Having the
most wonderful and interesting character in the world is
no good if he or she is going to sit in a corner and stare
at the wall all day. To really shine a character has to
go out and interact with the world around him and just as importantly
the people around him. This does not mean every character
you make has to be a social butterfly, but it does mean
that they have to be willing to interact in some way with the
people they meet.
Thankfully interaction usually comes pretty naturally to people once they get
over any nerves and get into the swing of things, so I'm not going to write a
ten step guide as to how to interact as a character. What I am going to do is
warn you of some major hurdles/pit traps involved and give a couple of pointers
which seem to work for me and some people I know.
1. Don't plan out your characters behavior
too much. It's no good having a whole heap of actions and
lines thought up for them if they're not going to be presented
with the opportunity to use them. While it's great fun
to think of stuff you'd like your character to do, don't
rely on it otherwise you'll start to find yourself manipulating
situations just so your char can say a cool line (and we're
in the business of roleplaying, not making bad action movies.)
2. Background stories work best when they
are allowed to release themselves. No matter how brilliant
or how wonderful your character's background is, it's not
going to appeal to people or get the full effect if it's
constantly delivered at every opportunity as a dramatic
soliloquy.
While there are many character types that are usually happy to talk about their
past, usually ones with little or no skeletons in their closets, there are many
others such as rogues and outlaws in general have good reasons to not do so,
so getting a story out of them should be like pulling teeth. Rest assured though,
when such details are pulled free the people who pull them will saviour them,
the rules of supply and demand apply in roleplaying as well as life.
3. Character interaction is not a competition
unless the character makes it that way. There is no need
to be the toughest guy in the room all the time unless
your character feels a need to prove it, nor the most flirtatious
woman nor the mischevious kender. Attempting to outdo people
at being their characters can only lead to trouble and
anoyance for all parties involved. If you don't believe
me try to think of how anoyed you would be if you had someone
following you around doing everything you did an exagaretted
fashion. That's right, imagine you had your own personal
mime.
4. Always make sure you know what your
character is feeling, and if you don't know, find out.
All interaction basically boils down to a constant response
to stimuli, so in order to give the proper response, you
need to know what the stimuli is. You can't roleplay something
you don't understand, so if something bizzare happens to
your character... say they are transformed into a gecko
with cute toes, then it would most certainly pay to find
out some basic info about geckos such as how they respond
to threats and whether or not they can see in colour.
5. Never fall into the trap of believing
that interaction means you have to get close to the person
and go up and talk to them. A character who is unnerved
by magic hence takes great pains to not talk to or get
close to any mage they see is just as much interacting
with the magician as one who thinks that mages are fun
and wants to know everything about him. Particularly if
that character is paranoid to the nth degree and ends up
unnerving the mage by keeping one eye on him.
Even sitting in a corner of a tavern and paying careful attention to what goes
on without talking to anyone in particular is interaction and can make things
interesting. It can draw people's curiousity as to how you are and why you do
it. And if a character is paying attention, then it goes without saying that
they will react, if only subtly, to what is going on. Think of an audience at
a movie or at a show, they move and react when they're interested, and yawn and
look around when they're bored. The same goes for the guy in the corner.
6. Try to make your character's behaviour,
mannerisms and reactions as unique as they are. Everybody
has their own particular style of doing things, think about
all your friends and family, does each one of them walk
the same, talk the same, sit on the couch the same? How
people move and relax can say a great deal about them.
Do they always sit up straight, or so they tend to stope
their shoulders? Do make very definate movements, or do
they do things half heartedly? While it's not necessary
to describe each action in excruciating detail, a quick
mention here and there can go a long way.
7. Never forget the importance of body
language, both major and minor. A blink can mean just as
much as jump at times, as can where someone puts their
legs or where they rest their hands. Gestures and at times,
lack of them can speak volumes. So can what people don't
react to. A warrior who is desentised by violence and gore
is gonna show it by barely responding to it when he sees
it, hence give people the impression he's used to seeing
it. A highly disciplined character who prides themself
on non-reaction is going to show it by not doing more than
batting an eye, hence really get people's attention when
he does react to something.
8. Have fun. That's the whole point, so
don't play characters who react to people in ways that
you don't like them doing. If you don't like a playing
a character who doesn't talk to people, don't play one.
There's no shame in retiring characters because they're
no longer fun to play, there is most certainly not some
code of conduct or standard that says you have to keep
doing it.
