Character Development

[Praetor]

So I took a break from RPing and I'm back now. PArtly out of frustration and partly due to lack of time. I was frustrated because I could not find ways to continue the development of my characters or flesh them out more. It seems that any RP that I join doesn't really do anything for my characters except kill time. Nothing ever happens that affects them. I know that in order to do this I have to give my character an interesting background and personality to work with, but it's hard to find any RPs that will influence my character in any way. If anybody understands what I'm saying, could you give me any tips on how I could go about this?

 

[Empress]

I would say it really depends, I actually have tons of RP that are little more than sitting around and babbling- but in there they develop as people to me and others, when they start forming their own opinions, own feelings on matters, their own mannerisms and such...without that base person? I honestly feel like characters are 2 dimension cookie cutters. " oh cool they had this and this and this..." but that really does not " make them" a character you can feel or really connect to as the writer or a reader.

Honestly the dynamic between John and Skhai seems to have a cult following of people wanting to know more about them just because of how " real" they feel and act around each other....and 99% of the RP's with them have been " nothing interesting"

so I think it's really a perspective thing as to what you are trying to accomplish in the end factored with what your trying to get out of the rp itself. Are you a life breather, or a stat whore ( not one or the other is better or worse, just different approaches)

 

[Praetor]

I guess my goal this whole time has been to find some sort of struggle (moral, personal, etc) for him/her to overcome, but maybe I'm looking for the wrong thing... anyways thanks for the response adena. If anybody else has some input, I will gladly accept it.

 

[MoreThanSane]

Everything influences a character. Whether it be running out of eggs that morning, or that dish that--no matter how much time he devotes to scrubbing--simply won't relinquish its grasp on those infuriatingly tiny specks of burnt food. A character has to be real to you. And if that feeling doesn't come naturally, the remedy is simple: write.

When the character is in a thread, write about everything. His preoccupations, his thoughts on the weather. Are the clouds affecting his mood? Why or why not? Is that significant? Does he see it as some kind of foreshadowing? A symbol, perhaps? What's his take on politics, the constant shifting of power and borders? The atrocities and crimes being committed across the world (or galaxy in this case), how does he feel about them?

If you want some sort of significant internal conflict for your character to face, simply stop looking for it. Portray your character, develop his personality, and everything else with flow from that. Patience is key, but developing a fascination with the nuances of your character could be considered even more vital.

Anyway, I don't want to ramble, but if you want to talk about ideas or anything just catch me on MSN. I'd be more than glad to help.

 

[Praetor]

That makes sense. Thanks for the help! :CHappy

 

[Brandon Rhea]

As said before, not seeking it out can be a good thing. With my character, nothing was planned. My only plan was to be the Sage Master of the Jedi and train students. I had no intention of being in the Story board. As it turned out, though, a story ended up developing and I've had a lot of great character development, moral struggles, personal struggles, etc. All of it came from not wanting to have any of that, or at the very least not looking for it.

 

[Empress]

it also helps that john is old and lets adventure come to him- seeking it is just so much of a bother.


but to add to it...looking for conflicts sometimes it's nice to play " personality autopsy" in a ever evolving ring of questions.... I dare say have the character visualized in your head and dont give yourself time to think on the answers, just jot down the very very very first thing that comes to mind before you have time to think it over.

" what does he/she like/dislike -why? -why?

go down this line you may come up with something pretty deep rooted: Dislikes .....authority..... to easily abuses power with no questions- witnessed entire home town during an invasion/raid - cant stand feeling helpless, or unable to help others....

I say " dont give yourself time to think over your answers" because more time than not they will fit together into a broader picture, or at the very least one than may be more creative and expressive than you thought.

 

[Praetor]

Alright :)

 

[Dmitri]

Also, don't let past experiences keep you away from exploring working together with different people. Not everyone is out to kill PCs. Your Brok Miran, for example, was not targeted because we wanted to kill him, per se, but because he was a member of STROST, and Operation Aruetii involved framing STROST for an assassination attempt against the Mandalore's life.

 

[Praetor]

I'll make sure that doesnt happen. Although I'm not too worried about PC killers.