Broadly speaking, every character of mine is based on the relevant stereotypes (i.e. Limsa is for pirates, Ul'dah is for selfish rich bastards, Gridania is for...well, it's not for a steakhouse at the least). I tend to use it as a jumping-off point for my characters.
As for specifically going for or against stereotypes, I consciously try to avoid that. Writing a character just for the sake of being contrarian or adherent to a stereotype can be sort of interesting, but I don't find it particularly compelling because people are fairly complex. As humans we have an instinctive need to categorise and sort--call it leftover tribal instincts or what have you--so this kind of thing is inevitable, but stereotypes, whether you're going against or with them, should really only be used as a foundation and nothing else.
As for specifically going for or against stereotypes, I consciously try to avoid that. Writing a character just for the sake of being contrarian or adherent to a stereotype can be sort of interesting, but I don't find it particularly compelling because people are fairly complex. As humans we have an instinctive need to categorise and sort--call it leftover tribal instincts or what have you--so this kind of thing is inevitable, but stereotypes, whether you're going against or with them, should really only be used as a foundation and nothing else.
