Is your character really unique?

[WT_Neptune]

[align=center]It's easy to fall into the trap of wanting your character to be the most attractive or loudest most/popular. Brooding characters are becoming rarer (however, rude/outspoken characters are fairly common) likely due to a lack of a sympathetic response to these tendencies. Weaknesses often are rare in a character that is meant to be your protagonist in a world of competing personalities, understandably so. To attract RP, you need to be easier to understand and agree with presumably.[/align]

 

 

[align=center]So is your character unique, and how? Do you have flaws or motivations that are very human and interesting, that evoke some theme or profound concept? How do you justify your character's raison d'etre and desires?[/align]

[Ninian Lune'ciel]

Ah, the sort of "You're unique, just like everyone else" bit? Characterization has always been an important concept for me. Her values and experiences are where she derives her motivation to consciously or subconsciously make every single decision she makes, and I try to stay painfully in character for them (even if it means brushing off a walk-up whom I have OOCly agreed to rp with, solely because my character doesn't want to)

 

It can be easy to be caught up in big plot lines and stories, but I've always loved the depth that comes with every day life on the side. I think people are defined by these kinds of things, so they're pretty intrinsic to my roleplay.

 

But moving back on topic, I would certainly hope my character is 'human' and otherwise believable. The choices she makes, even the trivial ones, I check against her prioritized values and defensive mechanisms before coming up with the right response. It seems like a longer process than I'm making it out to be.

[Clover]

Every character is unique in my opinion. Some of them might be similar, but it doesn't mean that they're the same; just like real life!

[Freemoon]

I don't really think of my character as unique, but I don't think she's like everyone else either.  She is who she is, with her own hopes and fears, strengths and weaknesses and so on.

 

It is a bit hard to really say what drives her without giving too much away, but I can say that a part of it is to recover what she has lost.  Her adoptive parents passed away, she can't remember her birth parents, and she longs to have some sort of family again even if it is just a couple of really close friends.  She also wants to find out who she is, both in terms of discovering that as she goes along as well as finding out about her people and where she comes from (both culture wise and, maybe, finding out about her biological family).  She also secretly harbors a wish that she were a Chocobo, but that is because she's a little off.

 

It might sound a little bland or boring, but that doesn't include the journey, her day to day life and all the little things that could come along.

[Magellan]

Actually, I think brooding characters are pretty popular still. It's kind of why I made my current character a 'speak as soon as you think it' type. It's so much easier for her to interact with others since she just loves to talk until she's told to shut up.

 

Which is a strength and a weakness. She doesn't think things through, so gets herself in trouble. She'll tell you exactly what she thinks of you, which obviously can be a little too much honesty.

 

And she tries so hard to please that she can be overbearing, and drive people crazy. She's also extremely naive.

 

A lot of her personality came from heavy interaction with naturally quiet, or naturally brooding types. I wanted to create a character who would be able to elicit responses from those types, whether it be good or bad. Because two brooding characters in a room often just.... brood together. It's almost like they need the opposite to start drawing them out >_> Just my opinion.

[YesGood]

I can answer this in only one way: Amongst all the characters I've ever had, Siobhain is unique. A lot of them have been the same. Usually very feminine characters who were quiet and maternal to some degree. Usually soft spoken and intelligent, exceedingly slow to anger, and vicious in their own way when the time came for it. Some were really witty (because I love my quips) but overall just very submissive personalities.

 

Siobhain? Complete opposite of that. She is a dominating female without being a crazy Amazonian. Despite having something of a commanding presence, she never dwells in it or allows it to give her any sort of ego amongst her peers. She's confident, physically and emotionally strong, strategic, she thinks ahead and she tends to be rather open-minded. Unlike my other character's she's not self-centered nor would she throw her life away over any little cause simple to prove she's brave. Not only do I find her different from all of my past characters, I find her pretty different from other female Roe-- though admittedly I have met very very few Hellsguard.

 

My Roe-lady has several emotional flaws that are generally tempered by friends. Her anger is heavy and almost inexplicable at times. While she can be open-minded on several topics, morality isn't one of them and she refuses to protect anyone who commits what she considers to be crimes; mostly stealing, killing, and betraying one's loyalties. Romantically she has no idea what she's doing or where she's going-- she had no experience with hugging or hand holding or kissing. She was just as awkward as you can imagine. She is almost always blunt and that bluntness can be derisive, usually aimed at people of a certain race (Yes, she's racist against male Elezen.). Her final and possibly largest flaw is her naivety about religion. She can be very easily manipulated by an individual who simply presents themselves as devout and pious. It hasn't quite happened yet but I'm waiting for it. Physically, she's short compared to most Roegadyn women and relatively light. She bears a number of scars which could or could not make her more or less unattractive in the eyes of others-- she genuinely does not care either way.

 

Most of how she is and how she thinks stems from two sources. Her broken family and her Sultansworn mentor. Her father and brother abandoned her-- when her brother returned more than a decade later, he was a smarmy criminal and virtually embodied everything she despised. Between the two they fleshed out her distrust of larger men and her own people, as well as rounded out her hatred for bandits, mercenaries, and bullies in general. Her mother's faith broke and she neglected her, leading her away from wanting to be a blacksmith/housewife like her mother. Waken gave her virtually every one of her personality traits, including her naivety and all of her likes and dislikes in some facet. 

 

That's probably one of the things I like most about Sio besides how she's slowly and surely learning and adapting to having friends without being clumsy or hateful all the time-- that she has characters in her past who influence here where most of my characters were stand-alone toons without much by way of history. Sio's history is pretty filled out.

[Braddock]

[align=center]It's easy to fall into the trap of wanting your character to be the most attractive or loudest most/popular. Brooding characters are becoming rarer (however, rude/outspoken characters are fairly common) likely due to a lack of a sympathetic response to these tendencies. Weaknesses often are rare in a character that is meant to be your protagonist in a world of competing personalities, understandably so. To attract RP, you need to be easier to understand and agree with presumably.[/align]

 

 

[align=center]So is your character unique, and how? Do you have flaws or motivations that are very human and interesting, that evoke some theme or profound concept? How do you justify your character's raison d'etre and desires?[/align]

 

 

Something will overlap another at some point in life.

 

I guess mine could be called not so unique ...

 

An old soldier with a past, that took on a new life because of the situation he is in now (yeah working on a thing here)

 

I like all character ideas anyway.

[WT_Neptune]

This topic wasn't a criticism so much as a challenge to think about your character. Depth is hard to add, and legitimate struggles re hard to correctly dramaticize.

[John Spiegel]

Characters that are completely unique are impossible and just sound unrelatable.

 

What makes good characters is relatability. Whether you have a rich character whose woes of being betrothed but in love with another person or a grizzled soldier whose seen a lot over their years -- their plights are relatable, though not unique!

 

If you want your character to be unique, develop personality quirks... whatever feels natural.

 

Example: One of my characters, JJ, is extremely extroverted and talks all the time. BUT he NEVER talks of a good chunk of things (things he never told his best friends or even his WIFE) nor does he EVER boast his considerable skills at fighting. Did I mention he's one part insane five-half parts JJ?

 

Another example!: JJ's son, Alex, is more of an every-man... in that he's not so much of a fighter despite his upbringing and he has issues as a result of surviving the siege of Ala Mhigo AND the Calamity and its fallout (he was not at the battle). His story isn't unique but I have been praised for Alex's relatability to those that have read the journal (which I so selflessly plugged earlier).

[Leomoon]

Tana is just a good nature wandering knight with a past she does not like to share, but currently in story the word is beating her down and she is even feeling darkness seek in her hear, she is becoming more cold and straight forward with her judgments but she still as care and sympathetic for others.

 

To make a person special to others need need your character not to be a white knight wandering the world looking for good or a dark magic caster seeking power! You need depth to your characters emotion, there past and ow they choose to deal with current events, Each person should have the same yet different way of responding to some like.

 

 "I know the chips may look down but we must take down the general!"

 

to how you respond to something is what in RPG's makes a party so great you each will have a different way of responding to one thing or another.

[Val]

I've never really tried to try to make Val unique. He just is who he is and he's a personality that I find joy in playing. I don't really like the mary-sue type characters for sure and try to stay away from them, but I do like that he is incredibly abrasive and has little regard for what others think of him. He says the first thing that comes to mind and if it offends people? Oh well.

 

He's meant to be a comedic character, but also a serious one. I think it works out well enough.

[Darien Cadell]

I prefer to start with a stereotype intentionally, something common and obvious, and build from there. And yep, things have already changed a lot since the first idea.

[Anzio]

I dunno. I have a stuttering coward who loses almost every fight he's ever bothered to stick around for.

 

I don't see many people RPing those.

[Flickering Ember]

 

A lot of her personality came from heavy interaction with naturally quiet, or naturally brooding types. I wanted to create a character who would be able to elicit responses from those types, whether it be good or bad. Because two brooding characters in a room often just.... brood together. It's almost like they need the opposite to start drawing them out >_> Just my opinion.

 

A lot of the most memorable characters in some of our most beloved pieces of fiction wouldn't be all that memorable if thrown in alone in an RP setting. That is because a lot of our favorite stories cast several characters who end up being foils of each other. Foils help make our casts diverse, entertaining, and draw out traits that otherwise would not have come out.

 

Some of my favorite RPs have been with characters who foil my own. 

 

 

That said, I think being 'unique' comes down to how in depth the character is roleplayed, not the character's backstory, concept, or personality. If the character has lots of things that set him or her apart from other characters and it is easy to describe what this character is like, that, to me, is unique.

[Jael'li]

Jael'li is quite unique in the sense that he has those layers of depth to him. He can seem arrogant and delusional due to his odd philosophy, which can send many people running for the hills. However if a character holds out a bit more and asks the right question, they can in fact see his reasoning or what led him down his path. If anything, he can be a challenge to social characters! 

 

And because of his personality and the impact others have around him, both his mood and perspective can change given enough time! It may not be as unique as others but it's what I enjoy; that's all that really matters!

[LandStander]

I am unsure how unique Dennthota really is. I think she is the most masculine woman character I have ever come up with. Complete with belching, fighting, body hair and rarely bathing :3. She is also a huge flirt, but doesn't know the first thing about relationships because of her egotistical and crude behavior being a natural barrier to anyone who would think about coming close to her. 

 

I personally enjoy watching her claim how great and strong she is only to constantly get knocked on her butt 

[KitKat]

Oh god. If Denn rarely bathes, her armpits might have been rather ripe when Katja took her measurements for that shirt.  

 

I try to make my characters unique in context. I find it satisfying to take what the lore gives me and make something "normal" for a particular race and then to turn it into something that I can call my own. On the other side of it, though, making someone unique just for the sake of being unique often comes across as forced and seeking the spotlight. I think that's why I avoid extremely unique situations for my characters. I'd rather make Katja interesting through her characterization rather than some attention-grabbing headline.

[LandStander]

Oh god. If Denn rarely bathes, her armpits might have been rather ripe when Katja took her measurements for that shirt.  

 

Bahahahahaha <3. I need to include her unique scent more often in RP situations. With how often it rains in freaking Eorzea she probably gets most of her baths just standing outside .

[K'dath]

I for one am extremely offended by the way Square has handled Miqo'te as a race. I felt like there was a lot of potential that was hand-waved and eye-rolled until tribal just meant "People who don't live in a major city."

 

I've made way more trips to the mythical land of land of probable than I'm normally comfortable making with a character, but the lack of really deep lore sort of limits the number of objective facts I can tie myself to. We get a lot of general lore, oh yes they are tribes and they showed up around this era, with no details or insights into what they're like. So all I can do is make assumptions on many fronts and admit I can't justify any of it with facts.

 

ICly, I at least have 'Well, he's from a reclusive and xenophobic tribe of a species who's culture is built around brutality and mating rights. His understanding of the world is very different than yours.'

 

It's original given the context of the world where all the NPCs behave pretty consistently despite their race or heritage. Original concept though? Certainly Not.

[Merri]

I think Endemerrin is one of the more unique characters I've ever played. He has this one major strength, that also happens to be his biggest and more dangerous flaw of all, which has been an interesting thing to run with. He's missing his left arm, and has a Magitek Prosthetic in it's place. Great in theory. It's strong, it doesn't bleed, it has a myriad of uses that a normal arm doesn't...   ...but because he has this idea that "Hey, I can do more with this than a normal arm", it has lead to it being broken, battered, and even flat out destroyed on a few occasions (which isn't all that good for his health for a few reasons.). He's got this great strength, but at his core he's quite literally handicapped. For the longest part of his development he was absolutely ashamed of his situation as well. The way Eorzeans saw Magitek and Garleans made him feel like he was some sort of monster. The thing that they all hated. Went to great, great lengths to conceal it. Wasn't until he met certain people that he started to come to accept himself for what he was.

 

I was a Hyur in 1.0, and my character was Garlean (Technically not an Imperial~) at one point. However, I made the choice to retcon into Miqo'te in ARR and that has put an even greater spin on things, as we've seen that while Imperial society does have mixed races, pureblood Garleans (I.E Hyur) are favored. Makes me feel as though his fleeing Garlemald has that much deeper of an impact on his character. There's a few other spins on him that I don't really delve into outside of actual roleplay because there's no fun in just spilling everything about your character to everyone (in my opinion, anyways.), but those are just a few of the things that I feel makes him a fun and interesting character to play.

[allgivenover]

with no details or insights into what they're like. So all I can do is make assumptions on many fronts and admit I can't justify any of it with facts.

 

If you're a Seeker you're in luck. There's a Seeker tribe at the Forgotten Springs in game that gives us a detailed look at Seeker tribal culture. It doesn't give us all the answers we'd like, but it's a lot more than nothing. Check it out when you can.

[Nako Vesh]

with no details or insights into what they're like. So all I can do is make assumptions on many fronts and admit I can't justify any of it with facts.

 

If you're a Seeker you're in luck. There's a Seeker tribe at the Forgotten Springs in game that gives us a detailed look at Seeker tribal culture. It doesn't give us all the answers we'd like, but it's a lot more than nothing. Check it out when you can.

 

And that's far more than Keepers get. >

 

Honestly, if I had known there was going to be so little going on with "traditional" Keepers in game and RP-wise, I would have gone Seeker...

[K'dath]

with no details or insights into what they're like. So all I can do is make assumptions on many fronts and admit I can't justify any of it with facts.

 

If you're a Seeker you're in luck. There's a Seeker tribe at the Forgotten Springs in game that gives us a detailed look at Seeker tribal culture. It doesn't give us all the answers we'd like, but it's a lot more than nothing. Check it out when you can.

 

I've been there, done all the quests there, and I was deeply disappointed with it. There's very little that distinguishes them from any other race or any other settlement in the game.

 

The only 'tribal' thing they do is hunt, which is a fate that pops up now and again and a briefly mentioned affair in a quest that is half as long or prominent as the one where you have to chase away people oggling the bathing cat girls. Even the important NPCs could either just as easily be city folk of any race for all the cultural difference they show, there's nothing about them that makes them distinctly Miqo'te.

 

Two rival Tia vying for dominance is all the 'detail' we get, and they both have all the personality and ambition of plaster. The same amount of factual information you can pry out of them is summed up in the 'naming conventions' article.

 

And the nunh is a terrible, played up trope of 'lol cat people'. He rolls his R's and he's sassy! Groan. And on top of that the naming conventions article goes out of its way to mention that Nunh are NOT leaders of their tribes, but he is, for whatever reason. If the lore's self contradicting, you can't say either interpretation is definitively right.

 

It all hardly amounts to more than nothing.

 

The way the Miqo'te are handled as a race is a joke.

[ArmachiA]

I'm of the belief that no character, none what-so-ever, is unique. There's only so many personality types, only so many ways to be good, evil, and neutral. There's only so many backstories. There's only so many ways to be funny, or shy, or smart, or flirty.

 

My characters are not unique. YOUR characters are not unique.

 

I can guarantee you I can find a character who at least resembles the one any one is playing right now. In fact, I'm sure I could do it in media that was written over a 100 years ago.

 

It's all been done before. Its why TVTropes even exists. Never think you're playing unique.

 

HOWEVER...

 

It's how you play them that makes them standout. The way they react to situations, talk to people, even what their favorite color is, all of that is super important. You can make your character be amazing and wonderful and memorable by making them interesting. That's how you make them unique.

All characters can be broken down into stereotypes and certain qualities that a lot of other characters have, but playing them as a living breathing individual who can grow and change, that's important.

 

My characters are starting out as words on a page (Loki: Witty, Flirty, Sarcastic. Armi: Shy, Awkward, Eager) which are complete stereotypes, but they are growing into something else, full beings.

 

I wouldn't worry so much about being unique, worry about the growth and story of your character.

[WT_Neptune]

I paid dearly for my failure to phrase this topic correctly and convey my point better.