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Character Progression; Little bit of help
Topic Started: Nov 12 2012, 04:25 PM (295 Views)
Kakudoo
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Legend
As some of you know, I've got quite the tendency to switch characters from time to time, which usually stems from the fact that I seem to go through phases of how I want my character to be and act etc.

I've been finding it pretty difficult to build a character and story which I can really develop and build like some of the best characters on here. It's something I've been striving to do, and although changing characters hasn't helped this, sometimes it has been for the better.

Having been away again, due to being busy, I have no idea what the reasoning behind my last character change was, nor where I was going to take him, and since switching I haven't done any writing whatsoever.

So, this is a reach out to some of you for some help to build a character that I'll enjoy and can progress with. Maybe some tips or just general advice. This may be able to help some of the newer players as well.

Thanks in advance ^_^
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Ender
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well I am new here and actually havent gotten my story arc out there yet, but my character is a child military genius and i was going to have him command Avalon forces against the changeling and PTO (in my personal rp of course). Could always use a hand and some guidance as well.
"Sometimes lies were more dependable than the truth."

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Rem
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The Super Namek
Its why i got 3 characters to RP with now.
Just do that. A good guy, an evil guy, and an officer for the evil guy you can do wtf ever for.
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<br><SELECT style="background-color: #83F52C; color: #000000; font-family: Lucida Calligraphy; font-size: 14px; width: 200px; "><br /><OPTION>Rem</OPTION><br /><OPTION>"NO CHANCE!"</OPTION><br /></div><br /><OPTION>Power Level: 707,000</OPTION></div>
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Chaos
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The Cosmic Emperor
Roleplay Guide
He is having trouble with one o.O
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Rem
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The Super Namek
He's having trouble with story/character motivation. Having options of what you want to do on a particular day without breaking your characters canons is a good thing.
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<br><SELECT style="background-color: #83F52C; color: #000000; font-family: Lucida Calligraphy; font-size: 14px; width: 200px; "><br /><OPTION>Rem</OPTION><br /><OPTION>"NO CHANCE!"</OPTION><br /></div><br /><OPTION>Power Level: 707,000</OPTION></div>
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Yssuron Dreadmane
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My only tip, watch action movies and play fighting games. You'll get ideas, I promise.

That is slightly a joke, but it seriously does work. If you're switching characters, it means you aren't building the bottom of the pyramid correctly. Before you even start a character, even if its not custom, make a biography/history. If you have a basis background you have something that keeps you in a straight line when writing.

Also, unless you can keep it in mind, write down what you plan for that character to be doing in a year of its life. Now, decide what you want a year and a half, then two years. If you need possible ideas to spur off of and make your own story, let me know, I can try and help.
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Kularian
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The act of Roleplay is an ever-changing, ever-evolving thing that you can work on to find out exactly what you want to do with a character. Everyone else has given their personal situation, so I'll throw mine in there too.

Atla.

I made him kind of as a joke, and he was just meant to be a placeholder while I got enough to turn him into a major Second Soul. But every time I use him, I enjoy using him, and I have no real idea what I want to do with his plot, but his /character/ as a pit gladiator for the Arlian Monarchy, with little say other than who he would like to fight next is what he started with. But he has such a strong, undying sense of honor and reverence for his home and pride in the Arlian race, no matter how weak, is fun to reflect upon in his character.

So if you don't know what you want to do with your character... that's fine. Just do a quest or a PRP or two, and just let Goten grow. See how he acts under your fingers, and choose a course of action from there. It's not necessary for you to have his entire life plotted out before RP. In fact to me, that's boring. I have a few main plot points I want to hit with Kular, but everything in the interim is coming up as I go, and some quests/PS's have made some /very/ interesting highlights on his personality and things that I personally didn't expect.

If you're looking for a starting point, I personally think that Teenage, as in, GT-aged Goten would be fun to do. Kid Goten could be entertaining, but there's enough of a blank slate with the Teenage age that it could be something pretty awesome to do. Plus... kids are pretty much straight up the same no matter how you slice it.

Perhaps something where, now that he's proved himself under Hercule in the WMA Tournament, he's on a quest to train with all other masters in the universe and get enough strength to win the Universal Martial Arts Tournament. And that's just a single, long-term goal, and any number of things could happen along the way. Perhaps he lands on PLanet Frieza and realizes that he's not cruel enough to train under Frost and has to decide whether or not his goals are important enough to sacrifice his morality, etc.

That way your main, overarching plot gets sort of kinked, bent, and twisted based on the smaller events, and gets more interesting over time, from just a very basic view to start from.

Just my two cents :P
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Herra Valo
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Exiled Prince
I was having this problem and tried to think of several ways to make it work. With a game like this, I'm still not certain how you keep a character 100% interesting without really enjoying having an episodic story frame, instead of a large arc.

In the 2 years I've been here I've had 5 characters, so I'm hardly a good example, but I'll tell you a few principles that've helped me have some longevity with a character.

1--make a character with room to grow. I started as Future Gohan, but it was really boring for me to describe him becoming stronger because in my version it was just him remembering how he got strong the first time. It was like backtracking every time he made a step forward. I think a lot of characters start out thinking they are tough already and then spending a long time losing but still trying to convince themselves they are tough. Seems like that story's only successful with Watari Implants.

2--make solid character goals that are achievable through game mechanics. The character I played the longest as was Arqua. He was a limp-wristed, cowardly guy, so he had plenty of character development, but I also had one bigger goal in mind for him: create a fully functioning character-owned planet for him. This would be a fairly large undertaking since it would take a lot of time and zeni to make the planet awesome, and it would create an in-game monument to my character that other players could use. I still think that's pretty awesome.

3--troubled characters are the most interesting. Its a basic rule of drama that once the conflict is over the story is over. Its also cliche to say that good guys are boring, but its only one-dimensional good guys who are boring. Try to think of some good, organic ways that a character could have conflict. Ways that can't be overcome in a single instance. Internal conflict is good, but its best if its reflected in external struggles. Like Piccolo being reluctantly forced into doing things selflessly.

4--NPCs. I think Rem has a point, though I wouldn't want to invest as much time into this game as he does. Writing supporting cast gives your main character a break sometimes and gives him something to use as a springboard to get him into some conflict.

I'm far from the most dedicated players on the site, but I'm pretty sold on these ideas.
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iwillbethebestman
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If it comes down to it, build your character off of the relationship he has with another character. I've been in your situation before and I've found that working with other people is the best way to develop a character that interests you. Actually, it's the best way to build any sort of character. Perhaps see if anybody has a character that needs a role that could be filled by your character and work on it from there. The pith of roleplaying is teamwork, after all.

Just to add some longevity so that my post isn't overshadowed by the longer ones before me, there was this quirky thing we did in my last quest. It was me, Neizu, and Pikkon. It was by all means a "filler" mission in which we tried to figure out which personality worked best for our character. In each post, we changed our character's motives, their backstories, their way of talking, their thoughts - maybe that could work for you as well? Experiment with different personalities to find what best suits your fancy.
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Abo
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ADBZ Senpai
I think Vlad could give you the best advice by far.

As for me... i just wing it and see what happens.
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