Written by: Ytrewtsu of Adventures Unlimited
I. What is roleplay?
The actions of a character coupled with their inner motivations and goals, and their interaction with others make up the roleplay of that character. Many different definitions of roleplay populate the gaming world but I have found in my experience the one above to be most true. The roleplay of a character provides the other players in the game a basis for interaction with that character. It should not be taken lightly or be approached with whimsical disregard because that roleplay is important not only to the character but to all characters who have contact with that character. Memorable characters find a niche in their world, step in and widen that niche until it is a large enough crevasse for others to access.
II. Establishing a character
Establishing a character in a gaming world can be a difficult long term process that requires forethought and patience. Determining exactly how your character will affect and react to the world can be arduous, however, when approached sensibly and within the right context, the process can be enjoyable. Believability and a solid character roleplay concept go hand in hand.
A. Goals
Goals are important to every character. When I start a character, before I even decide what sort of personality or quirks it has, I try to determine its goals. These goals can be long or short term goals. I like to start with some long range difficult to obtain goals. Goals that are impossible or nearly impossible help to fuel my character and provide something to always work towards and never obtain. They also preserve my interest in the character by supplying constant motivation and background for actions. Taking over the world, enslaving an offending party, climbing to the very top of the status ladder, or bringing an entire temple to ruin all fall under the category of long term goals. Long term goals require long term planning and can become other characters’ goals as well.
Short term goals also serve a distinct purpose within a game. They can provide the meat and potatoes of everyday roleplay for a character. These goals could include improving skills, training to beat an enemy, or just winning over the heart of the one you seek. Both types of goals help to flesh out the value systems of the character and provide a definite direction and purpose for a character. This purpose, while not always clear to those around a character, will be evident as trends within the character’s behavior patterns emerge.
B. Quirks
One of the most interesting facets of character roleplay are the idiosyncrasies of the character. Developing small character defects, bad habits, speech patterns, and methods of greeting allow your “text” character to be viewed quite differently by the people around him. They also give others a great way to remember your character, and illustrate methods for other characters to employ quirks and habits in their future roleplay. Established quirks give life to a character who is otherwise usually viewed as just text.
C. Personality
Personality, while similar to the quirks of a character, is more accurately defined as the underlying method to the madness. While the quirks of a character define it for other people and give it three dimensionality, the personality of the character gives life to the player running the character. A strongly defined personality is usually developed over a long period of time with a character. The character’s background and history should be a major factor in determining the type and focus of their personality. As the player experiences more and more situations, their decisions and experiences with that character expand and a more complete character profile emerges.
No substitute exists for time spent roleplaying a character. As with the other segments of character roleplay development, long term consistency is necessary to provide others with the fuel to roleplay regularly with that character. Besides defining the underlying makeup of a character, its also necessary to define the character’s approach to dealing with others. Public interaction and a basis behind that interaction is necessary for a character to be taken seriously in their roleplay. One downfall of many characters is developing a character with the thought that their actions are infallible, all characters should make mistakes and should have to suffer the consequences of those mistakes. In my opinion, perfection has no place in a roleplaying world, although characters who think they are perfect certainly could and should exist. Characters should get caught up in situations that they do not want to be in and cannot succeed; the resulting roleplay will strengthen the depth and direction of the character.
D. Affiliations
The affiliations of a character provide many opportunities for roleplay with others within the world. Developing a strong belief system with moral and ethical values is an integral part of character development. Religious, political, and familial allies and enemies are necessary for fulfilment of a character’s life. Without these affiliations, the character will lack depth and limit the roleplay in a manner that will cripple the interaction with that character.
III. Consistency and Maintainability
Although it has been mentioned before, the key to good roleplay and providing your fellow roleplayers with meat is consistency. Consistency must be present in all of the background, personality, goals and interactions of the character. Good roleplay is difficult but not impossible to develop. Providing maintainable personality traits is an uncommon skill of most roleplayers.
For example, a realistic long term goal of a character might be to ruin a family who has done the character or his harm. This goal might be short or long term depending on the power level of the family. It is unwise, truly bland, unmemorable and probably truly stupid for the character to decide upon his roleplay emnity for the family, and charge headlong into battle with them attempting to slaughter all of their members in cold blood. That type of roleplay provides nothing to the long term story of the game, involves very few people, is largely unmemorable (he perished, so what), and could be improved with a little forethought. First the character could show small quirks regarding members of that family; a sneer when they speak or enter the room. The character could also attempt to gather information about the family. The sources of this information might or might not leak the character’s information back to the family. The character could also try to exact revenge in more ways than just by violence. Crippling the family’s income, impairing their movements throughout the land, gathering allies against the family, and starting rumors are all ways that the character could exact a more roleplayable, maintainable, consistent revenge. The latter example would involve many people and would provide the opportunity for other roleplay to grow out from it.
IV. Final Impressions
A healthy dose of patience and common sense can go a long way toward developing a memorable character. Please note, there is a subtle distinction between memorable and flashy overdone roleplay. Roleplay does not have to be over the top. The characters I remember best are the ones who develop slowly and allow access to their inner workings only when that access is earned. They have long term goals, personality quirks, and develop slowly over time. Characters need to grow and change with time . Quality characters provide opportunities for people around them to develop roleplay off of their stories, and live forever in the minds of the inhabitants who were fortunate enough to interact with them.
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