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Old 02-21-2003, 10:25 AM   #5
Fuzzy Ewok
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Join Date: Nov 2002
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Much of this will be a rehash of what's above...lots of good stuff already posted.

The biggest thing is to have the player know and actually write down the character's history. If the player is truly interested in making a character that is as "realistic" as possible, they need to learn as much as they can about the world/campaign setting and then incorporate that into a character background.

Writing it down is a very good thing to do, imo, as it allows a person to get the ideas out of their head and into a form they can acutally see, reread, and alter as needed. Many of the best ideas don't come initially, but after the first idea has led to the second, then the third and fourth, and finally to the one that works the best. When I work on characters, I usually start with some key ideas, put them down into an outline, and then go from there. Normally, when I'm done, I've got a short story about the character's life, full of personality traits, unique beliefs, reactions to certain situations, thought processes, etc. Turning it into a story allows the creative process to reach its peak, especially if the person enjoys writing. And the background doesn't have to be anything out of the ordinary either--you can still write a 20 page background on someone that grew up on a farm. Some of the best I've ever seen have been that way.

Another thing to think about is what the character does when the player is offline. Why does he/she do these things and how do they add to the character's life? Does the character have any special friends of note that aren't PC's? (gotta be careful there, as many MUD's don't want NPC interaction that isn't actually roleplayed out in the game itself) What hobbies does he/she pursue, and why? Family ties? Pets? Special possessions that are dear to the character? (some MUD's will even go so far as to do a restring if it's something integral to the character and is just an rp tool)

imo, though, there is only so far you can go without just getting the character out there and roleplaying with him/her. I think the best characters tend to take on a life of their own. Many times all you end up doing is laying the groundwork for the character and then you allow him/her to grow into an acutal person through roleplay. I have distinct memories of some of my roleplay sessions seeming more like a movie, where I just kinda sat back and watched the show, feeling like my character was acting on his own without much aid from me at all. Once your character reaches that point, you know you've created a being that is truly separate from yourself.
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