Experiences Who is your Favorite Character?

[Melpomene]

Hello RPN!

After a long hiatus and some trauma, I have decided to come back here swinging. So, I wanted to ask the people of RPN what character is their favorite, whether it be made by someone else or yourself. And if it was made by yourself, I would like to know the story behind them. What influenced you to make them and what they are like in game. I think characters are often the backbone to most roleplays, but I believe they are the best part of many stories as well.

So even if you do not have a favorite character, what do you like to see in characters? I, for example, happen to love to see characters that have flaws that are seen in the RP. Not just mentioned offhand, not just something small like they are clumsy, but serious problems that they have to overcome and face actual consequences for.

I thought this might be a fun little thing to talk about. So don't be a stranger and share your characters!

 

[FoolsErin]

THE MAN.

THE MYTH.

THE TCS LEGENNNNND....



BENEDICT CUCUMBERPATCH!
(made by the lovely Benedict Cucumberpatch )

Over the top introductions aside, this character always makes me smile when I see a post as him. He's elegant, unpredictable, goofy, and all-around a funny (joke) character. Benedict's like a jack in the box that you don't know when will go off or what will come out. His out of the loopness has led to some of the legimately best jokes in this series of roleplays.​

 

[ashwynne]

I love so many of my characters... but for right now my favourite is probably my sweet princess

Avelina ValionneShe was born to King Stefan and Queen Cecilia of House Valionne, rulers of the Kingdom of Oreille. From the moment she came crying into the world she was the apple of her father's eye and the darling of Oreille. Her elder brother Philip was skeptical about a sister (he had wanted a little brother) but he made the best of it and decided to ensure that Avelina was the least annoying princess in the whole wide world! For her part, Avelina idolized her little brother and followed him everywhere... picking up on a great many un-princess-like habits that were the bane of her mother's existence.

An arrangement existed between the three neighbouring kingdoms of Oreille, the White Mountains, and the kingdom of the Trimboli. To ensure future peace the three royal families had determined to intermarry their children. The prince of one family marrying the princess of the other and so forth. As a result, Avelina was promised from birth to Prince Alistair of the White Kingdom while her brother was set to marry Princess Marguerite Trimboli.

The Trimboli's continuously delayed in sending Marguerite to Oreille to wed Philip, and King Stefan took advantage of this fact to manufacture an excuse to keep Avelina home year after year as well. She had no qualms about staying with her family, though the princess spent many a long day lounging in the long grass of the fields with her maids; giggling over what she imagined her fiancé to be like.

Years passed. Both the previous Trimboli king and the previous king of the White Mountains died—their sons taking the throne. Still, Trimboli put off handing over his sister and King Stefan refused King Alistair his bride in turn.​

Then, one night, as all of Castle Heartwood eased towards sleep, a brutal attack came… led by King Mateo Trimboli himself. Unprepared for such a large force, Heartwood was overwhelmed and butchered before any of the royal family even understood what was happening. Agnes, a quick-thinking maid who had been like a second mother to Avelina, had the wherewithal to push her into one of the secret passageways built into the castle before they could be discovered. She died for this, but it enabled Avelina to escape.

Of all the inhabitants of Heartwood, only Avelina and her other maid—Lila—managed to escape. In shock, Avelina allowed Lila to mutely lead them where she thought best and Lila’s only thought was to throw themselves on the mercy of the White Kingdom and hope that King Alistair had enough honour to shelter them.

In the end, Alistair did choose to shelter them and honour the engagement… despite the fact that Avelina now brought no dowry or lands, having only herself and royal upbringing to give him. He was in need of a wife and she could provide this and so the arrangement was kept.


In general, Avelina could be summed up as empathetic. She feels very deeply for the plights of others and has a kind streak she inherited from her father that compels her to give aid where she can. This might have been where her traits ended—leading to a rather boring character—but for the influence of her brother, Philip. To him she owes an impulsive streak that she has grown very used to indulging in addition to a penchant for trouble that is not even remotely suitable for a princess.

Within her first 48 hours as a guest of King Alistair she mistakenly interpreted a brutal sparring match between him and a squire as an unwarranted attack on the boy, impulsively flying down to spring between them and nearly getting herself killed in the process. This embarrassed both her and the king in addition to creating a poor first impression among his knights. It isn’t an unusual scenario, either. She speaks before she thinks which also gets her into trouble more often than not. Hanging around Philip and knights for most of her formative years also led to some decidedly unladylike mannerisms that can rear their heads at the most inopportune of times. She means well, so it can be brushed off by a forgiving individual, but the damage is still often done.

* * *​

I got a tad carried away but voila! xD This is basically just her backstory leading to the RP lol. I think one of the reasons I like her is that she's nuanced and feels very real. It's difficult to sum up her essence in such a short amount of time (especially when it comes to personality traits) but there you go. I find most people don't tend to have MASSIVE visible/exaggerated flaws and so hers are more complicated and small, giving her that "someone I could bump into" feel that I really treasure. It also helps that her dynamic with Alistair is just... perfection, so I'm fairly obsessed with her.

First art piece by the lovely peritwinkle and the second one is by clover-teapot on Deviantart!!

 

[Melpomene]

THE MAN.

THE MYTH.

THE TCS LEGENNNNND....


View attachment 641792
BENEDICT CUCUMBERPATCH!
(made by the lovely Benedict Cucumberpatch )

Over the top introductions aside, this character always makes me smile when I see a post as him. He's elegant, unpredictable, goofy, and all-around a funny (joke) character. Benedict's like a jack in the box that you don't know when will go off or what will come out. His out of the loopness has led to some of the legimately best jokes in this series of roleplays.​

One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen? Something that belongs in character legends? Something I respect beyond reason? I love him.

I love so many of my characters... but for right now my favourite is probably my sweet princess

View attachment 641866

Avelina ValionneShe was born to King Stefan and Queen Cecilia of House Valionne, rulers of the Kingdom of Oreille. From the moment she came crying into the world she was the apple of her father's eye and the darling of Oreille. Her elder brother Philip was skeptical about a sister (he had wanted a little brother) but he made the best of it and decided to ensure that Avelina was the least annoying princess in the whole wide world! For her part, Avelina idolized her little brother and followed him everywhere... picking up on a great many un-princess-like habits that were the bane of her mother's existence.

An arrangement existed between the three neighbouring kingdoms of Oreille, the White Mountains, and the kingdom of the Trimboli. To ensure future peace the three royal families had determined to intermarry their children. The prince of one family marrying the princess of the other and so forth. As a result, Avelina was promised from birth to Prince Alistair of the White Kingdom while her brother was set to marry Princess Marguerite Trimboli.

The Trimboli's continuously delayed in sending Marguerite to Oreille to wed Philip, and King Stefan took advantage of this fact to manufacture an excuse to keep Avelina home year after year as well. She had no qualms about staying with her family, though the princess spent many a long day lounging in the long grass of the fields with her maids; giggling over what she imagined her fiancé to be like.

Years passed. Both the previous Trimboli king and the previous king of the White Mountains died—their sons taking the throne. Still, Trimboli put off handing over his sister and King Stefan refused King Alistair his bride in turn.​

View attachment 641868

Then, one night, as all of Castle Heartwood eased towards sleep, a brutal attack came… led by King Mateo Trimboli himself. Unprepared for such a large force, Heartwood was overwhelmed and butchered before any of the royal family even understood what was happening. Agnes, a quick-thinking maid who had been like a second mother to Avelina, had the wherewithal to push her into one of the secret passageways built into the castle before they could be discovered. She died for this, but it enabled Avelina to escape.

Of all the inhabitants of Heartwood, only Avelina and her other maid—Lila—managed to escape. In shock, Avelina allowed Lila to mutely lead them where she thought best and Lila’s only thought was to throw themselves on the mercy of the White Kingdom and hope that King Alistair had enough honour to shelter them.

In the end, Alistair did choose to shelter them and honour the engagement… despite the fact that Avelina now brought no dowry or lands, having only herself and royal upbringing to give him. He was in need of a wife and she could provide this and so the arrangement was kept.


In general, Avelina could be summed up as empathetic. She feels very deeply for the plights of others and has a kind streak she inherited from her father that compels her to give aid where she can. This might have been where her traits ended—leading to a rather boring character—but for the influence of her brother, Philip. To him she owes an impulsive streak that she has grown very used to indulging in addition to a penchant for trouble that is not even remotely suitable for a princess.

Within her first 48 hours as a guest of King Alistair she mistakenly interpreted a brutal sparring match between him and a squire as an unwarranted attack on the boy, impulsively flying down to spring between them and nearly getting herself killed in the process. This embarrassed both her and the king in addition to creating a poor first impression among his knights. It isn’t an unusual scenario, either. She speaks before she thinks which also gets her into trouble more often than not. Hanging around Philip and knights for most of her formative years also led to some decidedly unladylike mannerisms that can rear their heads at the most inopportune of times. She means well, so it can be brushed off by a forgiving individual, but the damage is still often done.

* * *​

I got a tad carried away but voila! xD This is basically just her backstory leading to the RP lol. I think one of the reasons I like her is that she's nuanced and feels very real. It's difficult to sum up her essence in such a short amount of time (especially when it comes to personality traits) but there you go. I find most people don't tend to have MASSIVE visible/exaggerated flaws and so hers are more complicated and small, giving her that "someone I could bump into" feel that I really treasure. It also helps that her dynamic with Alistair is just... perfection, so I'm fairly obsessed with her.

First art piece by the lovely peritwinkle and the second one is by clover-teapot on Deviantart!!

I must say I am already in love with her myself! She is a very well developed character from what I can see. I agree that most people don't have one glaring flaw, but often many little flaws that rear their heads strongly at different times. Either way, she is absolutely gorgeous and I feel I need to read the RP she is in to see more of her, because I have to say that I am intrigued haha. Good job on this character!

 

[RedEmRa]

Zack fucking Hall

By Funeral

This character catapulted me into the world of RPing.

The idea of a Johnny Cage-esque western movie star in the serious interstellar world that was being made was very fun to read. Every interaction, though short-lived was a gem.

Thank you for making this character.

 

[ashwynne]

I must say I am already in love with her myself! She is a very well developed character from what I can see. I agree that most people don't have one glaring flaw, but often many little flaws that rear their heads strongly at different times. Either way, she is absolutely gorgeous and I feel I need to read the RP she is in to see more of her, because I have to say that I am intrigued haha. Good job on this character!

Thank-you!! I'm glad you were intrigued Sadly, the roleplay is in PM's so I can't share it here :'c
I have a feeling she's going to keep growing and developing with time, plenty of character-forming events are taking place in her story!

And I should also shoutout Sia for creating Alistair who is such a phenomenal character himself Can't even express how much I love him, it's almost embarrassing xD

 

[BackSet]

Why must you do this to me!

I think if I had to go for a favorite it would definitely have to be the many incarnations of Adrian Thane, which sounds like the title of a bad pulp fiction story or something.

Anyway, long story short every incarnation of him shares one problem, in one way or another he genderbends. Most of the time he can change back but oftentimes situations happen that require him to genderbend (my favorite is making him a magical girl). He's also a grumpy and very apathetic guy who is not happy with his predicament at all.

My favorite character by another person is unquestionably Ezra Yew by Arcanist .

 

[FoolsErin]

Not to be that person buuuut....

who is not happy with his prediction at all.

Predicament.

 

[BackSet]

Not to be that person buuuut....

Predicament.

*breath in*
*sigh*

 

[Melpomene]

I should probably mention my own favorite

I have not gotten far with her story ever, but my Queen of the Desert: Dahlia of Isendor is probably my favorite.

She was born small and fragile, not believed to live past the year but soon blooming into a vivacious young child that was often looked at as overly curious, often locking herself away with the palace wizard to learn alchemy from him, which he would gladly teach when he was supposed to be advising. Games of strategy were often part of her days as well as many arguments which her stubbornness got her into.

A young Queen having come into power after her brother was assassinated, the only thing is known was that he took an arrow to the chest, and her father dying of what many believed to be heartbreak soon after, she was left as the only person to lead her people when a bitter war arose. Unprepared and unready, her kingdom was already in disarray, the warring region wishing to take the land and its riches as theirs, but not expecting to find such a strong-willed young woman who they saw upon the throne upon coming, refusing to capitulate and keeping her throne despite all odds. It left her at odds with the opposers, how she was making life harder for out of pure spite and stubbornness to keep a stronghold on what was rightfully her family's.

Overall she is a kindhearted woman that prefers peace to battle, a day splashing in her pool to one stressing over a battle map. But she knows what needs to be done and will take a step to do it when it needs to be done. However, her own pride and stubbornness can sometimes get her into trouble. Often times she is said to be too excitable, often over things other see as mundane, such as alchemy or sculpture. But no one should mistake her kindness for weakness. As she is a strong woman, the love from her family before driving her onwards to be the best she can in her life.

I have decided to start writing stories with her on the creativity section just because I do like her and I almost forgot how much because I have never really been able to explore her haha.

 

[Malozing]

Right now, I think my favorite character that I am not playing is an NPC from The Lotus Blossoms! , an Exalted 3e game I am in.

Backstory
Kelam was a wannabe hero in a corrupt city too used to screams and dead bodies. She ended up bleeding out in a dark alley with no chance of help coming to her. However, the Deathlord Bodhisattva Anointed by Dark Waters

As she put it, “It would have been better if the rats found me first.” She ended up becoming one of the Bodhisattva's deathknight. Due to her attachments to her old life and disinterest in spreading death across Creation, the Bodhisattva punished Kelam by killing her family. He then had their souls forged into soulsteel and created the sword Mourning Blade for her.

In-Game Introduction
She meets the PC party at a secret martial arts tournament where she fights and loses to Brown Leaf. Leaf offers to find a way to help Kelam release the souls in the sword back to the normal cycle of reincarnation, which starts off their slightly awkward friendship. (None of us knew at the time that the souls were her family's at the time.)

Mind you, the Storyteller meant for Kelam to be a one-off NPC. Still, the players have fully incorporated her into the group. The organic relationships between our characters and Kelam really helped us develop our characters and the plot further.

Our Storyteller has done a great job adapting to having Kelam in the group. He's done an excellent job shifting the main focus of the plot around each of our characters.

All of the information I wrote about Kelam's backstory, the ST sprinkled that throughout the posts as our characters began to get to know her and gain her trust. I don't think he knew all of the information at the start of the game, but he sure did a thorough job writing it up and not info-dumping it suddenly.


(I am in the middle of drawing our party. Once I am done drawing Kelam, I will edit this post to include it. )

 

[Malozing]

Here is Kelam's picture that I drew

Spoiler: Kelam

 

[UsedCarSalesman]

I was in a GURPS campaign in high school where we played a bunch of misfit superheroes in a 1940’s pulp setting. Occult magic, super science and evil villains abound. It was a very fun setting.

My character was Jeremy, a super soldier and spy created by MI6 as Britain’s ace in the hole. He was a nineteen year old gutter punk from Glasgow, who had a rough life and developed incredibly powerful telekinetic powers due to his trauma. Put through rudimentary combat training, he was then pumped full of chemicals that would make him more than human. Unfortunately for Jeremy, years of drinking and smoking took its toll and the process killed his body. The scientists, not wanting to lose the powers Jeremy’s mind could harness, acted quickly. Using the power of SCIENCE! they transferred his mind into the only living being available. The lab’s mascot red panda.

Jeremy, refusing to let this be a set back, learned to light and throw dynamite in his new form, often riding in various companion’s backpacks while hurling both explosives and obscenities at enemies. Once his ample stash of dynamite was depleted, his friend would toss Jeremy into combat, where the red panda would dump his flask of moonshine over his fur and light himself ablaze using his powers, acting as living napalm causing havoc behind enemy lines.

That campaign was like a fever dream. We fought dinosaurs, Nazis from Uranus and Hitler’s dog. I made Jeremy as ridiculous as possible because it was supposed to be a one shot campaign, but we ended up playing it off and on for five years.

 

[Jet]

Favorite to write is a NPC I made for an old RP of mine. I liked him so much that I repurposed him for a second RP I joined later on, which is the only time I've ever done that.

Character's name is Oni Jiro and he's well.... The cliche embodied.

-

Despite the lack of wind, Oni's black kimono fluttered as students came to track. There they collected before Diablo in a loose rabble, irking the stoic "Bushido Hero" who narrowed eyes at the childish formation. He'd have to remedy it with a loud - - "SILENCE!" Barked with cross-arms and a wave of anime energy blasting out in a circle, launching grass-blades and unlucky (squeeling) insects with a stoic "Hmmmfff" grunted after in the fresh silence; as if to punctuate the scene.

"Built from stone, body!"

"Sharp with care, a strong mind is!"

"Made with both, warrior!"

The teacher continues in Haiku, confident in the group's attention.

-

I began every post with this little sound byte



And a jumbo sized



No he's not a smartly made character, yes he's a walking cliche, yes he's a gag character and he's also straight up fun to write. There's no pressure with a character like this. Want to break grammar? Sure. Want to make ridiculous jokes? Sure. Anything and everything goes. Because most of my writing is very tight, a ludicrous meathead like this was the perfect change of pace, and writing him allowed me to open up my style a little. He's the anti-creative character, so steeped in trope that it's interesting to write and (for some) read. No it's not high art, but that was the point. He's a big red dude with horns named Oni, the Japanese word for demon, ffs, it's like naming a vampire "Vampire Jim". I didn't put uncultured in my profile for nothing!

And I mean, how can you not enjoy writing shit like...

-

As Akio flips away with a sly anime smirk, Oni Jiro flashes back to a time far removed.

"NINE HUNDRED.... NINETY SEVEN"

"NINE HUNDRED.... NINETY EIGHT"

"NINE HUNDRED.... NINETY NINE"

"ONE..... THOU..... SAND"

Barks a young Oni with sweat pouring and a thousand pushups done-in, his marathon workout completed. Bone tired with shake-arms and fire-chest the boy pulls up to a kneel at snail speed, looking with tired-eye to The Mountain Tender, dreading what'd come next.

"Now, Oni San, shatter the rock" commands the ancient, an order heard by the red skinned boy for the hundred and sixteenth time.... His task? To destroy an imposing boulder; something tried a hundred-fifteen times before without a single success. So standing from the gravel-ground without much in the way of faith, Jiro stepped to task with a heavy breath, taking a second to regain strength and focus.

Then, shifting weight to heel and back! through arm Oni sends a looping hook whistling missile-like through the air, his last essence behind the blow, desperate to destroy the rock.

CRACK!!!!

Echoes the impact! Reverberating far through the thin mountain air. It's sound was devastating, and someone afar would pencil Oni in over the boulder, but all accomplished was a small dent in the rockface.

"I can't... I... Master I can't" Oni pants with hand to knee and pained ribs pinging gut, pushing resolve past human limitations.

"Do you know why?" answers the monk, his old voice light as the breeze.

"Because I lack the strength" counters Jiro.

"No..." whispers Yamamoto, walking to the Boulder at glacial pace with his cane tapping gently on the ground, white robes flowing in the breeze.

"It is because..." Yuuma begins, raising his right hand with a single finger extended.

"YOU LACK CONTROL!" the monk yells out in a rare show, shattering the Boulder with a jab of his index finger, the strike's speed but a flash unfollowable by human eye.

 

[Jannah]

Honestly, it would be hard to choose just one. My writing is very character driven so I create many dynamic characters who all stand out in their own ways. Two that currently stand out, however, are Paige Alwin and Edmund Baumhauer.

Paige is from a Hunger Games RP I did years ago. She was foul-mouthed and a known rebel, thus was forced into the Games by President Snow. She caught onto this pretty quickly so figured out that the Games were rigged against her. Because of this she essentially became a mentor to her younger partner, doing everything she could to instill the spirit of revolution within him and get him out of the arena alive. Ultimately she ended up sacrificing herself to kill the last career tribute, making her partner the Victor. President Snow saw everything she did as defiance of course so to completely silence her legacy he made her girlfriend into an Avox.

Edmund is a character I'm writing currently on site in a WW-II era RP. He's a Nazi, unquestionably loyal to the party line while also being cold and manipulative. However, he's in love with a Jew. Said Jew is a childhood friend of his currently living under a different identity. He has yet to figure out that she's Jewish or an old friend, but once he does I fully intend for him to face some massive moral dilemma; does he turn in the woman he loves or does he protect her secret, despite knowing the risks and how it goes against everything he believes? I suppose this character is in some ways a thought experiment, an indication that even those caught up in evil movements can still experience real human emotions. It'll be interesting for me to see how the RP progresses as it's still in its early stages.