If we overlook the G part in your RPG I could go on for days about the many fantroll blogs I follow with amazing characters that I think are absolutely wonderful. I could also talk about all of my time spend rping on Gaia and the numerous characters I got to meet there that were amazing.
But we’re not overlooking the G
Top 5 in no particular order are: Matra Fal Discord Commander Cybren and Gabe
Wow that was a lot harder than I thought it would be
Matra belongs to hyperionnebulae and is our Exalted party’s Zenith. She is cute and spunky and tiny and the absolute most sad and adorable character. She’s got a lot of dimension and has established a very firm presence in the campaign and I just want her to go back to being happy because goodness knows she deserves it. I’m extremely interested in her character arc and she’s just too cute (even when she is sad).
Fal belongs to somewhere-in-the-dungeon and was the first character I got to experience from him. I have a love hate relationship with Fal. That ginger dwarf was the cause of a lot of feels back in first campaign D&D and while I loathe and despise him, I have to give him credit for still being likable despite everything that happened. Fal is an absolutely wonderful if not incredibly frustrating character who kept us all on our toes and brought together an incredibly interesting plotline that ended in him marrying the party bard (me) and the pair of them becoming the most powerful gods in the setting. He’s also the character that convinced me that his player is Evil
We’re skipping Discord to talk about Cybren.
My buddy, Ben, doesn’t have a tumblr (I don’t think) but he’s worth mentioning as a person because he’s great. He makes characters that tend to have a lot of character and feel very much larger than life, and Cybren is my favorite of his. He’s a Dawn caste Solar with a heart of gold and a big beard who only wants to axe people a few questions. We also discovered he’s a surprisingly good investigator and over the short course of our first Exalted campaign he and my character became good pals. He was so memorable as a character he was one of the first brought into second campaign as an NPC and we still try to check in on him when we can because he’s just too good. (Ben has a great sense of humor that really shines through his characters)
That leaves is with Gabe and Discord, NPCs created by my beautiful fiancee greensunprincess. They were introduced back when Sherwood was still around (and not in his emo phase). Gabe saved Sherwood’s life on several occasions and might have had something of a crush on my idiot hero, but he also knew the feelings weren’t reciprocated. He took care of Sherwood anyway and was the best friend he could be. I have cried over this character. I want to take him and hug him and keep him for myself he is just too sweet. He’s hiding something dastardly, I’m sure, but he’s just too good. Discord might be my favorite though. Discord started as an antagonist that I loved to hate (and hate him I did) because he was a huge manipulative asshole who kept making deals with the party and screwing us over as much as he helped us. He was awful and conniving and always showed up when there were deals to be made and you didn’t want him around. Of course, that’s not all there is to him. He’s also an incredibly compassionate parent who loves his children and significant others. He did one deal out of the goodness of his heart for Sherwood and has been a stable rock for Marian. He’s secretly a big softie and a huge nerd and the fact that he can be both of these things at the same time and make me love and hate and fear him is just the best. There is so much to Discord as a character and that is amazing.
Honorable mention goes out to Hestus Mookin for being absolutely adorable. I haven’t gotten the opportunity to really play with somewhere-in-the-dungeon as far as Hestus goes, but he’s a brilliant little guy who might be a bit spacey but his heart is in the right place. In all honesty, Hestus might be the only character of Dungeon’s that I would classify as Good and he is really precious and super silly and he’s just really interesting.
In short, other peoples characters give me lots of feelings and I’m always excited to learn about and interact with them.
Naila the tiny chubby deer satyr/faun got drafted into the army, and because she’s a law abiding citizen she did as she was told and met up with the DnD party despite not wanting to do anything more than continue her alchemy studies. She didn’t have much, a few spare flasks, some killer booze in a family heirloom bottle, some acid, and her workbook; but she went off on her journey and arrived at the rendezvous where she was promptly instructed to hand over her things. She refused, her work was her lifeblood and she wasn’t going to waste time having people potentially ruin her work. She entered the caravan without a check and got to meet the party.
Included among them was a shy and quiet centaur; asleep on one of the beds, a young lillend who had yet to grow her wings, and a rather persistent were-tiger who was clearly a cleric with a stick up her ass. Naila showed some hospitality by offering the tiger a drink while she set up her work on the other bottom bunk. A werewolf came in later and seized the bunk for himself, causing a grumpy Naila to move elsewhere to get her work done.
According to the rules given to me, Naila gets 12 points per day as an alchemist to make a variety of potions (not including her spell potions). Any unused points at the end of the day are halved and carried over. I calculated two days worth of points for this last session with 6 carryover points implying that on day one she didn’t have the time to do anything. That girl was a busy bee after that. With materials scavenged on her journey (wrapped around her horns or woven into her hair) she managed to make:
The chalk, water, and liquid smoke can all be made by transmuting sand because she’s skilled like that. Everything else is a tad more complicated but she seems to manage. The best part is, these are things she can make on the fly provided there is something to work with; and considering she always manages to have something on hand…it’s impressive indeed.
Most of her spell potions she reserves for healing potions (as accidents to happen). With all of her talents, this chubby naked satyr is set to become the party medic…who makes things explode.
This could be a lot of fun
I made a new DnD Character today
She’s a Lawful Good Faun Alchemist named Naila. She’s super passionate about her work and has a sideways lisp. She sometimes wears a set of glasses when she works which magnify things for better detail work.
She doesn’t wear a shirt but she has a smock she will wear when dealing with dangerous materials. Her boobs are actually kind of small, despite her being a bit chubby.
Genetically she has darker skin* but her deer parts are lighter and spotted. Her hair is maybe a shade darker than her fur. She has light golden eyes. There are soft white spots on her face that look like her deer spots. Her horns are curved like rams horns and are pitch black. She decorates her horns with plants she’s drying for potions.
While she doesn’t wear clothes, she does wear belts full of various potions and materials, a tiny recipe book, a bag of just chalk, and a hip flask. The potion bottles she makes herself (she lives in the desert, sand isn’t hard to come by). She also makes her own brand of alcohol.
Like all Fauns and Satyrs, Naila does a lot of drinking. The only time she’s not usually drinking is when she is working. She made that mistake once and vowed to be more careful.
Alright everyone, buckle up and try your hardest to pay attention here. No apologies for length, these things need to be said and I will not hide any of it under a read more. So let’s get started.
Dungeons and Dragons, or DnD/D&D as it is often referred, appears to be the face of the tabletop RPG scene and a large part of Geek culture. Lately this game has been getting all sorts of praise for advancement in representation which, I will admit, is a wonderful thing. The problem comes down to the simple fact that other games have been doing this for much longer, so DnD may as well simply be handed a participation ribbon.
Unfortunately, these other games are like the unpopular kids at school. They seem to be the type that everyone overlooks regardless of their accomplishments because they simply are not popular enough. I aim to change that.
BEHOLD EXALTED!
The above picture is taken from the cover of the Exalted core rulebook. Said rules cover Solar Exalts, the base protagonists for the game. The group pictured above are the example characters. Two of these characters are women, two are black, at least one is asian, and one of the two women is dressed rather practically.
I will be honest, the Exalted art has a lot of unnecessary and gratuitous boobs. It’s not perfect.
Let’s look at some more art yeah?
Oh man. Women in practical armor staring each other down. The woman on the Right I believe is Tepet Ejava, a very important military figure in the setting. She leads a legion of soldiers who respect and love her. Like many characters in the setting, Ejava is likely bi or pansexual but is rumored to have a preference for women.
See this awesome lady commanding giant terrifying creatures to do her bidding? That’s Mnemon. She’s exceptionally important. She’s in line for the Scarlet Throne which would essentially mean she would rule all of Creation. (That is horribly simplified but I’m not here to read you the book)
LOOK AT THIS AWESOME CHICK! She’s so buff and fearless and sensibly dressed!
Okay last but most important picture. These are the Celestial Incarna; the biggest and best of the Gods in the setting. Exactly one of them is a male, the man in the back, the Unconquered Sun. The guy in silver is Luna, who is gender fluid and specifically grants the ability to change ones sex to xer Exalts. The five in front are the Maidens, controllers of Fate, each with command over an aspect of it (Journeys, Serenity, Battles, Secrets, and Endings). The last is Gaia who is actually a being greater than a God and who actually has no concept of sex or gender as she is a being created before such things were established.
Most of the characters in Exalted are Bi or Pansexual. Homosexual relationships are rather common as well as they don’t produce children (and the primary society values only having children with one’s spouse).
There is a couple who get married in canon who are best friends. The husband is gay and the wife is a lesbian and they just spend their time being bros and sleeping with other people. At one point she gets kidnapped and he goes to rescue her by playing a crazy game of chess against a demon known as the Game Master because she’s his best friend and that really matters to him.
Women and Men hold the same positions very often as Creation does not tend to distinguish between the two. On top of that I’m fairly certain no one would think twice about trans or non-binary individuals as long as they can do their jobs.
Pregnant women have their armor modified so they can fight on the battlefield while with child.
There are demons that will make babies with the flesh of any two people in exchange for a small bit of extra flesh.
The two most prominent leaders of Creation have both been women.
I don’t understand why it feels like no one is playing this game!
Settle down kiddies, I got a lot on my mind thanks to Hyperionnebulae and her boyfriend Somewhere-in-the-Dungeon so we’re going to take a look about how I like to create, design, and test out characters for roleplaying (and casual rp).
Ready or not, under the cut!
-cut-
Okay let’s set our mechanics aside for a minute and talk bare bones. Occasionally, when I do make new characters (I have done a lot of recycling since high school, which I am not ashamed of) it all starts with a concept. Sometimes it’s an image or an accessory; Tabor and Sherwood were cat/fox things from a breedables shop on Gaia. I was given their image and formed a personality from there. I have other characters based on tattoos and jewelry I’ve seen that looked cool. That’s the spark. There’s not much there, sometimes there’s a name other times a single word in regard to their personality.
Other times, if I know I have to make a character I head over to a random generator site and pull out a name. Heck, sometimes I have it generate the bare bones of the character for me. I take parts I like, discard parts I don’t, slap on a name (the name is very important to me) and off we go.
More often than not, a character also embodies a piece of myself. Tabor is a metaphor for my insecurities and issues of abandonment. Sherwood is the representation of my brave facade in the face of personal torment. Marian is a personification of my desired future (successful financially and married to my true love(s)). Dulcie is a representation of my childish ideals (often portrayed as an actual child) Etc, etc, etc. The key difference between all of these characters and myself is that while they all may have been inspired by a piece of me, the are very much not me. They have their own lives and grow in their own directions and are affected by their own actions.
But what about mechanics?
While some people may create their character so ingrained in the mechanics that they could not fathom them outside of that realm (I’m looking at you Sky), I don’t necessarily create characters with mechanics in mind. To anyone hitting the unfollow button and shouting that I am a blasphemous fake gamer geek girl, calm down and allow me to explain.
A game’s mechanics are typically set up to account for resolution of conflict in a variety of areas. Number based stats and skills tied to classes (and races occasionally) in DnD, dot placement in various areas of Exalted; aspects, skills, and stunts/powers in FATE: all of these are specifically implemented in order to solve conflict within the stories you are about to create. They allow for a character’s ‘physical’ (visual? I’m looking for a better word and not finding it) traits to be expressed in a manageable way to be compared to another in the event of a conflict. A good character should be able to move freely from system to system, copying and (perhaps slightly altering) their traits as they go while obtaining the same result.
But what about setting? Good question and much more viable. Let’s break down what setting is to me: The location a story takes place. That seems rather cut an dry, but it’s more complicated than that. Settings contain a variety of cultures and rules (gravity/lightspeed/breathing conditions) that alter how they ((and the people within them)) work. It’s why living in the DnD world isn’t the same (theoretically) as living in Creation or modern day Rochester. Other things to be considered: Does this realm have magic? What’s their scientific advancement? How does the social structure work for this part? How is x group of people treated? What sort of racial/sexual/etc differences does this place have?
It’s fine for a character to be tied to their setting, but sometimes it’s important to ask yourself what is really tying them there. Tabor is tied to his bad luck. As long as the universe I want to put him in has a concept of luck he can be moved. Salih (present DnD character; Vampire Wizard) is tied to her race, a slightly more difficult thing to move. Ideally she would be able to use magic in a new universe but that is negotiable for her. Her race is not. It’s necessary for her to be a vampire because that is intrinsic to her character.
My toughest case in character migration has been Marian. Marian is tied to her background which is firmly rooted in Exalted lore. She’s a member of a Dynastic house with a complex ruling system and then, when she decides things aren’t going her way, leaves. Most settings don’t account for this specific sort of thing. The Realm has too many rules and such tied into it to pull out everything. So I break it down: What are the most important parts of Marian’s background and what can I allow to change. In Cityverse (my own personal AU where all of my character’s hang out) Marian’s family are wealthy aristocrats and while she never winds up running away, she still rejects her family’s societal views (which leads to different conflicts).
The point I’m trying to make is that, the important part of a character is who they are as a person. Why are they doing what they are doing, how have they been shaped by their lives. That’s the starting point for all of my characters. What were they doing until I met them right now and who does that make them?
We move on from there.
Once present and accounted for, the game usually begins and the characters begin interacting with other characters. Circumstances change as I am in less control of situations. New faces show up and gain relationships with my characters. Conflicts arise that may or may not be of interest. This is really where I come in.
Once they’ve shown up and told me enough about themselves for me to get an idea, a character makes themself at home and treats me like a personal journal or a super bestie whose phone number is on speed dial (just in case that cute guy looks at them again)((idk my bff Jill?)). Even when I’m not playing they will sometimes come out and start a conversation. Sometime’s it’s more detail about their life before they met me. Often times it’s a little detail like a hobby or something that will never come up in play. Sometimes it’s a glimpse inside their thoughts right this second.
Let’s look back at Marian. I’ve found her to be rather loud. If someone mentions her name in conversation she has something to say about it. If someone brings up a topic she’s familiar with she will add her two cents. If I’m sitting alone trying desperately to finish my homework she will pop in and start prattling on about how miserable she is because the man of her dreams doesn’t even know she exists. The little things.
As we get to know each other better I get to know why they do things, to the point that I don’t even have to ask they just tell me. I’m angry because I was called a cheap whore. I’m not cheap. Or Wow, Sherlyn made me really uncomfortable talking about my insecurities. What a total bitch. These little insights are important because they change how my character acts in game. Marian, normally exceptionally sexually active, might avoid any sort of related activity for an extended period of time as she desperately tries to prove to everyone (but mostly herself) that she is more than a cheap whore. Sherwood, despite his heroic nature and desire to always be the good guy, might overlook harm coming to Sherlyn due to her offense. Minor changes in behavior are important to characterization as, while they might not have an affect mechanically, they help with the growth of the character and their relationships.
I like to do a lot of what-ifs when not playing. What if things continue as they are with no other player interference? What sort of character will X become if Y happens? What if so and so dies? What if [character] tries to do what [other character] did? If you’re anything like me, you should be able to answer those questions (or rather, your character should be able to answer them). In fact, it’s important that you answer them. It’s important to know how you think character would react in a situation. It’s important to know how your character thinks they react in the situation.
Why?
Because thinking about all of this will let your character make a more in character decision when the time comes. Your character will be better shaped if you spend more time getting to know them.
I don’t make characters.
I make people. I make friends (and occasionally enemies) who treat me like I’m the only person in the universe they can talk to (or like I’m their bound captive so they can just monologue).
That’s it. That’s my schpiel. It’s late, I’m tired, there are mistakes here, I don’t care.
It’s funny that the only thing the party seems to really agree on is that Raj is no better than a child and should not hold any sway in decision making.
Everyone loves the party pony; nobody wants him to be in charge.
(he’d hold a lot less sway in decision-making if all you diplomatic types actually spoke up when diplomatic shit was going down instead of letting him go for it)
Well, let’s see…Katar choices got us locked in jail, catbird brought the building down on top of us, and Salih would never let us hit stuff.
I vote we let Raj make more decisions.
Salih’s okay with hitting things. Just not innocent things.
Also, I personally think it’s hilarious when Raj makes decisions.
It’s funny that the only thing the party seems to really agree on is that Raj is no better than a child and should not hold any sway in decision making.
Everyone loves the party pony; nobody wants him to be in charge.
A Quiet Respite 