Verence Wrote:Sorry for the double post and doubly sorry for the wall of text, but as I'm sure you've all gathered by now this subject is something I've had loads of experience with and feel somewhat strongly about. I had to get the above out of the way before I shared my own examples. The following is straight out of the Canta Per Me character creation guidelines and are all things I've seen overdone or done poorly.
Canta Per Me's character creation guidelines Wrote:Some things that may seem like a great idea at character genesis turn out later to be potential pitfalls to roleplay. None of these are ironclad “do not do†rules, but are more presented to make new roleplayers aware of possible hurdles to their easy and enjoyable roleplaying. If you have a concept you’re dying to try out that’s inseparable from one of these, by all means try it!To this list, I'd add:
The Lone Wolf – Who wouldn’t want a strong, independent character who could care less if the world around them went up in smoke? It’s an appealing idea, and one that can lead to a very stand-out character if done well. On the other side of the coin it often leads to difficulty getting involved in roleplaying sessions as your character stands on the sidelines, being independent. Lone Wolves are often unfriendly, and chasing away other characters with a stern look is loads of fun right up until you realize that now you have no one to roleplay with.
The Dark Past – Tragic, dark, or villainous pasts is a great way to add a lot of zest to a character in a hurry. It’s also a potential way of making other characters uncomfortable, especially if your character’s history is alluded to often. No one’s life is idyllic, so don’t shy away from conflict or hard times if that's the angle you'd like to take; just keep a mind towards moderation. A character with loads of baggage can scare off others and become difficult to roleplay.
Vengeance – A timeless theme, and a powerful one. It can serve as a very strong motivator for your character... And an obsession that keeps them from taking advantage of what is going on in the community. Other characters will probably not care about your character’s vendetta unless it involves them too, or they come to care about your character as the result of roleplay interaction. Even then they may shy away from taking a direct hand in exacting payback.
Amnesia – A popular choice; after all, it saves you the trouble of coming up with a backstory, generates an interesting quirk, and gives a motivation all at the same time! Three for the price of one, right? The difficulty is that no backstory can actually become a handicap as you attempt to flesh out your character, find reasons for why they are the way they are, and dig for things they can talk about. There’s a danger of it cheapening your roleplay, doubly so since as above mentioned, chances are nobody will care that your character is amnesic until they get to know them.
Other Origin – This is the only one I’ll directly condemn. Saying that your character comes from another planet, another dimension, Everquest, or modern day Earth changes the world setting of Vana’Diel into something else. It means that either your character is insane or that Vana’Diel is part of a metaverse – something beyond the scope of Final Fantasy XI. This is something to be avoided (unless your character is in fact a nutter and simply thinks they’re from somewhere else).
The Orphan - I didn't add this to the CPM list because, well, wars kill a lot of people. Plenty of people are going to have dead family members in the wake of a massive, savage, years-long war. We had a lot of people with no real family to speak of in CPM and given the setting, it seemed appropriate enough. In other settings, though... It can be incredibly common and it gets a bit weird when more people had their entire family murdered/disappeared/etc than not. Generally speaking, most people 0-40 have living parents.
The Kleptomaniac - They are a Thief, and they steal things! They pick pockets and break into houses! Why? ...'cause they're a Thief/Rogue/analogous jobclass and that's what they do, right? Well, not necessarily... Job classes tend to describe fighting style, not define personalities (though it's true certain personalities are drawn to certain job classes). We've established that the character is a Thief, but why do they steal everything in sight? All characters of this type that I've seen never seem to quite think that far. Do they do it for the adrenaline rush? Did they have a hard upbringing and seize any and all opportunity they see? "Because they're a Thief" isn't a legitimate reason - stealing is risky and dangerous, not something to be done on a whim "just because". Plus, all the pickpocketing can grate on other players as everyone in the area has their pockets systematically rifled through.
The Walking Autobiography - Often coupled with The Dark Past. It's perfectly understandable and quite common among new RPers - Someone comes up with an interesting, in-depth background for their character and they just can't wait to share it! So their character shares, at length, their life story, hopes, and dreams with whatever random passerby strikes up a conversation. Now, some people are like this. If your character is, great! Talkativeness can be an endearing trait. A lot of people aren't, though. Someone you sit next to at random on the bus isn't likely to spill their entire life story to you just because you said "hi". Pace yourself, think about what your character would and wouldn't be comfortable sharing in the given situation, and how appropriate it is for them to talk about themselves at all.
The Pokémaniac - I want to be the very best, like no one ever was! Okay, okay, bad joke. But common concept. I've seen this done well nearly as many times as I've seen it done poorly. A character, for whatever reason, is obsessed with being the best. The most powerful mage and the most skilled martial artist are two of the most common. Okay, fine... why? If you can come up with an interesting, compelling reason for their obsession then congratulations on a dynamic, motivated character. If you can't... Well, people don't just suddenly decide "I'm going to be the best damn PHP coder EVAR!" for no reason.
The Spontaneous Savior - A new character arrives on the scene and brings a dire warning of impending disaster. For whatever reason, they are the key to resolving it safely. This can be an awesome jump-start to a plot... IF you run it by the community first, make sure it doesn't conflict with anything, doesn't contradict the setting, and that people are generally okay with it. Don't be surprised or upset if they aren't; people often don't like things getting shaken up out of nowhere by someone they haven't RP'd with before. You can easily wind up the following situation.
Char #1: "The world's suddenly in danger for a reason I just made up, and I'm the only one who knows how to save it!"
Char #2: "...Who are you and why wasn't it in danger before you showed up?"
I've only run into possession twice - one made a lot of awkward situations for the linkshell. The other was very subtle and interesting, surprising everyone when the truth finally came out. There have also been a couple of incarcerations in CPM history, but to my knowledge there was only ever one breakout and they faked it to look like a death, then the escaping character moved to a different city under an assumed identity until things were eventually resolved with some backdoor diplomacy. Not terribly cliche, and I had fun watching that plot develop since the char in question was my char's adoptive little sister.
We never had any halfbreed characters, but I was opposed to them until I read about Enid Ironheart. According to game lore, all the in-game maps were drawn by Gwynham Ironheart, a Bastokan hume... And his half-Elvaan daughter Enid Ironheart. With a halfbreed built right into the lore like that, the LS decided they were possible but rare due to low fertility rate to explain why so few of them are seen. We also decided Tarutaru and Galkan crosses weren't possible due to the former's stature and the latter's technical asexuality. I don't really accept WotG as precedent for canon since it contradicts the rest of the game in several places in ways not explainable by time travel.
I have to say, this post is full of win. To be 100% honest with each and every single one of you. I do believe I was guilty of doing 85% of this entire list all at once with my very first character... and it's so true. Ah.. memories.
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