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<blockquote data-quote="utopia27" data-source="post: 5168546" data-attributes="member: 26707">conflict and developmentquirks and relationships are a good start - standing rifts.&nbsp; They also establish relationship with other characters.One thing I've always worked towards is character motivation - for a given situation, what perspectives are driving the character's actions?&nbsp; Does the banter beween the dwarf and the minotaur create a bond of cameraderie?&nbsp; If the dwarf police try to arrest the minotaur, how does the dwarf resolve the conflict between his loyalty to his friend, and an inherently lawful nature and respect for the clan's authority?&nbsp; Can the minotaur bring himself to resist the impulse to smash the dwarf cops?&nbsp;&nbsp; Can his buddy the dwarf talk him down?&nbsp; Does the minotaur blame his friend the dwarf for the behavior of the dwarf cops?I've got an eberron halfling druid(ess) &quot;Fern&quot; in a current campaign.&nbsp; She's generally a pretty mellow, though impulsive and somewhat impatiently ambitious personality.&nbsp; When a local Sheriff banned her companion dinosaur from town (&quot;looks dangerous&quot;) Fern reacted...&nbsp; poorly.&nbsp; The adventuring group was relatively new - and she was definitely the outsider.&nbsp; She didn't have a huge bond with her party yet (&quot;not my tribe&quot;).&nbsp; But she had a strong STRONG bond with her companion, and only substantial remnant of her home plains.&nbsp; So her consideration for getting everyone in trouble was pretty low.&nbsp; The Sheriff was a Bad Guy (both in her eyes at the time, and it turns out in the long run as well..).&nbsp; So she made some trouble, got beat down, and arrested.&nbsp; Her party bailed her out (nice of them, considering..) - something that helps establish a bond with the party.&nbsp; And not as though the paladin and cleric of the lawful good god of justice are going to let her rot on a trumped-up charge by an evil Sheriff...Also long-term, Fern has a list of &quot;world's-better-off-without&quot; folk.&nbsp; THe Sheriff tops her list.&nbsp; She doesn't make a big deal about it (she's reserved, speaks with actions more than words... one of those quirk things).&nbsp; But someday, she's going to find an opportunity to go back and revisit that sheriff.&nbsp; If the goody-goody guys want to arrest and prosecute &amp;c. &amp;c. then Fern will be OK with that.&nbsp; On the other hand, Fern has recently learned these neat spells, &quot;contagion&quot; and &quot;call lightning&quot;.&nbsp; So she's really quite ready to dispense with the governmental/organized criminal justice approach.Another interesting source of roleplaying is character development.&nbsp; How does your character adjust his motivations and relationships over time?&nbsp; Does the character become more attached to his adventuring group?&nbsp; Does he start dating a girl named Yoko and spending too much time away from the dungeon?&nbsp; I had a character (Kort) that inadvertently ended up with a child - 3/4 dragon, and acted as his familiar.&nbsp; Kort didn't share with his party the difference in his &quot;new familiar&quot;.&nbsp; But having your kid around in an adventure changed some of his behavior and outlook - and caused some consternation in the rest of the party.&nbsp; At one point Kort had to go off and do something moderately suicidal - so he entrusted his daughter to one of the other members of the party, along with the traditional &quot;open when I'm dead&quot; letter of explanation.&nbsp; Lots of drama when the envelope was opened.&nbsp; More drama when Kort returned (he was mostly dead for 2 years local...).So...&nbsp; don't be afraid to build in conflicting motivations into your characcter - and try to remember to engage them when you determine your character's reactions.&nbsp; And don't be afraid to let the characcter develop.Character conflict and character development - huge contributors to the &quot;cooperative storytelling&quot; aspect of roleplaying.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="utopia27, post: 5168546, member: 26707"] [b]conflict and development[/b] quirks and relationships are a good start - standing rifts. They also establish relationship with other characters. One thing I've always worked towards is character motivation - for a given situation, what perspectives are driving the character's actions? Does the banter beween the dwarf and the minotaur create a bond of cameraderie? If the dwarf police try to arrest the minotaur, how does the dwarf resolve the conflict between his loyalty to his friend, and an inherently lawful nature and respect for the clan's authority? Can the minotaur bring himself to resist the impulse to smash the dwarf cops? Can his buddy the dwarf talk him down? Does the minotaur blame his friend the dwarf for the behavior of the dwarf cops? I've got an eberron halfling druid(ess) "Fern" in a current campaign. She's generally a pretty mellow, though impulsive and somewhat impatiently ambitious personality. When a local Sheriff banned her companion dinosaur from town ("looks dangerous") Fern reacted... poorly. The adventuring group was relatively new - and she was definitely the outsider. She didn't have a huge bond with her party yet ("not my tribe"). But she had a strong STRONG bond with her companion, and only substantial remnant of her home plains. So her consideration for getting everyone in trouble was pretty low. The Sheriff was a Bad Guy (both in her eyes at the time, and it turns out in the long run as well..). So she made some trouble, got beat down, and arrested. Her party bailed her out (nice of them, considering..) - something that helps establish a bond with the party. And not as though the paladin and cleric of the lawful good god of justice are going to let her rot on a trumped-up charge by an evil Sheriff... Also long-term, Fern has a list of "world's-better-off-without" folk. THe Sheriff tops her list. She doesn't make a big deal about it (she's reserved, speaks with actions more than words... one of those quirk things). But someday, she's going to find an opportunity to go back and revisit that sheriff. If the goody-goody guys want to arrest and prosecute &c. &c. then Fern will be OK with that. On the other hand, Fern has recently learned these neat spells, "contagion" and "call lightning". So she's really quite ready to dispense with the governmental/organized criminal justice approach. Another interesting source of roleplaying is character development. How does your character adjust his motivations and relationships over time? Does the character become more attached to his adventuring group? Does he start dating a girl named Yoko and spending too much time away from the dungeon? I had a character (Kort) that inadvertently ended up with a child - 3/4 dragon, and acted as his familiar. Kort didn't share with his party the difference in his "new familiar". But having your kid around in an adventure changed some of his behavior and outlook - and caused some consternation in the rest of the party. At one point Kort had to go off and do something moderately suicidal - so he entrusted his daughter to one of the other members of the party, along with the traditional "open when I'm dead" letter of explanation. Lots of drama when the envelope was opened. More drama when Kort returned (he was mostly dead for 2 years local...). So... don't be afraid to build in conflicting motivations into your characcter - and try to remember to engage them when you determine your character's reactions. And don't be afraid to let the characcter develop. Character conflict and character development - huge contributors to the "cooperative storytelling" aspect of roleplaying. [/QUOTE]

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