Heroica Theatre

[Waterbrick Down]

Is this good RP? How could I of made it better?

I have to agree with Scorpiox about the all caps, use it sparingly for effect, it would add a lot more emphasis to his speech. I know you were going for a lycanthrope, but I would have personally waited for his change to occur once he hit beast warrior (I'm assuming that is the expert class you had in mind?), it would have been so awesome for you to keep hinting at it until it finally came about as a climax during a battle, but this would require patience and is really role-playing for the long haul. I would vary up your threats, most of them feel somewhat generic, i.e. family, limbs, torture worse than death, no most of your horrific villians are going to come up with the same lines. The bit about passing on the lycanthropy made it unique so good job with that, keep up with that sort of stuff. Aim for the unique, but don't go over-board into the graphic, utilize the little non-verbal actions, i.e. "Lycan dipped his head as his muzzle sniffed the man, the smell of a preditor wetting it's appetite with the aroma of its prey.". Remember don't go for the big and cheesy, take your time, you don't want to give everything away at once, we shouldn't be able to read what sort of person Lycan is during his lycanthropy, or out of it, from just one paragraph. Patience is the key.

[TheBoyWonder]

Thanks for The Advice. My original idea was to wait to beast warrior, but I realized that was one of the best chances for RP. If I ever become a Beast Warrior, he will be able to control it.

[Waterbrick Down]

Nerwen stood to the side, able to see the Emperor, recumbent on the rubble and the other heroes.

As she spoke she toyed with the crown in her hands, turning it around and over, drawing a deep breath, she said

Emperor Emeraldo. You misunderstand my friend the orc. It is not that he disagrees with you that he dismisses your reasons, but he believes that one's actions are the standard of judgement. More specifically the consequences of one's actions. As you can see by looking around, some of your actions have lead to death and destruction. You yourself have placed yourself as executioner of people whom you should instead have shepherded.

I expect that you would grasp such a position. You seem to espouse the same values. If you had succeeded you likely expected the Empire to have lauded your actions, regardless of the casualties along the way. You claim that the end you were working for, the justice you sought excuses any method to bring about its eventuality.

That may be so. But you have failed to bring about the justice you claim to have pursued.

Unlike friend Cronk though, I believe your motives matter...

One of the best responses I have seen in a while and it is really worth reading in its entirety. This really helps define Nerwen's philosophy, well done Chromeknight.

[Palathadric]

One of the best responses I have seen in a while and it is really worth reading in its entirety. This really helps define Nerwen's philosophy, well done Chromeknight.

Agreed! Fantastic bit of role-playing.

[Flipz]

TBW, I'd really suggest working on who the mother is, it's kind of important for both Lycan and his son. Here's some helpful cues to figure out who she needs to be (ask each of these questions in order, they build on each other):

Starting with Lycan's son: What is the son's personality like? Who was such a major influence on his life that he turned out that way? What doesn't he have in common with that/those influence(s)? The answer to that third question will give you a few clues as to what the boy's mother is like.

Continuing on, start with Lycan himself: What was Lycan like before he met the mother of his child? How did he change while he was with her? How did he change when he left her? Was the breakup by necessity (death, exile, separated by natural disaster, etc.) or was it by choice? Does he still have feelings for her? Why? (That is, what is it specifically about her that Lycan misses?) Does she still have feelings for him? Is/was she involved in the danger that faces their son? These are all questions that will provide clues to who she is as a personality. Once you know her personality, THEN you'll be ready to build her.

Normally I say you can choose freely between designing a character physically (this includes stats as well as appearance, style of speech, and style of posing) and then letting their personality develop around that (Count Knyghton and Denarii are both examples of this) or designing a character's personality (what they think, feel, and want) and using that to determine their appearance. However, in this case we're dealing with a character whose primary purpose is to aid Lycan's character development, and that means you need to design a personality designed to further those developments before you determine anything else around them.

Actually, neither of those is the "first" thing you need to know about a character. The real start of any character is purpose; that is, why are they there? For Knyghton and Denarii and countless other NPCs, the purpose is game-mechanical, which USUALLY (not always!) means you'll be starting with the superficial aspects and desiging a personality to fit them. For characters designed to promote character development, however, you'll want to establish a strong, thought-out personality, and then create superficial details (hairstyle, face, occupation, backstory, etc.) that are suitable to that personality.

Note also that backstory is listed as a superficial "physical" detail. Even if the character is design-based, you NEVER EVER EVER want to START a character design with backstory. One specific event (i.e. U'Vires and U'Otherguy being former friends, or Boomingham's being frozen in time, or Sorrow becoming a Hero because his "father" was Sealed) is all right if you want that to be a "defining moment" in a character's life, but you really need to focus on where you're going before you deal with where you've been.

[TheBoyWonder]

TBW, I'd really suggest working on who the mother is, it's kind of important for both Lycan and his son. Here's some helpful cues to figure out who she needs to be (ask each of these questions in order, they build on each other):

Starting with Lycan's son: What is the son's personality like? Who was such a major influence on his life that he turned out that way? What doesn't he have in common with that/those influence(s)? The answer to that third question will give you a few clues as to what the boy's mother is like.

Continuing on, start with Lycan himself: What was Lycan like before he met the mother of his child? How did he change while he was with her? How did he change when he left her? Was the breakup by necessity (death, exile, separated by natural disaster, etc.) or was it by choice? Does he still have feelings for her? Why? (That is, what is it specifically about her that Lycan misses?) Does she still have feelings for him? Is/was she involved in the danger that faces their son? These are all questions that will provide clues to who she is as a personality. Once you know her personality, THEN you'll be ready to build her.

Normally I say you can choose freely between designing a character physically (this includes stats as well as appearance, style of speech, and style of posing) and then letting their personality develop around that (Count Knyghton and Denarii are both examples of this) or designing a character's personality (what they think, feel, and want) and using that to determine their appearance. However, in this case we're dealing with a character whose primary purpose is to aid Lycan's character development, and that means you need to design a personality designed to further those developments before you determine anything else around them.

Actually, neither of those is the "first" thing you need to know about a character. The real start of any character is purpose; that is, why are they there? For Knyghton and Denarii and countless other NPCs, the purpose is game-mechanical, which USUALLY (not always!) means you'll be starting with the superficial aspects and desiging a personality to fit them. For characters designed to promote character development, however, you'll want to establish a strong, thought-out personality, and then create superficial details (hairstyle, face, occupation, backstory, etc.) that are suitable to that personality.

Note also that backstory is listed as a superficial "physical" detail. Even if the character is design-based, you NEVER EVER EVER want to START a character design with backstory. One specific event (i.e. U'Vires and U'Otherguy being former friends, or Boomingham's being frozen in time, or Sorrow becoming a Hero because his "father" was Sealed) is all right if you want that to be a "defining moment" in a character's life, but you really need to focus on where you're going before you deal with where you've been.

Thank you! This will really help!

[Tanma]

I've already thought up Arthur's "pre-existing" relationships (god, that sounds like a medical insurance questionnaire ). I can say with some confidence that, with the exception of Ellaria's being raped, Arthur's situation is waaaaaaaaaay more ducked up than most of the other Heroes here. :

Yeah I can see Arthur as pretty messed up, though it depends on the scaling method as to if he is second. Still, if eating that guy's arm as a form of torture seemed reasonable, he definitely has a shot.

Now De'kra really only had one bad thing happened to him, but it was done by people he cared a lot about, and who he thought cared about him. Something that can be seen as worse than murder, again depending on scale. Its complicated. And pretty soon as he probes his memories he is going to start realizing something...scary.

Speaking of which, does De'kra still consist with his behavior and character development? I think he is good, but outsider opinions can be useful.

[Pyrovisionary]

Not sure what personality for Jon. Thinking of... Drunken, rude, selfish, greedy, self centered and strangely honorable. Advice? If the scenario ever comes up where Jon gets robbed then Jon shall mug the mugger xD

Edited September 3, 2012 by Skyrimguy

[Waterbrick Down]

Not sure what personality for Jon. Thinking of... Drunken, rude, selfish, greedy, self centered and strangely honorable. Advice? If the scenario ever comes up where Jon gets robbed then Jon shall mug the mugger xD

Go ahead and read the first post of this topic, it has some really helpful info as far as character development. Go ahead and fill out these forms as may help you define your character. See if answering these questions for yourself leads Jon in a certain direction.

"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?

[Pyrovisionary]

Go ahead and read the first post of this topic, it has some really helpful info as far as character development. Go ahead and fill out these forms as may help you define your character. See if answering these questions for yourself leads Jon in a certain direction.

"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?

Sounds good. Now for the conflict part! Needs moar quests.

[Flipz]

Hearing that the young girl will be continuing on the quest with the party, Cinna slips quietly to the very back of the group, shaking her head.

"Oh no, not again."

Having opted to stay outside, Thothwicks eye's widened at the news that Sküld would be joining them, in battle nonetheless. Casting Cinna a look of foreboding, Thothwick reluctantly ambled after the party.

Cinna feels Thothwick's accusing gaze burning into her as she slowly follows the party from the back of the group.

"I'm proud to present this wonderful display of deep but simple emotion. The emotions are expressed quite subtly--'underplayed' might be a good term to use--and yet they simply but effectively convey the depth of what is going on for these two characters. (Those unfamiliar with the reason Cinna and Thothwick are so reluctant to bring another child with them might wish to read through Quest #14: The Family Recipe.) It's also an example of keeping track of your experiences and letting them affect your present actions. Well done, both of you!"

Edited September 30, 2012 by Flipz

[Waterbrick Down]

Sometimes I regret making Amma so offended (hurt inside) and embittered. And both quiet and rude. Makes roleplaying rather hard.

And I hope that no player is offended by what I write. And that I am quite different to Amma. Always keep in mind that Amma used to be very kind-hearted. And I want her to become that way again by being a Hero.

Any tips and critics about my roleplaying are very welcome by the way.

Role-playing a character that has the opposite of your RL personality can be one of the most difficult challenges, but also one of the most rewarding, a prime example of this being Lord Boomingham (Zepher). When it comes to role-playing style there are really 3 broad catagories:

1. Character's Personality is the same as the Player's Personality

2. Character's Personality is the opposite of the Player's Personality

3. Character's Personality is the likeable opposite of the Player's Personality

Of these 3, the first is the easiest to pull off, basically you just act like your normal self, no real challenge, but it allows for more natural responses. The second catagory is typically someone playing a stereotype, they can be interesting, but can be hard to keep from becoming annoying, unlikable, or just 2-dimensional. Those who exist in the third group, while personifying a stereotype, i.e. the swashbuckling ex-royalty drunkard, add in other aspects to their character, sorrow and regret for past grievances that cannot be undone, a willingness to change their perspective on an issue, a pursuit of something other than gold and glory, etc. They learn the trick of "being a jerk without being a jerk" and believe me it is a hard line to toe. Other characters who come to mind who did/do this rather well are Guts Holla (Scubacarrot), Eric (Khorne), and En Sabah Nur (Jebediahs). That all being said most of us know the difference between a character's personality and a player's so don't worry about it too much. If you're doing it wrong, someone will generally say something in private, or you'll notice a sharp decline in the amount of player's who want to interact with you.

So far you are doing very well with Amma, especially in the area of self-control. Patience is the key when it comes to good role-playing, even when the temptation to give everything away is so enticing, (i.e. we want to tell our character's story and we want to tell it now). Don't give into that though, don't give us everything all at once, otherwise there is nothing to keep us curious and wanting to know more about Amma, likewise you won't have anything left to develop your character with. On the flip-side, don't drag it out too long, otherwise people will become bored and disinterested. It is again a balance, sooner or later you'll get into a rythem where interaction becomes natural between your character and other players, and Amma personality will begin to come through a little bit at a time. Actually that is where some of the best character development spawns from. Yes, a backstory is important and it definitely influences who Amma is presently, but remember that all the interactions she has with other players and NPC's and everything that happens on quests also become part of her backstory and will probably influence her more than you can imagine, if you let them.

Edited November 26, 2012 by Waterbrick Down

[PsyKater]

Thank you very much for your detailed answer. This fits pretty well woth what I had figured out so far. Your post "puts it in a nutshell".

[Scubacarrot]

One thing I want to add (great post, WBD), is that you should never have to apologize for something your character does, really. It's all in character, and we KNOW it's in character. It's fine. That line is blurred when you play a greedy character that takes all the loot for themselves, but still, that can be worked out most often in the premise of the game (very easy to punish that player, you know, don't heal them or something!). Of course it's possible you will be actually annoyed by someone or something done by a character. After all, we are playing this game for a fairly long period of time with a lot of different people, of course there are going to be clashes. If you feel that way, or you suspect someone feels that way about you, it's best to pm that person, and ask if something is up or not. Most of the time, it will be a misunderstanding.

[Zepher]

Guts is absolutely wonderful. He's a good guy, but also a bad guy. What more could you want?

I'd also vote to add Pretzel to that list. He's so sure of himself, and so charismatic (and pretty sassy and clever, in all honesty) but he's also self-rightous.

As an example of someone who plays a character who is kind of good and bad, I feel I ought to put some input. First, there is nothing wrong with playing an unlikable character. Everyone has some traits that bother others. Characters from WBD's category will have traits that bother other characters. I don't have a single friend that I like EVERYTHING about. We all disagree on different things. Over-all, we like each other though. That's what you do with your character. There is NOTHING in Boomingham that I find a condemning trait of a person (other than racism, but Boomingham is kind of wishy-washy on that because I like playing with WBD and Corny too much to cut them out of my game ). Over-all, there are traits that I disagree with, and many that I like. That's how you make a compelling character. Pick things you love, mix them with things you don't.

I described to Flipz in PM how I came up with Boomingham, and I'll copy it here (anyone else, please share how you thought up your character).

Boomers is not based off of anyone (or character) directly... though I'm sure subconsciously I stole bits of him from everywhere.

Boomers is based off a few traits I picked (this is how I make up all characters). I wanted a cowboy, added optimism, racism, a bit of grit, a lot of happy go-lucky-ness, the need to protect others, the desire for greatness, and finally a belief in laissez-faire and free will and people gaining what they deserve. And then he grew from there.

It is truly how I build all characters. Wren, my villain, is equally likable to me. She likes Chaos, and she's mentally wrong... but really, she just wants to enjoy beauty forever, and she really honestly believes that people can't change the world, they can just change their place in it. Felton, a hero from the Quest series I host has traits I love and hate as well. He's smart, cunning, sarcastic, respectful, dedicated... I love all of that. He's paranoid, an issue I myself experience. He's stubborn... something I both like and dislike.

You can find it in all characters. Skrall is lovable, but also sometimes makes me sad. Cronk is silly and noble and loving, but he is stubborn. Arthur is enthusiastic, but he's a hothead. Docken is quiet and level-headed. That can be good, it can be bad.

I'll leave you a few notes from one of my very favorite authors of all time.

(1) Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. (2) Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

And I'll add my own advice. Write about things you care about. All my characters are characters I love, and they address issues I love. Chaos is something I believe in and love and appreciate. I am afraid of death. I share those things with Wren. I wish to beat death by being grand. I share that with Boomingham. I really love fun and games and I get excited easily. I share that with Poletad. Sometimes, I just like to let competent people take care of business, and I'll hop in where needed. I share that with Hans. It's easier when characters, while different than you, struggle and address the same issues you struggle and address.

Ugh. Hopefully that's not too preachy. I love talking about writing.

[JimBee]

Good stuff here.

Hm, I guess I fall into that first category, where Hybros is somewhat similar to me. Quiet, sticks to himself, independent, sometimes apathetic. Obviously I'm not an imp with amnesia, though. His actions and words come pretty easily to me, and he has a few main goals in mind. His main flaws, which are sometimes hard to represent because of needing to be fair in this game, are selfishness and apathy. Although, with the help of others', I guess he's moved away from that as the game has progressed.

I honestly had no big plans for Hybros when I first created him. As I've said before, he was originally just a fig I threw together once and happened to have handy when Heroica RPG was introduced. I knew I wanted a quiet, mysterious Rogue, but the first actual roleplaying I did came during Quest 7. I would say Hybros' experiences with Heroica shape most of his character, including the plots about his past and his involvement with the Ji Pei, and other heroes.

Advice I have for players such as PsyKater is that, yeah, take it slow. You may have thought up a backstory for your character already, but don't rush the telling of it. That might fall flat to begin with, but also expect your character to grow over time and allow flexibility. You might have changed your mind by your third quest what you want your character to be.

I haven't done so, but rerolling would be a real chore, I think. To have spent well over a year developing Hybros, and then deciding I want something new would take a lot of work until I was satisfied. Sure it's good to try new things, but it's also important to give it sometime and allow your character to change, rather than starting over again.

[Brickdoctor]

(anyone else, please share how you thought up your character).

Um, well, I picked Ranger because Forestmen are awesome, and I made myself a Forestman character, and then I just started playing.

[CMP]

Um, well, I picked Ranger Rogue because Forestmen pirates are awesome, and I made myself a Forestman pirate character, and then I just started playing.

Like JimB, I just picked some of my favorite parts and threw together a cool-looking character. I didn't even have any real backstory at the time other than that he'd be from Dreida.

[CorneliusMurdock]

I thought the Orc head's red eyes peeking out of the Great Helm looked fun. His name is basically a shortening of my username that sounded Orc-like. Having that helm made Cronk a knight. I'm not very good at playing evil, so I went against type and made him an upstanding guy. I don't recall exactly why I made him not use pronouns.

I didn't start with a lot of backstory but as I've come to know Cronk better, I've refined it in my head and have a pretty good idea of his past. It's good to leave some things open so you can let the character take you different places.

[Waterbrick Down]

Words of wisdom.

I completely agree, you don't have to pick every personality characteristic that is completely opposite to your own. Mix, match, and see what comes of it. I envisioned Skrall as an ogre Robin Hood, quick thinking, faithful, noble, just, and driven by a cause, characteristics I aspired to in RL. As time has gone on though, it has become easier to work in the undesirable qualities that correspond to the very real aspects of daily RL, apathy, faithlessness, pessimism, wavering standards, causeless and it has hopefully helped make him more believable or at least given him things to inwardly struggle with.

[Scorpiox]

I thought it would be fun to write a kind and good-doing shy character who would grow more confident over time, and gaining a comepletely revised personality once he hit advanced class. The norse part sort of jumped up, because I'm such a history nerd in many respects, especially ancient European cultures, Scandinavian being my favourite. The name was sort of thrown-together using various translated and corrupted Norwegian phrases, until I got something that I liked.

Thoughts on Haldor's current developments?

[Masked Builder]

Rangers are awesome, mostly because of Aragorn. I didn't know much about role-playing when I signed up, nor did I intend it to become what it has, but I can't complain.

[K-Nut]

There is so much I've done with Althior that is completely different from my original plan of him.

I picked Mage as my class because I've always been a huge fan of Wizards and Sorcerers and such. With the Roleplay I first intended to do, it was the most "scholar" and "civilized" type I thought. Althior was going to be fully comic relief and a huge pain in the megablocks to everybody. I was shooting for that type of egotistical character. The guy who thinks he's all that and has the answer to everything. I never imagined him getting into deep or dark roleplay, not even any roleplay at all. No scarring backstory, no Finnegan, none of that. At some point he'd become the hero that he was destined to be, but that was that. When I started out, I had no idea that I could roleplay at all.

I still definitely prefer this darker version over my planned one.

[Tanma]

I'm curious about something. As some of you may know, I became a lot less active during Quest 44, because of technical issues. Now that I have become more active again, I am left wondering if my writing is still as good as it was before Quest 44, or if the time away had weakened my style. Any thoughts?

[Flipz]

De'kra seems to react less to the things around him, though that may just be him getting used to Olegaia and Eubric. Other than that, I haven't really seen too much of a change in him.