I've been thinking about expanding my original Dragon Age characters beyond my handful of Wardens, planned Wardens, and planned Hawkes. However, I'm not entirely sure how to get a start on this. Anybody willing to share a few beginner's tips... maybe even a core template to set things up?
FYI, you can spare me the "start with a Circle mage" ideal. I want to be a LITTLE more creative than that.
Tips for making original characters?
Débuté par
Kimarous
, févr. 25 2011 08:57
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#2
Posté 25 février 2011 - 09:22
Face of Evil
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Are you looking for technical advice, like for a mod, or are you asking for writing advice?
#3
Posté 25 février 2011 - 02:31
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...okay, this is a template, taking a Top-Down approach. There's lots of ways people come up with interesting characters.
1. Pick something about Thedas you find interesting. Could be Dalish lore, dwarven politics, the possible social stigma you imagine Bella suffers in Redcliffe, or Nevarran dragon hunters. Whatever's shiny to you, that you'd like to write about.
2. Figure out a conflict of some kind that involves your interesting thing.
-- The Circle Tower collects elven artifacts but the Dalish want them back
-- Early in Bhelen's rule, a faction of the Assembly tries to undermine him
-- A young man loves Bella but his father disapproves of the match
-- Rival dragon hunters sabotage each other as they compete to take down rare high dragons
3. Figure out what sort of a main viewpoint character would be appropriate to involve in this situation. This could be obvious or counter-intuitive.
-- A Circle mage or a Dalish Keeper or warrior are obvious choices; a templar, less so; a poor elven mother visiting her mage-child who gets caught in the crossfire, least of all.
-- An enforcer of Bhelen's or a member of the conspiracy are obvious; the noble hunter who's using the entire precarious situation to advance herself, not caring who wins as long as it includes her, less so.
-- The young man, or maybe his father? Less expectedly, use Lloyd or Bella as a viewpoint observing these OCs.
-- Since dragon hunting takes place in fairly remote places, it seems, I think you're looking at a dragon hunter or a member of her entourage.
4. Sketch out a few different takes on your main character and see which one makes the most interesting story.
-- Arwen is a poor Alienage woman who knows a little something about thievery. En route to visit her son at the Circle Tower, she encounters a band of Dalish who have just been thrown out of negotiations for an artifact (perhaps the belt Andruil's Blessing?). She offers to steal the thing if they'll take her son and protect him from the templars.
Result: A heist story with some family/cultural elements
-- Arwen is a servant who has taken a leave from her job to go and visit her son. She has no special combat or magic skills. While staying overnight at Lake Calenhad Docks, waiting for the morning ferry, she awakens to a Dalish attack on the port. (Turns out the artifact is being moved and is in the area right now.) She needs to choose a side, and fast. Will that change? What if the artifact comes into her hands? What if her son is there?
Result: Horror-tinged tale about identity
5. Downselect and further consider traits or quirks that will make the story more interesting.
Is Arwen the Thief a basic opportunistic thug, a smooth-talking swindler, a reluctant hero? Is she afraid of magic or fascinated by it? What mistakes will she make - distracted by a pretty face, try a lie that's too elaborate, smash heads and alert the templars, poke at things curiously until something goes BOOM? I encourage getting characters into trouble that's their own fault, rather than only having external problems.
Conversely, from the Bottom-Up, you start with an idea for a character, totally divorced from the setting:
Max is a mercenary in late middle age with few illusions. He's not cruel, but kind doesn't put food in his belly, either. Glory and honor are fripperies for nobles; you kill when you can and run when you can't. Never sell out, because a merc who can't be trusted can't be hired. Max will quit a job, but he won't hop to the other side without notice. That's his one ironclad rule. He secretly likes it when younger members of the mercenary band look up to him as a father figure.
Okay, now drop Max into Thedas. Would he run with the Crimson Oars, the White Hawk Mercenaries, or the Blackstone Irregulars? The Blackstone Irregulars are by far the most interesting, so put him there.
What's he doing there? The conflict between Taoran and Raelnor is something that'll probably have to be addressed; whose side he's on, and what happens once he chooses, could be a story all by itself. Or maybe Max tries to keep out of the officers' business and just do his job. The Irregulars are supposed to be really busy these days - doing what? There's a civil war going on! Pick a bannorn off the map and go to town.
1. Pick something about Thedas you find interesting. Could be Dalish lore, dwarven politics, the possible social stigma you imagine Bella suffers in Redcliffe, or Nevarran dragon hunters. Whatever's shiny to you, that you'd like to write about.
2. Figure out a conflict of some kind that involves your interesting thing.
-- The Circle Tower collects elven artifacts but the Dalish want them back
-- Early in Bhelen's rule, a faction of the Assembly tries to undermine him
-- A young man loves Bella but his father disapproves of the match
-- Rival dragon hunters sabotage each other as they compete to take down rare high dragons
3. Figure out what sort of a main viewpoint character would be appropriate to involve in this situation. This could be obvious or counter-intuitive.
-- A Circle mage or a Dalish Keeper or warrior are obvious choices; a templar, less so; a poor elven mother visiting her mage-child who gets caught in the crossfire, least of all.
-- An enforcer of Bhelen's or a member of the conspiracy are obvious; the noble hunter who's using the entire precarious situation to advance herself, not caring who wins as long as it includes her, less so.
-- The young man, or maybe his father? Less expectedly, use Lloyd or Bella as a viewpoint observing these OCs.
-- Since dragon hunting takes place in fairly remote places, it seems, I think you're looking at a dragon hunter or a member of her entourage.
4. Sketch out a few different takes on your main character and see which one makes the most interesting story.
-- Arwen is a poor Alienage woman who knows a little something about thievery. En route to visit her son at the Circle Tower, she encounters a band of Dalish who have just been thrown out of negotiations for an artifact (perhaps the belt Andruil's Blessing?). She offers to steal the thing if they'll take her son and protect him from the templars.
Result: A heist story with some family/cultural elements
-- Arwen is a servant who has taken a leave from her job to go and visit her son. She has no special combat or magic skills. While staying overnight at Lake Calenhad Docks, waiting for the morning ferry, she awakens to a Dalish attack on the port. (Turns out the artifact is being moved and is in the area right now.) She needs to choose a side, and fast. Will that change? What if the artifact comes into her hands? What if her son is there?
Result: Horror-tinged tale about identity
5. Downselect and further consider traits or quirks that will make the story more interesting.
Is Arwen the Thief a basic opportunistic thug, a smooth-talking swindler, a reluctant hero? Is she afraid of magic or fascinated by it? What mistakes will she make - distracted by a pretty face, try a lie that's too elaborate, smash heads and alert the templars, poke at things curiously until something goes BOOM? I encourage getting characters into trouble that's their own fault, rather than only having external problems.
Conversely, from the Bottom-Up, you start with an idea for a character, totally divorced from the setting:
Max is a mercenary in late middle age with few illusions. He's not cruel, but kind doesn't put food in his belly, either. Glory and honor are fripperies for nobles; you kill when you can and run when you can't. Never sell out, because a merc who can't be trusted can't be hired. Max will quit a job, but he won't hop to the other side without notice. That's his one ironclad rule. He secretly likes it when younger members of the mercenary band look up to him as a father figure.
Okay, now drop Max into Thedas. Would he run with the Crimson Oars, the White Hawk Mercenaries, or the Blackstone Irregulars? The Blackstone Irregulars are by far the most interesting, so put him there.
What's he doing there? The conflict between Taoran and Raelnor is something that'll probably have to be addressed; whose side he's on, and what happens once he chooses, could be a story all by itself. Or maybe Max tries to keep out of the officers' business and just do his job. The Irregulars are supposed to be really busy these days - doing what? There's a civil war going on! Pick a bannorn off the map and go to town.
