(03-02-2015, 09:06 AM)Berrod Armstrong Wrote: I usually have an overhead idea of how I want a story to go. If I find that a certain path will make things more interesting, I stop and assess for a bit. Character death is usually out of the question, unless the character was written to die (I...do that a lot. RIP Tom). I want my characters to be a part of the interesting story, and so I usually take careful steps to preserve their lives -- even if they get knocked around a little. Or a lot.
I've often made the mistake of having my character do something that goes very much against his character to make things more engaging, but recently I've decided to let my characters be who they are, and make only minor tweaks to keep the train on the tracks -- even if there's a switch-turn or two. It's quite as much, if not more rewarding than a knee-jerk against-character decision. Of course, I wouldn't rule one out if it's absolutely needed.Â
All in all, the answer is yes! I've taken the wheel and turned it a little at times to keep a good story going, especially when it comes to being inclusive of more friends so that everyone can have a good time!
This most closely matches kinda how I do things. I have a few overarching goals in place (become a Paladin, meet up with his brother again, etc.), but the specific path I leave mostly vague. As such, he's more or less free to engage in most of the events that happen around him, from going after cultists to making pies.
That said, I still have a pretty solid concept of "how he is" that I stick to. As much fun as it might be, there has been a couple occasions where I had to pass up on some things due to either Chachan not being the type for such things (barhopping, Grindstone for the longest time) or because there was no way I could feasibly have him stumble across it (impromptu beach party in Costa, a place he has never been IC).
Then again, there's been a couple times where he's been... smarter? wittier? than he actually should be. Mostly just so he can engage in some more interesting conversation. Word games are a good example of this, as is when he gets into some arguments, and I've let a few puns slip through as well. It all is pretty minor stuff, but there's definitely times where I've actively made him more mentally dextrous than he should be in order to help the conversation be more than "Let's explain things to Chachan."
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