I wrote a brief bit on just this subject for the CPM forums in FFXI, though parts of it have already been excellently covered by above posts and much of it is FFXI specific, if you can ignore the proper names then the information is valid. Rather than hack it to pieces, I'll just post it in its entirety. The Potential Pitfalls section is more aimed at CPM's 'conservative' style of RP, but can be a good "baseline" to keep in mind if you plan to RP with such a group. If you're going with a more lore-divergent guild, your imagination's the limit.
Creating a character is the first step and core of all forays into roleplaying. They are your viewpoint and your vehicle for everything you do. The task of, in effect, creating a complete imaginary person can be daunting at first, but many find that their character completes themselves. Once a concept and skeleton history is laid out, often ideas solidify and details fall into place as you roleplay. The first step is a concept.
Character Concept
What kind of character would you like to roleplay? A curmudgeonly old man with powerful black magics? An enthusiastic and naïve youngster, set on being the paragon of knightly honor? Maybe an avaricious mercenary with anger issues. Once you’ve decided on a concept, think about how they got there and what made them that way – An old man doesn’t grow curmudgeonly living a life of ease, surrounded by friends and family and a youngster doesn’t hang on to naiveté long in a harsh environment. Once you have a concept and the beginnings of a personality down, it’s time to decide on a character history.
Character History
This may sound like a lot of work at first, but there’s no need to chronicle your character’s entire life from birth to present – In fact it’s often best to leave some gray areas and wiggle room in case you later decide to revise or bring to light new things in your character’s past. It is good however to come up with some basic ideas on where they’ve come from. What is their family like? How big is it? Do they have a family? Friends? What experiences growing up shaped them into how they are today? What viewpoints and contacts with NPCs and other roleplayers might their history have given them? Having laid out the character’s concept and how they got to be that way, it’s time to get more specific.
Motivations
What does your character want? Fame? Money? Good friends and good times? Humble service to the Goddess of Dawn? What motivates your character will serve as a rudder in their interactions with others and the decisions they make for themselves.
Quirks
What makes your character unique? Are they very tall? Have a reedy, high voice? A habit of scratching their cheek when they’re nervous? Utterly convinced that airships are flying coffins, waiting for the first chance to crash? Little details can add an extra dimension to your character, and can be fun to watch as they fall back on old habits time and again.
Ask Questions
If you don't know something or want more information on something (Like the state of the Church in San d'Oria, how government is handled in Bastok, the nuances of the Ministries in Windurst) then ASK! Most members of Canta Per Me have been playing FFXI for a long time and done many quests and missions. We'd be happy to answer questions, provide information, and help you create an interesting and rounded character.
Getting Involved
There’s no one way to get yourself involved in role playing, especially since each character is unique. Sometimes you have to work to get your character engaged in what’s going on despite their tendencies, while other times they’ll naturally fall in line with what’s happening. Don’t rely on the latter happening, then be disappointed if it doesn’t! It can help immensely to set up points of interest and launch pads for interaction and plotlines beforehand. This is where character hooks come in.
Character Hooks
It may be that your character travels a lot and just happen to be around where other characters are, but you can only rely on happenstance for so long before it begins to wear thin. A ‘hook’ is something that other characters or plotlines can latch onto so that yours has a reason to be there and interact. It can help to look at the setting, characters, and plot lines going on to generate hooks, but it’s always possible to come up with things interesting in their own right.
Is your character a Bastokan? Perhaps they served in the military for a while, if so it’s possible they were in training together with another Bastokan current or ex military character, shared a post at some point, or simply have many similar experiences to share. If they’re more civic minded, they may have been a page to a senator and know about some governmental inner workings if another character would be interested in such things.
Alternately, they may have points of interest in their own right. Perhaps they are an extremely philosophical sort with well-developed and thought-through views of justice and morality and never turn down a good jawing session. They may be an accomplished weapon smith with an intimate working knowledge of blades, their history, and their usage. Maybe they’re simply loud-mouthed and looking for an audience.
Other possibilities include membership in guilds, shared interests, pre-arranged relationships with other characters (family, old friend, etc) or prominent NPCs. You may wish to be a little careful when tying your character to NPCs as you may not know everything relevant to that NPC, but if in doubt there is likely someone who can clear matters up for you. This is far from a comprehensive list. If you have a better idea than what you see here, be creative!
Never be afraid to approach other people and ask what might make good hooks if you’d like to get involved in plots or with other characters. Generally speaking, people like to role play and they love other role players to be interested in their characters and their plots; it’s nearly guaranteed they’ll be willing to help or point you to someone who can if you ask.
Joining RP Sessions
Is a session already going? Interested in joining? Ask! It may be closed, if it is don’t be discouraged. Ask if it will be open soon, or if people involved in the closed RP would want to RP with you later. If it’s open, it can help to spend a few moments planning how to approach it before diving right in.
Look at what’s going on. Where is it taking place? Who is involved? What time is it? Once you have general information on what’s going on, piece together why your character would be there and what they would be doing. It’s always awkward to be asked “What brings you here?†only to realize your character has absolutely no reason to be there.
It may be as easy as getting on the pearl ICly and saying “Hey, anyone around?†if you know that your character would be invited along. Or, it may take a little more thought to get your character where the RP is happening for their own reasons. Don’t let indecision paralyze you – If you can’t come up with something and those involved in the RP don’t mind you joining, go ahead and ask them for ideas.
Potential Pitfalls
Unique is good. Be unique. However, keep in mind that this is an MMORPG. Nobody gets to be any more ‘special’ than anyone else. Things that go against the world setting and things that are flat out improbable usually aren’t legitimate points of interest for your character. Being able to psychically create and control flame doesn’t make a lot of sense in Vana’Diel – Nobody else has pyrokinesis, they have to cast a Fire spell. Being four hundred years old due to arcane sorceries is pretty iffy also.
Try to stick with the normal complement of traits and history your average, mortal adventurer could have. Stretching believability can be a double edged sword; not only does it make fitting your character into what’s going on harder, but it can make other people hesitant to role play with you as they try to sort out how to have their character should react to things that don’t fit in Vana’Diel. This rule, as all others, isn’t iron-clad but it is a pretty good idea to stick close to plausibility.
Creating a character is the first step and core of all forays into roleplaying. They are your viewpoint and your vehicle for everything you do. The task of, in effect, creating a complete imaginary person can be daunting at first, but many find that their character completes themselves. Once a concept and skeleton history is laid out, often ideas solidify and details fall into place as you roleplay. The first step is a concept.
Character Concept
What kind of character would you like to roleplay? A curmudgeonly old man with powerful black magics? An enthusiastic and naïve youngster, set on being the paragon of knightly honor? Maybe an avaricious mercenary with anger issues. Once you’ve decided on a concept, think about how they got there and what made them that way – An old man doesn’t grow curmudgeonly living a life of ease, surrounded by friends and family and a youngster doesn’t hang on to naiveté long in a harsh environment. Once you have a concept and the beginnings of a personality down, it’s time to decide on a character history.
Character History
This may sound like a lot of work at first, but there’s no need to chronicle your character’s entire life from birth to present – In fact it’s often best to leave some gray areas and wiggle room in case you later decide to revise or bring to light new things in your character’s past. It is good however to come up with some basic ideas on where they’ve come from. What is their family like? How big is it? Do they have a family? Friends? What experiences growing up shaped them into how they are today? What viewpoints and contacts with NPCs and other roleplayers might their history have given them? Having laid out the character’s concept and how they got to be that way, it’s time to get more specific.
Motivations
What does your character want? Fame? Money? Good friends and good times? Humble service to the Goddess of Dawn? What motivates your character will serve as a rudder in their interactions with others and the decisions they make for themselves.
Quirks
What makes your character unique? Are they very tall? Have a reedy, high voice? A habit of scratching their cheek when they’re nervous? Utterly convinced that airships are flying coffins, waiting for the first chance to crash? Little details can add an extra dimension to your character, and can be fun to watch as they fall back on old habits time and again.
Ask Questions
If you don't know something or want more information on something (Like the state of the Church in San d'Oria, how government is handled in Bastok, the nuances of the Ministries in Windurst) then ASK! Most members of Canta Per Me have been playing FFXI for a long time and done many quests and missions. We'd be happy to answer questions, provide information, and help you create an interesting and rounded character.
Getting Involved
There’s no one way to get yourself involved in role playing, especially since each character is unique. Sometimes you have to work to get your character engaged in what’s going on despite their tendencies, while other times they’ll naturally fall in line with what’s happening. Don’t rely on the latter happening, then be disappointed if it doesn’t! It can help immensely to set up points of interest and launch pads for interaction and plotlines beforehand. This is where character hooks come in.
Character Hooks
It may be that your character travels a lot and just happen to be around where other characters are, but you can only rely on happenstance for so long before it begins to wear thin. A ‘hook’ is something that other characters or plotlines can latch onto so that yours has a reason to be there and interact. It can help to look at the setting, characters, and plot lines going on to generate hooks, but it’s always possible to come up with things interesting in their own right.
Is your character a Bastokan? Perhaps they served in the military for a while, if so it’s possible they were in training together with another Bastokan current or ex military character, shared a post at some point, or simply have many similar experiences to share. If they’re more civic minded, they may have been a page to a senator and know about some governmental inner workings if another character would be interested in such things.
Alternately, they may have points of interest in their own right. Perhaps they are an extremely philosophical sort with well-developed and thought-through views of justice and morality and never turn down a good jawing session. They may be an accomplished weapon smith with an intimate working knowledge of blades, their history, and their usage. Maybe they’re simply loud-mouthed and looking for an audience.
Other possibilities include membership in guilds, shared interests, pre-arranged relationships with other characters (family, old friend, etc) or prominent NPCs. You may wish to be a little careful when tying your character to NPCs as you may not know everything relevant to that NPC, but if in doubt there is likely someone who can clear matters up for you. This is far from a comprehensive list. If you have a better idea than what you see here, be creative!
Never be afraid to approach other people and ask what might make good hooks if you’d like to get involved in plots or with other characters. Generally speaking, people like to role play and they love other role players to be interested in their characters and their plots; it’s nearly guaranteed they’ll be willing to help or point you to someone who can if you ask.
Joining RP Sessions
Is a session already going? Interested in joining? Ask! It may be closed, if it is don’t be discouraged. Ask if it will be open soon, or if people involved in the closed RP would want to RP with you later. If it’s open, it can help to spend a few moments planning how to approach it before diving right in.
Look at what’s going on. Where is it taking place? Who is involved? What time is it? Once you have general information on what’s going on, piece together why your character would be there and what they would be doing. It’s always awkward to be asked “What brings you here?†only to realize your character has absolutely no reason to be there.
It may be as easy as getting on the pearl ICly and saying “Hey, anyone around?†if you know that your character would be invited along. Or, it may take a little more thought to get your character where the RP is happening for their own reasons. Don’t let indecision paralyze you – If you can’t come up with something and those involved in the RP don’t mind you joining, go ahead and ask them for ideas.
Potential Pitfalls
Unique is good. Be unique. However, keep in mind that this is an MMORPG. Nobody gets to be any more ‘special’ than anyone else. Things that go against the world setting and things that are flat out improbable usually aren’t legitimate points of interest for your character. Being able to psychically create and control flame doesn’t make a lot of sense in Vana’Diel – Nobody else has pyrokinesis, they have to cast a Fire spell. Being four hundred years old due to arcane sorceries is pretty iffy also.
Try to stick with the normal complement of traits and history your average, mortal adventurer could have. Stretching believability can be a double edged sword; not only does it make fitting your character into what’s going on harder, but it can make other people hesitant to role play with you as they try to sort out how to have their character should react to things that don’t fit in Vana’Diel. This rule, as all others, isn’t iron-clad but it is a pretty good idea to stick close to plausibility.