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Creating a Character; A Handy Guide
Topic Started: 30 Nov 2008, 20:08 (47 Views)
Corinth
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That crazy cat lady . . . man

Naming Your Character

First off, you will want to come up with a name. Quite honestly, it is something that I am truly awful at, so I can not offer much advice in this area. What I can tell you, however, is to think about the context that the name is being used in; if you've got a character born and living in Canada, his name probably isn't going to be Klu'akel. The language and era of a roleplay will dramatically influence the believability of a name, such as in the example above. Always keep these factors in mind when coming up with something, and otherwise, just be creative--names like Ravenheart are probably going to just earn you a couple of laughs. As I have said, believability is key, and no matter how evil a character is, he or she probably isn't going to have a name consisting entirely of stereotypical 'gothic' words.

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Corinth
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That crazy cat lady . . . man

Believability and Realism in Personas

Personality
First off the bat, we are going to talk about personality sections in character sheets. As a general rule of thumb, we would ask that you avoid them. This is an advanced forum, and as such, we really don't have the need to screen characters' personalities to make sure they aren't pompous arse holes. From a more pragmatic view, it defeats the entire concept of character development: if you assign your character a personality right from the get-go, you force him to remain static throughout the roleplay. By omitting this, you allow for a much wider spectrum to be covered: your character goes from static to dynamic; you are given the opportunity to use prompts and nuances from his roleplay to give insight into his personality that might otherwise never present themselves.

In the end, we are not going to tell you not to include a personality section, just do it properly. Don't use general statements, don't be vague; if you're going to give us a personality, then just do it. Another thing, if you do include such a section, keep it realistic--keep your character's history in mind. If his parents were killed in front of him, he is probably not going to be a happy, saturnalian person. Try to avoid Mary Sues and Marty Stus as well. No character is perfect and it is these flaws that makes them believable. ;)

History
As with a character's personality, keep it real. Try to avoid clichés when you are writing it--some popular ones are: searching for a kidnapped love; parents murdered; character has lost all memory and is on an epic quest to regain them. There isn't really much else to keep in mind for histories--it's all pretty much straightforward. Really the only other thing that I can say is to be mindful of the history of the actual roleplay--don't contradict anything in the history given by the topic starter. Just keep things original! Think of something new or creative, something fun and yet not impossible.

Strengths and Weaknesses: Managing your Persona
A big thing that you will want to watch out for is the creation of a superpower. Your character could start off like any other person at the beginning of a roleplay, and by the end, have power enough to destroy untold worlds. Why is this? When you first begin to roleplay, write, or do anything which requires the creation of a character, your first tendency will be to make the character a representation of yourself, or your ideals. You are given absolute power over this character; you can shape him to be everything that you want. More often than not, this leads characters with superhuman abilities, or something of the like.

One of the things that any experienced writer or roleplayer knows is that a fine balance exists between strength and weakness; too much of one creates a disparity that can ruin an entire roleplay, or at least get you ejected from it. Rather, consider that a strength in one situation may be a weakness in another. For example, if your character possesses extraordinary strength, he might be powerless against a foe with heightened agility. In all, just remember to consider not only the positives, but also the negatives that might result.
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Corinth
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That crazy cat lady . . . man

So now how do I join a roleplay?

Well, first off, you will want to think of a character. This character can be anyone or anything, as long as it is within the parameters of the roleplay. For example, if you're in a Medieval roleplay, your character could be a mage or a paladin or a knight. Give them a name, an appearance, some special trait or ability, possibly even more frivolous things like their favorite food. Keep in mind that your character must be able to play a role in the story, hence the term "roleplay." For further information on creating a character, please refer to "Example Character Charts."

After you've got your character, just post in the roleplay that you want to join. In the top half of your post, you should fill out the character sheet that the topic starter has provided in the first post. After that, simply take use of some opportunity to interject your character into the scene. For example, you might use something like this if the roleplay is just starting off and all of the characters are converging:
Quote:
 
NAME: Liber Cælestus
Played by: Corinth
AGE: 27
APPEARANCE: Liber will usually do his best to appear quite . . . average; quite forgettable. And at 5'10" and a good weight, it isn't that hard. Usually, he'll don tough traveler's garb: a tattered cloak, wide-brimmed hat, and hard leather boots. Liber oft favours more subdued, earthy colours in his clothes--browns and tans--though if he's feeling particularly adventurous, he might go out on a limb and try white. Otherwise, he won't really spend much time preening himself; his brown hair a ruffled mess. The only really distinguishing thing about him is a mild limp in his gait--the remnants of an old battle.
WEAPON: Knives and daggers are always preferred--they're easy to conceal and more than a few can be carried at once. He'll usually have a number of them hidden about his visage.
HISTORY: Liber didn't get a start in the Scian until rather late on--shortly before his twenty-fifth birthday. For the four years prior, he acted as a "private contractor," of sorts; a lower grade of mercenary work. His early childhood was nothing remarkable, though quite stable--something that seemed rather rare among the other members of the organisation. Liber was brought up in a nice environment: a caring mother and father; a good education, both mental and physical; and the promise of his father's smithy when he came of age.

So why did he become a mercenary, an assassin forever doomed to live of the fringes of society? No great traumas visited him, nor did he have any vendettas to sate. But rather, it was from a sense of malcontent, a desire for something more than could be offered in the life of a blacksmith. And so, when he was eighteen, he left his home to travel, and picked up his first small mercenary job two years later. In a chance encounter late into his twenty-fourth year, he met with a member of the Scian and was inducted shortly thereafter.




"Climbing atop roofs and throwing weapons all about," Liber muttered to himself, walking down a back alley. "Eh, I suppose I shouldn't complain--at least I've found Derx again; there's no mistaking his unique . . . style." Well, he thought, walking to the back of the inn and surveying the stack of crates, I might as well take the opportunity whilst it is present. It is amazing, for even the most ordinary thing gains such prestige when shrouded in secrecy, but once it is unveiled, it becomes at once trite, commonplace. As soon as our organisation was disrobed, our plots betrayed, our surviving members scattered and the Blades forgotten. And now, it seems, our mistress Fortune has fated us to again meet, though to what ends, I could not say.

"But, what am I saying?" Liber whispered, "I ought not waste such precious time." Snapping out of his reminisce, he swiftly clambered up the boxes forgetting his limp. Suddenly though, as he glimpsed through the window, his breath caught in his chest and he gasped, "Peshewar? No . . . no, she was. . . ." He trailed off, frozen in amazement; he never expected to see her alive again after the betrayal.

Just find some little way to place your character in the scene and allow an opening for one of the existing characters to see or recognise you.

Now, what do I do with my character sheet?

A general rule of thumb is to only PM character profiles to the topic creator if it is specifically stated that you do so in the roleplay's rules. You will generally only find this in the Advanced Role Play forum, simply so you can provide the creator with some touchstone by which he or she may judge your abilities. Otherwise, if it isn't stated in the topic, it is completely safe to assume that you may just post it right in the thread.

The reason we don't really have any rules on this (and my apologies for any confusion) is because everyone here is almost guaranteed to be an accomplished roleplayer, so we really do not have to worry about illiterates and god-moders and what have you. But, if you're ever unsure on this, just ask the creator of a thread to specify his or her requirements. And again, if you slip up, no worries--it's really not our practice punishing members for a simple mistake. ^_^
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