Shwe Tu Colony wrote:I feel like I can't differentiate my characters until I've developed them over long periods of time. Sekka & Mac are some of my oldest characters, both going back to elementary school I think with only slightly embarrassing backstories that I wouldn't mention unless drunk at a campfire. Otherwise, the most distinct characters of mine revolve around a gimmick — for example, one is obsessed with cheese.
(on mobile will feex later)
Let's take a look at your characters.
Bo'kan Ko'la: Lampade in ser- dang it.
Ir'a Tar'rama: Once the chie- oh boo
Ka'tyu Za'v: Diploma- well isn't diplomacy a skill?
Ka'ir Bia'yu: Cunning - wait that counts as a skill.
Ka'ir Azhsaloth: Generous & wealthy from his many exploits in Ashan, Azsh'aloth helped construct a maybe-plot relevant library.
Fa'l Asandrau: She helped save Can... ah, that counts as plot relevance.
Mac, God of the Mind & the Creator's Avatar: Having been shocked by divine lighting, Mac is almost too aware of his fictional life & hardly takes it seriously... which counts as a skill I guess.
Sekka Verndara: Emotionless due to how he was created, Sekka only understands emotion. Nonetheless, he can be greatly motivated by money, but his loyalty & honesty ensures that any bribe you might throw his way would take more money than you have. Earlier on, it was known that the Thryllasian Region was an untamed mess, which may have inspired a fear of no control in him that sharply contrasts with his Chao-influenced roots. It seems that he has long since forgotten those origins & come under more obedience under an orderly system.
First tip: I would keep simpler names for the characters... I would also be wary of naming one of my characeters "Kola". He must be real fizzy and sugary. Keeping simple names for characters means you're not wasting time coming up with names that won't add to the story anyway. Sure, it's a fun exercise, but then you realize, "Will the audience appreciate this, or will they just be annoyed?". Names don't make a character. Instead, they should help the audience understand your character, and your names don't really send me any messages, since they're... Etymologized from a language I'm not familiar with, I assume. Find names that make sense and don't make it hard for yourself or the audience on what they are.
Indeed, I find the most effective fantasy is close to history, so that it doesn't put the audience in a completely alien world they will not have a frame of reference for.
Also... Be extremely wary of self-insert characters and especially author avatars. They will very quickly reel out of control into self-indulgence, and it's why so many Mary Sues are author inserts. By that point, it stops being about writing a good story and about fulfilling your fantasies. If that's your intention, fine. But always remember: just because you're having fun doesn't mean your audience is. Sure, your characters can have aspects of your personality, which helps you and your audience relate to them better, but none of them are EXACTLY like me.
Finally, the wording on your last character is very confusing. He was born emotionless... So he understands emotion? What?
Let's look at a usual but well-executed usual Fantasy Party: the characters of Warhammer: VERMINTIDE.
They're well-developed characters, with their facades, but also with hidden depths, and a lot of it is through the way they react to their environments.
Saltzpyre is a snob, who considers anything that isn't in service of the Empire as meaningless, because he believes in the system the Empire has created. However, he himself is a victim of snobbery by his superiors, and is therefore secretly insecure about that system. He models himself as the ideal Witch Hunter as a result, unwavering in the face of criticism and threats, both from his superiors and those he regards as inferiors. Despite seeing himself as a leader, he berates and insults his party members, making him the one nobody likes, ironically enough. Now that I'm analyzing him, he's a lot like my Priestess.
Kruber I find is very similar to my Paladin, even though I wrote him way before I ever heard of VERMINTIDE. He is very simple-minded, a man who believes more in actions rather than words. He serves, and is often troubled by things he doesn't allow himself to question, but due to his moral certitude, maintains under his facade as just another loyal Imperial servant. He is quite kind and open-minded, and makes fast comrades with everyone in the party, even Saltzpyre.
Kerillian is similar to Saltzpyre in many ways, and yet, they are easily the ones who dislike each other the most out of anybody. She even likes the dwarf better, despite dwarfs and elves being mortal race enemies in Warhammer. Kerillian knows she's right, as her many years of life may make her think, and she has little patience for anybody. I think she is quite a tragic character, since she will most likely wander and stand alone, since she is exiled from her hearthlands and considers most other people beneath her, except maybe Fuguenosas.
Fuguenosas is, amazingly, almost identical to my Witch with elements from my Dragoon. I swear, I didn't steal from VERMINTIDE, although now I'm thinking I should.
Her knowledge is her power, and her power manifests as fire magic. Magic and it's pursuit are all she cares about. More knowledge, more magic, more power. Her greatest flaw is her addiction to it, as the very thing that makes her powerful could one day destroy her, and she very well may allow it to destroy her. But not yet, because she still isn't done with her research.And, the dwarf, who is I feel the weakest character, because he's just Indiana Jones as a dwarf: adventurous, bawdy, boisterous. So, Gimli, more or less. He's basically my Spy, a character I haven't mentioned, and it would be more interesting if he were trying to have sex with Kerillian, because then he'd have motivations beyond treasure. I kinda got that vibe at least, what with all the Belligerent Sexual Tension memes they kept throwing around.
It's interesting that these characters are all outcasts in some way.
