How did you come up with your character?

[Kai Motokawa]

It's been quite some years since I last developed a character, and I seem to be struggling with coming up with a concept to keep. Which raises my question, How did /you/ come up with your character? What inspired you to make them ?

 

I'm really curious to see what some of the replies are!

(Sorry if its the wrong area, I couldn't decide if this would be considered Discussion, Workshop or prompt, so I took a shot.)

[Sin]

I start with something very general.

 

An idea, a concept or sometimes even just a goal of what I want to accomplish with the character.

 

It can be really simple, but something that I know I really want to play. This starter piece is more surface-level something that will come up in every day roleplay.

 

Snarky mage.

 

Now I start explaining those two simple things... How's he a mage? Where did he study? Who taught him? Was that relationship good? Did he respect them? Why? How long? What did he do in the meantime? What does he enjoy beside magic?

How did his family treat his magical talent? How is his family? Does he love them? Do they love him?

 

As I'm answering all these questions, more and more questions pop up. Like a puzzle where every piece I add makes the picture more complex.

 

You go down this road of questions and eventually you'll reach a point where you'll notice the questions begin to answer themselves or you start to correct yourself.

 

Nahh, he wouldn't do that. He's too selfish. Nahh, probably not like that, he'd probably respect his mother despite how abusive she was.

 

The second you reach this point where your character begins to write itself. Bam! Put a fork in it, it's done!

[Volk]

I will say that much of my character was developed in stages. When I first got to character creator , i knew i wanted an elezen . That was as far as I thought ahead . After creating one that I was pleased with , I looked into the lore a bit . This was the hard part .

 

Back in November , I had no idea there would be an entire Ishgard expansion . Back then there were only little snippets of lore here and there if you had not completed MSQ . So I developed an expatriate story to account for why my character was from Ishgard , but not in Ishgard .

 

After all of that , I finally started to RP . I had a background for the character , a reason for her being where she was , and everything beyond that was the influence of:

 

• Joining a wonderful FC that helped me to continue to develop my character (Thank you Coral Sea - ilu)
  
• Randomly interacting with truly rich and fascinating characters and developing friendships , rivalries , etc .
  

 

I hope this was in some way helpful . I look forward to reading other people's contributions and maybe learning some new ideas .

[rainichan]

Caelia is actually an old rp character from the days of AOL chat room rp (...man that makes me feel old) and I mainly modified her to fit the world. Ness and Karima are vaguely similar, based on characters I had prior that I'm reworking for Eorzea instead of their original world. Personalities are largely the same, motivations, etc.

 

Lune and Rivienne though are completely original to XIV. Character creation is a dangerous thing! I had been dicking around in character creation while I was getting hit with a string of 90ks, made them and then went "Oh, I like the way these characters turned out!" and then it slowly became "who are they, what are their motivations, where are they from" etc. Rivienne ended up being from Owl's Nest in E Coerthas, chased out by the Calamity who has a scar on her chin from fighting a dragon*. Lune ended up being a misbranded heretic (using the facial tattoos that Hyur females get heh.) I hadn't quite pinned down what had done it (originally it was the fact that her eyes are actually two different shades of blue, but that was kind of special snowflake-y) to the fact that she's actually a dragon who just didn't want to fight, to someone who had been asleep for a long time by some awesome magic, to where it is now (something that actually makes sense according to lore, mainly.) Usually I can get a personality out of that; in Lune's case it was "she's going to be terrified of anyone and everyone because who knows who might be from Ishgard even in the sticks?" Rivi was a little harder but due to her scar and how that one happened, I went with laid back with a decent sense of humor.

 

Obviously, all of it was expanded on, but tl;dr, I start with the character and their look first, then build on that with their history, then personality. Once I get a good base, I expand and go back and make changes; or if things just seem right for a character (and that does happen!) I don't have to change much, if anything at all and just roll with it.

 

*Rivienne, as a kid, was playing with her siblings, saving them from a "dragon." She slipped and fell on to some rocks and ripped open her chin. Still saved the younger kids from that "dragon" that they were imagining, and now tells the story for kicks.

[Dravus]

I wanted something different. Back in WoW my main character was a seasoned soldier, humourless, direct and he took a no nonsense approach to pretty much every situation. He saw protecting his people and homeland as the absolute priority and rarely took the time to do anything but that.

 

It was a lot of fun but then when I came to FFXIV I felt the urge to create a character that wasn't seasoned and would grow over time. I played around for a little while, soaked up the lore and found myself intrigued by the idea of creating a diplomat - a character that sought to use logic and words to try and unite Eorzea and put an end to unnecessary bloodshed. So far it's been very enjoyable - though I do wish I could snag Graeham some rivals/enemies who do not want the profit they gain from conflict to end.

[Flickering Ember]

Sources of inspiration were instrumental for me. If you're having a hard time thinking up concepts, I highly recommend you take a look at other characters and stories for inspiration.

 

 

1. I had just finished my 4th or so rewatch of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Toph is probably my favorite character from the show and I always thought it was really cool how the show portrayed her blindness. I had seen people RP blind characters before, but most I have met ended up being no different than if they had sight. Whatever magical workaround they had created always defeated the purpose of RPing blindness. I wanted to RP a blindness more like Toph's and I thought if there was any universe I could get away with that it would be Final Fantasy.

 

2. While I still consider myself cynical, at the time I was feeling especially so. I had just adopted a rather negative outlook on people where I chose to see them as not being as above the rest of the animal kingdom as people think they are. Effectively viewing the free will of humanity as little more than an illusion of instinct. (Whether or not I still believe that, I'll leave it vague since it's not the focus here) So I decided that Ember would also be a wild child, much like Gau from Final Fantasy VI. She would be ignorant of society and know only instinct and the rules of nature. 

 

I wanted to use this to paint her in a darker, more selfish and violent light. She's affectionate but it would not be true love. She would only love those who showered her in gifts first. That was the plan but I quickly turned the character to a more optimistic direction rather than cynical. 

 

I also decided that I needed this extra element from the start of her conception because blindness is just a trait and I needed the core of her character to rest in a different, completely unrelated concept.

 

3. Extending off of animals, I adored the cats I had grown up with and recognized that each of them had very distinct and interesting personalities. Creating an interesting, fun personality for a RP character can be somewhat difficult. I want something that is fun but not cliche and stereotypical. It can be hard to achieve this while thinking up personality traits. I got it in my head to look to my cats for inspiration. One of my cats had recently died of cancer and she was still very much on my mind. Her personality was the most affectionate I had ever seen, yet she was aggressive towards those she did not like. (Mostly other cats) 

 

 

These were the beginnings I had for her concept and the rest of her character sprung out of them. I realized early on that Ember would have a disposition close to my TOR character's with the personality I had chosen. So a previous RP character was also used as a little bit of inspiration as well.

[Shoshopu]

Gosh, I feel lame reading these and thinking about how I came up with Shoshopu.

 

Her premise was basically... I wanted a lalafell summoner. Because I was a tarutaru summoner in FFXI, but I didn't RP. I ran her through a character background generator (that's how she got four older brothers) and put a FFXIV lore spin on it, including how she became an arcanist (because she would become a summoner through RP). Then I picked a MBTI type for her and based her personality around that. I picked an extroverted type because my characters are usually introverts.

 

Awyrbyrt is a funnier story. Arkamas mentioned once in passing that Fyrilsunn, in his youth, probably slept with his fair share of tavern wenches and could possibly have had a bastard or two. So I devised the most embarrassing/tragic son possible as more of a prank and then he became a character. And, as with Shopu, I just picked an MBTI type and ran with it. And like Shopu I picked an E type. Awyrbyrt's also practically my only male RP character I've ever had, and he's kind of a jock sort of guy, so he just ended up being a collection of unexplored territories for me wrapped up into one character.

 

 

A lot of friends of mine have character concepts and personalities they carry through them from setting to setting, which they adapt to the lore (or adapt the lore to). I start out with lore concepts I want to play with and build characters around them, so every setting I play are new characters for me, that I don't take with me once I leave.

[Erik Mynhier]

In a very general way Erik is the same character I created in 88 in my first d&d play through. He is a well meaning knight who people like but has done bad things and is just trying to reconcile his past that most times only he knows.

 

As for style I basically just adapt him to the game setting.

 

As for what he is here and why? He is a soldier as that is a life I knew and feel close to.

[Coatleque]

Character creation is a long process for me before actually using the concept

- I created a Hyur because I wanted something human

- I picked Highlander because she would be a fighter, and midlander bodies did not fit that concept.

- I picked Gladiator because it was the only sword-wielding class

- I later learned more about the paladin job and Sultansworn lore and loved the concept. I've played paladins and rangers in the past so I already had experience with the archetype.

- I then realized her race didn't fit the lore so I had to create a backstory to explain how and why she was there. It had to be sufficiently good and bad to explain how she became who she is today.

 

I didn't really get involved in heavy RP until all that was finished and the character was solid enough to stand on her own.

[V'aleera]

I wanted a lancer, this was non-negotiable.

 

Lol catgirls, as if. But hey might as well see what they're like in the character creator... Oh wow, she looks so pretty (but also kinda tough)!

 

So what's the deal with dragoons? Only from that Ishgard place? *Gets to Ishgard in MSQ* Wow, what a country! Ishgardian dragoon, full speed ahead!

 

Hmm, it seems like a miqo'te can't be an Ishgardian. Dang. *combs lore* Oh hey, they totally can!

 

Hmm, but if she's an Ishgardian dragon fighter, why isn't she in Ishgard fighting dragons? Oh, I know! She got picked on and sent out of country on some non-mission that only got approved because no one cares about some Brume-trash beastgirl!

 

And that's how V'aleera started her adventures in pre-Heavensward Eorzea.

[Warren Castille]

I played 1.0 and it was god-awful. Gathering was the only fun thing I found, and then I was crafting ore into ingots. Because the durability system and repair system was completely fucked, I did all of this in my underwear.

 

Eventually connection lag smoothed out, and we needed a tank, so I picked up a sword and shield because everyone else was made of tissue. The rest is history!

 

 

 

Crafting shirtless happened out of necessity. Warren's IC history of undenting shields comes from a 1.0 leve. Sei getting mangled as crux for taking up weapons was to blame on the DemonPeiste that lurked outside of cities.

 

[Zac Evans]

[align=center]This is a bit embarrassing for me, but you have to understand playing Zac is way out of my comfort zone.[/align]

 

[align=center]Most all games I've played I've been hyper masculine, Heroic and Daring. Basically BAMF Hero-types. But I noticed I started to stagnate. So I came up with an idea to play something that was completely different from those types. Myself.[/align]

 

[align=center]OOOOOOOOOR to be more precise, an AU version of myself. The idea was as far from my normal types as could be-as much as I love myself, I hate my lil ponch and biceps that are NOT the size of my head. It's honestly been a chore, because I want to be that cool guy, that strong guy but I tend to often be play a coward or a slow thinker, or just a stubborn ass in general. Honestly, I like the character.[/align]

 

[align=center]n.n[/align]

 

[align=center]But there's a reason I made Raging Behemoth.[/align]

[Jerciex]

I had Delni first, my character from 1.0. I started RPing with her and during time I wanted to make male character and start really serious RP. With Delni it wasn't possible.

 

During my RP with Delni, I started to find Gridania even more likely place to be and I wanted to make 100% Gridanian character. It had to be Elezen or hyur and I chose Elezen.

 

I always liked elezen behaviour and their... style. I found it more interesting that hyur and I wanted something that isn't close to human

 

For Jerciex's profession, I wanted something that would allow me to engage random RP and talk to unknown people -> Made Serpent medic (soldier in Order of twin adders.) and now I when I wear uniform on Jerciex, I don't need any special reason to talk to people. I just go and ask "Enjoying your visit in Gridania?" "Is there something I can help you with?" 

 

 

Other reason I wanted to make for my character was to have connection between him and Carteneau. That way I could think many stories for Jerciex and use them in RP.

I made him really complicated person, and maybe too complicated, but that is what I wanted too. It has helped me to engage different forms of RP.

[Kurt S.]

Well I honestly just went with it... for Kat...or Kurt...or Kat at any rate.

First time rping for me and first time adventuring for Kurt. 

 

I know no shit and neither did he.

 

Adventuring Guild? Sounds cool.

 

Make a name for Kurt and do a lot of helping around Red Rooster and Summerford get him some of that sweet delicious deals in Ul'dah and Gridania.

 

Where did he come from? Oh shit ummm uhhh...Wine...port?

 

Honestly half the things I made up for him was pulled completely out of my ass. Explains her shitty mood most of the time. hue. See what I mean? Pulled that genderbending rifle out of my ass too.

[Jiggy]

Tobias was born from a group plot with my sister and a friend of ours. All three of us are very into the Metal Gear series, so we toyed around with using characters from the series as bases and having similar dynamics. Toby came out kinda strange, a mashing of Big Boss and Ocelot. (Specifically from MGS3) I also really wanted to be a Dragoon, because between Kaine and FF Tactics I couldn't not. Everything really just fell into place from there, as it fit in well with the other two's histories. From there the character has really grown, as they do. But it's always funny to look at a character that inspired you and comparing them with your creation. Especially when they're as big of fails as young Ocelot.

 

(Though this is also a little terrifying seeing as how psycho both Big Boss and Ocelot become over the course of the series. Makes me worry for poor Toby. 3)

[Oli!]

Oliwat was a copy-over of my Asura from Guild Wars 2, even though he eventually ended up evolving into his own separate character through different experiences. I threw in the bit about him being an explorer to explain why I didn't know jack about the game starting out.

 

The character he came from was an off-the-wall Engineer designed to be a foil for the high amounts of tragedy that people tend to play.

 

Ada was created because I wanted a calmer character, and because I wanted to explore the idea of personal discovery, as opposed to geographical discovery.

[Miss Gaz]

Fortune Cookie. It was oddly specific.....

Just kidding I just looked up names on a generator and picked the ones I liked.

[Sounsyy]

XIV 1.0 had a very different setting thematically. The story was darker, more hopeless, very gritty. None of this chosen one, special powers stuff. Adventurers were discriminated against not championed. Stuff you turned in for quests never seemed to be good enough. Some quests you even failed, or ended up helping bad people. The good guys didn't always win. And it was this kind of setting that I really wanted my character to reflect thematically as well.

 

I was immediately drawn to 1.0's Ala Mhigan storyline - how a group of people who had had their home taken from them and were displaced to the far reaches of the realm only to be discriminated against everywhere they tried to settle. But after 15 years had never stopped fighting for their home, even though their culture was quickly washing away and forgotten. How there were Ala Mhigans who had endured years of torture and subjugation just to keep feeding inside intelligence to the Eorzeans who had all but abandoned them.

 

So that's the kind of story I set out to tell with Sounsyy. A gritty character who still tries to carry on the culture and ideals of her people even though every situation she faces is met with defeat. Sometimes the good guys don't win. But I didn't want her to just be a symbol, I wanted her to be a person. So how does a person cope, and not only cope, but succeed in living a normal life after everything XIV has thrown at her?

[Virella]

After playing FFXIV for a while, I got interested in the Ishgardian lot. From how xenophobic, religious, and outright dickish they were, to how loyal they could be to outsiders when befriending them, I simply loved them. And on top of that, elves? Sign me up.

 

As well I wanted to on the side of the more evil type of characters for a change, and with a loyal Ishgardian that was easy enough. Not questioning leadership, easily being fed lies by the Church, irrational, prideful, and would throw anyone into the abyss if they did something with dragons? Yeah. I wanted to be the average Ishgardian dick you see in your questline. The one who calls you an unbeliever, the one who would go scream heresy in your face, the one who would push you off cliffs in to please some goddess, the one who backstabs you in the name of the nation.

 

I didn't want to be the Haurchefant, the Aymeric ect. No, I wanted to be your average Ishgardian elezen asshole NPC you meet in the questlines. And god I love being evil, narrow-minded, over religious, hypocritical in roleplay, because they are the very things I despise in real life.

 

And I love magic. So she had to be a magic user!

[DeletedUser]

I've never really played a rogue or a thief before, so I thought I'd give one a go.

[Ardam Blackstone]

I went with something that would at least somewhat make my character as unaware of the world state as I am (being new and all). I chose Hyur. Highlander because it best resembles me physically over Midlander. A few weeks later I met Sin via this board who really helped me flesh out what I like to think is a pretty badass backstory.

 

Ala Mhigan loses his home when he's just a kid, becomes a refugee. Stops an altercation between his father and a man he owed money to, goes overboard and kills said man (whose money was aligned with Syndicate), ends up a prisoner/ asset in the pits for 15 years. From Ala Mhigan to refugee to prisoner; just feels more sensible when I RP and people bring up stuff I haven't heard of OOC (like famous RP events, summer faire, etc) and so have to incorporate that ignorance IC.

[Mercurias]

I started with a simple concept, and then I fleshed things out from there as I believed made sense to the character.

 

Soren Walker, for example, is a playful airship pilot.

 

That's all. That's what I started with.

 

From there on, I filled him in piecemeal using several different things like the questionnaires in this link to probe and consider what made Soren into a character.

 

Then I test drove him several nights in random RP. 

 

And once I thought I knew who he was, I brought him into circulation.

[Ciel]

I've always been partial to Elf-like characters, so my two primary characters are Elezen.  That's the easy part.

 

Ciel has existed in some form or another over the past 15+ years of my RP history, off and online.  She has always been several degrees different from some of her previous incarnations.  So far, I like the current one the best.

 

Character creation on the whole is a fluid process.  You can try to create a character from a mold, using ideas you have in your head, but what you think works at the beginning might end up not fitting so well. Don't be afraid to change your ideas. This is how characters evolve and grow and become their own entities over time.

 

Glace is a very different case as far as his history and development.  He didn't exist prior to this past year, and he honestly started with a single string of dialogue which popped into my head while I was half asleep.  The following day, I went to work trying to figure out what sort of character would say those words.  At first, the intention was to make a character which was wholly insane, but that idea eventually got pushed aside and the character was sculpted into something quite a bit more terrifying, while still capable of displaying some humanity when it counts.

[Spethah]

Septha was just "I wanna cause explosions.". Nothing more or less. I actually made up the story as I went along to be honest, which I do regret a loooot.

 

Ira on the other hand was me wanting to play a character that ran the theme of "struggling to obtain freedom" and a type of character that wins small but it always results as a loss overall when you look at the broader picture. I didn't want to make his story dark however, but just enough to express that he's struggled his entire life and despite it all he continues to fight with pride in himself. I made him a stigma of Ala Mhigo, someone who was branded a fugitive despite the crimes were committed by his grandfathers. He lost his right of a surname, lost his right of freedom and struggled as essentially a slave until the invasion. Get dragged to Eorzea and the same thing happens, he struggles to gain the freedom he deserves. He was in the Pits, he gets out and is thrown into other gladitorial games instead. He earns rudis, is approached to join a criminal organisation as a brute force. He declines, they place a bounty on his head and he's thrown back into the games once more. Now he's earned rudis a second time after almost a decade and now he's struggling to get his freedom once again. It's not a dark story, but it's not 100% rainbows and sunshine either.

[Kai Motokawa]

Reading all these responses is absolutely amazing! Also quite inspiring! I'm so interested in everyone's characters just based on how everyone decided to make them! Here's hoping I get the chance to RP with some of you in the future! ♥