For the Newb

Just what in the heck IS roleplaying?

Roleplaying is when あなた are playing someone else's role. Sounds simple? It can be. You've just gotta know how to work it.

Do I pick an original character (OC) または a character from a story?

This all depends on your personal preferences. I'm not even going to get into how much もっと見る work one is rather than another, because in all honesty I've been down both roads and either is as much work as あなた put into it.

So, what's it like to RP a character from a story?

I can't stress this enough. あなた need to do some research on the character you're playing. If あなた don't get them exactly right physically and mentally, people will notice. Pay attention to mannerisms, thought processes, what they're knowledgeable about. Make sure あなた can at least fake their knowledge base.

If あなた want もっと見る freedom, make an OC. If あなた mix your own ideas into a character, most people will not like that. They like the character as he/she is.

So, let's ラップ this section up. Benefits: less need to be creative, people already know who あなた are. Annoying: Can't be もっと見る creative, people already know how you're supposed to act. Double edged sword there, I know.

I want to make an original character! Where do I start?

Well, here's the way I make characters.
1. Come up with an outstanding strength. (Makes them useful.)
2. Come up with a flaw that stands out. (Makes them believable.)
3. State what drives them. (Gives them direction.)
4. Say what situation they're in. (Gives あなた direction.)
5. Figure out how they got there. (Having a past helps them be fleshed out and believable.)
6. Flesh them out. (Add もっと見る strengths, flaws, and personality based on the 前 steps.)

Again, あなた should do research. If your character is blind, research what sort of things could have caused it. If your character is a ninja, research on ninjas. REAL ninjas. If あなた want a good old fashioned unique character, try not to take ideas from shows. Go to the 情報源 and figure out your own take on things.

Make sure your character fits with the story あなた want him/her to go into. When there's previously established boundaries, don't push them. Other players do not appreciate this. I've seen it a million times in the Avatar-verse. Silver fire, purple fire, shadow bending, plant bending, etc. No, this world only has WATER 火災, 火 AIR AND EARTH.

But how can I be unique??

Don't despair just yet; あなた can be unique! In fact, あなた are もっと見る unique if あなた don't go through this "I need to be unique" phase in the first place. But anyhow, let me give a few pointers on how to be unique.

Try being unique in personality, family history, または flaw. There's a lot of really wonderful characters, and every single one of them isn't perfect. The EASIEST way to be unique is to try a flaw out you'd never heard about and research it. To be unique in personality is much harder and I suggest あなた only try this if you're experienced in roleplay. Your character's family history can make your character REALLY interesting. For instance, if your character's dad was a pirate but your character isn't, that makes for a VERY interesting character with a unique view of the world.

Benefits: Creativity! People don't already have expectations of how your character is supposed to act. Annoying: あなた need to be able to take charge, do the research, and あなた have to make the character balanced.

For the Experienced Roleplayer

I'll offer a few pointers that あなた may または may not have thought of.

1. Always research. OC または not.

2. If あなた have trouble remembering character altering events (especially really small ones), make sure to log it. If you're too lazy to log it, あなた could always spend a little time thinking about it before あなた go to sleep. Yes, you're not the only one who does that.

3. Sometimes if あなた feel a little stumped about a character it's REALLY helpful to ask yourself the "what/who/where/why/when". If your character does something that's usually OOC, あなた may be able to still explain his/her actions using this method.

4. Have あなた ロスト your mojo for roleplaying? I hear this a lot. Roleplaying isn't life. Just leave and come back when you're ready. または あなた could try something new. Maybe あなた need to scrap your character and go for another. It happens. あなた don't even necessarily have to go to that extreme. Meet someone new. Add another aspect. Ask someone for a ランダム problem and give your character something similar. When あなた lose your mojo, often times a problem is the solution. (HA! I made a funny. XD)

5. My お気に入り site to research is wikipedia.org. There also may be a wiki inspired site full of knowledge and trivia about 人気 shows and stories.)

6. Remember your surroundings.

Socially Restricted Characters

First of all, I only recommend these characters to very experienced RPers. They're VERY difficult to maintain and require もっと見る than reliance on dialogue to function within such a social game.

Your character won't necessarily wish to interact with the others, which makes character interaction a mess. あなた very may well find yourself getting left out. あなた as a player will have to rely on the もっと見る social characters to keep your character in the story, so make sure to set this situation up with the other players ahead of time.

Obviously then あなた can't use this as a crutch because あなた have trouble interacting with others. If あなた can't interact well with others, I recommend having a friendly character. They're much easier to maintain, just trust me.