I had orginally planned a full character Creation Guide, But as there is a very good one here already I thought i'd just post what I have on making your character come across as unique amongst the masses of "Heroes" and other regular characters you can see walking around Ylaikum.
Creating an Original Character
An informative guide to creating a unique persona in Yliakum - by Rayven
How Do I make a character who will stand out from the crowd?Good question. Most peaople will create a character with a unique personilty, which wil become evident as you rp with them, and this is one way of doing it. But it can be very fun to create a character who is unique in every way from the others around. A good starting point is to decide what role you character will take in yliakum. There are many roles you can play, and I will list a few ideas to give you inspiration. Bear in mind these are but a few character types, and it will be fun to take traits from each and create new ones.
The Honourable Warrior or Knight - You are a man/woman of integrity and honour. You have been well trained in the arts of war, and the arts of politics. You strive to spread good throughout the community. Chances are, you are from a noble class, and as so you are well educated in the ways of the world and society.
The Barbarian - You are a fierce tribesman/woman. You were raised in harsh conditions and so the niceties of society are lost to you. You respect only the power of strength, the weak to you are worthless. You will be a seasoned hunter, able to take down any pray in order to feed and clothe yourself. Coming from an isolated community, you may not be highly educated, and chances are you will appear ignorant or unintelligent to more civilised people.
The Master Wizard - You are a highly intelligent person, who works with the forces of magic. You have disdained physical prowess in order to further your studies and intellect. Those who would live and die by the sword are beyond you. Spending most of your time in study, chances are you will be well versed in many areas, and will have an understanding and knowledge beyond that of the average citizen.
The Honest Worker - You are the working class man/woman. You care little for the workings of the higher classes. To you working hard and providing for yourself and your family is what comes first. You strive to become the best of your given trade, be you miner, crafter or trader, your word is your honour, your customers must be able to trust them so that you can make your way in the world.
The Wealthy Merchant - Renowned throughout Ylaikum, you are a wealthy and proud merchant. You feel your wealth and position has raised you to a class beyond that of the lowly peasant. Moeny is your life, and you will flaunt it in the faces of those less fortunate. You believe that your money can buy you anything, inculding the love and respect of others.
The Theif - You are a rogue, a vagabond. Why should you work for what you can take freely? You disdain those who would work for their trade as fools. Nothing is beyond you, as long as you can find what you need, you will take it willingly. You are untrustworthy, and you will trick anybody foolish enough to fall for your charms.
The Charmer - You are one gifted with the gab. A rogueish charmer who oozes charisma. Able to weave a spell of seduction with your words, you relish the attention of those you wish to impress. Be you a lethario or a storyteller, people crowd around ou when you speak. Clever, but not always honest, you will use all of your wit and poise to gain relationships and contacts who will give you teir hearts at the drop of a hat at your words.
The Bully - Ever since you were young, you have been stronger than many of your fellows. If they are weaker than you, then surely they deserve to be shown it at every opportunity. Hidden behind your hard demeanor you are jealous of the wealth and attentions which other people cultivate, as so you will attack them verbally or physically t make them less appealing to others.
The Priest/ess - You have a calling. Your diety speaks to you personally to spread their message throughout Yliakum. Nothing is more important than the growth of your unearthly master, and you have dedicated your soul to their ends. You disdain those who do not worship your leige, and will stop at nothing to convert them all under the temple of your god.
The Artist - You are a man/woman of the arts. A musican, an artist, an actor or poet. Your goal is to achieve fame amongst the citizens of yliakum. You work hard for your skills, and the entertainment and enjoyment of others is your goal. Travelling far and wide to ply your trade, each heart won is a trophy under your belt.
The Mercenary - Warrior of renown and skill, you fight for no cause only tria. Nothing is beyond you and yours as long as the client can afford your price. You will do all and any takes if a deal can be struck. Money is your goal, your skills are your means to get it.
The Assassin - A walker of shadows, a silent killer. Never seen, never heard, you will kill with precision and skill for your employers. Your role is a secret, but your exploits are legend.
Creating the personalityOnce you have decided on the role of your character you need to decide on how they will think, feel and interact with others. A personality is just as important to character creation as the character's role. Personality comes in many forms, speech, gait (how they move), opinion, action and attitude. By defining your character's peronality, you can take a basic role and add layers and layers of detail to make them more believable and more unique. I will explain how to create a personality by demonstrating how I did so with 2 characters of my own.
Almarian Ferelai - A wizard
Frak Griffonsfire - A mercenary
AlmarianBrief History - Almarian Ferelai is a mage who has spent most of his life expanding his knowledge and intelligence. He grew up in a community of dwarves where he constantly felt the loneliness and seclusion of an outsider. His only friend was the son of the family who raised him. As his power grew, his grip on sanity was lost, the stronger his magi cbecame, the more his reason and rationalty decreased. When his friend married, Almar become jealous, eventually slaying the bride with his magic.
Ok, so we know from the history we have given the character, that he is intelligent, learned and now somewhat crazy. He has also been secluded most of his life, and therefore he will have difficulty interacting in large groups of people. I'll start off with how I came up with his way of speaking.
One of the things I wanted to focus on, was Almar's need for companionship. To this end, he uses the word 'neighbour' alot when he talks, this is an attempt to appear friendly to anyone he meets. He also feels the need to assert himself in the minds of others, so he will drop his name into conversation as often as possible. He also mutters things to himself almost constantly, believing that noone will hear him, this gives the obvious impression of insanity. He is prone to large moods swongs and is very unpredictable in his tempterament towards others. On top of all this, he is a learned man, and so will speak quite clear and concise.An example of a conversation with Almar would be.
Almar says : Greetings neighbour, I am Almarian Ferelai. You seem to have quite a thriving business here, what pray tell, is your name neighbour?
Almar mutters to himself "stupid, ignorant blacksmith, he thinks I am nothing, I will show him."
Harnquist says : I am Harnquist the blacksmith pleased to meet you.
Almar says : The name is Almarian Ferelai neighbour, I would thank you to remember your station when talking to one so much higher than yourself in breeding.
Almar mutters to himself "the impudence! he will pay dearly for his insult"
Harnquist says : I meant no offense Master Ferelai, how may I help you?
Almar says : You help me? You wretched creature, I need no help form one as pathetic as yourself, go back to hammering steel you idiotic cretin!
That may not be the best example, but you can see how his speech pattern is built.
Almar believes himself a highly dignified and important person. As such he would never be seen running around the streets. He walks carefully, always following the path, and he hates to be bumped by other people. This may not be a big thing, but next time you are playing, see how many people in game there are walking around rather than running from place to place recklessly. You'll be surprised how few there are.
Almar has little opinion of anything beyond his self. Discussions and conversations not revolving around him will result in anger and aggression. He is selfish in every respect and his opinions and attitudes reflect this. He will rarely do anything at all unless it involves his own gain or he is threatened in some way. He is predictable in this sense.
FrakBrief history - Frak grew up in a small community of dwarves in underground passages in the mountains of the bronze doors region. He is unusually tall for a dwarf, appearing almost like a short Ylian. He has suffered many tragedies and as such is almost always drunk, when he is sober he cannot cope with interaction in any way. He is not the most intelligent or learned people, and his speech reflects this. He often appears very blunt to others, and stupid to most. I wanted to ceate a comedic element with frak, and most of this comes from his speech. An example conversation with Frak is as follows.
Frak says : Look! Is ol' yeller 'ead! 'ow's it goin' feller? Ye been 'ammerin all day I reckon. Well I guess tha's what it is tha' it is tha' an 'ammerer of pokies be doin' reet?
Harnquist says : I have trouble understanding you sir.
Frak says : Wha'? Ye crazy, yeller 'ead, is it me faul' tha' ye cannae understan' tha' which it is that it wuz that it is bein proper torkin like? Bah silly yeller 'eaded bugger ye be! Ha! Look o'er there it be me bloo bugger friend name o' Brik that it is 'oo it wuz that is makin me favourite beer outta the blood o' the brown buggers!
Frak is a mercenary, so his opinions vary somewhat depending on how much money is offered. He has difficulty expressing his emotions, and so he is usually covered with walls of loud, crass behaviour and drunkenness. He is usually well disposed towards other people, making friends easily. He tends to either walk around wobbling from side to side, run iif he is in a rush (with little regard for the safety of himself or others) and is known to randomly break into dance.
Hopefully that will give you some ideas on how you can create something original of your own. Remember nothing in this guide is how you SHOULD do it, just something to give you inspiration. The key is to create a character and STICK TO IT. don't just decide you don't like the character and change them completely, it is bad rp. If you need a new character create a new character. It takes time sometimes to find a character you are comfortable roleplaying in. Try to remember to keep all of your actions IC, it makes rp more fun for you and other people. The world would be very dll if everybody played the same hero with super mage powers as a lot of people do these days. Try to be original, and try to act within your character, if your character isn't likely to be in a guild of priests, don't join a guild of priests. Above all, have fun, that's what roleplay is about.
I hope this was worth something at all lol.
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