Post by Mossa Silverback on Mar 19, 2005 17:15:45 GMT -4
A thin, willowy badgermaid waltzes into the classroom, beaming at all the eager faces. She waves and places and armful of books down on the table, grabs a piece of chalk, and waits till she get's everyone's attention. She clears her throat.
"It's nice to see you all here, today! I'm Mossa Silverback, that's Ms. Silverback to you, and I'll be helping you make a good, realistic character. Before we begin, are there any questions? Yes, the sparrow in the back."
"But ma'am, aren't we already characters?"
Mossa shrugs. "Prehaps. But maybe you're not quite as detailed characters as you'd like to be? For instance, could you list you flaws and attributes? Do you know your character's family tree? Do you know how they would react if they saw another creature killed, verses if they witnessed another creature fall in love? You're not sure? That's quite alright, my dears, that's what you here for! Now, if you'll all open to the first page of your books, I think we're ready to begin..."
Species and Gender:
The best way to start building a character is by choosing the species and gender. Is this you first character you've ever RPed with? If that's the case, I would reccomend that females have a female character, and males have a male character. While I know this isn't always the case, it's a good idea for beginers to not be playing the opposet sex, because you might wind up confusing you fellow RPers, because you're acting unmanly or unwomanly by accident.
If you've RPed for some time, and want a bit of a challenge, by all means, ladies, make yourself a man, and visa-versa.
Now, you know if you've got a girl or a boy (or a man or a woman, as the case may be).
Now for the species, or what type of creature you'll be RPing. It is CRUCIAL that you only play a species that is in the books, and that the owner of the RP or site will allow. In Redwall RPs, creatures like mice, moles, squirrels, ect are usualy allowed, because they are almost always the "good guys". There are some species in the Redwall books that not all sites or RPs will allow, such as dogs, horses, and deer (because they've only appeared once or twice), snakes and fish (to stupid to really be a good character) and on some sites, most vermin. While there are a fair number of sites out there that will say okay to "good vermin", there are many that have decided "good vermin" is just to far a stretch from the books. Be respectful of the RP leaders, if they don't agree with the idea of good vermin, don't have a good vermin char.
That's just an example, for Redwall, though it applies to all other RPs. Ever heard of a "good orc" in LOTR? No? Then don't have one. It's in an orc's nature to be cruel and unforgiving, so no good orcs. And if you're in a medievel fantasy RP, please, PLEASE don't bring a robot into the mix! Likewise, if the person who created a quest meant for it to be a little historic RP taking place during the Dark Ages, no fire-breathing dragons should be joining the quest! If you want your sci-fi robots, make your own quests, don't wreck someone else's!
One last thing before we move on. Remember the nature of your creature. For instance, elves (LOTR elves) are tall, graceful, poetic, ect. So you'll probably be looked down upon if you have a bratty, slob of an elf, because they're just not like that. Likewise, in Redwall, bloodrathy moles are very hard to come by (in other words, there are none). Moles are gentle, peaceable sorts, who don't go on major killing sprees. Remember that when you make your character, so if you want a violetn sort, pick prehaps, a badger. If you want a quite sort, a mole or mouse is probably the way to go.
What's in a name?
So then, you've got you species and your gender all set? Good! But wait, you characters missing something... They need a name! Or, maybe they don't have name, But you need to clearify that they don't! Ooo, I'm confusing myself... O.o
When you pick a name, remember to stay within the context. Have you ever heard of a LOTR elf named Bobby-John? I didn't think so! And likewise, "Gandalf" just isn't on the baby name charts nowadays (for a modern day RP). Of course, we're not Tolkien or JK Rowling, so you have a bit of wiggle room. I'll list some good methods of choosing names, and maybe it will help you.
1) From myths and other works. If you're looking for a name, why not look at some old Greek, Egyptian, Norse, ect myths? Those always have names which can be good for just about anything. For instance, aren't "Artemis" and "Paris" good sounding names? But they're the names of a Greek goddess, adn a Prince of Troy. Greek names are often very pretty in a Fantasy setting, and Norse names are just grand for LOTR. In Harry Potter, the name "Draco" is Latin for "dragon". I myself used the name "Anubis" (Egyptian god) as the name for a black fox character from Redwall. It sounds a little funky, but it's grown on me.
Don't limit yourself to mythology. My HP character, Sylvia, her brother and father have names from Shakespeare, Shylock and Eahgo, who are not the most pleasent characters. But that's why it's fitting.
Be careful when you choose names from Beowulf, myths, that it works in the context. "Grendyl" is a good name from Beowulf, but you won't meet anyone from, say, and Ancient Egyptian anthro RP with that name. It's too Norse sounding and doesn't sound right, does it? Be careful that your names work!
2) From places, animals and plants. These can be alot of fun. For instance, "Rwanda" is a country in Africa. But doesn't that also make a good name (for a female, especially)? And how about "Camelot"?
3) Colors One of my IRL friend made up a character who's name was "Blue". Almost any color will work, and can often reflect a character's personality. "Grey" (I had a possum char called Grey...) can make them seem gloomy, or old. "Black" ads a tint of mystery. "Indigo" sounds very beautiful, and "Brown" sounds more like that of a simple hobbit. Again, amke sure they fit the context.
4) Putting to words together. "Stafire", "Rockpelt", "Turnfeather", "Greyeyes", those all work great, especially for anthros and animals. But it's not limited to our fuzzy friends, if you've read the book "Ink Heart" (hey, there's one!), there's a man called "Dustfinger". My Redwall chars, Mossa and Anubis, both of their last names are like that ("Desertdeath", "Silverback").
5)Nature In a fantasy setting, animal names like "Falcon" can sound nice, but don't go overboard ("Giraffe" is not a good name). As for plants, well, those are some fo my favorites! There's Basil, Iris and Rose, which you can find in baby name books, but there's also Aspen, Thistle, Nettle, Gooseberry, Blushing Violet, Leaf, Papyrus, the list could go on and on! "Mossa", is acturaly from "Moss", just with an added "a". While they will sound odd in some RPs ("Hi, I'm Rasberry the dwarf!" is just weird), they are ideal for many fantasy RPs, ESPECIALLY Redwall! Animals and anthros always sound good with plant names. Don't forget "Shadow", "Moon", "River", ect.
"It's nice to see you all here, today! I'm Mossa Silverback, that's Ms. Silverback to you, and I'll be helping you make a good, realistic character. Before we begin, are there any questions? Yes, the sparrow in the back."
"But ma'am, aren't we already characters?"
Mossa shrugs. "Prehaps. But maybe you're not quite as detailed characters as you'd like to be? For instance, could you list you flaws and attributes? Do you know your character's family tree? Do you know how they would react if they saw another creature killed, verses if they witnessed another creature fall in love? You're not sure? That's quite alright, my dears, that's what you here for! Now, if you'll all open to the first page of your books, I think we're ready to begin..."
Species and Gender:
The best way to start building a character is by choosing the species and gender. Is this you first character you've ever RPed with? If that's the case, I would reccomend that females have a female character, and males have a male character. While I know this isn't always the case, it's a good idea for beginers to not be playing the opposet sex, because you might wind up confusing you fellow RPers, because you're acting unmanly or unwomanly by accident.
If you've RPed for some time, and want a bit of a challenge, by all means, ladies, make yourself a man, and visa-versa.
Now, you know if you've got a girl or a boy (or a man or a woman, as the case may be).
Now for the species, or what type of creature you'll be RPing. It is CRUCIAL that you only play a species that is in the books, and that the owner of the RP or site will allow. In Redwall RPs, creatures like mice, moles, squirrels, ect are usualy allowed, because they are almost always the "good guys". There are some species in the Redwall books that not all sites or RPs will allow, such as dogs, horses, and deer (because they've only appeared once or twice), snakes and fish (to stupid to really be a good character) and on some sites, most vermin. While there are a fair number of sites out there that will say okay to "good vermin", there are many that have decided "good vermin" is just to far a stretch from the books. Be respectful of the RP leaders, if they don't agree with the idea of good vermin, don't have a good vermin char.
That's just an example, for Redwall, though it applies to all other RPs. Ever heard of a "good orc" in LOTR? No? Then don't have one. It's in an orc's nature to be cruel and unforgiving, so no good orcs. And if you're in a medievel fantasy RP, please, PLEASE don't bring a robot into the mix! Likewise, if the person who created a quest meant for it to be a little historic RP taking place during the Dark Ages, no fire-breathing dragons should be joining the quest! If you want your sci-fi robots, make your own quests, don't wreck someone else's!
One last thing before we move on. Remember the nature of your creature. For instance, elves (LOTR elves) are tall, graceful, poetic, ect. So you'll probably be looked down upon if you have a bratty, slob of an elf, because they're just not like that. Likewise, in Redwall, bloodrathy moles are very hard to come by (in other words, there are none). Moles are gentle, peaceable sorts, who don't go on major killing sprees. Remember that when you make your character, so if you want a violetn sort, pick prehaps, a badger. If you want a quite sort, a mole or mouse is probably the way to go.
What's in a name?
So then, you've got you species and your gender all set? Good! But wait, you characters missing something... They need a name! Or, maybe they don't have name, But you need to clearify that they don't! Ooo, I'm confusing myself... O.o
When you pick a name, remember to stay within the context. Have you ever heard of a LOTR elf named Bobby-John? I didn't think so! And likewise, "Gandalf" just isn't on the baby name charts nowadays (for a modern day RP). Of course, we're not Tolkien or JK Rowling, so you have a bit of wiggle room. I'll list some good methods of choosing names, and maybe it will help you.
1) From myths and other works. If you're looking for a name, why not look at some old Greek, Egyptian, Norse, ect myths? Those always have names which can be good for just about anything. For instance, aren't "Artemis" and "Paris" good sounding names? But they're the names of a Greek goddess, adn a Prince of Troy. Greek names are often very pretty in a Fantasy setting, and Norse names are just grand for LOTR. In Harry Potter, the name "Draco" is Latin for "dragon". I myself used the name "Anubis" (Egyptian god) as the name for a black fox character from Redwall. It sounds a little funky, but it's grown on me.
Don't limit yourself to mythology. My HP character, Sylvia, her brother and father have names from Shakespeare, Shylock and Eahgo, who are not the most pleasent characters. But that's why it's fitting.
Be careful when you choose names from Beowulf, myths, that it works in the context. "Grendyl" is a good name from Beowulf, but you won't meet anyone from, say, and Ancient Egyptian anthro RP with that name. It's too Norse sounding and doesn't sound right, does it? Be careful that your names work!
2) From places, animals and plants. These can be alot of fun. For instance, "Rwanda" is a country in Africa. But doesn't that also make a good name (for a female, especially)? And how about "Camelot"?
3) Colors One of my IRL friend made up a character who's name was "Blue". Almost any color will work, and can often reflect a character's personality. "Grey" (I had a possum char called Grey...) can make them seem gloomy, or old. "Black" ads a tint of mystery. "Indigo" sounds very beautiful, and "Brown" sounds more like that of a simple hobbit. Again, amke sure they fit the context.
4) Putting to words together. "Stafire", "Rockpelt", "Turnfeather", "Greyeyes", those all work great, especially for anthros and animals. But it's not limited to our fuzzy friends, if you've read the book "Ink Heart" (hey, there's one!), there's a man called "Dustfinger". My Redwall chars, Mossa and Anubis, both of their last names are like that ("Desertdeath", "Silverback").
5)Nature In a fantasy setting, animal names like "Falcon" can sound nice, but don't go overboard ("Giraffe" is not a good name). As for plants, well, those are some fo my favorites! There's Basil, Iris and Rose, which you can find in baby name books, but there's also Aspen, Thistle, Nettle, Gooseberry, Blushing Violet, Leaf, Papyrus, the list could go on and on! "Mossa", is acturaly from "Moss", just with an added "a". While they will sound odd in some RPs ("Hi, I'm Rasberry the dwarf!" is just weird), they are ideal for many fantasy RPs, ESPECIALLY Redwall! Animals and anthros always sound good with plant names. Don't forget "Shadow", "Moon", "River", ect.
