Character Creation

A Few Tips on Character Creation...

So ya wanna make a character? But before you do, let's think a little bit about what type of character you'd like to play. Too often excited new role-players enter The Red Dragon Inn with unrealistic characters that are poorly thought-out, thus uninteresting. The more thought you put into your character, the more interesting that character will be, and interesting characters are fun to play as well as fun to meet. In the end, that can be thought of as a goal, to make a character that is fun to get to know.

Profession

I suggest you start by deciding your character's profession. This does not necessarily refer to how your character makes a living, but it may. For example, your character may be a knight, a wizard, a bard, a thief, or simply a bartender, serving drinks at a local tavern. Not all characters have to be proficient in battle. ROLE-PLAYING INVOLVES MUCH MORE THAN FIGHTING! You can make a valuable contribution to the realm just by adding color. Some of the most interesting characters in The Red Dragon Inn never touch a sword or cast a spell. Beginners should especially consider creating this type of character. There will be plenty of time for destroying your enemies later. You shouldn't even think about fighting until you have spent some time observing others and learning from them. Then, and only then, you will be ready to create a battle-ready character. Following are some of the most common professions in the RDI RPG:

Fighters
These are the characters that have been trained in the art of hand-to-hand combat. They are experts in weapons, and generally have strength and dexterity that surpass that of those that lack their dedication. Examples of fighters are knights, ninja, archers, barbarians, samurai, werewolves, and most vampires.

Magic-Users
Many characters choose to specialize in the use of magic. They generally lack the physical prowess of a fighter, but make up for it with the special ability to cast spells. The ability to spellcast comes only after years of study, and a dedicated mage becomes an extremely powerful opponent after years of practice. These characters should be very rare, and played with great digression.

Psionics
Psionics are quite similar to magic users, except that their powers stem from the use of exceptional mental powers. Psionics are not magic-users, but have many things in common with them. Make sure you are well-versed in the material on this discipline if you are considering creating a psionic.

Thieves
Ah, the crafty bunch. Usually a well balanced character, of both magic and fighting abilities; Unfortunately, they can never achieve the full magic or fighting abilities of the two. Potentially the worst class for an unimaginative player, who makes little use of the skills. Usually the thief is more interested in profit and making life easier for them self, not a person to turn your back on.

Butchers, Bakers, Candlestick Makers...
As was previously stated, not every character has to fight. To make The Red Dragon Inn a truly great place for role-playing, it must have it's share of farmers, cobblers, blacksmiths, and carpenters. It is a good idea to have a general idea of what these trades encompass before you create such a character, but learning just a little about silversmithing will undoubtedly make you one of the top experts in the realm. And even if you don't have the vaguest idea about how to make shoes, you can still play a cobbler well by doing your trade less descriptively.

Multiple Professions

It is allowable to choose multiple professions, but understand that no one can specialize in everything. A fighter that uses some magic is reasonable, but the character would lack the expertise of a dedicated fighter or magic-user, having spent at most only half of his or her life dedicated to either discipline. The general rule in creating hybrid characters should not be what is most powerful, but what makes sense. Stick with a consistent character type. What is the point of having a vampiric dragon with his own personal guyver? This approach makes for powerful characters, but makes you look like you're more interested in winning fights than really role-playing.

Race

After you have selected a profession, determine the race of your character. You may create your own race, as long as you don't call it something that already exists, like an Elf or Human. Many characters will be human, but many others will not. Your choice of race should be in accordance with your profession. It is unlikely an orc would ever become a bard, and equally unlikely that a Troll would be a wizard. You want your character to make sense. For example, elves, according to most sources, love the outdoors and the light of day. Use creativity when considering race. It is not unfathomable that you would create a race of your very own, provided that it is not overly powerful, and that it is well thought-out. There are many races to chose from, and, issues of game balancing aside, your race is only limited by your own imagination.

Special Abilities

After you have chosen your profession and race, you want to determine what special abilities that character would have. This is not a matter of making up special abilities as much as it is logically determining what abilities that character would already have. For example, a fire elemental has immunity to fire attacks. It is a special ability that all fire elementals have. Beast Masters have the ability to exert control over animals. Many characters have other special abilities that are not intrinsic to their character type, but nonetheless serve a specific purpose. These abilities should be sufficiently explained and justified.DON'T GO OVERBOARD! There is nothing more annoying than a power character that survives in fights using special powers rather than skill. Consider the following example:

Derrin_D'Troa swings his sword in a broad arc, upward and to the right from the area near Kelgoth's left hip as he brings back the Dagger of Swiftness to a throwing position. He watches Kelgoth's movement carefully in preparation for a throw.

Kelgoth_the_Invincible The sword bounces off him cuz he cant be hit by normal weapons he swings his axe at yor head

Derrin_D'Troa launches the Dagger of Swiftness at Kelgoth's chest with all his might. He simultaneously jumps backward, narrowly avoiding the axe's deadly blade.

Kelgoth_the_Invincible He moves at Mach 2 and dodges te dagger and kicks at you.

Now, two questions....
1. Who is the more skilled fighter here?
2. Who is going to win this fight?

If this doesn't bother you, it really should.

Weaknesses (These are important, folks)

Next you should determine what weaknesses your character would naturally have. We mentioned earlier that a fire elemental would have an immunity to fire attacks. But a fire elemental is especially susceptible to water and cold attacks. According to many sources, vampires suffer special damage from silver weapons. This is also an opportunity to offset a character's advantages. If you want to play a character that truly excels in the use of magic, you may give that character a debilitating disease that restricts him physically. This can be a lot of fun, if played well. (Remember Professor X and his wheelchair?)

Background

Writing a good background story is possibly the most important step in the whole process. It allows you to determine who your character really is - what that character is like, and why that character acts a certain way towards others. Basically, what kind of a person they are, as a person. Your background story may be as short as a paragraph, or as long as an epic novel, so long as it gives you a good understanding of what drives your character. No one ever needs to read it except you, but you should do it anyway. You never know when a beautiful nymph or handsome paladin will ask you about your childhood, or about how you came to be in The Red Dragon Inn. It is also acceptable to import a character from a book, a movie, or another game system, but please avoid the most beloved and well-known characters, because inevitably, there will be 'debates' over whether you are playing the character 'acurately'. And it generally leads to some messy situations. Be creative! Even characters that may seem mundane on the surface, may be facinating individuals with interesting histories.

Equipment

Decide exactly what your character is carrying and how your character is carrying it. Most centaurs don't have pockets, remember? If you choose to carry weapons, make sure they are not so powerful as to upset the balance of the game. It is probably more allowable for a human to carry powerful weapons than a saiyin, rankor, or other powerful race. Furthermore, some weapons are so powerful that they should be earned through time spent playing, or not brought into the game at all. Consider also what your character is wearing, and how much money your character will have. Too often, new role-players invent money for themselves as they go. It is frustrating to see someone throw down 100,000 gold pieces on a table just because the money means nothing to them. You don't have to be precise about how much money you're carrying, but you should have a good idea. Most characters should not be rich. And playing a wealthy character takes the monetary element out of the game. It becomes a non-issue. Gold pieces are the most widely accepted form of payment in the realm, although other forms are acceptable. Just don't be surprised if a bartender looks at you funny when you pay her in gil.

Characteristics

Every character has certain physical and emotional characteristics that are important to role-playing. You should be aware not only of your character's physical appearance, but also of their personality. This should be the natural result of the characters history. Eg: Is your character naive? seductive? intuitive? Does your character favor evil or good? Is your character friendly or reclusive?

Character Development

Now before you go, let's talk a little bit about your future. Over and over, you've been told not to make a character that is overly powerful, but as anyone that has spent any amount of time in RDI knows, the realm is full of powerful characters. And there should be a few characters with great power, just to make the game interesting. So why do you have to play the little nobody that always loses every fight? Well, you don't. Why not start with a squire or an apprentice, and allow that character to progress over time as your skill progresses? It takes years for a mage to learn spell casting. Maybe it will only take you a few months, but you'll experience great satisfaction when your once apprentice graduates to a full magic-user, and even greater satisfaction when, years down the line, that mage becomes one of the realm's most powerful characters. But at that point, you will have earned your power, as well as the respect of the realm. So, whatever type of character you choose to play, make sure to leave room for character development. It will greatly enrich your role-playing experience, and will probably endear you to those with more experience than yourself.