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Old 03-07-2003, 09:12 PM   #11
Falconer
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Paris
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Believe it or not, this is actually a question that comes to light every couple of months or so on these forums or the forums at The Mud Connector. Saying that threads such as these, where players define the character "types" that they enjoy playing is not only a pet peve of mine, but a mindset that I think is adopted far too often. It's also one that, all things considered, has a truly negative impact on any intensive roleplaying environment.

The neccessity for a player to define a character "type/style" is one that's been handed down from Gygax and his team at TSR who created the original and advanced Dungeons and Dragons systems. The noble warrior, the furtive thief, the stoic mage--archetypes that appear in novels from Tolkien to Jordan, in video games and table top settings.

In table top settings, the class system is actually somewhat appropriate. It allows a group of players to specialize into various areas and go off on amazing adventures. The plot of a tabletop RPG is focused upon this journey, this adventure and the physical and emotional impact it has on the characters who travel it.

Online environments are completely different. With the majority of roleplaying MU*s that I've experienced, a developing storyline is only a part (sometimes major - as with Wes Platt's worlds - and sometimes very minor, as with the RPI Xyllomer.) The rest is the task of both administrators and players to create a living, breathing world. In a table top, fantasy RPG it would be ridiculous to chronicle the life of a blacksmith who sits all day by the forge and tinkers. In an online, fantasy world this is entirely appropriate.

That said, as a roleplaying administrator and creative director, I strongly urge my players (and for that matter, all players) to stray from this notion of creating a character type. The good vs. evil argument (which is another post entirely) aside, characters are far more interesting when built up from a set of values and experiences rather than constructed from an archetype down.

Start with the small details - your character's favorite food, musical tastes, weather. Begin creating a personality, add in background events (which should always be more mundane than the events experienced in-game) and adapt their personality to show how these past events have influenced their current position.

How your character acts and the profession your character takes should always be the last part of your creation process. Everything else about them - their set of values and experiences - should dictate these; not the other way around.

For those of you who like to take roleplaying from a mere hobby to a method of gaining personal insight, I'd suggest you take a look at the Aristotelean concept of eudaimonia. It may prove incredibly valuable to your character creation process.

Best,
Edward Falconer
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