How do I find some inspiration for a character? This is what I struggle with the most and I want to see if anyone have any tips for me.
I think it really depends on what you want to achieve with them. What role do they need to play in a narrative? What kind of person do you want them to be? And what kind of struggle would be interesting for them?
You have another thread where you say you're struggling with feeling original enough, but I'd actually like to encourage you to take a minute to think about the characters you like that others have created, and try to pinpoint why they appeal to you. That can sometimes be helpful in answering the questions I asked earlier.
Roleplay characters are fluid things; they never really stop changing, in my experience. I have multiple times scrapped a character for parts because they didn't feel right for me anymore as a whole, but there were bits of them that I still liked. Look at your old characters. If you don't play them anymore, why? If they still resonate with you, why? Can you use any of that to get a sort of idea of where you want to go?
I also find music a huge inspiration, though I can't tell you how it works. It's always that I am listening to a random song and suddenly go "oh, that's my guy". Then I really give it a listen, again to pinpoint why it is that this piece of art is making me think of an OC. Slowly and steadily, a playlist builds - sometimes long, sometimes short - and then listening to it helps me get back in the mindset of a certain character if I need a push with that.
tl;dr: Ask yourself a lot of questions about this OC you're making, and don't accept simple answers if they don't feel right. It's not a timed quiz.
You have another thread where you say you're struggling with feeling original enough, but I'd actually like to encourage you to take a minute to think about the characters you like that others have created, and try to pinpoint why they appeal to you. That can sometimes be helpful in answering the questions I asked earlier.
Roleplay characters are fluid things; they never really stop changing, in my experience. I have multiple times scrapped a character for parts because they didn't feel right for me anymore as a whole, but there were bits of them that I still liked. Look at your old characters. If you don't play them anymore, why? If they still resonate with you, why? Can you use any of that to get a sort of idea of where you want to go?
I also find music a huge inspiration, though I can't tell you how it works. It's always that I am listening to a random song and suddenly go "oh, that's my guy". Then I really give it a listen, again to pinpoint why it is that this piece of art is making me think of an OC. Slowly and steadily, a playlist builds - sometimes long, sometimes short - and then listening to it helps me get back in the mindset of a certain character if I need a push with that.
tl;dr: Ask yourself a lot of questions about this OC you're making, and don't accept simple answers if they don't feel right. It's not a timed quiz.
Bruinen wrote:
I think it really depends on what you want to achieve with them. What role do they need to play in a narrative? What kind of person do you want them to be? And what kind of struggle would be interesting for them?
You have another thread where you say you're struggling with feeling original enough, but I'd actually like to encourage you to take a minute to think about the characters you like that others have created, and try to pinpoint why they appeal to you. That can sometimes be helpful in answering the questions I asked earlier.
Roleplay characters are fluid things; they never really stop changing, in my experience. I have multiple times scrapped a character for parts because they didn't feel right for me anymore as a whole, but there were bits of them that I still liked. Look at your old characters. If you don't play them anymore, why? If they still resonate with you, why? Can you use any of that to get a sort of idea of where you want to go?
I also find music a huge inspiration, though I can't tell you how it works. It's always that I am listening to a random song and suddenly go "oh, that's my guy". Then I really give it a listen, again to pinpoint why it is that this piece of art is making me think of an OC. Slowly and steadily, a playlist builds - sometimes long, sometimes short - and then listening to it helps me get back in the mindset of a certain character if I need a push with that.
tl;dr: Ask yourself a lot of questions about this OC you're making, and don't accept simple answers if they don't feel right. It's not a timed quiz.
You have another thread where you say you're struggling with feeling original enough, but I'd actually like to encourage you to take a minute to think about the characters you like that others have created, and try to pinpoint why they appeal to you. That can sometimes be helpful in answering the questions I asked earlier.
Roleplay characters are fluid things; they never really stop changing, in my experience. I have multiple times scrapped a character for parts because they didn't feel right for me anymore as a whole, but there were bits of them that I still liked. Look at your old characters. If you don't play them anymore, why? If they still resonate with you, why? Can you use any of that to get a sort of idea of where you want to go?
I also find music a huge inspiration, though I can't tell you how it works. It's always that I am listening to a random song and suddenly go "oh, that's my guy". Then I really give it a listen, again to pinpoint why it is that this piece of art is making me think of an OC. Slowly and steadily, a playlist builds - sometimes long, sometimes short - and then listening to it helps me get back in the mindset of a certain character if I need a push with that.
tl;dr: Ask yourself a lot of questions about this OC you're making, and don't accept simple answers if they don't feel right. It's not a timed quiz.
Obsidian is where I take any and all notes, including on roleplaying. You couldn't pay me to use Google Docs anymore. Since I'm the only one who needs to see them, I don't need a one-click way to share them, so they live on my computer alone.
With the exception of the couple of characters I have here, and on Roll20 for my TTRPGs.
With the exception of the couple of characters I have here, and on Roll20 for my TTRPGs.
Bruinen wrote:
Obsidian is where I take any and all notes, including on roleplaying. You couldn't pay me to use Google Docs anymore. Since I'm the only one who needs to see them, I don't need a one-click way to share them, so they live on my computer alone.
With the exception of the couple of characters I have here, and on Roll20 for my TTRPGs.
With the exception of the couple of characters I have here, and on Roll20 for my TTRPGs.
That's one of the things I use it for! I find it's an excellent tool for campaign management in D&D and such; for the kind of roleplays I do here, I have a brain-dump note with plot ideas, and one where I write out my replies before I post them, so that's not as extensive or complicated a setup.
Bruinen wrote:
That's one of the things I use it for! I find it's an excellent tool for campaign management in D&D and such; for the kind of roleplays I do here, I have a brain-dump note with plot ideas, and one where I write out my replies before I post them, so that's not as extensive or complicated a setup.
I pull inspiration from video games, the books I'm reading, or shows I am watching. My characters tend to be a mix of some of my favorites from these. I often come up with a lot of things on the spot; I use my general idea and build as I interact with others. I am not so great at world building, so I prefer to keep my characters generalized so they can fit into really anything. I am trying to branch out though and create my own worlds. 
Don't feel too pressured to come up with the "perfect" character. 
Don't feel too pressured to come up with the "perfect" character.
fleshandfang wrote:
I pull inspiration from video games, the books I'm reading, or shows I am watching. My characters tend to be a mix of some of my favorites from these. I often come up with a lot of things on the spot; I use my general idea and build as I interact with others. I am not so great at world building, so I prefer to keep my characters generalized so they can fit into really anything. I am trying to branch out though and create my own worlds. Don't feel too pressured to come up with the "perfect" character.
Don't feel too pressured to come up with the "perfect" character. You are on: Forums » Smalltalk » Finding inspiration for my character
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