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C'io Behkt · **07-21-2013, 02:22 PM**

When creating your character, how do you balance between being too boring and too snowflake?

I don't.

By which I mean I don't think at all in those terms. I never worry about if the character will be too boring to others because I only make her to be interesting to me, the person who has to live with her for the long-term, and because I can't realistically predict what other people will find interesting or not. My hypothesis is that if I'm having a good time, others will feel my enjoyment and join me. I also don't think of snowflake because I always want to make someone who is 'normal' by the standards of the lore. A normal nobleman, a normal merchant girl, a normal whataver. There can be interesting and grand milestones in the past of a character, but I think how much you emphasize or draw attention to them will determine whether you're playing a snowflake or not. Most people don't broadcast their past to everyone who passes by, and neither do most of my characters, so by the time the backstory comes out, I've already established the character as someone with enough dimensions to be "allowed" that story.

Which means that, yes, in my opinion, the difference between someone perceived as a special snowflake and someone not is simply how hard a sell has been used in the marketing of the character's more unique traits.

When role-playing with others, what character traits, personalities or actions have you found to be interesting and enjoyable to RP with and/or what have you seen just not work or appear too boring to engage your character?

The character traits I find engaging all belong to the player, not the character.

It all boils down to style. I find people who are open to be the most enjoyable to play with. Someone who can adapt to the situation fluidly regardless of who walks in, where the conversation turns, or how many mobs suddenly spawn under our feet is someone who is infinitely fun to play with. Someone who gets bothered by shifts, whispers when your actions have "deviated from the script," and begin trying to turn the scene with "my character wouldn't do that" is not someone I enjoy playing with. Yes, your character wouldn't do that, so don't tell me and complain about it--just do what your character would do! Gosh!

Adaptability is what makes a character interesting because it is what allows a character to evolve. Being spry and quick with the uptake doesn't hurt either. I like it when people turn off their self-editor and just blurt out the first thing that comes to their minds, whether it is dialogue or a quick emote about how the character, who is more of a deliberator, is deliberating and chewing his lip. It's something I can respond to fast rather than waiting for a response to get polished and made "perfect."

Where do you find the line and when do you think it can be easily crossed while still being within the lore? What kind of advice would you give given your past experience.

The line moves.

My most interesting experiences have been with those who respect and keep to the lore while still being unafraid to exploit the open windows the lore leaves for us to explore. In roleplaying games of shared consensus, there is often a great stigma attached to deviating from established lore. I understand why it exists, but it also makes most people afraid to extrapolate for fear of being called out. The best advice I can give on how to know what the limits are, especially when we are talking about shared and differing perspectives, is to test those limits and actually -explore-. Let yourself get called out! When you go too far, you'll know, and you can adapt and pull yourself back to the divide. If we all stuck to our stereotypes and straight-paths, roleplay would be boring because the most interesting people are those who dare to test the world.

Averis · **07-21-2013, 07:51 PM**

Guess I can answer my own post. It's really interesting to read the responses others have posted. Even though I've been involved in MMO role-play for almost 10 years, I'm always learning and each community is a little different.

When creating your character, how do you balance between being too boring and too snowflake?Â

Creating characters has always been something that I really enjoy, but it's a bit different creating a character for a predefined setting than one that you have created yourself. It's a good kind of challenge, though, and I think it has helped me with my own personal stories. Limits can force you to be more creative instead of going with easy answers.

Like others have said as well, I try to have a balance of positive and negative traits. I probably usually lean more heavily on the negative type traits, though. Humans are inherently imperfect and I think that works well when creating a character. But they shouldn't be so "messed up" that they can't function, especially if you plan to interact with others. But I know that I have a lot of flaws and I'm usually observant of others around me, so I try to recognize those traits and add those that I think will help give my character that "human" and believable aspect.

When it comes to their background I try to give them reason for being an adventurer within the lore. I usually start with fairly humble beginnings and then add events that lead them to going out into the world. Since it's a character in a game, I want to have reasons to actually play the game and RP, so I often take class and skills into account as well. I look for ways to put them in that position to be X type of adventurer. So, for me, it's also a balance of gameplay and character development.

I'm not the most outspoken person IRL, so my characters tend to be a little understated, but I try to add a little bit of spice. I can easily fall into a trap of creating an overly flawed character and I've found that can lead to frustrating role-play. Like in real life, I don't think people want to be around someone that is always negative, quiet or complaining. So having some redeeming facets like kind or funny is the balance to the negative traits.

When role-playing with others, what character traits, personalities or actions have you found to be interesting and enjoyable to RP with and/or what have you seen just not work or appear too boring to engage your character?

I was in a heavy RP guild in EQ2 for a while and I learned a lot during that time and had some really memorable moments, but one thing that really turned it sour was when some of the members took things too seriously, they were basically inflexible. During a group event one of the members hit a mob that was a friendly faction to another player in the group. It broke out into an OOC fight and made many people feel uncomfortable. In this case, I think it would have been better to have RPed the conflict instead of blaming the player. So I think it's important to walk into RP with a general attitude of playing along and being flexible. It's important to realize the the other players are still human and instead of flipping out about something they did (unless they are griefing you) try to approach it as an RP challenge.

This goes back to the character development too, I try to setup my character so that when she starts the game I don't have any set plans for how she will develop. That usually comes later as I see how those I interact with can affect her or how the game story pans out. That's not to say that those that have a full story planned are going to cause problems, but I think it's always best to be flexible. Think of it like a group activity, let the others around you enrich your ideas instead of using them only as extras for your stage.

I think the social aspect of MMO role-playing is what makes it most unique to other forms for story crafting. It's organic and just like life, you never know what will happen next, and just like life you shouldn't attempt to think that you can perfectly direct it. Be open to randomness and think of how your character will change or react to it.

Just like sending a child off to school, when I develop my character I try to give them the tools to make it on their own, but beyond that I let the events of the game and the role-play shape them as I would in real life if I personally faced similar things.

Where do you find the line and when do you think it can be easily crossed while still being within the lore? What kind of advice would you give given your past experience.

Like I said above, I think taking it too serious can cause problems. That's not to say that you can't be really into your story or the lore (I know I am), but, when interacting with others you need to leave room for them.

Other things I become weary of are characters that have specific skills or looks that aren't actually in the game. It might not be lore-breaking, but I'm likely not going to remember that your character had a wooden leg and a tattoo etc. While that may feel limiting to some, I think it's just better to assume that people won't remember those details unless they interact with you regularly. Having to always point out that you have these unique features can be a bit jarring, but there are ways to work it into your RP that can work, it just takes a certain kind of understanding that not everyone will remember those details so I wouldn't make that a focus.

Number one advice is to have fun. You won't please everyone. Always try to be courteous of others role-play, but if something isn't fun for you then just nicely exit stage left and move on instead of trying to force it. Or you could stick around and observe and maybe you'll learn something new that can enrich your role-play.

Orlog · **07-22-2013, 04:32 AM**

Honestly, my answer is pretty straight forward. Before hitting the lore, the race, the gender... I make a person. All of my characters I've ever made that have actually stood any test of time worked out the best when things in the physical realm was an after thought. Bea would still be who she is if she were a male Lalafell, Hyru, etc. Aside from that, I think about what honestly makes an interesting, but realistic (ya know, someone who catches your attention, but doesn't come off as forced as hell) person in the real world. I even go as far as looking at some of my own personality traits and exaggerate them. That way I'm working with something that I'm familiar with, but I'm not just making the same character over and over again.

Things like jobs, parents, living situations, religious backgrounds, etc. are usually an after thought, or not something I truly touch on until they're brought up in RP. Reminding me, I tend to make up a lot of shit on the fly and go with what feels right at the time! There have been a lot of things with my character that I just thought up on the spot and ended up being a large part of the character to date.

Honestly, I feel people who flesh out those sorts of details to the fullest tend to concentration on that a lot in their RP. I honestly couldn't give two shits about your family. I want to know about you (the character) as a person. I want great interactions that suck me into the moment and make me feel like I'm talking to a real person, not an archetype ( Tribal Miqo'te! Roegadyn Seamen! ). I'm not saying that every character that falls into that category needs to avoid those traits in order to make an interesting character, but the character shouldn't stop at the end of that summery, and even then, it should probably be a pretty small part of who they are anyway.

So, I guess it all just comes down to making a believable person for me.

K'nahli · **07-23-2013, 05:36 PM**

Quote:When creating your character, how do you balance between being too boring and too snowflake?

My very first character that I ever RP'd and gave a personality was the closest thing I ever had to a 'snowflake' character. Naturally I did worry that perhaps I was making her too perfect though that was far from my intention. She was supposed to be the sweet and easily-likeable character as well as being an adept warrior in many areas, being that she had trained almost all of her life.

Of course, I never wanted her to be seen as perfect. I find that concept mind-numbingly boring. What is there to like about a flawless character? She had a very troubled past and a number of flaws that predominantly had to do with her own emotions that led to her being a very fragile character that was on the verge of snapping should she succumb to another traumatic event.

Anyways, in terms of balancing my character I willingly accept that my character is not immortal and not able to easily overcome any situation be it battle, emotional moments or even an argument. It doesn't really matter to me where my characters' flaws lie, so long as they are enough to actually define who they are and how they behave in certain situations and perhaps even in every day life. As someone said, character flaws are far more interesting than merits in most cases.

Quote:When role-playing with others, what character traits, personalities or actions have you found to be interesting and enjoyable to RP with and/or what have you seen just not work or appear too boring to engage your character?

I am not particularly inclined to any set personality as far as I can tell, but I must admit I do like characters that have secrets and don't easily dictate their lifestory to you in the blink of an eye. What is better than finding out something shocking about a character you have known for a long time and felt that you knew better than anyone else?

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Balancing character personality (Mundane or Mary Sue)

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes