I actually took pretty much up to phase 4 beta to come up with my character. 
I started from the mechanics I liked the best -- the Disciples of Magic -- and the lore I found most interesting, which was that of the miqo'te. From there, I came up with a character that could be influenced by, and have an opinion on, that particular culture but yet would also be a fairly free and open adventurer (albeit one with some pretty major personality flaws). The most important thing for me was to play in the boundaries of the lore while making a character that I found interesting and had room to grow.
After I had the concept roughed out, I did several of the prompts (100 Questions About Your Character, Your Boss Drop Table, What do you like to eat, etc.) to flesh her out in more detail. Of course, she's changed as she's been played and RPed. She retains some of her naivety, but she's also become a bit more hard-edged and violent. She's sort of drifting from "neutral good" to "chaotic good" in D&D terms, or from Scrupulous to Unprincipled in Palladium terms.
My recommendation is to start with a rough concept -- something you can summarize in a sentence or two -- and either flesh it out through RP, writing it up in the wiki, or going through some of those character prompts. The 100 Questions is especially useful, I think.
I started from the mechanics I liked the best -- the Disciples of Magic -- and the lore I found most interesting, which was that of the miqo'te. From there, I came up with a character that could be influenced by, and have an opinion on, that particular culture but yet would also be a fairly free and open adventurer (albeit one with some pretty major personality flaws). The most important thing for me was to play in the boundaries of the lore while making a character that I found interesting and had room to grow.After I had the concept roughed out, I did several of the prompts (100 Questions About Your Character, Your Boss Drop Table, What do you like to eat, etc.) to flesh her out in more detail. Of course, she's changed as she's been played and RPed. She retains some of her naivety, but she's also become a bit more hard-edged and violent. She's sort of drifting from "neutral good" to "chaotic good" in D&D terms, or from Scrupulous to Unprincipled in Palladium terms.
My recommendation is to start with a rough concept -- something you can summarize in a sentence or two -- and either flesh it out through RP, writing it up in the wiki, or going through some of those character prompts. The 100 Questions is especially useful, I think.
The Freelance Wizard
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
