Tropes aren't really bad on their own. Everyone and their mother does tragic backstories, but that's because they can give a character a compelling ambition or drive to do something. You can use any tool you like to piece together your character, but a simple character done well will forever be preferable to engage with than an butchered attempt at a horribly complex character.Â
Don't feel obliged to be different. After all, RP is sort of about fitting in. Having similarities to people is what can draw them together just as much as appreciating differences. I've made a character and played it without developing a backstory at all, and who the character eventually became was sort of improvised, shaped by ideas on the fly and RP with others.
I wouldn't get too caught up in background. It's only there to explain the way the character is now. When you start RPing, it doesn't become an exercise of referring to written out notes to calculate how your character would respond, nor does it become a task of trading fictional past experiences with other characters for theirs.Â
Things that really matter are the sorts of things you'll have to think about throughout your RP. What a character fears, what they hope for, their preference of weather, what hobbies or hidden talents they might have, how well they can cope under stress, how they deal with people, what secrets they're unwilling to share, how they talk, whether they are wealthy etc etc.
Aside from the past of your character, far fewer give thought to their future. I think it's a good idea to have goals for your character; short term ones they might achieve in RP, long term ones that might slowly unravel over time and change the character as they do, and even the long milestones that your character strives for but probably never ever reach.
Don't feel obliged to be different. After all, RP is sort of about fitting in. Having similarities to people is what can draw them together just as much as appreciating differences. I've made a character and played it without developing a backstory at all, and who the character eventually became was sort of improvised, shaped by ideas on the fly and RP with others.
I wouldn't get too caught up in background. It's only there to explain the way the character is now. When you start RPing, it doesn't become an exercise of referring to written out notes to calculate how your character would respond, nor does it become a task of trading fictional past experiences with other characters for theirs.Â
Things that really matter are the sorts of things you'll have to think about throughout your RP. What a character fears, what they hope for, their preference of weather, what hobbies or hidden talents they might have, how well they can cope under stress, how they deal with people, what secrets they're unwilling to share, how they talk, whether they are wealthy etc etc.
Aside from the past of your character, far fewer give thought to their future. I think it's a good idea to have goals for your character; short term ones they might achieve in RP, long term ones that might slowly unravel over time and change the character as they do, and even the long milestones that your character strives for but probably never ever reach.
