The Art and Science of Character Generation
As I wind down to the end of my MUD playing career, I find myself thinking about
all the accumulated mistakes and actual accomplishments I’ve managed to accrue. Which is a lot, at least to me. I never did the D&D, or any other paper and pencil roleplaying thing. I never read fantasy books; The Hobbit bored my brains out. But a rather weird set of circumstances led me to MUD playing. And, a year and a half later, circumstances have conspired to end it.
It’s okay; I don’t feel very regretful about it, save for the fact that a vital interaction with some of my friends, will end as well. It’s been quite the learning experience, though its many limitations have pulled and pushed at the edges of my abilities.
So, for what it’s worth (you decide), here are some tips I have for you online roleplaying folks on character generation. I am not an expert at all; I don’t think anyone is. But it’s a chance for me to spill what I have learned, and what I learned not to do.
1. A description is important. The two games I played required the writing of a detailed description, and I found this to be enormously helpful in pinning down what I wanted for the character. It should include only characteristics that you, as a stranger, would see for the first time. Things like:
hair color and length, and how that hair is kept (ponytail, braid, loose, or bald)
eye color and shape,
eyebrows and eyelashes (if any),
mouth: shape and size,
bone structure (heavy set/fragile/medium),
height and apparent weight, given in the units of measurement of your game
scars or marks/tattoos, jewelry
condition of clothing (tattered/well kept/shining)
A detailed and well-written description impresses. Use metaphors or similes; they’re always neat. Also, the description should not contain any actions, ie. "He dances around you with a silly smile on his face," because the character can’t possibly be doing that all the time in a forest or a city street, nor can he be doing that every time another character looks at him. It’s physically impossible. No character history should go here, nor any statements which point to the character’s thoughts or motivations. Just stuff that you can physically see.
How long should a description be? I confess, I tend to be more impressed by long descriptions because I feel the player actually really cares about roleplaying that character. As a general guideline, I think 10 to 20 lines is just nifty.
Please, please, spell and grammar check the description! It hurts the eyes, if you don’t. And again, if you don’t, to me, it shows that you don’t give a rat’s butt about how people regard you. And in a game where social interaction is important, that can mean that you’re dismissed by other serious players as a dimwit, meaning nobody will talk to you.
2. A character background is important. These details don’t go into your description, but a background NEEDS, I repeat NEEDS, to be created. This entails your character’s history prior to their adventuring (ie. you playing the character), and perhaps their family’s history as well. You really need to sit down and write all this out. Consider things such as:
where the character was born (ie. village/farm/town/city/place of worship/woods, you name it. Make sure the place you think he/she comes from, actually exists in the game.)
the circumstances of the character’s birth (ie. into a rich/poor/middle class family; into a stable loving family with two parents; into a dingy hole and abandoned the moment she was born.. etc)
the circumstances of the character’s childhood (ie.happy stable family with good schooling; abandoned at a young age and raised by strangers; ran away and lived on his own on the streets, etc.)
the composition of the character’s family (ie.only child; x number of siblings; no siblings but had plenty of cousins as friends; etc.)
the character’s pastimes (ie. playing games of chance; hunting or fishing; playing games with friends; etc.). Consider pastimes both from childhood and current pastimes.
the character’s life growing up (ie. where they lived; financial situation; parents’ jobs/guilds; well-educated with private tutors; educated at the village school; educated by parents in their own trade; not educated at all; childhood friends; favorite relatives; any place the family may have moved while they grew up, any financial disasters; parents were criminals running from the law... etc.)
the character’s personality. To arrange this you need to lean on your character’s back history AND take into consideration, their racial characteristics. Whatever race you choose for your character, you SHOULD stick to their common personality traits.
For example, my main character, Delshara, was always well spoken and diplomatic even though her trade was as a warrior. The reason is because her mother was a troubador, and taught her all the social graces of the guild. She had a great sense of honor and loyalty because her father, who was a warrior, believed that warriors should have their own code of behaviour to follow. In later years, she rarely frequented the main city, becoming more reclusive and quiet, because staying there for periods of time reminded her too much of happier days with her last lover.
So you see, your character grows. He/she should never be static. Events in their life WILL change and shape their personality and ways of doing things. Nor should they be stereotypical; make him/her something unique, exciting, and fun to play. Don’t play JUST to create the kickass minotaur warrior that kills, and does nothing else. That’s been done, and that’s boring. Create your own niche, and you’ll be noticed and applauded because you decided not to be just like every other stat-cruncher in the game.
Start out with a basic personality idea, and then, roleplay with people. Change your character’s personality according to what happens to them. This guarantees that you’ll keep on wanting to play them, meaning that you’ll have fun.
Last Modified: December 24, 2000
Feel free to flame or praise: delshara@yahoo.com