Art by Kost

The Night Elf sitting on the bar doesn’t turn her pretty head to you when you enter. She’s too busy starring daggers at the ‘arcanist’ in the corner: The blonde one with a pony tail and the spectacles. Her good side to you, you can tell she’s young and pretty–at least she would be if she wasn’t sneering–but the ease in which she hoists the giant blade propped up next to her makes it clear that she’s familiar with battle.

The arcanist makes apologies, and the pretty elf huffs a few words in Darnassian. With her free hand, she reaches for her over-sized mug of gutrot, and that’s when you can see the scars. The left side of the elf’s face is a tangled mass of healed scars. Are they burns or battle scars?

“Squire, yeh want ta die, I can think o’a thousand more preferable ways than bein’ skinned alive by Illi. Siddown an close yer gob, or she’ll spit yeh like a pig.”

“Yeh won’t find anyone angrier than Illithias. Sure, she’s calmed down a wee bit since she joined the Black n’Red, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t full o’piss an’ vinegar. An’ ale. Someone should probably tell her ta cool it–someone other than Fells–but no one does. Personally, if she’s ol’ enough ta fight, she’s old enough ta drink her self sick.

“What, how old is she? Maybe sixty five winters? Aye, she’s young fer an Elf. She’s an orphan ta, losin’ her family why Hyjal burned the first time. That’s why she’s so bloody pissed an’ why she drinks so bloody much. How the hell is she supposed ta cope? Other than babysit fer the missus an’ me…

“Aye she watches Naiara. She’s good at it ta. The bloodthirsty bit isn’t an act, mind yeh. She’s not some hard-bitten warrior on the outside an’ some sort a simperin’ elf on the inside. She’s angry through-an-through, but she’s not a monster. She just looks–an’ acts–like one. Figure by the time Naiara’s old enough ta swing an axe proper, Illi’ll be calm enough ta be a good trainer. Hell, she’s alread started teachin’ some o’the street kids how ta wield a knife properly. She’s more complicated than folk’ll give her credit fer. The again, how complicated do yeh have ta be ta bury an axe inta a tossers skull?”

Indarra

Bricu Bittertongue and Indarra Leafwhisper were–initially–friends with the potential for a lot more.   Today, Bricu would grudgingly admit that Indarra saved Threnn and Naiara’s life, then grumble about not trusting her. Indarra might have something nicer to say about Bricu, but she might quickly change the subject to something more pleasant. The devolution of this relationship was not plan, it occurred organically. Their relationship went sour for a number of reasons including:

Now, Indarra’s player (Yva) and I attempted to fix this situation a number of times; however, the two characters would not cooperate. This is not to say that these situations have not been difficult. Simply put, it can be difficult for players if their mains do not get along. Yet their arc-of-dislike has allowed for more character development. Bricu’s lack of trust for Indarra added another level of tension to a story line that investigated Indarra’s past. This same lack of trust also gave Indarra a chance to shine when Threnn’s life was in danger during childbirth. Despite the players desire for amicable characters, I think the characters had the right idea.

Illithias

Once upon a time there was a nasty, vindictive and violent Night Elf who hated everyone. For the most part, that hasn’t changed. Illithias is still violent and vindictive. What has changed is her relationship to Bricu. Where as Bricu used to feed into her aggression and nasty behavior, over the past two years Bricu has started to take a more paternal (not patriarchal) view of Illi.

What changed?

During a Pub Night, Illithias was tricked into revealed her age and what happened to her family. At her oldest, Illi is 14 (in human years) and lost her family in a tragic event. Bricu recognized that she was a fellow orphan.  Her circumstances far surpassed anything he experienced.  Bricu, at 14, had friends and coworkers.  Illithias has nothing.  Since that RP session, the two have developed a complex, and thoroughly rewarding, bond.  Instead of mocking Illi, he stood up for her.  When she was nasty and crude, Bricu didn’t return the language.  When Illi called Bricu  ”Human,” he gently–for Bricu–corrected her.

Then Illithias called him Bittertongue.  Then she called him Bricu.

Characters have to follow their arcs.  We can push and pull them this way or that, but in the end, the characters will also go in the direction they want to go in.

Fill us in on your character’s relationships?  Which ones have changed for the better, which ones have changed for the worse?

It'd be better if it was full tier2

If you’re an old school nerd, this question is one you have probably pondered for ages: Who would win in a fight, X or Y? Nerds can go on for hours about why their candidate–be it comic book character, Starship captain or Operating Syste–is the most bad ass example of awesome ever conceived. In short, individual’s assign an Absolute Badass Value–that is, the magnitude that a specific person (or object) is from the value of Suck– to shit they like. With few notable exceptions (see the previous links), there is nothing universal about ABV. Hence the epic arguments and navel gazing that this concept can inspire: Who is truly the most Badass?

ABV is a major confound for RP. If we, as RPers and collaborative Storytellers, do not take into account some degree of ABVs, we ruin stories. For instance, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, if the writers wanted to demonstrate how physically powerful a new character/race/guest star was, they would have the newbie kick Worf’s ass. Why? Worf’s a Klingon. He has an Absolute Badass Value of at least 7. Therefore, the new character was at least a 7.1 on the ABV scale. But this trick got old. Instead of demonstrating how bad ass the new thing was, it reduced the ABV of Worf (until DS9 at least). Likewise, if you design an RP event to show case how SUPER AWESOMEBADASS your new character is, you have not empowered your players to do something. You’ve hampered their own development to boost your own. That is not acceptable.

When developing an RP event, story or fic, the storyteller needs to avoid an using ABV in a fashion that nerfs a characters. Competition between characters that forces them to develop is one thing. To be clear: Two characters going head to head over an objective is fine. When a group of characters meet, because the Antagonist kidnapped some children after her biological clock (because of the plague), the ensuing actions and activities should show off the relative strengths and weaknesses [The ABV] of the characters. The outcome of the story should depend on the players on the field. What if, instead of letting the story unfold as directed by the characters, the Storyteller introduces a Shining Knight who disarms the Antagonist and saves the children? No matter what the ABV of the original group is, the Shining Knight’s actions have diminished the groups ABV. The Shining Knight cheapens the characters and the story.

But Bricu, you ask, what about that wonderful trope of “The Calvary arriving to save the day.” Dear reader, I respond, the Heroes call the calvary. The Calvary shouldn’t just show up, pwn newbs and move on.

When we think about ABV, we have to consider that Badass is a variable term. For instance, take Fells of the Wildfire Riders. She is not a person of consequence. She can sneak, sure, but she’s not a silent as your average SI7 agent (or Kitty Druid). She certainly isn’t dumb, but she isn’t he brightest Rider. Her choice in Husband–One Laurus Drachmas–left much to be desired.

But Fells will kick your ass.

No one else can inspire so much loyalty. Few characters make an effort to know others and to share their opinions. Few characters can make the mundane tasks of running a household and make it sound truly epic. Even before one can dig deeper into her past, and realize what she had to do for her family, there is something extremely special about Fells. While Fells may be accustomed to the Arcane, due to her husband’s acumen, she is doesn’t take new and scary things for granted. Sure, Fells may not be able to take you in a stand up fight–but that’s why she pals around with others. They do the fighting for her.

Fells redefine Badass.

ABV isn’t just about how much ass your character can kick. It involves how developed the character is, how the character forms relationships with other characters AND how well that character can participate in any given story arc. We need to consider these factors–and a lot more–when we discuss ABV.

We’ve discussed Badassery before. We’ll probably discuss it again.

Anna brings up the idea of Rest and Relax in her post, “Five R’s of Character Revitalization.” Of note is one key line:

Take a break, let the character rest, and go back to it after a break and see how you feel.

When players want a break, they can take a vacation. But where do your characters go when they take a vacation? Soldiers can go on leave, researchers have sabbaticals, priests go on pilgrimages. When none of these events are vacations in a traditional sense, they are possible breaks for a character whose RP has, for whatever reason, stalled. But stalled RP is not the only reason why a character may take a “vacation” from their WoW duties. Letting a character take a break is not just good for the player, but it is a part of the natural evolution of the character. In short, breaks, vacations or any other kind of downtime is essential to maintaining long term RP.

For example, Bricu and Threnn have taken a number of “getaways.” They left town to get away from: alcohol, overbearing mothers, to heal after kidnappings or after Crowning Moments of Awesome (that one is Threnn’s story to tell). Some of these getaways were used to explain extended absences by the players–a player break. But the overwhelming majority of these getaways were character based methods of dealing with the fantastic stresses–Thenia Al’Cair, Threnn’s mother, being a prime example of these stressors–of existing within Azeroth.

The game world itself has areas where characters are relatively safe from harm. For Alliance folks, the coastlines of Azuremyst are relatively mob free. Feathermoon Stronghold is another key vacation spot: Beach front, a boat to exciting activities and patrols of sentinels to keep one safe from harm.

Stranglethorn, with the bustling Boot Bay, is an ideal vacation spot for individuals from both factions to relax. Pirates and scheming goblins not withstanding, the scenery is breathtaking.

For the Hordie who needs a break, the remote Shadowprey Village could provide some degree of rest. Eversong is another viable alternative: Given the debauchery of some of the Sin’doeri, one could treat Eversong like a woodland Ibiza.

While some proponents of vacations espouse the virtues of leaving the familiar behind, even staying in a Capital city can provide enough of the break from the standard routine that all downtime requires. What matters is the break in the routine. Players, and characters, can burn out if they are not given the opportunity to simply relax and get away from it all.

What is your characters ideal vacation or vacation spot? What does your character do during their downtime?

Bricu talked about a character’s knowledge of  WoW lore and how to fit that knowledge into RP.  I’d like to explore another aspect of that — how to fit lore into a character’s backstory.

Sure, your characters begin their training in one specific area depending on race, but that doesn’t mean they have to hail from the surrounding towns.  All sorts of things might have happened to them before they ended up on the steps of Northshire Abbey, or found their footsteps carrying them to the Valley of Trials.  It’s unlikely that every Forsaken dragging him or herself out of Deathknell’s crypts was from Tirisfal Glades.

The first step is figuring out what things your character might have witnessed.  How old is he or she?  There are a couple of timelines out there that are immensely useful.  The first is on the official WoW site.  It goes from a generic timeline to more specific details of each period.  I’ve also used this one from Blizzplanet, which breaks down more recent events by year.  (It ends with the start of vanilla WoW, so no BC/Wrath info here.)

WoWwiki is a great source for condensed information on Warcraft history.  It compiles lore from the games, the RPG titles, and official books and sites, and helps you add little bits of flavor to someone’s backstory.

Reading up on the significant events in your character’s area of the world while they were growing up helps you find the things that had a significant impact on who they are now.  Maybe the character was plowing his fields when the first boats of refugees arrived from Stormwind, and remembers seeing hundreds of sails appear on the horizon, or was only a few years old when Thrall broke her family free of the refugee camps and fled to Kalimdor.

In working out the places Threnn had been and things she’d seen (and yes, because I’m a huge nerd), I threw together a spreadsheet that listed significant events in WoW history and filled in what age Threnn was when they occurred, plus another column for things that were milestones in her own life.  I refer back to it now and then, especially when the conversation turns to events that happened long ago — it wouldn’t do for her to start spouting memories about the sacking of Stormwind, since she wasn’t born until the following spring.

Being aware of canon events and minor characters also helps add little bits of flavor as you go along.  One of my characters was recently asked about her feelings on the undead.  She mentioned Meryl Winterstorm, an undead mage who isn’t Forsaken, as someone she respects — didn’t imply that she’d studied under him, or that he’d even know who she was if their paths crossed. It was mostly a way to answer a question she’d been asked by someone else, that hearkened back to a bit of lore.

This certainly doesn’t mean your character needs to be a witness to Azerothian history to fill in backstory — as Bricu also suggested, making up your own lore (that, of course, fits within the established canon) is just as rewarding.  Did a stint on a ship out of Ratchet keep her away from word of Arthas’ attacks on Orgrimmar last year?  Has playing politics in Stormwind kept him from paying attention to (or caring about) the fall of Gnomeregan?

What canon events and NPCs have shaped your characters’ backstories?  Which ones have they remained ignorant of, and why?

So, take what I say much in the way the pirates describe their code: they’re more… guidelines.

The description add-ons are helpful supplements to the character models. Sure, you can choose your characters’ faces and skin/hair colors, but every human female has the same body shape. The character’s eye color depends on (I believe) the shade you choose for his/her hair. Unless you’re playing a Night Elf, there are no tattoos available.

Beyond the basic model and your outfits, the RP mods help you make the character a little more real, and can be very useful for conversation starters.

Of course, even if you have a very clear idea of what your character looks like down to the stitching on her boots, staring at that big, blank box can be intimidating. How do you figure out what to put in there? How much information is too much? Let’s see what we can hash out.

The first thing to keep in mind is that these mods are for physical descriptions, NOT backstory. There are only two occasions where I’ll flat-out state something as a rule, not a guideline. This is the first.

Your character was a Sentinel once upon a time? Great! Tell me she walks like a soldier, or that the bow she carries is one carried by the other kaldorei women under Shandris Feathermoon’s command. What I DON’T want to read about is why she signed up to be one, or how she spent the years during The Long Vigil. It might be a great story, but it’s one that ought to come out during RP.

When I see backstory in a description, I filter it out. My characters can’t read minds. Therefore, they won’t act on that information.

Can there be exceptions to this rule? Sort of. A few words of recent backstory that augment a physical description are sometimes acceptable. Has something changed about the character that people who know him might notice? Then it’s okay to allude to it. “Since his run-in with the Defias, John has walked with a limp.” Though, I’d argue that something like, “John has recently acquired a limp,” is still the better option, leaving room for acquaintances to ask what happened to him.

So, what do you put into that description box? Pretend you’re trying to describe the character to someone who’s never met him or her. What would you say?

Start with the basics.
How tall is he? Average height? Exceptionally short? What color is his hair? How does he style it? Does she wear glasses?

If you were telling someone who to look for in a crowded room, what would distinguish that person from everyone else?
Is she always wearing a certain kind of hat? Is he a troll with a broken tusk? Does she have a streak of black running through otherwise white hair?

What would someone standing very close to the character notice?
This is where the smaller, not immediately noticeable details come into play. Think jewelry, small scars, a particular scent. If the character’s a baker, maybe there’s a dusting of flour on his clothes. If she’s a gardener, there might be dirt under her nails. Describe the character’s voice — does she have a raucous laugh? Is he very soft-spoken?

Keep the five senses in mind.
Touch, hearing, smell, sight, and… Well, okay, maybe four. Taste isn’t likely to come into play very often, unless Skyborne’s decided to give you bathies.

Brevity is the soul of wit.
There might be a LOT of things that make your character distinguishable, but if your description makes other players scroll and scroll and scroll, you’re going to lose their attention quickfast. Pick out a few things, and be succinct. What’s most important? Don’t overwhelm people with information.

Different looks for different situations? No problem.
Some characters’ looks will change when they’re wearing armor, or acting in an official capacity: “When she’s on the battlefield, Threnn wears armor that is old but well-cared for.” It’s fine to dedicate some description space to that, just remember to keep it brief!

Did you do something to your hair?
Just like we don’t look the same day in and day out IRL, our characters will sometimes change the way they look. These changes can be temporary or permanent, but they’re definitely noteworthy. If it’s something you want to call attention to, try starting off a paragraph with “Currently…” Some people break it out from the rest of their description with asteriks or dashes. (“Currently, Annalea looks like she hasn’t been sleeping well. There are dark circles under her eyes, and she tends to startle easily.”)

Sometimes, less is more.
I’ve seen some great descriptions that are only a sentence or two long. I can’t remember who it was, but someone on Feathermoon’s RSP simply stated “This man looks like he’s up to no good.” You didn’t need to know anything else about him.

DON’T dictate other peoples’ reactions to your character.
This is my second rule-not-guideline. I see it all the time in RSPs — usually with ones proclaiming their mage has curves in all the right places, or suggesting that this Death Knight is Arthas’ long-lost twin — but it’s obnoxious in any context. All too often, it’s something like, “Sapphyre’s sparkling blue orbs make you catch your breath at their beauty.” Or “You feel a sudden burst of fear when Demonknight turns his gaze upon you, and you quicky look away, unable to meet that stare.”

You know what? No. I don’t care how breathtakingly beautiful you’ve declared your character to be. It doesn’t mean my character is going to fall all over him or herself with lust just because Sapphyre’s hips are swaying by. Likewise, your half-demon isn’t going to make my paladin cringe away because he’s radiating malevolence. Want my character to fear yours? Build up a reputation IC with the terrible things you’ve done. (This doesn’t, by the way, mean threatening Elly Langston and loosing your demons on Reese. That just gets your ass thrown out of the Pig.)

One’s eyes can’t plumb the depths of other players’ souls and know their deepest fears without their permission. Nor do passersby need to perk up at the aura of happiness Sparrkles exudes just because her description says so, or feel their fears assuaged by the comforting presence of the elf standing beside them at the mailbox. It’s a form of godmoding, and it’s NOT OKAY.

But what if you have a character who does exhibit one of these traits?  Give your fellow players the option of reacting. Try rewording it with “might” or “if” — “People who are sensitive to magic might notice the sharp smell of the arcane surrounding Jaina.”  “If someone is sensitive to demonic taint, they might feel a sudden flare of it when Joe passes by.”  But anything beyond that — mind-reading, mood altering, etc — needs to be worked out OOCly with the people you’re RPing with first.  If they agree to grant your character any insights, excellent!  But if they don’t, it’s something you need to respect as well.

All right, cats and kittens, that’s what I’ve got for RP description guidelines. What else would you add to that list? Any favorite RSPs to share?