As authors, it is our Duty
To create lovable, enticing Characters
And do horrible, evil things to Them.

♦ Being informed is a vital part of all storytelling. Know your stuff so your character and their world makes sense.

♦ Learn the importance of Point of View and Background. Seeing the world through the eyes of others, no matter how different from you they are, makes for a great writer.

♦ Motivation and Alignment: "Good" VS "Evil", what drives your character.

♦ Flaws, Merits and Details: All the little (and major) quirks that make your character more interesting.

♦ Exercises and Inspiration: The tools, games, and tricks to help you find your voice.

♦ Beyond Powergaming: A guide and explanation of role-playing for new gamers.

♦ Recommended Reading: Useful books and Guides.

The characters come before the story. Once you figure them out and set them loose, the story unfolds on its own.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of being realistic, even/especially in fiction. A writer can never be too informed. Remember, Knowledge is Power.

You've probably also heard the saying "write what you know". Now, to the science fiction or fantasy writer this phrase may seem worthless. Write what I know? How can I possibly learn all about or experience things that don't exist? Even fantasy can be built upon a realistic foundation, and there are endless resources to build that foundation with.

Reading what other people have written to get a feel for a genre is always helpful, and discussing things with friends never hurts either. Is your character a master of disguise? Pick up a book, learn how it works. Are they a thief? What are some tricks thieves use? How does one pick a lock? What's involved? Are they a knight in shining armor? Just how easy is it to move around in a suit of armor? How about lifting those huge swords? Can they get on a horse without help? PBS has some great programs just full of information, as does the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. Your local library is invaluable, and of course endless information is just a Google away.

Pay close attention to animal anatomy for more fantastic creatures. Naturally you have to fudge things to some extent sometimes for creatures that really don't exist, but it's educated fudging. This makes it more realistic, even though it isn't real. For example, one of my RP characters was a winged centaur (or rather a relative being half elk instead of horse). While he turned out to be an absolutely beautiful and amusing fellow, he was also over 8' tall at his head and weighed over 500 lb. Pretty as those feathered wings were, there was no way he was lifting himself off the ground, they weren't big enough. He could leap and glide a short distance, but if the party had to climb a rope or cliff he was utterly useless - which was great fun to play out. Limiting characters makes them more of a challenge, the more they struggle the more they grow and the more fun they are, but I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Physiology, psychology, weaponry, philosophy... The world is at your fingertips. All you have to do is look and/or ask. Having easily accessible reference is important for any writer and/or artist, and having books on hand is the most convenient method for any creative person. It's much easier to have information on hand than to remember it. I personally hate having to return Library books, because as soon as I do I need it again. I have shelves of reference that I am eternally thankful for and keep returning to again and again. Especially since, while the internet is a valueable tool when it works, a useful website may be there one day and gone the next.

Ask questions and look into all the available sources to find the answers. Sometimes, you'll find answers to things you hadn't even thought of, and often your research will end up inspiring you! There's many writer's guides available, based on research other authors have done to help folks out. The more you know, the more realistic your story and more involved your audience will feel.

This works for Art as well. Pay attention to the world around you, notice how things work and look. It's important for a character, picture, place, world, to feel somehow natural regardless of the style. Create a "morgue" (yes, that's the actual term) by cutting out magazine pictures that remind you of characters, landscapes, items, or have positions you find difficult to draw and keep them in a handy binder.

Sometimes you won't be able to find the answer you're looking for. Make a decision based off of what you do know. Go with your gut and what feels right to you. It is *your* character, and in the end only you and they will know what's best.

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One of the key elements of character development is the ability to see through your character's eyes. Get a good look at how they see the world, what they perceive as good or bad and WHY they perceive it as good or bad.

You need to think about where that person came from. What their childhood was like, their parents, peers, interests... if your character is an evil wizard, why did he choose to become an evil wizard? Did he choose it? What was he like as a child? What was life like growing up? What kind of environment is he used to? Asking yourself questions like these is imperative to the development of your character, even if the readers never see that part of it. The important thing is that you know.

The "why" of things is very important. Motive is for more than just detective stories. It is a vital part of ALL storytelling. There must be a motive, and it needs to makes sense. A good character is one that feels as real as a personal friend or enemy. Realism, no matter what genre you're writing, helps bring that person to life.

We want to make our creations leap off the page and into the third dimension. To do that, we need to make clear WHY they do what they do and feel how they feel. To just say, "Well, he's just nuts, that's why," is a cop out. He might be insane, sure, but how so? How long has he been insane? Was he born that way? If your character has a mental illness do research and define it. Be specific. Even if you don't reveal to the readers just what exactly is wrong with them, the fact that you know will make it that much more believable. Readers/fellow roleplayers can sense when there's something going on they aren't privy to and it keeps them coming back for more.

Here are some ideas of basic questions to ask your character to get a feel for his/her/its history.

What was your childhood like? Who were your parents? Did you know them? How do you feel about them? How do your parents feel about you? If your parents didn't raise you who did and why? Did you have a lot of friends growing up? What memories stand out? What impact did your childhood have on who you are now? Do you have siblings? How big is your family? How close are they? Do they keep in touch?

Where are you from? What culture did you grow up with? What culture do you feel closest to? What traditions do you believe in? What weather are you used to? How are you used to interacting with people? Are you used to people who are different from yourself? What kinds of foods are you used to? What are you willing to try? Do you believe in gender roles or certain types of moral behavior? How do you feel about Politics? Religion? What do you base this on? How many places have you lived? How has this impacted you? Is there somewhere that stands out as home?

How do you earn a living? Is this the career you always wanted? Did you dream of something else when you were young? Did you do something else before? How long have you had this job/career/trade? What do you like about it? What do you hate about it? What exactly does it involve? Ideally, what do you want? Is money or the job more important? Have you had to sacrifice money for job satisfaction or vice versa? Did you have to work hard to get to your skill level, or did you go with her natural strengths or both?

Who was your first love? Did you even have a first love? What is your perception of romance? Is that what you want? Why did or didn't it work out? What happened? Have you fallen in love since? Have you tried to avoid it? Are you searching for a soul mate? Do you care? Why? Do you have children? That you know of?

If you have a culture in mind already that has a basis in reality or an established fantasy world, look into those cultures, read as much as you can about them and see what strikes you as true to that character or different about that character from the norm. The same goes for worlds and cultures of your own creation. Figure out as much as you can about the world, then how your character fits (or doesn't fit) in.

Challenge yourself. Work with creations that are very different from yourself. They need to be their own person. A story full of characters that are just like you loses it's credibility. Each character should be their own unique person with personalities all their own.

Especially with characters you strongly disagree with or have a very different perception of reality than, you need to be able to argue their side of it to be able to write for them in a believable way. When you can understand how they feel and what they think, they will become more realistic when they interact with other characters. This doesn't mean you have to change your mind and agree with them. All it means is that you are able to see where they are coming from and how this influences their behavior.

Learning these skills can even be useful in your real everyday life. The practice of using a combination of imagination and knowledge to better understand the "why" of what people do is a huge step towards compassion. When you understand things from the point of view of someone you don't even like, never mind agree with, it makes it harder to foster hate. Putting oneself in the shoes of someone they've long thought to hate, and seeing them as another rounded human being, can do wonders for the spirit and for a person's happiness.

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People are simply too complicated to really be classified as "good" or "evil". Intent is everything, and a person can do bad things for the right reasons, or the right things for the wrong reasons, etc. ... There are unlimited possibilities for you to play with.

Particularly when role-playing, however, one may need to choose what alignment they are. Evil? Good? Neutral? The last is the norm, and people will lean toward good or bad depending on the situation, their beliefs, and past experiences. Since this plays back and forth throughout their life, chances are, most characters will view themselves as good regardless of their actual leanings. But if you must have a clear definition to separate the good from the bad ... selfishness is the most accurate I can think of.

A "villain" will generally be greedy, or mainly concerned with selfish goals. Their own survival and success comes above everything else. Look out for number one. The "hero" on the other hand will be concerned with the welfare of others over themselves. Others come first.

Sometimes, however, one might have a villain who means well, but simply has the wrong idea or makes things worse through ineptitude. On the flip side is the hero who seems good, but does everything "helpful" for selfish reasons or is driven by recognition. Keep in mind that whether the fruits of their labor is good or bad is not automatically determined by their alignment.

Basically... People are complicated and each have their own unique perception of good and evil.

Then of course there is the ever lovable "Anti-Hero". Not evil and certainly no Dudley Doright either. These sorts of characters have a special place in this writer's heart. The sort of person who does what they feel like they must, gripes about it, glowers and scowls, and you can't help but grow really fond of despite it all.

There are endless ways to handle the forces of "good" and "evil" but here are some guidelines to help you round out interesting and enticing goodies and badies.

A "good guy" does what is right. Overcomes, or tries to overcome, the conflicts for the betterment of mankind. They respect life and one thing must always remain true, no matter what kind of "hero" you are working with .... they must grow.

A "good" character must grow and learn and develop over time. Be it in a book, movie, or tv sitcom, Stagnation is never good, and the audience comes away feeling like "what was the point of that?" By this I don't mean to just jump in and change your character completely. A 180 degree change in personality just doesn't happen without some kind of science-fiction element involved. Small things, gradually, or one big thing that has an influence on your character's life in a natural timeframe. Something must develop to keep readers interested. They can't just stay exactly the same. Baby-steps toward becoming a better or wiser person can do wonders for a character, just like it can for the rest of us.

Generally, a "good" person will not kill unless in self defense, and even then they feel bad about it. They'll want to do the right thing, even if they're not at all sure what the right thing is. They mean well, but they are not flawless. No one is flawless. Even Superman needed kryptonite. No one is perfect nor should fictional characters be. Invincibility is boring and it negates the possibility of conflict and growth. From pet-peeves to deep seeded phobias, a "hero" should be a complete person, with hopes, fears, weaknesses, and convictions.

Good is in the eye of the beholder; they can be the sort who follows the letter of the law, the sort who just does what they feel is right regardless of laws (or sometimes despite of), or one who hesitates in between. But no matter which, these characters desire to do what is right and that is what drives them in the long run. That is what they strive for and that is what makes a Hero.

These characters can act as either protagonist or antagonist, and often both at once being the source (or one of) of their own problems. These are some of my favorites. Sometimes they feel compelled to do the right thing, sometimes they prefer to do the selfish thing. They're hard to pin down and sometimes you won't even be able to tell whose side they are on. Often, they don't know themselves.

Though they may perceive themselves as one or the other, the actions of these characters will usually prove otherwise. That is how it is for most alignments though; actions speak louder than words. Nobody walks up to a stranger and introduces themself as good, evil or otherwise. At least, not remotely mentally stable people.

A neutral character leaves things wide open and can range from eager adventurous folk, who "want in", to solemn homebodies who just want the insanity to stop. A villain or hero's sidekick may be neutral and play the devil's advocate. Maybe they're a lovable anti-hero stuck in the middle of things and ready to have a meltdown at any moment. There are endless possibilities here.

This is where the majority lies, both in fiction and reality. Somewhere between selfishness and martyrdom, too complicated to classify. The main thing that generally that makes the heroes heroes and the villains villains are circumstances and times when they're really under pressure. Till actions speak otherwise, most everyone lies in neutrality.

Villains are the vital element that make the story move. When people sit down to read a book, see a movie, read RP message boards etc ... they want to be enthralled. They want adventure! CONFLICT! The villain is the person or thing which provides these things. Without conflict, there is no story!

Seeing as how a villain is so very important they must be well rounded, thought out, and above all interesting. I've found myself adoring villains in some stories and movies far more than I cared for the heroes. We should be able to love to hate them, or adore them despite ourselves. When we can do that, then we know we've got a great stinker on our hands or a truly admirable mastermind.

A villain must must have a motive. They need to have a reason behind their wicked deeds. They must have a personality, something beyond just evil cackling and witty come-backs. Like any other person, they have fears, desires, hopes, dreams ... and of course weaknesses.

It is also important to remember that "Evil" is not always obvious, in fact is far more effective when under the guise of something else. The key, as I said before, is selfishness. A villain is the guy on a sinking ship who pushes the women and children out of the way so that he can get out safely. He may know how wrong it is, but be acting out of an overwhelming sense of self-preservation (cowardly or arrogant).

Often, the villain won't consider him or herself a villain at all. They might view themselves in the right and even mean well. A villain doesn't always think of him or herself as evil, nor want to. Point of view, as always, is key. A person may do the wrong thing for the right reason just as easily as the right thing for the wrong reason. The hero, through this sort of villain's eyes, is the one who is evil and trying to ruin everything. They have reason for what they do and in their own minds are justified. Sometimes another person or situation is their driving force, and it's "pressure from above" that's driving them to desperate measures.

An antagonist will often be knowingly breaking the law, but that certainly isn't always true. Sometimes they are the law, or they keep their wicked deeds within the law making things that much more complicated for the poor protagonist. Villains aren't always criminals.

Don't limit yourself. The best "bad guys" are complicated with as many flaws, quirks, and just as interesting and compelling as the protagonist trying to stop them.

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Notice I put flaws first here. Both in writing and roleplaying, a common mistake is having the merits outweigh the flaws. Everyone has good things about them, talents and skills, and this is an important part of any character, but what makes readers relate to them are the flaws and weaknesses.

People can't relate to perfection. In fact, "perfect" characters tend to irritate most people. So unless that's what you're going for, it's best to take balance into consideration. For example, which X-Man is more popular? Cyclops "Mr. Perfect" or Wolverine with the attitude problem? Most people are more fond of Wolverine because his temperment make him more interesting and easier to relate to.

Skills, abilities, high statistics, can all be overdone. You can overdo it with flaws as well, but instead of being more distant the character usually becomes comic relief instead. Exaggerated flaws also move the character away from realism. Balance is the key and though your story/character may be on the more fantastical side of things, *knowing* the balance will help keep you on track for the direction you want to take your character in.

Take, for example, a vampire. Vampires come with a list of typical merits (strength, immortality, shapeshifting, ect.) and flaws (fear of crosses, inability to stand sunlight, no reflection, ect.) depending on what traditions you're going by. Personality flaws can spice things up. Say the vampire is also scared of the dark, or gets ill at the sight of blood. Maybe they're picky about the type of blood they consume, or they're not very good at covering up the undead identity around mortals. Maybe they need glasses, or have a pet peeve about vampire stereotypes. The more difficult things are for your character one way or another, the more interested people will be.

I'll also use a couple of my own roleplaying characters as examples as well. I played a young Zephyr (which is rather like a petite elf with wings) druidess in one of the first online RPGs I got involved with. She was very cute and frail, also very shy and with a massive distaste for violence, due to an abusive upbringing, with a stutter to her speech. The distaste for violence was a huge flaw as just about every adventure involved battles you need to level up. However, because she was a healer and used various non-violent spells to defend herself, she functioned just fine as well as standing out as someone unusual in the party. While she didn't level very fast, she was well-liked and looked after as a little sister by many adventurers in the Inn.

Flaws give us challenges that force us to be creative and get around them in order to progress.

Another character of mine is a Gorgon (aka Medusa, D&D style) that was a bit controversial at first because a character who can turn people into stone by looking at them is a little too powerful for a player character in a roleplaying game. To make her playable, I gave Nyssa a past in which she accidentally turned her love to stone, and the guilt drove her to wear a mask with no eyes and hide her identity whenever she goes about people. She deliberately lives as if she's blind and searches for a way to rid herself of the stone "curse". Another flaw is being cold-blooded, so when it gets very cold out or if she's out of the sun too long she gets very lethargic.

I have a blast with this character. Extremely powerful, but refuses to live up to that potential as well as giving other players an opportunity to pay more attention to sound descriptions. Challenging, unusual, and oddly likeable. I got to play the monster race I wanted, but made her someone the others could associate with. In her eyes, her very nature is a flaw.

Flaws provide much needed conflict, and along with merits are a natural part of what makes your character special and unique. Don't be afraid to look for trouble. Trouble is what keeps things interesting.

Knowing your character is key, and I don't just mean the facts that directly effect the story line. The role-players especially should think about the little details. These give your creation life and make it easier to react to any given situation without missing a beat.

We're not talking about flaws this time, but rather your character's quirks. Everyone has odd little habits, pet peeves, favorite foods, colors, music, perhaps phobias, things that embarrass them, things they are proud of, style as far as clothing.... there is so many little things to consider. I can't cover everything, but we can go over some basics to get you started.

The idea is to develop a complete, rounded, complex and believable person. Think of it as acting as their historian, observing them and recording what you see as no other historian can. Unless you're deliberately writing a Mary Sue (self insertion) character, your creation should be a distinctly separate unique personality.

Here are some questions to give you an idea of things which are helpful to consider:

Anything you can think of will be helpful. Let the character speak to you. Let them comment on anything that they may find interesting or distasteful that you come across in research and everyday life. Anything that they can relate to. Every little bit helps, even if it never actually comes up in the storyline. Even though it's important and helpful for you to know all this, remember that the audience doesn't need to know all these details. Trying to include everything could ruin the flow of the story, but the fact that you know will make a difference.

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Exercises and Inspiration

Coming Soon

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Beyond Powergaming

Coming Soon

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Recommended Reading

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