(07-21-2013, 12:57 AM)Averis Wrote: When creating your character, how do you balance between being too boring and too snowflake?Â
Personally, I don't really think about the characters as "boring" or "snowflake" until I've made them, at which point I tweak them if they fall into either category. Instead, I just make a character that I would enjoy playing, or one that I think would have interesting (though not always positive) interactions with the world and with other characters. Sometimes I base them on a certain personality trait or stereotype (polite and soft-spoken, shy and awkward, loud and brash), or a key event that could greatly influence a character's personality (the loss of a loved one, or returning to a loved one after a long period apart, etc.), or some sort of weakness and/or strength (naturally gifted at magic but physically frail or even close to dying. Fears failure more than anything else, even death! A gifted fighter that can't resist a pretty face or puppy-dog eyes.) or just whatever interests me (I wanna be crazy! I wanna be a ninja! I wanna be evil! I want a bigass sword!) and then expand from there until I create something that has desires, needs, likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, good and bad all mixed together. There is no "wrong" character trait, it's just a matter of how you play it.
Granted I've spent a lot of time learning how to write (former English major and all) so it's easier for me to balance the "good" things (the Mary-sue-ifiers) and the "bad" things (Boring McBorington makers), but it really just comes down to, "do they have more than one or two dimensions?" and, "would this person exist in real life?" I mean, granted, I doubt I'd ever see a genuine Miqo'te walking down the street, but that's obviously not what I'm talking about.
If it helps, then take traits from people you know, but try to keep that to a minimum. You can use traits from yourself even, but for the love of the twelve don't just make a self-insert. You're doing it wrong. This is not Sword Art Online.Also, something I like to use is the "Mary Sue Litmus Test" if I'm not sure the character is useable. It's not meant to be taken seriously by any means (there are lots of characters in the world of entertainment that would score high on these tests, but aren't Mary Sues) but it can help give you a frame of reference in both ways; is the character a Mary Sue, or are they so bland that they don't even register?
(07-21-2013, 12:57 AM)Averis Wrote: 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? (Please be general. Don't call people out)
I like...all of them? Aside from things like god-mode, or things that would be better suited to a kindergarten playground ("you can't hit me because I have a super awesome protect spell! Yeah well I have a sword that goes through protect spells because I channel aether through it!" I've never actually seen anything quite like that, but you get the idea) I've found that even the weirdest shit can be interesting to play with if done right. I've seen people break lore (I've done it once or twice myself) but make it work so well that I'd rather just take it as canon. I've seen people with borderline superpowers that balance it with believability. The key here is moderation, more than anything. Balance out the weird shit with more "normal" traits, or give some good reasoning for why it works. I've played with people whose characters were shy and not necessarily conducive to social interaction (a.k.a. RP) who were able to make that trait work and become an interesting mechanic. I've yet to find any "boring" characters, even the most unassuming of folks can be interesting.
I can only think of one player waaaaaay back in 1.0 where I had a (rather brief) encounter with them that I didn't enjoy, and it was because they went god-mode. It wasn't a fault in the character, but a fault in the player.
As a side note I think people also need to remember that conflict and bending (or even breaking) the rules is a good thing. both are things that drive stories, change characters, and sometimes rewrite the very fabric of "reality." Rules (or Lore in this case) always have exceptions, holes can be filled in many different ways. I'm not saying that everyone should just throw the lore out and do whatever they want, but I think characters that are made by playing around with the Lore, rather than using it as a strict set of rules that cannot be deviated from in any way, are more fun to interact with. They add a little bit of chaos to the mix, and I am a sucker for chaos.
My most memorable recent RP was almost entirely spent arguing with and threatening other characters, and playing with characters that occasionally bent the "rules," and it was amazing. It let everyone show the depth of their characters and interact in complex and interesting ways, and learn new things both in and out of character. Every once in a while I see someone (not just in FFXIV, but in every RP avenue) get offended by things not going their way, or not being up to their "standards," rather than looking at the "story" as a whole and seeing why their way might not be the best. Never take yourself too seriously, even if your character is a very serious person. Everyone is human and imperfect, regardless of what their avatar might be.
At the end of the day RP is just very slow, written improvisation, and there is something that every improv actor learns first before anything else: You never say "no," you always say "yes, and." In other words, just go with the flow!
As long as the other player isn't going god-mode, at least.
You can totally say "no" then.
Because they're dumb.
