In the Lost City of Atlanta, we have had a lot of characters come in and out. I have seen amazing characters, such as Griff's Alan and Dom's Amira, and I have seen a lot of rather bad characters. So, I am going to go over what I think makes a good character.
First off, for the love of everything make a character that will function in the group dynamic. Talk to the other players about what they are making, or talk to them about your different ideas for a character that theirs will get along with if you are joining after the others are established. Also, look at Virtues. If your proposed Scion has Piety, Duty, Conviction, and Vengeance, it's probably not a good character to play in a Band with a Scion who does not believe that Gods are Gods.
Secondly, a good character is one that is memorable, and is able to function in the dynamic of the group of characters. Making a bland character who is just going to become another generic Ocean God in a Pantheon already possessing one is not a way to make a memorable one. When you are making a character, try to make a list of different things that make that character unique.
Now, I don't mean someone who is 'special and unique and is the child of the Morrigan and Zeus' or something stupid like that. What I mean is do something like have them speak in an accent, and if you are playing over GoogleDocs, type that accent. Maybe your Scion can't bring himself to use contractions, maybe they apologize for everything, or maybe they were raised by a Cult and don't know much about the modern world. Something like that makes a character identifiable and memorable.
Now, I don't mean someone who is 'special and unique and is the child of the Morrigan and Zeus' or something stupid like that. What I mean is do something like have them speak in an accent, and if you are playing over GoogleDocs, type that accent. Maybe your Scion can't bring himself to use contractions, maybe they apologize for everything, or maybe they were raised by a Cult and don't know much about the modern world. Something like that makes a character identifiable and memorable.
Thirdly, make a character who can function in the game world. Don't take a character concept that will cause massive problems in the long run. Now, I don't mean to not make a Trickster. They cause massive problems, but it's their thing. What I mean is: don't make a Scion who hates all Gods, because, in the long run that will come and bite you in the ass.
Fourth: make a God Damned backstory. I don't care if you don't have time. Write it.
Lastly, going back to my first point. If you do make a character that is going to have problems with the others, go into the game knowing that your character may be rejected from the Band. Does your character assault the self-declared leader of the Band for calling yours a dick? All I am going to say is you can't be surprised or hurt OOC that the Guardian Gods of the Band all show up with Come Running and, due to their Loyalty, and let's say Vengeance, are going to murder your Character.
Some characters frankly suck ass. Ones who have no characterization and are boring as hell are bad characters. If you are just another Norse War God, no one will care. Are you a Norse War God, focusing in ship to ship combat and raiding? That's cool. Just another War God? Boring and bad. Everyone has the potential to make an awesome character, some more than others, and it all comes back to the first rule of being a good player: put in the effort.
Aww, you think my character is good. I'm touched in a special place.
ReplyDeleteI think the point about putting in effort you've made in both these posts needs to be repeated. You can really see how much effort you've put into Johnny/Eoin by how vital a character he is (both personality-wise and to the game, IMO)
The stuff you said about Wits and Manipulation in the previous one - i'll try and keep it in mind. I do try and think of my actions long before my turn comes around, but y'know, it's sometimes hard to predict the future. I'm not quite as witty as Amira is. Yet.
I don't think i'm personally that great at the whole manipulation thing, but it's something I am definitely trying to work on (and one of the reasons i've switched from being a player of primarily physical characters to one who does a lot of social and mental stuff too)
Still, your tips are big appreciated - Dom
Dom, you do way better than everyone else I've seen with Epic Manipulation. I dunno if I'd be able to manage it as well as you have myself.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't worry about the Epic Wits. It's one of the harder Epics to work with. If you think Amira's stuff is bad, Johnny should be able to come up with novel length poems in a second. I sure as hell can't do that.
Also, I don't know why I am responding here since I should just put it up in Skype, but, whatever.