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Sewer Swimming: A Guide to Sueism, Godmodding and Clichés
#31
True that, but thoise are more endearing character traits and personall differences between people. It's greato to have them to give your character unique flair and memorability, but shouldnt be the "big thing" about your character. if you have a troll mage, sure they can be an enginner and it would endeer to them but it shouldnt be All they are, they are still a mage and thats interesting as it is. :)
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#32
It's like a friend of mine said when we went to go see Star Wars Episode II.

"A lightsaber and force powers just aren't as cool when everyone has them"

If mages were few and far between on the server, then yes, having a mage would be very interesting. If nobody had a Tauren character, then you could make a big impression creating one. If nobody else knew how to smith weapons and armor, you would be quite the interesting fellow. However, there are DOZENS of other characters that ascribe to the same traits, classes, and professions that your character does, and if you don't do something to stand apart you'll simply fade into the background.
Torrek | Troll Rogue/Engineer | Currently Shuffling between Booty Bay and Rachet, looking for work and perfecting his designs |Torrek's Journal
Oroth Kodohorn | Tauren Hunter | Wandering the Plains of Kalimdor | Chieftan of the Kodohorn Tribe
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#33
By that logic the most outstanding person to find though would be someone entirely normal, with so many powerfull mages, and paladins and the like wandering about encountering a everyday civilian would be interesting. Come to think of it, most of my more fun RP was with people who seemed down to earth, and not the superpowerfull or super evil or super-anything characters.

See your point :)
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#34
Miah Wrote:By that logic the most outstanding person to find though would be someone entirely normal, with so many powerfull mages, and paladins and the like wandering about encountering a everyday civilian would be interesting. Come to think of it, most of my more fun RP was with people who seemed down to earth, and not the superpowerfull or super evil or super-anything characters.

See your point :)

Exactly. For example, I have an undead warlock character. However, his primary characterization has little to do with his combat capabilities. In life, he was a tailor who suffered from schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive behavior. He became obsessed with the human anatomy, and began to kidnap and murder people in the basement of his tailoring shop. He would dissect them, neatly removing each individual piece and attempting to reconstruct it after he had taken it all apart. Eventually he was caught, and they threw him into prison in preparation for his execution. While he was in prison, the Plague hit his town, and he succumbed quickly.

He's not an lolpowerfulwarlock. He's just a normal guy (to the extent that an obsessive schizophrenic could be normal) who got caught up in something much bigger than him.
Torrek | Troll Rogue/Engineer | Currently Shuffling between Booty Bay and Rachet, looking for work and perfecting his designs |Torrek's Journal
Oroth Kodohorn | Tauren Hunter | Wandering the Plains of Kalimdor | Chieftan of the Kodohorn Tribe
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#35
I'm in the firm belief that the challenge of a good roleplayer is not having to bend stereotypes or lore or canon to make an interesting character.

You're a dwarf. You drink. Cool. Maybe you drink a lot? Why? Let's say you were mining with your dwarfbros and a cavern fell in and killed them all, and that traumatized you. So you escape with drink. This can be developed not just in a profile, but something you RP icly, something that adds depth and memorability to your character.

I could do this for every race.

You're an orc. You are another footsoldier in Thrall's army. You're pretty good with a weapon, and are comfortable in armor. Cool. How did he get here? What are his motivations? Not just 'For the Horde', but why do you fight? Maybe you were the runt of the litter and you've had to fight for everything your entire life. Maybe you were once a Shaman, but years in Alliance internment camps have turned you bitter and your former desire for harmony with the elements was replaced with a desire for vengeance and now they won't answer your call anymore.

I dunno, maybe I'm just way out in left field here.
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#36
Back to the definition of Mary Sue, defined as the self insertion of the player into the story; I find an interesting concept to be had. Though very unlikely, if a player was diligent in analyzing themselves, true self-awareness and not merely the deluded surface we generally view as ourselves, the concept of self insertion would be rather compelling. Everyone of us is an essentially unique character in the story we call life. Unfortunately, as is often the case in roleplay, we ignore the fact that we have individual flaws and strengths, both physically and emotionally. Some people have the uncanny ability to completely overlook, or perhaps never attempt to find, their own shortcomings. Others look only for such things in themselves and see nothing of the greatness within them. Both of these traits can be used in character portrayal and would provide a wealth of depth to the general application of strengths and weaknesses. I will provide an example of such before I confuse myself. Imagine a character that has alienated their self from other characters due to pride and arrogance. Though it would be considered a "Mary Sue"-like quality to promote the character as being capable of all feats, the fact that the character is self delusional as to their arrogance, provides a very realistic example of many peoples' actual level of self-awareness. To me this concept has extended benefit both in character and in real life. Oh, the things we learn on the COTH forum. :)
[Image: stonetalon-mountains.jpg?w=760]
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#37
(05-02-2012, 01:07 PM)raerae Wrote: I'm in the firm belief that the challenge of a good roleplayer is not having to bend stereotypes or lore or canon to make an interesting character.

You're a dwarf. You drink. Cool. Maybe you drink a lot? Why? Let's say you were mining with your dwarfbros and a cavern fell in and killed them all, and that traumatized you. So you escape with drink. This can be developed not just in a profile, but something you RP icly, something that adds depth and memorability to your character.

I could do this for every race.

You're an orc. You are another footsoldier in Thrall's army. You're pretty good with a weapon, and are comfortable in armor. Cool. How did he get here? What are his motivations? Not just 'For the Horde', but why do you fight? Maybe you were the runt of the litter and you've had to fight for everything your entire life. Maybe you were once a Shaman, but years in Alliance internment camps have turned you bitter and your former desire for harmony with the elements was replaced with a desire for vengeance and now they won't answer your call anymore.

I dunno, maybe I'm just way out in left field here.
I think you kinda shot your argument in the foot here. A person doesn't need to have some sort of 'special moment' that drove them to stereotypical behavior. Something I don't like about a lot of fantasy cultures is that the races tend to see themselves as an outsider would, and consider their culture as something easily discarded. They do things because it's perfectly normal in their culture to do it.

An orc joining the army is like an American attending Secondary or Higher Education. A dwarf drinking booze is like an American that drinks coffee in the morning.
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