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*Note: I will be editing this from time to time as I think of better things, or I receive more ideas. There will also be an advanced guide coming up that focuses more on improving the basics and making a memorable character. If you have suggestions, go ahead and message me.
Character Development Guide (Beginner)
Often, people get lost as to how to develop a character. They don’t know where to go, or how to get there. Especially in RPGs, they focus heavily on stats, which can distract you from story, making your character difficult or boring to play. This gets the better of even the most veteran players and writers, so it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Every character has an interesting life, you only have to come up with the events that make them interesting.
This guide doesn’t need to be followed to the letter, nor is there any order you need to follow it in. Do what you think helps you the most.
Is my Character good or evil? Or are they neutral? (Character Alignment)
This is an important decision. However, just because your character is a certain alignment, doesn’t mean they see themselves as that way. The alignment is based off general society’s impression. Murder is simply evil in most civilized societies. So if your character murders people, they are evil, really no matter the reason, with the exception of a protector.
So you have a character who murders people, but they’re only other bad people. So shouldn’t my character be good? Not necessarily. What are the reasons? Are they doing it to rid the universe of evil? Still may not necessarily be good. If a bad guy has an innocent person as a hostage, do you let the innocent die to stop the villain? If your answer is yes, then you may be a villain. Though you may be neutral. However, society would see you as evil most likely. However, if you won’t let innocent be harmed, then you will probably be a hero.
So you have what society sees you as, but how do you see yourself? Do you view yourself as a hero? This will continue into character personalities later. But keep thinking about this.
Then the last question, is “why are they that alignment?” Everyone has a reason to do what they do. So ask why. This will continue in the character background.
Example: Ian Lancaster, about as evil as they come. He has morals and principles, but doesn’t really care about hurting innocent if it suits his goals. He just tries to avoid doing it. The only thing he cares about is money. However, due to his actions, he is evil. To himself, he’s more neutral. He knows he does bad things, but views it as something that is necessary.
Where does my character come from? (Character Background)
Knowing where your character comes from can help determine how your character is, and where they are going in the future. Every character has a history. Sometimes it’s sad, sometimes it’s not. If you’re having a hard time coming up with a story for your past, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Where did you grow up?
Did you have friend?
Were you good at school?
Is your family alive now? If not, how did they die?
Any brothers and sisters?
Did anything tragic happen? If not, that is perfectly ok.
Did something happen that made you good, or evil?
What did you want to be when you grow up?
Do you have any idols?
Are you religious?
If your past isn’t very exciting, then tell it anyway. Not everyone grew up with a tragic past. If it’s not tragic, then it could be quick to write about. You don’t even have to rp it. This is mostly just for your information.
Example: Ian Lancaster was an orphan. He was abandoned by his parents, but was later adopted by a wealthy couple. When they went bankrupt due to a poor economy, he was abandoned. He joined a street gang to survive. He was later betrayed by the gang leader and ran away.
How should I act? (Character Personality)
Your personality should be affected by your past, however just because it was tragic, doesn’t mean they will be jerks. Or just because it was happy, doesn’t mean they are happy. However, the past does play a part in who you are today. If your parents died, but you are happy and optimistic, then ask “why?”
Example: Ian Lancaster was someone who didn’t get emotional. He was always calm and calculated, even when faced against an enemy that could rip him into two with just their pinky. When he ran away from the gang, he promised those closest to him that he would return by the next season. His goal took longer, but when he returned two years later, he found the girl he loved bore the child of the gang leader who betrayed them. In rage, he killed them both. Since then, he swore he would never let anger get the best of him ever. Thus creating the cold calculated Ian Lancaster of the modern day.
What is my purpose? (Goals)
Goals is important to the longevity of your character. You can start out with just coming up with short term goals, but always try and come up with a long term goal.
In RPGs like this one, most everyone goes to wanting to be the strongest. However, that’s not always the best path. Being the strongest in a game like this is hard, especially when you are new and there are players who’ve been around longer. So though this goal is good, it may not be the best.
Other players may strive for specific items. This is also good, but not necessarily the best path. For your goals, think about your history, your personality, and your alignment. Try to match them up. Think outside the box. You can think combat, or non-combat. You may wish to lead a group across the universe to try and secure it against evil. You may want to rebel against society and seek freedom in a government you set up. What about aiming to become a master?
Think about it this way, you can actually be anything you want. If there’s not a mechanic in game for it, then talk to the admins and let them know what you want to do. They will work with you.
Example: Ian has a few goals. His first goal was to take over Capsule Corp, then create a corporate empire and control all trade. At the same time, he wanted to make sure no one got in his way. So he planned things out, managed to destroy Capsule Corp after stealing all of the patents, and then went into space to start the trade empire. He founded a planet and created alliances with everyone and positioned himself so that killing him would cause more problems than not.
(How to plan out your goals will come in an advanced guide. This right now is just to figure out what you want to do.)
Ok, so I know who I am, and what I want to do. But what now? (Further developing your character)
Everything you do should serve a purpose. You should have a reason why you are doing it for in game purposes. One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they focus too much on meta-gaming. This can blind you to how you are in-game, and can get frustrating. There will always be meta-gaming (thinking out of character), but it should be focused solely on how to obtain your goals with game mechanics in mind. Everything else should be be in-game.
It’s ok to lose battles and spars. You don’t have to always win, or even ever win. If you lose battles, figure out how this can help move your character along. Remember, the after-life has so much it can offer you.
Also, just because you are in a fight, doesn’t mean you can’t talk with your opponent outside of the game to come up with a plan on how the fight turns out. The fight can totally be planned, but keep each other’s goals in mind when talking about it.
Example: Ian only won 1 fight and lost several. Mostly because he was built to be weak. However his presence made him someone to fear. He used his losses to create new allies and obtain new power. Then used his strengths to end his combat weakness by virtually making himself immortal (not entirely immortal, but close). Since his strength was plotting and money, he worked with the admins to come up with ways that he could use that. He build machines that allowed him to create clones. So though he could die, he would be resurrected in a clone.
The little things.
When working on developing your character, think about things you can do to further yourself. This game has the ability to create your own techniques. Think outside the usual blasts, speed, and transformations. Think about what could help you in your normal rps, or through normal development. Work with admins if you have an idea. Just because it’s not in game doesn’t mean you can’t do it yet.
Example: Ian had two abilities that worked outside of combat. They improved his ability to get money. Useless in a fight, but very beneficial to obtain his goals. It made sense for his character to focus on that over combat abilities (though he did have those as well).
Final Tips
I can’t stress this enough. Work with the Admins. They want to see players creativity evolve this site. Player content can make this rpg better than if the admins came up with it all themselves. They will work with you to balance things out and keep it fail. So bring your idea.
Always ask “why?” Everything you do, should be followed up with that question. This is because it will help you think about it from your character’s perspective.
One of my favorite authors always said “if it doesn’t further the story, get rid of it.” The same can be said about this game. If it serves no purpose, don’t do it. Get rid of it. If you have a chance to get a sword, but your character wouldn’t really have a reason to have one, leave it. Even if it’s a super rare item and getting it could keep other players from having it. However, if it makes sense that you would keep it away from other players, then great, do it. But everything has to serve a purpose. This goes back to number, 2; Ask “why?”
Character Development Guide (Beginner)
Often, people get lost as to how to develop a character. They don’t know where to go, or how to get there. Especially in RPGs, they focus heavily on stats, which can distract you from story, making your character difficult or boring to play. This gets the better of even the most veteran players and writers, so it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Every character has an interesting life, you only have to come up with the events that make them interesting.
This guide doesn’t need to be followed to the letter, nor is there any order you need to follow it in. Do what you think helps you the most.
Is my Character good or evil? Or are they neutral? (Character Alignment)
This is an important decision. However, just because your character is a certain alignment, doesn’t mean they see themselves as that way. The alignment is based off general society’s impression. Murder is simply evil in most civilized societies. So if your character murders people, they are evil, really no matter the reason, with the exception of a protector.
So you have a character who murders people, but they’re only other bad people. So shouldn’t my character be good? Not necessarily. What are the reasons? Are they doing it to rid the universe of evil? Still may not necessarily be good. If a bad guy has an innocent person as a hostage, do you let the innocent die to stop the villain? If your answer is yes, then you may be a villain. Though you may be neutral. However, society would see you as evil most likely. However, if you won’t let innocent be harmed, then you will probably be a hero.
So you have what society sees you as, but how do you see yourself? Do you view yourself as a hero? This will continue into character personalities later. But keep thinking about this.
Then the last question, is “why are they that alignment?” Everyone has a reason to do what they do. So ask why. This will continue in the character background.
Example: Ian Lancaster, about as evil as they come. He has morals and principles, but doesn’t really care about hurting innocent if it suits his goals. He just tries to avoid doing it. The only thing he cares about is money. However, due to his actions, he is evil. To himself, he’s more neutral. He knows he does bad things, but views it as something that is necessary.
Where does my character come from? (Character Background)
Knowing where your character comes from can help determine how your character is, and where they are going in the future. Every character has a history. Sometimes it’s sad, sometimes it’s not. If you’re having a hard time coming up with a story for your past, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Where did you grow up?
Did you have friend?
Were you good at school?
Is your family alive now? If not, how did they die?
Any brothers and sisters?
Did anything tragic happen? If not, that is perfectly ok.
Did something happen that made you good, or evil?
What did you want to be when you grow up?
Do you have any idols?
Are you religious?
If your past isn’t very exciting, then tell it anyway. Not everyone grew up with a tragic past. If it’s not tragic, then it could be quick to write about. You don’t even have to rp it. This is mostly just for your information.
Example: Ian Lancaster was an orphan. He was abandoned by his parents, but was later adopted by a wealthy couple. When they went bankrupt due to a poor economy, he was abandoned. He joined a street gang to survive. He was later betrayed by the gang leader and ran away.
How should I act? (Character Personality)
Your personality should be affected by your past, however just because it was tragic, doesn’t mean they will be jerks. Or just because it was happy, doesn’t mean they are happy. However, the past does play a part in who you are today. If your parents died, but you are happy and optimistic, then ask “why?”
Example: Ian Lancaster was someone who didn’t get emotional. He was always calm and calculated, even when faced against an enemy that could rip him into two with just their pinky. When he ran away from the gang, he promised those closest to him that he would return by the next season. His goal took longer, but when he returned two years later, he found the girl he loved bore the child of the gang leader who betrayed them. In rage, he killed them both. Since then, he swore he would never let anger get the best of him ever. Thus creating the cold calculated Ian Lancaster of the modern day.
What is my purpose? (Goals)
Goals is important to the longevity of your character. You can start out with just coming up with short term goals, but always try and come up with a long term goal.
In RPGs like this one, most everyone goes to wanting to be the strongest. However, that’s not always the best path. Being the strongest in a game like this is hard, especially when you are new and there are players who’ve been around longer. So though this goal is good, it may not be the best.
Other players may strive for specific items. This is also good, but not necessarily the best path. For your goals, think about your history, your personality, and your alignment. Try to match them up. Think outside the box. You can think combat, or non-combat. You may wish to lead a group across the universe to try and secure it against evil. You may want to rebel against society and seek freedom in a government you set up. What about aiming to become a master?
Think about it this way, you can actually be anything you want. If there’s not a mechanic in game for it, then talk to the admins and let them know what you want to do. They will work with you.
Example: Ian has a few goals. His first goal was to take over Capsule Corp, then create a corporate empire and control all trade. At the same time, he wanted to make sure no one got in his way. So he planned things out, managed to destroy Capsule Corp after stealing all of the patents, and then went into space to start the trade empire. He founded a planet and created alliances with everyone and positioned himself so that killing him would cause more problems than not.
(How to plan out your goals will come in an advanced guide. This right now is just to figure out what you want to do.)
Ok, so I know who I am, and what I want to do. But what now? (Further developing your character)
Everything you do should serve a purpose. You should have a reason why you are doing it for in game purposes. One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they focus too much on meta-gaming. This can blind you to how you are in-game, and can get frustrating. There will always be meta-gaming (thinking out of character), but it should be focused solely on how to obtain your goals with game mechanics in mind. Everything else should be be in-game.
It’s ok to lose battles and spars. You don’t have to always win, or even ever win. If you lose battles, figure out how this can help move your character along. Remember, the after-life has so much it can offer you.
Also, just because you are in a fight, doesn’t mean you can’t talk with your opponent outside of the game to come up with a plan on how the fight turns out. The fight can totally be planned, but keep each other’s goals in mind when talking about it.
Example: Ian only won 1 fight and lost several. Mostly because he was built to be weak. However his presence made him someone to fear. He used his losses to create new allies and obtain new power. Then used his strengths to end his combat weakness by virtually making himself immortal (not entirely immortal, but close). Since his strength was plotting and money, he worked with the admins to come up with ways that he could use that. He build machines that allowed him to create clones. So though he could die, he would be resurrected in a clone.
The little things.
When working on developing your character, think about things you can do to further yourself. This game has the ability to create your own techniques. Think outside the usual blasts, speed, and transformations. Think about what could help you in your normal rps, or through normal development. Work with admins if you have an idea. Just because it’s not in game doesn’t mean you can’t do it yet.
Example: Ian had two abilities that worked outside of combat. They improved his ability to get money. Useless in a fight, but very beneficial to obtain his goals. It made sense for his character to focus on that over combat abilities (though he did have those as well).
Final Tips
I can’t stress this enough. Work with the Admins. They want to see players creativity evolve this site. Player content can make this rpg better than if the admins came up with it all themselves. They will work with you to balance things out and keep it fail. So bring your idea.
Always ask “why?” Everything you do, should be followed up with that question. This is because it will help you think about it from your character’s perspective.
One of my favorite authors always said “if it doesn’t further the story, get rid of it.” The same can be said about this game. If it serves no purpose, don’t do it. Get rid of it. If you have a chance to get a sword, but your character wouldn’t really have a reason to have one, leave it. Even if it’s a super rare item and getting it could keep other players from having it. However, if it makes sense that you would keep it away from other players, then great, do it. But everything has to serve a purpose. This goes back to number, 2; Ask “why?”
