"I sat upon a mountain top, my freshest wounds gleaming in the moonlight. Years of training with my blade 'INSERT BLADE NAME' and I am still yet to become a match for my nemesis. He hounds me continually and will not rest until he sees me removed from the face of the planet. I closed my eyes in the hopes of shutting it all out and soon I was in a deep slumber.
It was then she came to me. More beautiful than anything I had ever imagined before she danced before me in the moonlight, she took my blade and whispered a blessing upon it and I knew, I knew that from then on everything would be different for me.
I awoke slowly, feeling rejuvenated, my wounds healed. She dwells within me and my blade now and I know she will not leave me until I succeed in putting a stop to my nemesis' ill deeds. I am truly touched by a goddess."
Suitably vague that he can discover details himself later IC and thrown together in 10mins. Let me know if you want me to try again or feel free to say 'thanks but no thanks' I was bored and thought i'd give it a shot.
I actually quite like it 
I even got the exalted badge with the badge text something like "You truly are exalted by some higher being"
Think that would fit it
Overall nice job in 10 mins :P
- @DSorrow - alts on Union and Freedom mostly -
Currently playing as Castigation on Freedom
My Katana/Inv Guide
Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either. -Einstein
Writing stories, one of the hard things to do of being a RPer.
I suggest you think about a couple of things.
1. Origin:
Magical is good, but it needs explaining, What kind of spirit? Coming from Earth or a diffrent dimension? A return Hero perhaps, resurrected by magic and bound to someone. A Dual personalty, but with the resurected spirit in charge. A "sleeper" destant for great things and recently resurrected?
2 Conections:
What kind of conections does your spirit have to this city/planet? Does he have family here. Perhaps even bound to the sword itself picked up by a adventurer or a random person. Maybe a family member resurected him?
3. Goals:
What does he want in this world? Revenge? Justice? Countering a thread that traveled to the future?.
4. Personalty:
Is he or she a kind spirit or a hostile one?
Single minded or not? Does he or she have quirks? Is spirit kind to others or is he/she grumpy about the state of the world. That kind of thing.
I hope this gives you some tips and these where some ideas from the top of my head. Think about these 4 things and you'll write a story, start somewhere with one of these things and let your imagination do the rest.
Hope this helps, because the best stories you can write about your character are the ones you write yourself, cause you have to play it not me 
and everyone has his/her own playstile.
Edit: O yeah before I forget mistakes are made by the best, to learn is to make mistakes, don't worry to experiment, it takes experience to be good.
(disclaimer: I am not the best of Rpers I just read a lot about it, )
Thanks 
Glad you approve.
Talented writer =/= talented RPer.
RPing focuses more on your acting skills, and ability to communicate, which writers (generally) aren't too good at. The reason being, writers know what happens to every character, they know how each plotline plays out and how to swing things in their favour. RPers know only how their character would react to something, and nothing more.
It is possible to be both, but I'd generally say RPing is the easier of the two, as you're not alone - you don't have to describe every little thing, and use big words no one without a thesaurus could understand .
As well as long words being REALLY hard to type corektly at speed
This is one thing I always found; which I know is an anathema to others; that I use smileys as it's easier to say than say Weasel smiled sarcastically.
Writing takes an entirely different mindset than RP'ing, like Stase said.
Much agreement with Stase and Weas.
I like to think that I'm a fairly talented writer, and although I have a lot of roleplaying experience, it's mostly from the GM side of things, and my player skills are a bit lacking sometimes. (Though I did recently (yesterday) find a use for the GM's trick of nicking the players' ideas for the purposes of furthering a plot, while I was RPing at GGs.)
I've generally had some luck (certainly while RPing in CoX) to have a bit of an idea about character background (Name, where's he from, things like that) and then making stuff up while I'm RPing. As long as you log chat while RPing, you can do the write-up later.
The advantage of this is that sometimes you have a flash of brilliance while RPing and you can then include this in your characterisation. The disadvantage of this is that *sometimes* you have a flash of brilliance while RPing. Not always.
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.
; Techbot_Alpha: Also, what Shadowe said. It seems he is still somewhat wise ; Bull Throttle: Shadowe was unwise in this instance...; Rock_Powerfist: in this instance Shadowe is wise.; Techbot_Alpha: Shadowe is very wise *nods*; Zortel: *Quotable line about Shadowe being wise goes here.*
I agree totally with all the great advice that's being given out and now feel bad for writing instead of just trying to help 
In all honesty most of my characters backgrounds come from in character chats, you don't need to be able to write to be a roleplayer. In fact I'm substard at both it doesn't stop me giving both a go and having fun with it though
A good background helps in certain situations, but as Stase an d Weas said, RPing is much more. I think thinking on your feet would also help. If you can do that it's a step in the right direction. Also a lot of info comes at you when Rping don't be afraid to write it down (espes when loads of characters are chatting and you have trouble reading the chat bar)
Being able to write helps with roleplaying because as a writer you can see the threads of where the RP can go and pick out the least boring ones, acting accordingly.
I've spent too long roleplaying with people who don't get prompts for a dramatic scene or just try to godmode through the session, attempting to draw attention to themselves and only themselves.
Having a background is vital because it helps you focus on what your character's drives and aims are.
IMO
[url=http://vox-doom.deviantart.com]Take A Gander At This.[/url]
Made up something myself, tell me what you think! First time I ever try to make a background for a character...
"I saw it, I saw something shining in the sunlight. I walked towards it to find out what it was. I found it, a sword with the word "Gressil" etched on the blade. I touched it and then everything disappeared. It felt like a dream, I was floating in darkness. Then, I saw him, a man kneeling towards me holding the sword in his hands. I only heard a part of what he said, the only part that sounded important: "Take it from me, take the blade from me and let me free..." I took the sword and found myself back in Skyway City. I had the sword in my hands and I felt powerful, powerful enough to bring the universe to its knees! But no, I felt I had something more important to do than conquer the universe. Something I'd been feeling for a long time, but something hidden... I felt the waves of energy coming from the sword. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head, the same voice I had heard in the dream... Then I knew it, I knew I had to help the people who were lost in this world..."
Comments please
- @DSorrow - alts on Union and Freedom mostly -
Currently playing as Castigation on Freedom
My Katana/Inv Guide
Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either. -Einstein
Very, very nice. Hints of mystery - I want to know who the man was, what the sword means, all sorts! A brilliant example of a decent background for an RPer .
[ QUOTE ]
Made up something myself, tell me what you think! First time I ever try to make a background for a character...
"I saw it, I saw something shining in the sunlight. I walked towards it to find out what it was. I found it, a sword with the word "Gressil" etched on the blade. I touched it and then everything disappeared. It felt like a dream, I was floating in darkness. Then, I saw him, a man kneeling towards me holding the sword in his hands. I only heard a part of what he said, the only part that sounded important: "Take it from me, take the blade from me and let me free..." I took the sword and found myself back in Skyway City. I had the sword in my hands and I felt powerful, powerful enough to bring the universe to its knees! But no, I felt I had something more important to do than conquer the universe. Something I'd been feeling for a long time, but something hidden... I felt the waves of energy coming from the sword. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head, the same voice I had heard in the dream... Then I knew it, I knew I had to help the people who were lost in this world..."
Comments please
[/ QUOTE ]
You sure you've never done this before?
Good job.
[url=http://vox-doom.deviantart.com]Take A Gander At This.[/url]
Nice
Now you've got the background though, throw in some little twists. What happens if the sword wants to keep on fighting (Spidey/Venom : Elric), what happens when you find out the sword can't help with some things, what happened before, what does the sword want? What does the wielder want? What does Gressil mean?
All great points to take a RP hook from. But only take one hook at a time, it's FAR too easy to solve everything but a good hero, unlike literary heroes, never truly suceeds, as when they succeed fully, they're just another character.
Perhaps the Sword isn't quite what it seems....
Hello, and welcome to the RP side of things. I thought that was nice background story. Simple enough but gives the basic motivation for the character.
Personally I usually start with quite vague idea of the background and personality, and then fill in the blanks when I am RPing. Some others write a complex, detailed background in advance. Whatever works for you. For example, I haven't yet come up with Pyr's parents names, she has always refered to them as mom and dad. Her dad's profession was decided a few months after she had arrived in Paragon City. Last night I had to decide what is her approach on pests in the house. In all the new things you discover of your character, just have to remember them to be consistant.
The danger in this approach is to keep the new additions in check. IE, have to be careful not to invent new things constantly to aid your character or to look cooler and also to stay within the concept. For example, right now Pyr is doing research on japanese history. I could invent that she has an aunt that is historician, perhaps even specialised on Japan. Or maybe she is thrown to a council base and needs to escape. And I invent that she knows how to fly a helicopter and use that to escape. (Lot of chars most likely can fly helicopter, Pyr, no way.)
I sometimes do different personality quizzes online for my characters, it's fun way to learn more about her. (Like, what alignment you are, what twisted carebear you are.... not very serious quizzes )
Try think of some strong sides and some weaks sides on your character. Does he have quirks? If he had themesong, what would it be? What are his motivations for interaction for others? (The brooding antihero type that is quite popular in fiction, is a real pain to get to work in open RP.)
There is connections between being a good writer and good roleplayer, but neither follows directly from the other. I believe that in RP, we are telling stories, through our characters and plots. Being imaginative and able to express yourself (in language) are a great asset in that, as they are in writing. The real difference between being a writer and roleplayer is that first is solitary story-telling, other is co-operative effort. I can imagine RP would be quite close to writing a story together with someone (with the method of one writing a bit, the other continuing and so on). Also in RP you have to be able to react fast, and you can't go back and change things if you think of something better to say later (which is pretty much the opposite of writing, where both things are big tools).
Edit: I forgot to say, I know lot of very good RPers, and most of them don't write stories. Of those that do write, some are very good writers as well, but not all. (And when I say very good writers, I mean on amateur level. Sadly I know no RPer who writes like Swanwick.)
Blackdove
Coming at it as someone who is both a writer and a roleplayer, I would say that they can go hand in hand but one does not necessarily preclude the other. I would hate to think that someone decided not to give roleplaying a go because they did not think that they can write. A good bio is one thing, but far more important are the things that make that character tick, their motivations, their interests, their history. All of these things inform their decisions in game. I know some roleplayers whos bio is blank but have always been great in their role.
I would say that if anything, roleplaying resembles improvised acting. You need to know how the character would respond to situations but you also need to be aware of the environment and the possibilities that are opened up to you by other players. You should be willing to share the spotlight with others and not succumb to god-modding which is always a big no no in most peoples books. I always try to approach it with open honesty and plenty of out of character (OOC) tells to other people so they know if Im about to do something potentially contentious. But above all, it should be fun. The banter that can come about during a good bit of roleplay can often rival the thrill of any improv Ive had to do.
You've got a good start there and the RP crowd in CoX is a good environment to develop in. I encourage you to keep going and wish you the best of luck.
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
Well, I thought he would have a sort of dual personality which would sometimes get the twist of him, thus going unstoppable (activating the power, of course :P) and just rushing into the enemy with a hope of surviving
- @DSorrow - alts on Union and Freedom mostly -
Currently playing as Castigation on Freedom
My Katana/Inv Guide
Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either. -Einstein
For the last few days I've been trying to stitch together a story for my scrapper but well... I've always been bad at writing stories
So, if anyone would be willing to make a story for my scrapper I'd really appreciate it. I'm sorry I cant now reward you with much inf, if even at all because I thought I'd quit the game some months ago and handed out all my inf...
I'll give you some info about my char first so you might get it done easier:
First of all, my scrapper is of magic origin. He wears a katana as his weapon and is very resilient to physical damage due to invulnerability as secondary powerset. I thought it would fit him to be some kind of a spirit bound to a mortal body. Imo the spirit thing would match the fact he's magic origin and resilient to physical attacks but psychic attacks kill him fast.
Oh, and the story doesnt have to be long, preferably short enough so I can put it into my character I.D :P
Thanks in Advance
- @DSorrow - alts on Union and Freedom mostly -
Currently playing as Castigation on Freedom
My Katana/Inv Guide
Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either. -Einstein