Rules For Character Creation

a guest OOC article by Tyson

 

 

Note from Beth: Tyson Eberhardt was one of the very first people to post on GCP back when it was still hosted on Bravenet, and ever since he's never stayed silent for very long.  Whether the topic is stories from recent games, an impassioned political debate, or a new online game looking for players, it's all but certain that Tyson will be there.  I may not always agree with his opinions all of the time, but I know the forum wouldn't be nearly as interesting if he wasn't sharing them.  This recent post is one of his first forays into the field of gaming advice (at least, one of the first that I've seen), and I can only hope that it's not the last.  (And yes, I do agree with these rules very much!)

 

 

1.      Set Goals.
Goals for your character can be extremely valuable, as they give you a purpose, a direction, and a sense accomplishment when you succeed. Or good RP fodder when you fail.

 

2.      Make sure your character has a hobby.
Hobby might be the wrong the wrong word. Open ended goals, perhaps? Whether it's catching and taming spirits, gossiping, building magic items, bizarre and inhumane experiments, or just conning attractive people out of their pants, it's good to have something to do. It can create a number of subplots, it's fun, adds flavor to the character, and gives you something to do when all those inconsiderate jerks run off and leave you alone.

 

3.      No, you may not play the Invisible Man.
While character interaction needn't be all bubbly, happy, or touchy feeling, and can in fact be a necessity thing, you'll have to interact with them sooner or later. The Nosferatu who never de-stealths or introduces himself, the man hating garden sheers wielding militant feminist black fury, the kill all humans Red Talon, or a tendency to randomly murder children are generally *not* good ideas, unless you're very careful with what how you play them, and make a few allowances for interaction with PCs and NPCs.

 

4.      Pet NPCs.
Pet NPCs can be fantastic tools. Including them in your background is a good way to create plot hooks and flesh out your character. It also gives you a chance to display your character's personality. However, there are some things to remember.  Try not to make them too noxious, unless they're enemies we can help kill.  I learned my lesson with a floating head.  Just because they're dead, doesn't mean they're dead, as the ST doesn't have to leave them that way.  So think twice about killing everyone in your background.  STs seem to see it as a challenge.  And if you've got a psychotic axe murderer chasing you, trying to kill you and everyone you know, tell your group at some point. It's only polite.

 

5.      Prostitution
Most STs have a soft spot in their hearts for plot whores. You can get away with some amazing things with a good background (glances at Fionna, the Invulnerable woman). Including a lot of plot hooks in your background will endear you to the ST and will also help make for an engaging character.

 

6.      Personality
Before game play, it really helps to actually sit down and write a paragraph about how your character thinks and acts. It doesn't matter how shallow he or she seems at the time, it'll act as a seed.

 

7.      Concepts
Common sense here. Discuss the concept beforehand with the ST. Bring up possible issues, clear up confusion, give him a character sketch to think about. Giving him a three-sentence description only to have your full character nixed is a waste of precious time.

 

8.      Can't you do anything right?
Someone's going to yell twink...Don't make a worthless character. Don't make a character who can't contribute, who'll just stand in the back all the time. Give them something useful and concrete to do. It needn't be combat related. A character who can contribute, even if it's just through good advice and knowledge is a necessity. You don't have to make him uber-good at what he does, you don't have to make him the best in the world, or even someone who utterly ru|3z at what he does.  Just that the character can help out in some situations and possesses some worth when considered with a cold, tactical eye is enough. And don't get the idea that I'm devaluing good roleplay. Building a character to be weak, or 'worthless' isn't a crime, and can be conducive to good roleplay, which can compensate for a lot of things. And, on a side note, being a McGuffin and Big Plot Hook is a contribution in it's own way.

 

Now, I suppose an example is called for. Take Kait from the W:tA game, for example. She's a Black Spiral Dancer (violates rule 3). She's a pacifist and fairly cowardly (violates rule 8). She's a twit and she risked her life trying to reason with a Nexus Crawler to keep the Garou pack she's with from hurting the poor thing. That violated a number of rules, right there. She has the Wyrm, both the sane and insane one talking to her in her head. (Violates rule 4, to a degree.) However, she's fun to play, and I think most of the other pc's are fond of her and enjoy interacting with the confused little girl.  On the plus side, she's one hell of a plot whore. I pretty much sold her soul to John. She has some interesting PCs in her background that I think the pack will love to hate. She has a number of things I can do when the pack makes the mistake of leaving me alone, and she has definite goals. I sat down and wrote about her personality, and I think that small effort repaid me, though I'll leave it to my fellow Tuesday W:tA'ers to make that call. I feel I obeyed both Rule 3 & 6 in her construction, as she has a definite personality that was deliberately designed to help make the BSD part a non-issue. While she's not a combatant, or even particularly skilled at a lot of things, she does contribute by being very charming, by being a Big Plot Hook, having high Rage and being able to heal others. She also has a number of other minor abilities that can help out. And quite obviously I discussed this all with John beforehand.  I both violated and obeyed a number of my own rules in creating her, and I was rewarded for doing both. Rules, especially these, are merely there to make you think before breaking them.

 

 

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