Cliche RP Elements

[Zhavi]

My very first serious rp character was a failelf who was incredibly physically unappealing, as well as being very mentally disturbed. She functioned well as far as being able to keep herself alive, but due to her rather rare use of soap she was never once propositioned for a romantic relationship. I think that was the most effective way to stay out of any sort of rped romance, or to be the object of someone's ic/ooc desires. Though I've never been as extreme with any of my characters since, typically they're of a bent that romance just doesn't occur.

 

But I would do a romantic relationship if it did occur -- but only as long as I was comfortable with the player oocly. I have seen some freaking fantastic rp romances, and I long to try my hand at it just sort of as a 'Can I do this?' type of thing. However, I do believe you'd have to find a compatible writer to rp it out with to really do justice to such a rp relationship, and the chances of me finding such a writer. . .mmm, slim.

 

But even harder than that, I think, is finding another character who would mesh well enough with one of mine to rp out a platonic companionship -- and to have a player who would be interested in such intricacies. I've done a few, though due to the wearing nature of time these have all dropped off, and each time it was exhilirating.

 

For all of this though, it is very, very rare for me to find any romantic/platonic relationships rped out by other people that I am interested in. The one that really got me to thinking about rp relationships was always exciting or interesting to read, and the interaction between those two characters always *really* made me want to rp. I think that is something I strive towards as a rper, to uphold enough quality that it will inspire other rpers to want to engage in their own rp. Sort of a 'oh wow, that's really cool, I want to try something like that.'

 

I think I totally missed whatever point I was trying to make, hopefully someone understands.

 

In the end, I am very interested in rping quality relationships that are complex and realistic and completely, COMPLETELY IC, but it is very rare to see this happen, whether they are ic or ooc. I think the ooc aspect of it tends to make people shy away from doing anything but superficial or familial relationships. And yeah, I know, you'll probably say 'but I did this!' . . .and I know, but when I look at character interactions as a whole whether they're in mmos or on pbp, a lot of the time there's nothing deep to pick up on. D: Some of it is probably just that it takes time to develop rapport, both as characters and players learning each other's writing styles, but still. Something that I mull over.

[Kashemia]

I've had many starting romances, and few relationships. It's probably because I usually don't play characters who are very prone to have a relationship, so when they start romance, it take AGES, and by the time they're actually close to being a relationship, something happen and one of us quit the game or something

 

Interestingly enough, I don't think I've ever had more than one public romance either, for one reason or another, someone always feel that the romance have to be kept hidden. That can be a lot of fun too, making subtle hint without making it obvious, etc. ^^

[ArmachiA]

^ Second.

 

(Seriously you stole the words out of my mouth)

[Averis]

Hmm... maybe we should start another thread on role-play relationships. Could be an interesting topic. 8-)

[Dreamer]

Sounds good to me.

[Ellion Goto]

Sorry for the double post and doubly sorry for the wall of text, but as I'm sure you've all gathered by now this subject is something I've had loads of experience with and feel somewhat strongly about. I had to get the above out of the way before I shared my own examples. The following is straight out of the Canta Per Me character creation guidelines and are all things I've seen overdone or done poorly.

 

Some things that may seem like a great idea at character genesis turn out later to be potential pitfalls to roleplay. None of these are ironclad âdo not doâ rules, but are more presented to make new roleplayers aware of possible hurdles to their easy and enjoyable roleplaying. If you have a concept youâre dying to try out thatâs inseparable from one of these, by all means try it!

 

The Lone Wolf â Who wouldnât want a strong, independent character who could care less if the world around them went up in smoke? Itâs an appealing idea, and one that can lead to a very stand-out character if done well. On the other side of the coin it often leads to difficulty getting involved in roleplaying sessions as your character stands on the sidelines, being independent. Lone Wolves are often unfriendly, and chasing away other characters with a stern look is loads of fun right up until you realize that now you have no one to roleplay with.

 

The Dark Past â Tragic, dark, or villainous pasts is a great way to add a lot of zest to a character in a hurry. Itâs also a potential way of making other characters uncomfortable, especially if your characterâs history is alluded to often. No oneâs life is idyllic, so donât shy away from conflict or hard times if that's the angle you'd like to take; just keep a mind towards moderation. A character with loads of baggage can scare off others and become difficult to roleplay.

 

Vengeance â A timeless theme, and a powerful one. It can serve as a very strong motivator for your character... And an obsession that keeps them from taking advantage of what is going on in the community. Other characters will probably not care about your characterâs vendetta unless it involves them too, or they come to care about your character as the result of roleplay interaction. Even then they may shy away from taking a direct hand in exacting payback.

 

Amnesia â A popular choice; after all, it saves you the trouble of coming up with a backstory, generates an interesting quirk, and gives a motivation all at the same time! Three for the price of one, right? The difficulty is that no backstory can actually become a handicap as you attempt to flesh out your character, find reasons for why they are the way they are, and dig for things they can talk about. Thereâs a danger of it cheapening your roleplay, doubly so since as above mentioned, chances are nobody will care that your character is amnesic until they get to know them.

 

Other Origin â This is the only one Iâll directly condemn. Saying that your character comes from another planet, another dimension, Everquest, or modern day Earth changes the world setting of VanaâDiel into something else. It means that either your character is insane or that VanaâDiel is part of a metaverse â something beyond the scope of Final Fantasy XI. This is something to be avoided (unless your character is in fact a nutter and simply thinks theyâre from somewhere else).

To this list, I'd add:

 

The Orphan - I didn't add this to the CPM list because, well, wars kill a lot of people. Plenty of people are going to have dead family members in the wake of a massive, savage, years-long war. We had a lot of people with no real family to speak of in CPM and given the setting, it seemed appropriate enough. In other settings, though... It can be incredibly common and it gets a bit weird when more people had their entire family murdered/disappeared/etc than not. Generally speaking, most people 0-40 have living parents.

 

The Kleptomaniac - They are a Thief, and they steal things! They pick pockets and break into houses! Why? ...'cause they're a Thief/Rogue/analogous jobclass and that's what they do, right? Well, not necessarily... Job classes tend to describe fighting style, not define personalities (though it's true certain personalities are drawn to certain job classes). We've established that the character is a Thief, but why do they steal everything in sight? All characters of this type that I've seen never seem to quite think that far. Do they do it for the adrenaline rush? Did they have a hard upbringing and seize any and all opportunity they see? "Because they're a Thief" isn't a legitimate reason - stealing is risky and dangerous, not something to be done on a whim "just because". Plus, all the pickpocketing can grate on other players as everyone in the area has their pockets systematically rifled through.

 

The Walking Autobiography - Often coupled with The Dark Past. It's perfectly understandable and quite common among new RPers - Someone comes up with an interesting, in-depth background for their character and they just can't wait to share it! So their character shares, at length, their life story, hopes, and dreams with whatever random passerby strikes up a conversation. Now, some people are like this. If your character is, great! Talkativeness can be an endearing trait. A lot of people aren't, though. Someone you sit next to at random on the bus isn't likely to spill their entire life story to you just because you said "hi". Pace yourself, think about what your character would and wouldn't be comfortable sharing in the given situation, and how appropriate it is for them to talk about themselves at all.

 

The Pokémaniac - I want to be the very best, like no one ever was! Okay, okay, bad joke. But common concept. I've seen this done well nearly as many times as I've seen it done poorly. A character, for whatever reason, is obsessed with being the best. The most powerful mage and the most skilled martial artist are two of the most common. Okay, fine... why? If you can come up with an interesting, compelling reason for their obsession then congratulations on a dynamic, motivated character. If you can't... Well, people don't just suddenly decide "I'm going to be the best damn PHP coder EVAR!" for no reason.

 

The Spontaneous Savior - A new character arrives on the scene and brings a dire warning of impending disaster. For whatever reason, they are the key to resolving it safely. This can be an awesome jump-start to a plot... IF you run it by the community first, make sure it doesn't conflict with anything, doesn't contradict the setting, and that people are generally okay with it. Don't be surprised or upset if they aren't; people often don't like things getting shaken up out of nowhere by someone they haven't RP'd with before. You can easily wind up the following situation.

Char #1: "The world's suddenly in danger for a reason I just made up, and I'm the only one who knows how to save it!"

Char #2: "...Who are you and why wasn't it in danger before you showed up?"

 

I've only run into possession twice - one made a lot of awkward situations for the linkshell. The other was very subtle and interesting, surprising everyone when the truth finally came out. There have also been a couple of incarcerations in CPM history, but to my knowledge there was only ever one breakout and they faked it to look like a death, then the escaping character moved to a different city under an assumed identity until things were eventually resolved with some backdoor diplomacy. Not terribly cliche, and I had fun watching that plot develop since the char in question was my char's adoptive little sister.

 

We never had any halfbreed characters, but I was opposed to them until I read about Enid Ironheart. According to game lore, all the in-game maps were drawn by Gwynham Ironheart, a Bastokan hume... And his half-Elvaan daughter Enid Ironheart. With a halfbreed built right into the lore like that, the LS decided they were possible but rare due to low fertility rate to explain why so few of them are seen. We also decided Tarutaru and Galkan crosses weren't possible due to the former's stature and the latter's technical asexuality. I don't really accept WotG as precedent for canon since it contradicts the rest of the game in several places in ways not explainable by time travel.

 

I have to say, this post is full of win. To be 100% honest with each and every single one of you. I do believe I was guilty of doing 85% of this entire list all at once with my very first character... and it's so true. Ah.. memories.

[Hayden]

Oh Eva! I was there for so much of that! Your awesome however its good to still have you around!

 

 

Lets see what I am guilty of.

 

Amnesia yea I did that to my character, I also did the having a baby thing and the romance thing but the person IC I did it was just happened to me my IRL wife!

 

One thing I REALLY get tiard of to no end is the dark complicated past dealie. Not that I am against dark complicated pasts...but it just so happens that people mostly pair THEIR dark complicated pasts with an angst filled steriotypical final fantasy eske hero, or a dark brooding lone wolf.

 

Gets old after a wile. I think I will make my character a bright happy and chipper fellow with a borring past! :afro:

[ArmachiA]

Lt's see in FFXI Armi was:

 

The spontaneous savior - She was the only one who could defeat the Shadow Lord! (>.>)

Then, once I realized the Mary Sue-ness of it, she got amnesia and turned evil.

 

The Amnesia thing was actually pretty fun for a while though. Runnin around bein all evil. But it wasn't Armi, I was putting a square peg in a round hole and eventually had to follow my characters heart and not my own.

[Iroh]

Honestly, what I'd like to see more in RP is well written villains. It's so rare to see great villains... you either get the "bullies" (who honestly really should be the GOONS and HENCHMEN of the villains, and they should lose more often and not god-mod so much as always being more powerful) or you get the anti-hero types that SAY they are bad but never actually DO anything because deep down their player wants everyone to like them.

 

I want more well-played villains.

[BelovedHatred]

The problem often time with PC villians is that Eventually they have to get caught.

This poses a problem most of the time for one party or another, because either A) the villian has to get caught, put away, executed, whatever. B) He has to escape prison...alot...which begins to make the court system in teh game seem really fail, and in turn anyone wanting to play a guard/patrol type of chr seem the same C) Villian eventually has to die/kill of che, or suddenly see the light ans start skipping through daisies, after they just tried to bring the Lunatic Pandora down on your local tavern last week.

 

If the constant escape/never caught things happens, players eventually get worn down on the character in question. One can only be harassed with the same plot, same villian for so long without just going to autopilot/ignore mode around them.

 

Not to bash any ideas, these are just things to consider, because I've seen it happen many a time on Aion.

 

Everyone wants to be the Sephiroth of the story...but just remember guys...Spehiroth goes away in the end of the story~!

[ArmachiA]

Ellion played a really good villain in Aion. So much so, no one knew he was a villain . Fillion was this really charming bad guy, who brought people into his Military Unit under the guise of being a normal as hell military unit but he was actually ploting on getting revenge against the government. He slowly made everyone he recruited see his side and want to join him in his cause, which is good cuz he needed bodies. He picked social outcasts and told them they were special. Daej, my alt, was his bully henchmen, kind of dumb, getting into fight in bars and whatnot.

 

The problem was, people really didn't see the guy as a Villain. While characters like Ryusho (Who was very overt about his intentions) was seen as a villain and got all the fun villainy plotlines.

[BelovedHatred]

He was one I was speaking of that got ignored after some time.

 

I know a few legions avoid rp with him because of his overly outward evilness.

[Iroh]

The problem often time with PC villians is that Eventually they have to get caught.

This poses a problem most of the time for one party or another, because either A) the villian has to get caught, put away, executed, whatever. B) He has to escape prison...alot...which begins to make the court system in teh game seem really fail, and in turn anyone wanting to play a guard/patrol type of chr seem the same C) Villian eventually has to die/kill of che, or suddenly see the light ans start skipping through daisies, after they just tried to bring the Lunatic Pandora down on your local tavern last week.

 

If the constant escape/never caught things happens, players eventually get worn down on the character in question. One can only be harassed with the same plot, same villian for so long without just going to autopilot/ignore mode around them.

 

Not to bash any ideas, these are just things to consider, because I've seen it happen many a time on Aion.

 

Everyone wants to be the Sephiroth of the story...but just remember guys...Spehiroth goes away in the end of the story~!

 

All true if you want to portray a villain in that way, but then again, in a MMO, when do the stories end?

 

Really good villains, which I pretty much never see, are the ones who for ages hide their true motivations. People like them. They are charming. They can do NUMEROUS bad things through manipulation, like pitting heroic characters with big egos against one another. Then suddenly when it suits their interest, they might have to reveal themselves sure... but if they have enough followers at that point, they don't NEED to go to any jail. They can safely combat any heroic types who might go against them through clever planning and the use of henchman.

 

I think there are just several problems people run into when playing a villain, and that's conflict RP in general. Most RPers, for some reason, don't like to "lose." They don't. So if you're a villain, you'll always fail, always be thwarted. If you're a hero, the villain you're up against will always want to win. There is far too often not enough give and take in RP because everyone wants to be the star, not just a small part of the greater whole.

 

That's the biggest cliché of them all and ties in to pretty much every cliché mentioned. 90% of the characters I've run into in RP wanna be the 'star!' It's very rare you run into people who want to be merely a PART in a much larger story.

 

Ellion played a really good villain in Aion. So much so' date=' no one knew he was a villain . Fillion was this really charming bad guy, who brought people into his Military Unit under the guise of being a normal as hell military unit but he was actually ploting on getting revenge against the government. He slowly made everyone he recruited see his side and want to join him in his cause, which is good cuz he needed bodies. He picked social outcasts and told them they were special. Daej, my alt, was his bully henchmen, kind of dumb, getting into fight in bars and whatnot.[/quote']

 

And yeah, something like that is probably more along the lines I'm talking about... but the only way to really make it take off is for the character to be a main you devote a lot of time too, I think. That's what I'd like to see.

 

Sadly, my character's story really just doesn't FIT that right now, so I can't play a villain. Of course, my guy might turn INTO one, depending on how various elements mesh and crash into each other... but it's still doubtful that could happen.

[Ellion Goto]

Truth be told, Fillion had so much game-time because of this that He ended up being my main very quickly. It was just simply put that the character was so charismatic that by the end, he had the people convinced of his cause, he had the power, and he was going to execute it. However, it worked so well that everyone saw him more of a Hero than a rebel who planned to take over.

 

He started out as a gimmick character that I made a tribute to Nathan Fillion with and decided to play my very first villain. I had so much fun that I just stayed on him. Leading the guild in this crazy direction that this dimented character had so humurously set them on, and they didn't even know it. The other guilds/legions usually had an "idea" that something wasn't right about him but no one ever really paid it second much thought. This is because He didn't look like your stereotypical villain either. He was small-framed, very preppy (parted hair-style), southern accented and just smiled and charmed you out of your pants. All the while telling you corrupt stories of how the government is leading you down a stray path. He was not taken very seriously but he had a very, very high intelligence and wit. This made his tongue super sharp in conflicts and his ability to recall information (since that was his trade) caused him to be a political force to be reckoned with. For this reason, I've decided I'll be making him a Villain once again in FFXIV. I don't want to force him to be a more noticable villain though because that's adding my influence. However, I've noticed that everytime I make the same character in a different MMO, different things happen and this will be no different. I can't wait to see what he's capable of in this universe!

 

 

Also, he wore a cowboy hat.... at all times.

[Axl]

I am tired of all the silent, brooding, sit in the corner while everyone else is talking, and mutter a few words occasionally, with a dark past guys.

[Iroh]

I hate the people with scars. Always the scars. And it's not like, just in their description so you can 'discover' it. Oh no. They have to TELL you about them. They emote things like:

 

/em takes off his shirt, displaying a body criss-crossed with scars. He seems to be embarrassed about these scars and doesn't want to talk about them. He tries to cover his scars with his hands, a blush rising to his cheeks.

 

Yes, I had to put up with that $^%& in a game once.

 

Dude, we're adventurers. Everyone has scars. It doesn't make you a special snowflake.

[ArmachiA]

^ true 3/4 of my characters have scars

[DAISHI]

I hate the people with scars. Always the scars. And it's not like, just in their description so you can 'discover' it. Oh no. They have to TELL you about them. They emote things like:

 

/em takes off his shirt, displaying a body criss-crossed with scars. He seems to be embarrassed about these scars and doesn't want to talk about them. He tries to cover his scars with his hands, a blush rising to his cheeks.

 

Yes, I had to put up with that $^%& in a game once.

 

Dude, we're adventurers. Everyone has scars. It doesn't make you a special snowflake.

 

There's a difference between scars obtained by various cuts and such and those received by, say, a body that's received a 40 whip lashing. You ever see the sort of back that leaves?

[Faust]

I'm considering making Faust an anti-hero/villain (somewhere between that fine line). I disagree that a villain has to fall, though. Look no further than reality. Nearly half of murderers are ever caught in the US. But even beyond the heinous, there are the frequently white collar crimes that are no doubt villainous, but don't always result in jail time. Bureaucracy alone can foil the fall of the villain. And think even beyond that-- there are "villains" who don't even commit any crimes at all. If you've ever watched a romantic drama, you can frequently identify a man or woman who is the "villain" and tries to ruin the "hero" relationship-- they don't necessarily break any laws to do it, but they still earn our scorn, and we despise them.

 

So I reiterate on something I said in the other villain thread-- keep an open mind about what it means to be a villain. And if you want people to RP as villains, you're probably going to have to work with them a bit and find a compromise that works for them. There are as many reasons to keep a villain close to the party as there are to be a villain in the first place. What's truly cliche is insisting that the good guys and bad guy are always at odds, and the good guys must eventually either kill or imprison the bad guy.

 

I think Faust may come off as the most cliche type of character at first (the lone and silent dark elf!), but really that is not what I have in mind for him as his character continues to develop. I've crafted an intricate backstory, complete with a complex villain, and the overarching story path aims to lead an inherently villainous character like Faust down a better path for completely selfish reasons. But I don't want to spoil my own story. I'm just pretty proud of myself, is all.

[Axl]

My characters are usually varied, over the 7 years that I have RP'd in XI, I have matured a bit. My Axl Klaavas character is just going to be, at bare bones (before character development) a bit of a newbie to the adventuring trade, although a little cocky, pretty much the blank slate to create a much more diverse character in the future, thats the way to go for me this time around.

[Iroh]

 

There's a difference between scars obtained by various cuts and such and those received by, say, a body that's received a 40 whip lashing. You ever see the sort of back that leaves?

 

Yup, and I'm sick of that Roleplay too. "I was a slave/orphan! Raised rough, and beaten and whipped! I'm ashamed of my scars but... let me take off my shirt to show everyone, but DON'T LOOK AT THEM!"

[Dreamer]

I'm with Iroh on this. The scar thing has been done to death. If people want scars with significant meaning then they need to come up with something more original than "I was whipped.".

[Midaja]

"I tried to slice my favourite cake, but since I didnt find a knife I used my giant two-handed sword. Unfortunately it hit the ceiling when I was going "BANZAAAAAAAI" and as it fell down it ripped open my back" <- ?

[Gavriel]

 

There's a difference between scars obtained by various cuts and such and those received by, say, a body that's received a 40 whip lashing. You ever see the sort of back that leaves?

 

Yup, and I'm sick of that Roleplay too. "I was a slave/orphan! Raised rough, and beaten and whipped! I'm ashamed of my scars but... let me take off my shirt to show everyone, but DON'T LOOK AT THEM!"

 

I think having scars became popular simply because it's one of the only "accessory" options we get in Character Creation (besides tattoos).

[Monadi]

My scars?

 

I had an unfortunate accident when I opened my box of morning cheerios and out popped an enraged raptor riding a shark.

 

Don't ask.