Thanks you very much for this Silver Gale! I have recently joined one of my characters to an RPSG, so getting my bio in better shape is something I was looking to have some help with, and your post has definitely pointed me in the right direction.
My current bio, although does receive many compliments for being well written, doesnt really tell anything about the character I am playing, but rather an elaborate back story about how my character came into being.
So the bio definitely needs a re-write.
On a side note, in regards to RPing in PocketD:
Doesnt PocketD have some sort of suppression field in effect to prevent violent behavior between their clients? (Preventing vampires from eating me, for example). I was under the impression that it did, so as to allow for the presence of both heroes and villains.
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technically it does. but some people use D to RP out fights between Characters sometimes. /shrug it happens.|
Originally Posted by Danny D
On a side note, in regards to RPing in PocketD:
Doesnt PocketD have some sort of suppression field in effect to prevent violent behavior between their clients? (Preventing vampires from eating me, for example). I was under the impression that it did, so as to allow for the presence of both heroes and villains. |
Personally I miss the days of Roof top RP.
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Well you said it yourself; who wants to read anything when you know that it's written by a bunch of bloody lunatics who don't even know who they are?
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Originally Posted by Silas_Gray
I guess that's what happens when you don't read.
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I actually refuse to read bios that are in list format or contain long, boring backstories. Put those on Virtueverse, I want to see an actual description of the character.
All my character bios are short descriptions of the character, a la NPC descriptions. I don't shove my entire life story into my bio, I don't put a huge list of insignificant details in my bio, I don't brag about how straight/gay/single/married I am, I just make a paragraph or two and that's it.
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Originally Posted by MondoCool
I actually refuse to read bios that are in list format or contain long, boring backstories. Put those on Virtueverse, I want to see an actual description of the character.
All my character bios are short descriptions of the character, a la NPC descriptions. I don't shove my entire life story into my bio, I don't put a huge list of insignificant details in my bio, I don't brag about how straight/gay/single/married I am, I just make a paragraph or two and that's it. |
Oh noes I have an evil idea now.
I shall make a Comical Gay toon who has a bio that just says he's ooh so very straight.
"The Caped Closet Crusader"
/facepalm
I just wanna comment on the idea some people seem to have..that a character's personality/actions/whatever..reflect the player's. Now..lets for just a minute..lets say this is true. So..that means.. When Wesley Snipes isn't killing "vampires" he's out playing drag queen..or the guy who plays Lafeyette on True Blood..who has said in interviews that he is actually straight...this would mean he has a deep seeded desire to have sex with men and sell people vials of blood.
People..characters are just that...a character..not some reflection of a person's true thoughts and feelings. ALTHOUGH..sometimes, yes a person WILL put some or even alot of themselves into a character. Hell..lets face it...there are quite alot of "snarky versions of themselves" types in Pocket D. Truth be told though..unless you know the person..and by know I mean you have been in their damn house, because talking to someone on skype for ...even years will NOT tell you what kind of person he or she truly is, unless you /know/ the person..there is truly no way to determine whether the character in question shares feelings, opinions and thoughts with its player.
Bottom line..DON'T JUDGE THE PLAYER BASED ON THE CHARACTER. JUDGING THE PLAYER BASED ON SPELLING IS OK THOUGH :P kidding kidding..
Edit: Best example: Bernie Mack once played a black cop who HATED black people, yet Bernie Mack himself is/was (R.I.P.) quite proud of being black.
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Well there's very few options available for black/brown players that aren't "White Person with a tan" By very few I mean you can count them on one hand, two(three for women) afros, a pair of cornrows and those not-dreadlocks.|
Originally Posted by Straenge
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This thread is interesting and I can't say I disagree with anything in the OP
Anyone Who wants to argue about my usual foolishness can find me here.
https://twitter.com/Premmytwit
I'll miss you all.
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You'd be one of the few maybe, not one of the only. My Peacebringer is black, from South Africa (though I guess being a PB, one could technically say she isn't black per se, as there's the whole melding of two and becoming one), and doesn't use afro or cornrows (which really why would you use them, they look terrible most of the time).
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Originally Posted by Straenge
I also have a black character who (besides apparently being one of the only black characters that doesn't have an afro or cornrows from what I have seen) is a time traveling ex-slave that dislikes southerners.
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BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
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Odd. I couldn't in real life kill a kitty, puppy or a bunny (and really don't handle it well when my pets die), yet I made and RPed a character who did such things (she was short, and liked to beat on/kill anything smaller).|
Originally Posted by Silas_Gray
In a manner of speaking, yes.
Our avatars reflect a piece of our personality and our souls (However small that piece may be.) Would you play a character that is in conflict with your ideals? The answer is no, some small part of you approves of what you avatar "does" otherwise you wouldn't play it. This is why I can never bring myself to be an openly evil character in an open-ended RPG, the idea of hurting people, killing them makes me ill. So no, I do not accept your argument Tramontane. Some part of you feels justified in your characters actions. The same goes for any "Racist Character." |
Now, this isn't to say I don't put in a few of my own thoughts into my main character for instance. My main preferes Pepsi over Coke. Why? Because I do.
Someone making a racist character, doesn't mean they're racist. That said, I think back to the 90's animated X-Men.
Alternate dimension Storm travels back to the past, and runs into racism based on skin, and her thought was more "How quaint" than anything else, as in a world of mutants/aliens, people stop being racist and start being speciests.
Even with the 5th Column I get a sense of "Die mutants/superpowered types" and less "Die person of so and so race"
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
Ive been a Virtue native since the early months, and have always been an RPer of one kind or another as I feel no desire to play when I am not into one of my characters.
RP comes in alot of flavors and I myself have for the last few favored what I call LORE based RP. That means you try to create a character that makes sense within the known concepts of the world. THis can also extend to finding a name in lore and using it for your character, Ive been clearly told by more then one admin over the years that as long as the name is not used by a DEV or based on one like when I tried to make james temblor senior, it will be fine. I myself have been doing that as a form of reward for my 50s who I lvl as more generic fun concepts for quite a while.
I also do this in an effort to avoid what most call god moding. I know the desire to see your toon as a cosmic class being is tempting, but few want to be friends with the silver surfer if you catch my drift.
For example I have a blaster I am very fond off, and he was leveled usinga fun concept and name based on a character I made in an old pc rpg. But it also never quite blended into either the COX verse, and tended to seem abit to god like because where I did manage to find enough similarities to mesh the original concept with cox lore had him being connected with the creation of the shadow shards and an equal to the god like being trapped there. I really couldnt blame folks for feeling that was abit overboard even from a blaster built as solidly as mine.
So I looked at the origin he had, Magic. The concept, a Wizard, his main trademark to most who knew him( being a blaster that seems on one hand unkillable, but on the other prone to get in over his head) and set out to find a name in lore whose traits would mesh best.
I came up with Bentley Berkeley, and have found my RP with him since to be quite well recieved by those who enjoy more logical and lore orientated RP. He is both uniquely powerful, while quiet and humble, nothing more then a supernatural/occult lore expert who mainly works against the COT and banished and nicti threat, while being hunted by nemesis for his secret.
As an added touch I love to get him sent to jails in council and cot quests with them and let my friends RP saving me, so we can then fight our way out together. Its always a lark to save bentley berkeley after all everyone does it sooner or later
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This is not an accurate view. its an opinion. I for one have characters that are very much a part of me, a way to express certain traits magnified etc.|
Originally Posted by Silas_Gray
In a manner of speaking, yes.
Our avatars reflect a piece of our personality and our souls (However small that piece may be.) Would you play a character that is in conflict with your ideals? The answer is no, some small part of you approves of what you avatar "does" otherwise you wouldn't play it. This is why I can never bring myself to be an openly evil character in an open-ended RPG, the idea of hurting people, killing them makes me ill. So no, I do not accept your argument Tramontane. Some part of you feels justified in your characters actions. The same goes for any "Racist Character." |
THen there are those I make that have nothing to do with me, but with a concept I suddenly take a liking to, and when I embrace that character I am thinking not what I do, but what they will do, and sometimes those are definatly things I would NEVER even remotely condone of nor wish to see occur in the real world.
Do you think actors that take roles as serial killers, and child molesters are always like those they portray? SOme may as a devoted actor do the role very well, some like heath ledger will be remembered as the guy who so fell into the darkness of his role it killed him. Imagine portraying a character so well that was so unlike you that you gave birth to a new part of yourself that actually was bent on destroying you.
Sometimes we are our characters, and sometimes a character is just an idea. Sometimes Ideas can cause alot of dmg, so be careful what you choose to create in the name of good plot.
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Originally Posted by BrandX
You'd be one of the few maybe, not one of the only. My Peacebringer is black, from South Africa (though I guess being a PB, one could technically say she isn't black per se, as there's the whole melding of two and becoming one), and doesn't use afro or cornrows (which really why would you use them, they look terrible most of the time).
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I don't think so.
in just seconds I put him together. Making African American Heroes is easy.
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What, did you watch House Party and decide to throw that **** together?
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Originally Posted by Mariel_Martog
I don't think so.
in just seconds I put him together. Making African American Heroes is easy. |
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I'm just chiming in to agree with those who disagree with Silas.|
Originally Posted by Silas_Gray
In a manner of speaking, yes.
Some part of you feels justified in your characters actions. The same goes for any "Racist Character." |
I don't agree with the political policies of red dragons, the negotiating tactics of orcs, or the dietary choices of ogres. But as a Dungeon Master, I've played 'em all.
Similarly, I'm not sure that - other than being the dark part of the human soul - Anthony Hopkins had to "agree" with Hannibal Lector. Or Freddy, or Jason, or <insert evil character here>.
Sorry, Silas. Stated as opinion, about yourself, fine. But telling me that the fact that I've played 'let's pretend' as a monstrous character means I 'must' agree with them, on some level? Factually false.
Edit - I just realized I implied Anthony Hopkins played Freddy and Jason. While that would be awesome, it's not what I meant.
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Originally Posted by ThatGuyThere
I'm just chiming in to agree with those who disagree with Silas.
... Sorry, Silas. Stated as opinion, about yourself, fine. But telling me that the fact that I've played 'let's pretend' as a monstrous character means I 'must' agree with them, on some level? Factually false. Edit - I just realized I implied Anthony Hopkins played Freddy and Jason. While that would be awesome, it's not what I meant. |
On to a more serious post than my usual sarcastic ways.
Anthony Hopkins was an actor getting paid a lot of money to become Hannibal Lector. When someone who is paying money to have fun thinks hey "I want to play a Racist Anti-(_insert any actual minority_) (hero/Villain)" you have to sit back and ask your self why do you think that is fun? what in you thinks its ok. I have taken a few Psychology classes and displacement is something many of us do in video games. If a big strong guy only plays female characters who seem to get married once in a while "for RP" reasons, maybe you should ask what in you lets this happen.
I am honest about who and what I am, I know I'm a fruit loop, and fairly insane, most of my toons reflect my true self. I know some of you, and I am sure most hide the obvious truth of deep down desires. Ironically its only because you can put so much personality in to a character in City that makes this possible, players of MMOs with little choice on look its not going to be the same.
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If being *paid* to portray an unlovable character is the only "acceptable" rationale for it, then anybody playing the bad guy in a community theatre performance is a total jerkwad.
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Originally Posted by Mariel_Martog
Anthony Hopkins was an actor getting paid a lot of money to become Hannibal Lector. When someone who is paying money to have fun thinks hey "I want to play a Racist Anti-(_insert any actual minority_) (hero/Villain)" you have to sit back and ask your self why do you think that is fun?
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So much claptrap...
Brain wants to explode...
Manual override, despite partial agreement with brain's eagerness to be destroyed...
...
What Silas stated is not simply an opinion (and not simply wrong... it's insanely wrong!)... Perhaps it is a personal preference/approach to role-playing that some may adhere to. Obviously!
However, people need to realize that there are a great number of different approaches!
Seriously... some of the comments in this thread just make me never want to bother role-playing with others I don't already know.
A bunch of ridiculous, pseudo-intellectual, completely misguided think-it-alls stuck in their own opinions and incapable of seeing things from anywhere but their own eyeballs...
Which is completely hilarious, considering the true nature of role-playing.
Judge me harshly from this post... what do I care.
My global name is @Zethustra. If you think you might be one of these people... please block/ignore me.
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
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Ah, I will retract that then and say one of the few, heh. |
Originally Posted by BrandX
You'd be one of the few maybe, not one of the only. My Peacebringer is black, from South Africa (though I guess being a PB, one could technically say she isn't black per se, as there's the whole melding of two and becoming one), and doesn't use afro or cornrows (which really why would you use them, they look terrible most of the time).
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Now, the point in this is for Electric-Knight and others who feel discouraged from attempting to RP with people they don't know after reading some of the things here or other posts. I felt the same more or less and still do but haven't given up hope.
I should explain that before I came to COH, I was an active member of an RP community that viewed RP much differently. I suppose you could say it was extremely literate since if you did not post at least a paragraph in chat, with obvious semantic exceptions, then it did not count or you were considered a horrible RP'er. Now, before this time, I did not RP online and was only there to do an article for a magazine concerning lifestyles online, but I began really enjoying it. It was an easier way to flesh out existing characters or ideas for my own short stories and make it more natural.
After having spent a year here now, my first 6-8 months not speaking to very many people in game, I started to finally search for more roleplaying opportunities and viewing more bio's as well as interacting with a few individuals.. the realization came that I am probably not going to find the same type of RP that I am used to.
After viewing bio's that make your head ache or simply just badly written to the extremely eloquent and well thought out, I realized that it didn't really matter because it doesn't say how that individual RP's. I have seen some that have the only [Want to know? RP to find out] in which their characters were boring, idiotic or in some cases, wanting an excuse to ERP, where others had something so complex for the sake of complexity. That's fine as well but not for me.
From avoiding the random morons who feel the need to grief, to the "I only RP by level huff huff huff", I think there is a middle ground. That middle ground is our battlefield and we simply try to find the players that we can enjoy playing with. Now some of us do happen to have our own way of doing things and that means sifting through hundreds of half-illegible bios that tell us nothing of how a person roleplays, but we must persist. Otherwise, whats the point?
On another note, I think its time for me or someone to create a new genre of RP since [Literate RP Snob] is probably a bit over the top heh. But you know, say what you will. I am proud of being a snob and if that means not having to listen to someone tell me their characters life story and why they are more tragic then the "others" within the first 2 minutes of meeting, then so be it.
For the Original Poster:
A well written guideline for those whom are seeking out help on creating a bio for their (newish) characters. While all this advice isn't complicated in informing us on how to grab other people's attention, will there be any addendum or amendments on other advance options on how to write a better bio so it can stand out better? I am not asking for English 101, but other examples of what you see in a good bio and an explanation of why it stood out for you in that example would do just fine.
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Welcome to the CoH forums.
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Originally Posted by Electric-Knight
A bunch of ridiculous, pseudo-intellectual, completely misguided think-it-alls stuck in their own opinions and incapable of seeing things from anywhere but their own eyeballs...
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I would like to issue a plea on behalf of Paragon's diminutive protectors, please watch where you step. We're four feet tall in a six foot tall world, we've been cast adrift in a sea of butts. -Pillbug
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"I hate black pepper!"
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Originally Posted by OmniSurge
Edit: Best example: Bernie Mack once played a black cop who HATED black people, yet Bernie Mack himself is/was (R.I.P.) quite proud of being black.
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My guides:Dark Melee/Dark Armor/Soul Mastery, Illusion Control/Kinetics/Primal Forces Mastery, Electric Armor
"Dark Armor is a complete waste as a tanking set."
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Thanks! |
Originally Posted by Magpie_Mouse
Welcome to the CoH forums.
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Here's a global tell I received!
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| 2011-06-17 00 : 39:07 Message From xxx: You are a horrible person. I hope you get ebola of the scrotum. You also smell of old wet socks and my dogs thinks you dress funny. |
Oh, and Straenge, thanks. I know. I've just seen an awful lot of awful, hehe, and I guess some of the things I read last night pushed it to the point that I felt like voicing it a bit.
I remember, way before playing CoH, discovering just how different people's role-playing (and/or gaming) in tabletop RPGs were and how difficult it became to find people who enjoyed the brand that my friends and I had always enjoyed together.
Anyway... I wasn't planning on posting in this thread again, but I figured the person who sent me the global tell would enjoy seeing their work on the forums!
I took care of them though, let me tell you!
I told them that their dogs couldn't tell a Versace from a JC Penny clearance rack item and that the smell wasn't wet socks, it was the aroma of winning. And I thanked them!
Most importantly... I used double brackets!! (Yes... in a GLOBAL TELL... I must be insane!!)
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
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Originally Posted by Selina_H
If being *paid* to portray an unlovable character is the only "acceptable" rationale for it, then anybody playing the bad guy in a community theatre performance is a total jerkwad.
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Than you miss the point of my post, there are lots of valid reasons to portray a 'jerkwad' especially if you are an actor. Also for the purpose of a RP event in game I can see someone playing such a roll.
i.e. Caios has a character Named Karnage who was a very special kind of 'Jerkwad'. however, three things about Karnage which makes my point.
1. Not even close to a main Character.
2. Was not a racists but an equal opportunity mass murderer.
3. was only really played for the purpose of RP events.
*Caios was the Cowgirl Vampire Character in the Original Guardian Angels.
*Karnage was the Arch-Villain for said Caios.
*the person who played Caios is a very close friend of mine, and the reason why I play COH.
My point being that if you are doing a staged production where you are playing a Racist ******* no problem. If you play a racist ******* as a main you have issues.
Also I have to point out My Character Tiburon Hates Mutants, Aliens and Magic Users. He is also a Main Character. He is not racist against any real population group.
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Just going with that absolute, regardless if it is true or not, that issue couldn't be wanting to explore and reveal the depths of racism and how people cling to it and why it is a bad thing?|
Originally Posted by Mariel_Martog
...If you play a racist ******* as a main you have issues.
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| Also I have to point out My Character Tiburon Hates Mutants, Aliens and Magic Users. He is also a Main Character. He is not racist against any real population group. |
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
When I create a bio for a character I always create it in the form of a Paragon City Hero or Villain dossier... i.e., information that could be looked up in a database that lists registered paranormal heroes or any villians that were put into the zig.
I haven't really figured out how to handle the Praetorians at this point. I don't use the bio sheets for them at present and I guess I won't create them until they escape into Primal Earth.
Scrapper Jack (SJ/WP Brute), Sky Commando (WP/SJ Tanker), Curveball (Rad/DP Defender), and a bunch more.