I don't think we're talking about the same things here.
I'm talking about something that starts at the bottom and stays there, not a story that has ups AND downs.
Even a tragedy starts at the top and works its way down from there. They don't just start from the bottom and go even further down (if that's even possible).
It's one thing to tell a story about someone who loses something they once had. It's another to tell a story about someone who has nothing, and loses even more. Get what I'm sayin'?
The whole reason this topic came up is because, as Kismet mentions, you don't want a character who's nothing but a bag of weaknesses and no strengths, because it just comes off as flat. There's not very many directions for such a character to go but further down, if they're not already at rock-bottom. I'm talking about characters who are homeless, penniless, have to forage for food, are malnourished, and have no connections and no hope for the future. I get the feeling that you don't play characters that are anything close to this.
I'm talking about something that starts at the bottom and stays there, not a story that has ups AND downs.
Even a tragedy starts at the top and works its way down from there. They don't just start from the bottom and go even further down (if that's even possible).
It's one thing to tell a story about someone who loses something they once had. It's another to tell a story about someone who has nothing, and loses even more. Get what I'm sayin'?
The whole reason this topic came up is because, as Kismet mentions, you don't want a character who's nothing but a bag of weaknesses and no strengths, because it just comes off as flat. There's not very many directions for such a character to go but further down, if they're not already at rock-bottom. I'm talking about characters who are homeless, penniless, have to forage for food, are malnourished, and have no connections and no hope for the future. I get the feeling that you don't play characters that are anything close to this.
