Elite roleplay: Q&A and OOC

Syn
03 Feb 2017, 6:32pm
Marra Morgan
Luke3107
Markus OmniActually, I read nothing. Honest. XD



I figure you must have read Luke's bio. It should be noted that the 'character' Luke, is just me with a slightly more futuristic setting. How he reacts is how I react in real life as far as appropriate.

The main differences are that I don't have a tattoo (yet), my name isn't Luke, and the fact he's an admittedly, slightly more idealised version of myself.

For example, the emotional outburst against Glaboski, is very typical of me when I'm drinking. Hence I don't do it often. The marksmanship mentioned in the bio comes from playing paintball and being a back of the field player supporting the forward teammates by taking well placed shots to distract or eliminate enemy players.



Playing Devil's advocate here: if your character is you, is it really roleplaying?


What if you're playing how you think yourself would act in a much different time and setting? ¡ )
I find this easily more enjoyable!
LordPsymon
03 Feb 2017, 6:37pm
As long as you don't cross into Mary Sue territory. I think Isaiah is right in that it is definitely hard not to insert aspects of our personalities into our characters.

This is why I look to other characters and people I know when I need to think of a personality for someone.

Edit: Having a backstory in mind also helps to shape the character's personality without inserting too much of yourself into them.
Michael Wolfe
03 Feb 2017, 6:52pm
Simon DaturaAs long as you don't cross into Mary Sue territory. I think Isaiah is right in that it is definitely hard not to insert aspects of our personalities into our characters.

This is why I look to other characters and people I know when I need to think of a personality for someone.

Edit: Having a backstory in mind also helps to shape the character's personality without inserting too much of yourself into them.


This. Injecting a bit of yourself into your characters is totally fine, as is deriving inspiration from other fictional characters. Not that Inara has much of a problem with it right now, but we've seen a few very cringy Mary Sues come through here. It's bad character writing, but the desire to create a maxi-badass version of oneself is understandable.
User1355
03 Feb 2017, 6:54pm
I agree.

Marra represents the worst of my own personality, cranked up to 11. As much as I abhor the thought of harming others, I wouldn't be truthful to myself not to admit that sometimes my gut reactions to certain things are horribly vindictive and hateful. I'm quite capable of manipulation and bitchiness of the highest order. I'm not proud of these things, but I have to acknowledge that they are part of me, even if for the better part I keep them surpressed.

Embedding such negative qualities into my character allows me to explore them with a sense of safe distance, hopefully entertaining people and not hurting anyone.

And putting my advocation of the Dark One aside, I do believe that unless you are an actual spaceship pilot in the 34th century, everyone is roleplaying!
Luke3107
03 Feb 2017, 6:55pm
Just in case this revelation has ruffled feathers, which it looks to have done at least slightly, I would like to stress that part of the reason for Luke being me was so I could RP without putting much thought into it. It also allowed me to 'brag' about my in-game accomplishments in a controlled environment and act things out in game. Compound that with only a small amount of previous writing experience (and none in RP) it seemed like the best choice.

On another side of it, I've always wanted to join in and interact with interesting characters. See how they'd respond to my take on things, and you all provided that on a silver plate. So how could I resist joining in?

I get it. There's only so much of yourself you should really put into your characters. If I was attempting to write a best selling novel, I would certainly avoid creating a character that is me. But in the context of RP it acts as a benefit to others too that I don't have to think too much about Lukes responses (Hence they often come so quickly) because in the case of new people joining, I have a default setting that allows me to interact with them in order to make them feel more welcome. Whereas if I attempt that with Lilith, it is liable to frighten them off.

Take Mhera (If she's still out there lol). If Lilith had approached her the same way as she did Marras table, I fear I might have frightened off the user as well as the character. But being able to just use Luke, allowed for a more friendly and quicker response.

Although, I completely agree and accept that this isn't hard to do with a more artificial character such as those surrounding him.

Basically. I put only a small amount of creativity into Luke simply so I could get into the RP easier. As time progressed, I felt more confident and created Lilith.
User1355
03 Feb 2017, 7:02pm
Luke3107Just in case this revelation has ruffled feathers, which it looks to have done at least slightly


Hmm? I miss something?
Luke3107
03 Feb 2017, 7:08pm
Marra Morgan
Luke3107Just in case this revelation has ruffled feathers, which it looks to have done at least slightly

Hmm? I miss something?

Call it a pre-emptive explanation. Although, on rereading, I think I may have read Simons response as a bit more of an 'I dislike this' than he intended.
Isaiah Evanson
03 Feb 2017, 7:14pm
I don't think it's ruffled feathers, it's just good to discuss this sort of thing.  

Isaiah's base personality more or less reflects my own. I didn't have the upbringing he did, and I've never had to choose between duty to family and duty to home. He's just getting his bearings after going through many years of radical change, and he's faced with questions I've never had to entertain. 

His fear of doctors however is very much based on my own personal apprehension. :| I hate going to the doctor's office. Hate needles. Hate the smell of rubbing alcohol. If I'm not missing a limb or on the verge of death, I try very hard to avoid the doctor. :| Which is not good, but I digress. So you can imagine he was not comfortable at all with Glaboski sticking things into his brain. I'd have lost my shit a lot sooner.

So yeah. I do think that it's important to keep self separate from character, even if they're supposed to be "you" in Elite. It's good not to get too personally attached because it discourages putting them through "tough" situations. I have some ideas about what to do with Isaiah after the events on Citi Gateway, but I'm still weighing the consequences and how they may affect things going forward.
Tisiphone Moreau
03 Feb 2017, 7:17pm
Marra Morgan
SonofMacPhistoAin't none of you children. Not really.



Well, the sub-25's are all young enough to be my children!


I'm glad I'm not the only one!
User23543
03 Feb 2017, 7:28pm
I've appreciated this RP as a ground for self discovery and exploration.  Like I say in Phisto's bio, I'm trying to give villainy a shake and also embrace unexplored parts of myself.

Phisto doesn't repeat me, but he rhymes.

EDIT: Also, write what you know, amirite?
Syn
03 Feb 2017, 7:29pm
I hope not to achieve badassery, as like Stryker and a Lemon once told me, nobody licks it, and it becomes unrelatable with the reader.
The only thing I hope to provide is a decent story!




Tisiphone Moreau
Marra Morgan
SonofMacPhistoAin't none of you children. Not really.




Well, the sub-25's are all young enough to be my children!



I'm glad I'm not the only one!


And I ain't role playing that one by the way XD
Luke3107
03 Feb 2017, 7:33pm
Don't worry. Luke is up for just about any adventure you can think of.

It might be weird to say but I think I have more of an attachment to Lilith at this point. I've put a lot more effort into creating her than I did Luke after all
User4296
03 Feb 2017, 7:34pm
What I've found is that good RP characters are comprised of one or two aspects of yourself, oftentimes taken to an extreme or exaggerated in some way. This results in flaws and strengths naturally forming, which you can then flesh out as you RP with that character. For me, this has usually resulted in characters that have a lot of depth and feel realistic.
Syn
03 Feb 2017, 7:49pm
John "Xeknos" MathurinWhat I've found is that good RP characters are comprised of one or two aspects of yourself, oftentimes taken to an extreme or exaggerated in some way. This results in flaws and strengths naturally forming, which you can then flesh out as you RP with that character. For me, this has usually resulted in characters that have a lot of depth and feel realistic.


Idea X)
Dr. Glaboski
03 Feb 2017, 7:55pm
My two cents.

Dr. Glaboksi is the culmination of three personalities taken to the extreme, while taking all that is good from medical science and tossing it out the window.

Dr. Julian Bashir (his narcissistic over bloated view of his capabilities)  
Dr. Smith (Lost in Space. Cunning brilliance and manipulative behavior)
Dr. House (Medical brilliance and unorthodox approach, with callous nature)

So when I roleplay him, for each post/situation I ask myself "How would these three people handle this?" then smash it all together and vomit a bunch of words.

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