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Character Management
Topic Started: Jun 5 2009, 10:36 PM (60 Views)
weji
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I. Character Concept and Design (here) - a guide for creating a well defined and full developed character.

II. Personality, Philosophy, and Past (here) - a brief overview of the various facets of the character.
Edited by weji, Jun 12 2009, 02:37 PM.
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I. Character Concept and Design

Every book, movie, video game, and role playing game have one major component. That component is the feeling of being drawn into and understanding the characters within the storyline. How are these characters created,how does the author create such fantastic characters, and why do they have such a strong affect on the audience? A character bio is a few paragraphs of text that details the important aspects of a character concept for developmental purposes. The details included, are that relating to the character’s appearance, personality, attitude, likes and dislikes, and background.

All character, whether they’re a hero or a villain, needs a motive. Motive plays an important role with any character without it, the reader is going to start asking; “Why doesn’t he do this?" By determining the motive for how and why the character is important within the story, the author can begin to see and understand how the character will react within various circumstances. The author has begun to develop the character’s personality and they move from being merely a puppet, to someone that readers can relate to. During the process of creating a character’s motive, the author will think of events in the character’s past that directly affects who they are now. The author should make sure to write a brief description of every event they can think of that relates to the character’s motive. These short descriptions can come in very handy for creating flashbacks within the story, as well as helpful when creating dialogue.

The author is ready to further define “who” the character is. Every person has preferences and opinions regarding what they like and dislike. It is important to note those that influence the character’s actions most. By recording a character’s strongest ideals and opinions, the author gives him/her something to look back upon when developing the character’s role within the story. As with real-life, everyone character should have some "quirks" in their personality. Personality quirks make characters seem more believable and unique to the reader. They help the reader to better immerse themselves within the story.

Many people underestimate the importance of how a character appears and is described. Characters should wear what is appropriate to the role they will fill within the story. Warrior characters should wear armor and weapons that match their stature. Thieves should wear loose clothing allowing them to hide things upon the being. No matter what role the character represents, they should appear accordingly as to capture the essence of the role they play, the theme of the story, and who they are.

The character bio should refer to is the character’s relationships with the story’s other characters. Any reasons for tension, love interests, social compatibility, and opinions regarding teamwork should be noted. This can immensely aid in the writing of dialogue as well as the creation of the long term storyline elements. Events surrounding the character’s relationships with each other are very important with any writing genre and this segment of the character bio will help strengthen the author’s understanding of how they want the characters to interact. All the information that is recorded within a character bio is probably already in the author’s mind as they begin outlining the events of the story. By writing out the bio, the author forms a more solid concept of who the character is and why the character is important within the storyline.
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II. Personality, Philosophy, and Past

The Basics - The Three Ps
  • Personality
    It's the little things about your character that make him interesting and lively. Personality involves a character's opinion of himself, how he interacts with others, things he's good at, quirks and unique characteristics. Your character's personality is in essence the true face behind your character, so go deep. You can change a person's name, age, looks, history, even the gender, but if there's no change in personality you're basically just rewrapping the same character. If at all possible, try to come up with something slightly different each time you do a role play, even if it means going outside of yourself to write it. Some of the best characters you can write are the ones that are nothing like you at all.
  • Philosophy
    Where personality focuses more on the individual as an individual, philosophy looks at the individual as a part of a social world. This is where you get into your character's views on life—what he thinks of humanity as a whole, his thoughts on government, and other such things.
  • Past
    The past is your character's past. Now, obviously, you don't need to detail every minute of your character's life, but there should be several key events in his life that you mention in your bio, and you should probably keep a couple in your head. They make for interesting plot twists. You're character's past is by far the single most important factor in defining who your character is and why he is the way he is. When it comes to role playing, think of the past as more or less a series of cause and effect situations. Your character's personality can be directly linked to the events in his past. Effect is what's important here. Knowing why your character is the way he is important, but "how he is" means more than "how he got that way." There are two different types of effects where the past is concerned.
    • Fast change is a cause with an immediate effect. The change is rapid, sometimes just shy of instantaneous, and produces a dramatic or violent change in the character. They can usually be traced to singular events, like the deaths of family members or friends, an act of kindness or mercy by a stranger or a foe, a discovery made, a truth uncovered, and the like.
    • Slow change is a cause that's less of a cause and more of a situation or an environment. This is a gradual shift in a perspective or behavior that is usually tied to constant exposure to something. Some examples include absorbing the teachings of a mentor, a reaction to a social issue, or an internal conflict the character struggles with. These take place over time, and if you can work them into a role play in the present, you can have some fun.


The Importance of Goals and The Past

A goal is something that your character are aiming at. The significance of goals is going to depend on your character. Almost every character has a primary goal, one thing they want to do more than anything else. They may have minor goals that branch off from the main or that are entirely unrelated to the main goal in any way. And they may come across other goals as they advance through the RP. But now ask yourself "what happens if your character's goal is suddenly no longer there?" Say he achieves his dream, or reaches a point in his life where he realizes that his aim may be unattainable. "What then? How would this affect your character? What would they do then? What would drive them on? Would they find something else to do, or would they just give up?"
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