So, this is something that I've talked about at great length with guilds in the past, most recently with my last guild in WoW before my eventual retirement from the game, and I'm naturally very opinionated about it, but I'll be reeling that in for the sake of an open discussion.
How special should a character be?
I still remember the early days of RP for me, all those years ago. I was, beyond a doubt, a Sue. I was bad. My characters were overpowered, broke lore like toothpicks, and absolutely had to be the center of attention. The story was all about them, from my perspective. Over the years I've mellowed significantly, of course, having come to a realization early on that what I was doing just wasn't fun for anyone, including myself.
Now, I'm all for living the fantasy. Of course I am. I'm a roleplayer, and that's exactly what we do. After this point though, during my first year of RP, I started to take a new direction as both a roleplayer and a writer. I began to seek out simplicity in my characters. The first success, from my eyes, was how I reimagined my dwarf. He was no longer special in ways that didn't fit the world. I actively read the lore, delved deep into the world he was a part of, and sought to make him a character that fit into that world and lore well.
My attention turned from "what attributes make my character special?", and instead looked into the character himself, as I would any person I may meet in reality. What about this person makes him special?
Years down the road, I stand by my decision. I've had many characters since then, from a simple farmer turned soldier, to an assassin in a harsh world, struggling with her job and relation to the people pulling her strings. I look at my characters since that choice, and I feel pride in what I've created, and the stories I've told. However, I've also had people challenge my approach.
These people look at my characters, often having not interacted with them often, and ask me what really makes them special? They have no special powers, no distinguishing features, and all generally tend to fit in with their culture and peoples as well as I can manage. I always answer the same way: How is this fantastic character, as they are, in this world, not already special? Maybe you're an elf wielding incredible arcane power, or a wandering human hunting wondrous treasures lost to time. You already are special, so what beyond that defines you? What makes your character interesting as that person?
Of course, everyone has their approach, and as roleplayers (and furthermore, nerds) I think it's kind of our duty to be accepting of each other, whatever views we may take, or however we may choose to find our enjoyment of the things we're passionate about.
So! Little ranty thing done with, discuss! I want to know what the community thinks on the subject!
Also, here at the bottom, a little link I've often used through the years since my Sueish days. I don't follow it to a "T", as sometimes you gotta have a little freedom, but I've always felt it makes a fairly decent gauge of the Sue situation.
http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm
How special should a character be?
I still remember the early days of RP for me, all those years ago. I was, beyond a doubt, a Sue. I was bad. My characters were overpowered, broke lore like toothpicks, and absolutely had to be the center of attention. The story was all about them, from my perspective. Over the years I've mellowed significantly, of course, having come to a realization early on that what I was doing just wasn't fun for anyone, including myself.
Now, I'm all for living the fantasy. Of course I am. I'm a roleplayer, and that's exactly what we do. After this point though, during my first year of RP, I started to take a new direction as both a roleplayer and a writer. I began to seek out simplicity in my characters. The first success, from my eyes, was how I reimagined my dwarf. He was no longer special in ways that didn't fit the world. I actively read the lore, delved deep into the world he was a part of, and sought to make him a character that fit into that world and lore well.
My attention turned from "what attributes make my character special?", and instead looked into the character himself, as I would any person I may meet in reality. What about this person makes him special?
Years down the road, I stand by my decision. I've had many characters since then, from a simple farmer turned soldier, to an assassin in a harsh world, struggling with her job and relation to the people pulling her strings. I look at my characters since that choice, and I feel pride in what I've created, and the stories I've told. However, I've also had people challenge my approach.
These people look at my characters, often having not interacted with them often, and ask me what really makes them special? They have no special powers, no distinguishing features, and all generally tend to fit in with their culture and peoples as well as I can manage. I always answer the same way: How is this fantastic character, as they are, in this world, not already special? Maybe you're an elf wielding incredible arcane power, or a wandering human hunting wondrous treasures lost to time. You already are special, so what beyond that defines you? What makes your character interesting as that person?
Of course, everyone has their approach, and as roleplayers (and furthermore, nerds) I think it's kind of our duty to be accepting of each other, whatever views we may take, or however we may choose to find our enjoyment of the things we're passionate about.
So! Little ranty thing done with, discuss! I want to know what the community thinks on the subject!
Also, here at the bottom, a little link I've often used through the years since my Sueish days. I don't follow it to a "T", as sometimes you gotta have a little freedom, but I've always felt it makes a fairly decent gauge of the Sue situation.
http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm
