I was just reading the post by Howland saying there is too much character turnover. I've been playing EfU on-and-off for awhile, and I've always had this problem of making of a character and quickly getting bored of them. I absolutely adore the server, but I think this has been an obstacle that keeps me from "getting involved."

I've seen some amazing characters on this server that are very distinct and creative. But I always seem to end up with some generic character only a little more than a stereotype of his class and race.

So what I'm asking for is pointers on creating a strong, distinct concept with goals that are achievable in the world of EfU. And while you're at it, this might be a good place to address the issue of too much character turnover. Thanks!

Yes! schwing. :D I love these threads.

The key for me has always been to just come up with a fairly vague back-story, with one or two key events that help shape the character's personality, and one or two phobias that go along with the events. It generally gives me all the information I need to roleplay a fun character, and that's enough for me to play a character for months on end. Especially if there is some kind of goal to work towards, or a faction to be involved with.

I strongly advise you to consider joining a DM faction. They can do much to prolong one's interest in a character.

I'd suppose that to stick with a single character; it is important for that character to always grow/evolve/improve personally. A stop in improvement leads to boredom. By improving, I dont mean levels/equipment although that is always fun, I was referring more to social standing or relations improving within the world. And frankly, fun is always proportional with the number of people you interact with/develop relationship. If these interactions become painfully low, boredom sets in and you switch to a new character.

People will usually associate with you if there is a purpose for that association.

For this, you need to have to an ultimate goal that is pretty vague and unreachable. (i.e. escape to the surface, control the world, whatever). If it looks that there is something greater to your character and that it looks like you are striving for something greater than yourself, people will associate with you readily.

Now, let's look what I can do setting my goal to escape to the surface: Subgoals: -Pathway to the surface; -Find funding for supplies for the duration of the travel; -Prepare myself for the hardship of the journey; -Get an expedition crew;

Now, with all these subgoals: - Pathway to the surface: -Organize expeditions to explore the underdark. -Exchange services with others in hope of knowledge about the way. -Pay attention to organization that would give tips of this path. -Associate with others with similar goal.

- Finding supplies: -Become a mercenairy to pay for supplies or get information on the Way. -Become a merchant to become involve in trade with potential race which would have information about the way and acquire gold while doing so.

- Preparation for hardship: -Meet with warriors and train your style of combat. -Recruit fellow explorers to try and reach the deepest regions of the underdark.

- Get an expedition crew: -Recruit people specifically with this thought in mind.

Now, you can associate with the seekers- add up your own touches of style here and there and make this story your own. These goals will make sure you have something to work toward each time you log in, which will ensure you have plenty of people to interact with, which will ensure you stick with your characters.

This is still very generic, you can always add your own style to it by inspiring yourself of historical/fiction events or figures. For example, I just take.. Darwin: Boom, I do a Ranger with the goal above, but that also want to establish a knowledge of the creatures that populate the underdark in order to predict how to bypass them without trouble... study their food, habitat, etc... making my explorer associate potentially with Druids in the future to learn about animals and beasts of the Underdark, faune and flora style.

Now to make it real stylish, I make my build and give it feats and skills that makes sense with that: Skillfocus: Lore, etc... while still making something that would be decent to travel with.

But yeah, I stress again: Making connections with other characters --> Super important to avoid boredom!

I am controlling a player faction (With serious help from the players themselves) that it takes a lot of time to build up and consider our goals. House Fireheart is a Mercantile organization, and we hope to become a very prominent organization.

While joining DM factions can get you: A: Awesome loot, DM attention, great RP

A player faction gives you: No Loot, Hardly any dm attention, and great RP.

Player factions don't last long, merely because those that get things done tend to die off. The longest lasting player faction I've seen is the Stoutheart Clan.

But here's the thing, joining a DM faction means you have to write an application, orient your goals to that faction, and so on, while your goals might be to infiltrate the watch and bring it down, you will find it immensely hard to find support to do so.

Now in a player faction, there is no Application, no goal orientation, and your goals can be completely opposite of that in which the group represents. You can secretly ferret out resentments and topple the leader and place yourself in charge. And quite easily at that, I enjoy player factions because I get to work with great RPers who I find myself in the company of often but never get to share my goals with.

And player factions can become DM factions as well, if you are a family faction of nobles, marry of your daughter to a prominent unmarried NPC.

Perhaps you are a mercenary band, ask the council to become a branch of the Watch.

A Gang of wizards? No problem, take over the spellguard.

A group of evil goblins? Sure, take over the sewers.

It is all about goals, and how you get there. I find it most fun when you are tackled by problems and you find ways to over come them.

~Thomas Rant off.

Thomas, we certainly do give loot and attention to player factions when they rock out.

Oh yea, I forgot about the Loons.

OOOOOOHHHH.

Bzing.

All factions are fantastic! I quite like the DM sort, though. My first character in a DM faction lasted 8 months. My second lasted about 6. On another server, I lasted the better part of a year.

If you can dedicate yourself to an application, to a character, and to the DMs who approved your idea, then that's all there is to it.

I tend mostly to last longer in DM factions, because I don't want to disappoint the DMs who put their faith in me, by giving me that perk.

Stick a few famous characters from history or fiction together, put them in a blender, add some background story, and see what happens.

Barrister Fawkes was a combination of Dirty Harry and the sheriff in the Illusionist.

Mandarin Dreagle was a combination of Hannibal Lecture and Saint Peter.

Right now, I'm playing a character that is a combination of Aliester Crowly and Tyler Durden.

I find that some background helps, but having a few figures you know well--who were already larger than life themselves--gives you a good bead on the personality you're portraying.

The other trick though is staying alive.

I'll be honest, I've had trouble sticking to a character lately. Half the time, I get discouraged with brutal, ugly deaths--the rest of the time its just a struggle to find a good plot going on, and even harder to get anyone who is interested in making some plot go on with you.

When I've got nothing to plot, I just don't want to stick with a character.

This does not change for DM factions even, I just stopped playing a character in a DM faction because I was thoroughly bored with the lack of anything happening with the faction on an enjoyable level for myself. I've been in PC factions that rocked, its all just a matter of where the stories are to follow up on--and if you can get other players to follow them.

I know I'm always, always, always happy to help someone get involved in anything I'm doing in game. From new characters to existing characters.

Touching on what Oro said briefly-

Sometimes finding interest in a character you've made is something like the perfect storm. Several factors you can't control need to come together for it to just stand out to yourself and others.

Your insanely awesome necromancy plot might be the best thing since Uncle Worn's Stew, but if the flavor of the week is New Dunwarren, or Mycopolis, you probably won't have much luck finding PC's interested in your plot.

Please please please pleeeeaase build in character weaknesses.

I'm so very tired of playing with uber-tank characters, who fear nothing, know everything and have all the personality of a slowly crumbling stone retaining wall.

Even if you know the d20 system back to front, have character builds down to a fine art and know the server's ins and outs like the back of your hand, try at least to have a little personality.

There are like, 200 Rambos running around the server. Very sad when there are so many great role players on the server too. When they get together, a simple scripted quest becomes so much more. It can take up to 2 hours to complete a simple investigation of a pig farm BECAUSE you're involved. You've emotionally bought in. You are there, with your PC, knee deep in pig sh!t, being fired at by a crazy, wild-eyed, possibly inbred pig keeper's son with a crossbow, bolts thunking into your shield or punching holes through your robe, narrowly missing your ribcage... see what I mean?

Seriously, try playing a wide-eyed youngster for a change. Be fearful of combat, go and vomit in the corner of the dungeon because you're so petrified of the rambling corpse that's descending upon you, about to eat your brain.

Then... let your character grow. Get experience, become a little battle-hardened. This is infinetely more rewarding than the smash\grab loot\look tough and be the desperate, dark hero who's parent's were killed in an orc raid, orphan, blah blah stereotype PC.

Weaknesses are so important as they make us human... or Elven... or whatever. It's overcoming those weaknesses in pursuit of a higher goal that truly makes a character a hero.

Sorry if this rant's a little harsh, I just know how good this server can be if you're playing with the right players. I hope everyone who stops by here can have this experience.

PS - if you do want to play an uber-tank, play a grey-haired, grizzled battle vetran. Give it some authenticity

Swahili rant over now.

Swahili makes a very good point. One thing I try to make sure to do when I create my character's persona is to ensure they aren't good at everything, and have at least one crippling weakness that can be exploited. These are the characters that are memorable, believable and long-lasting. I find the very simple phrase a DM much better at concepting told me, "Everyone wants to play Superman, just be sure to add Kryptonite." to concisely sum that part up. Good luck concepting!

Try and think of jobs real people might have and build your character as the heroic version of that. Well, maybe not so heroic at first, given the excellent points made so far, but most jobs have some sort of DnD analog.

My main is a mechanical engineer (in his own words a "tinkerer"). He took up marksmanship as a hobby, which explains why he can sneak attack.

You could be a banker, an actor, a bodyguard (though most people probably have higher aspirations and are just working that job until they get the coin to back a real business or something). A tour guide would be a great PC, evolving toward a true adventurer when he or she grows tired of the same-old, same-old. This can lead into quests, too.

Think of all the jobs you or people you know have ever worked. You might be able to base a character off of any of them.

I think the absolute best thing you can do before you begin your character is to be very thespian about it and ask (oh yes, it's coming)... "What is my motivation for this?"

Is it Greed? Lust for Power? Lust for Glory? Lust for Gold? Lust for Fame?

Is it a desire to help others? To eliminate hunger? To eliminate poverty?

To strengthen the town against it's enemies? To weaken the town to benefit yourself?

Are you a misunderstood hero?

I infinitely prefer complicated characters in shades of grey. I know evil is a real "taint" in FR terms but you can have 'good' aspects too. (A loyal henchman to an evil necromancer, a heroic, (lawful good) daring, dashing protagonist who happens to be incapable of rational thought when he gets angry and despises all priests for unknown reasons) and you can have evil traits in your good guys as well (Stubborn! Unable to compromise! Irrational sometimes!)

Think of what you're going to like! Think of what you're going to DISlike! (Dwarves! nggh! Or priests or wizards maybe?) Think of what you're positive traits are! (Clever! Brave! Cunning!) Think of what your negative traits are! (Stupid? Cowardly? Unwise?)

It sounds so easy when I say it but I know it's not, i've only been -really- happy with a few characters in my time.

some really good stuff in this thread. Here is another idea, and it may sound almost the opposite of a good idea. Arrive in EFU with the bare minimum ofa sketch plan for your character. Don't decide what you love and hate, don't be clear about what excites or frightens you, don't have a goal.

As you play, soak up the atmosphere and breed your character from how they react to other players and to circumstances they encounter. It takes some nerve, because you aren't ready straight away to present yourself to others. Use you journal - make a note about what happened - and your character will grow by their interactions. Its unlikely they will turn into Rambo that way :)

What I think is a great way to approach character concepts (or at least what I have begun trying to do), is approach each character as a character in a story. Forget for a moment that you will be playing said character and instead approach it from an outside point of view as if you were going to write a story/book with said character in it (either as a main character or support character).

If you were to write a story about a character who is perfect with no flaws who is never wounded, defeated, or challenged how good would that story really be?

So my suggestion is to start with a simple concept, and let the character grow as you play it. Growing entails letting your character develop as experiences happen. Perhaps you joined a party to fight trolls and in the battle almost the entire party was wiped out...How will your character respond? Perhaps he/she becomes deathly afraid whenever in the presence of trolls, maybe you become dedicated to the "fire" school of magic seeking to achieve every fire based spell you can to rid the Underdark of trolls, maybe you begin a quest to find a Troll-Slaying weapon, etc... The idea is not to simply go from adventure to adventure without anything affecting the character (emotionally or otherwise).

An interesting thing I learned while reading the Annotated version of the oringinal Dragonlance series was that Margaret Weis and tracy Hickman rolled up the characters gave them only a short back story before handing them over to their friends to play through their Dragonlance module (which they fully intended to be the basis for their first book). Those first players are the ones who created the personalities for Raistlin, Caramon, etc. (right down to Raistlin having a low raspy voice and a soft spot for Gully dwarves).

-Kalos