{"id":95,"date":"2014-08-21T09:36:49","date_gmt":"2014-08-21T09:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/?p=95"},"modified":"2014-08-21T09:36:49","modified_gmt":"2014-08-21T09:36:49","slug":"character-creation-3000w","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/character-creation-3000w\/","title":{"rendered":"Character Creation 3000W"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Simon Cross, Mike Dewar and Adrianna Pi\u0144ska<\/em><\/p>\n

Your character creation skills have progressed far beyond writing
\nnumbers on paper. Your characters have deftly crafted manerisms and
\nepic length backgrounds. They breathe emotion and seem more life-like
\nthan many of your friends.<\/p>\n

Yet, somehow, when you sit down at a table to play your beautiful
\ncreations, things don’t quite work out.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the story heads in an unexpected direction, leaving your
\ncreation out of place and struggling to fit in? Or maybe they’re fun
\nto play initially but their actions begin to feel repetitive and
\nuninteresting?<\/p>\n

If any of this sounds familiar, read on.<\/p>\n

Reacting to failure<\/h2>\n

It’s easy to spend all your time imagining a character’s successes —<\/p>\n

their victories and their crowning moments — but what happens when
\nthey fail? How do they respond to minor setbacks? And big ones?<\/p>\n

Maybe they’re stoic about it? Perhaps it’s likely to cause a crisis of
\nfaith? Maybe they react by doubling down and uping the stakes? Maybe
\nthey see failure as an opportunity to learn and grow? Perhaps they’re
\naccustomed to failure? Perhaps they see failure as a sign that they’re
\nchallenging themselves and pushing their abilities?<\/p>\n

The dice and the DM are going to screw you. Make sure you have a plan
\nfor how to roleplay your character when they do.<\/p>\n

Philosophy<\/h2>\n

A character’s goals are things strongly tied to specific events. A
\nphilosophy colours every situation. The two are often aligned, but a
\nphilosophy is more broadly useful. It gives you a handle on how your
\ncharacter might behave in circumstances where it is not otherwise
\nobvious what they would do.<\/p>\n

To take a hackneyed example: your backstory might involve punishing an
\nold partner who screwed you. This goal could feed a number of
\nrather different philosophies:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • “I always keep my word, and I promised Jimmy I’d get him back.”<\/li>\n
  • “Any situation can be solved with enough violence.”<\/li>\n
  • “Karma controls the universe. What goes around comes around.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The goal is the same, but each philosophy implies very different
    \nday-to-day behaviour.<\/p>\n

    There are going to be times when other characters’ plots and goals are
    \ncentre-stage, and it behooves us as roleplayers to have a plan for
    \nthese awkward (and hopefully brief) moments. A philosophy allows your
    \ncharacter to participate in others’ plots as a unique and distinct
    \nindividual, rather than as a bored bystander.<\/p>\n

    Your character’s philosophy becomes vitally important when paradigm
    \nshifts occur in-game. Setting changes erode the importance of lesser
    \ngoals and past history and create a strong need for a philosophy that
    \nguides your character’s immediate responses and further development.<\/p>\n

    It may be interesting to construct characters with goals that
    \ncontradict their philosophy. For example, a pacifist might wish to
    \nexact revenge on the person who killed their brother. This creates an
    \ninteresting conflict that will need to be resolved.<\/p>\n

    Randomly fucking with people is not a philosophy.<\/p>\n

    Interacting with colleagues<\/h2>\n

    Your character is going to spend a lot of time interacting with their<\/p>\n

    colleagues — the other player characters — so it’s worthwhile
    \nthinking about how they do that.<\/p>\n

    It’s tempting (and a bit lazy) to think of characters as relating to
    \neveryone else the same way. This leads to loners and overly friendly
    \nEnergizer bunnies, both of which get old very quickly.<\/p>\n

    Avoid homogenous party dynamics.<\/p>\n

    If your character’s interactions with the other player characters are
    \nall the same, you have failed.<\/p>\n

    Varied interactions also help make party disagreements more
    \ninteresting. Without varied interactions, you have to resolve all
    \ndisagreements by beating each other over the head with the logic stick
    \nuntil consensus (or boredom) is reached. Unique relationships and
    \nloose factions make disagreements more interesting to roleplay and
    \nhelp the party find plausible lines along which to unite for a given
    \nscenario.<\/p>\n

    If your character is part of a command structure, spend some time
    \nthinking about how they respond to orders they disagree with. Remember
    \nthat the orders are likely issued by someone your character knows and
    \nhas an existing relationship with. What is that relationship?<\/p>\n

    Also keep in mind that your character has likely been given such
    \norders before, and since they appear to still be part of the command
    \nstructure, they’ve probably come to terms with this in some way that
    \nboth they and their immediate superiors can live with.<\/p>\n

    Obviously everyone has their limits, though — where are your
    \ncharacter’s? How much does it take for other player characters or
    \nNPCs to cross the line?<\/p>\n

    Development<\/h2>\n

    Sometimes even if you do everything right you find yourself in a
    \nsituation where your character is no longer fun to play. Maybe the
    \ncampaign took an unexpected turn or you’ve just run out of ideas for
    \nthem as they are. It’s time for your character to change — to embark
    \non a new personal story arc.<\/p>\n

    Great characters aren’t static. They grow and react to events around
    \nthem. Perhaps a crushing defeat has made them re-consider their
    \nphilosophy — or made them more committed to it? Or maybe frustration
    \nwith their current situation has made them reconsider their options?<\/p>\n

    It helps to think broadly about how your character might develop while
    \nyou’re creating them. Make sure you’d still find the character
    \ninteresting to play even if their stance on some important issues
    \nshifted. Don’t become too invested in your character remaining as they
    \nare. Be flexible — don’t have only one plan for character
    \ndevelopment.<\/p>\n

    Your character’s philosophy and general outlook can be one of the most
    \ninteresting things to tweak. Small changes can often have big
    \nramifications for how they interact with others.<\/p>\n

    Don’t feel you have to leave character development for later in the
    \ncampaign! The start of a campaign is often when character changes are
    \nmost needed to make a character work well and it sets the stage for
    \nfurther character development later on.<\/p>\n

    Sharing<\/h2>\n

    Think about how you convey who your character is to the other
    \nplayers. They’re probably not going to get to read your epic
    \nbackstory, so they’re going to have to learn about who your character
    \nis in other ways.<\/p>\n

    Likely the first thing people will hear about your character is his or
    \nher name — so make it a good one. It’s going to be repeated a lot so
    \nmake sure it conveys something about who your character is. If they’re
    \nan Italian mobster, make sure their name sounds like they’re an
    \nItalian mobster. That way whenever the DM or another player says your
    \ncharacter’s name, it reminds everyone who your character is.<\/p>\n

    The second thing people hear will probably be a description of your
    \ncharacter. Take some time to write one. Don’t rely on dry statistics
    \nand descriptions. Stick to what people would see and remember about
    \nyour character if they met him or her for a few minutes. Don’t mention
    \nhair colour unless hair is an important feature.<\/p>\n

    After introductions are done, you probably won’t get another
    \ninvitation to monologue about your character. So do it in character
    \ninstead. Tell the NPC about that time in ‘Nam. Regale the party with
    \ntales from your epic backstory. As in real life, try not to ramble on,
    \nbut equally, don’t shy away from putting your character in the
    \nspotlight for a few moments. Continually remind the others at the
    \ntable who your character is.<\/p>\n

    Last but not least, remember that the most epic backstory is pointless
    \nif no one finds out about it. The point of dark secrets is for them to
    \nbe uncovered and for your character to confront them.<\/p>\n

    Epilogue<\/h2>\n

    Don’t fear failure. Have a philosophy. Have varied interactions with
    \nothers. Embrace change. Share who you are.<\/p>\n

    Thanks<\/h2>\n
      \n
    • Kululaa dot COMMMM!<\/li>\n
    • Mefridus von Utrecht (for a philosophy that involves others)<\/li>\n
    • Attelat Vool (for starting life after failure)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      This article was also published in the CLAWmarks 2014 Dragonfire edition.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      by Simon Cross, Mike Dewar and Adrianna Pi\u0144ska Your character creation skills have progressed far beyond writing numbers on paper. Your characters have deftly crafted manerisms and epic length backgrounds. They breathe emotion and seem more life-like than many of your friends. Yet, somehow, when you sit down at a table to play your beautiful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-roleplaying"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100,"href":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions\/100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hodgestar.za.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}