That one guide that nobody reads

Now bear in mind I didn't write this, this was in fact written by an anonymous post on /tg/, and the guide was intended for roleplaying gaming, but it's still a valid guide.

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To begin, this isn't a perfect guide. There is no perfect guide. But, with people constantly complaining about each others characters, and my own complaints as well, it seems time for this guide to be written, imperfections and all.

And who am I to say what makes a good character? I've been playing table top roleplaying games for over ten years, with character development as my primary area of study. I have spent the majority of my gaming career obsessing, damn right obsessing, about characters and the character creation process. So even if I don't know it all, I know enough to at least help some of you people out. Because, as I've seen through my gaming career, there's a lot of people who don't know anything about making a good character.

1. Know your limits.
You want to make and play a funny, smart, resourceful, and quick witted character? That's nice, but the first thing you have to realize is that there's only so much that dice and mechanics can control. High rolls and numbers might make you seem suave and sophisticated in-game, but the other players will laugh at you behind your back, if not to your face. If you want to play a character that is smarter or wiser than you are, you're going to run into quite a few problems if you just happen to forget how intelligent you actually are. And, always keep in mind that you are several shades dumber than you probably think you are.

2.Don't go stepping on toes.
Abandon the ego. The first thing you have to realize is that you are not allowed to make any character you want. Cry and moan about that if you want, but you are just as restricted as the other players and the DM. Know that shitty DM that railroads you wherever he wants or that guy in your group that has an evil drow assassin while everyone else is playing human paladins? They've exceeded their boundaries. They've sacrificed the integrity of the game for their lame desires.
To start, look first at the setting and the game itself. No one cares that you've only played D&D, they're still going to be pretty pissed that you're trying to bring your male eladrin wizard into MaidRPG. You have to be far more flexible than that. After you've taken a look at the setting, don't even start thinking about a character concept yet. Oh fucking christ do not even start thinking at all yet. First talk to the other players, see what they're doing, and listen to their suggestions just as often as you give out your own.

3.Don't you dare start thinking about a character yet or I'll cut your eyeballs.
You know that great idea for a character you have? Stop. Put it on the back burner, and leave it there. The most important part of making a good character is understanding. Understanding as much as you possibly can before even starting with that "concept" you've got. Your race, your class, your job, your age, your peculiarity, all of that doesn't matter just yet. Yes, even if you're just going to play a battle heavy game of 4e, even if you've been dying to try this character idea out, even if there's a gun against your head that will fire if you don't pick a race right now. Don't commit to anything before you are quite sure.

4. What is "Quite sure?"
Being quite sure is understanding the underlying elements of your preferences. You want to play an elf? Why do you want to play an elf? What is it about an elf that's appealing? You like their grace and serenity? Why do you like their grace and serenity? You like them because they give the character a sense of nobility and maturity? Why do you want to give your character a sense of nobility and maturity? etc. etc.
In order to make a good character, you're going to have to invest a bit of brain power into understanding your preferences within a game. You are going to have to look back at what you liked in games (and if you say you liked winning or being powerful, you are asking questions that lead to fruitless answers), and what things you liked best.

5. Your mechanics should reflect your character.
Do not make your character's stats first and then fill in his personality and background afterwards. Do not make your character's personality and background first and then fill in his mechanics. Do them at the same time, bit by bit. Take the time to slowly form the concept, and be ready to sacrifice some ability if it doesn't work with his background or to change his personality if it doesn't work with his stats.

5 1/2. Go back to step 1, and continue down the numbers again. If you've somehow managed to reach this point in under an hour with a character practically finished, you're character is a piece of shit everyone will hate, and you shouldn't even put it on the backburner, but throw it out. Now go back and rethink your character from the start, examining all the smallest, most minuscule details to the point in which you start to hate everyone and the world. It'll be worth it, because not only will you have more fun playing this character, everyone around you won't end up fantasizing about killing you.

6. Your character evolves.
Even if you're committed to a character you've made after a great, great, great deal of inner meditation, you have to be willing to understand that changes will occur within the game to this character. You may want him to be well known for being fearless, but he might eventually fail a will save at the most crucial point in a battle. You may want your cop to be meek and afraid to use his gun as anything other than a threat, but he might have to shoot a crook to save his partner's life. Make sure you keep this in mind while you make your character.

7. The Golden Rule: View your character objectively.
Got some sort of almost formed character in your head? Okay. Now, you know that guy in your group that you like the least? Imagine him playing this character. If you didn't get a little pissed, you've either done something horribly right or perfectly wrong, with the latter infinitely more common. Keep in mind that you always like things that you've made better than things you've haven't, and your vision is going to be miserably skewed whenever you look at your own character. Imagining him being someone else's character helps a little.

8. Don't automatically defend your character.
If someone doesn't like your character, don't rise up to the character's defense all hot and bothered like some white knight. If someone's accusing him of being broken, they've probably got a good basis for that if they've bothered to tell you. If they don't like something else, make sure you take their comments seriously. Your fellow players are a valid source of opinions, and make sure you really, really examine their criticisms before you either accept them or dismiss them.

9. Roleplaying games are not Games. Roleplaying games are not stories or movies or books.
Roleplaying games are an entity of their own, and this should be remembered in all steps of the character creation process. If you're making your character like one you'd play in a video game, don't. If you're making one like you would for a story, you'd best stop right there and flush whatever notes you have right out. Keep in mind what this character is going to be used for, and make sure you begin to understand exactly what that means.

10. The list of things to avoid.
Do not try to make your character stronger or weaker than everyone else's. Do not detail his appearance for more than one or two sentences, with three being the absolute maximum. No one gives a flying fuck about their eye color. Do not use the character to act out personal fantasies created by your own shortcomings. Do not wear nostalgia goggles. Do not lie to yourself. Do not pretend to understand when you don't understand. Do not make Drizzt. Nowhere in your character's description should be the words "badass", "antihero", "chain-smoking", "devious", "anti-social", "flirtatious", "omnipotent", "explosively flatulent", "D-cup", "quadriplegic", "bishie", "kawaii", or "awesome". Do not expect your character to be considered good simply because he is ugly while everyone else is playing a good looking character. Do not detach yourself from your character when bad things happen to him. Don't think that the DM should be the only who has to prepare for hours before each game. Don't forget that though it isn't a chore or a job, it's still a responsibility. Don't forget, above all else, that you are supposed to enjoy making and playing the character.

Sounds harsh? Good. Obviously no roleplay moderator would be as strict as this guide, but it's still very important that one is critical on themselves when writing a character.

Now nobody can ever read it on this forum, too.

Psyche wrote:

Now nobody can ever read it on this forum, too.

Woot

tl;dr

Psyche wrote:

Do not detach yourself from your character when bad things happen to him. Don't think that the DM should be the only who has to prepare for hours before each game. D

also when are the local dnd games here?

BooM wrote:

tl;dr

Psyche wrote:

Do not detach yourself from your character when bad things happen to him. Don't think that the DM should be the only who has to prepare for hours before each game. D

also when are the local dnd games here?

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Now bear in mind I didn't write this, this was in fact written by an anonymous post on /tg/, and the guide was intended for roleplaying gaming, but it's still a valid guide.

A; I don't run DnD anymore, I run Pathfinder.

B; No local games for Olden.

Sorry.

I've read through it, and it was surprisingly informative. Surprised I didn't see this one before.

"No one gives a flying fuck about your eye color." Lol'd

Bump for relevance.
like that will get anyone to read this

^ Like that will get anyone to read this

Venom OPS wrote:

^ Like that will get anyone to read this

Like I can't copy and paste text.

thorogoodd wrote:

I can't copy and paste text.

It's a good skill to have. You should get on that. As a side note, this guide has always been basic knowledge. I fail to see why reviving it helps, even if it was posted by the great lord Psyche.

because people only looking at the threads with flashy icons

Hey, describing physical appearance is a key element of helping the other person realise you're not really a HL2 model, since FNox outright lied about Tira's many wonderful features.

Obviously biased but I'm sure someone'll agree.

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you're character is a piece of shit everyone will hate