Dalvar's Guide to Characterization

Hi there! I'm Dalvar [you may already know me] and I am here to show you some quick and easy ways to depict your character's personality. Throughout this guide I will be using two characters as examples: Alice and Bob. Alice has focused on magic with potion making as her life skill. She feels that she is smarter, and therefore better, than most people she meets, so she tends to be aloof. Bob has focused on melee combat with blacksmithing as his life skill. He is a down to earth and down to business sort of person who does what he needs to do to get the job done.


Part 1: Speech Patterns

This is probably the most important piece of characterization at your disposal- it is how you interact with others! The way someone talks tells you the way they think [is their speech direct of circuitous?], how they feel [are they hesitant? Poetic?], and something about their past [do they have an accent? Use slang?].

Alice is smart and likes to show it. Both her sentences and words are very long. She speaks formally and with no contractions or dialectic quirks. She never hides it when she is irritated by someone or something [which is often].
"If you two are finally finished chatting, could we proceed into the dungeon? There are herbs I must retrieve within it."

For Bob speech is merely a means to an end. His sentences tend to be short, sometimes fragments, holding only as many words as needed to get his point across. Grammar takes a back seat to meaning when he talks, but not to the point that he sounds like an idiot. He speaks with great emphasis so his player makes liberal use of the exclamation point.
"Cal! Dan! Emily! You three take the skeletons. Fred! You an' me'll take the golem. Ready? Go!"


Part 2: Actions

Ah, the magic of the asterisks. With it we can make out characters smile, shrug, wink, and frown. But the actions chosen reflect greatly on the character's personality. A character who is comfortable with a situation will never cross his arms [and a girls don't do it around guys they like] while sharp hand movements are a sign of aggression. Playing with one's hair or touching one's lips or ears are sure signs of stress.

Alice often finds herself surrounded by idiots, something she has no patience for. As such she tends to roll her eyes, sigh in irritation, and tap her foot impatiently. She is both confidant and aggressive when talking to people so she usually has her hands on her hips, fingers forward.

Bob is quick and economical about his movements. They tend to be small, quick, and sharp. He points to what he is talking about, emphasizes negatives with lateral slashes of his hand, and exclamations by hitting his palm with his fist. He is so comfortable with his swords that it has become almost an extension of his body, as such he often incorporates it with his actions, tapping the flat of the blade against his shoulder when he thinks and passing it between his hands when he feels uncomfortable.


Part 3: Greetings and Goodbyes

When and how a person says goodbye and hello is surprisingly useful when it comes to showing their personality. An extrovert would quickly go up and introduce themselves to new people while an introvert would wait until people came to them. Someone who cares more about other people would begin by asking for someone's name while someone confidant in themselves would introduce themselves [perhaps with a full title as well]. How you say it too shows a lot. Is it a casual "Later!" or a formal and articulate "Fare you well and may Eweca shine brightly on your endeavors". Remember that as people learn there greetings were they grew up this is a great way to show something of the culture of where your character is from.

Alice is just as confidant and aloof in her greetings as in everything else. She bids people "Greetings and good day" and introduces herself as "Alice, master of fire". When saying goodbye she gives a brisk "Farewell" and leaves it as that.

Bob waits for people to introduce themselves to him and greets them with a nod and a guarded "Hello" or, if he knows them better, "Hello [name]". When parting he gives another nod and a says something along the lines of "See you next time" or "Till next time, friend."


Part 4: Healing and Getting Healed

If you go into a dungeon with other people this situation is going to come up. Someone who sees himself as tough or a protector will most likely insist that others are healed before him, often quite forcefully! On the other hand, someone who doesn't like people [why are you in a dungeon with them, again?] isn't going to like healing others. Of course, not healing people in your team is not always an option [what if it is only you and them?] so the person playing as that character would have to make an excuse.

Alice usually gets healed before she heals anyone. Use of the healing spell she refers to as "practice" while when administering First Aid she admonishes her teammate at length on what he did wrong.

Bob makes sure both the more powerful characters in a dungeon are healed before him. Explaining, when asked, that they it is necessary to the completion of the mission that they are fully healed and ready to go.


Part 5: Exceptions

Sometimes your character will not act like they usually do. Perhaps a normally rude character will be meticulously polite to anyone who bests him in battle. Or maybe a normally passive or nonviolent character is enraged by Dark Knights and refuses to deal with them until they explain how they could become such a thing, attacking them if there reason is not good enough. Either way, the exceptions are just as important to character building as the norm.

Alice's normally frosty demeanor quickly goes away when speaking with someone as good or better at magic than herself. These people, worthy of her respect, are given gifts of potions and her friendship.

Although usually tight lipped, Bob waxes poetic on the subject of blacksmithing. Anyone who brings up that topic should be prepared to have their ear talked off.





~Dalvar's Activity Book!~
Name and show an example of one verbal tick your character has:
Name and show one distinctive action or type of action your character does:
Tell me how your character says hello and goodbye to others:
Describe how your character reacts to giving and receiving healing inside a dungeon:

When are these things not the case?

This is an awesome piece of work Dav. I didn't get through all of it just yet but I definitely take the time to read through it all. I just wanted to make a comment about one part before I forgot. A girl may cross her arms in front of guy she likes if she wishes to try and make him feel a certain way. Though it completely depends on the char and person playing it. Plus context is everything. A lot rides on where the conversation has been, is at, and is heading. Okies thats enough from the Kaye for now! *passes the soapbox... Written in small letters is property of CaptnCrunch*

Kayeori wrote:This is an awesome piece of work Dav. I didn't get through all of it just yet but I definitely take the time to read through it all. I just wanted to make a comment about one part before I forgot. A girl may cross her arms in front of guy she likes if she wishes to try and make him feel a certain way. Though it completely depends on the char and person playing it. Plus context is everything. A lot rides on where the conversation has been, is at, and is heading. Okies thats enough from the Kaye for now! *passes the soapbox... Written in small letters is property of CaptnCrunch*

You are right.
I should have put: "In most cases".
Thanks! :3

Hehe no worries. I get random thoughts like that sometimes. Either way you did an awesome job!

With a little polishing up this will be a great addition to the new and improved Guild Wiki. (if and when that happens)

The only major issue I see is the spelling for "Eweca."

Kenelm wrote:The only major issue I see is the spelling for "Eweca."

Gaaaaah, thanks. xD
I need a proofreader.
I catch most of my mistakes on the second read through, but, obviously...
>_>

*Fixes it*

[You know, as a Mage, you'd think I'd know better...]

After a quick glance, and Internet interruption, I'd like to point out a little more which can be found in part one...

"Quark" should probably be "quirk," contextually speaking(/typing).

Emphasis is misspelled.

"Within it" could easily be left off. The "character's" point was made.

...but...I like quark. It sounds funny. x3

Yes, but a quark has nothing to do with what I was talking about.
Thanks again Kenelm.
xD

I spelled extrovert wrong as well. xP

/failatlife

And you also spelt first aid wrong Aww..I like that word so much as well. Fires aid..lol

When you get Kenelm critisizing your spelling, you know the work itself is probably good

I am suddenly tempted to write a piece or two, like rp things, just to put a few errors in it and let Kenny critique it. xD

Heeeey Cap [Or Xeek, or whoever], now that this has been all polished up and stuff thanks to my lovely guildmates, I was wondering if you could move it to Information and Rules.
Thanks!

I'll see if I can mirror the thing there.