Character Creation 101: Better Characters are a Click Away!

[United Republic of Lepala]

Emperor Lepa is a strategic genius, he likes playing strategic board games such as chess and Khonajj (Lepalan chess), he is very religious and can often be found praying in the Grand Temple of Grochan (The patron god of the royalty), and he is and expert in Thavosh, a Lepalan martial art involving lots of jumping and kicking.

[Rhodevus]

An amazing question was brought up in this years NS RP Symposium, coming from a use named Ched. His question is as follows:

When starting a character, where is the line drawn with what is decidedly too mundane or OP in that character's capabilities, what's the main factor that decides the acceptable "level of playing" for them? Same with nations in how too small is starting it very simple stupid or making it OP to start off with? Where should the balance be overall decided?

Here are the answers provided by the Mods and Mentors, followed by my own:

Gren
It depends on the setting

Giovenith
You should always try to start with what you're familiar with. If you've never played a superpowered character before, you might want to ease your way in with a normal human and draw from personal experience. Ultimately, no matter what the power level, all good characters and stories rely on the same basic foundations of common sense. As the saying goes, "You have to know the rules before you break them" - start with something less likely to cause damage, and as you master that, you'll be able to steadily climb up the latter and try bigger concepts.

FRFS
There are really two limitations you're gonna want to keep in mind. What is settled between you and whoever you are roleplaying with, internally in the RP. And also what is accepted by the community at large. That is why interaction in whatever community between the members of the community are so important. An agreeable level of abilities can be decided within the RP itself, internally by all parties involved. Which may fall in line with the community standards, or perhaps be bent for Plot. And in the community itself, overtime will develop natural rules and laws for abilities based off what has continually worked, and what hasn't.

Kyrusia
In a lot of ways, it'll depend upon who you want to roleplay with. Your roleplay partners - and, more broadly, the community you are in as a whole - will tend to dictate what is or is not acceptable and help provide a litmus as to where you should probably adjust things (or not). I always tend to follow Hyperspatial Travel's litmus for stuff about this: "Ask. Ask everyone." Not just the new guy, not jus the guy you joined the thread with, but everyone you see.

Also, a lot need be said for your gut in situations such as this. If you're consistently concerned about something being OP, your gut is likely telling you something. Beyond that: again, everyone starts somewhere; work your way up and work into the field by learning.

Cer
When in doubt, ask. There's no shame in admitting you're feeling lost or don't know how to do something. N&I, NS Sports, and P2TM all have open and vibrant communities willing to help you learn how to play new characters, concepts, etc.

My own answer:
When designing any character, just like any human, there is no line that can be drawn. While one person may feel that being able to type 60 words a minute is a pretty mundane skill, putting that character into a situation that requires that skill turns it from mundane into the difference between life and death. There is no capability that can be described as mundane. If it looks mundane, it means that you are not placing that character into the right situation.

An important thing to know for character building, is a common phrase used in physics class: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Or in character building terms, for every strength there is an equal and opposite flaw. No good human character has more strengths than they do flaws. This is of course talking about some of the bigger things. If a character can be described as 'perfect in X situation', then the character is not a human character. To keep a character from becoming perfect, they should always have a flaw that makes it impossible or near impossible to achieve. An example of this, is Ned Stark from Game of Thrones, who is extremely honourable, loyal and trustworthy, which are characteristics prided on, in the battlefield. These things would make him perfect in the battlefield situation. And see where he is the entire storyline? In a diplomatic setting, where all his strengths are now flaws. Obviously, his was pretty extreme (no spoilers of course), but the situation still applies.

As for the acceptable level, that all depends on who you are RPing with.

As for nations, I don't know. I'm good with characters.

[Rhodevus]

There seems to be another great question in the RP Symposium, so I will of course be posting it here as well, along with the answers from several mods and mentors.

Question posed by bladex1200

"When looking at character death, it's often a complex issue about whether it's done fairly or cheaply - whether it's legitimate and meant to advance the story or whether it's done to simply grab people's attention in the absence of better alternatives. What would you say about writing a proper character death, when it's appropriate, and how it should factor into the scope (ex. personal to trans-national) and tone (ex. detached vs. dramatic) of the current setting?"

Gren
Its appropriate if its the best way to advance the story. Even if you want to get rid of the character, there's usually other ways to do that without killing them off. M* A* S* H had excellent displays of both.

As an example.

Kyrusia
To me, the tone and scope largely depends on the plot itself. If the plot is inter-personal, of course the death is likely to be as well, though not necessarily. The loss of a Head of State due to a personal fouling will, of course, have national and international consequences, but the framing in the narrative itself may only imply one or the other, depending on the characters (and their perspectives) in the story itself.

As for tone... Depends on what sort of message the narrative itself wants to get across and what motiffs it is adhering to. If the theme is one of futility and nihilistic worldviews, the tone of a written death will be different from a narrative talking about valor and self-sacrifice.

Ghant
I think characters serve to advance the story in some way, and contribute to the overall narrative. Eventually you might reach a point where they can no longer do that adequately, and the best way for them to contribute to the story further is to die. As far as when it's appropriate, I think generally the writer will have an idea of when a character ought to die. Like when they've reached a point of absolution, when they've reached the climax of a conflict, or if they decide to sacrifice themselves for someone else or for a higher purpose.

Giovenith
This is a big question that ultimately boils down to looking at the wider context of the story. Some people might tell you that a character should only be killed off if done with all their goals, however, dying before completing their goals can serve in it of itself as an amazing motivation for other characters to continue their legacy. However, this risks falling into the "Women In Freezers" cliche - a character who existed solely so their death could motivate another character, which not only risks making the death emotionally lacking for the audience but also being insulting to the dead character themselves, since they essentially have no identity of their own and only exist for the benefit of another character.

Ultimately, I think what makes a "legitimate" death depends on who the character was in life. Were they compelling in their own right? What does their death as individual say about the themes of the story as a whole instead of just what it means to single other characters?

My own answer:
A character's death is both complex and very simple. Simple, because it should complete the character's story arc; whether that be at the end of the arc or during the climax of it. Complex because it should properly sum up the entire reason for the character's existence. Unlike in real life where people can unfortunately die due to dumb luck or shear misfortune, every death we write about is a conscious choice to do so.

A proper death scene should be something that impacts us in some way about the character. If the character is set up to be the great leader, the second-coming or whatnot, having them die in a less-than-spectacular way (or by a dumb-luck method) can be a great end to the character. A villain that has been built up over the course of dozens or even hundreds of posts/pages can also go out with either a bang or a fizzle, it purely depends on the character at hand.

As for when it's appropriate, it all depends on the setting and the build-up. The scope should depend purely on how the character was portrayed throughout the story. If they were discussed as a national threat, then their death should involve the nation in some way. If it was more about a singular person, than it would be a singular response. It should all relate in some way. The life of a written character unlike the real world should sum up their life, or sum up what they meant to others. If they meant nothing, than their impact small, if everything, their impact large.

[Rhodevus]

This entire panel was extremely helpful and most of it relates to roleplaying as characters of a different ethnicity or background than your own. Go take look!

Diversity in Roleplaying Symposium Panel

[Byzareum]

I want to make this character into a 'young-but-competent powerful mafia boss' type of guy, but I can't seem to properly flesh out a good enough a morally ambiguous character (and a good backstory) for him. This is what I've been working on so far:

Rozwell Clayton

Name Rozwell Clayton, original name unknown
Born December 10, 2010
Birthplace New York
Nationality American
Age 21
Status Active
Rank Civillian
Gender Male
Affiliation United States of America
Occupation CEO, incognito crime boss
Likes Poker and gambling, booze, being a cheeky bastard, trolling the authorities, and personally executing traitors.
Dislikes Nazis, communists, smoke, losing too many times, humiliation, getting caught, snakes, and traitors.
Most unpleasant Losing
Forte in Sports Any that require nimble footwork and hands, and carefulness.

Rozwell, born December 10, 2010, is the most recent heir of a massive criminal empire based on the United States. He inherited the reins of the enterprise at the age of 18, and has put every effort into keeping that empire alive, even with competition in the other markets rapidly eating up the underworld. His criminal empire then encountered an obstacle, the Astral Order of Sankyr. The Astral Order tried to undermine and destroy Rozwell's empire, as the Cult would most likely use them to their advantage. With the mindset of "if you probably can't beat them, join them", Rozwell has folded the empire into the Astral Order, and in doing so has amassed lots of power to himself. Most notably, he would fund all the projects and operations the Astral Order undertakes, under the condition that he be made one of the Tricameral Legislature. He also supported Project Orochi in the face of its (many) setbacks. This was extremely fortunate for him, as the Orochi later saved his life.

Rozwell Clayton continues to manipulate most of the Order's criminal and business interests to his own, such as using his ties in the powerful American mafia and the Chamber Auxiliary to turn Rozwell's ancestral home into a veritable fortress. His personal bodyguard, Hiroshi Kurosaki, has access to multiple camera linkups, robotic guards, zero-point energy turrets, and hidden mono-wire nets to ensure that anyone trying to walk, fly, or tunnel into the manor meets an extremely cold welcome.

[Laredo-]

Rhodevus, this is perfect for any role play in general. I'm bookmarking this!

[Rhodevus]

Rhodevus, this is perfect for any role play in general. I'm bookmarking this!

thank you very much! I, and others on this thread love to answer questions related to character development and creation if you ever have them

[United Lands of Erika]

Hi guys!
I've just finished creating a biography of the national hero of my country. I would appreciate it if you check it out and say what you think about it.
Erika Fjoer

[Yohannes]

Hi guys!
I've just finished creating a biography of the national hero of my country. I would appreciate it if you check it out and say what you think about it.
Erika Fjoer

It’s looking good! But a wee bit concerned about the ‘libertarian’ part. ( Not my cuppa tea ). Welcome to NationStates storytelling/roleplaying!

Edit: If you want a more in-depth feedback, feel free to contact any of the N&I RP Mentors [ click me ]. They are there twenty-four seven to support you!

[Apathyverse]

Tag

[The Batavia]

This might be useful, taggarino.

Btw can someone point me to the direction of the flag maker thread?

[Seglary]

Yep.

[Pantorrum]

tag

[Epistrofia]

Tag

Also, any opinions about my breed of the GEoM? I want to know if I made any mistakes (I am not very well-versed in 40k lore as any dedicated player would as I only search and rip pages off the wiki for info).

[Rovikstead]

Could anyone give me constructive criticism on my factbook? I would appreciate any suggestions for edits, or just hearing any opinions on what I wrote.
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=968140

[Ord Caprica]

Could anyone give me constructive criticism on my factbook? I would appreciate any suggestions for edits, or just hearing any opinions on what I wrote.
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=968140

Simple and straight to the point.. Formatting could be a tad better with the introduction of paragraph breaks and life events being separated by chronological headers, '''Early age, childhood, military service, etc.'' but I have no room to talk because my own factbook is nowhere near perfect.. I liked it so keep tweaking it if you like but it does the job, good work.

[Valentine Z]

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=val ... /id=701792

Here's mine so far. At this point, other than Surveillant Clarissa (the second one), the rest of the characters have their inspiration drawn from the games, movies, and TV shows that I enjoy. Emphasis is on the first few, because the ones at the bottom are support characters.

Sorry about the crazy colors though. Each character is supposed to have a distant color, a la subtitles that you see in The Walking Dead game.

[Copperward]

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=cop ... ok/id=main

Here's my factbook on my nation's most prominent political figures. I'd appreciate constructive criticism on it.

[Ord Caprica]

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=copperward/detail=factbook/id=main

Here's my factbook on my nation's most prominent political figures. I'd appreciate constructive criticism on it.

1. I like the layout and design of the page overall. Great work there.

2. Your President's biography/satirical profile is well thought out and elaborated upon. Specific dates or occasions to illustrate his corrupt regime would be nice but that's personal preference.

Good work.

[The Jelen Qon Islands]

Got the name Kiarra July Seppänen.
Irish/Finnish or Estonian?

[Nueva Philippines]

I just finished making a bio for my country's leaders and i would like to here all of your opinion's about it

[Diarcesia]

I just finished making a bio for my country's leaders and i would like to here all of your opinion's about it

The capitalization has to be consistent. I saw some "Philippines" and some other instances of "philippines", for instance.

Regarding the translation from non-English, you can use this style (or not, depending on your preference):

...His grand mother (from his father's side) taught him to be proud being a [F]ilipino and as a [F]ilipino we should be masipag (hardworking)...

Content-wise, I like it. It gives an enough amount of detail and background in the character.

Edit: I love the illustration. Did you make it?

[Nueva Philippines]

I just finished making a bio for my country's leaders and i would like to here all of your opinion's about it

The capitalization has to be consistent. I saw some "Philippines" and some other instances of "philippines", for instance.

Regarding the translation from non-English, you can use this style (or not, depending on your preference):

...His grand mother (from his father's side) taught him to be proud being a [F]ilipino and as a [F]ilipino we should be masipag (hardworking)...

Content-wise, I like it. It gives an enough amount of detail and background in the character.

Edit: I love the illustration. Did you make it?

I got it from a filipino artist in deviant art also thank you for your advice ill take note of it

[Leolanese Republic]

Hmmm

[Garden at 6th Mile Road]

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=gar ... /id=919031

This is my leader for this, err... nation. In a world made of light, she's the only sapient being. And yes, the name is a mouthful, that's the Valentine Z style.