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Ugly is the new black
Seeker
Australia
81 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Sep 2007 : 11:30:05
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Do the characters you create reflect the person you are in real life? Are there certain personality quirks, backgrounds, or beliefs that you possess which tend to bleed into everything you create? For me, the answer is both yes and, well, not particularly.
I've always been a vocal and opinionated person. Amiable, if at times self-absorbed, and prone to acting a bit high-handed in conversations concerning topics I'm partial to, such as music and the arts. And having said that, I've been known to play my share of the more vocal and opinionated classes like the cleric and paladin.
Most of my characters possess a good deal of my traits inflated to an extreme. For example, I became a musician so that people could hear and identify with the things I have to say. So I could enrich their lives and in turn, enrich my own. My characters, on the other hand, are often spiritual leaders and pillars of their communities. They speak the word of God and fight in His holy name to enrich the lives of their countrymen. They guide their fellow men through shadowy hardships and offer advice earned through hard-fought experience.
So you can certainly draw some vague parallels there.
But even though I'm accustomed to playing religious characters, you'd never know it to speak to me in real life. In truth, I've struggled with religion all my life. It's only been recently, perhaps within the past year or so, that I've discovered my faith in God. So while my characters may share bits of my expression, I've had difficulty at times understanding their conviction. Even now that I've come to an understanding with my faith, I still don't understand the terrifying zealotry and merciless dedication that some of my characters possess. That mentality is completely alien to me.
Well at any rate, that's enough about me. What about you guys?
love,
nathan.
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As he knelt on the ground with his brothers around and the taste of his blood on his tongue,
His brothers knelt by him and prayed him a prayer, and he smiled and he laughed and he sung,
"Brothers, oh brothers, my days here are done, the Dornishman's taken my life,
But what does it matter? For all men must die, and I've tasted the Dornishman's wife!" |
Edited by - Ugly is the new black on 24 Sep 2007 11:32:55
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Sian
Senior Scribe
Denmark
596 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2007 : 14:09:52
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IMO, a character is at anytime a warped mirror of your own self, with some areas blown to massive propotions, some areas completely disappearing, or some that you wished you had  |
what happened to the queen? she's much more hysterical than usual
She's a women, it happens once a month |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2007 : 14:36:21
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| Most of my characters are completely opposite of what I am because it is fun to play the role of something completely different from myself (which is like what I do in wrestling, playing a "bad guy" whereas I am good natured) :) same with my Chaotic Neutral wizard/cleric of Shaundakul and my Evil assassin. My NG Archer is probably the closest to me in beliefs, only by the alignment though. He goes a little more out of his way than I do (I guess I could learn a thing or two from him) |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Vitellia
Acolyte
Germany
12 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2007 : 16:19:58
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I hope not  !!! I'd hate it if people called me a coldhearted murderess, a foppish dandy or a hysterical diva. 
But I'm afraid, most of my characters do reflect something of myself, even if at first glance they seem to be quite the opposite.  And sometimes I honestly don't want to know which darker part of my soul this or that charakter originated from.
BTW, I have some rather nice characters as well
Vitellia |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2007 : 17:22:09
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| Don't think so, except that most of my major npc's have a tendency to get grumpy. But all of them have some small traits of course, as I created them and play them. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36906 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2007 : 18:09:02
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Usually, when I play (which has not happened for several years), I focus on one singular aspect of my own personality, making that a dominant feature for my character, and seeing where it leads. I had a character that was built on my sense of honor (and who turned out to be a rather serious git), another that was built on my love of whimsy, and another that focused on my (sometimes) direct approach. Of course, I've had others that weren't drawn directly from myself, like the specialty priest of Lathander based loosely on Charles Emerson Winchester III (M*A*S*H).
My characters do tend to have a devious streak, and at least a rough sense of humor. Those come from me. I've actually used Intelligence checks a few times, to see if the character would be able to match my own deviousness (my minotaur, in particular, was often unable to come up with ideas that I had). |
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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boddynock
Learned Scribe
Belgium
258 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2007 : 19:45:26
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I always try to make a lot of different characters, but I admit that my first character Rudolf Weathermay had a lot in common with myself but in a more perfect image. I mean he was a paladin, he liked and disliked what I liked but he was more lawful than myself. (i have a lot more flaws than him lol) But now I try to make characters that doesn't have much in common with myself.
Boddynock, the gnomish transmuter from moonsea area is an example of a character that does not have much in common with myself. He is a little irritant gnome who think he's one of the best magicians in the world. (even if he is only a low level character). He tries to do good for everyone but much of the time he do the wrong thing on the wrong time. He is also a very talkative person who talk to everyone ... I myself i'm a more reserved person if I don't know someone :-). I also use a funny voice when playing him
In my group we also played a vampire the masquerade chronicle. The character I played there was Theodore, a ventrue vampire, who was very rich and decadent. The group didn't liked him (a few of them should have let him suffer eternal dead if they had the change lol) and he had no problem to lie to his superiors to save his own ass. He was the deputy of the sheriff in Paris and during a raid he failed to find evidence so he told her that the other characters didn't do exactly what he told to do. He was paranoid and he saw a conspiracy in everything. (He even framed the sheriff because he didn't liked her and he want to get more power in the vampire society.)
He also had a dark secret that nobody in the group knew. During his life he was a child molester (abuser) and sometimes he also did it as a vampire. Theodore is in my opinion just my opposite and I don't have (fortunally) nothing in common with him. I made that kind of character just to see the game from another perspective. I admit that I enjoyed played him and it was a good roleplay opportunity for me. Of course .. for playing such a character you have to know your group good enough to know what is toleratable for everyone. I don't wish to hurt anyone ;-)
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Fillow
Master of Realmslore
France
1608 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2007 : 20:08:03
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I must be a bad roleplayer because I cannot help myself from playing my usual personality !
about 2 years ago, I joined a playing by board-FR-community. There, novices have to pass an RP test. Then, an experimented DM asks you what PC you want to play.
I wanted to play an NG illuskan barbarian !
I'm a tending LG ranger rock gnome. I had never heard about gnomes, abou tto confuse them with halflings ! So I discovered this race and tried to get acknowledge about them. Now I'm the most ardent defender of Garl's children within the community !
I'm said to be a real incarnation of gnomes way of life,   except from the nose and the physical size !...
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"Today is a good day to smile",
Fillow Big'n'Book Mahlemiut 'Lead-dog', Son of Garl, Wanderer of the Masked Leaf and Namer of Oghma.
- Fight in the arena and have fun ! : La brute.com
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- Come and have a look at the already asked questions from the Forgotten Realms Trivia Challenge
I am a French FR fan, so please forgive my lapses in English language and do not hesitate to correct me. Thanks a lot. |
Edited by - Fillow on 24 Sep 2007 20:08:39 |
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Brynweir
Senior Scribe
USA
436 Posts |
Posted - 25 Sep 2007 : 01:44:13
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Although I haven't played in a while, my characters tend to behave in ways I wish I could. There are certain things I would love to say or do (like murder my entire party because they just won't stop bickering and arguing every little detail ) that I obviously can't do in real life.
My characters tend to be much more outspoken than I am and much more disruptive. In real life I am the mediator; I try to smooth things over and make people get along. When I role play I tend to be the instigator and try to disrupt things just to see what will happen. One of my favorite characters is Jarlaxle because I see a lot of what I like about my characters in him.
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Anyone who likes to read something that's really dark and gritty and completely awesome ought to read The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. You can check out a little taste at www.BrentWeeks.com I should probably warn you, though, that it is definitely not PG-13 :-D
He also started a new Trilogy with Black Prism, which may even surpass the Night Angel Trilogy in its awesomeness. 
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darkhuntress
Acolyte
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - 28 Sep 2007 : 05:05:46
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| A lot of my characters tend to be snarky and cynical, which is totally how I am IRL. Even the sole paladin I've ever played had a wide snarky streak. I tend to go in for the anti-hero types because that's how I identify...if I were a D&D character, I'd be the mercenary chick who was quiet most of the time, unless she was mouthing off at someone. Even when a character seems to be the polar opposite of how I act (like the perky girl thief or the sheltered cleric of Lathander), something of myself ends up seeping in, unintentionally. |
"Do not mistake our kindness for gullibility, nor our hesitance to draw blades for cowardice. Contrary to what the spider kissers would have you believe, Dark Ladies are not addle-brained, pacifist weaklings. We'd have all died a long time ago if that were the case." --Lady Kariza de'Camyras, High Priestess of the Temple of the Silver Crescent |
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Aravine
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2007 : 17:04:32
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| i think it is impossible to keep all aspects of yourself out of a character. after all, it is you playing it. the best actors (and that's what we really are) let their personality flood into their projects. without some of our personality characters are dull and at some times rigid. beleive me when i say it is best to let your personality bleed into your charaters life force. |
The brave don't live forever,the cautious don't live at all |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2007 : 02:27:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Ugly is the new black
Do the characters you create reflect the person you are in real life? Are there certain personality quirks, backgrounds, or beliefs that you possess which tend to bleed into everything you create?
Yes and no. There's a little bit of myself in every character I create, naturally, but then again my characters do things I'd never do, have beliefs I don't share, and come from completely different backgrounds. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
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Aureus
Learned Scribe
Luxembourg
125 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2007 : 22:51:26
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| in my case it's a bit strange, in fact all my chars are replicas of me,like the different facets of a diamond, so usually they reflect a way I am or I wish to be, but it's impossible to let my entire personality fuse with a char of mine simply because my RL me is just to big to be put into a character sheet, sometimes I'm a gambler who takes risks (sometimes driving fast and laughing in the face of danger,mortal danger) then again I'm very cautious (I never NEVER drive fastinside a town),I'm usually very nice, honestly nice then again I can be really disgusting and so on and so forth, I guess you get what I mean |
That is not the weirdest thing that happened to me |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4694 Posts |
Posted - 21 Nov 2007 : 04:47:32
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| Well I have had characters that did nothing at all, *wink* |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 21 Nov 2007 : 17:12:57
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| My characters tend to reflect what I would like to be, not what I am. |
Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)
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GRYPHON
Senior Scribe
USA
527 Posts |
Posted - 21 Nov 2007 : 18:12:33
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| To some extent...but if I were as grim and taciturn (as my current character), people might get the impression that I was up to something nefarious... |
'Everyone dies...I only choose the time and place for a few.' --Eric Destler |
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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2007 : 17:56:51
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| Only in that they are always very attractive and brillant |
When hinges creak in doorless chambers and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight. |
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Veldrin Laervain
Acolyte
Canada
28 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2007 : 20:27:44
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| I think my character generaly reflect me. Or what I would like to be. But some times, I try to make them opposite to my character, juste for fun. I, for instance, realy don't respect Paldin and other stuburn divine follower, so some times, I play one juste to moque them... |
Destiny is as great as our choice.
A situation will always have two side, a bad and a good.
May the song of the Dark Maiden guide the step of your life's dance |
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Akeri Rualuavain
Seeker
Canada
99 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2007 : 23:13:07
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| Yes, in some way, All my character are the reflection of some part of my personality. This is what i like to play. To exagereted some trait of personality... |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 01:43:10
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quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
Only in that they are always very attractive and brillant
I admit that I tend to play attractive characters, myself. My characters aren't all "brillant", but I like them to be at least moderately intelligent. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 01:50:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
Only in that they are always very attractive and brillant
I admit that I tend to play attractive characters, myself. My characters aren't all "brillant", but I like them to be at least moderately intelligent.
does that mean they reflect you (you've always seemed more than moderately intelligent) |
When hinges creak in doorless chambers and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 01:52:06
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quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
Only in that they are always very attractive and brillant
I admit that I tend to play attractive characters, myself. My characters aren't all "brillant", but I like them to be at least moderately intelligent.
does that mean they reflect you (you've always seemed more than moderately intelligent)
Oh, no, I too consider myself brilliant. I guess my point is I've never played a downright stupid character. Some of my characters are really smart, and others aren't quite at that level.
I like SOME variety. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
Edited by - Rinonalyrna Fathomlin on 25 Nov 2007 01:53:06 |
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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 04:21:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Oh, no, I too consider myself brilliant
Thats what I thought. Me brillant too sews r mine charicktars |
When hinges creak in doorless chambers and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight. |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2007 : 06:38:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Oh, no, I too consider myself brilliant. I guess my point is I've never played a downright stupid character. Some of my characters are really smart, and others aren't quite at that level.
I like SOME variety.
I have never planned to play a stupid character, but I have made a great job of it a couple of times though. |
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Brynweir
Senior Scribe
USA
436 Posts |
Posted - 27 Nov 2007 : 01:08:08
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I think that sometimes it is more difficult to play a stupid character because you have to think about all the things that you know that they wouldn't.
I find that playing characters that are a total opposite to my personality are the most fun because then I get to do things that I never would in RL, like be a totally uncompromising #$%&*.
I love to stretch my imagination and come up with all kinds of wicked torture and ways to hurt people - stuff that would scare my co-workers if they only knew. |
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Veldrin Laervain
Acolyte
Canada
28 Posts |
Posted - 28 Nov 2007 : 02:46:00
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| What I enjoyed the most in RP games, is to make my own character suffer if they are not evil (even if they are) and if they are cruel and evil, make them torture other... It's make the stress of the life and the frustration go away. |
Destiny is as great as our choice.
A situation will always have two side, a bad and a good.
May the song of the Dark Maiden guide the step of your life's dance |
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GRYPHON
Senior Scribe
USA
527 Posts |
Posted - 28 Nov 2007 : 06:05:44
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| They do say that suffering is good for the soul...although I prefer that it is someone else's... |
'Everyone dies...I only choose the time and place for a few.' --Eric Destler |
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Laerrigan
Learned Scribe
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2007 : 06:55:30
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My characters definitely come from isolated aspects of my personality--whether present or past--that have been blown up out of proportion and then rounded out with other traits.
I think that out of all the characters I've played so far, Laerrigan is the closest to my RL personality, though certain aspects of him are completely opposite to me (such as his borderline agnosticism). Aside from Laerrigan, many of my characters have been quick-witted, glib, able to blend in to any crowd (or stand out, as desired), with a secret nature (and possibly agenda) behind the facade. I think that's what I sometimes wish I could be more like; able to receive only superficial wounds (in a nonphysical sense) because the wounded part is only a facade anyway and can be sloughed off. When I think about it, I'm very glad I'm not actually like that, but I still get a huge kick out of my smiling, sociopathic changeling assassin, who adapts with utmost ease to any situation and slips between personas as a man might walk through columns of sunlight in a forest. He's just very, very messed-up inside from all that fragmenting; deep down, he's afraid that if he managed to remove all the masks, there'd be nothing left (I identified far too much with that in college, and deliberately harkened back to those memories for building his character). Laerrigan is about as opposite to all of that as possible (no social skills or awareness whatsoever, high Int and low Wis/Cha, sarcastic yet sincere), and therefore much more like me in present-day RL |
"Your 'reality,' sir, is lies and balderdash, and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever." (Baron Munchausen)
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was not made for this world." (C.S. Lewis, "Surprised by Joy") |
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Laerrigan
Learned Scribe
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2007 : 07:00:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Brynweir
I love to stretch my imagination and come up with all kinds of wicked torture and ways to hurt people - stuff that would scare my co-workers if they only knew.
Yes indeedy.
B!#$*es don't know about my psychopathic pylons. Er, characters. |
"Your 'reality,' sir, is lies and balderdash, and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever." (Baron Munchausen)
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was not made for this world." (C.S. Lewis, "Surprised by Joy") |
Edited by - Laerrigan on 02 Dec 2007 07:04:29 |
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Abarys
Acolyte
6 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2007 : 00:43:55
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Some are, some aren't.
Some of my characters are aspects of my own personality writ large. I have a tendency to be a know-it-all that my wife finds both endearing and infuriating - hence, I have a wizard that is THE know-it-all (and how, a diviner). My obsessive reading finds an outlet in another character. My sense of right and wrong becomes, with proper fantasy inflation, quite the noble knightly sort.
On the other hand, there are my zealots. While I am of strongly held opinions, I have not, since I was young and stupid, sought to impose those opinions on anyone else. These characters are closer to, I would say, something I might have been, had I not learned that I am not nearly the know-it-all I considered myself.
I enjoy playing zealots because it seems so rare in many of the games I play in - so many players want to be the rebel who doesn't countenace all the high-handed demands of their god/organization/sewing circle. I like presenting the true believer. They have to exist somewhere. |
Knowledge hoarded is knowledge wasted |
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Do your characters reflect you?
