How to Create a Good Background

Сообщение от Adamsm

Alright, you can all blame Septimus for this, and please feel free to leave comments, way to help, and make this the best it can be. I guess Sept choose me because of my messed up desire to create my RP toons the same way I create new characters for stories I write.

Main Points:

Outline:
It doesn't matter if this is just a few words or a couple of paragraphs, but first and foremost you should decide on is the who/what/where/why/when, and slowly expand from there.
Research:
This is important; is your character a Troll Warrior, a High Elf Paladin, a Human Warrior. Whatever you decide on, make sure you know the past of where it's from, what race it's from, even the class. You'd be surprised how many different ways you could roleplay a warrior just on the basis of race.
The Family:
Is the person from a huge family, are they orphans, are they part of a branch house. Try to figure this out as you set up your character as your family history will be incredibly important. Was your mother a mighty warrior? Was your father a drunk? Are the family members still alive or are they dead? Try to set this up as you create the outline.
Reasons:
Why does your character do this? Why does he do that? Just having a proud and prideful Paladin is no good if you can't give a solid reason for it. Make sure there is a reason for everything he does, and try to keep it more then just "Because I said so/Because he feels like this." The better fleshed out your character is, the more the other RP'ers will want to interact with you.
Other Family Members:
As some of you know, I have a pair of twin toons, Kalistra and Kaesar Sunstorm, and Grimmjaw had a sister full of hatred and rage because he killed her father. If you decide to add in a family member; be it a father, a mother or anything like that, make sure your always clear about which one is talking, which one is doing this and that. This is very important as it can keep confusion down to a certain point.
Lore Figures:
This is something you have to be very careful about. I know it sounds like fun to decide to have yourself being the brother of a Lore figure, or the secret son or daughter, but refain from this, it can really kill your likeability and.... well would stop some people from wanting to RP with you. I'd also becareful of connecting yourself to certain Lore figures as well, though I do know that some races; like the Forsaken and the Draenei have a great connection with their leaders, while certain characters, like Rexxar, are well known throughout the entire Horde, with Bolvar being the Alliance version.
Accept Criticism:
I know no one wants to hear that their character makes no sense, or there seems to be a problem with a part of their background. Listen to what others are telling you, and think about it; you would be surprised by how input from other's can really help you make your character better and more polished.
Nothing is Set In Stone:
I personally go over my characters again and again, even during the course of an RP and try to see if I can change something, or make it better. Do not ever be afraid to do this, it helps. I've personally, during the course of writing a story actually got 30 odd pages done, realized suddenly that I screwed up something massivly and scrapped it to rebuild from the beginning. Again, don't be afraid to do this, it will really help your writing.

Other Tips and Tricks:
- Make sure to keep it clean, don't muddy your background up with useless information that has nothing to do with the current toon; such as the 10x greatgrandfather created cheese.

- I cannot stress this enough; Do Not Be Afraid to Accept Criticsim. There are those who can help you make it better and will... of course, if the criticism is, "Omg wtf noob, why is this like this" you can ignore it.

- Finally, don't be afraid to use this. It can actually help you to make your toons and their family members more realistic and better fleshed.

Well there it is, again, feel free to leave comments, ideas to make it better, whatever. Enjoy, and hopefully this helps.

Сообщение от Skreeran

Reported for sticky.

Very good, should help the newbies. ;)

I'd also recommend making a bio sheet just for yourself to help yourself focus and mold their characteristics. Here's one I stole from the official forums:

Full Name:
Nicknames:
Date of Birth:
Age:
Race:
Gender:
Hair:
Skin:
Eyes:
Height:
Weight:
Place of residence:
Place of Birth:
Known Relatives:
Religion/Philosophy:
Occupation:
Group/Guild affiliation:
Guild Rank:
Enemies:
Likes:
Favorite Foods:
Favorite Drinks:
Favorite Colors:
Weapons of Choice:
Dislikes:
Hobbies:
Physical Features:
Special Abilities:
Positive Personality Traits:
Negative Personality Traits:
Misc. Quirks:
Played by What Famous Person:
Theme Songs:
History:

It helps you understand your own character better, and trust me, it works. You also might try writing down what your character thinks about big issues.

What is their opinion on Varian's leadership?
(If Alliance) Can the Horde be trusted?
(If Horde) Do they feel regret for what was done in the old wars? How much? Do they have excuses?
What do they think about Arthas and the Lich King? Victim of circumstance? Most evil thing in existance?

Just try to figure out their personality and characteristics as deeply as you can, even if you don't think it's important. Your character's favorite color might never come up, but it helps you think from their perspective. ;)

Сообщение от 389776

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Сообщение от Adamsm

Heh thanks Skreeran, and nice addition there. Yeah it was either write this up, or keep having Sept poke me with a stick till I did so.

I was trying to be nice about it Joang... but I saw it coming heh.

Сообщение от 389776

This post was from a user who has deleted their account.

Сообщение от Claggi

What's with all these how to create threads? This is the third one now, there's this, the create a lore story and creating expansion.

Anyways, I do have something to contribute.

Sometimes the best story is the one not told all at once. Leave some open holes rather than filling places that shouldn't be covered.

Also, maybe it's just me but I tend to roleplay nobodies, I roleplayed a snide Gnome Warrior long ago who was bitter that her family died to irradiation, but other than that, fate is fairly open to greater things... never got the character to Gnomer though.

Case in point, sometimes just being one of the statistics as far as your story goes can make for surprising unfoldment as you venture further and gain more experience.

Сообщение от Skreeran

I agree. I used to try to make really epic characters that had a lot to do with the story and major lore figures, but I found that I was happier roleplaying simple characters who are just one of the thousands of participants in the story. I personally tend to select a power level similar to quest givers, being slightly above the average soldier, but still well below actual lore characters.

And in the case of my stories, I frequently lower that power level even lower, focusing on children or civilians, making the characters more like observers than participants. But that's just my personal preference.

Сообщение от Adamsm

Сообщение от Achloryn

Well yeah, but I set this up more for people who do like I do: Set up the character and the background from the beginning then evolve as it as the RP goes on. But that's my writer side coming through.

i'm the same way.. i rolled onto an RP server about a 5 or 6 weeks ago and agonized over what kind of story I wanted for my character before I ever got into any sort of real RP. after I had some basic ideas fleshed out, i let it sort of write itself from there, and I must say that I am really pleased with the results.

I agree. I used to try to make really epic characters that had a lot to do with the story and major lore figures, but I found that I was happier roleplaying simple characters who are just one of the thousands of participants in the story. I personally tend to select a power level similar to quest givers, being slightly above the average soldier, but still well below actual lore characters.
Of course, nobody wants to RP against someone who is infalliable... that takes all of the suspense out of the story.. surely at some point he is going to get into an arguement with someone and no one wants to get into a fight with someone who's quite obviously not gonna lose. (ZOMG i defeated cenarius with one arm tied behind my back, then solo'd illidan)

Сообщение от Adamsm

Yeah it was either write this up, or keep having Sept poke me with a stick till I did so.Figure I should quote that, just so everyone know's where to direct any negative comments, I love having plausible deniability.

Сообщение от Septimus

Mwuhahahaha, I got to you in the end. >=)

Also palming of negative comments to me D:

Сообщение от Adamsm

Heh, eh, was gonna end up writing it anyways, between the questions I've been asked lately and my own desire to help people was really a mote point here.

Edit: I'm honestly surprised no one has commented on this though heh;
I've personally, during the course of writing a story actually got 30 odd pages done, realized suddenly that I screwed up something massivly and scrapped it to rebuild from the beginning.Still can't believe I messed up something that badly, was really steamed about it, but the overall story came out much better because of it.

Сообщение от 437763

This post was from a user who has deleted their account.

Сообщение от Adamsm

I'm a fan of the Red-haired, Sue or not, but that's why I added in the link to the Are you a Sue? web-test, and thank you all for reporting this for sticky heh.

Сообщение от Adamsm

Just a note; this can be used for more then just an RP toon, would also be good for creating backgrounds for fan stories your writing, just expand on it a bit to include the entire thing; Research for race/planet/orginization and the like.

Сообщение от Patty

Your bio idea is good for trying to find a plausible background. :)

But yeh, the Sue test should give you a rough indicator of how not to fall in the cliché-ridden Mary Sue trap. *cough* Me'dan *cough*

Сообщение от Adamsm

Heh, thanks Patty.

Сообщение от Patty

Forgot to mention it's been reported for a sticky

Сообщение от Adamsm

Heh, just need a few more reporting it for sticky.

Сообщение от 389776

This post was from a user who has deleted their account.

How to Create a Good Background

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