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Sarai and Samiel · 12-31-2005, 07:01 PM

OR
How to Make a Super Character that Everyone Finds Enjoyable

1: Why am I writing this?

I suppose that before I even begin to act like I have any idea what I’m doing with this, I should explain what it means, and what it is all about. It all starts with one of the most important things that one can do when preparing to roleplay, write a story, act, or play an RPG. Creating a character. I, just like everyone else, started out with no real idea what I was doing when I created a character. The first time I really created a character, by which I mean, I was attempting to come up with a personality and set of abilities that would be consistent and not simply something nifty to think about for a few minutes, was approximately eight years ago. That character was the one that would come to be known variously as Selene, Selene Star, Selene Darkblade, and finally Selene Starblade.

Selene was, I now realize, a very poorly-made character. Her abilities were basically limited to what I could imagine happening, I hadn’t figured out consistent strengths and weaknesses and styles, her personality was half-formed and more malleable than a wad of silly putty, and I completely skipped paying any attention to whether anyone else would want to have her around. It is this last part, I think, that is one of the two most vital elements to creating a successful roleplaying character.

It is extremely important to remember that, as a roleplayer, or an RPGer, or an actor, or even a writer, that your character(s) do(es) NOT exist in a void. There are others around, with whom your character will have to interact, because that is what a character, and a person, is. An individual being in an environment composed of various other beings. Now, hang on a minute, you’re probably saying. This is supposed to be about super powers and characters, isn’t it?

Yes, yes it is. And this is one of the most important points of all- a character’s ‘abnormal’ abilities and tendencies are a vital part of shaping the character’s personality, and vice-versa. If you create a super-strong character, then that super-strength will affect the character’s personality. It may be welcomed, shunned, it may be something the character doesn’t even realize they have, or any of a number of reactions. These influence how the character acts towards things that are, for instance, potentially breakable. That, in turn, affects the power, and the character’s use of it. A character who is super-strong and not aware of the fact that their strength is unusual will not use their strength in flashy or showy ways, will not make boasts of their ability, and may even act surprised upon handing something to someone else and finding that this other character is incapable of carrying it. A character who has gained super-strength as a result of some scientific accident, and who had previously been picked on for puniness or weakness can have a number of different changes to their personality even as simply regards those previously looking down upon them. Furthermore, a character with super strength who welcomes the ability may exercise to further increase that strength, where one who does not may remain at that same level of strength for a long time, as they attempt to avoid using it at any possible time.

Inasmuch as this relates to other people wanting your character around, you have to remember that this applies to the players as well as the characters. A character who is so self-sufficient as to never need help from other characters is no fun for the other players, as that one character either takes on all challenges themselves and leaves the others with nothing to do, or they consistently make it clear, intentional or not, that the other characters are not needed. Similarly, a character whose player is constantly providing their character their own challenges in a story thread, and effectively ignoring those set forth by the thread’s creator is no fun for the other players- they aren’t really participating in the thread, and aren’t contributing anything of interest to the other characters or their players. It becomes a case of ‘Enh, he’s off on his own again, big whoop.’

That’s all that I’m going to go into now in terms of character personality, simply because this is supposed to be a series of small essays about character abilities, not on how to create your character’s personality (That comes later. ^_^ Kidding, kidding....).

This brings me back to the other vital element to creating a successful roleplaying character, which is what this series is really about- suspension of disbelief.

From the start, anyone reading anything written for a roleplay so far as it is designed here and in most other places must suspend their sense of disbelief. They must be willing to say ‘I can accept that Neo is able to bring Trinity back to life’, or ‘I can accept that Son Goku is generating immense amounts of power’, or even something as basic as ‘I can accept that there is magic in the world being portrayed’. The difficulty is that there’s only so much that someone reading, watching, et cetera, can accept before things start to become outright silly, stupid, and/or boring. There is a point beyond which further increase of power is no longer exciting- if the last villain was able to blow up the entire planet, and you try to make the next villain worse by a power increase, it’s not going to work too well. How much more destruction can a villain cause by being able to blow up two planets, when there’s only one planet there to blow up in the first place?

This is something that a large number of roleplayers fall short on when starting out, and I am just as guilty of it as anyone else. After a long time of knowing about it, and continuing to see people doing the same things, causing the same problems, and learning the same lessons the hard way, I finally got around to actually starting work on this. Hopefully, it will be taken in the light that it is meant- as a series of thought-out suggestions regarding various powers and abilities that are commonly or uncommonly granted to characters, and possible methods for treating these powers and abilities without making them seem ‘broken’, ‘godly’, or simply ridiculous.

Generally, the best way to maintain this is through the proper use of suspension of disbelief. There are two primary ways to help suspension of disbelief. The first, and more common one, is to somehow limit the power in question, either through reasonable or arational methods. I call them ‘arational’, because there is no sensible explanation for them. For example: a reasonable limitation on an invulnerable character is that they can still be moved about by severe impacts. This is reasonable because invulnerable only indicates harm to the character from being struck in some manner, and says nothing about effects on their position, surroundings, et cetera. An arational limitation on an invulnerable character is that they are invulnerable to everything except aluminum. This is arational, because there is no explicable reason why such an element as aluminum would be able to penetrate this invulnerability when similar elements, such as tin, or even simply other metals, cannot.

Typically speaking, a reasonable method will ‘buy back’, so to speak, a greater level of suspension of disbelief than an arational method. It is much easier to believe an invulnerable character who still gets knocked around and flung hither, thither, and yon, than it is to believe an invulnerable character who cannot be moved without their consent, but has a vulnerability to aluminum.

This further compounds itself in the form of knowledge and capability. A character who is super strong generally won’t have learned any techniques for overcoming someone with a minimum of power- they have no reason to. They’ve got, theoretically, so much power they don’t need that sort of a technique. A character who learned first to throw magical blasts will probably not learn to throw chi blasts- they can already attack at a distance with a fireball, why learn to do the same thing via a method that takes years to develop (again)? A character who already runs faster than any known vehicle will generally not learn to drive a car or truck- they simply wouldn’t develop the need to do so. There are and always will be exceptions, but characters who are exceptions are exceptions, and that needs to be taken into account when creating the character.

Hopefully, I will be able to contribute a treatment of at least one ‘power’ each week, as I intend to do for so long as I can keep it up. If you would like to suggest a ‘power’ for a look in one of these small essays, please Email me at Correctdirection@aol.com and I will see about working it in.

The current list of powers for treatment (and the essay in which they will be treated):

2. Invulnerability
3. Super Strength
4. Chi/Ki/Qi/Light/etc.
5. Super Speed
6. Super Senses
7. Immortality and Amortality
8. Prescience
9. Omni-anything (-science, -potence, -presence, etc.)
Suggestion by Slife:
10. Mind Control
Suggestion by Acradius:
11. Irremovable Possessions
Suggestion by Acradius:
12. Killer Doom Uber Super Mega Ultradeath Doom Doom Doom Killy Doom Final Attacks
13. Miscellaneous Non-weapon Ranged Attacks
Suggestion by Acradius:
14. 'Unstoppable' Attacks
[ January 10, 2006, 11:57 PM: Message edited by: Reiko, Yume, Selene, et al ]

12-31-2005, 07:01 PM	#1
Sarai and Samiel Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Aisle 12, between the kumquats and the radicchio. Gender: Posts: 2,285 Thanks: 163 Thanked 124 Times in 86 Posts Points: 3,415.97 Bank: 94,171.35 Total Points: 97,587.32 Donate	Selene's Writer's Workshop: Suspension of Disbelief and Character Powers OR How to Make a Super Character that Everyone Finds Enjoyable 1: Why am I writing this? I suppose that before I even begin to act like I have any idea what I’m doing with this, I should explain what it means, and what it is all about. It all starts with one of the most important things that one can do when preparing to roleplay, write a story, act, or play an RPG. Creating a character. I, just like everyone else, started out with no real idea what I was doing when I created a character. The first time I really created a character, by which I mean, I was attempting to come up with a personality and set of abilities that would be consistent and not simply something nifty to think about for a few minutes, was approximately eight years ago. That character was the one that would come to be known variously as Selene, Selene Star, Selene Darkblade, and finally Selene Starblade. Selene was, I now realize, a very poorly-made character. Her abilities were basically limited to what I could imagine happening, I hadn’t figured out consistent strengths and weaknesses and styles, her personality was half-formed and more malleable than a wad of silly putty, and I completely skipped paying any attention to whether anyone else would want to have her around. It is this last part, I think, that is one of the two most vital elements to creating a successful roleplaying character. It is extremely important to remember that, as a roleplayer, or an RPGer, or an actor, or even a writer, that your character(s) do(es) NOT exist in a void. There are others around, with whom your character will have to interact, because that is what a character, and a person, is. An individual being in an environment composed of various other beings. Now, hang on a minute, you’re probably saying. This is supposed to be about super powers and characters, isn’t it? Yes, yes it is. And this is one of the most important points of all- a character’s ‘abnormal’ abilities and tendencies are a vital part of shaping the character’s personality, and vice-versa. If you create a super-strong character, then that super-strength will affect the character’s personality. It may be welcomed, shunned, it may be something the character doesn’t even realize they have, or any of a number of reactions. These influence how the character acts towards things that are, for instance, potentially breakable. That, in turn, affects the power, and the character’s use of it. A character who is super-strong and not aware of the fact that their strength is unusual will not use their strength in flashy or showy ways, will not make boasts of their ability, and may even act surprised upon handing something to someone else and finding that this other character is incapable of carrying it. A character who has gained super-strength as a result of some scientific accident, and who had previously been picked on for puniness or weakness can have a number of different changes to their personality even as simply regards those previously looking down upon them. Furthermore, a character with super strength who welcomes the ability may exercise to further increase that strength, where one who does not may remain at that same level of strength for a long time, as they attempt to avoid using it at any possible time. Inasmuch as this relates to other people wanting your character around, you have to remember that this applies to the players as well as the characters. A character who is so self-sufficient as to never need help from other characters is no fun for the other players, as that one character either takes on all challenges themselves and leaves the others with nothing to do, or they consistently make it clear, intentional or not, that the other characters are not needed. Similarly, a character whose player is constantly providing their character their own challenges in a story thread, and effectively ignoring those set forth by the thread’s creator is no fun for the other players- they aren’t really participating in the thread, and aren’t contributing anything of interest to the other characters or their players. It becomes a case of ‘Enh, he’s off on his own again, big whoop.’ That’s all that I’m going to go into now in terms of character personality, simply because this is supposed to be a series of small essays about character abilities, not on how to create your character’s personality (That comes later. ^_^ Kidding, kidding....). This brings me back to the other vital element to creating a successful roleplaying character, which is what this series is really about- suspension of disbelief. From the start, anyone reading anything written for a roleplay so far as it is designed here and in most other places must suspend their sense of disbelief. They must be willing to say ‘I can accept that Neo is able to bring Trinity back to life’, or ‘I can accept that Son Goku is generating immense amounts of power’, or even something as basic as ‘I can accept that there is magic in the world being portrayed’. The difficulty is that there’s only so much that someone reading, watching, et cetera, can accept before things start to become outright silly, stupid, and/or boring. There is a point beyond which further increase of power is no longer exciting- if the last villain was able to blow up the entire planet, and you try to make the next villain worse by a power increase, it’s not going to work too well. How much more destruction can a villain cause by being able to blow up two planets, when there’s only one planet there to blow up in the first place? This is something that a large number of roleplayers fall short on when starting out, and I am just as guilty of it as anyone else. After a long time of knowing about it, and continuing to see people doing the same things, causing the same problems, and learning the same lessons the hard way, I finally got around to actually starting work on this. Hopefully, it will be taken in the light that it is meant- as a series of thought-out suggestions regarding various powers and abilities that are commonly or uncommonly granted to characters, and possible methods for treating these powers and abilities without making them seem ‘broken’, ‘godly’, or simply ridiculous. Generally, the best way to maintain this is through the proper use of suspension of disbelief. There are two primary ways to help suspension of disbelief. The first, and more common one, is to somehow limit the power in question, either through reasonable or arational methods. I call them ‘arational’, because there is no sensible explanation for them. For example: a reasonable limitation on an invulnerable character is that they can still be moved about by severe impacts. This is reasonable because invulnerable only indicates harm to the character from being struck in some manner, and says nothing about effects on their position, surroundings, et cetera. An arational limitation on an invulnerable character is that they are invulnerable to everything except aluminum. This is arational, because there is no explicable reason why such an element as aluminum would be able to penetrate this invulnerability when similar elements, such as tin, or even simply other metals, cannot. Typically speaking, a reasonable method will ‘buy back’, so to speak, a greater level of suspension of disbelief than an arational method. It is much easier to believe an invulnerable character who still gets knocked around and flung hither, thither, and yon, than it is to believe an invulnerable character who cannot be moved without their consent, but has a vulnerability to aluminum. This further compounds itself in the form of knowledge and capability. A character who is super strong generally won’t have learned any techniques for overcoming someone with a minimum of power- they have no reason to. They’ve got, theoretically, so much power they don’t need that sort of a technique. A character who learned first to throw magical blasts will probably not learn to throw chi blasts- they can already attack at a distance with a fireball, why learn to do the same thing via a method that takes years to develop (again)? A character who already runs faster than any known vehicle will generally not learn to drive a car or truck- they simply wouldn’t develop the need to do so. There are and always will be exceptions, but characters who are exceptions are exceptions, and that needs to be taken into account when creating the character. Hopefully, I will be able to contribute a treatment of at least one ‘power’ each week, as I intend to do for so long as I can keep it up. If you would like to suggest a ‘power’ for a look in one of these small essays, please Email me at Correctdirection@aol.com and I will see about working it in. The current list of powers for treatment (and the essay in which they will be treated): 2. Invulnerability 3. Super Strength 4. Chi/Ki/Qi/Light/etc. 5. Super Speed 6. Super Senses 7. Immortality and Amortality 8. Prescience 9. Omni-anything (-science, -potence, -presence, etc.) Suggestion by Slife: 10. Mind Control Suggestion by Acradius: 11. Irremovable Possessions Suggestion by Acradius: 12. Killer Doom Uber Super Mega Ultradeath Doom Doom Doom Killy Doom Final Attacks 13. Miscellaneous Non-weapon Ranged Attacks Suggestion by Acradius: 14. 'Unstoppable' Attacks [ January 10, 2006, 11:57 PM: Message edited by: Reiko, Yume, Selene, et al ] Last edited by Sarai and Samiel; 01-23-2008 at 12:55 PM. Reason: Retitling.