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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Schmoe" data-source="post: 7433343" data-attributes="member: 913">I agree with this in principle, but I think it's a little more nuanced than that.  In my experience a character can be memorable to the player, or it can be memorable to the group.  The two aren't mutually exclusive, but neither are they directly related.For a character to memorable to me (the player), I have to really understand the character.  It has to be a believable character whose motivations I understand and whose world-view I understand, and I understand them in a way that I can use them to make decisions in the game.  One of my most personally memorable characters was a retired army sergeant who led his company to a slaughter through his own tactical errors and was now on a quest of redemption to repay the families of his slain soldiers.  It was powerful.  I "got" the character.  It allowed me to interact with the rest of the group through the viewpoint of a military character with strong convictions and interesting internal conflicts, and I really enjoyed playing him.  The game died after a few weeks, and I couldn't tell you if anyone in that game would remember the first thing about him.For a character to be memorable to the group, the character has to make a memorable impact on the gameplay, and that can come from amazing luck, amazing mechanical mastery, or emergent roleplay.  One of my most memorable characters to the group was a cleric in a game that ran for a couple of years.  He had no backstory, was a little bit dorky, and had a pet goat (I never really determined why, he just did).  But in game he became the most beloved member of the group as he always had a positive, somewhat quirky attitude and formed the emotional backbone of the group.  When he crawled into the mouth of a purple worm to explore (don't ask, not my finest moment), there was such an uproar at the table that the DM took pity and spit him out.  I guarantee everyone at the table remembered Sir Oolean.I like to build characters this way, too, and complementary mechanics and fluff are important if the character is to be personally memorable, but I don't think either is necessary for the character to be memorable to the group at large.Agreed!  100%  I don't set out to entertain other people at the table, and I don't expect them to try to entertain me (other than the DM).  I expect us all to try to solve the challenges of the game collaboratively.  My experience is that people are generally quite entertained even without trying to do so.The only thing you can control is your own enjoyment from playing your own character.  If you make a character that you don't enjoy playing, then it will show during the game, and others will pick up on it.  If you really enjoy your character then the rest of the group can see that, and whether they appreciate the character or not, at least they know you're having a good time.Obviously, the standard disclaimers about being disruptive or offensive apply.</blockquote>

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