Characters that work for RP

[MHertz]

I’ve had some characters work well in RP, and some that didn’t; I’ve seen others that tried and failed to get traction. I thought I would share what works for me when creating a character that plays nicely with (or against) others.

 

1. Be realistic about your power level. This is a game, not a narrative, so you have to keep in mind that, unless you avoid other players entirely (in which case, why RP?) you will be spending a certain amount of time in combat, subject to the whims of the RNG. It’s almost impossible to RP a character like Batman, who is almost supernaturally prepared and aware of all his enemies — you’re going to have a harder time being that guy. Ditto Superman, who is virtually indestructible compared to his teammates. Your character may be on a journey to that kind of power, but you don’t start there at level one. If you try to RP as a goddess or a super-being or master psionic at level 1, the interaction you can expect is the same as you’d get from Nelson Muntz: “HA ha!”

 

2. Build bridges, not walls. In comics you might find a character with many layers of mystery, or with a tragic past that must be unlocked. If you go this route in a game, you’ll have to introduce that tragic story to every new person you meet — and if your origin is a mystery, then you’ll have to either volunteer your own story or hope someone else asks. They may not! So instead, remember to build a character that has handles — nice, easy to understand ways for others to join in and connect. “I’m super dark and mysterious, nobody knows anything about me” is a poor starting point. Also “my character has amnesia and doesn’t know who she is.” But if you drop a few clues in your bio and your dialogue (eg, injured veteran turned hero, always using military squad lingo, call people “sir”) you’ll give people a way to participate. The more broadly you build this bridge (eg, my character Ty Flare is always commenting on how flammable things are and talking about fire codes) the easier it will be for others to infer things about your character.

 

3. React to what’s before you. As I said, you’ll be spending a certain amount of time on teams, earning XP. You may spend some time chatting between missions in one venue or another. So figure out how to react to things your character will be exposed to, rather than rare things that will never come up. Every time Stickbonker is in the sewers, he’s looking for his lost boot. Every time Winterdove rescues a hostage, it’s personal (she was once captured by the COT).  Every time Colt Soulwalker dies in battle and there’s no rez handy, I change costumes at the hospital and pretend like somebody new just found the cursed Colt pistols and became possessed by them. Or your character could hold strong opinions about other power sets (Stickbonker loves sticks), other origins (Akita loves her technology devices), or ATs.

 

4. Find a voice. It can be an accent, or a speech habit, or a way of treating others. Skywatcher (Beast MM) treats other people like her animals and talks to them in that talk-to-dogs voice people use. Moongold gushes over supers she meets because she’s a huge fangirl. Mistress Hertz is always intimidating and unabashed about her day job as a dominatrix.

 

5. Find a thing to obsess about, preferably one other people can understand. It may make your character a little one-noted at first, but it also makes them distinct. Mr Crunch is a mascot for Mr Crunch brand cereal. Winterdove used to deliver pizza to various villain groups. Moongold has a jealous roommate. Zephyr Lily became a hero in order to train for a reality TV show. Skyvixen is all about her social media branding. Stickbonker is always complaining about the bureaucrats at City Hall making his job harder.

 

6. It’s not always about you. You’ll have to interact with other characters sooner or later, so it’s important to know how to take a back seat — to observe, question, interrogate, doubt, explain, console, or sympathize with others. If people would rather talk about you, and you’re okay with that, then fine; but you should have a way to speak to others in a way that invites them to do the same about themselves. That may mean you’ll have to think about what your character likes and dislikes, and why.

 

(I am not an experienced RPer in an MMO setting, which has rules and protocols of its own, but I’ve done a lot of tabletop RP as well as stage and voice acting. This is just my advice on making a character. Others may disagree.)

[Latex]

Some good tips.

 

One thing I notice that is often disregarded even by experienced Roleplayers is being scared of loss or defeat, I've played out characters elsewhere where perma-death is public and a real possibility, the tension this adds changes the dynamic of everything and I mean everything, all interactions change and to be quite honest it's still extremely rare perma-death ends up actually happening but the threat and presence of it being a possibility makes the Roleplay have so much more gravitas even more so when it's player focused, e.g. another player character can potentially end your character.

 

While that's not for everyone loss/defeat can still be the biggest boon to Roleplay, I've had characters go through loss (emotional or physical) that forged them into something completely unexpected, good characters became manipulative to save their skin, evil characters seen the error of their ways or my most memorable delved into magics knowing for a fact it would kill her to exact revenge and protect her friends.

 

If you've never faced defeat in a Roleplaying scenario give it a try and see how it organically shapes your character a defeat that is out of your control not written in a backstory but played out, be it via a critical fail diceroll or otherwise, you might be surprised by how it evolves your character and gives greater depth.

 

 

Edited December 9, 2021 by Latex

[Crystal Dragon]

I'm sure everyone finds their own groove over time. It's intimidating at first to roleplay with complete strangers, but if you are repeatedly part of the events happening on a regular basis, it becomes almost natural and gives a lot of wiggle room for learning about other players characters, and befriending them through interactions too. Just a thoughtful tip I wanted to share. 

[DrunkFlux]

I should mention some other tips that help ensure your character can work.  Some things that, if your making your character stupidly overpowered, your very likely to fail in.

 

1: Don't Godmode others.  Doing mean things unto others toons(or even mirror versions) without consent is at 'best' off-putting, at worst it just ticks the other player off.  Godmoding is when your doing onto others things they didn't give consent for.  This goes hand in hand with the tip the original poster made in part 1 also; another good reason to avoid making overpowered characters is so the temptation to do something to others without there consent isn't there as much.  Being an across-all-dimensions/universes all-knowing super deity is all but 100% certain to lead to godmoding someone.  And course, there is no challenging such an overpowered character.  Not even cthulhu himself could challenge such a being.

 

When someone asks you "Is there even any challenging your character?"  that should be a MASSIVE red flag.  Even more-so if they seem to be a friend saying it at the time.

 

2: Treat others as equals always.  Being demanding, authoritarian and insisting your in charge all the time over others is another good way to put others off from your roleplaying.  Even more-so when you seem to think everyone should be like you.  No one is entitled to lord over everyone else.  Combined with the above, your more likely to see someone actually throw a wall up at you.

 

In fact, if your incapable of not lording over others, always having to have authority, you'll likely fail at #1 and every other form of etiquette.

 

3: If someone seems to want out of a plot, give them an out for gods sake.  Maybe the person is seeing the plot being unfun or unfair, or just going to drag on and on and they have a life outside of RP.  When you insist on dragging someone through something they aren't enjoying, anything, guess what happens?  They throw a strike at you, and are all the more likely to get that wall thrown at you rather than a bridge maintained.  They remember you for the bad experiences you put them through, rather than the good ones.  Even if they gave you consent initially you need to be aware it might not be there cup of tea.  When you fail #2 and insist on lording over others, you WILL fail this part, I guarantee it.

 

In fact, this, combined with the above two are all but certain to lead to falling outs.  And get you on ignore eventually or at the least, pushed out of major plotlines.

 

4: When multiple people seem to dislike your RP, it's likely you.  There is a saying in that, when a person has a long string of people they call crazy or accuse of being horrible, chances are, that person is the real villain, not the victim.  You can choose to change and adjust your behavior but if your unwilling to, more and more people will take notice of your habits of doing the three above deadly sins of bad roleplaying.

 

5: Learn to read people a little.  Not everyone may bring up problems they have with you until it's already to late.  In fact, I watched some videos of late and found it's NOT uncommon.  And if they do finally get around don't tell them "You should have told me earlier", just note it.  Remember, if your the one making mistakes, it's not there fault, it's yours.  Telling them they should have mentioned earlier is putting the blame on THEM.  They won't like that.

[Crystal Dragon]

7 hours ago, DrunkFlux said:

4: When multiple people seem to dislike your RP, it's likely you.  There is a saying in that, when a person has a long string of people they call crazy or accuse of being horrible, chances are, that person is the real villain, not the victim.  You can choose to change and adjust your behavior but if your unwilling to, more and more people will take notice of your habits of doing the three above deadly sins of bad roleplaying.

I want to point this one out for a reason.

Okay, so the things I teach, do actually point out specific problematic behavioral traits, and habits that show up in roleplaying with individuals that are poorly behaved, or have conditions that result in bad communication skills, or the desire to manipulate situations to their favor, no matter the obstacles in their way. I want to be absolutely clear on this with anyone reading this thread.

 

If you feel targeted, threatened, or harassed by the players you engage with, consider taking a step back, and informing these players in private, whether it's in tells, party chat, or league chat, however many of them you are dealing with, that you feel uncomfortable and need a bit of time to work out an ooc solution to help smooth things out. If the players persist to be harassing, or causing you issue after talking things over, then is the time to talk to a GM to ask some further questions of what more you can do. A lot of the times, communities like RPers tend to develop cliques and this community has enough mature players to know that cliques are never a good thing to support or keep. Close friends is fine, super groups are intentionally designed for group play and planning together different projects and such, but cliques are toxic as hell and don't have a place in a community that simply wants to write their own stories and develop their own characters over time. Cliques tend to be very destructive to communities like this one, and it's goal to be able to communicate clearly, without divisiveness, to pursue a good plot and story development along the way.

 

Something else I'd like to note and recommend: Don't let it continue for days, weeks, months on end. The minute you get uncomfortable with the encounter, address the issue directly, talk to your partner/s and make sure everything is well understood before moving on from that disturbance. If it continues, you can and are encouraged to disengage, slip away to deal with that discomfort and if you need to break contact entirely, global ignore them. This is not just a healthy tip for you, this is for anyone that runs into a situation they are uncomfortable with and don't wish to continue to see that discomfort daily. ❤️

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by CrystalDragon
Your comfort and well being is a priority # 1, no matter the circumstances. RL > RP, ALWAYS.

[jkwak]

On 12/9/2021 at 12:24 AM, MHertz said:

If you try to RP as a goddess or a super-being or master psionic at level 1, the interaction you can expect is the same as you’d get from Nelson Muntz: “HA ha!”

you can but there should be a reason why they are weak,

i play a character who is a incredible old spell caster, why did the character start on level 1 and why is the character not a good fighter, well because she never even concidered learning any combat related magic and rather focused on magic to make her every day life easier or magic that works well for a party trick.

a Goddes might be weak because she is not attuned to the mortal realm, she might be immortal but "killing" her would send her back to the realm of of gods where she would have to wait a 100 years to get another chance to move to the mortal realm. Master psionic? sure maybe old, retired and not as strong as they used to be "back in my prime i could have melted your brain for that thought, at least i can give you a mild headache" that actually gives me a character idea

Edited December 17, 2021 by jkwak

[EyeLuvBooks]

On 12/17/2021 at 12:11 AM, jkwak said:

you can but there should be a reason why they are weak,

i play a character who is a incredible old spell caster, why did the character start on level 1 and why is the character not a good fighter, well because she never even concidered learning any combat related magic and rather focused on magic to make her every day life easier or magic that works well for a party trick.

a Goddes might be weak because she is not attuned to the mortal realm, she might be immortal but "killing" her would send her back to the realm of of gods where she would have to wait a 100 years to get another chance to move to the mortal realm. Master psionic? sure maybe old, retired and not as strong as they used to be "back in my prime i could have melted your brain for that thought, at least i can give you a mild headache" that actually gives me a character idea

This is a wonderful way for characters in some RPGs to explain how their characters are ancient but not powerful. Vampire, the Masquerade it a good example. If your character has been awake and active for 400 years, why are they still an intro-level punk? Easy...they weren't active. Some enemy stabbed them and threw them in a hole for 350 years and their powers waned. It happens in comics all the time as well.

 

The best part about this is the RP opportunities. Say you're running a Tank or Brute who used to be mega-powerful but is now lvl 20 or so. The SG wants to go do some high-threat work. You assume that you're still as invincible as before and jump right in...and get crushed. Boom...plot thread and RP opportunity. "Well...I guess that Zeta-Ray I got zapped with at Dr Evil's lair took more out of me than I thought!" Now you can RP going from the powerful (and maybe a little arrogant?) leader to a more humble member of the team...relying on others to help.

[Redletter]

On 12/8/2021 at 3:24 PM, MHertz said:

I’ve had some characters work well in RP, and some that didn’t; I’ve seen others that tried and failed to get traction. I thought I would share what works for me when creating a character that plays nicely with (or against) others.

 

1. Be realistic about your power level. This is a game, not a narrative, so you have to keep in mind that, unless you avoid other players entirely (in which case, why RP?) you will be spending a certain amount of time in combat, subject to the whims of the RNG. It’s almost impossible to RP a character like Batman, who is almost supernaturally prepared and aware of all his enemies — you’re going to have a harder time being that guy. Ditto Superman, who is virtually indestructible compared to his teammates. Your character may be on a journey to that kind of power, but you don’t start there at level one. If you try to RP as a goddess or a super-being or master psionic at level 1, the interaction you can expect is the same as you’d get from Nelson Muntz: “HA ha!”

 

See, while I agree it's important to color your character's power level appropriately, I don't think, in roleplay, it is at all required, or even neccesarily helpful to avoid playing to the role youve envisioned. City of Heroes, as a setting, lends itself very well to all manner of hero tropes. But what your suggesting is to "play your level", not "play your character". Not everyone has an interest in playing "Peter Parker's First Day Out" literally EVERY time they make a new character. It'd be like roleplaying your incarnate levels, or your veteran levels. Does this mean Veracor is THE most powerful being in the universe? They've got the biggest level, so, by this logic, the answer is yes. I think it's far more constructive to consider what, where, why and how your character, regardless of their mechanical benefits or personal lore, is doing what theyre doing.

 

Ok, so you ARE Superman. You're functionally unstoppable. Nigh-unkillable. WHAT are you doing in the sewers of Paragon cleaning out hydras, Mr. Impossible? WHERE have you been all this time? WHY are you running from some basic zombies? HOW come you're only punching these guys when you could be using your laser beam eyes?

 

All of these questions produce more opportunities to RP and flesh a character out. 

On 12/8/2021 at 3:24 PM, MHertz said:

 

2. Build bridges, not walls. In comics you might find a character with many layers of mystery, or with a tragic past that must be unlocked. If you go this route in a game, you’ll have to introduce that tragic story to every new person you meet — and if your origin is a mystery, then you’ll have to either volunteer your own story or hope someone else asks. They may not! So instead, remember to build a character that has handles — nice, easy to understand ways for others to join in and connect. “I’m super dark and mysterious, nobody knows anything about me” is a poor starting point. Also “my character has amnesia and doesn’t know who she is.” But if you drop a few clues in your bio and your dialogue (eg, injured veteran turned hero, always using military squad lingo, call people “sir”) you’ll give people a way to participate. The more broadly you build this bridge (eg, my character Ty Flare is always commenting on how flammable things are and talking about fire codes) the easier it will be for others to infer things about your character.

 

Again, while the message starts real strong here, RP, like improv, and every great interaction on earth, only works when you "yes and". You then go off and start to dissuade people from playing characters with nebulous airs. I think this is outright hypocritical to what you JUST said! Saying "dont play Mr.Mystery because it's hard to connect with" and "Build Bridges, not walls" inherently builds a wall. There are HUNDREDS of super spies, clandestine agents, amnesiacs, secret mystics and more who are, by the nature of their character, unwilling or unable to disclose much about themselves personally. That's ABSOLUTELY FINE. The CORE here is to simply not NEGATE the roleplay. EG:

 

Agent 48: Looks like another messy job, tonight...
Big Chipper: Messy job? Is this normal for you, baldy?

Agent 48: You could say that...

Big Chipper: I could also say youre bald!

Agent 48: You could at that, yes.

Big Chipper: Why are you so bald?

Agent 48: I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

Big Chipper: YOU KILL PEOPLE?!

Agent 48: ... No. That was just a joke...

Big Chipper: Oh good! So... do ya got any more?

Agent 48: ... Knock Knock.

 

It's not hard to roleplay a character reluctant to talk about themselves. It's a common tactic OF this character type to deflect, and find OTHERS topics to engage in. Atton Rand, Batman, Dr. House, Black Widow... ALL characters with things to hide, all known for not enjoying talking about themselves, and all are incredibly engaging in conversation (scene wise, not necessarily in REAL conversation) without needing to volunteer ANYTHING significant about themselves, NOR do they have to wait till somebody asks about them to engage in dialog.

On 12/8/2021 at 3:24 PM, MHertz said:

3. React to what’s before you. As I said, you’ll be spending a certain amount of time on teams, earning XP. You may spend some time chatting between missions in one venue or another. So figure out how to react to things your character will be exposed to, rather than rare things that will never come up. Every time Stickbonker is in the sewers, he’s looking for his lost boot. Every time Winterdove rescues a hostage, it’s personal (she was once captured by the COT).  Every time Colt Soulwalker dies in battle and there’s no rez handy, I change costumes at the hospital and pretend like somebody new just found the cursed Colt pistols and became possessed by them. Or your character could hold strong opinions about other power sets (Stickbonker loves sticks), other origins (Akita loves her technology devices), or ATs.

Great advice. The game world is the most persistent character in this ENTIRE game and ignoring it completely is a big mistake. I play a mercenary mastermind who, upon the (inevitable) death of a pet, curses how expensive cloning is and then, when the pet respawns, chides them for dying and insists the cost will come out of his pay. She comments on other military outfits, and prospective clients (just as an example). As an example, when doing Positron, you're met face to face with a shadow version of yourself!    R E A C T    T O    T H A T!

On 12/8/2021 at 3:24 PM, MHertz said:

4. Find a voice. It can be an accent, or a speech habit, or a way of treating others. Skywatcher (Beast MM) treats other people like her animals and talks to them in that talk-to-dogs voice people use. Moongold gushes over supers she meets because she’s a huge fangirl. Mistress Hertz is always intimidating and unabashed about her day job as a dominatrix.

Again, GREAT advice. It's a dirty cheat code, but if you EVER want to make a character more 'fun', give them a verbal tick. My character BIG GATOR speaks in the third person, and exclusively in capslock, Ms. Astonishing calls everyone 'darling', these are fun and easy cheat codes to make a character simply MORE engaging to both write and to play with. I find it honestly MUCH easier to 'pull' people into roleplaying with BIG GATOR, because having a giant gangster gator in a tux, yelling, is just something people want to be a part of.

(As a side note, i've played with half of those characters youve mentioned)

On 12/8/2021 at 3:24 PM, MHertz said:

5. Find a thing to obsess about, preferably one other people can understand. It may make your character a little one-noted at first, but it also makes them distinct. Mr Crunch is a mascot for Mr Crunch brand cereal. Winterdove used to deliver pizza to various villain groups. Moongold has a jealous roommate. Zephyr Lily became a hero in order to train for a reality TV show. Skyvixen is all about her social media branding. Stickbonker is always complaining about the bureaucrats at City Hall making his job harder.

This is specifically good for gimmick characters? But the general suggestion here of giving your character something they can TALK about is always good. Maybe they're a fan of a particularly greasy burger joint in king's row and they HATE they love it, maybe they really really have a thing for Arachnos Tarantula Mistresses specifically? OR now that we have female arachnos banes, MAYBE you try to hit on them when they show up? Maybe you just cant resist to constantly, persisitently, and perpetually talk about how much you HATE Oranbega even when doing things totally unrelated to oranbega.

 

On 12/8/2021 at 3:24 PM, MHertz said:

6. It’s not always about you. You’ll have to interact with other characters sooner or later, so it’s important to know how to take a back seat — to observe, question, interrogate, doubt, explain, console, or sympathize with others. If people would rather talk about you, and you’re okay with that, then fine; but you should have a way to speak to others in a way that invites them to do the same about themselves. That may mean you’ll have to think about what your character likes and dislikes, and why.

 

(I am not an experienced RPer in an MMO setting, which has rules and protocols of its own, but I’ve done a lot of tabletop RP as well as stage and voice acting. This is just my advice on making a character. Others may disagree.)

 

As we mentioned, it's all about "yes and" really, and this ties right back into that. Dialog can flow pretty naturally, as long as you know your character. Motivations are REALLY important and understanding what your characters are naturally helps rp flow.

[Machariel]

I think I misunderstand the assignment because when I hear “will work for RP” I just think of Pocket D 🤔

[MHertz]

18 hours ago, Redletter said:

 

See, while I agree it's important to color your character's power level appropriately, I don't think, in roleplay, it is at all required, or even neccesarily helpful to avoid playing to the role youve envisioned. ... Ok, so you ARE Superman. You're functionally unstoppable. Nigh-unkillable. WHAT are you doing in the sewers of Paragon cleaning out hydras, Mr. Impossible? WHERE have you been all this time?

I think what you're saying is "be realistic about your power level." As you say, if you are trying to RP as an ultrapowerful being, there ought to be a reason why you're not, in this exact moment, according to the game engine, as ultrapowerful as you want people to think. I don't think I ever said you have to play a level 1 as a total gosh-how-amazing! newbie every single time.

 

I made a character named Techbonker. He dresses and talks exactly like Stickbonker, but instead of being a level 50 staff/WP brute, he's a low-level Robots Mastermind. I justify the fact that he's "weak" (he's not level 50) by saying he's trying to learn a new discipline but he's not good at it yet.

 

18 hours ago, Redletter said:

You then go off and start to dissuade people from playing characters with nebulous airs. ...

 

It's not hard to roleplay a character reluctant to talk about themselves. It's a common tactic OF this character type to deflect, and find OTHERS topics to engage in. Atton Rand, Batman, Dr. House, Black Widow... ALL characters with things to hide, all known for not enjoying talking about themselves,

 

I don't think I did try to dissuade anyone from being mysterious. There's a distinction to be drawn between being mysterious as a character and being a complete mystery to other players. You can play a character who has secrets, and even play one that refuses to discuss those secrets, but (as I said) the disadvantage to that approach is that you're either a) breaking character by constantly talking about the thing you claim you never talk about, or b) you have to wait for someone else to drag your secrets out of you. It can become repetitive for other players and for you. Other players may not want to participate in your story if you make it too difficult.

 

One thing about the characters you mention — Black Widow, Dr. House, Batman, et al — they are all leads. That means the action always follows that character and the audience is slowly educated about each of them over a long stretch of time. You, as an RPer in an MMO, are not a lead except to yourself. Unlike with a TV show audience, it's unlikely that any player will be present to witness every moment of your long-haul story arc. You are a bit part in someone else's story. They might catch episode 5, then episode 22, then episode 24, then episode 60.* As such, you cannot expect everyone to be familiar with your backstory just because you told three dancers and one AFK dude in Pocket D. You're going to have to tell that story again and again. That means you have to figure out how to be both mysterious and communicative.

 

I've seen players who lurk on the sidelines with those "I'm So Mysterious" bios filled with [redacted] and blank spaces and phrases like "name: unknown" and "he's watching you from the corner." I usually don't see anybody talking to them. I know I don't.

 

But I think we're on the same page, pretty much, because you're saying to RP your character in a way that creates engagement despite the mysterious nature of the character. That's all I'm saying. Give your character handles.

 

*This is why Stickbonker repeats himself often. If I want to make a running joke about his missing boot or his ongoing squabble with City Hall or his pretentions at being mayor, I have to keep bringing these things up when different people are online.

[Itsyagirl]

You shouldn't roleplay blank slate mystery characters who don't talk, for the same reason you shouldn't roll an edgy rogue who lurks in the corner of the tavern with their hood up not speaking to anyone - everyone else in the party is going to go have adventures while you sit around looking mysterious.

 

Like yes, that is a character archetype that exists - in written fiction where the author has complete control over what happens. In an improv setting where other people need to play off you, you need to be giving something to play off.

[MHertz]

4 hours ago, Itsyagirl said:

Like yes, that is a character archetype that exists - in written fiction where the author has complete control over what happens. 

It can exist in pen-and-paper RPGs, too, where you adventure with the same party throughout the campaign. In an MMO there is no longitudinal character study with a fixed set of participants. That’s why playing it in an MMO presents different challenges.

[Apple]

I've got a couple of thoughts to throw into the ring, though these are all my personal preferences and my opinions, so take them with a grain of salt and feel free to ignore them completely if you disagree - though I'd love to hear your take on why these do or don't work for you!

 

Overpowered Characters Are Fine: It's their personality that matters. I've had plenty of pleasant RP experiences with characters that were "overpowered"- the key to writing them is the same as it is for writing a Superman comic that's actually interesting: Superman doesn't go around laser-eyeing everybody to death over snide comments, nobody's getting punched through a skyscraper for accidentally spilling their coffee on him, and the only time I find Supes interesting or fun as a character is when he's played "soft". He's not here to tear everybody to shreds - maybe he's actively trying really hard not to! - even though he absolutely could. Goku is another classic and easy example of someone who is, technically, super strong, but who's friendly enough to come across as likeable, knows when to use his strength and who to use it on.

I don't really mind roleplaying with "angels" or "demons" or, occasionally, if you really know what you're doing, """Gods""", but only if you're not going to act aggressive and then hit anybody who doesn't immediately roll over for you with "/me kills you". No matter how many paragraphs you put into it, it's lame, and acting like that makes you an asshole. Roleplay is like any other kind of play- it should be fun for both parties involved. It's also nice if you have a very specific set of "lore" for your overpowered character that makes them not-so-overpowered- Achilles had his heel, Samson had his hair, Wolverine's full of metal. Everyone should have some kind of Kryptonite, preferably something that's not an incredibly rare mineral, that encourages people who have a beef with your OP Super-Seraphim to use creativity and problem-solving skills instead of responding with "/me kills you even better".

The second of my tepid takes is semi-related.

Consent and Communication: Talk to people! Not just in-character, but out of character - talk to the other writers! This is a two-way street. Encourage the people you RP with to talk to you. You don't have to pre-plan the next five years of RP plot, answer questions about who you are out-of-game, or you don't need to know what the outcome of a fight is going to be before either of you have written the first post, but you should be equally comfortable both setting and following OOC boundaries about what happens IC.

 

For example, if I'm playing a blind character, who's spent their entire life being blind and has completely adapted their life and fighting style around their lack of vision, if your character walks up and cures them of their blindness, even if your intentions are good, IC you've just ruined their entire way of experiencing the world, are now opening them up to a huge swath of brand-new stimuli that they might not enjoy, and they now need to re-learn how to handle combat from scratch. OOC, you have, without asking, completely nullified a core chunk of the character I made, and now I, as a writer, have to essentially make a brand-new character out of the rubble of the established character you un-made on a whim.

 

This can be easily avoided by asking people before you do anything huge or weird. My personal preference is to ask people (and be asked) prior to grievous injury (might land them in the hospital for a week or more, could be fatal if untreated), loss of a limb or sense, any attempt at character death, anything that would make a massive change to a character, and anything that's going to be exceptionally graphic or unpleasant - detailed depictions of violence/torture, anything involving eyes or fingernails, that sort of thing. It's both a courtesy, one that by accepting they also have to extend to you, and an easy way to ensure you don't traumatize a player who's not as old as you or upset someone who doesn't enjoy the same kind of RP you do.

 

At the end of the day, this is a hobby. We're all doing this for fun, and most folks use roleplay to unwind - keeping other people in mind tends to get you the same treatment in return, so being nice (even if it's only OOC!) to the people you play with can go a long way, especially if you want to keep writing stories with the same people in the long run!

 

Anyway. Regardless of how you like to handle your RP, I hope you have fun out there! 💞

[DrunkFlux]

3 hours ago, Apple said:

I've got a couple of thoughts to throw into the ring, though these are all my personal preferences and my opinions, so take them with a grain of salt and feel free to ignore them completely if you disagree - though I'd love to hear your take on why these do or don't work for you!

 

Overpowered Characters Are Fine: It's their personality that matters. I've had plenty of pleasant RP experiences with characters that were "overpowered"- the key to writing them is the same as it is for writing a Superman comic that's actually interesting: Superman doesn't go around laser-eyeing everybody to death over snide comments, nobody's getting punched through a skyscraper for accidentally spilling their coffee on him, and the only time I find Supes interesting or fun as a character is when he's played "soft". He's not here to tear everybody to shreds - maybe he's actively trying really hard not to! - even though he absolutely could. Goku is another classic and easy example of someone who is, technically, super strong, but who's friendly enough to come across as likeable, knows when to use his strength and who to use it on.

I don't really mind roleplaying with "angels" or "demons" or, occasionally, if you really know what you're doing, """Gods""", but only if you're not going to act aggressive and then hit anybody who doesn't immediately roll over for you with "/me kills you". No matter how many paragraphs you put into it, it's lame, and acting like that makes you an asshole. Roleplay is like any other kind of play- it should be fun for both parties involved. It's also nice if you have a very specific set of "lore" for your overpowered character that makes them not-so-overpowered- Achilles had his heel, Samson had his hair, Wolverine's full of metal. Everyone should have some kind of Kryptonite, preferably something that's not an incredibly rare mineral, that encourages people who have a beef with your OP Super-Seraphim to use creativity and problem-solving skills instead of responding with "/me kills you even better".

The second of my tepid takes is semi-related.

Consent and Communication: Talk to people! Not just in-character, but out of character - talk to the other writers! This is a two-way street. Encourage the people you RP with to talk to you. You don't have to pre-plan the next five years of RP plot, answer questions about who you are out-of-game, or you don't need to know what the outcome of a fight is going to be before either of you have written the first post, but you should be equally comfortable both setting and following OOC boundaries about what happens IC.

 

For example, if I'm playing a blind character, who's spent their entire life being blind and has completely adapted their life and fighting style around their lack of vision, if your character walks up and cures them of their blindness, even if your intentions are good, IC you've just ruined their entire way of experiencing the world, are now opening them up to a huge swath of brand-new stimuli that they might not enjoy, and they now need to re-learn how to handle combat from scratch. OOC, you have, without asking, completely nullified a core chunk of the character I made, and now I, as a writer, have to essentially make a brand-new character out of the rubble of the established character you un-made on a whim.

 

This can be easily avoided by asking people before you do anything huge or weird. My personal preference is to ask people (and be asked) prior to grievous injury (might land them in the hospital for a week or more, could be fatal if untreated), loss of a limb or sense, any attempt at character death, anything that would make a massive change to a character, and anything that's going to be exceptionally graphic or unpleasant - detailed depictions of violence/torture, anything involving eyes or fingernails, that sort of thing. It's both a courtesy, one that by accepting they also have to extend to you, and an easy way to ensure you don't traumatize a player who's not as old as you or upset someone who doesn't enjoy the same kind of RP you do.

 

At the end of the day, this is a hobby. We're all doing this for fun, and most folks use roleplay to unwind - keeping other people in mind tends to get you the same treatment in return, so being nice (even if it's only OOC!) to the people you play with can go a long way, especially if you want to keep writing stories with the same people in the long run!

 

Anyway. Regardless of how you like to handle your RP, I hope you have fun out there! 💞

 

I think on OP chars it boils down to whether or not if the person rping the OP character seems to insist on being in charge of everyone and everything that toon is about, and like I mention above if they don't respect other players boundaries.  Or when a player seems to want out of a plot, trying to drag them into it or if they rp something affecting someone else mentions they are NOT ok with, they then try to cover it up by saying they didn't say that(even though it's plainly in view of everyone).

 

It really does boil down to the player IMO.  The problems of an OP character become more apparent with a bad RPer than it does a good one.  OP characters are like heavyweights in a racing game; sure they seem fun and have the best top speeds, but if your bad at the racing game, you'll still score last or heaven forbid get lapped by everyone.

 

Starting small helps.  And even if your toon is 50, theres nothing wrong with them remaining IC wise balanced or grounded.  Besides, it's more satisfying when you give say, that high over-all performer of yours say, flaw of inexperience/arrogance just enough and then deliberately put them in a situation they cannot just blast their way out of :D.

[Sabrehawk]

Much of the issue with so called 'OP' characters is that no one (myself included) wants to say 'hey, you aren't skilled enough to be writing this character'. Which is understandable; that is a difficult conversation to have with the potential for considerable drama. However it can often kill a scene as people are understandably not interested in being on the wrong side of such a character. I have seen that dynamic put an end to several otherwise wonderful storylines over the years. 

[Cancrusher]

IMO, the problem with RPing powerful characters in CoH isn't necessarily bad roleplay.  The problem is that players come to CoH hoping to model the kind of characters and fictional reality in the comic book genre.  In comic books, heroes and villains largely begin their careers with amazing skills and powers and are able to compete with or be a threat to other characters with amazing skills and powers. 

 

In other words, they want to play comic book characters in a comic book game, not D&D style zero-to-hero weaklings (replace killing rats in the cellar for the inkeeper with clearing out gangs from the streets- it's the same trope, you see) that slowly gain power over time by grinding levels.  CoH, as great as it is, chose the traditional MMO model of play (taken from tabletop rpgs) as its baseline and this (IMO, I mean) is a bad fit for the comic book genre.  How it should actually work is just like it works in the comics:  You've got a team of badasses like the the Avengers and/or Justice League.  They constantly face and overcome threats that are equally exciting and badass.

 

Yes, you also have street level heroes and villains in comics.  If you want to play one of these, you should of course have the option to do so, but even a street level hero like batman is enough of a badass to run with the Justice League (and smart enough to go toe-to-toe with near god-like heroes like superman) and the Punisher has fought side by side with the Defenders, The Outlaw Avengers, and the Thunderbolts.

 

I think this is one reason so many players (including myself) prefer to power level instead of "enjoy the journey", as some people put it.  If they wanted to "enjoy the journey", they would play D&D or World of Warcraft, or something that models that kind of fantasy rpg setting reality.  But they don't- they want to do what comic book writers and artists do when they create a new super hero:  imagine a badass, super-powered being, suddenly gifted (or born) with powerful abilities, doing astonishing, superhuman things.

 

Anyways, that's just my opinion.  I understand other people have a different feeling about it.

[jkwak]

i feel like as Villain you have a better time writing those all powerful beings, because no matter how powerful they are the character still has to show ther worth.

You could walz in, make a big entrance and claim to take over the world but the avarage person might just go "oh yeah there are 20 heroes of your power level pick a number and get in line". so even the biggest and most powerful villain would start small with jobs only slightly better than the avarage henchman just to show they are not only empty treats but can follow thru with it until people take them serious and they get the respect and the followership they deserve.

A Vilain needs the money and the Henchman to build there evil Empire, a Hero needs none of it all they need is a cape.

if a powerfull Villain tries to take over the world (or just a small country) with no followers and just there iron fist they would get kicked there ass by at least 5 Heroes on there level.

[wjrasmussen]

Looking at the title, I imagined someone holding up a sign that reads "will work for rp"...

[Bleuception]

Quote

1. Be realistic about your power level. This is a game, not a narrative, so you have to keep in mind that, unless you avoid other players entirely (in which case, why RP?) you will be spending a certain amount of time in combat, subject to the whims of the RNG. It’s almost impossible to RP a character like Batman, who is almost supernaturally prepared and aware of all his enemies — you’re going to have a harder time being that guy. Ditto Superman, who is virtually indestructible compared to his teammates. Your character may be on a journey to that kind of power, but you don’t start there at level one. If you try to RP as a goddess or a super-being or master psionic at level 1, the interaction you can expect is the same as you’d get from Nelson Muntz: “HA ha!”

 

 

This is mostly the only point I wanted to give my two cents on seeing as I play a character that I RP as being Invulnerable/Immortal.

So using Leylathiriel as an example, she is Invulnerable to harm and cannot die. However, here's the distinction people should keep in mind: just because a character can't be killed, it doesn't mean they can't be defeated. For instance, being that Leylathiriel is a Demon of Sloth, she isn't very fast on her feet. Characters that are quick on their feet and able to outmaneuver her in battle can effectively make all her might and immortality useless, because she can't get to them.

 

I think this point in particular should be less about the kind of characters that are (often) considered overpowered, and more about character design in general. Even the quoted characters have glaring weaknesses. Superman, of course, has kryptonite. Batman can only prepare for situations he can predict, or based off information he collected while sleuthing. Alongside that, making all those gadgets and preparing for every sitution would demand a tremendous amount of time and resources, not to mention that ostensibly, there is a limit to just how much gear and tools a single person can carry into battle.

 

So, somebody with kryptonite can defeat Superman. Somebody who planted convincing false evidences can lead Batman astray and make him bring the wrong tools for the job to defeat him.

 

Besides, what's the point of roleplaying in a super hero/villain setting if players are to avoid some of the most iconic archetypes? If there's a will, there's a way.

 

Because I take those kinds of things in considerations, I have never once received a complaint concerning my character's chosen powers.

She is a lazy immovable object, who prefers napping over fighting!

 

 

Kind regards and be awesome to one another.

[TigerEmperor]

On 1/18/2022 at 11:08 AM, Bleuception said:

 

 

This is mostly the only point I wanted to give my two cents on seeing as I play a character that I RP as being Invulnerable/Immortal.

So using Leylathiriel as an example, she is Invulnerable to harm and cannot die. However, here's the distinction people should keep in mind: just because a character can't be killed, it doesn't mean they can't be defeated. For instance, being that Leylathiriel is a Demon of Sloth, she isn't very fast on her feet. Characters that are quick on their feet and able to outmaneuver her in battle can effectively make all her might and immortality useless, because she can't get to them.

 

I think this point in particular should be less about the kind of characters that are (often) considered overpowered, and more about character design in general. Even the quoted characters have glaring weaknesses. Superman, of course, has kryptonite. Batman can only prepare for situations he can predict, or based off information he collected while sleuthing. Alongside that, making all those gadgets and preparing for every sitution would demand a tremendous amount of time and resources, not to mention that ostensibly, there is a limit to just how much gear and tools a single person can carry into battle.

 

So, somebody with kryptonite can defeat Superman. Somebody who planted convincing false evidences can lead Batman astray and make him bring the wrong tools for the job to defeat him.

 

Besides, what's the point of roleplaying in a super hero/villain setting if players are to avoid some of the most iconic archetypes? If there's a will, there's a way.

 

Because I take those kinds of things in considerations, I have never once received a complaint concerning my character's chosen powers.

She is a lazy immovable object, who prefers napping over fighting!

 

 

Kind regards and be awesome to one another.

 

Just wanting to build off this a little and mention that while the opening post does bring up a good point about being able to reflect your roleplay with what you can do in-game and the like, I think that we do need to bring up that that is not always inherently the case.

 

More specifically, yes, when engaging in roleplay while in the game, you may want to emote, demonstrate, or be able to play out the scene without relying on text alone to sell it, to be able to engage with it. But when roleplaying, you do not inherently have to rely on level or in-game mechanics to be able to do something within the roleplay story's narrative. Even with the game's customization, emotes, and the like. It is optimal when you can but that does not preclude you from narratively doing something else.

 

For example, if I were roleplaying as Carmilla De Borgia, I have her set as a Fiery Melee/Regen Brute but in a roleplay narrative, I would need to do more than say that as a vampire, her biology enables greater strength, healing, and the like. If she needs to heal quickly while the move and/or hasn't fed recently, she may need to drink the blood of a passerby, one of the people she's fighting, that sort of thing. But I do not know off the top of my head at this particular moment if there is an emote or animation existing in-game that would reflect her biting and drinking from someone. It would just have to occur as a narrative event, even though she's not at an out of character level that would necessarily reflect it. Further, her biology may enable her to handle greater temperatures for longer than an otherwise 'normal' metahuman, such as an untrained version of Raphael Firestar. Meaning that she may be able to inherently have the "empower" ability from the Fiery Melee powerset on as a given.

 

But what I mostly wanted to drive at was establishing how closely tied to game mechanics you want the roleplay to be. Does your story depend on everyone basically starting as literally barely trained heroes/villains? Or would the story have a little flex and budge to it [IE, you could say your character can conjure a Greater Fire Sword-esque attack and sustain it despite not having it on your bar due to being levels 1-4]?

 

Going further in the vein of Bleu's example, Raphael Firebane has been training for years to be able to take his revenge against the Resistance. Not only does he have a noteworthy amount of physical and mental ability as a result, he would likely have already been working on using abilities that we do not see until later levels in spite of being, according to game mechanics, level one at a specific point. And while a slightly chilly room would be no big deal to him, it'd be more of a problem if someone were to mindtrick him into thinking he was in ice age conditions.

 

Now, I do think that ideally, you'd want to be able to reflect what your character can do by doing similar through the game's mechanics. But if you're in a roleplay that isn't bound too close to the mechanics, you're not going to be as strictly limited to what you can do. And, honestly? If you're roleplaying, you should not be limited by the game mechanics. So long as you don't get too crazy with it and actually work out with your group what's okay and what's not. Some RNG may apply, just don't let the game's limitations prohibit your imagination if you can describe and justify what you're doing. Establish and intimate/foreshadow and you can more believably do so... Within the cooperative narrative you're helping shape.

[Crystal Dragon]

I know I know, revisiting this one, but I do have quite a few tips to offer. 

 

A character that has to be worked to gain RP can be very - very tiresome to play. Not everyone has that kind of time, or dedication to pour into a toon's story development, or backgrounds and in many cases this can turn someone off from roleplaying outside of their usual chill out spaces or hang outs. 

• Break the routine. Sometimes stepping out of that comfort zone is one of the best possible decisions you can make to find roleplay outside of your usual zones and locations you hang out with on that character.
• Isolation is stagnation. You can actually find roleplay happening on the go, sometimes during missions, sometimes in task forces and raids even, you just have to pay attention to chat and stay aware. Don't isolate yourself as a player, it can and will lead to Pidgeon holing, and stagnation and eventually loss of interest in RP all together.
• Comfort zones are to be respected, not abused. It is entirely possible to craft a character that's intended to break your own personal comfort zones and broaden your understanding outside of them, but it is entirely possible to end up burning yourself out doing so. Acknowledging your own limitations and boundary's is NOT a bad thing, in fact it's a very positive thing to keep and stick to, as it makes your play time more enjoyable, as well as engagement easier for yourself and others you engage with. 
• OOC does not equal to IC. Most new folks automatically presume this, but in many cases it's a matter of someone misunderstanding the difference of In characters speech from out of character personality. What a players character decision is, does not always equate to the players decision, yes we control and play these characters but how they develop and change over time has a lot to do with what they are exposed to, and what decisions are made in the moments they need to make them. Some players use tools to help make spur of the moment decisions, whether it's die rolls, or coin flips, sometimes even negotiating options and alternative paths with the player they are interacting with. What those result to can be both random and fun.
• Fun does not always mean the same thing to each player involved. Clearly defining these interests and draws for your character can help with figuring out what your character seeks for involvement, and what you feel they would fit in best with theme, genre, and content wise. A lot of us tend to call them RP hooks, allowing us to have a clearer idea of what kind of material or story lines might benefit your play time, as well as giving some of us a way in to get to know your character and familiarize ourselves with them for future plot line invitations. 
• Friendships do develop with long term play, please respect that bond and talk to your roleplaying friends often. Here recently I was confronted with a situation where two friends had a falling out over lack of communication about their story developments for their characters, least on one side of the coin, and the other felt like they were being tossed aside over new developments they had no part in. The situation is still flux and players feelings did get hurt on both ends, however it's slowly on the mend. Please, if you end up friends with the players you roleplay with over a long span of time, respect that bond and keep communication with those friends. Breaks are fine, taking time away to deal with yourself is great too, but remember these people care about you and your well being too, even if you don't hear it first hand on a regular basis. Friendships can dissolve over a lack of communication and often do when respect isn't given to keep in touch. I've seen friends clam up and entire story threads dissolve into drama storms over this, and the last thing I wish to see with the friends I care about, is to witness that misery all over again. Communicate your needs and wishes for character play more clearly to those you consider close to you and your characters, don't play the ghost game. It's not fair to those that involved you, played with you, and got you into their own story lines, and it doesn't help anyone to shut down without a word about what's wrong.

 

As said earlier on in the thread, these are just tips from an old player of quite a few RP games and groups over the last two decades, take what wisdom you feel fits in your time of need, and leave a tip of your own to share with the community.

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by CrystalDragon
Adding something last minute, pardon!

[VV]

Just now reading this and I have to say, love it all. I recognize some of these names as some of my favorite role-playing friends in-game. 

 

As someone who mains an OP character, I particularly love the commentary there. She is exceedingly tough, nearly unkillable. Take like a nuke or better to wipe her out permanently. But she has tons of limitations. Sure, she can easily trash a base full of council or take Marauder's Nova Fist to the face. However, she is 8 feet tall, made of stone, and weighs near a ton.

 

One time some people brought her on a stake out as the muscle. Such a bad mistake. Oh, and her core temperature is thousands of degrees. They were easily discovered with some IR goggles, and when she responded to a fight in small bar, she managed to smash through a wall, destroying half the bar. For some RP fun, imagine trying to handle a martini glass with massive stone fingers. There's a bunch of other stuff that are fun little RP hooks, silly habits, limitations and such. 

 

The "doesn't laser eye everyone for snide comments" is an important point. She would never fight someone who is not clearly engaged in evil acts. She has a sweet soul and actually gets really concerned about coming off as a bully to her friends and acquaintances. She is incredibly passionate, with a quick temper, but tends to spend nearly as much time crying as she does smushing Rikti. The fact that she is nearly unkillable and essentially immortal is more of a background trait than anything, and mostly only comes up when chatting with other immortals. (One time she was discussing with another Earth-being immortal what they might do when the sun explodes and destroys everything. Not often you get to RP planning 5 billion years in the future.)