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Mac's Approach To Rp: Characters, Stories, Interactions And Train Of Thought

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#1 MacabreDerek

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Posted 15 October 2012 - 07:50 PM

Hey guys,

So after so many RP threads, discussions with people over voice chat, and several requests for input on a person's character write-ups, I'd figure I'd walk you through my approach to how I've come to write for my characters, design them, and my general approach to an RP. I am gonna need a few days to keep cracking at this, absorb discussion and ideas and update this in the hopes to give some of our newer players and writers a chance to gain some knowledge from our own experiences.

For those of the TL:DR variety, it's likely this was written with you in mind, and to help you along, at the start of each chapter, there will be a quick two or three sentence statement that sums up what I am discussing, and you can just jump from one header to the next.


Characters (AKA: Why no one is liking my vampire cyborg commando demigod)

TL:DR - The World is treated as Fictional, The Characters are Not. If a Character isn't in some way grounded in reality, you're going to lose your reader. Characters are choices, no an equipment and stat list.

I remember back in my youth when Yahoo! Chat had an RP java chat and I would look over all the characters that were listed. It quickly turned into a case where everyone was something special, because the forum was so open that by the time you spent more than an hour in there, you'd likely have run into a vampire who was actually spawned from a daywalker who gained the blessing of the lord of hell, a Herculean werewolf who could shift at will and was searching to avenge is family's death, the deranged witch-goddess of seduction, and the midget from Hades.

The irony of this was the more 'special' they tried to make themselves to be, the more boring it was to hear about. Fiction is filled with the fantastic, but the fantastic is borne from the mundane. The status quo shifts based on the majority of interaction, so while being the ******* son of a king is an interesting background, if it's the defining characteristic of your character in a room full of ******** of royalty, quickly it becomes somewhat boring.

Often times, the biggest problem when first conceptualizing them is so much focus is on the background of a character in defining a 'what' they are rather than 'who' they are. So how does this relate to Mechwarrior/Battletech fan fiction and RP? Well, we got alot of routes to discuss.

First off, one of the biggest things that most people seem to just take for granted is that you're a mechwarrior. It's understandable, it's why we play the game, but consider that no everyone is a mechwarrior. Being a mechwarrior is an example of the confusion between 'what' and 'who'. If you ever been asked "Who is your character suppose to be?" and the sentence started with "He's a mechwarrior...." you probably have this confused. That's alright, we've all done it, myself more times than I want to admit and still due truthfully.

So what's the difference?

Well, to quote Tyler Durden: You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your ******* khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.

This is often times a way of getting detracted by things that happened or things you have, as oppose to who you are. So who is this character? Well, that's the tough question. But the Who is answered by the choices a character makes. We'll discuss this later in a heading of Choices, but for now let's just cover some basic points.

As a point, many people have writen characters with the equipment and physical traits in mind, maybe even some personal history, but seem to work backwards from that to figure out who that person is by observing the choices made that would give them access to equipment. I find this actually harder because you are trying to justify everything you want, and you'll often come to conflicting decisions in trying to explain it.

A person's character comes to what kind of decision making they make, what's important to them, and how that influences their behaviour and choices. Many things like their position, training, experience, resources, etc. are more often than not a derivative of their choices, they are not that often the result of of it.

There are of course exceptions, but even then no person is completely mindless, even if they are dull witted, they have control over their actions. If you inherited a Battlemech, that's great, but you still chose to use it rather than sell it for the couple million c-bills it would be worth. So what would possibly make you want to give up safety and a huge payday in order to throw yourself into danger time and time again for longer smaller checks as a merc? If it's for greed, house honour, heritage, etc. these are defining factors of who your character is because this is what influences their decisions.

In the end, a character is the choices they make.


Choices (AKA: Drama 101, and Personal Delusions)

TL:DR - Conflict is always boils down to internal choices, and the interesting Drama people want to read rarely comes down to how badly your character can kick the tar out of the next guy. You're the hero of your own story, but so is everyone else, that includes the villains.

So we discussed Choices a bit, so what does this mean for you, the writer? Well, quite a bit actually. Not every choice has to be a nail bitter, but often times it's those choices you're given in any given situation that will make or break a character. The irony here is the more 'Over Powered' your character becomes, the less interesting they are because through what ever means of strength they have they can just solve the problem without much issue, there is no tension.

This may seem obvious, and yet so many players feel the need to try and make some character who is the typical arch-types we've seen in badly written cinema. "The Brute" - "The Shadowy Figure" - "The Wise Guide". The thing that makes these character types so bad is that we know how they will play out, because the decisions they have to make are already scripted out before the show begins. They become dull because of that reason.

One of the best lessons I was taught when I was new to writing was 'Write what you know about'. Being significantly older than when I was taught that, it was only recently did I really start finding interesting applications for it.

A basic guideline I now use for characters is "Do I know this person in real life?", and if I dont, I often dont bother using it. In fact, some characters I write or play as are based of small fragments of myself brought out to a logical extreme. In doing so, I've found the characters start growing a life of their own, while I am still able to relate because they started with my own personal experience. The irony is, because of this and how empathy works, your readers will also empathize with the character.

So what is conflict? Most think of it as a fight, but the conflict really is an internal one. It's when a character holds two wants or desires, and a choice forces them to bend or break one of their own internal rules/beliefs/wants/needs.

A simple example is 'The house is on fire, you got out alive, but now it's an inferno and you hear a baby crying inside'. Now the heroic typical thing is to charge in like they do in the movies and come out with the baby in tact and everyone lives happily ever after. However, the second you write that, everyone reading gets bored. Admit it, you were bored just reading that example without the details, so what good are the details going to do?

Now what happens if it's a person who has a phobia of fire (Or Babies). He tries all he can to get into the building, but his fear stops him, the baby dies, and he's left with 'what if'. He could not take the action, he was unable to bring himself to make the decision to step inside that house. Now does he feel guilt? Does he accept responcability? Does he brood over it or get on with his life? These are interesting choices.

The thing about most Forum based Role Playing is you're dealing with ten to twenty if not more authors who each what to have their moment, each have their own character doing the same thing. Well, the drama between characters once again resolves to an internal conflict. A character who doesn't want to get into a fist fight can often times avoid it, so in order for there to be a physical confrontation, both sides have to choose that it was the right thing for them to do at the time. However, not all conflict is battlemechs and drunken brawls.

There are constant conflicts in ideology, in tactics, in politics and personal truths, these can often conflict with another, and the character can again make a choice to leave it alone or peck at it. These conflicts shouldn't be the focus of the RP, but simply a way to encourage player interaction while defining the character's relationships.

RogueSpear gave me a small chapter of his own that I would like to share with you all, and just to be clear these are his words, and alot of his points are something most may need to start applying as they grow inside the RP space.

Corollary: 'Your Character is not ********'.
Seems simple right? It’s not too often that people play a character that is as thick as two bricks. Most of the time, you need to worry about a character who knows everything, and exactly how to counter it, all the time. This is because some players forget that while they’ve had two weeks to think up a response and sort out all the clues, their character hasn’t. So that needs to be our big focus right?

Nope, because that can be covered in ‘The Metagame’. What we need to talk about is ******** characters. Because as smart as your character is, a very simple newbie mistake is to forget they’re human(/other) beings. They have their own thoughts, whims, emotions, quirks, and everything else under the sun that that entails. They’re not *just* the large brush strokes you lined out when you came up with the character. Using Mac’s example about the character who hates authority, that character hates authority. He’s not stupid. If he gets caught in a burning building and someone shouts instructions to him, a lot of new players say very strange things.

‘But he wouldn’t listen because he hates being told what to do.’
‘But he’ll die if he doesn’t.’
‘But it just doesn’t fit the character.’

The player has something backwards here. The character would listen. They don’t want to die. Dying is a pretty major bad. So if someone shouts ‘Hey, if you’re careful, you can get the fire extinguisher out from under the sink and fight your way through to the window to the fire escape!’ they’re not going to ignore that out of pride. They’re going to do it. Hating authority, or being told what to do doesn’t mean that they’ll never listen.

Sentient beings are adaptive. They react to things. Now some things place a restriction on you. Sometimes these are outside of the player’s control. Sometimes you make a character that doesn’t fit with the RP. For example, in the Steel and Snow campaign, the players were not told anything about the plot of the RP, being told only that they would be working with another merc corp that owned warships. So all they actually knew was ‘This is big’.

Into this stepped two ex DCMS soldiers, both dishonoured during the clan wars, who had met each other and chose to team up to reclaim their honour and return to their homeland. If the campaign was an attack on the Draconis Combine (At the time of writing, they don’t know, it still could be), these players could have a lot of issues. It’s very simple for the players to say ‘They wouldn’t fight. This is their homeland. They would fight the other mercenaries, even their friends.’ But the characters are reclaiming their honour by fighting as mercenaries. They’ve accepted this contract. If they turn on their employers and friends, they lose more honour and will be blacklisted by the MRBC. The adaptive decision would be to be convinced by their friends, or each other to simply grit their teeth and complete the mission. Which is actually a very rewarding writing/reading experience as they struggle to deal with it.

It’s just as easy to forget that your character isn’t an automaton as it is to break character to fit the metagame (See below). Occasionally your character will need to go against their beliefs in the course of an RP. Sometimes their beliefs will derail the RP and it’s up to you all to meta a solution that can work. These can be some of the greatest and worst moments in an RP. Sometimes it’s when a character really becomes ‘real’ to everyone, and sometimes it’s when a character becomes a pain in the ***. Try to work out what actions will cause what reactions, line that up with where you want to take your character, and if an option does not immediately present itself, talk to your fellow RPers and see what you can all come up with.


Your Gear (AKA: The Clothes Make The Man)

TL:DR - What you wear, what gear you have, what mech you drive says alot about you, but there are always restrictions to what would be possible to use. Try to keep to items that reflect the kinds of choices your Character would make.

Ok, just for a break, let's talk about Mechs since this is founded on a Mechwarrior Online forum. Your mech can often be an external representation of some aspect of your character. Nothing new, but something I see from alot of people is they are quick to over-haul their mech so it's unrecognizable. This doesn't do much to be honest, the machine being customized to become a completely different mech (In which case, the only real 'forshadow' you get out of it is someone trying to be something they are not, which could be interesting, but I digress). If it's a common stock mech, you got it from somewhere. How you got it, why you drive it, how you learned to operate it, and how all that came to be is a huge thing, and often will give you some insight into how a character operates.

Same with weapons and equipment, from the sword at your back to the pistol at your side to the mop in your hand (That last one is actually what I use). It's the understanding that if you're broke and living out of a cardboard box, you're not likely to be driving a brand new dodge viper, are ya?

So when it comes to mechs, a complicated bit of machinery, just saying 'Stole it from X' doesnt really cut it, as just the action of Walking is a complicated neural science in a battlemech. Often times for someone to feel an action to be believable for your character, it needs to have some sort of previous example where that was the same choice they made before. I find it less likely a Mechwarrior knows more about his mech than his Tech, and I dont think some art collector is suddenly going to start stealing battlemechs on his own due to how much he enjoys their negative space composition (No matter how pretty PGI makes them).

What kind of equipment makes sense for your character? What's in their pockets at any given time? I have a Flash Drive attached to my keychain because I work with computer graphics alot, someone else has a bottle-opener because they work at a bar, what we generally have on us is based heavily on what we do. If you dont smoke, it's likely you wont have a lighter on you as frequently as a cronic smoker.

The same goes for your clothes, your living quarters, mech condition, etc. All of this is reflective of the choices your character made during their life and the results of those choices.

Sometimes though, we dont have a choice in the matter. It's less often than most might think, but even in this you have the chance for character development. To quote Sparks Murphey -

"Bertie drives his Enforcer because it's purposeful and cautious. Heather drives the same Enforcer because it's been handed down to her - but her impulsiveness costs her, since it works against the 'Mech. Both are enlightening."

In Heather's case, it shows her ability to adapt, her willingness to do so, or maybe even her lack of. It's that conflict that makes for some interesting drama and obsticles to overcome.


Reverse Engineering a Character (AKA: You wanna do this the hard way huh?)

TL:DR - Your character got the way they are somehow, the hard part is figuring out how to back-track to make those decisions make sense. 'Just Cuz' doesnt cut it.

So often times when we start character building, we start with an idea of what that character is suppose to do, what they drive, what their attitude is towards this or that, or some other tidbit that caught our attention and said to us 'this would be fun to write for'. It's good to get inspired, but then it turns into a case of how to you give your character some back story to support where they are and where they need to be? I will admit, it's kindof nice working with these restrictions, but on the other hand the more ideas you pump into the same character, eventually you'll start running into ideas that do not support one another.

This is not to say you must go through every line you've built up for the character and explain his or her history since birth, but it is good for yourself more than anything to understand the broad strokes of what the character is and isnt, and that will come with the decisions made that brought them to the point you need them. Are they a stickler for detail, or are they the get-it-done-NAO kinda person? Often times they will end up in two completely different places given the same opportunities, so it's best to know that kind of stuff early on before you start giving your first few posts into the RP board.


Clans (AKA: The Vampires of Battletech)

TL:DR - The Clans are often the 'go to' child of power-gaming in RP and are used as a measuring stick of the status quo rather than anything to do with the unique culture and outlook. The conflicts are trying to be won by being better in a fight and having better equipment 'just cuz'. It's an easy trap to fall into, and an easier trap to just embellish. If you're gonna play as a Clanner, think very long and hard about the consequences of your actions.

Let's be honest here, the Clans are a strong dividing line among BT TT players. To be clear, I love the Clans (Hell, I loved Vampires at one point too, sometimes still do), but when it comes to Role Playing in forums they both fell to similar abuses.

The basic problem with Clans is it's difficult to write in an RP that is primarily Inner Sphere based. There are hundreds of tiny 'what if' situations, and I myself have used them, so I know they are out there, but the issue always comes up when the Clanner is clearly being used for the 'superior' genes and gear. Well, why should this be the problem? Well, the reality is Clans are the biggest antagonist in the Inner Sphere, and in most plots do not benefit from a Clanner (More on Thread Plots later).

I know some people will find a work-around, either as a bondsman, some kind of twisted secretive agent, a member of Wolf's Dragoons/Black Widow Company, etc, but the issue keeps creeping up. This is another case like what was discussed in the first chapter of confusing What the character does/is with Who they are. Simply calling a character a 'Clanner' doesn't actually say much. It has associations and assumptions as a basis, but does not help explain their own choices, how their feelings and thoughts are either pushing against or have been indoctrinated by the Clan education system.

With so much detailed and rich culture behind the Clans, they are always brought down by players who jump on them for that power, which would be great for twinks I guess if we were playing any compedative game, but that's not the case (Again, more on that).

If you want to play a Clanner, then I would play in a Clan focused RP thread. The reason for this is two fold: 1) Suddenly all that power, prestige, gain, etc. doesn't matter because you are on equal footing (Unless you are a different caste other than warrior, which is actually more interesting than you may believe). 2) Because everyone's a Clanner, then you are forced once again to write about the character itself, and focus on the circumstances and decisions again rather than the typical power-gaming focus.

This same problem goes with people trying to RP characters that are Inner Sphere and have a Clan mech like it's a common item. Unless you are playing in 3090, it's unlikely you're going to run into a Clan mech, and repair it, then keep enough replacement parts to keep it working, unless you are a part of a Royal Court of one of the Major Houses. Quite frankly, most Clan Tech salvaged just costs way way too much to be practical for a single character, and even if you managed to steal it, the upkeep is just too much, so unless you can really think of a good reason you are supplied with a Clan mech, I think it's safe to say you really should have one. Prince Victor needs those replacement parts for his Dire Wolf (Ops, so sorry, Daishi).


The Hero Of The Hour Complex (AKA: You're the center of the universe?)

TL:DR - You are not the 'last action hero', unless the rest of the players agree with it, you being the lone valiant hero standing against impossible odds is often a bad idea, mostly because it breaks the reader's sense of disbelief, and unless they are particularly attached to your character, it wont mean anything. You're working WITH people to tell a story, they are not there to help tell your story.

Often times you'll run into a player who tries to make their character some kind of General Patton, who is all about the glory and the publication that they have said glory. While some characters are glory-hounds, it needs to be approached with a bit of tact. The over all issue here is that as mentioned before, the RP Thread is a story in and of itself, and it's a long one, composed of several authors. Each author's responsibility is to push the RP along, present events in a clear way and develop the story from their own character's perspective. When put into this context, trying to shift an RP to focus around your own character rarely works out.

Point of fact, if it IS all about your character and you're running the RP, one of two things (or perhaps both) will happen. 1) You will be overwhelmed as everyone is relying on your post to progress, trying to respond to everyone's questions and actions, and 2) The RP tends to fail due to difficulty in characters feeling as though if they dont play a subserviant role do not belong in the game. Either way, that focus of being 'about your character' suddenly becomes a huge bottleneck for the whole board, and this happens more often than not.

While it's great to have your moment, I assure you it will come as the game progresses, quite possibly in some of the most unexpected ways, but trying to force it will often just cause more headaches than it's worth.


The Death of a Character (AKA: Just dont do it)

TL:DR - The Sacrifical Hero, the Last Hours of the Character, etc. Are not necessary unless that was a plan from the beginning. RP Threads are fluid things, and ending a character's life often feels hallow and wasteful.

I've run into this with everyone I've ever played a game where we were expected to take casualties, from my days to Yahoo! Chat RPs to my World of Warcraft RPs to now. There is always some guy who wants to make his Character try to be the guy who saves the day through some degree of self-sacrifice.

I am somewhat reminded of a video game Halo:Reach, it's a perfect example of the problem most people have when trying this trope. Quite frankly, the reason the Sacrifical Hero works is because 1) We believe in the character enough to get attached to who they are and what they stand for, and 2) The hero's life has to mean something more than simply their pulse. We're talking about the father who sacirifices himself knowing he's gonna leave his kids without a father kind of situation.

Another issue is the grace presented in the death. The first thing that comes to mind as an example is the movie Titanic, and for as much as you may hate Leonardo Decaprio, the musicians who were playing as the ship was sinking did so with a grace that, even though we didn't know these characters, saw them die well. After they are done playing, they shake hands and go their seperate ways. As they depart, a lone fiddler begins playing Nearer My God To Thee. The musicians hear it, and stop for a moment to pause, listening. One by one, during this horrible catastrophy, they come back, pick up their insterments, and join the lone fiddler. This is the grace and beauty they choose to die with.

To me, this is the kind of emotional impact you need, and quite frankly most dont have it in them to pull it off at the time, because it's such a hard thing to write in a way that emotionally impacts yourself. I've tried this in several short stories, and even there I consider it crude.

Another big reason to not do this is it often does not benefit the story of the game. It's a single scene, a single role to play, and the irony is the better you get at it, the less you'd want to have this sort of self-sacrifice scene because it ends your time in that game.

Why not make a new character you ask? Well, in the whole of the situation, no matter how good you are, your own Out of Character involvement inside the story almost seems to 'cheapen' the moment. I wish I knew how to better explain it, but I guess another video game example would be Cait Sith from Final Fantasy 7, where his apparent 'death' just felt cheapened after such a good moment by him being given a replacement model. And no matter how good you are, almost everyone can smell that replacement character's reason for being, no matter how different he is, it'll be a black mark on a moment you're trying to make ring in the memory of your readers.

With this much going against you, I caution you in doing so, it's hard to pull off. On a Personal Note, I feel I am respected enough as an Role Player for what skill and tallent I have, but even I cant pull off a truely 'good' final moment. And that's exactly what it is, your character's final moments. Consider the wieght of that, because if the characters your write are not people to you, they wont be to your reader. Consider sending someone you know to their death, and if you can not bring that emotion into it, do everyone, especially yourself a favour, and dont do it.


The Over-Arching Plot: (We're All In This Together)

TL:DR - Most Forum RPs have an over-arching plot line, consider your post carfully and try not to deviate too far from the main plot that is trying to go on. Consider what type of character you are bringing to the game. It's difficult enough for the organizer to keep things rolling, and while some side plots and interactions are great character building chances, if they become the focus it could quickly have an RP fall apart at the seams.

I've made mention of this several times, but it bares repeating. Before joining an RP Thread, get really familiar with the plot that they are trying to show. It's often a very simplistic mission, but it's the details that make it an engaging story, those points come to the participants, the writers, the characters. It's the mix for a great RP to let all those different characters and circumstances start pulling your character into different directions. Often times this can get convoluted, and it's up to the Game Master and his Leads to help keep the RP on track, but this also falls to you.
Remember all that talk about decisions and choices a character would make? This is one of the biggest issues that keep cropping up among newer players, is they find that their character 'wouldnt do X' or 'cant do Y because of Z'. What this often means is they did not consider the implications of their character being brought into the current RP. And while it's impossible to predict how your character would react to everyone in the game, it is possible to give motives to make sure the game stays on track. I've always found Greed to be a great motivator personally Posted Image

You're not gonna bring a character who hates authorities figures into an RP that is dependant on him following orders unless you know why he would swallow that hate and work with the people, so dont specificly handicap yourself and the RP by chosing a character that could clash against the direction the RP is trying to head from the get-go.


<<<<<<Continuing Later>>>>>>

#2 guardian wolf

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Posted 15 October 2012 - 08:32 PM

Nice Mac, You really got into the guts of this thing... makes me think back to when I took the time to think up of Chris Dezene, Callsign "Ace of Spades" *sighs* good times.

Seriously this is great stuff, he explains this topic extremely well, and I actually learned a thing or two in here.

Edited by guardian wolf, 16 October 2012 - 07:19 AM.


#3 Thom Frankfurt

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Posted 16 October 2012 - 07:05 AM

Good stuff.

#4 G is for Gamma

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Posted 16 October 2012 - 07:11 AM

I was in the process of writing "Gamma's guide to not being Oni Storm Pretend-time" but yours pretty much covers the basics, probably better than mine would have lol

#5 pinsndneedles

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Posted 16 October 2012 - 08:11 AM

Wish I'd had one of these years ago when I started RPing, would've save so much grief lol. Great stuff!

#6 guardian wolf

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Posted 16 October 2012 - 08:55 AM

I know right?

#7 Vodkavaiator

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Posted 16 October 2012 - 11:15 AM

A most wonderful and useful work, I suggest it be stickied for future reference.

Time to spam the moderators inbox.

#8 Garth Erlam

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 01:04 PM

Pinned - absolutely excellent work.

#9 RogueSpear

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 01:05 PM

Awesome! Thanks Garth!

#10 pinsndneedles

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 01:06 PM

Yeah, this definitely needed to be pinned.

#11 Vodkavaiator

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 01:07 PM

*And there was much rejoicing. B)

Posted Image

Edited by Vodkavaiator, 18 October 2012 - 01:21 PM.


#12 G is for Gamma

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 01:30 PM

Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice

#13 JazzySteel

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 01:38 PM

Really a great guide. I've been writing RP since I was old enough to type coherently Note that I have been out of the game for about six months and just started writing here in particular very recently. And I must say: I really wish I had read this thread about five years ago.

#14 Thom Frankfurt

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 02:23 PM

Derek, I don't think you can deny your writing ability anymore. You're getting comps from the administraters and getting your guides, tipps, and suggestions to RP pinned.

And I'm even thinking about sending a copy to my long term GM. With your blessing of course..

#15 Shadtiger77

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 02:28 PM

Absolutely great peice of work, and I have only read halfway through (having to catch it on break from work). This is finally where it should be, pinned to the top of the list so everyone can see it. Thanks to the admin for their pintrest.

#16 MacabreDerek

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 02:33 PM

This 'guide' (It was more a dictation of my approach in what I tell myself in something that doesnt turn into one run-on-sentance) is free for anyone, I make it public domain for use by anyone, for anyone, because I am just hoping this gives insight and promotes discussion, nothing more. Feel free to use and reference it as much you like, as I will try to conintue expanding it in the days ahead and find a way to organize what is written in here for easier times. Will keep the TL:DR sections going as I am quickly coming to realize how much more I have to say and hope it will make it less cumbersome to read.

#17 Shadtiger77

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 02:37 PM

Well, if you like I can copypasta this into my writing editor and give it a copy edit for you, Mac. I have been working for a publisher long enough to pick up the tricks of that trade.

#18 MacabreDerek

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Posted 18 October 2012 - 02:39 PM

Once it's done maybe I'll consider it, but all I would be is doing some links and menus to help run it through, I might even do some 'spoilers' just to clean it up presentation wise.

#19 BlackWidow

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Posted 23 October 2012 - 06:17 PM

Wow. Fantastic write up! Really !

And now for the poop parade.

While I agree with almost everything you said....there is a point where you have to realize this is not character development for a novel. This is FAN fiction. If I like to RP in my leisure time, or actually enjoy any part of a fantasy world, it's mostly not for the choices my character makes, it *IS* for what they are. The vampire, the cyborg....the vampire cyborg. I _DO_ in fact, choose to role play these characters for WHAT they do and who they are, not the choices they make.

I understand the line between playing a character and ROLE playing a character. And I guess that is what you are getting at. But, really. Who is their right mind would EVER EVER ! play a Stormtrooper in StarWars? Seriously.

1. Create your background, family history, psychotic makeup, drug addiction, diabetes...whatever. Go wild, baby.
2. Decide your basic personality and how you would handled these issues, conflict, etc.
3. Join the EMPIRE and become a Stormtrooper.
4. Sit on you fibro-plastic encased butt all day.......everyday.......except when it's your turn to clean the latrines.

Tie Fighter did it right. Because it was the only way. You started as a Stormtrooper rookie, and eventually could make the choices to rise in the ranks, or follow the Emperor's secret path for you. But, either way you were part of some central theme that made you the "Hero of the Universe" ! Admittedly, they did handled it on a more toned down version. You were no Luke Skywalker.

But, my point is, they still had to do it. We ROLE PLAY because we like the fun, exciting juicy bits. Seriously, who actually PREFERS the cereal part of LUCKY CHARMS™ over the marshmallows?

Or, I could be missing the point entirely. I prefer sci-fi (hard) over most fantasy because it merely provides a fantastic backdrop or McGuffin to put the characters into a specific situation. It's how the characters react in that situation that is interesting, where they are or what they do for a living. Example: Battlestar Galactica remake* or Gilligan's Island.** Same thing. A fantasy setting that isolate people from the rest of society for an extended period of time. Apply pressure. Sit back and enjoy.

In BSG, forget that Chief eventually was a Cylon***, before that was a regular joy with a girlfriend reacting to some crazy stuff. I get that. That is what you are talking about. And the fact he was a cylon LATER then was interesting because of the rest of the stuff we got to see before that. Not the other way around. In otherwords, he was and interesting CYLON because of the person he was, not an interesting PERSON because he was a cylon. Am I close?

But, RP still sounds like you are one of the BSG fighter pilots that always sat in the back of the briefing room and never got any lines. Or that Starbuck shoved out of the way in Esp. whatever, scene 14.

So, yeah, I get character motivations, but realize behind those character motivations is a RP (real person) who is choosing that toon for their job. Not their motivations. Although, I guys I could think about it this way. What if Luke's Aunt and Uncle were never killed?
Take that! Role Play Luke as the dude with some "force tinglings" that never actually went with Kenobi. Now, THAT is an interesting character.

Anyhow, fun discussion. Keep it up. If I make no sense, I'm 3 hours behind because of jet lag, currently.

BW


*(Sorry fans, the original was crap and you know it. I knew it when I was 11 in 1978. Ok, that's a lie. I loved it in 1978. But, I was 11)
** (Holy crap. LOST is just a bad remake of Gilligan's Island!)
*** (Sorry is this was a spoiler. That was years ago, though. Oh, and Rosebud was his sled from childhood)

View PostMacabreDerek, on 18 October 2012 - 02:33 PM, said:

This 'guide' (It was more a dictation of my approach in what I tell myself in something that doesnt turn into one run-on-sentance) is free for anyone, I make it public domain for use by anyone, for anyone, because I am just hoping this gives insight and promotes discussion, nothing more. Feel free to use and reference it as much you like, as I will try to conintue expanding it in the days ahead and find a way to organize what is written in here for easier times. Will keep the TL:DR sections going as I am quickly coming to realize how much more I have to say and hope it will make it less cumbersome to read.



yes! More indentation, bullet points, etc. This is an excellent write up but you need to break up the wall, Pink Floyd. If you don't make it more visually diverse, people will miss much of it, and that would be a shame.

#20 RogueSpear

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Posted 23 October 2012 - 06:26 PM

Actually I do play a bog standard Stormtrooper. Chad Harkin, THX-16401, 48th Legion, stationed to Corellia. Been playing him two weeks now. Our party is a squad of stormtroopers, no Jedi, no bounty hunters, nothing. Just another group of squaddies. And it's great fun. The entirety of the first session was us d*cking about the barracks in our down time. That led to a bar scene, which led to a plot hook, and now we're aiding in putting down a gang. Like I said, going well so far.

Mac's not saying you don't get to be special or not part of the main story. He's just saying you don't need to be a massive powergamer and you don't need to be the guy who all the other players are forced to RP around. Let's be fair, we've all had 'that guy' who was the biggest and the best and he doesn't afraid of anything. So he constantly bigs that up.
And in general, unless done very well, that character (and often player) is boring to play with. Be a vampire. Be a cyborg. In the course of the RP, sure, become both if it suits. But don't start as both, with all the gear and all the guns and walk in and tell everyone what to do and constantly shove your character right to the fore of the spotlight. There's no where for your character to go from there, it's not a fun read, is essentially the point. I'm aware I'm babbling, but I'm also shattered.
I bow out for the night, reply to y'all in the morning.

Edited by RogueSpear, 14 September 2013 - 09:45 AM.






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