Jade's Guide to Role-playing: Part Two
Apr. 14th, 2011 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jadedmusingsCharacter 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.
• DON'T get married to an idea right away. Some ideas are awesome in theory and then fall apart completely in execution. Be prepared to make at least minor alterations to background, personality, or even appearance, especially in a game where cooperation with your fellow PCs is imperative to success. When there's conflict among players (note I said players, NOT characters), compromise is your friend.
• DO ask questions. In any good campaign/guild/game there should be a person available to answer any questions you might have. If you're not certain an idea of yours will fit in the setting, ask before trying to submit the idea. If you're confused about a rule or lore information, ask for clarification. It's much less painless for you and less aggravating for the GM/Bard/Whoever in the long run when you get rid of any illegal or problematic pieces before trying to get into the group.
• DON'T be a dick. Wheaton's Law applies to everything, including gaming. Be nice to your fellow players, especially to newcomers, and it helps if you're respectful of your GM/Role-play Leaders too. You might have been role-playing before there was an "Advanced" Dungeons & Dragons, but every group is different, even when you have the same players. Also, if your character is a jerk, that's fine and other players need to always remember In Character interaction versus Out of Character interaction. However, there is such a thing as laying it on too thick, and it's not a good thing if your character is alienating himself/herself from the others by being a dick all the time. Be aware of when it's time to wave your douchebag flag high and when it's time to scale it back a little.
• DO read the fine print. As a GM, it bugs the heck out of me when I go through the trouble of setting up a page with rules for submitting/creating a character only to have someone completely ignore them. Check and double-check to see if there are any "house rules" for the group you're applying to.
• DON'T be afraid to offer up suggestions. Even if this is your first attempt at making a character, don't be afraid to talk to the other players and role-play leaders/GMs about possible character hooks or development ideas. There's been quite a few times when I've had a player or a party member say something that turned out to make for an awesome plot arc or two.
• DO have flaws. This will get a post of its own eventually, but it is important to remember that a good character is never perfect. A good character, like everyone on the planet, is flawed. Maybe it's something silly like an herbalist who is severely allergic to pollen and grass, or something more serious like a Chemist with an addiction to pain killers**, whatever. The point is that flaws give a character depth and make them much more interesting in the long run. Plus, it's unreasonable to have a character who is awesome at everything forever.
• And, as always, DO have fun. The whole point of having a hobby is to be entertained, to laugh, and to enjoy yourself.
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![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
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.
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.
• DON'T get married to an idea right away. Some ideas are awesome in theory and then fall apart completely in execution. Be prepared to make at least minor alterations to background, personality, or even appearance, especially in a game where cooperation with your fellow PCs is imperative to success. When there's conflict among players (note I said players, NOT characters), compromise is your friend.
• DO ask questions. In any good campaign/guild/game there should be a person available to answer any questions you might have. If you're not certain an idea of yours will fit in the setting, ask before trying to submit the idea. If you're confused about a rule or lore information, ask for clarification. It's much less painless for you and less aggravating for the GM/Bard/Whoever in the long run when you get rid of any illegal or problematic pieces before trying to get into the group.
• DON'T be a dick. Wheaton's Law applies to everything, including gaming. Be nice to your fellow players, especially to newcomers, and it helps if you're respectful of your GM/Role-play Leaders too. You might have been role-playing before there was an "Advanced" Dungeons & Dragons, but every group is different, even when you have the same players. Also, if your character is a jerk, that's fine and other players need to always remember In Character interaction versus Out of Character interaction. However, there is such a thing as laying it on too thick, and it's not a good thing if your character is alienating himself/herself from the others by being a dick all the time. Be aware of when it's time to wave your douchebag flag high and when it's time to scale it back a little.
• DO read the fine print. As a GM, it bugs the heck out of me when I go through the trouble of setting up a page with rules for submitting/creating a character only to have someone completely ignore them. Check and double-check to see if there are any "house rules" for the group you're applying to.
• DON'T be afraid to offer up suggestions. Even if this is your first attempt at making a character, don't be afraid to talk to the other players and role-play leaders/GMs about possible character hooks or development ideas. There's been quite a few times when I've had a player or a party member say something that turned out to make for an awesome plot arc or two.
• DO have flaws. This will get a post of its own eventually, but it is important to remember that a good character is never perfect. A good character, like everyone on the planet, is flawed. Maybe it's something silly like an herbalist who is severely allergic to pollen and grass, or something more serious like a Chemist with an addiction to pain killers**, whatever. The point is that flaws give a character depth and make them much more interesting in the long run. Plus, it's unreasonable to have a character who is awesome at everything forever.
• And, as always, DO have fun. The whole point of having a hobby is to be entertained, to laugh, and to enjoy yourself.
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.
