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They all start out the same - loosely imagined and mostly unbiographed characters *without* special pedigrees, world trophies, elevated social standing or inevitable greatness. Any of those are too much investment for me to throw on a level 1 who may not last a day.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Do you prefer to make characters who are just one of a broader category, or do you need your characters to be somehow inherently unique and specific and even perhaps famous for something?
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I suppose it's all about attachment. The longer I keep one, the more we do together, the deeper I dig into their past and plan out paths for their future. We'll be running along, one will lead her first raid or grab an unusual costume choice a year later, when I'll discover it was because she hailed from XYZ or once handily defeated the infamous XYZ or is destined to be the sole survivor of XYZ. They become unique only after a serendipitous moment when I say, to my character in some unscripted internal voice, "Wow, I didn't know that about you!"
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I'd tend to say both at the same time. That is, my "signature" characters tend to originate within a broad category, but they have a unique trait or accomplishment within that category. From a strictly binary standpoint of the question, I guess I'd answer "a", they are of a broader category.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Do you prefer to make characters who are just one of a broader category, or do you need your characters to be somehow inherently unique and specific and even perhaps famous for something?
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The one character who doesn't adhere to that is, amusingly enough, my Soldier of Arachnos. He was just some guy who liked being a faceless soldier, who liked beating people up, and who was good at his job. Then he had a chance to be more than that. The whole story of the guy who made himself into a Destined One by an act of willpower turned out to be one that really clicked with me. In that sense, he's The One and Only (within his personal story, of course).
Otherwise, I don't think I've ever imagined one of my characters to be, say, the one person in the world who has seen Dread Cthulu treading the earth on His horrible feet and watched His island sink again, so that he is slightly unhinged because he alone in the world understands the madness lying just underneath the frail veneer of what we think of as reality and civilization.
I don't really get into that kind of character, to be honest. I'd rather start with something broad and make it unique within the confines of the setting, archetype, powerset and costume choices. Bottom up, as you put it instead of top down.
In fact, I frequently have no idea at all about a new character until I've done some flipping through the costume creator and some combination of things suddenly speaks to me about the sort of character that would be wearing that bit of stuff.
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This is a big point for me. All of my characters have "the CoX Universe" tied into their story. Some are more tied in than others (I have characters that are simply heroes of the city, and I have others like my Archery/Dev blaster who was Manticore's secret apprentice). Doing this simply makes sense to me: I'm playing this game, my characters should be tied into this game. |
Originally Posted by UberGuy
All of my characters are tied into the game universe. To me, that's one indicator of a well-written back-story. It's not the only one and it's not mandatory, but I feel that it makes a character feel more "solid" when, after you read their bio, you feel as if they "belong" in the game world. I'm pretty careful to not write my own in ways that make them likely subject to conflict with canon reveals or retcons. Because of this, they do therefore usually start as "A character", and become more epic though events that come later.
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I prefer characters that are part of something larger than themselves, and I tend to limit their power to reflect that. (None of my characters, yet, have concepts that have called for every Incarnate power.) Those are the characters that interest me: the ones that shine in their respective niches.
To keep this post short: I guess I gravitate towards "A"-type characters, and I actually find "The"-type characters to be less dynamic in that the absolute nature of them provides less wiggle-room for change and development.
@Winter. Because I'm Winter. Period.
I am a blaster first, and an alt-oholic second.
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I think this only becomes a problem when you're trying to actually RP with other players.|
Originally Posted by Chase_Arcanum
I think there's a distinction here that needs to be made, and thats whether the "A" or the "THE" is directly tied to the lore.
When you tie yourself to the lore with a "The" ("the" scientist that discovered Portal technology) you add two risks: - the devs may introduce new lore data that conflicts with your story. - other players may choose backstories that directly conflict with your story. You can't both be "THE" scientist that discovered portal technology. Compare that to if use an "A" ("A" scientist on the team that discovered Portal technology). - now, if the devs introduce "Dr. Jackson" as the scientist behind the lore, you can now just flesh out your story with this "team leader" added. - if you encounter another roleplayer who is also "a" scientist on that team, you can immediately play long-separated colleagues that once worked on the team together. You can still be a "THE"-- just create the event that you're the "THE" of. You were THE scientist that refused to evacuate during the 1999 "Portal Surge" crisis. You were THE one that realized that the danger threatened not just the city, but the whole earth, so you stayed behind and saved the world. - In this game world, extinction-level incidents seem to be an almost an annual thing, so there's very little the devs can add that would contradict this (aside from saying that portal has a "spotless safety record" and that can be written off as good PR and/or a coverup.) - It isn't THAT much of an imposition on other players- the incident is your creation, so its unlikely to step on their toes (unless they claim to be the Portal Corps safety officer in 1999 that was responsible for their spotless safety record. A little more trouble would be to be THE scientist that operated the portal console for the Omega team as they left for the Rikti world. On the surface, it seems similar to the previous one (scientist during a major portal event) but you can kinda see how being THE last person to see any Omega team member before they left could have a higher risk of conflict. Its an official-lore event and you've made yourself the sole critical actor in it. Being "A" scientist in that room at that moment leaves a lot more flexibility. |
When trying to RP with multiple people, not in a closed group, the idea of THE ONE fails because as mentioned, it can just screw with others concepts. Also diverging out of the known concept can do that too, but it's usually a little less jarring (ie...lost knight elf from an unknown island in the tropics...when nothing in the lore speaks of elfs) and possibly worked around.
Saying THIS IS THE ONE. Harder to work around.
Now, if you don't RP and just come up with a concept then go about missiong, chatting with players as players and not characters, it really isn't bad. And if that works for you to get the most fun of your character, go for it.
Of course the same can apply for those who want to RP, however they run the risk of basically being ignored (not likely to be ignored by everyone in my experience, but a good majority).
However Sam, this post has made me want to make a character who's background is they're responsible for night time only lasting 15mins and daytime lasting 45, and that YES in fact the world does move around the sun at such a speed that people are in fact experiencing such night and days.
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
Thinking about it... I guess I do have a few THE's in the crew. 'Thing is, they tend not to be "big picture" THE's tied to established canon or major events. They're only unique in certain small ways, often... as mentioned up thread with the idea of making your own events... things that would only matter to me.
Take the Nemissary, for instance. He's just an A in a lot of ways. One rather eccentric Oranbegan Death Mage out of a whole, apparently endless crop of them. Where he ventures into THE territory is entirely a matter of individual back-story. I've simply never seen another Death Mage mentioned as even having a wife, much less leaving Oranbega behind to look for one who went missing. So, in that one way my poor, abandoned Thanodaemus is unique. He's "That One Death Mage Who Got Married and Went Walk-About"... Eventually, if the Unquiet Bride has her way, he'll be "That One Death Mage Who Got Married, Went Walk-About and Somehow Ended Up Being a Hero in Spite of Himself". But his THE is a small THE. It's not a "I'm the one who threw a wrench in the whole works" THE.
@Brightfires - @Talisander
That chick what plays the bird-things...
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Interesting.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
This is another place where I have to draw a line, but again, that's on a personal level. I DO NOT tie my characters into the game's established lore. Ever. I've had a few I tried to do that to, but for all but one, I've either rerolled the characters or changed their biographies. I consider tying my own characters into City of Heroes to be extremely bad practice, that that's strictly and only about my own characters. I've no problem with others who do this. But for myself, these are my "babies," they're something I take both pride and joy in. I can't really feel either if I know I most of their backstory, I didn't make. I just borrowed it from an existing author.
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Many of my characters have existed in some form or another outside of City of Heroes-- in GURPS worlds, in Champions Pen & Paper, in a homebrew rpg made with friends, and even in some old MUDS. Some of them never were anything more than NPC notes in my GM notebook that seemed interesting at the time. Even the "totally new" characters often end up carrying elements of these precursors.
When I decide to use them, I try to re-imagine the character to fit the current game's lore and at least tangentially tie them in to that lore at some point. I don't care so much about playing MY Fenore as first envisioned, I care about creating Fenore as she'd be if in the City of Heroes universe. None of mine really are critically tied to the universe as a "THE" within the lore, but they all are different than they'd appear elsewhere because of the lore.
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In another sign of our differences, I generally avoid any reference to cross-dimensions, time travel, or alternate realities in my characters' stories... even if the game world supports such concepts like CoH. I don't judge others that do, but these mechanics tend to tune me out more than trigger my interest.
I'm not a huge fan of being a "the one" because I try (succeed or not is up for debate) to make my characters defined by emotional relate-ability, they are like you and I they just hit harder, a "one" is a different class of character, its a title that defines and seperates a character from everyone else. Rian may be the only dragon left from his particular group, but thats immaterial outside of proofing him against lore clashing if coh decides to add dragons later, he is defined by his human feelings of isolation and frailty and his resolve to overcome those weaknesses and pursue evil, even when the odds are impossible, not his power.
Its a different valuation really, I just fine "the ones" to be a storytelling style im not fond of, it strikes me as brute force characterization. Its not making the character something people can relate to, its just a title.
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Agreed. Realistically, you can make a character that's anything you want if your in-character interaction with others is low.|
Originally Posted by BrandX
I think this only becomes a problem when you're trying to actually RP with other players.
When trying to RP with multiple people, not in a closed group, the idea of THE ONE fails because as mentioned, it can just screw with others concepts. Also diverging out of the known concept can do that too, but it's usually a little less jarring (ie...lost knight elf from an unknown island in the tropics...when nothing in the lore speaks of elfs) and possibly worked around. Saying THIS IS THE ONE. Harder to work around. Now, if you don't RP and just come up with a concept then go about missiong, chatting with players as players and not characters, it really isn't bad. And if that works for you to get the most fun of your character, go for it. Of course the same can apply for those who want to RP, however they run the risk of basically being ignored (not likely to be ignored by everyone in my experience, but a good majority). |
I don't get to roleplay much, but I tend to approach an MMO as if it was a form of collaborative storytelling. We're all bringing something of our own creation to this world and, at its best, we're reading and reacting to others' stories while continuing our own. This is essentially the crux of roleplaying, and while I don't get to participate often, I create each character as if the potential to roleplay may appear in any encounter. I want them RP-ready even if I don't ever get a chance to.
Looking at my roster, I have a mix... but most I'm not sure whether to call them as A Guy or The Guy. The basic concepts make them A Guy: A Mercenary, A Space Pirate, A Divine Avatar, A Supersoldier. On the flipside, the twist to the basic concept moves them towards The Guy territory: The World's Only Freelancing Minion, The Soviet Space Pirate From Mars (And Also Another Dimension), The Goddess Kali, The Cybernetic Undead Nazi Supersoldier Clone.
I have a few strait up The Guy characters: The Last Survivor of Her Race (Who Lived a Thousand Years in the Shadow Shard), and a few A Guy types: A Loyal Fortunata, or A Restless Spirit from the Old West, but the characters I enjoy most are the ones I'm not sure are The Guy or A Guy.
Maybe I'm not quite following what is meant buy the The Guy or A Guy distinction.
I prefer 'A' characters to 'The' characters, for many of the reasons as stated above.
Rushmore is 'a' hero empowered by the Spirit of (the United States of) America. There may be others. His archenemy is Confederacy Caroline, who gains her powers from the comparatively diminished Spirit of the Confederacy.
Zortel is a scientist who used to own a business in the city, doing high tech work with nanomachines and energy systems. She's was 'the' owner of ZorTel Industries, but that was her company, so it's okay for her to be that.
Meanwhile, Nachtbrecher is the leader of a US Government Special Ops team dealing with the strange, but that leaves plenty of room for other teams.
All of my characters are tied into the game universe. To me, that's one indicator of a well-written back-story. It's not the only one and it's not mandatory, but I feel that it makes a character feel more "solid" when, after you read their bio, you feel as if they "belong" in the game world. I'm pretty careful to not write my own in ways that make them likely subject to conflict with canon reveals or retcons. Because of this, they do therefore usually start as "A character", and become more epic though events that come later.
This is as important to me when playing characters as it seems your disconnected origin is to you. Having a character with roots in the game gives me a sense of how a given character would react to the plots they encounter in it. A character whose brother was killed by the 5th Column would probably have special antipathy for them. A character who was once banished to a realm of nightmare gods might have a strong reaction to the Banished Pantheon. The Circle of Thorns might have a special interest in the character who is the demonically manifest hatred and anger of a magic-origin hero. Having those kinds of anchors is my replacement for your interest in the person being an epic character of legend. (Not that mine can't aspire to such, but for me, that's what the progression to 50+ is about.)
I'll say this. I understand very much better now why the presentation of settings like CoV, with its Arachnos-lackey feel, cause such chafing with folks like Sam and less so with me. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of CoV's typical presentation of our villains' relationship with Arachnos, but I can see that I build and perceive my characters in a way that is broadly more adaptable to it, where someone like Sam's "THE character" is probably much harder to reconcile with it.
Blue
American Steele: 50 BS/Inv
Nightfall: 50 DDD
Sable Slayer: 50 DM/Rgn
Fortune's Shadow: 50 Dark/Psi
WinterStrike: 47 Ice/Dev
Quantum Well: 43 Inv/EM
Twilit Destiny: 43 MA/DA
Red
Shadowslip: 50 DDC
Final Rest: 50 MA/Rgn
Abyssal Frost: 50 Ice/Dark
Golden Ember: 50 SM/FA