|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 10:26 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 10:37 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 10:44 am
Fenrir SongMoon's "Character Creation Class"
Alright, first order of busness: Character concept.
There are several tried and true methods to making a character, which generally fal either one of two ways. Many people like to start, knowing where they will end, and build up to this point. Some people prefer to start, and build up to wherever they end up. However, I am going to be going over hitting a destination instead of blindly manouevering through it. Neither way is right or wrong, but this is what we're dealing with now.
So, first thing you want to do is consider what sort of character you would like to play. This will obviously be dependant on the genre and focus of the game. You won't find an elf knight in a space faring game. Well, you might, but that'd be a very special circumstance.
Guidelines towards making a character are something along the following: First and foremost, your character must be intriguing. Why? Because if it isn't, no one will care. Now this may not bother you in the slightest, as you may think that you are playing for you, but this brings me to a second point: You are not in a vacuum. Everyone wants to play. Therefore, you are responsible for playing an interesting character to help bring the world to life for everyone else, while they are obligated to do the same for you. You may indeed only be playing for your sake, but if everyone else is, too, you won't be having any fun, because they are not going to be immersing you in the game, just as you are nhot immersing them. Therefore, it is important to consider other players when creating your character.
Now, along those lines, when considering your fellow players, you don't want to outpace them. What I mean is this: consider their relative power. Try to make a character who is equal to or less than their characters. If you come in as a new person who can wipe the floor with established characters, you immediately rob them of the experience of having previously played. So, once again, you must consider other people, even if for a selfish reason- they can do the same to you.
When making your character, you need to find a happy balance between uniqueness and originality, and... Mundanity. Yes, thats right, mundanity. Your character is NOT going to be the end all, be all. He is merely one character in a world of characters. Don't presume for a moment that you are playing a better character than anyone else. Furthermore, if your character does not have some amount of normal background, they become unbelievable. Its hard to get a blend of the three, but quite possible. Simply, make them a person, give them a plausible background, assign them a personality based on that background, and you'll probably do fine.
However, there are certain ways to sure fire make your character unbelievable. When making your character, always look back at what you've done, and say to yourself "Is that unbelievable"? If at any point, you find yourself doubting credibility in your character, take a step back and change it. Furthermore, when creating your character, avoid 'rare' cliches. What I mean by that are things such as evil creatures who are now good (Be they demon, drow, or whatever), creatures with near impossible cross breeding (Half demons half elves, Vampire-nekos, etc.), mysterious auras of unknowability, And generally anything that is rare as a hens tooth that you've heard of more than once. 1
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 10:50 am
Naming your Character
by Fenrir
Okay, first off, i'd like to say that naming a character can be extremely difficult to do for some people, while incredibly easy for others. Quite simply, it comes naturally to some of us, and to some of us- it doesn't. What makes it worse is that there aren't any hard and fast rules... Or guidelines, either.
However, there are some things to keep in mind. Basically, you're going to havce to sound it out. For a human, most anything can be appropriate, as long as the name isn't extreme. We have a wealth of names to show what a human name sounds like, don't ignore it. Culture plays a heavy role in it, as well. For more tribal, brutish races, names tend to have more consonants, and harsher sounds. For woodland creatures, names tend to flow, and have more vowels.
As I said, we have a wealth of names to draw upon. Even if you don't want a mundane name, actual names can be a good starting point. Find a name that sounds somewhat like what you're going for, and alter it. You can be surprised what you can do to a normal name with a little bit of imagination.
Try to avoid names that are flat syllables that don't interact. What I mean, are names that sound very plain when you say them, like someone threw two random collections of words together and said them separately. Examples would be things like Morkip, Junmar, Rekgar, etc. Hopefully, you can see the theme of the names there... Anyways, the reason behind this is that these names don't inspire imagination, and make you sound like quite an amature. Even for more guttural names, try to get some amount of flow, not just a collection of halting syllables.
If real names elude you, don't forget nicknames. These can often be easier to come up with than real names. The trick is to make it appropriate. However, don't stereotype, either. If you have a timid character, an impulse might be to call him Mouse. However, that sums up his personality in a word, and is NOT conducive to a detailed character. Instead, one might call him Rat, its similar, but not exact. You can go the opposite direction, also, and make the name very uncharacteristic, but such things should ALWAYS have a reason. If the aforementioned example is called Lion, there had better be a good reason for it!
There are a wealth of random name generators out there. Whether they are good or not is up to you to decide, but bear this in mind- You can always alter the names produced to suit your liking. If you want an easy name generator, and have some dice and an imagination, you can do it fairly easily. Take a four sided dice, roll it three times. You have that many letters to the name. Now, for each letter, flip a coin to choose whether it is a consonant, or vowel. Roll a 20 sided dice for consonants, and 6 for vowels. Go through the alphabet, leaving out the opposite grouping (If its a vowel, don't count consonants, and vice versa) and fill in the letter. Y counts as a Vowel. Its a quick, dirty and cheap way of getting a root for a name. You'll probably want to modify it, but its a way to start a base of a name!
You can also draw inspiration from media, and conversations. Always keep your eyes peeled. And here is a dirty secret for good ideas: Typos. If you make a typo, you can take it to your benefit, and turn it into a name. Yet another dirty trick.
Don't forget titles and the like. If you are truly ambitious, make your character have a full name. What I mean is give them a first name, possibly a middle name, a last name, a nickname, a title, a country of origin.... i.e. 'Noe Ergog "Fenny" Namelock of Lodetol, Master of the Watch'. Hearing a name of such magnitude immediately draws attention, and its good attention. People will immediately think that you have your stuff together. Well, that is if its a good name...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 10:51 am
Race of your Character, by Fenrir
Okay, covering a personal pet peeve of mine now: Race. This is a tricky subject, but i'm sure we can manage.
Okay, first off, you have to consider what is applicable to the game you are playing. Depending on genre, your options will be different, as will what is appropriate, and what is not. For now, i'm going to use Fantasy as my example genre because we're all familiar with it and it gives us a common point o touch off of. Aside, anything I say can be converted to any other genre with a little bit of imagination. Substitute aliens for demons, and Eldar for Elves, and you have the right idea.
Okay, the beginning idea is this- when in a fantasy type setting, you'll probably have a wide range of exotic races you are capable of playing. Its really tempting to go off the wall and play whatever you want, something bizarre, unheard of, or what not.... And thats not necessarilly a bad idea. However, there are a couple things to keep in mind. For instance, most games are driven by humans as a main populace. If you notice most of the players are not human, it might behoove you to play a human, despite the choices. While it may not be what you wanted to play originally, there are several reasons to do it. You will help keep the game demographic balance, and show the world for what it is. You are also more likely to get more consideration about what is acceptable for your character, as you are after all, helping the game's realism out quite a bit. You make the story much more believable, and increase it's longevity. Its no fun to play an albino dragon in a game thats dead, after all, when you being a human could have saved it. Oh, and finally, you'll probably earn brownie points with the person running the game. Never count that out!
So, that said, what if you decide not to play a human? Plenty of choices, right? However, I keep mentioning cliches, a 'rare' things. Avoid those. If you feel a need to play a drow or demon or vampire, don't make them go against their nature. Its an idea that only makes people hate you, honestly. Basically, if it is a race that you know is uncommon to come across, and yet you know people play them often, try to avoid it. Don't get me wrong, it can be fulfilling playing a demon every once in a while- but don't unless you are already established in your group. It gets bad opinions of you, and sets of lil red flags that you are an absolute noobie. Whether its the case or not, people tend to avoid you, except for people whom are incapable of writing more than two cohesive sentences in a single post. Therefore, I reiterate- do NOT play cliche races! You will only regret it in the end. Besides, any respectable storyteller will probably end up hating you for it. Well, okay, maybe not any, but I certainly would.
So what IS an acceptable non human race? Well for beginners, there are a slew of standard races in fantasy games that you can choose from. Elves, dwarves, hobbits, gnomes, orcs.... All of these are classicals that oddly enough don't get chosen often (With the exception of elves. However, those generally don't make game masters and what not puke). You can probably play any of these and have the blessings of your games person. But say you want to be something more exotic and you're allowed? It gets trickier then.
First thing about that I have to say is that you have to walk a middle line. It takes a lot of rule of thumb to learn what is and isn't acceptable. Some pointers, however- play races that are acceptable within the society you will interact with. Try to play intelligent creatures. If you want to play an animal, you will want to be a clever animal. Now, I know some people would say its not necessary, but consider this: You are playing a dumb dog. However, something happens, and you wish to help with the situation. However, your character isn't bright enough to even help someone out from something heavy. If you stick true to the character, you are unhappy, because the character becomes relatively worthless. If you alter the characters intelligence, you have destroyed your integrity. Therefore, don't set yourself up for a fall. If you play something relatively unintelligent compared to a human being, don't go overboard. you'll kick yourself for it. Now, beyond that, you'll need your character to be an acceptable power level with everyone else. Therefore, no ancient dragons while every one else is a commoner. Like I said, there are no real constants in such a wide realm of possibilities. All I can offer are those sorts of suggestions.
Now, a few unrelated things... First, I mentioned not setting yourself up for a fall. Quite simply, I mean that in all aspects of your character. If you won't enjoy playing your character, or even a part of it, don't make them that way! If you aren't having fun, whats the point?
Second, the subject of loner characters. Everyone finds the lone warrior a romantic figure. Everyone wants to be the lone warrior. However.... No Player should EVER be the lone warrior. You may gasp, or cry out, but its true. think about it for a moment: You are playing a social game. However, if you play an anti social character, you immediately cut yourself off from the social aspect of the game. You are therefore making the game less fun than it would have been due to your lack of ability to interact appropriately. Don't get me wrong, you can be unfriendly, or unlikable, but if all your character does is hide in a corner, you're in trouble. If you feel you MUST play such a character, make sure you have a gimmick to involve yourself with other characters. However, as I said, you shouldn't play such characters. You are robbing yourself of the most important part of the game- the other people. Certainly, such characters exist, and are believable, maybe even appropriate- But they will never be as fun to play as a social character. (Take that with a grain of salt) Generally speaking, leave lone wolves to the GM/ST. 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 10:52 am
Immortal Characters by Fenrir
As for immortal characters, it depends on your definition of immortality. If all you mean by it is that they don't die from old age or sickness, like an elf or something, than its really irrelevant unless the game spans centuries.
However, if you mean that they simply don't die period, then its a different matter all together. As Penden said, the way to make it appropriate is if there are already characters who are that powerful in the game. The only other way to make up for it is to SEVERELY limit your character power.
For example, I had a character once who was incapable of dying. He would reform if destroyed, regenerate if injured. the only way he could die is if he injured himself. However, he was a wonderfully fair character. Why? Because he was permanently transformed into a sparrow. In other words, the only thing he could really do was not die, and piss everyone off by cracking wise a** jokes... Man that character was fun.
But immortality is NEVER a curse in concerns to player power. Even if it gives you character angst in a background, and helps develop their personality, immortality is STILL immortality. It is still an advantage your character has over other characters, whether he likes it or not. In other words... To make an immortal character fit, other immortal characters must be there, or you must hamstring yourself to practical near impotence. Thats why I generally don't play immortal characters. 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 10:55 am
Fenrir's Class On Villains
Comments are denoted with an asterisk (*)
There comes a time in every GM's life when she must choose the most evil and black-hearted villain that she can concoct to make her player's lives absolutely miserable. Okay, so that isn't the case, but it could be, depending on the direction you want your roleplay to take. There are a few important things you need to know about your villains right off, before you even go about trying to choose one
1) The villain is one of the primary plot-movers. A lot of what the PC's do will be in reaction to a villain or villains, so it's important to always have the villain available in case you want to give your players a good kick in the pants.
2) Choose the person you want to play your villain with great care. Ideally, the villain should be played by the GM, but in the event that this is either not possible or not desirable, choose one of your best to take this role. Reasons being, once again, because the villain carries the story, and if the villain suddenly has to be changed because of unfair play, munching, etc., then the entire story arc has to be altered to suit the new one, which is terribly difficult to accomplish.
3) Place reasonable limits on your villains, just like you would any other player character. This seems self-evident, but I've often seen the villain run wild in RP's that aren't moderated very well, and this is as bad or worse than having a "good" character get out of control. Allow them a free rein, but make sure that you're still ready to snatch it back if necessary.
Okay, now that I've gone through my initial warnings about villains, on to some examples of which ones you might choose. When creating a villain, or accepting one into an RP, you may want to try to imagine how the character might interact with your heroes and neutrals* in order to try to anticipate the flow of RP. This is optional, since it's often much better to just let the villain's player do what he or she wants without your putting limits on them. However, you don't want a psychotic berserker warrior as the villain in a roleplay that involves courtly politics and duels of state. If done well, anything can work, but you still need to screen your villain(s).
Denizens of the Dark?
One of the biggest mistakes people make when choosing a villain is assuming that the villain must be dark and brooding and have a deep, booming voice. It's quite possible that your villain might be a slutty princess who wants to play around with the heroes' minds, or the ghost revenant of a child who was slaughtered in an ancient war. Don't assume that darkness = evil. It's not quite so simple as that.
One of the most interesting villains I've seen was the mages of Chaos in Modesitt Jr.'s The Magic of Recluce series. To clarify, said mages were scions of light and fire, but they weren't nice in any way. Often, taking stereotypes and turning them around can yield excellent villains. I've yet to see a cutesy animal companion villain, but I'm sure it could work in some context.
Werewolves, and Vampires, and Demons, oh my!
Sorry for the cheesy section title, but I'm coming down off of my Halloween high. At any rate, I'm going to give a list of examples here to show what sort of villain might fit into a given RP. All of these should be taken with a grain of salt, since they're just my favorites (or ones that I've noted but never used), but it may be useful for you to have something to bounce off from.
1) The Dark King: Examples include Magic Emperor Ghaleon, from Lunar: Silver Star; Garland, from Final Fantasy; and Wise Man, from Sailor Moon. Characteristics include a black demeanor, a booming voice, and an appearance that shows you almost automatically that he is evil. This character type is vastly overused on every medium, but can be useful to you if utilized properly. Suitable mostly for fantastic settings, but can be projected into science fiction fairly easily (Dark Admiral, for instance).
2) The Mindless Horde: Examples include the clones from Attack of the Clones as well as the zombies from House of the Dead. This is not a villain in and of itself, but makes a good subvillain to be headed by the main one, or archvillain.
3) The Manipulator: Examples include The Emperor, from Star Wars; Xellos from Slayers Try; and Ultimecia, from FFVIII. This villain will often not be known until the group wisens up and gets past the Black Knight figure, who I'll get to in a few moments. It is this villain who has the real power. Sneaky and charismatic, he controls great masses of people, and often even makes the heroes themselves dance in his little puppet show of doom. The most interesting villain (in my opinion), but also the hardest to play.
4) The Black Knight: Examples include: Darth Vader, from Star Wars; Ashram, from Record of Lodoss War; and Jowy, from Suikoden II. This character is often misled by the Manipulator, and serves to do all the dirty work. Positively, driven. Negatively, a tool. Often has a relationship with one of the heroes.
5) The Child (examples forthcoming): A child. A rather unique and tasteful approach, though difficult to pull off. Giving the villain childhood or the semblance of childhood can be extremely entertaining, I highly recommend it.
6) The Split Personality (examples forthcoming): The man with two faces. A unique twist could be to have one personality be in with the party while the other is fighting against them.
7) The Betrayer: Examples include Kain, from FFIV; Cait Sith, from FFVII, and Riku, from Kingdom Hearts. This character is not usually the main villain, and, like the Black Knight, is often misled by the Manipulator. However, this character is different in that he willfully betrays the rest of the group, or is controlled by some outside force so that he appears to do so. This is another fun one to use, especially if your main villain's RPer is indisposed. Think of this character as your trump card, one you can whip out when your players least expect it.
* I will refer to 'good' characters as 'heroes' and characters not affiliated with a side as 'neutrals' from now on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:07 am
Eileen's advice on Joining an RP
A)When looking for an RP thread to join, I take in several factors:
The Obvious:
-Is the theme something I've wanted to play?
-Does the thread look active?
-Does the scenario in the thread sound interesting?
-Are all the things mentioned in the first post agreeable to me?
-Are any of the players munchkins?
The Not-So-Obvious
-Are there already too many players?
-Is this part of a guild that I'll have to join?
-Is the thread actively recruiting?
-Do I have the time for another RP thread?
If the answer to all these is agreeable to me, I'll usually have a look. Take in all these factors before you jump in, and you'll save yourself a lot of trouble. In particular, the first post in the thread is vital. There you should find everything you need to know, including recruitment status, rules you need to obey, and the opinions of the thread starter. I also recommend reading through the first 3 pages of the thread, and the last 3 (at least) to give yourself a feel for what they had intended it to be, and what it had evolved into.
B)Within the RP, when you introduce yourself, do something non-obstructive to their current thread, but something that will hopefully interest them into interacting with you (Maybe your character accidentally bumped into a precariously balanced statue, caught the heavy thing, and is now striving with all her might to keep it from hitting the ground.).
C)If you did all this, and posted, and posted, and you were utterly ignored, you have one final thing you can do: PM the player who seems most in charge (and active), and very nicely and politely ask what you can do to get into the thread. Share your concerns about being ignored, and then wait for a reply. If he/she responds, you'll likely have your answer one way or another. If he/she doesn't respond, and is still posting, you may want to consider leaving.
After all, if they display such rudeness, is it really worth RPing there?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:14 am
Character Development Exercises:
#1.Situational Exercises
One way to elicit a response from your character it to stick them in an uncomfortable situation, or else a situation that would make most people uncomfortable, then figure out how your character would respond. The most common ways to respond to any difficult situation are:
A.Solve the problem
B.Resign self to the problem
C.Hide from the problem
Some basic situations you may want to try are:
A.Being physically trapped
B.Being emotionally trapped
C.Being injured or threatened
D.Having loved ones inujured or threatened
Here is an example prompt for C:
Your character is just outside his or her home when two muscular looking men come up and ask to come in for a drink. Since it's not very hot outside and both men look pretty grissled and mean, they've probably got more on their minds. One of them is stroking the hilt a nasty looking sword at his side, and clearly they expect your character to either fight them or come inside quietly 'to talk.' Once you're inside, though, they'll be no chance of random strangers spotting the trouble.
What you do is read the bit I wrote and respond with how your character would respond. Don't just tell the reader, but actually write it out like you're writing part of a story.
~~~~~
Reaction to Stereo-type Characters
One way to force a response of your character is to have them face a stereo-type character. Stereo-type characters are simple and unbendable in their oppinions, often producing a humorous response from more complex character. Some stereo-types you might recognize are:
A. Hero/Knight in shining armor
B. Defenseless maiden in distress
C. Super-bad guy
D. Super bad guy's frightened minion
Here is an example of a prompt for B:
Your character has been ordered as an escort for a lady of high standing as she wanders on horseback through the woods. You're the only escort because the woods you two are traveling in are supposed to be really safe, but the maiden suddenly slips out of your sight. For a good few minutes there's just no sign of her.
And for C:
You've been captured by *gasp* the super-bad guy! He's been after you for months, and, after tricking one of your friends into betraying you, now has you in one of his smaller lairs. You're just waking up with the affects of the drug he gave you still lingering, and you can hear him pontificating near by to one of his minions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:17 am
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:18 am
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:30 pm
Creating an RPG-- The Opening.
by Kai Karasurei
The SDRP focuses a lot on improving characters and your ability to control them. A good role-player is always aware of his character�s limits, but what about the boundaries set by his setting. Creating a role-playing thread means telling your players what they are and are not allowed to do. In order to accomplish this, a role-play needs at least 4 things. They are:
Background � Where are the characters coming from? This includes all-encompassing events such as devastating wars, the coming of a hero, visions and other circumstances that all the players will be affected by. While each individual may have their own history, they are all being drawn together by a background that leads to the same place. This ties in with setting because it gives the reason why these characters happen to meet. AN example of this is the Demon Wars Fantasy RP in our own guild. The children that would eventually become the chosen are all born at the same time�this is an event that affects them all because their relations to each other will be very close.
Plausibility � Why are things the way they are? Ask yourself if the abilities and occurrences in your RP are plausible�can they actually happen? Magic is useful in bypassing this, but using too much magic as explanation can lead to the same problem. Most likely your RP doesn�t take place in fairy world of magical land�.it takes place in a world where magic bends the laws of physics�but there are laws of physics and they must be upheld. The World of Vyrin RP explains the existence of animorphics through genetic engineering. Whether that is possible or not is debatable, but is likely enough in the concept of must sci-fi that it is still plausible.
Direction/plot � Why are the characters doing what they are doing? You must give a driving force for your character to work together, or against each other, or otherwise interact. This could be anything from having all your characters as part of a frontier town trying to carve a niche in the wild west or it could be a group of adventurers trying to hunt down their enemies. In the Word Bearers RP that I created, the driving force behind my Word Bearers comes from their need to be more powerful. Though the actual plot is generated largely by the characters, the direction is stated to lean towards learning new words.
Setting � Where is everyone? What kind of world is your world. Is it old or new? Industrial or is it pre-gunpowder. Is it staple fantasy or a sci-fi based on space-vampires? What does your world consist of in terms of creatures, surroundings, and common events. These are things that your characters are familiar with and will have a chance to interact with daily. A busy city will consist of many people while a small village may be surrounded by century old trees. The Andel, City of Hope RP takes place in a large city where creatures known as Celestials exist. The world outside the city is comprised of mystery and danger. The setting of this RP also includes organizations, groups of people with which the characters would be familiar. This organizations would be at work in the city and well have no doubt crossed paths with the characters at one point.
In order to improve RP building skills, this exercise will focus on creating a world to RP in one piece at a time. It doesn�t matter which piece we start with, so long as we all work at the same speed or so and critic each other�s work for possible errors and appeal. You will be asked to take one characteristic of a good RP from the four and use it to create that part of the world. You will have a full three weeks or so to complete each part of the exercise, which is:
1) Make the setting for your RP. What world are you in and where will your characters be starting? What kind of places can your characters be familiar with? Remember, don�t describe something that your characters will not have knowledge about. A forbidden forest is forbidden�nobody knows whats inside it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
School Of Dedicated RPers Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 8:38 am
How to make an original character
by Vincent Darkholme
~~~~
You really like Inuyahsa but everyone is playing him?
Are you just sick of people with bloodlines that make them nigh omnipotent?
Well have no fear, I'm here to help!
Can�t think of a good idea?
I've written countless stories and have come to the aid of Gaia, here I will give a tutorial and answer questions on how to make a role-play character that is both original and enjoyable!
To start off with, avoid power driven characters, if your mother was an angel and your father a demon, please leave now as my words are lost on you. Characters that are sonly made for 'whupass' are flat and boring; they lose a bit of realism that makes them quite irritating to be in a Role-play with. Here are a few tips to avoid a power character.
1. Start with a Weakness.
flawless characters have no room to grow during a extended role-play, so starting with something wrong with them is a great way to go, give them a irrational fear, or some sort of physical infirmity, maybe blind, or has a mechanical limb, something they are sensitive about, something that the bad guys could potentially exploit.
A list of good weaknesses to get you started:
Blind.
Phobia.
Missing limb.
Pacifist.
Has a Secret.
Amnesia (will cover this in detail in a bit)
A vulnerable sibling.
A limp....with a story behind it.
A scar with a story.
Vendetta
A traumatic past (be careful with this one)
A short temper
A curse
Homo/bisexuality (hey it works)
This is just a sampling, I�m sure you can think up many more.
2. Avoid stereotypical races.
Yep, angels and demons are basically waaaaaaay over done, try something new, a spin on something old, whets wrong with a plain old human? Humans are interesting creatures to play because their weaknesses are also their strengths, not to mention humans come from every walk of life. If humans are not your thing, or you just want to play something strange, come up with something on your own, making your own races are easy, first imagine what you want them to look like, are they tall? Or short? You get the drill, then logically figure out why they are that way....is your batgirl an evolutionary leap for feline kind? Or is she a genetically engineered being designed for a single purpose? After that, are there more of them, or are you the only one? Feel free to base the culture on history, if your race of golems has a republic similar to the Romans, run with it! Then there are the tried and true races, dwarves, elves, Halflings, but put a spin on them too, make a sub race of elves that feed on sunlight like flowers, or a race of dwarves that actually eat the stone they mine! Have fun with your races.
3. Powers and abilities....limits people!
Ok, sure you are tired of seeing people 'detray teh whole WOLRD!" please people, godlike characters are both boring and pointless.
if your character has a special power, it needs limits, anyone who can god mode through a role-play because of a special power is going to be ignored, my standard role-play character is a Psion, he has four basic disciplines, I played out everything he could possibly do. Realistic limits people, if you are pyrokinetic, you do NOT have enough mental power to engulf an entire building in flames, it doesn�t work that way. then there�s the ever popular regeneration, to be honest if you could heal wounds that were afflicted to you, sure it would work, but that�s because they body is working at a phenomenal rate, so regenerators would eventually get tired, not to mention, regeneration wouldn�t work against certain types of damage, such as acid scarring and burns, because they kill the cells when they contact the flesh.
invulnerability is just plain n00bish, if you cant be hurt, you can be ejected from the role-play, limited invulnerability is fine though, set a number of posts it lasts, then go with it, if you are psionic or a mage you can erect a barrier of force that lasts for five of your posts and it would be believable, but you better not complain when that barrier drops and a guy with an axe TOTALLY ruins your day.
Then there�s the 'I cun mov at teh SPEED OF LITE!' bull, seriously people, try to keep things within the fantasy genre, dragonball z is a terrible example of a combat sequence, so don�t try to emulate it. This falls under the invulnerability idea too, it�s feasible to have a burst of extreme speed, if you want to know about how fast you can constantly go and still be reasonable, Drizzt Do'Urden is your prime example.
if you are a magic user write out a spell book, all the spells you can use and how often you can use them, someone who can fling fireballs the size of suns for months on end is flat and irritating, and also promote power gaming.
Powers and abilities should set you apart from the norm, but not make you god, remember that.
4. Weapons...no you cannot have the sword of the Rivan King.
alright, its come to be standard practice to have a ultra powerful sword/staff/axe etc. (thanks for nothing Inuyasha...damn Tentsaiga) and thats just boring, if you base your entrie character around said weapon makes for a walking gilloutine, to be blunt. If you can role-play your skills well enough, plain run of the mill blades can get the job done, you do not need a sword that can break the world. All you need is a sword that can break a skull. Many a gamer with their powerful uber lightsaber broadsword have been laid low by a troll with a tree, so which was more powerful? The moron with the sword or the troll that stepped out of the way of his swing and brained him with an oak? My standard role-play character has a pair of short swords, nothing special, all they are is steel, and he just likes them because they are well made.
And HUGE weapons come on, no you don�t have the buster sword, no you can�t have the tentsaiga! there is no way that someone can be five foot eight and maybe weight 150 lb and wield a seven foot long three foot wide sword, period.
Weapons are an accessory, treat them as such.
That about covers power characters, now moving on to common clich�s
The more common mistakes people make are just playing into overdone ideals, Assassins and Vampires are among the worst. Now I�m well aware that there are only so many professions out there, but maybe invent something new, combine a few things, perhaps Assassin and Priest, become a shadow jumping hunter of the undead. Or maybe warrior and Healer, becoming a traveling paladin, righter of wrongs. The combinations are endless. Then there�s the idea of playing a popular anime character with a different name, here�s a reality check,
playing a inuyasha clone does NOT make you cool, nor does it make you entertaining to be around, it makes you unoriginal, and quite boring.
Come up with something new, but if you MUST play a stereotype, do it well, I�m tired of seeing mass murdering samurai who treat woman like sex objects, research them before you play them.
Then there�s your characters appearance, this is something you should take pride in, it makes your character imminently noticeable. don�t make then uniformly beautiful, give them imperfections that enhance their looks, maybe a wicked scar across the left side of their face, or a tattoo or branding under one eye, perhaps they wear customized battle armor, or maybe they only wear belts, think of your character as a real person and has real tastes, maybe they don�t believe in high fashion because its not efficient, maybe they are poor and cant afford to wear the latest clothes, maybe they wear armor because they are paranoid about being stabbed in the back, maybe they wear a cloak and cowl to hide a despised heritage, its all in there, just play with it.
Now the final pieces of the character puzzle....the history.
every character should have a brief but detailed history, something that gives them experiences, they should have felt pain, happiness, love and sorrow, something in their past should have shaped their future, and who they are in the role-play.
But maybe they don�t remember their past, you should still write it out and give it o those you role-play with, they can fit it into their own histories and characters as they see fit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 3:06 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:13 am
A Free online spell checker is available at www.spellcheck.net I recomend keeping it open and running all your posts through it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
