Ace_Aso posted:

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I know I'm a total and complete noob here, but I'm not new to online role playing.

The reason I, and I believe others, don't have their characters doing leisure activities is because when we do them no one pays attention to you unless your extremely popular, and even then they normally just press on without you anyway.

The goal of Role Playing is playing a role to which others interact, and if no one replies to your post you then you don't enjoy the RPG.

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NickLitYouAFlame posted:

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Ace_Aso posted:

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I know I'm a total and complete noob here, but I'm not new to online role playing.

The reason I, and I believe others, don't have their characters doing leisure activities is because when we do them no one pays attention to you unless your extremely popular, and even then they normally just press on without you anyway.

The goal of Role Playing is playing a role to which others interact, and if no one replies to your post you then you don't enjoy the RPG.

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So, do a leisurly activity with a partner.

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Ace_Aso posted:

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Well, you need a partner for that, and unless your popular with forum it's very hard to get someone to partner up with you unless you put yourself in some kind of plot-driving action.

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NickLitYouAFlame posted:

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Ace_Aso posted:

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Well, you need a partner for that, and unless your popular with forum it's very hard to get someone to partner up with you unless you put yourself in some kind of plot-driving action.

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You could try tagging them at the end of your post.

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Ace_Aso posted:

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no one pays attention to you unless your extremely popular, and even then they normally just press on without you anyway.

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Ace_Aso posted:

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Well, you need a partner for that, and unless your popular with forum it's very hard to get someone to partner up with you unless you put yourself in some kind of plot-driving action.

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DarthXan318 posted:

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Ace_Aso posted:

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no one pays attention to you unless your extremely popular, and even then they normally just press on without you anyway.

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Ace_Aso posted:

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Well, you need a partner for that, and unless your popular with forum it's very hard to get someone to partner up with you unless you put yourself in some kind of plot-driving action.

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Honestly, all you have to do is tag someone. Find someone who doesn't seem to be doing anything and have your character say hello. Butt into someone else's conversation. Nobody's going to tag you if they don't know you, this is true, but people usually respond to being tagged.

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NickLitYouAFlame posted:

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Pessimist. But seriously. Join a game. Just make sure you follow that RPs rules.

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LightWarden posted:

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Physical weakness is fine, though personal weaknesses tend to stand out more.

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LightWarden posted:

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Here's a section from the Galactic Campaign Guide which shows that even a monkey can build a memorable character. Which means those of you who don't... kind of suck.

Generating Personalities
What sets two gamblers, thugs, or other more-or-less identical character types apart and makes them individuals are their personalities. Even little details about appearance and mannerisms can help your players not only to visualize two otherwise identical characters but also distinguish between them- even though two characters may have exactly the same statistics.

The three basic tools for individualizing personalities are appearance, mannerisms, and motivations. if you even assign one distinct quality from each of these categories, and then play these characteristics up in your portrayal of the character, you can bring a character alive in the players' minds. Fortunately, it doesn't take any preparation- improvisational comedians have been doing this sort of thing for years. In fact, the only tough part is remember how you portrayed a character previously, but with a few quick notes, you'll have enough of a memory jog that you can quickly recall the character and play him again at almost a moment's notice.

For every supporting character you create, leave a little room in the character description for tracking the character's personality. This serves as a reminder to you on how to play the character consistently. It can be as simple as a few quick notes ("basso voice, acts superior, cracks knuckles when angry") or some short headings ("Appearance: basso voice; Personality Traits: acts superior; Mannerisms: cracks knuckles when angry") or even full sentences. However, make sure that you keep track of every character's personality in the same way and in the same place on the character's description. This makes it much easier to quickly locate that crucial information.

Appearance
Even if the heroes never interact with your carefully crafted supporting character, they remember appearances. Appearances tell the players more than just what the character looks like; appearances create a mental association for the player. This is why when you describe "a clean-shaven Human male wearing a freshly pressed robe and sporting a jeweled ring," the players conclude that the character has money. Or when you describe "a scruffy, unshaven Human male wearing dirty robes and a defeated expression," the players conclude that the character is broke. In neither case have you told the players how many credits either man is carrying, but they've reached their own conclusions and filled in the details for themselves. You've given the players the information they need to give the encounter more depth.

The table below lists one hundred different elements of appearance, covering hair color, skin color, style of dress, hygiene, facial features, body type, scars and blemishes, and so on. When presenting a supporting character, choose one or two from the list, or roll randomly. Note that making no particular choice about a given characteristic means that the character is average in that regard, which is why choices like "healthy skin," "clean clothes," and "average build" don't appear; they don't make the character memorable. Some choices, obviously, apply better to younger or older characters, or to one gender rather than the other (unless you want the character to be extremely memorable).

If you expect the character to survive the encounter, consider jotting down the choices so that you'll be able to recall quickly what the character looked like when the heroes encounter him or her again. However, don't be afraid to change some detail in between! Very few real people are completely static in their appearance, and a rail-thin character might have put on some weight since the heroes last saw her.

Roll Appearance
1 Pale skin
2 Swarthy skin
3 Tanned skin
4 Bearded
5 Mustached
6 Pocked face
7 Scarred face
8 Age-spotted face
9 Bulging eyes
10 Deep-set eyes
11 Piercing eyes
12 Cold eyes
13 Bloodshot eyes
14 Mismatched eyes (different colors)
15 Bulbous nose
16 Pug nose
17 Aquiline nose
18 Dyed hair
19 Greasy hair
20 Wild hair
21 Unkempt hair
22 Low forehead
23 High forehead
24 Pin-headed
25 Cruel mouth
26 Tight lips
27 Frowning
28 Lantern-jawed
29 Double chin
30 Hollow cheeks
31 Flaccid cheeks
32 Crooked teeth
33 Jagged teeth
34 Pearly teeth
35 Stained teeth
36 Aristocratic
37 Animal face (choose an appropriate animal)
38 Cadaverous
39 Disfigured
40 Homely
41 Sleepy-eyed
42 Doughy
43 Baby face
44 Wrinkled
45 Athletic
46 Gaunt
47 Massive
48 Thin
49 Buxom
50 Statuesque
51 Corpulent
52 Barrel-chested
53 Well-endowed
54 Hunchbacked
55 Bent frame
56 Spindly
57 Anorexic
58 Withered
59 Thick-necked
60 Broad shoulders
61 Stooped shoulders
62 Corded muscles
63 Bony limbs
64 Claw-like hands
65 Stubby fingers
66 Callused fingers
67 Hairy chest
68 Flat-chested
69 Pot-bellied
70 Paunchy
71 Rippling stomach muscles
72 Club-footed
73 Basso voice
74 Booming voice
75 Cultured tones
76 Droning
77 Gravelly voice
78 Husky voice
79 Purring voice
80 Rasping voice
81 Sultry voice
82 Fashionably dressed
83 Well-dressed
84 Disheveled
85 Immaculate
86 Shabby clothes
87 Filthy clothes
88 Alluring dress
89 Expensive clothes
90 Rugged clothes
91 Androgynous style
92 Sweet-smelling
93 Foul odor
94 Missing arm
95 Missing eye
96 Missing finger(s)
97 Missing horn/spine/crest (alien body part)
98 Cybernetic eye
99 Cybernetic arm
100 Cybernetic leg

Mannerisms
Mannerisms are something a character does in response to external stimuli- and of which he might not even be aware. They are partly personality traits, but they reflect something the character does out of habit, rather than his or her emotional response. if you can express a personality trait as "When this happens, the character responds by-" then it's almost certainly a mannerism.

To make it easier on yourself to adopt and portray the mannerisms of supporting characters, don't generate more than one mannerism for minor characters, and no more than three for major characters. Also, consider attaching a mannerism to a specific mood, event, or situation: one character strokes his beard when he's thinking, another plays with her hair when she's lying, and a third brushes dust off his clothes before fighting.

As with appearance, the table below presents one hundred different mannerisms for you to choose from, or you can roll randomly. They're meant to be obvious characteristics, rather than things so subtle that no one would notice. Again, if you expect to see the character reappear throughout the campaign, take a moment to jot down the details- "clucks his tongue repeatedly when he's concentrating, grins sheepishly when speaking about himself"-so that you can jump right back into those mannerisms when you portray the character again.

Roll Mannerism
1 Goes quiet
2 Grins sheepishly
3 Grins maniacally
4 Grins triumphantly
5 Smiles warmly
6 Smiles wanly
7 Smiles happily
8 Smiles maliciously
9 Sneers
10 Grimaces
11 Winks
12 Purses lips
13 Develops facial tics
14 Fidgets
15 Twitches
16 Squirms
17 Exhales loudly
18 Coughs frequently
19 Sighs frequently
20 Adopts pained expression
21 Asks clarifying questions
22 Never understands
23 Uses big words
24 Uses slang
25 Uses jargon
26 Affects an accent
27 Swears
28 Brags
29 Babbles
30 Whines
31 Groans
32 Mutters to self
33 Acts happy
34 Acts innocent
35 Acts wounded
36 Gestures vaguely
37 Gestures empathically
38 Gestures impatiently
39 Gestures theatrically
40 Gestures rudely at people or objects
41 Pantomimes his/her words
42 Rubs temples
43 Rubs eyes
44 Rubs ear
45 Rubs nose
46 Fondles jewelry
47 Touches listener
48 Moves in close to listener
49 Yawns loudly
50 Flexes muscles
51 Sings
52 Whistles
53 Hums
54 Drums fingers
55 Clucks tongue
56 Snaps fingers
57 Makes noises with lips when thinking
58 Taps feet
59 Slaps knee
60 Raises eyebrows
61 Wrings hands
62 Rubs fingertips
63 Scratches
64 Laughs
65 Giggles
66 Titters
67 Blinks frequently
68 Squints
69 Cracks knuckles
70 Spits
71 Clears throat repeatedly
72 Coughs into hand
73 Sniffs haughtily
74 Stares frigidly
75 Stares menacingly
76 Sneers
77 Talks until breathless
78 Speaks more quietly
79 Speaks more loudly
80 Looks crazed
81 Jerks head randomly
82 Rolls eyes
83 Paces
84 Plays with random objects
85 Points
86 Wags finger
87 Gestures flamboyantly
88 Grits teeth
89 Narrows eyes
90 Widens eyes
91 Furrows brow
92 Chews lip
93 Licks lips
94 Chews fingernails
95 Cringes
96 Starts
97 Picks nose
98 Picks at clothes
99 Straightens clothes
100 Tugs at hair

Personality Traits
Personality traits reflect how the character feels by demonstrating how she acts on those feelings, and they are often so much a part of the character that she doesn't even notice them herself. Unlike mannerisms, personality traits are there all the time and generally don't require an external stimulus for them to come out. Personality traits define the character in the broadest sense: "This character is quiet," "This character is emotional," and so on.

Like appearance and mannerisms, personality traits let you quickly get a handle on how to portray a character, but they also give you a little insight on how she feels about the world around her. To a lesser extent, they provide some suggestions for the character's motivations- assuming you hadn't already considered those.

The table below suggests a hundred different personality traits that you can apply to characters. Remember, again, to keep track of which traits you choose for recurring characters. Keep in mind that personality traits can be deceiving: perhaps, at first meeting, the character pretends to be flirtatious, and in subsequent dealings, is actually aloof.

Roll Personality Traits
1 Quiet
2 Aloof
3 Shy
4 Animated
5 Loud
6 Expressive
7 Emotionless
8 Humorless
9 Cultured
10 Swaggering
11 Glaring
12 Superior
13 Domineering
14 Disrespectful of women/men
15 Disrespectful of young people/old people
16 No compassion
17 Insensitive
18 Oversensitive
19 Emotional
20 Stutters
21 Morbid
22 Obsessive
23 Compulsive
24 Speaks in short bursts
25 Speech trails off at end of sentences
26 Tactless
27 Racist
28 Braggart
29 Speaks rapidly
30 Speaks slowly
31 Speaks haltingly
32 Wears inappropriate or clashing clothing
33 Wears provocative or immodest clothing
34 Flirtatious
35 Complimentary
36 Gentlemanly/ladylike
37 Diplomatic
38 Two-faced
39 Evasive
40 Greedy
41 Paranoid
42 Sarcastic
43 Rude
44 Critical
45 Overly cheerful
46 Prudish
47 Overly pessimistic
48 Self-righteous
49 Friendly
50 Nonchalant
51 Jumpy
52 Flattering
53 Good-humored
54 Belligerent
55 Unable to relax
56 Temperamental
57 Patient
58 Noncombative
59 Pacifistic
60 Hyper
61 Depressed
62 Jealous
63 Naïve
64 Reckless
65 Awkward
66 Manipulative
67 Power-hungry
68 Traitorous
69 Self-serving
70 Self-effacing
71 Ruthless
72 Well-mannered
73 Loyal
74 Upright
75 Modest
76 Lighthearted
77 Cheerful
78 Mediator
79 Irritable
80 Calm
81 Carefree
82 Delusional
83 Pessimistic
84 Hallucinates
85 Introvert
86 Extrovert
87 Substance abuser
88 Promiscuous
89 Irresponsible
90 Impulsive
91 Poor judgment
92 Helpless
93 Thin-skinned
94 Thick-skinned
95 Vengeful
96 Masculine
97 Feminine
98 Frightened
99 Believes he/she is another person
100 Believes he/she is a Jedi (but isn't)

There you have it ladies and gentlemen, hundreds of options for making your characters stand out from the crowd. And it doesn't even take any real effort to do so!

Now really, there's no excuse not to give it a shot.

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