What's your Character Archtype?

[sorrow made you]

One thing I pride myself in is character creation. I love making highly detailed and simple yet intricate characters. Some are protagonists, some are villains. And even more, are the ones in gray areas. I love playing the tragic heroes, the misunderstood villains, the justified twisted minds and those ever-charming smooth talkers. There are many character archtypes I pride myself in delving into.


So here's my question for you guys:


What kind of character archtype do you like to play?






Do you like lighter character or darker ones?




What kind of stories do you give them?




What kind of feel do you want to portray with them?




And most importantly...

why?

Note

A character archtype could also be considered a "stereotype" of sorts, or a trope.

Note

"Good Is Not Nice" and Knight Templar are only a couple examples of the large amount of possibilities.

 

[kibou]

I don't really memorize names for character archtypes so I can't really give a specific one, but I'll try and answer those questions.


I enjoy playing characters that seem light, but if you think about it or their past, it's sad or kind of messed up. Outright overly tragic things aren't my sort of thing- while they can be done good, I typically don't have "parents died in front of him" sort of things. You can have tragedy that's less extreme and have it be just as affective imo. I like implying things and having other people realize them and be like ''oH''.


I like stories that aren't really clearly happy or sad either. I think over the top sad characters can get annoying. When everything is happy forever and ever, it's unrealistic and boring. Honestly how a character's story turns out is usually determined by the first rp I use them in that lasts a long time unless I happen to have ideas beforehand. When I have ideas, I'm usually a fan of negative character development. Not as in, "they become less developed," but more as "the things that happen to them don't necessarily make them a better or more stable person"- it's usually just the opposite. When portraying them I don't actually usually have a feel in mind other than what I've already stated... I write what I think they'd do in response to the situation at hand.

Spoiler

For example, I'm going to talk about two of my characters. One is one from a realistic rp, the other from a fandom rp- specifically Naruto, which I felt like joining for nostaaalgia.


The first one is named Orion Blackburne. The first rp I used him in took place in Fairtown- a fictional small, Christian town in Massachusetts. It's ended up becoming his official hometown, and having him from somewhere else would just feel wrong to me. His father is a popular fiction writer, and his mom a doctor. He lives in the richer part of town with a nice house and he's never had want of anything involving money. However, as a child his mom was almost always out at work. His dad is shy, spacey, and awkward and doesn't/didn't know how to talk to, deal with, or play with kids. A lot of the time he'd spend in his study writing his next work. While he meant well and loved his kid, he's really bad at parenting.


So, during his early years Orion was neglected emotionally. He was left on his own with his toys and played by himself a lot, drawing pictures by himself and spent time in his head making up stories of funner things, partially to try to impress his dad and partly just to entertain himself. He never bonded with either of his parents.


Usually I don't write that outright in his background though. I just imply it by mentioning his parents jobs, that they are busy a lot, and his dad is a bit reclusive. Personality-wise, Orion is my favorite character to play because he's kind of an asshole, and likes theatrics and making up stories/lies about people.


The second one is Shinji Hayashi. Because not all readers will be familiar with the Naruto-verse, I tried to include some short explanations.


The rp itself takes place 150 years after the events of Naruto, and 1 year after the end of a 8-year long war. Shinji is from another small village, and it was ruined in the war.


Before that though I gotta backtrack for even more backstory. The leader of the small village decided that he wanted the village to have more power to protect themselves and to recognized by the Big 5- five ninja villages that were in control of/had the most influence over the rest of the world. This is because the events of Naruto ended after another war. So over the 150 years the members of the village trained hard to be ninja and increase the village's power.


In addition to general training and growing military strength like that, they also had set their eyes on the 5-tailed beast that was residing in the forest of a neighboring country. The tailed beasts are huge, powerful beings. Their power can be harnessed by sealing them in humans. Humans with beasts inside them are termed "jinchuriki."


Eventually this small village manages to capture the beast and seal it in Shinji's father. He got sick, which wasn't uncommon because of the extremely cold enviroment they lived in, and died. The beast had to be sealed in someone else, and usually family members of the jinchuriki are most compatible so the village's best bet was the unborn Shinji. He ended up having the beast sealed inside him, and his mother died as a result.


Shinji was left to be raised by his aunt and uncle on his mother's side. Throughout his life he's reminded by them that he's going to be the "savior" of the village and become it's most powerful ninja. There's a ton of pressure put on him to be the best possible and he's treated more like a weapon than his own person. His entire life is already planned out for him. He's also reminded of all the wonderful things his aunt and uncle have done for him, such as give him a place to live, raise him, etc. When it becomes apparent that he's not that great at chakra control and other things required to become a shinobi, his self esteem gradually plummets, the pressure increases, and his aunt and uncle more strict and less nice.


Present-day where the rp currently is, Shinji is a generally nice person. He puts everyone else before him, he's completely loyal to his village, and he's very obedient to authority. He believes being a jinchuriki and a genin (low rank of ninja) should be a wonderful thing (children being forced to fight... isn't really), and polices his thoughts when he thinks things inconsistent with what he's been told his entire life ('I shouldn't resent not being able to choose what I do, I should be grateful for this gift', 'Dying for my village would be wonderful,' etc,). His self-esteem is almost nonexistent, though. Anyone who questions authority or does things morally grey, he looks down upon.


He's my little brainwashed boy.


In the future, depending on what happens I can see a few different routes for his development going. I have to admit though that I'm hoping for circumstances to allow for him to break down from being a bit incompetent with his ninja skillz :^)


Why?


Because it's more enjoyable/fun- I don't really worry or care about sending a message or something. I rp and write characters because it's enjoyable for me. I'm not saying that character arcs where characters become better people or are totally happy in the end aren't fun or enjoyable- they can be! But I guess I just like torturing my characters. xD

 

[Idea]

While I can`t really be precise here, I like to try new stuff out all the time and also because I usually end up running like 90% of the thread`s NPCs. But, hum, here are my answers, I believe:


1. I can`t name stereotypes, my usually make my character someone who is innocent, generally good and helpful, but has a troubled past along with a couple flaws that I feel are most appropriate for the theme. I also rp villans who are based off philosophical theories or some other form of self-justification for their attempts to "correct" the world.


2.I like to mix them. Character which are merely black or white get boring very easily. I also have no particular preference, so I tend to incline the lighting according to what I want to see them doing.


3.When I actually go through the trouble of thinking about it, and don`t just lazy out and say they had a simple happy childhood, I tend to create a backstory that fits the motivations and behavior and thinking process the character has.


4.Pity, cuteness, admiration and most importantly though on the matters of life


5. Overall, my reasons are this: I don`t make a plot for the characters, but the characters for the plot. And the plot, I make it for the world which I made. I make my characters work by fitting them into the right slots and shapping them in such a way they completely and perfectly fit in, if possible.

 

[HalfTime]

I've got a few archetypes that I love, almost to the point of overuse.


1. The Freak. Usually someone of an unusual species or someone with really weird and unpleasant powers. I'm not sure WHY I love this so much, but I'll be darned if I don't. I just like when my character is a total weirdo with no real place in the world.


2. The Nice Guy Who Is Actually Totally Evil. I usually don't play downright evil characters, but when I do, I usually go for this. I like the thought of someone who donates to charities out of the good of their heart, someone who genuinely treasures their family and friends, who also happens to gain their powers through ritual baby punching and who wants to wipe out humanity. The contrast make it feel more realistic, because for all you know that happy kindergarten teacher who loves her job and kids could very well run a ruthless crime ring in her off hours.


3. The Clown. Frankly, I love to be the comedy relief. Whenever I used to play Pathfinder, I'd always be the goofball who made everyone smile even when the horrible demons tried to gnaw our faces off. Unfortunately, I was usually the only survivor because I was the only one who knew the system, but whatever. I just love the feeling when a grimdark situation gets lightened up by the wisecracking sidekick.

 

[tsundere]

I try and play lots of different types of characters, but I have to say I really love writing arrogant characters. They're not exactly meant to be likable, although depending on the nature of the RP they might get a bit nicer as the story progresses. Or they might not. I also like the Knight Templar archetype and the trickster archetype.


I prefer writing darker characters just because I feel like you can go more in depth with their personality. It really varies though, and sometimes it's fun to write a lighter character.


I don't always like to give my characters dark or tragic backstories, I prefer to have them develop more over the RP. Also, with my aforementioned arrogant characters I'm pretty fond of making them fail. To use TVtropes as an example, something like the Break the Haughty trope.


I don't really know what I want to portray with my characters. More often than not, in darker RPs I don't want them to live until the end, and I like having them be antagonistic at first. Also, my characters tend to accentuate the positive traits of other characters just by existing. As for why - I guess I just have fun playing those types of characters. And that's the most important part of RPing

 

[Atom]

I've had this goal of late to create characters with a darker background but substitute a tragic parental death with more common issues.


And bear with me, this next part is a bit crazy...


They........... aren't mentally fucked in the sense that they're not suddenly a loner or all dark and depressing. They actually get over it and becoming functional human beings, although they are a tad bit less cheery but never dark and depressing.

 

[Atom]

I've had this goal of late to create characters with a darker background but substitute a tragic parental death with more common issues.
And bear with me, this next part is a bit crazy...


They........... aren't mentally fucked in the sense that they're not suddenly a loner or all dark and depressing. They actually get over it and becoming functional human beings, although they are a tad bit less cheery but never dark and depressing.

And by that first part I just meant that it seems the dark tragic characters are created with the death of the parents more often than not.

 

[sorrow made you]

Waaaaah! I'm pleasantly surprised by the responses that I've gotten so far!


For me, since I haven't exactly explained my own personal preferences: I like characters that can drive stories. For the good, the bad, the ugly or the beautiful, I like making characters that may add some flavour to the concoction boiling in the melting pot. I tend to pick a character that I'm feeling would mesh well, or be a nice compliment. Sometimes I really really just want to play a specific character. I never really intend to have a character archtype, nor do I go in having the specific of my character being a tragic one or not. As I start to build my character from top to bottom, their pasts flow into my fingers and pain with many different colors.


One of my favorites in example is a character that holds a strong face, yet his entire personal life is crumbling before his very eyes. Neither of his parents died tragically, yet he lived miserably, emotionally isolated and eventually broken by the strict and traditional regulations his father put upon him. He was bred to be the perfect businessman and so his personal life became non-existent. He rebelled, loved, and lost, which resulted in a traumatic experience and a suicide attempt. However he lived. And because of that, he was broken. He became riddled with phobias, unable to touch another person without going into a state of world-shattering panic, and obsessively cleaned. But it was all behind closed doors, and he remained the strong, charismatic and independent businessman that everyone knew him to be. There were subtle hints that the man didn't know how to react in casual settings let alone intimate situations, and so he is constantly pressed as a villain, unable to be touched by love or emotional reasoning. Morals were construed as nothing more than a hindrance to his ultimate goals. Ryuunosuke Shinozuka is one type of man I like to roleplay.


On the flip side, one of my most successful roleplay characters, is an Italian man who almost comically is the stereotype of an Italian charmer. The middle child with six brothers and sister, he never really had a tough childhood. He got to grow up relatively normal. No tragic parental deaths, not horrible conflict. His struggles came later in life when he finally realized what he wanted to do with himself. No, he didn't want to be a mobster with the rest of his family. He wanted to be like one of those Noir detectives he would read and watch so much about. He rebelled against his family and joined law enforcement-- which was only the beginning of his struggles. He was impulsive and impatient. Stubborn to a fault. He hated it when people pointed out his flaws, but loved them for it all the same. He was incredibly independent and wanted no sort of help from his family. However, he would settle with the cards handed to him till his stubborn self met his threshhold and he would search for something better. He often got in trouble with the chief and almost fired several times. A woman died under his watch and he drowned himself in guilt. It was his best friend that literally punched the detective back into line. Leo DeLuca always seemed to know how to say what people wanted to hear, but he always rejected and made his own way. He is one of the realest characters I have, yet he started off as an Italian stereotype. xD


tl;dr


I like to take common ideas and spin them in different ways, giving me a wide variety of characters. I love using them for atmosphere, or do develop in ways that may be considered breaking them down or building them up. I like making characters that may be on the middle ground, and are either in the process of overcoming obstacles or on the verge of meeting them head on.

 

[Pine]

Hnng, I really wish I knew the names of tropes, but I don't.


*muffled screaming*


Either way... I like to think that I explore a lot of different kinds of characters.


The one thing I've come to notice that they almost all have in common is how cynical they are.


Still, I guess I have a few favorites, since I keep going back to them.


I have a fair amount of outwardly friendly characters that have crippling insecurities.


I don't know if this sounds cute or whatever (one person thinks so, at least), but honestly, it gets annoying, depending on how much their self-consciousness has progressed.


A lot of them kind of feed on positive feedback from other people which, depending on if they're attempting to be the jokester or not, they may not get, making me have to write out all the paranoid inner machinations of their mind haha.


I think they have a lot of potentially to be fun to mess with, as it would be so easy to torture them, but I rarely get to that point in character development sadly, so they kind of get tiresome to write for... yet I keep making characters like this, and I guess because I find them pretty relatable.


In recent history, I've been toying with a lot of weirdos lately.


These are probably my most cynical out of them all, which makes the way they speak rather odd.


They tend to have a good amount of school smarts but are pretty lacking in any other skills...


I can only think of two off the top of my head and similarities are a little difficult to draw between them because reasons, but they definitely have a lot of socially unacceptable thoughts going on.


They're pretty fun to write for, though, because their narration ends up being a little less than straightforward and their monologue about how they hate everyone, more or less, can be pretty amusing at times.


I have to say though, my all time favorite kind of characters are my assholes, and just about anyone who has role played with me can tell you how much I trash talk love them.


They are vulgar, rude, full of themselves, and usually obsess over "not being uncool."


They don't care if people like them because they are terrible, but just as long as they don't embarrass themselves in some way.


Of course, that's not ALL there is to the characters, and I just find them so fun because they have so many different dimensions to their characters (because I mean really, people can't be jerks ALL the time).


With all that being said, I don't know if my characters are lighter or darker.


I think they go both ways (usually both extremes haha), though I guess my weirdos are almost purely dark, and I don't have anyone purely light...


So... I guess a little bit darker.


Morality is always gray as for how the characters act, but I also like to poke fun at them seeing things in a very black-and-white kind of way while forcing them into complicated situations that they have no premade response to.


With stories, I really try to go for things that people don't usually think about.


Tragic pasts don't have to be parents dying or anything, which happens aaaaalll the tiiiiiiiiiime omfgg.


I've noticed a lot of times that, with characters, people just... don't think too much about the family aspect.


Fathers are always the terrible ones while mothers are always loving and caring... and the thing I've noticed through hearing about my friends's woes is that mothers can be pretty fucking terrible.


In general, I think people tend to leave the family aspects rather underdeveloped, which may account for all these dead parents, and if siblings DO exist, they are always there for their creepy twin relationships or to car for the other because of dead parents...


Bottom line is just that everyone thinks their life sucks, so there's a lot of things to explore which generally go pretty unexplored, and in some cases of taking in things I've seen from real life experience, trying to come up with stories for people... it's fun.


The feelings I want to convey really depends.


If I have a character that thinks they're funny, my hope is that I can actually make someone laugh (though how successful I really am with this, I don't know).


I guess my ideal is for people to get caught up in my character's perspective of things, and regardless of how their character feels, they can maybe find themselves also experiencing whatever emotions my character is going through at the moment.


this, however, is an impossible hope and by no means do i ever actually expect this to happen omg haha


The most important thing is that I want my characters to seem relatable, realistic, and hopefully reflect something people can see in other people in real life, because in the end, while I want to have fun, I can be realistic in the mean time.


A lot of times I'll take a terrible stereotype and humanize them (my favorite example being my satanist character, though he qualifies more under the "weirdo" label).


If I can get someone to ever think differently about their writing, or even people in general... that's an accomplishment for me.

 

[Archie]

I think one of the things is that the characters of mine that owrked best were always the ones that had dramatic faults and powerful strengths in balance, since they have a lot more to offer and tend to be a lot deeper! I think building characters starting at their weaknesses and not their strenghts is a deeper thing, because weakness is more definining of our personality than strength.


What kind of character archtype do you like to play?


Some archetypes used a lot:


- The mortally wounded soldier: basically this dude can be smart, strong, etc. but his downside is that some moves he flatly can't do because of being stabbed in a bad place and is destined essentially to die of poison, of sickness, or of his injuries in an amount of time that probably runs out towards the end of the RP.


- The confined, usually form societal pressure. A lot of times in RPs where i just sense there's going to be sexism the archetype of a really awesome female held back by idiot lords and their backwards beliefs hits off really well. The right combination of fire in the soul and drawbacks. At some point I played lepers a lot too, they'd have to cover up, be unloved except for what kind of person they were, but have the drive if they were the right personality to become really awesome at some things. Masked heroes. Escaped slaves are great for this too, they've got a past that's always catching up to them no matter how fast they run or high they climb.


- Profiteers are fun if you can come up with creative twists, they can really drive the plot with hair brained schemes even if they can't fight well


- Family issues! But only if it's an RP that has a static setting like a kingdom, or a sandbox. For epic quests, it's not so much a drawback, so usually this is one of the "half-flaws" people put into backgrounds in that kind of RP, since it's too distant to hit them hard.


Do you like lighter character or darker ones?


- Darker! Light heartedness and paladin's honor only give people fun for a time, conflicted characters are born through crazy stuff they do.


What kind of stories do you give them?


- All kinds, as long as they hover around their drawbacks, explain their strengths, and build their mission or some vague idea of it. I usually write up the personality after the history.


What kind of feel do you want to portray with them?


- First reaction: "Wow that sucks, I feel bad for him/her". In RP: "Oh my god that's so awesome"


And most importantly... why?


Think about it this way: plots are shaped by extreme things, talents, drives, flaws, things that jut out. Normal people RPs are great too but I think people lose interest in them fast if it's not idealized to some extent. But in idealization, people risk mary sue ism and detaching from their characters, so they need not just to be tragic heroes with awesome powers, but flawed broken jades who have a ton of skill and drive, but also serious drawbacks, usually giving them way more drawbacks than drive. It gives a sob story for other characters to sympathize with, makes talking to people more complex, but also means each RP is like solving a problem, and you have to weave together a solution to bring the character to a good position despite their flaws. Ever tried playing an asthmatic merchant on a dragon quest? I haven't, sounds really interesting though, and it would be fun finding ways he/she could help out!


One thing is that even if I like diversity all the characters have a lot of energy cause I like keeping the RP alive and playing "lazy" characters is great and a big challenge, but usually people at the right moments make them determined enough to beat the main antagonist, and plot motion is really big for people to stay in the game.

 

[spiderlegs]

What kind of character archtype do you like to play?

I like to mix it up a lot, but my characters tend towards neutrality overall. I don't usually find Good/Evil archtypes useful, though occasionally I do enjoy subverting them.

Do you like lighter character or darker ones?

I think almost everyone has both a light and a dark side--or rather, public and private sides. In the more traditional sense, I prefer the middle of the spectrum--all that sweet, sweet gray area.

What kind of stories do you give them?

A variety of stories, usually trending towards the mundane. On the grand scale of things their tragedies and traumas are minor and mundane, though to them they loom large: broken trust, lonely childhoods, too much or too little parental attention. Overall though I try to keep the stories balanced. After all, these back-stories are only a backdrop to the action about to take place!

What kind of feel do you want to portray with them?

More than anything I want to create interesting and believable characters.

And most importantly... why?

The point of roleplay (and writing in general) is to entertain. Personally, extreme characters bore me. They're predictable, their decisions foretold by their dead parents or untempered bloodlust. Their conflicts lack suspense, and their back-stories are painfully overblown . . . They have their place, I guess, but I could never write one.

 

[Dragongal]

What kind of character archtype do you like to play?


Understanding, nonjudgmental hero, the kind with compassion that angers some characters who want to be hated so they can hate themselves (long explanation, I know). Always very motherly and protective.


Hero with a secret that society would kill them over, but helping people anyway.


All of my characters are also healers, whenever I can swing it. I don't knwo why, I just really like playing healer.


Do you like lighter character or darker ones?


Lighter, to be certain, but usually with a darker back story or some fear that adds a dark edge. An emotional depth of some sort. Though I'm told the few times I've done a villain that it was fantastic, I can get really enraged by the injustice of the character. I've used PTSD in my characters a couple times, doing a lot of background research into it.


What kind of stories do you give them? Usually something moderately tragic, it's ranged from her being raised by her mother happily and visiting her mom once she's grown, to her whole family and friends (it was an acting troupe she was raised in, with her family) being killed in front of her (by draugrs), her being wounded, cursed, crippled, and killing the last enemy, then being chased away by people because of her curse.


What kind of feel do you want to portray with them?


Usually a kind of motherliness, hope, or redemption. I range how much they trust people, and how nervous they are around people based on their backstory. All of my characters are very helpful, and care for innocents deeply (they're all totally mama-bears, if we're being honest. I just can't help it.) to the point of being very self-sacrificial. They'll usually sacrifice themselves for someone on their team or group who doesn't feel worthy. However, they'll usually go drill-sergeant on people if they're being slow, but will teach, protect, and support them. They usually say very wise things, look at things in an optimistic and detached manner, allowing them a different view of things. The summary, is, They'll protect the people no matter what they've done in the past. If they sees that the character is not evil, and won't hurt others, they won't care about any of the other stuff.


And most importantly... why?


I usually base the characters' personalities off of mine, and I really love the hope aspect that can be brought with that. The other characters' shock at her nonchalance about past sins. Because none of that matters, y'know? She's the one who'll sit up at night holding the crying girl while she herself is bleeding, and not tell anyone about her own wounds; because to her, that doesn't matter as much. I just love that ideal so much. I feel like perhaps we can learn things from our characters.

 

[The Gunrunner]

Do you like lighter character or darker ones?

Darker. Always darker. I only have an interest in roleplays that have some focus on combat (often apocalypse, though not on rp nation,) so the result is that a lighter character would be... boring, or at least to me. The only 'light' character you can have there is a person that had nothing happen to them. I just don't have an interest there.

What kind of stories do you give them?

Depends on who I want to play. I have one character on a fallout rp that was a lieutenant of sorts to a raider band on the outskirts of NCR territory. They were originally escaped slaves from Legion territory whom managed to join another town, but that thing failed after a plague.
Another one was in a Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader roleplay. It was a joking former pirate guy of sorts (though he didn't share that.) From a hive world and wanted to explore things.


Early in my roleplaying... thing, I played a guy named Domonic Hillarion (might've gotten the last name wrong.) He was someone whom was tortured by his highly religious father, later killed his brother, joined SWAT, and became a vigilante. This one... I'm not exactly proud of. Looking back, this is a kind of thing I make a stretched face at (: |) and I'll certainly do the same for myself.


Been working on a horse archer person in a fantasy rp. His deal was that his people and culture were simply dying out because of their inability to retake their land. Basically, it was the era of gunpowder and they had no gunpowder... or plate armour. Light cavalry vs that and everything else. Doesn't go well. Anyway, I like it cause it really is a backstory of constant fighting. They continuously travel around the nation's territory and perform raids on the villages for food and whatever else. The result would be exhausting. Though, I like that.


Basically it varies, but I want to have stories to tell. They could be funny, or personal, or depressing. Most often, though, I go for sad or dark backstories because I'm playing combat-oriented characters. There's only one char I have that's broken this process.

What kind of feel do you want to portray with them?

Again, it depends. With the raider leader I wanted him to tell a story that would suck the hope out of the wasteland in some way. He'd seen the NCR fail to bring order, and slowly degraded into a darker mindset which he can't explain. Though, then again... I don't really have an explanation for how. I wanted to try having it be something that was caused by his surroundings over time, but that's hard to present. Anyway, I wanted to tell a sad story but also one that showed he was dangerous and probably not someone you want to be around. If the end result is a "I don't care. You're my friend," then I'm disappointed in myself. I at least want a "...Oh..."
With the pirate, I generally wanted him to be a kidder. He told jokes, but he did his job well enough too. Went for the marksman thing. Didn't get to try that for long.


Then there's Phairnaul, an undead monster hunter for a roleplay a friend made. I didn't plan his thing out very well, though. It's not a good idea to rely on the backstory of an organization first. I thought their story was alright, but the character itself was just another thing from them. Didn't have anything special.


Last from my memory is a second lieutenant for a sci-fi roleplay. His feel was very authorative and no nonsense, but I failed the latter later on. I wanted this because 1. I didn't think most of the players acted like part of a military and 2. I just liked the idea. As for his backstory, it was built up of stories of what he's done with his rank. One was a big contributor to who he was. Then again, I think his personality was alright enough so I'll ask for a pass there.

And most importantly... why?

I like it. I like broiling up moments of intense emotions. I honestly want to tell a disturbing story in a way that a person may say it. I also want someone to like my character and his backstory, but I need to like what I'm doing to do that.
The best moments of roleplay I've seen have been events that caused intense emotions. Always sadness. The most recent I can recall is an NCR lieutenant committing suicide. Common? Absolutely, but the reason it happened and his presentation was superb; prior to this, his battalion had been massacred and he brought them to a little town to set up. He lied to the men that there's a chance they could go back home (impossible with their poor numbers and a Legion blockade.) Meanwhile, he was also doing some shady things though I never found out what it was. Anyway, reading what he wrote about his final breakdown where he admitted everything to his favorite soldier was very entertaining.

 

[Doomshroud]

I'm a jack of all trades when it comes to archetypes. I've never had ONE in particular, but many.


However, I mostly have villain archetypes.

 

[DerUbermensch]

Typecasting? I do that all the time. Reasons being that it's easier to pigeonhole myself into familiar roles than going into areas where I fly blind. I usually play superhumans, half-human hybrids, cynics, or other Nietzschean characters. Otherwise, I write what I know about. Hence I at least TRY to do my research before going onto other areas.

 

[AlexSilverX]

I love this topic and the diversity in it! Let me answer them questions:


What kind of character archetype do you like to play?


As a fan of tvtropes myself, I'll provide links, so while I'll explain the "why", I won't explain what the archetype actually is as the link will provide the needed intel.


-Knight in Sour Armor; To me, this is the most believable type of hero with any type of actual real life experience. I am myself cynical by nature, so any "good" character who doesn't acknowledge the fact that humans are bastards is ignorant in the best case and stupid in the worst. To me, this is also the most honorable type of good guy. Knowing people are shit and fighting for them anyway while being well aware of it is the highest order of good an individual can be in my personal book.


-Woobie, Destroyer of World; My love for this archetype stems from three things; my cynicism mentioned above, my childhood fascination with the Dragon Ball Z character "Broly" and my ideas of what makes a good villain. To me, a good villain is one with some form of justification. Someone who could've been good if circumstances had been different. A tragic villain - again, to me - is 10 times better than a tragic hero and infinitely easier to sympathize with in an RP context. Also, any excuse to respond to "please, have mercy" with "That line didn't work for me, why should it for you?" is a good one.


-He Who Fights Monsters; This tends to end up being the natural evolution of any "Knight In Sour Armor" I play in an RP that lasts for longer than expected, but sometimes I make characters that start off this way. There's this infinitely satisfying feeling - to me, this is as all this will be, personal - that comes from seeing a good guy pulling a "screw it" moment on his most basic morality and just gunning down a villain who deserved it. I know it'll never happen, but having Batman pick up a gun and blow the Joker's brains out the back of his skull? I'd dig it. When you see the law and doing things the "good" way fail often enough, this just seems like the natural, logical course of action as far as I'm concerned.


-The Unfettered: There are many aspects to this one and I've played all of them at a point or another, if not all of them for a truly unfettered character, occasionally overlapping with the three above and the one below. (Which also overlaps on occasion). Unfettered characters are simply easier to have drive a story and their actions are - while sometimes disproportionate - always consistent with a certain goal. It's hard to have an unfettered character waste time on idle chat, so usually, having one around prevents RPs from going stale or parking on a bench. The example mentioned at the bottom of the fifth sub-element happens to be the type of Unfettered I do the most. "Do what you want to do at the moment without hesitation". Likewise, when I play this type of character, there is no such thing as a godzilla threshold.


-Blood Knight: This is also an archetype I enjoy, if only because it lends itself well to the type of RPs (action and adventure) I like to do and completely prevents any "violence-induced regret/apathy/depression" on the part of my character, keeping them - and often, the RP as a whole - from shifting to an excessively dark tone. This one, obviously, easily overlaps with the four above and so occasionally does so. Even my most innocent and good-willed characters are usually Blood Knights (think Goku. Yes, DBZ was my childhood in a nutshell). It's also usually the easiest path to take when I make a character I want to have be originally a villain, then become good later on.


Of course, I like to try out different archetypes when I have the chance and mix and match, since a real character with depth is never just one archetype, but a combination of at least 2 or 5, but these are my go-tos.


Do you like lighter characters or darker ones?


I have an easier time playing darker characters and - for the most part - they are my go to characters as can be seen above, but that doesn't necessarily mean I prefer them. I enjoy variety above all and hate adding "just one more gloom-head" to a cast of already pessimistic, cynical or otherwise monstrous characters. Too much "edgy" gets, ironically, "dull".


What kind of stories do you give them?


This depends on the character, of course, but in the case of most of them, I try to go with "reasonably tragic" or at least "justifying". If a character has negative traits, they must have sprouted from somewhere. Making a character who's traits make no sense in accordance to their back-story seems like lazy writing to me. For example, in the case of my Woobie Destroyer of Worlds, I will push the tragedy up to 11 to the point where its comedic. That way, when the heroes question him on his evil, he can say something along the lines of; "Tell you what; How about you have images of your mother being brutally tortured play on a loop for 10 years while a psychopath's voice constantly whispers 'destroy the world' into your subconscious? Then you get to ride the moral high horse!" That kind of thing is just "funny" in a twisted way to me. I don't seek audience sympathy when I do this, to be clear, but audience understanding. I want the person who reads the character's fleshing out give a light nod and admit; "Eh... yeah, I would kinda give up on humanity too at that point." or something along those lines. If they do so half-heartedly because they hate the villain anyway, it's actually even better.


Of course, if I'm playing a character who's supposed to be likable (which is not usually the case), I will tone down the trauma because I don't want them to be likable solely by word of god. I'll give them a childhood as optimistic as possible to justify their optimistic mindset or I'll slide in an encounter with a kind stranger to justify their faith in humanity. Again, backstory - to me - is about explaining the personality and goals of the character first and foremost, whether positive or negative.


What kind of feel do you want to portray with them?


I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "feel", so I gaged by the other answers provided above and here's what I can say; I want the audience to say; "This character's personality makes sense given his backstory." I want RPers to say: "This character is different from the others in the RP and actually adds to the story even if only in some minor way." and - most importantly - I want me to say; "I'm proud to have written this character." If I can get characters IC to say; "I piss my pants when I know I'm going to be up against this guy" or "that guy is brutal" that's a bonus, but it's not necessary and occasionally clashes with the character I'm writing at the time. I like playing the - or feeling like the - BAMF... but it's not a priority, its not even somewhere on my check list.


And most importantly... why?


I "think" I've explained that in the higher answers but, to give a TLR, point form version:


-I'm cynical.


-I like "believable" characters.


-I enjoy Adventure/Action story types, where this type of character just seems to fit naturally.


-Variety is the spice of life.


-These archetypes are usually suited for "plot driving" characters, and there needs to at least be one in any roleplay.


-These archetypes fit with my personal view of "Badass" which is a minor, but existent, +.


I think that's as thorough as I could be.

 

[SirJonithus]

Welll here's my answers for whomever asked:


What kind of character archtype do you like to play?


A: I like playing the hapless/overlooked do-gooder, or the kind of character who's not very important or powerful but means well, usually lingering in the background while more important/prominent characters talk. Generally, he's not overly confident in himself, he's skilled at fighting and finds courage when he has to, but aside from that he's quite uncomfortable on the social field and hates being the center of attention.


Do you like lighter character or darker ones?


A: Light in general.


What kind of stories do you give them?


A: Usually starting off down-trodden. Maybe looking for work even if it's meager. Maybe having to camp in the wilds or sleep behind a building for the night. A very lowly start.


What kind of feel do you want to portray with them?


A: Humility, maybe a bit of insecurity but good-natured on the inside. The kind of person that surprises you when a need arises, willing to go above and beyond in most cases.


And most importantly... why?


A: Because in the realm of Fantasy, where mighty heroes and wizards and powerful beings thrive, I like playing the "regular guy". The guy who doesn't necessarily get the most thanks or gratitude but means well and is helpful to the cause. He's resourceful with what he's got and puts the needs of others before himself despite his social status. He may not be the best, but he pulls through in a pinch.

 

[Semblance]

I've noticed that I honestly lean towards lighter characters. I can't really remember the last time I've made a really dark or evil character.


Recently, my characters have been the very spontaneous, impulsive, sensation-seeking, fun-loving, and adventurous ones. The free spirits, basically. Perhaps they're subconsciously the fun, adventurous version of me that I've always wanted to be (bringing in the psychological theories here).


As for their histories, I noticed that lately, I've used the same biography- that they have a younger sibling who died of cancer. Personally, I think super tragic back stories are unrealistic and sometimes gets annoying. Usually the people who roleplay these characters with terrible histories don't consider the psychological effect those experiences would have on the character while they're roleplaying. For example, a girl who was consistently sexually assaulted by her uncle is not going to be so open to intimate relationships with the opposite gender when she grows older.


Anyway, I think that having something bad happen to a character as a result of natural causes is a good balance between the two extremes of a super tragic history and a perfect ideal history. Usually, I match the spontaneous free spirit with this story of losing a younger sibling to cancer, because it shows that the death of a loved one has taught them to love life and live it to the fullest


Personally, I usually aim for the impulsive, carefree feel. I guess because I love the idea of people just doing what they want, breaking social norms, following their hearts, and having no consequences. Of course, that's not true in real life, but that's what the whole purpose of role playing is, right? You get to create this whole fiction ideal world and you can put whatever the fuck you want into it

 

[Pariah Stark]

I sincerely was not going to reference a single trope, but then I saw Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds and just thought, "Damn, that's so accurate I can't ignore it."


@AlexSilverX Great job for finding that oddly specific, yet perfectly accurate archetype.


I'm really a jack-of-all-trades, but there are just things I love doing. Or, more accurately, there are things I love finally getting to do and they are like the bread and butter of my writing style. I tend to create characters en masse, often all supporting one and eventually creating a cohesive unit that supports itself so well that each individual character is a great stand alone one. Due to this, I often have to step back from the details and see the big picture, then hone myself back down. I try to add diversity while keeping a solid theme. Finding trends within my writing is a lot harder because I try to distinctively avoid them...


...but there are just some moments when going on a raw rampage with extreme power is utterly satisfying.

 

[Ramero]

Character that always popped up in my mind is a knight that often risking his life to protect someone he was entrusted for to protect or he loved. He suffers many pains and even he refuse to be healed, he finally gave up after the girl he protect ended up cried, keep begging to healing him. He was guided by wisdom and he gained more power than those who are lust in gaining more power but it is one of his secrets to possess absolute and undefeated power but on the other side he is also very nuts, crazy and always doing the impossible thing, rarely listens to other people when they know about his injury.


Archetype i used most often:


Ranger or a sniper class person who can shot precisely from far away and excels at close quarter combat. Hate to smoke yes because it's naturally myself that i also hate smoke.


Soldier that will vow life to protect land and serving the kingdom with every might and received unexpected reward because of his valor. It could be from the soldier that i mentioned on above or serving a Kingdom while usually things in my mind is a wandering soldier that wants to have a new life while escorting the girl back to where she belongs.


Being a darker side it's quite a bother to me especially it's smooth to blend with darkness but difficult to remain on the light side. I prefer to make a character that was close to the light than dark itself.

 

[Sunbather]

Do you like lighter character or darker ones?


I think I actually do not have a preference here. Do I like characters that are all brooding and edgy? Yea. Yeah I do. Do I like overly goody twoshoes like? Actually, yeah, I really do. I can definitely be rather cheesy with it too. But I like 'em about equally.


I definitely have some archetypes though. The depressed one, the overly friendly/sociable one, the artsy one, the loudmouth. I like cliches. People are often cliches, to an extent. I don't find stereotypes as annoying and unrealistic as some make it out to be.


What kind of stories do you give them?


I'll admit I like to see myself in characters to an extent. So usually, I pick out ONE philosophical view I hold and implement them. Then, around that view, I fabricate a story that makes sense. Though, I will admit, I tend to go for the dead parents a lot, when I make darker characters. I tried changing it, and I think it's gotten better, but yeah... In my defense, I've made characters where the parents (or one) died and they came out normal and well-spirited. Does that count for something? Oh, also, I've made three characters that happened to be religious, but have a fundamentally 'heretic' trait, like being gay, being addicted and so on.


What kind of feel do you want to portray with them?


I usually picture the place the RP is set in. Then, I ask myself what fits there? If I don't like any of the answers, I ask myself what would stick out really badly. And then I go for what I like the most. I'm rather open to what kinda feel my character gives off.


And most importantly... why?


I kinda of find this hard to answer in accordance to my previous answer, haha. So it feels natural, I guess?

 

[Sibylline Oracle]

While each of my characters have probably exemplified an archetype in some way, the ones I'm certain of so far include: the Knight Templar, Knight in Sour Armor, Internal Affairs (so many vigilante characters out there and not enough Lawful Neutrals to balance them out), the Lancer, the Atoner, the Fish out of Water (stranger to a foreign culture, but usually in the process of learning), the Stoic Woobie (no angst, but no lack of tragedy either), and the Wide-Eyed Idealist (and Breaking the Cutie).


I've roleplayed both light and dark characters, and never really had a problem either way. Admittedly, I find those bordering on the comedic rather difficult, since my own brand of comedy isn't really shared with many others. Therefore, I find it more comfortable to write a 'darker' character, though they're not usually full of angst or lacking in positive emotion. The stories always lead up to who they are now, but I find adding some sort of conflict for them to resolve from the beginning is a really excellent way to introduce a character to a setting - provided the conflict actually involves the setting in some way.


I don't tend to think about the 'feel' I want to portray. Typically, my characters are envisioned with themes - some ethical/philosophical question I'd like them to try and figure out. Their backstories tend to support these themes. The reason for this is the same as why I roleplay: to create an interesting story, particularly one that makes me (and hopefully others) think. Usually, I'll pick a topic/theme and build a story around that in a fashion somewhat reminiscent of Isaac Asimov or Shakespeare, even though I can hardly claim to be their equals.

 

[Daiagnosis]

[QUOTE="Yuuki of the Strata]Do you like lighter character or darker ones?

[/QUOTE]
I personally prefer the darker ones will a light edge to them, or vise versa. I got bored with having one of either extremes, and I feel as though I restrict myself by doing so. I've played characters in the past that have had a mental problem on top of mental problem, but through all that struggle they still have a caring side. One of my favorite characters, Li Xiuying (who isn't on the site), was born and raised to be a killer by her father. Not just because , but it actually fits in with the environment she was born into. The city they lived in was once a utopia, destroyed by a demon and once it left the city was a shattered memory of what it used to be. Practically any and all crimes were legal, as there was no longer a government to retain order. Soon enough, a gang that was powerful enough became "King", and they'd be the one making the laws and pulling the string of policemen until someone kicked them off the throne and took their spot. This could either be a good thing, or a terribly bad thing depending on the gang.


I could go further into detail, but this was the world she lived in and she adapted to it. Soon, she became sociopathic, due to nurture rather than nature, her father was killed by one of his rival gang members, and she joined a gang named the Tarots. You wouldn't expect this type of person to be kind in any way, shape or form, but in rare circumstances she was.


I don't like having a dark character if the environment doesn't call for it, so sometimes I have to play the Tragic Dream trope.


One thing I also like are tropes that put a spin on how society views things, such as Good is Not Nice, Light is Not Good, Bad is Nice, Bad Powers-Good People. You get the idea.


I find it interesting whenever people use these tropes, as it ventures into the gray area and throws away the black and white way of viewing the world. Hero's can have good intentions, but still have morally wrong ways of going about them. Two people with the same power and goals, could ultimately end up going down two very different paths, and it's a very interesting thing to think about.




[QUOTE="Yuuki of the Strata]What kind of stories do you give them?

[/QUOTE]
Something I rarely see whenever there's tragic characters is them having some sort of light or source of hope in their lives. It's always tragedy on top of tragedy, and that's honestly boring for me. If their lives are so terrible, why haven't they attempted suicide yet? There has to be some type of driving force that keeps them going, some goal that they strive for. That's what I always try and incorporate into all of my dark characters, something that makes them want to live. I don't care what the driving force really is, I just want it to be big enough so that my character decides to keep on living.




[QUOTE="Yuuki of the Strata]What kind of feel do you want to portray with them?

[/QUOTE]
Really, I like having the feeling of "Hope is not lost" until the very moment that it is lost. Such as the Darkest Hour trope, when the heroes of the story are finally put the test. This is also the What You Are in the Dark trope, where no one whose opinion matters is there for you, except the villain who may be urging the hero to do something drastic. This could either end up them coming through successfully with many wounds, or you can end up like Kaneki Ken from Tokyo Ghoul and be completely and utterly broken by the whole event. This would be called the Despair Event Horizon trope, the line where once crossed, all trace of hope goes *poof*. There's also the Hope Is Scary trope, where someone comes along and gives you the tiniest light of hope, and it scares you because now you actually feel again, now you have to care about what you do, otherwise you could hurt someone.




[QUOTE="Yuuki of the Strata]
And most importantly... why?

[/QUOTE]
I'm not really sure how to answer this, other than it's for my entertainment and interest. I just find this makes the character more interesting for me, and for others. Instead of this one dimensional, run of the mill archetype.

 

[Kylesar1]

What kind of character archetype do you like to play? I always prefer to have the support character. I don;t like being the center of attention. I spur on the action from the sidelines. I like to compare things based on video games, so I guess it'll have to be the Support Sniper. A long range battler, and an overall helper. In fantasy, they tend to use long-range weaponry.


Do you like lighter character or darker ones? I prefer all my characters to just call it like they see it. Generally helpful overall, but not the type to just look for conversation. I don't like the tragic back stories, or the mental disorders. I find them to be cliche and with mental disorders, they're too tedious to pull off, requiring a lot of research and accuracy/


What kind of stories do you give them? My characters usually have a lighter past. For the most part, it's a normal life with maybe a lost relative or something. Tragic backstories are incredibly hard to make, and frankly not my thing


What kind of feel do you want to portray with them? I want all my characters to be known as a realist. Someone intuitive and analytic without bias. They can always stay calm under pressure, but never without emotion. Just like how support snipers are supposed to be

 

[Tipster]

To start with why do I have an archetype? I always like playing different and interesting things, so why even bother having an archetype? The honest answer, its my comfort zone. I sometimes feel in a new system or world, I need to get used to the world and system before I can start throwing out interesting concepts, it feels like way too much for me to take on with a new character, system and setting.


What kind of character archtype do you like to play?


I suppose you could say roguish. A character that is dependent upon their speed, flair and ability to talk their way out of things as opposed to brute force or intimidation. My archetype tends not to have any special or magical abilities (mainly because it's yet another thing to get my head around and get used to).


Do you like lighter character or darker ones?


It purely depends on your outlook (8))


What kind of stories do you give them?


It varies so much... honestly, every story is different.


What kind of feel do you want to portray with them?


I don't go into play wanting to portray a feel, because I have the honest belief that a character's "feel" can and is shaped by what happens in game. I feel trying to go out of my way to portray a feel, is somewhat limiting my actions before they've even happened. However, I do like my secrets, whether they be deep and dark, or just that the local priest is wearing a wig.