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<blockquote data-quote="SnowDog" data-source="post: 1066842" data-attributes="member: 2225">I find sarcasm to be my biggest enemy in game.&nbsp; For a long time, my fellow players have all shared a similar sense of humor to me.&nbsp; It's tough to have a truly sincere character, or a character with no sense of irony.&nbsp; It's even tougher as DM because I have to portray that sort of emotional makeup once in a while.Something I've done for years that has helped me create characters with varying motivations/personalities is to write up little &quot;scenes&quot; starring the character.&nbsp; Nothing even long -- just a page of text.Let's say you've got Lilly, the rogue who is unlike you.&nbsp; Fine.&nbsp; Is she a city girl?&nbsp; In your mind, imagine her walking into a tavern.&nbsp; Why did she pick this tavern?&nbsp; What is her goal there?&nbsp; Looking for a drink?&nbsp; A game of dice?&nbsp; Romance?&nbsp; A mark to con?&nbsp; Who meets her and talks to her, and how does she react? Start writing.&nbsp; Don't answer all the questions before you start, just start.&nbsp; Stop when the &quot;scene&quot; is over.&nbsp; Describe the character's reactions, both external and internal, to whatever happens there.&nbsp; Don't write about game mechanics -- don't turn it into a play-by-play of an imaginary die-rolling session.&nbsp; Keep it mental, keep it on the level of interpersonal interaction.&nbsp; Abstract away any game mechanics stuff.Do this a few times, with different situations.Do it again after your first session with the character.&nbsp; I like to fill in a &quot;blank&quot; spot in the game session.&nbsp; For example, if your character took watch, and &quot;nothing happened,&quot; write up what really happened.&nbsp; A skunk came by, or she fell asleep but woke up before anyone noticed, whatever.&nbsp; Make something up.&nbsp; Write about how she woke up the next person to take watch, and what they talked about before Lilly fell asleep.&nbsp; The personality will probably be very different from where you started before your first session.&nbsp; This will help remind you what you wanted out of the character.Do this periodically until you feel you don't need to (or don't want to) anymore.&nbsp; Give them to your GM to help him/her understand where you're trying to go with the character, even if while the pressure is on (at the table) you tend to &quot;slip&quot; and act like you and not like Lilly.&nbsp; Maybe he/she will help you get into character more, or tailor situations to help you bring out the Lilly in your play instead of the &quot;you.&quot;&nbsp; Keep them by your side and review them periodically.Just one tip -- something I've done a lot and has really helped keep me centered.But most of all, have fun <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="SnowDog, post: 1066842, member: 2225"] I find sarcasm to be my biggest enemy in game. For a long time, my fellow players have all shared a similar sense of humor to me. It's tough to have a truly sincere character, or a character with no sense of irony. It's even tougher as DM because I [b]have[/b] to portray that sort of emotional makeup once in a while. Something I've done for years that has helped me create characters with varying motivations/personalities is to write up little "scenes" starring the character. Nothing even long -- just a page of text. Let's say you've got Lilly, the rogue who is unlike you. Fine. Is she a city girl? In your mind, imagine her walking into a tavern. Why did she pick this tavern? What is her goal there? Looking for a drink? A game of dice? Romance? A mark to con? Who meets her and talks to her, and how does she react? Start writing. Don't answer all the questions before you start, just start. Stop when the "scene" is over. Describe the character's reactions, both external and internal, to whatever happens there. Don't write about game mechanics -- don't turn it into a play-by-play of an imaginary die-rolling session. Keep it mental, keep it on the level of interpersonal interaction. Abstract away any game mechanics stuff. Do this a few times, with different situations. Do it again after your first session with the character. I like to fill in a "blank" spot in the game session. For example, if your character took watch, and "nothing happened," write up what really happened. A skunk came by, or she fell asleep but woke up before anyone noticed, whatever. Make something up. Write about how she woke up the next person to take watch, and what they talked about before Lilly fell asleep. The personality will probably be very different from where you started before your first session. This will help remind you what you wanted out of the character. Do this periodically until you feel you don't need to (or don't want to) anymore. Give them to your GM to help him/her understand where you're trying to go with the character, even if while the pressure is on (at the table) you tend to "slip" and act like [b]you[/b] and not like Lilly. Maybe he/she will help you get into character more, or tailor situations to help you bring out the Lilly in your play instead of the "you." Keep them by your side and review them periodically. Just one tip -- something I've done a lot and has really helped keep me centered. But most of all, have fun :). [/QUOTE]

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