Heroica Theatre

[Bricksandparts]

I'm doing it wrong as well.....even worse than Flipz...

I wouldn't say so, I think you could probably turn the situation around and provide a reason that you can't seem to use magic that you haven't told the party. Maybe you were just scared out of your wits that you were a girl?

[Scorpiox]

I'm doing it wrong as well.....even worse than Flipz...

Durkon is definatly savable. For the moment, he is a girl. We've got that he can't use magic, but not a lot of emotion. How does he feel to be a girl? Embarrassed? Annoyed? Scared? You should try and convey how he feels about things a lot more. For example, you make quite a few short posts, nearly always actions. A fair few of your posts are 3-4 word phrases and actions, when it would be far more interesting to get his opinion on the matters at hand, not just what he does or says about them in a breif speech. For one such as Durkon, we need to get much more deep feelings from him. Does he blame anyone for his transformation? Is he afraid of its permanance? Does he secretly like being a lady?

I'm sorry, but at current he may be a tad shallow, if you were to show what it is like for him, and how he reacts, to be changed in such a way, then you are certainly on the way to adding depth and making him more interesting to read.

Edited June 19, 2012 by Scorpiox

[Palathadric]

I think it's important to have some basic fundamentals for your character. Things that simply will not change. Certain beliefs let me say that he will never give up, but these should be fairly few. Apart from that I don't know how much future you should get into for your character because he should be able to change and adapt to what is going on around him, otherwise he loses interest. It also depends on the character. Arthur is only 20, I believe, and therefore has not had too much time to form to know what he believes, so even that could change somewhat. For me, I know what Monk Pretzel stands for. Also, he is around 450, so his believe system is pretty deeply ingrained. For example, speaking of "Advanced Classes" the only one I could see him going for is Paladin, but that is only due to his backstory. Sage is possible, but just...doesn't seem to fit him. Everything else is too "dark" for him. I think knowing how adaptable your character will be is an important thing to take into account.

I hope this made sense.

Monk Pretzel is more for the fun of it for now, and he will continue to be, but he will also develop more overtime. Besides, he has 450 years of history to learn about, so there will always be new things popping up, no doubt.

[RPGer]

I wouldn't say so, I think you could probably turn the situation around and provide a reason that you can't seem to use magic that you haven't told the party. Maybe you were just scared out of your wits that you were a girl?

Durkon is definatly savable. For the moment, he is a girl. We've got that he can't use magic, but not a lot of emotion. How does he feel to be a girl? Embarrassed? Annoyed? Scared? You should try and convey how he feels about things a lot more. For example, you make quite a few short posts, nearly always actions. A fair few of your posts are 3-4 word phrases and actions, when it would be far more interesting to get his opinion on the matters at hand, not just what he does or says about them in a breif speech. For one such as Durkon, we need to get much more deep feelings from him. Does he blame anyone for his transformation? Is he afraid of its permanance? Does he secretly like being a lady?

I'm sorry, but at current he may be a tad shallow, if you were to show what it is like for him, and how he reacts, to be changed in such a way, then you are certainly on the way to adding depth and making him more interesting to read.

Thanks for the help. Durkonna's next development is in the hall

[LEGOman273]

A question about accents:

I imagine Daxus as having a British accent, but I am not sure how to write it. How do I go about doing that?

[Darth Nihilus]

A question about accents:

I imagine Daxus as having a British accent, but I am not sure how to write it. How do I go about doing that?

Well, for one thing change his wording (To have a modern example with no context whatsoever in Heroica, "lift" rather than "elevator", "chips" rather than "french fries" things like that), and how he pronounces words. That, IMO, would be a good start.

[LEGOman273]

Well, for one thing change his wording (To have a modern example with no context whatsoever in Heroica, "lift" rather than "elevator", "chips" rather than "french fries" things like that), and how he pronounces words. That, IMO, would be a good start.

Changing words won't work at all times, though. What I was wondering about is how to translate the accent into text.

[Darth Nihilus]

Changing words won't work at all times, though. What I was wondering about is how to translate the accent into text.

I agree, but there really isn't much you can do, as usually a British accent is more different pronunciation of vowels, which can't really be translated into text.

[CMP]

Accent is hard to pull off. WBD pulls it off very well, but it's hard to do it for different accents.

[Myrddyn]

You could perhaps make him extremely stereotypical - have him call people 'good sir' and always be drinking tea, hopefully having him British in other aspects would encourage people to read what he says in a British accent.

However that could easily come off as overdone and clichéd.

[Waterbrick Down]

I agree, but there really isn't much you can do, as usually a British accent is more different pronunciation of vowels, which can't really be translated into text.

If my memory serves me correctly I believe Thothwick is played as the british gentleman type rogue, though it is most seen in his mannerisms/wording instead of a particular accent.

[Jedi master Brick]

To have a British accent just use British English, our accent is very different to the sterotypical one.

Edited June 27, 2012 by Jedi master Brick

[LEGOman273]

You could perhaps make him extremely stereotypical - have him call people 'good sir' and always be drinking tea, hopefully having him British in other aspects would encourage people to read what he says in a British accent.

However that could easily come off as overdone and clichéd.

That is not what I intended for Daxus, though. He simply has an accent.

To have a British accent just use British English, our accent is very different to the sterotypical one.

I normally use British spellings when writing anyway.

Thanks for the help.

[Scorpiox]

A question about accents:

I imagine Daxus as having a British accent, but I am not sure how to write it. How do I go about doing that?

Well, it really depends on what you mean by 'British Accent'. For a start, I assume that you mean English, as you should remember that the accents of Scotland and Wales are vastly different to those of England. Next, what sort of accent are you intending? For example, do you want Daxus to speak in a Cockney accent? Or Jordy? Which are both just as English as the stereotypical Queen's English. Once again, I shall assume, and think that you are aiming for the Upper Class posh voicing.

As well as trying to spell things our way, you might also add a few vibes here and there, such as often comma use and occasional slang terms:

"Hello, my name is Daxus Octavian, and I'm a hero from Heroica. I have trained in the rogue class and am happy to help you."

Englishified:

"Well hello there my good fellow! Octavian's the name, but you can call me Daxus. hero from Heroica dontcha' know. I've had a little bit o' tha' training of a rogue in my time, and you can find me at your service, good sir."

Is that the effect that you want.

[Flare]

To be honest, I don't know whats happening with my character, Benji... sometimes I tried to throw a little bit of story into him but nothing has really ever stuck... I don't know what to do

[LEGOman273]

To be honest, I don't know whats happening with my character, Benji... sometimes I tried to throw a little bit of story into him but nothing has really ever stuck... I don't know what to do

Do you have a character outline?

[Flipz]

To be honest, I don't know whats happening with my character, Benji... sometimes I tried to throw a little bit of story into him but nothing has really ever stuck... I don't know what to do

Fill out this form (privately, unless you want to PM me or someone else for help), and see where it gets you.

"Le Menu":

What the character loves:

What the character hates:

what the character fears:

What the character believes:

What the character values:

What the character wants:

What the character knows about:

People who made a difference in the character's life:

Discoveries that made a difference in the character's life:

Decisions that made a difference in the character's life:

The above is in spoilers simply to prevent Wall of Text syndrome; I highly recommend it for all players.

If you're just starting a character, you may want to fill out this slightly different version of the form, though this form can be useful for established characters as well:

1. Name?

2. Physical appearance?

3. Backstory? (Protip: keep it somewhat loose if you can, you never know when you can tie current events to your backstory. )

4. Present circumstances? (occupation, income (for Heroes, occupation and income before joining Heroica), geographic location (again, for Heroes, their homeland before Heroica), dwelling, key relationships)

5. World view?

6. Attitude?

7. Opinions?

8. Values?

9. Beliefs?

10. Imperfections?

Whether you do one or both, these checklists will be VERY helpful for your character.

Having said that, the number one thing you need to worry about here is: are you having fun? If you're not, figure out what WOULD be fun for you and go from there.

[Flare]

Fill out this form (privately, unless you want to PM me or someone else for help), and see where it gets you.

"Le Menu":

What the character loves:

What the character hates:

what the character fears:

What the character believes:

What the character values:

What the character wants:

What the character knows about:

People who made a difference in the character's life:

Discoveries that made a difference in the character's life:

Decisions that made a difference in the character's life:

The above is in spoilers simply to prevent Wall of Text syndrome; I highly recommend it for all players.

If you're just starting a character, you may want to fill out this slightly different version of the form, though this form can be useful for established characters as well:

1. Name?

2. Physical appearance?

3. Backstory? (Protip: keep it somewhat loose if you can, you never know when you can tie current events to your backstory. )

4. Present circumstances? (occupation, income (for Heroes, occupation and income before joining Heroica), geographic location (again, for Heroes, their homeland before Heroica), dwelling, key relationships)

5. World view?

6. Attitude?

7. Opinions?

8. Values?

9. Beliefs?

10. Imperfections?

Whether you do one or both, these checklists will be VERY helpful for your character.

Having said that, the number one thing you need to worry about here is: are you having fun? If you're not, figure out what WOULD be fun for you and go from there.

Thanks for that I'll try to be filling that out.

No, I'm not really having fun with my character, he's sort of boring

[Scubacarrot]

Love the forms, nice find (or did you think them up yourself? if so, double good!) Flipz, I think filling those out and sticking to it can really help people that are unhappy with their roleplaying. With characters with strong opinions, views and goals, conflict is bound to happen, and all good roleplaying can essentially be boiled down to conflict, I think.

Just keep in mind that the awnsers can always change, it's called: Character Development. Flipz did a good job explaining the term in the first post of this topic.

Also love the English Accent in text, Scorpiox, I was hoping there would be a character like that, kinda like Flitwick's character in Imhotep Mafia. So Legoman, if you decide you want to try and incorporate that into your roleplaying, I think it can be added value, I just think it might be a little hard to be consistent and find the right terms all the time.

Just for fun, here's Guts filled in form.

What the character loves: Wine, the sound of metal against metal, being in control, be it in or out of combat.

What the character hates: Greed, Stupidity, people that don't follow (his)orders, pure selfishness, Ale, Meatballs, Magic, Magic users, Undead, Demons, Preyers of the innocent, Pirates, Poisoners, Religious Zealots, Elves that act like they are better than humans, Slavers, Slavekeepers, Slavery in general, Drunks, Superiors.

what the character fears: "Them", Dying before finishing his job, running out of booze, people under his command dying.

What the character believes: That he can make a difference

What the character values: Honour, Strength, Cleverness

What the character wants: Closure, a worthy death, to make a difference.

What the character knows about: Bladed Weapons, basic Blacksmithing skills, several languages, lot of knowledge of places all around the world, unknown knowledge from unknown sources about a number of things.

People who made a difference in the character's life: His (dead) Wife, an unknown Slaver, an unknown Bandit Lord, Holla, (to lesser extent: heroes of Heroica)

Discoveries that made a difference in the character's life: Wine

Decisions that made a difference in the character's life: Too Revealing

[Flipz]

Love the forms, nice find (or did you think them up yourself? if so, double good!) Flipz, I think filling those out and sticking to it can really help people that are unhappy with their roleplaying. With characters with strong opinions, views and goals, conflict is bound to happen, and all good roleplaying can essentially be boiled down to conflict, I think.

Just for fun, here's Guts filled in form.

What the character hates: Greed, Stupidity, people that don't follow (his)orders, pure selfishness, Ale, Meatballs, Magic, Magic users, Undead, Demons, Preyers of the innocent, Pirates, Poisoners, Religious Zealots, Elves that act like they are better than humans, Slavers, Slavekeepers, Slavery in general, Drunks, Superiors. Everything.

They're from a screenwriting book, "Creating Short Screenplays that Connect," by... *looks up author* Claudia Hunter Johnson. Really great book that I just recently found again in a box from my move (yes, it's been over a year and I'm still going through boxes ).

Fixed the "hates" row for you.

I'll fill out the form later, don't feel like typing it up right now. :P

[Palathadric]

They're from a screenwriting book, "Creating Short Screenplays that Connect," by... *looks up author* Claudia Hunter Johnson. Really great book that I just recently found again in a box from my move (yes, it's been over a year and I'm still going through boxes ).

Fixed the "hates" row for you.

I'll fill out the form later, don't feel like typing it up right now. :P

Oh, no, why do I get the impression that I should anticipate a brick-built wall of text.

Hmmm, interesting regarding the book. Will have to look it up. Thanks, Flipz!

[K-Nut]

Filled out Althior's form for fun.

What the character loves: The magical arts, lending a helping hand to people.

What the character hates: Racism, Shovels, Atramor Gibbin.

what the character fears: Realizing that his life is a waste of space, the death of someone he loves.

What the character believes: That he can make a difference.

What the character values: Power, love.

What the character wants: To be able to live freely without restrictions.

What the character knows about: The difference between life and death, being able to think on the spot and get creative, A bit of healing.

People who made a difference in the character's life: His Grandfather, His Sister, Alexis, Finnegan.

Discoveries that made a difference in the character's life: That Darkness is not always evil.

Decisions that made a difference in the character's life: Digging during the final battle of Quest #5, Coming to Heroica.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Oooh... this is fun.

What the character loves: Helping people, freedom

What the character hates: Evil, ignorance

what the character fears: *Confidential*

What the character believes: God, he can make a difference

What the character values: Chivalry (mainly), Honesty, loyalty, piety

What the character wants: To make the world a good place

What the character knows about: Human nature

People who made a difference in the character's life: Zyrac (brother), unknown father

Discoveries that made a difference in the character's life: His brother's true identity

Decisions that made a difference in the character's life: *Confidential*

[Endgame]

What the character loves: Trust, Acceptance, Worshipping Helvetia, occasional game of Chess

What the character hates: Racism, Betrayal, Zoot Worhsippers, Alchohol

what the character fears: Fire, Being sealed, Betrayal

What the character believes: That undead are not abominations, and necromancers are not neccasaril wicked

What the character values: Loyalty, Heroism and Bravery

What the character wants: Acceptance in a place where undead are hated

What the character knows about: necromancy, melee combat, Literature

People who made a difference in the character's life: necromancer ("dad"), insane Zoot cultist who was onc ehis friend

Discoveries that made a difference in the character's life: That undead are hated, and people speak ill of Helvetia

Decisions that made a difference in the character's life: deciding to set out to help his Father find a cure, Joining heroica

[CMP]

I'll join in the fun.

What the character loves: Rum, gold, the sea, etc...

What the character hates: Idiots, Althior, prejudice, rats, Bonapartes (to a degree)

what the character fears: McCafferey, fate

What the character believes: Everything's corrupt to some point

What the character values: Gold, experience, gold, rum, honor

What the character wants: Gold, experience, gold, rum, control

What the character knows about: Badass lockpicking, pirating, drinking, fighting

People who made a difference in the character's life: McCafferey, Ettin, Veille, various heroes in small ways

Discoveries that made a difference in the character's life: Heroica, his chicken's a demon

Decisions that made a difference in the character's life: Joining Heroica, leaving pirating

Subject to change whenever I think of more stuff.