you and your character

[Honora]

How did you choose and develop your character?

I chose Honora partly because I think there is an overabundance of really pretty people in fantasy, and partly because a half-orc monk has so many RP possibilities.

 Is your character like yourself? Or someone you know?

Honora is the part of me that is childlike at times, in awe of the world for the right reasons, idealistic.  So she's part of me in that sense but I make choices for her that I would not make for myself (for that reason, likely).

Do you feel what your character feels (fear, courage, awe, excitement etc)? Or is it all acting? In other words, is there a clear line between you and your character?

Sometimes.  In a really good fight, in a tense or exciting RP situation, the line can blur.  But I don't forget that my pixels are toned, fighting muscle and my self is oozing in my chair from too much sitting .

Did you do lots of thinking and planning before developing your character, or are you making it up as you go along?

Initally I think we all have a pretty good concept, especially for Layonara which requires it.  If the RP is good with the friends you meet, things kind of take on a life of their own after a while though...I never imagined I'd start an RP relationship with her, but there ya go.  It's like writing a story at times.  It just comes to you that, Hey, that would be cool to do!

What is it like when you have several characters?

I have two but I really only play one.  Can't answer that with certainty...I tend to be loyal to one char at a time.

Also very frequently I find myself wondering what the people behind the characters are like. I often feel the urge to break out in a RL chat, but I know that's a "no-no." Does one get to know the real people behind the characters as well?

Yes, but it depends on the player.  I would hope that a tell to an individual that prefers total immersion would be met with a polite remark, but not always so.  But I really like meeting the player and the character; I've been RPing interesting situations with Honora and chatting in tells to the people I'm RPing with simultaneously.  Fun...but helps to be a good typist.  I am okay with personal tells and I will let you know if I am too busy to chat.

Hope you enjoy the world!

[Faldred]

How did you choose and develop your character? Is your character like yourself? Or someone you know? Do you feel what your character feels (fear, courage, awe, excitement etc)? Or is it all acting? In other words, is there a clear line between you and your character?

I think there are three reasonable approaches, in order of increasing difficulty:

1. Your character as a respresentation of yourself.  Consider what your own personality quirks and general abilities are (or would be in the Layonara environment), and decide on race, class, alignment, etc., that most closely matches your own profile.  As far as RP goes, you can just be yourself, though as your character develops, who knows?  

2. Your character as an (idealized) aspect of your personality.  Similar to above, but in this case you are focusing on a part of your personality and using that as the essential nature of the character.  For RP purposes, it is essential to remember how much of your own personality to use, and how much the character has a life of his/her own.

3. Your charatcer as a "stranger".  This approach really requires the ability to dissociate your personality from your character, and to truly RP in that your playing a role that is defined, though evolving through choices.  I would personally recommend this for experienced role players (or those with acting experience) only.

In cases #1 and #2, there is going to be a strong personal identification to your charatcer.  In case #3, the character will likely be more like a familiar companion.  If you ever start disliking your character, it's going to be hard to play him/her, unless it is a "fun to hate" type of character, so some sort of personal stake is preferred.

I play three characters, though two of them get much less time than the other.  All of them fall into case #2 I presented above, where they each reflect some aspect of my personality, though curiously, they all lack charisma, even though in real-life, I am usually seen as a strong leader.  Zug is my brash, impulsive, impatient side who just wants to do "good" things without worrying about over-thinking them.  Aeoleth represents my preference for working behind the scenes, along with some of my more anarchistic nature (classic CG), though much more idealized (I'm more NG in RL).  Vorian is my bookish, introverted, anti-social self, but unlike myself in RL, he lacks any kind of defined ethos or morality.

As far as attributes go, pay very careful attention to INT, WIS, and CHA in the respect that it's far easier to play a character with lower values in these stats than you have in RL than it is to play higher.  In simpler terms, taking INT for example, it's easier to play dumber than you are than to play smarter.  

Did you do lots of thinking and planning before developing your character, or are you making it up as you go along?

I think a good character needs to have a good baseline plan going into things.  The submission mechanism here helps enforce that, by requiring a background and personality traits.  But just as no battle plan survives contact with the enemy, no character plan is likely to completely survive contact with other players and events unfolding around them.

What is it like when you have several characters?

A lot of it comes down to how much time you have to play... I'd love to play Aeoleth and Vorian more that I do, but I barely play enough to get Zug to advance much.  The other two are secretive enough that long absences work for them in RP terms, so I don't worry overmuch about them not being around much.  In many ways, Aeoleth was a "trial run" character, to get a feel for the world, and Vorian is around just when I need a change of pace from Zug.

I think you're likely to develop favorites, for whatever reason.  Zug's mine, because I just *like* the big, dumb guy.

Of course, it is always important to remember that, when playing multiple characters, your characters do not share friendships, knowledge, or experiences with each other.

[darkstorme]

In my experience, in both PnP and Layonara, complete detatchment from your character is nearly impossible, except with concepts you find particularly intruiging.  In any flavour of D&D, I find Paladins and the LG alignment in general a little hard to swallow simply because it isn't the way I operate.  I realize that alignments are flexible, but I've known far too many holier-than-thou individuals who would fit Lawful Good to feel comfortable RPing in it.  A paladin may be in my future, therefore, to overcome this weakness.

Similarly, Chaotic Evil occurs to me to be both pointless and boring.  Good for cannon fodder, to be sure, and good enemies when they're made powerful, but hedonistic massacres of everyone in your path get old very quickly.  I'm sure a chaotic evil character could be mercurial, and possibly even a solid adventurer, but it's not for me.  (I prefer the intrigue of LE *grins*)

Regardless, Kell was planned out at length - I started with what feel I wanted to roleplay - stealth specialist - and went from there.  Why the obsession with stealth?  What in his upbringing would make him particularly talented at it?  What drives him?  Then, I was intruiged by the Tiefling subrace (I always had a soft spot for Haer'Dalis in the BGII cast), but I needed to explain why on EARTH a Tiefling would be CG.  Naturallement - he received his demonic blood not through heritage, but through incidental divine intervention.  After that, I let his character develop as he interacted with others - and we have Kell: reserved, obsessively stealthy, friendly, but struggling at times to control the voices in his head that scream for blood.  Stealth and manner of speech, as well as appearance, are my contributions to Kell's character - I've never seen any sense in the direct approach, and if I were a D&D character, I would NOT be the avenging hero type.. I would far rather eliminate my opponents without them ever seeing the hand that did them in.

My currently-in-the-works character contains other aspects of my personality...with Layo's clever death system, it's the only way to go.  You need to feel attached to the character, or there's no bite to permadeath - just roll up another character.

Just my two coppers.

[silverdraco]

I didn't read everyones post on this because there are so many. But this is about my view toward my character.
  I first thought up some basic ideas about my characters past. With that in mind I started to create the background or there past if you wanna call it. I read the background several times to see if I got everything. If i feel like i need to give extra information I put that below My characters background. Like info on the home town, family members and so on.
  When playing the character I usualy try to stay in the characters line of thoughts. But I do find myslef doing things the way I would have done. thats why my characters are a little bit like me. I find them easier to play that way.
  I'm also new to RP like it is done here on layonara. But I do like it and have learned alot. I have 2 characters but right now only play the last one I created. She can defend herself much better than my first character.

[Anuire]

Thank you for all of the responses.  I too am working to try to develop a character to apply to Layonara with, and being relatively new to this kind of experience, I have found these posts very useful.

s.

[Lilswanwillow]

>I am new to Layonara,

WELCOME!!!

>>How did you choose and develop your character? Is your character like yourself? Or someone you know? Do you feel what your character feels (fear, courage, awe, excitement etc)? Or is it all acting? In other words, is there a clear line between you and your character?


I have two characters, Supin and Roduna.  Supin I play like myself.  if ya ever want to know who I am and what I'm like, thats me!!!!  Roduna is all an act.  friendly, but aloof, not boy crazy, and helpful to others-ok, kinda like myself, but not like Supin is.  Maybe Supin is me, and Roduna is what I want myself to be

>Did you do lots of thinking and planning before developing your character, or are you making it up as you go along?

Supin, I do as I go along (I was gone during the changes, so I am RP'ing memory loss... spur of the moment thing) Roduna I have to think and think and think about what a paladin would be like, and its challenging!

>What is it like when you have several characters?

see above... but I barely play Roduna.  I like Supin more, and its more interesting RP wise, since I've created a great story around her

>Also very frequently I find myself wondering what the people behind the characters are like. I often feel the urge to break out in a RL chat, but I know that's a "no-no." Does one get to know the real people behind the characters as well?

I got to know a few people.  Go ahead and use the MSN messenger, or yahoo, or whatever if you REALLY want to get to know people.  otherwise, tells can kinda get you to know the other person.  But sometimes not knowing can be more fun!

oh, and my picture on my character is like me-I have 2 cats, and reddish hair (usually-its dyed)

[LynnJuniper]

Hmm, This looks fun

How did you choose and develop your character?

Well Rhynn was originally well developed as your run of the mill hardcore lucindite wizard-ress. She was supposed to be nice to everyone, in turn with the Weave, peaceful, somewhat, but not overly studious,  and very naive.

And then influence (From myself, from quests, and from the world and characters around me) kicked in. I developed my character through my interactions with the other characters. I play Rhynn as heavily influenced. Sometimes those influences are good, sometimes those influences are not so good. Rhynn’s past is my past now though, so the backstory was really easy to “develop” (Had to change it a bit but)
 

Is your character like yourself? Or someone you know?

My character is a carbon copy of myself (minius looks, Rhynn looks nothing like me) Who wound up being influenced in the way I would have been influenced if surrounded by the people Rhynn was and is. If that makes sense. Rhynn’s feelings towards situations are mine. And Rhynn’s reactions to those situations are a reflection of my own.

Do you feel what your character feels (fear, courage, awe, excitement etc)? Or is it all acting? In other words, is there a clear line between you and your character?

Line? What line? There’s supposed to be a line? Opps.

No. The line between fantasy and reality with me is all but non existent…It results in me feeling what my character feels as strongly as she feels it. Which isn’t always a good thing

Did you do lots of thinking and planning before developing your character, or are you making it up as you go along?

Well..I tried to keep her steadfast and planned…It didn’t work. I interfered with my character and then Rhynn was influenced by the goings on of the world around her and the different people in her life and no its more of a making up as I go kind of thing.

What is it like when you have several characters?

I tried a couple times to make new characters, but can’t get into them like I play Rhynn, so I wind up abandoning them….

Also very frequently I find myself wondering what the people behind the characters are like. I often feel the urge to break out in a RL chat, but I know that's a "no-no." Does one get to know the real people behind the characters as well?

I know a lot of the players behind the characters, through tells and then on MIRC and other instant messengers as well. This place is filled with a lot of great and interesting people.

So Feel free to drop me a line in game whatever, I won’t mind. Sometimes nothing’s happening, and  I have Rhynn just sitting somewhere so its nice to talk to people. *grins*

[Ne'er]

How did you choose and develop your character?

I dunno, I had plans when I created him and I just went with what people did to affecet him. Jet may not be the way he is today had it not been for a few key people in his life. On the other hand, I didn't want Jet to change too much, as too much change too fast isn't realistic at all.

Is your character like yourself? Or someone you know?

God I hope not. Jet can be cold, mean, and at times very close-minded. He's also a bit more determined than I am in most things. The one thing we do have in common is that we can both be very stubborn when we want to.

But I think its a good thing that we are so different, as half the fun of Rping for me is to actually RP someone who isn't you.

Do you feel what your character feels (fear, courage, awe, excitement etc)? Or is it all acting? In other words, is there a clear line between you and your character?

If Jet, or any of my characters, gets into an arguement I can get worked up over it. Same with him giving some sort of motivational speech. But there's always that line there. There's only so deep into the game I can see myself getting, because it is, afterall, just a game.

Did you do lots of thinking and planning before developing your character, or are you making it up as you go along?
 
When i made Jet, I got a mental image of the warrior in the armor he has, all red and cool-looking. Overtime (about a week or so) I came up with a story for him. That helped me create a personality. And eventually, the Jet we have today was born.

What is it like when you have several characters?

You develop your favorties of those characters quickly. The opther ones tend to sit and collect cyber-dust.

Also very frequently I find myself wondering what the people behind the characters are like. I often feel the urge to break out in a RL chat, but I know that's a "no-no." Does one get to know the real people behind the characters as well?

I speak to some people OOC via tells or other forms of communication. Just spend enough time with someone and your bound to break into chat in tells.

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Now, I've only skimmed a few of the other posts here, so... I'll just jump right on into this without being too influenced by others.

How did you choose and develop your character? Is your character like yourself? Or someone you know? Do you feel what your character feels (fear, courage, awe, excitement etc)? Or is it all acting? In other words, is there a clear line between you and your character?

To answer your paraphrase first, yes. There is a very clear line between myself and my character(s), and I like it that way. Involving yourself too much with your character can lead to some issues OOC that just aren't fun; Layo's been the best place I've ever seen about keeping a clear division between player and character, for the whole playerbase, but other places I've RPed... Well, let's leave it at the statement that getting too involved with a character (and other characters) can be unhealthy.

How did I choose and develop my character(s)? Well, generally speaking I start off with a basic archetype, add a few personal spins, and go from there. With Pyyran, my current primary character, I originally played him in PnP as your typical cowardly, greedy thief. From there he eventually developed (over playtime) into the swashbuckling hero that he was in epic levels. For Layo, I took that concept, and turned the dial back, keeping his general personality traits from later years, but having him just start out. The backstory's the same, too; I came up with that as I went (a mistake on my part).

Pyyran is actually a very great deal like me, in his general attitude towards life. Makes him easier to play.

Feeling what the character feels... This goes back to (or rather, is the basis for the paraphrasing into) the thing about the line between player and character. I'd have to say that the only three emotions I share with Pyyran are frustration, amusement, and weariness; the former less than the others, as often as not. If I allowed myself to indulge in Pyyran's emotions, I'd be much less able to accurately portray him. For example, if he's trying desparately to catch some taverngirl's eye and perhaps heart, it's probably a good idea for me to remain detatched from the situation. After all, we're here to have fun, and a good half of that fun is at the expense of our own characters. *He grins.* Sure, this may be something born from years of PnP, but it's valid enough in NWN.

Did you do lots of thinking and planning before developing your character, or are you making it up as you go along?

Generally, I don't spend much time planning out a character; most of mine start as relatively basic archetypes with whatever spin I want to put on them. From there, they develop out. With the character I'm working on now, though, I'm obsessing over every little detail, and the truth is that I probably won't have as much fun with him as a simpler character who I can play better. Also, big to remember is that a simple character never stays that way long. Hammer out the backstory, though. Definately hammer out the backstory.

What is it like when you have several characters?

Well, for me, as I keep myself more or less detatched from the characters, it's just a variety in the RP you can pursue, and in how you play the game. My two active characters, Pyyran and Tyeaan, are a human rogue and an elven wizard, respectively, with very different personalities. When I don't feel like dealing with Pyyran's perserverance in spite of his awful, awful luck, I play Tyeaan, and get to have fun with languages and spellcasting. When I get bored with that, I can play my higher level, Sneak Attacking character, who knows more about the world as a whole.

Also very frequently I find myself wondering what the people behind the characters are like. I often feel the urge to break out in a RL chat, but I know that's a "no-no." Does one get to know the real people behind the characters as well?

I, for one, do my best to get to know those players who are willing. Having a good working relationship (at least) with another player, especially players behind characters your character interacts with on a regular basis, can smooth a LOT of things over, particularly the more complicated RP situations. Also, the people here are a lot of fun. This isn't just some random PW where everyone runs around looting this, that, and the other. This is Layonara; a community of roleplayers who need to feed thier addiction for D&D. *He chuckles.* Key word there's community.

If I'm not in the middle of something, I'm usually up for a random chat in Tells, or on any one of the instant messengers I use. I've met some very interesting people that way.

[septemVII]

I was big into Theatre and Acting in High School, and I find it loads of fun to play someone completly unheard of in Earthly life. I tend to develop stories through Brain storming, and alot of go'en with the flow'en.


Take Vershanon, In my bio it says she is working on her right of passage, however recent events concerning Mith and Sa'kura Ingame have changed her direction from seeking to appease her Coven to seeking to join a large Magic Organization. Just like in life, your aims change, and I like this go with the flow method of character development.

[Wraithdur]

i do drama GCSE, so getting into character is pretty easy (coursework is the difficult part).
but also i tend to play character with a sprinkle of my soul in them (they can get arrogant, patronising) but also i give them a past which dictates SPECIFICALLY how they react in certain circumstances (Roggin's family was eaten by a dog, so he reacts to any type of canine like a dwarf does to a drow)
(Goldbeard was raised by fundamentalist dorandites, being agnostic or athiest or whatever the layo equiv is, he patronizes all religious people and think's they are all a wee bit.......erm.....what's the word.....PERCULIER).
also i pay lawful or neutral alighnments, try to play characters with similar alighnments to you (helps judge how your character reacts to something if you know how you would in that situation).
and last of all, make sure you can enjoy playing the character, it's the best rule for an RP server.