Writing: Folami's Reaction to Solivar's Vision

So, this is a little angsty, but the scene it's referring to is pretty dark and angsty itself. My assignment was to write a reaction to an event that happened during the last Tavern Night (actually, it kind of happened before then, but thanks to random asshats crashing our role-play scene we only got to discuss it Tuesday) and here it is. It's very short (only 431 words), a little weak, but I enjoyed writing Tortured-Yet-Defiant Folami. :)

( The walls came alive with shadows that stretched toward the ceiling and danced in time to the flickering flame from a single white candle set in the center of a small table in the cramped quarters of the inn room. )

Jade's Guide to Role-playing: Part Two

Character Creation: Do's and Don'ts

There are many, many ways to approach character creation and none of them are any better or worse than the rest. In tabletop gaming I've had times when I've had a full background and personality quirks mapped out before I've even decided on which job/class I wanted to take. At other times I've gone through all the math, dice rolling, and equipment buying before I had the vaguest idea of what I wanted to do role-play wise. It's the same with MMOs, especially once I've familiarized myself with the setting and mechanics.

As far as inspiration goes, that can be anything: a dream, a song, a book, a movie, or even your best friend (just be careful about telling said best friend about your brilliant character idea as some ideas are much more flattering than others*). Again, there's no right way to get inspiration just as there's no right time to begin "animating" your character. It's really up to the individual player to decide what works best for him/her.

But when it comes to the execution, there are some things to keep in mind.

• DO research. You don't have to spend hours or weeks learning everything there is to know about a particular setting, but it would be wise to at least read the information available that's relevant to your character's race, class, hometown, etc. It's also wise to learn about the technology level of the world. Walking around Ancient Greece with a AK-47 might sound cool, however, it's just not all that practical in the long run...unless it's a campaign with time-traveling soldiers battling Spartan soldiers, in which case please inform me as to where I might sign up for such a thing. I promise not to kick anyone into a bottomless pit.

( Read more... )

These are just intended to be the Basics of the Basics. Future posts will go into depth about character background, development planning, and yes, the many varied character tropes. Have fun!


* = It's one thing to play a pious Paladin with a desire to save the world, it's quite another to play a drunken goblin with encyclopedic knowledge of dirty limericks and penchant for explosives that wipe out entire villages. Depending on your friend's sense of humor, you might want to play dumb when they ask how you came up with your idea.

** = This was the best FFRPG 3rd Edition Chemist I ever had the pleasure of playing with. The campaign was Silvertech run by demonicgerbil and the character was Alex Fulcanelli as played by professorwinter. And for the record, there is no bias in me saying this even though my character wound up marrying his, pretty much everyone from that group still uses this Chemist as an example of how to properly play a Chemist in FFRPG.

He shows his love via suffocation....

I've mentioned before that Prissy is a tiny cat, the size of some kittens. I've also mentioned that one of Prissy's favorite things to do is come and curl up on my chest (or Sam's when he's here). She's small enough that it's not a big deal for her to do so, and it's endearing. The only time it's a problem is when she insists on sitting up and bathing herself, which in turn obstructs my view.

Jack, bless his little heart </Southern accent>, likes to cuddle on occasion too, and since Prissy can get on our chests without a problem, he sees absolutely no reason why he can't enjoy the Provider(s) of Food the same way. Jack is about twice Prissy's size and, thanks to his need to devour the dry food, he's a little pudgy. Factor in his long hair and...well, just look:



Yes, that's me lost in orange fur (and yes I do look like crap...well, what you can see of me). I took it today with my laptop's crappy built-in webcam when Jack decided once again to try and take a nap on my chest. He nuzzled my head and purred as loud as he could, but in the end my need to breathe won and he had to settle for cuddling next to me on the couch.

Really, he's a sweet cat and I have to give him points for trying so hard to make it work for him.