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I've always enjoyed playing characters in DnD, but some people have trouble getting into character, and/or defining their characters. Sometimes people just need something to spice up the play experience when nothing important is going on for them. The game is more than numbers and words; the personality of your character is supposed to help you have fun, and give meaning to the game as a whole. First, Dungeons and Dragons is alot like impromptu acting. Defining your/your character's personality is a good way to get started. The first step is to figure out what you want your character to be like. Every detail doesn't have to be written out, but general things ought to apply. If you have no idea what you want to be like in game, that's ok too. Think of your character as trying to figure out their role and it'll work out. If you are stumped, one decent way to get started is to pick 2-3 things that your character likes, and 2-3 things they don't like. It doesn't even have to be something relevant to gameplay. If you are really stumped, pick a favorite color. And then pick a prejudice (no, these aren't all bad). Is there some group of people your character really hates/mistrusts? Thieves, Orcs, Mages, Dwarves, the Rich, the Poor... the list goes on. Have they got a hobby? Maybe they have an irrational hatred of Rapists (there's a prejudice that won't lose too many friends). How have they been living till now; everyone has to get money somehow -- which brings us to the first major point. The first good step to defining your character is to write your character history. This is your past. My Psychology professor often says "they didn't just pop into existence because you got interested", and that's true of characters as well (usually). This is a wonderful opportunity to explain why you happen to have a bandit who happens to have a deep love of upperclass poetry, or why your orc grew up to be a lawful-good priest. How much you put into the story is always up to you; it's nice if you have yourself/your character at a transition point in life, if you're at the start of a campaign. Maybe you're a thief just out of jail, or a mercenary warrior who just finished his most recent job, or a mage fresh out of his apprenticeship. Write about your character's family (or lack thereof), write about a local rival, whatever suits your fancy that you think defines who your character is. You could just give them a fairly standard history, but at least decide if you have any brothers or sisters, and how well he got along with them, if you go that route. Picking a trait or two makes playing them easier to play, in the long term. Are they arrogant? What DO they do in their spare time? Do they study, or visit the brothel? How sociable are they -- do they like crowds, or are they a recluse? This sort of thing tells you whether you're the kind who's going to go to your room at the inn and read, or hang out in the Tavern boasting and drinking. Understanding your alignment helps playing your character alot. There's some misconceptions about alignments though, so I'm gonna run through it all. I'm working with DnD alignments, but it translates fairly well from one world to the next what it's impact on your personality will be. Lawful means that you are at home in society. You like rules, you like traditions, you have respect for the groups and social structure that exist. Lawful good characters want to be honest, hardworking members of society, lawful neutral characters often work to uphold the laws, and lawful evil chacters hide behind the laws, or twist the law to suit their purposes. Chaotic is Lawful's opposite; you have little/no respect for laws, and often act like they don't exist. You are a free spirit, not to be bound by stuffy old men in tight shirts. Robin Hood (Chaotic Good) robbed the rich to feed the poor. The greedy old rich folk had so much money they couldn't spend it all, while the poor starved to death. The law dicated that there really wasn't a thing to be done; Robin disregards the law and does the good thing anyway. Chaotic Neutral is subject to their own whims. To play chaotic neutral well, you have to get really good at asking yourself "what does my character feel like doing now". Are you horny? Are you thirsty? Hungry? Feel like seeing a play? Grabbing the ass of a passing chic? Well, that's what you're gonna do. Good people are just that; good people. This is a universal sort of "good", too. This is the sort of person who takes in wounded strangers, gives food to children, and will generally respond to those in need, if they can help. They try to avoid hurting other people, if they can -- not that they're wusses, but beating in skulls isn't their idea of the best way (#1 reason I don't like playing good characters). Evil, on the other hand, isn't held by real morals. Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic Evil are all really distinct (I think), but as a whole, evil can be summed up as "it's all about me". The Baron who sort of obeys the law, but harshly punishes any step over it (and rewrites the laws to contradict each other so that it's impossible not to break them so he has the opportunity to punish people who piss him off) is Lawful Evil. He's also the sort who'd fuel rivalries between houses, or hire assassins for no reason other than family history and bad blood. Neutral Evil chacters are generally opportunists. They don't have morals, but recognize that pretending to have them is useful. If they get the chance, though, they show their true colors -- they just understand that there's a time for breaking the law, and a time when you don't want to get caught. Chaotic evil is just plain insane; whatever you want, whenever you want it, and nothing is gonna stop you. Chaotic evil doesn't usually go far in the world; it gets locked up in prison, really fast, unless you live in the uncivilized world (orc village, no real law, except might makes right). Then they can rape, pillage, and destroy all they want, and as long as they're the strongest (and kill all up-and-comming competitors), they're set. Evil people don't normally set out to be evil; it just happens, and they don't care. You could play someone who was deliberately evil, but it's much more convincing to take an "end justifies the means" approach to them. Chaotic evil characters don't kill people to be chaotic evil; they do it because they enjoy the screams, the tears, the smell of burning flesh. Evil and Chaotic are very often misunderstood, and I had to clear it all up (don't ask how I understand Evil and Chaotic mentalities so well). Wow, I need to split that into a separate spot.... Must finish this later.
