coolest thing about writing collaboratively is that you think your story is going one way, then someone does something that causes your story to change course. Good writers allow this course correction to happen; moreover, they embrace it. Others don't wish to face the consequences of roleplayed acts and refuse to adapt to the changing story.

How do you handle consequences for your character? How do you feel, and how do you react, when someone you write a story with refuses to accept the consequences of their roleplay?

I'll admit to being unsure how to handle things at times. It's easy to see when someone refuses to accept physical consequences... they get badly beaten, get up, and walk off like nothing ever happened. It's harder to see when someone refuses to accept other consequences.