Character Creation: The Do's and Don'ts

[the_rummy]

One of the perks of a multiplayer RPG like Hollow (or Karchan, or Eli, or Noirea...) is the fact that your enviroment is populated by the mostly made-by-scratch characters of other people, some all the way across the globe from you. Cool, huh?

Here's some do's and don'ts to keep in mind when creating your longterm character:

• Don't create a character based off of a whim. Sometimes I see a kickass picture, or see a neat movie, that influences the way I want to RP that day. On that note, sometimes I just get a wild hair up my butt and want to roleplay some evil baddie, or maybe a tormented hero. But could I stay interested in such an endeavor day after day? Stick with what you know that you're interested in, and wouldn't become a chore after the shiny newness wears off. On that note...
  

• Don't start -off- with a name or image in mind. This just stands in the way of characterisation, because you don't want to go against pre-concieved notions or stereotypes about that name or appearance.

• Write what you're familiar with. This one gets in the way of a lot of perfectly good writer's way. If you're not interested in action films/fight scenes/so forth, don't make a character who will be dueling a lot. Stick with something that you're interested in, keeping in mind that the point is to have fun, not write what you think other people will want to interact with.

• Give your character purpose. This is the first step I take in character creation, before I do anything else. If your character doesn't have a mission in life, they'll lose steam real quick. This can be anything from searching for some child or relic they'll never find.