Seeking Advice

[Valo56]

So.. As some have no doubt noticed, I tend to switch between characters a lot.

I start off with this concept that will be REALLY AWESOME (to me) and I start doing it and I'm like "omg i r da bezt dis iz so fuhn" and things are going fine at first. Several days later I just reach this roadblock, a point where.. I don't really know what I want to do, or how to progress.

A few days of this go by and I start thinking "Hm.. Well, this is kind of cool. But maybe a [Insert Concept Here] would be better."

Then I decide "No, I can't leave this character. My next one will never get any recognition from the PC's or DM's because everyone will think (and rightly so) that I'll be gone in a week."

So I tough it out a while longer. Mostly I just kind of wander around at this point, doing the same things over and over. Finally some goblin kills me and it's "Valo has changed his name to Valo|Concepting" on IRC because I've had enough and playing seems more a chore. This has happened with my last several PC's now.

So.. Yeah. That's my trouble.

[CollegeDropout]

Play under a secret game/forum account. Fight through the urge to quit. Try to get a concept involved in plots as fast as possible. Or create your own and get others involved/interested.

[Siren]

Speaking from my experience with roleplaying, the characters I sticked with the longest have always started from simple concepts that I knew I'd enjoy. Everytime I tried to make something "unique" and overly thought-out I got burned out quickly. Maybe you're putting too much pressure on yourself or need a short break...

I'd say start with something simple that you're sure you enjoyed before, then give the character depth as you go along. I'll have to be totally honest and say that most of my characters nowadays start out as almost blank slates, and I mold them to my tastes overtime. At the start it might feel a little generic, sure, specially if you find yourself surrounded by interesting PCs, but overtime you warm up to your character and get its "feel", almost as if you get a vision for what it should be and things start to come out naturally. It might take a while but I always got there.

I rarely, if ever, play alts, so I figure my approach might be useful. Hope that it helps.
Also, I should add that when I first roll up a character I always feel undecided and unsure about it, I wonder if I wouldn't have more fun playing as class X and doing Y in Z, but if I stick to the character I made, I always feel glad that I didn't roll something else.

[Dillusionist]

I will say if a concept isn't fun for you or isn't working out, don't prolong the agony... but ultimately not every plot on EFU is going to be pefectly tailored to every PC. Sometimes you make the right PC at the right time and in a week you're 10th level and a hero of Sanctuary.

Other times your scheme doesn't take off and you're left very disappointed in your character.

I'm inclined to agree with Siren that if you come up with a very complex character at the start, the more likely it is you'll disappoint yourself. Stick with a very simple concept, play it consistantly and build a reputation, and be open to letting the world shape them. Let their agenda develop organically based off who you meet and what you see.

[Kinslayer988]

Hey there Valo, I am unsure if you remember me but if you don't it sort of proves a point. I too have had this problem, many times. Create a cool character, get bored, either play until death or quit without having made a mark.

For me this happens because there have been many instances where I just get bored or feel like my character won't make things happen. By making things happen, I mean starting relatively big conflicts or fulfilling certain character goals. One of the reasons I don't play characters with lower than ten charisma.

It does make me a bit unhappy to have dropped so many characters, but I learned quite a bit that I will return to efu with some time in the future.

1. Find out the concept
-what do you like about it? (Looks, build, homeland, desires, powers)
-what are some flavorful things you can do? (Reference hometown, tell a story/event)
-Who do you see him interacting with? (Ordered Mind, Lower, Neither)
-(Most important) what will you do when you are alone(no friends/questers/etc)?
2. Set player goals
-What will you do on this character that will satisfy you?

It was able to help me make longer lasting characters that make me happy.

[Divine Intervention]

Honestly I'd say the main thing is to plan before you start.  All the pc's I have enjoyed and stuck with are those who had a clear sense of personality and drive.  I'm not sayin. Be totally inflexible as its best to leave room to let your characters personality and ideals determine how you react to plots.  Essentially it's about building a character based around a cool philosophy/overarching aim rather than a gimmick or massive DM intensive plot that may be undesirable thus invalidating the character.

[scrappayeti]

It seems to me the good news is that you have too much creativity, not too little, you just need to focus it in the right areas.

When you create a character, they are always a bit two dimensional. They have to be, because you haven’t spent hours role playing them yet. Like “a handsome ranger vigilante who will seduce Rhiannon Kingsley” or “arsonist gnome who will not rest until Sanctuary floats on magma”. This part of the creative process is very important, but it is only half the creative work. The rest comes as you play the character.

As your character interacts with people and events of the module, you have to constantly invent new material for your character. This material adds depth and complexity, fleshing out the personality and history. The Handsome Ranger meets a half-orc. Now you have to work out what he thinks about half-orcs Lets say he doesn’t like them. Why not? Perhaps his sister eloped with a winsome grey orc, and he can never look his pallid half-blood nephew in the face without anger. Bang, instant character depth. So when I play a character, I try and focus less on what else I could be playing, and more on “what would this character do when x, or how would he react to y”, making the character richer and more complex as I play.

If you look at characters you play as a role-playing orientated rather than goal orientated, you can never reach a ‘roadblock’, as you put it. Say your Handsome Ranger needs to gather some like minded folks and besiege the necromancer as his next step. But, best laid plans of mice and men, he cannot get the people together. The plan has hit a roadblock, but the character hasn’t, because role-playing failures and losses is as important and interesting as role-playing success. How does the Handsome Ranger react to this failure? Does he go and cry over a beer in the inn? Make angry sendings about the occupants of the town? Give up in disgust and sign on with team necromancy? If you roleplay your character’s reaction to a roadblock skillfully, they become more complex and interesting, and there is no way you can feel blocked.

For example, I always try and role-play my heart out when subdued. The temptation is to walk away from the keyboard in disgust, but I always try to force myself to describe the character’s injuries and how they react to their situation. Do they man up bravely? Beg for their life? Surrender meekly? Laugh and spit blood at their attacker? The trick is not to think “I just got subdued, I will probably die, I failed”, but to think “role-playing someone on the brink of death is serious pathos, with potential to be moving, comedic or in some way interesting”. Some of my best and most enjoyable role-playing has been post-defeat but pre-death.

Ultimately, I am here for the role-playing, not the implementation of a successful plan. Otherwise I would just go play some chess.

[Blue41]

Try mixing up your usual creative process, whatever that is. If you're the type of person who writes up elaborate goals and step-by-step instructions for how to complete them- create a PC with a fun, strong sense of personality and let EVERYTHING come organically. Or if you come up with great premises for character ideas and drop everything to strike while the iron's hot- take a moment to flesh out your character, in particular how they would deal with failure.

Scrappa's post about reacting to setbacks is a very good one. With your next character, try thinking about how your character would act in their worst case scenario- whatever their goals are, something's in the way, the stars won't align, and it just can't get off the ground. Try to channel those feelings of frustration ICly rather than OOCly. Of course, you always want to play what's fun, and that doesn't mean you have to stay in a bad situation- but if you're enjoying your character, then RPing how they handle misfortune can be a nice change of pace. Tragedy is a goldmine for character development.

Try to think of your PC's life as a journey, rather than a set of hills and valleys, and maybe that sense of stagnation you mentioned will pass.

[Damien]

I know what it is. Don't think because dms havent spiced you or given you loot they don't like your character.

[Vlaid]

You need to find what sort of styles and activities you actually enjoy in characters.

It all boils down to personal preference. You can have the most thought out concept, personality and build in the world but if you aren't playing something that you personally will enjoy portraying and doing the activities relevant to that concept - you're gonna have a bad time.

If you like leading factions, go grab a deity or group of deities and put a new twist on an old favorite of yours. If you like being an atmospheric kind of follower, think up some quirks and interesting backstory for them and a niche build that fits.

Think back to some of your old favorite characters and what kind of  activities or personality traits make them stand out to you. What made  them enjoyable to you that you wanted to keep playing them day after  day?

Just find what you enjoy and play it. Ultimately the best characters come out of players when they stop trying to pass some internal or external standards and just play something they enjoy and are passionate about.

[Damien]

That has to be the greatest advice I have read.

[SN]

SC's post should be stickied somewhere.
Or perhaps added to that old 'How to rock my socks off" thread.

[PlayaCharacter]

I hope I'm not committing thread necromancy here, but it's still on the  front page of General Discussion and it's only a month old, so here goes.

Finally some goblin kills me and it's "Valo has  changed his name to Valo|Concepting" on IRC because I've had enough and  playing seems more a chore. This has happened with my last several PC's  now.

I had something of a personal revelation after I took my most recent hiatus from the server: I actually don't want  my characters to make their mark on the server. I've always told myself  that's what I wanted, I have always made it my OOC goal in some way or  another, and I have always envied those players who are able to create  these historic moments when the whole world seems to turn on its hinge. I  consistently quit my characters when it seems that they hit a dead end  on this path to glory.

The truth that I've finally had to  confront is that I don't have any fun at all when I'm doing that. It's  stressful, I get hung up with mental creative blocks, and I am left with  all sorts of bitter and angry feelings when I try over and over again  to change the world and fail at it every time.

I thought I had  gotten over the "play to win" attitude years ago. I did, in the sense  that I stopped trying to always win PvP, but the problem is that I was  still trying to win EfU. I have always, since I first started playing  here, been trying to win EfU. That's why I wasn't having any fun and  that's why my characters would hit roadblocks and die.

I get the  sense that OP is (or was) suffering from the same myopia I am. I had to  step away and put some distance between myself and the game before I  could finally see it. I'm the only one burning myself out here, neither  the DMs nor other players are crushing my characters with the weight of  high expectations. I'm doing that to them myself.

[Caddies]

In the first few days, initiate something IG with your character that will keep you interested in it. Meet some buddies, join a faction, found a cult, proclaim something...

Or most important of all, earn some worthy enemies.