Helpful advice on how to develop new chars.

[Lince'sa]

Oh, fun thread! ^_^

Kathryn_aka_Kat was my first ISRP char.

it's time for next lesson in Drow : )

I make my characters, sometimes with intents and purposes. there is something I want them to do. I give them a personalilty to match. Sometimes I give them a personality first. Lince'sa, started out with, MAAAAAYBE too much personality. Saera can probably atest. she's say everything on her mind and it would usually wind her and her friends in trouble. if there weren't any friends, it would wind her and whoever she was around in trouble.

Sometimes I look at, or think of a picture and think "That's it! That's my next character!" Name and back ground given after. Then off to the site to see where she/he fits in. Sometimes they don't fit in anywhere and they have to be completely reworked. Either way, personality is key.

Also, sometimes I like to make characters with quirks: something not quite right about them. Drunks, physical disablitity, depression (for those of you who remember Endolyn One-leg, who was both disabled AND depressed.)

Remember most though. if you don't have fun playing them, no one else will either. They may at first but soon they will loose interest. So make a FUN character, and see where he/she fits.

 

[Midrod Silverleaf]

I prefer to use chars that are not normal.

Okay, the char I most use is a typical goody guy who favors peace. Where's the "weird" thing? Well, perhaps it's not that weird, but he is the only Halfling male I have seen around. *has only been around for a couple of months :\ *

Anyway, I think about characters that are out of normal: One was a drug dealer, another was just a lunatic who loved his crossbow, another was a failed thug and the last was a some kind of crazy, hippie-like bard who sings horribly and is also in drugs.

I just think, "What would be freaky?" and just do it. And with freaky, I don't refer to a demon in disguise.

Well, I have just noticed I said more or less what Lince'Sa said.

 

[Enelya]

I have no idea why, but the majority of my characters come to me as I am falling asleep.

I also believe that all my characters personalities are one of the many I have.

That is probably why all my characters tend to be so immensely complicated.

My biggest thing is what Misty mentioned earlier. I like to have their past developed first. I think allot of what a character does is based on how they got to their current situation.

I like unique race combos (i.e. Lily the Quarterling), but nothing remotely powerful. The majority of my characters are the passive type (with the exclusion of Felynafay). I like to give them a rare occupation that sort of merges with their character class (i.e. Enelya's perfumes and potions shop, but she is truly a Mage).

I don't think I helped any, did I?

 

[rucaro]

I like to try a variety. So for one of my more popular chars, I will say, what is his personality, quirks beiliefs values etc. and from their make his polar opposite, it can be fun to play one char and then the other. But Cyath I know how creative you can be, o above all else make a char you can have fun with, and if you are stuck the phb2 has personality traits and such.

 

[Venisad]

Well now maybe I can do something a little more to help:

Make an observer and go into the tavern, just sit back and watch for a few nights and see how different people play.

Take a few ideas... well -borrow-, a few ideas and get a bare skeleton for the character you want to play.

If you play D&D or don't play, this step usually is the beginning of what you want your character to start with in terms of: a quick past, a motive, and some small quirks: His/Her/Its personality

After you have the personality, give the character some meat and organs by determining what the profession was, some more background of where the character came from and that sort of thing. This will help develope the characters look

After all of that, decide the characters taste in clothing, weapon or no weapon, armor or no armor...

Somthing like that anways...

For me, Shasf is the hardest character to play. Simply for the fact that as of now, s/he (it) has no true form, and is basically a floating blue robe with acidic green eyes. My character who is easiest to play would be Sand, curious fellow who doesn't have the basic needs, base urges, emotions, and what not of you flesh bags.. *cough* erm, people I mean.. An inbetween character who is fun to play is jack lee swell guy, a thief of sorts and as some might have observed a shadow dancer.. He is also one of my.. well my only character that might be -good-.

Have to keep some balance in my rp life..




Well I hope this helped..

 

[Elf_Ariel]

Truly, honestly...I have a little bit more advice. Up to you if you be taking it, but out of habit and sheer idiocy and some level of helpfulness though I deny that vehemently. A character, as interesting as their history can make them should always have room for improvement or change. Adaptability is the key. There's no fun in playing a character who is not worried/bothered/angered/or any way therein emotional to major events that should really effect them. Instance, Ariel was not always a grumpy grey elf. Before vampirism, before Bel, before all that she was a reasonably joyous kinda gal, lots of smiles, laughter etc etc. A good character is someone people grow to love. See what I'm saying?! Ehh, perhaps I need to work on my english skills.

 

[Tharivious]

A character, as interesting as their history can make them should always have room for improvement or change. Adaptability is the key. There's no fun in playing a character who is not worried/bothered/angered/or any way therein emotional to major events that should really effect them.

Quoted for truthiness.

When I started out with Tharivious, he went from disillusioned traveller to hardened assassin in his table-top days, then once I moved him to the online world of ISRP, he gradually started to shift toward neutrality, laying the foundation for what he's become since. Hell, I still remember how confused he was at first at the concept of good aligned drow (mainly because he assumed they were evil, and thought he'd fit right in - stubborn as he is, he wound up marrying one regardless). He probably never would have changed at all if not for interactions with various players and events.

Being open and reasonable with what changes can happen to a character can do so much for the satisfaction with the final result. Closed-minded characters can be great, but keeping an open-mind as a player makes all the difference.

 

[Alek]

I tend to use the "What made them want to adventure?" concept, to get the core personality of a character. As this question can vary wildly from person to person, and also fleshes out their background story, I think it's one of the most important questions to ask yourself when making a new character. Unless you *really* want to play a commoner.

 

[Itzquahpilli]

How does the legendary *glares at the rolled eyes* yes, legendary Itzquahpilli come up with his amazing, astounding, and completely unique characters who everybody loves and wishes they could be like? Well, let me tell you...
...
...
Um... it just happens?

Hehe, well, seriously, mine come out of shamelessly stealing from other people. My idea for Tharanak came from reading Dragonlance - I hadn't played ISRP in over a year, and I just thought while reading the parts with Fizban - "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to play some bumbling, hilarious old mage who can't take a step without tripping over his own staff?" Of course, after a while I found it hard to keep him entirely comedic, and he grew a serious side, a backstory, and a love for illusions (Nahhh, I didn't just arbitrarily decide his specialization one day! He was always an illusionist... yeah... the best one ever...)
Then I simply pirated Dietmar from John. He played him for a day then realized he couldn't play two chars on his computer at the time, so I said, "You know, I can play as many as I want on my computer. Why don't you let -me- play him for now?" So... I ended up stealing him and claiming him as mine!
Then one day, me and John were talking (he never gets any credit for this, so, John, here ya go!) and I said "Somebody needs to make a really unique character. We've got all these drow... and drow... and more drow... *grumble, grumble, sigh.*"
John-"Yeah, I know."
Me-"Any ideas?"
John-"Nope."
Me-"Daaaang...."
Much later....
John-"Oh! I have an amazing idea! A couatl!"
Me-*hallelujah chorus plays in background* "John! You're a genius!"
Two days later... the dessy for Itz is handwritten on a sheet of paper from my notebook as I sit in bed at seven A.M. And from then on... the rest is history!
Could I possibly have made this post longer? Yeah. I could have. But I'm done.

 

[Zeren]

Hmm...I think you all think on it waaay too much.

When I start a character I usually attach an emotion to it...so if I'm sad when I make a character that character usually remains sad or such. Corny yes, but it works.

Another thing, you needn't worry about personal history right off the bat. Often, I don't even begin to think about it until a few months after I've been testing the character out. You may find that you don't like playing that character a certain way, and if you have a personal history that you've been telling everybody and it would be contradictory to how you DO want to play that character...well it's alot harder to fix.

If you want a good suggestion though...be stereotypical. Give your dwarf a horned-helm, make your elf snooty, the gnomes hyperactive, halflings cleptomaniacs...I think you see my point. That's how the best characters are made. You start off with a stereotype and build upon it. Sort of like...borrowing a recipe and adding personal spices? If you're not into cooking...well...I can't explain it anymore. It just works very well, and helps you make rememberable characters. Especially if you tie it in with an emotion.

But the number one rule of all is never let others influence your choices. Don't worry about making friends with all the little pointy-eared punks. Playing a likable character isn't always the most rewarding. Often, people remember the...the...well...just forget everything I've said. I have no idea where I'm going with this. Just play your character as how you see him/her, not how you know they will fit in the carbon-copy popular friend groups.

*elbows y'all*

C'mon! You know you want to make a disagreeable character.

WRAP-UP: All of the above summed up. Choose an emotion, and only basic character information. Start with just a skeleton(Well, not literally), build on it all later, and play it how YOU want. That's all I can say really...hope you find it helpful. Afterall, it's how I started some of my best characters out. What works for me may not work for you.