Well, first of all, I'm not totally sure if it's even good that I'm letting his backstory dominate personality, although it seems to make sense, in this situation.
His backstory vaguely has something to do with slavery, pretty much born into slavery or becoming one at a somewhat young age. Not something TOO TOO harsh, but at the same time bad enough leaving him mentally scarred, physically scarred, flinchy and sort of fighting broken spiritedness, if that makes sense. I'm no expert on slavery either >.< oh yeah and he's the only one of his race I have so far
Anyone got ideas for what I could do with him?
His backstory vaguely has something to do with slavery, pretty much born into slavery or becoming one at a somewhat young age. Not something TOO TOO harsh, but at the same time bad enough leaving him mentally scarred, physically scarred, flinchy and sort of fighting broken spiritedness, if that makes sense. I'm no expert on slavery either >.< oh yeah and he's the only one of his race I have so far
Anyone got ideas for what I could do with him?
Backstory and how it is dealt with tends to be pretty important in shaping character personality, so don't feel like you've done something wrong there. If he's only recently gained freedom (or is still a slave), then it makes all the more sense for it to be a big deal.
Something that can help is knowing what he'd like to do with his life, what his goals are, and that should tie into his past and personality as both cause and effect. They don't even have to be big, specific goals like "find this thing/person/place" or "exact revenge on so-and-so" (though they certainly can be, but more open things tend to work better in RP).
For example, I have a character who is a bubbly child and whose mother was a witch; her goals are simply to enjoy herself, survive (she's on her own at this point, and is still waiting for her mother to show up), and learn to control her own magic. Another was exiled from her clan after a magical accident changed her, and though she accepts that exile, her behavior is a mix of how she was raised and an unspoken desire to prove that she's still one of them, clan or no.
That can help you figure out what to get him started on.
Something that can help is knowing what he'd like to do with his life, what his goals are, and that should tie into his past and personality as both cause and effect. They don't even have to be big, specific goals like "find this thing/person/place" or "exact revenge on so-and-so" (though they certainly can be, but more open things tend to work better in RP).
For example, I have a character who is a bubbly child and whose mother was a witch; her goals are simply to enjoy herself, survive (she's on her own at this point, and is still waiting for her mother to show up), and learn to control her own magic. Another was exiled from her clan after a magical accident changed her, and though she accepts that exile, her behavior is a mix of how she was raised and an unspoken desire to prove that she's still one of them, clan or no.
That can help you figure out what to get him started on.
Well, he's escaped a number of times, but usually did not know where to go and ended up being enslaved to another master, or sold. He was found and helped by his current friends at 12, so it's pretty much way past him but he's still scarred.
I was thinking of having him try and find his parents, as a general goal, since he was separated from them very early on, but he had to leave his homeland in order to stay free and if he went back, his piercings identify him as a slave and they were welded shut such that he'd have to rip his ear to shreds to take them out.
I was also thinking of giving him TIME powers, but I feel like that would be way too OP.
Guess I'll just flesh him out slowly and steadily. Any more comments/suggestions?
I was thinking of having him try and find his parents, as a general goal, since he was separated from them very early on, but he had to leave his homeland in order to stay free and if he went back, his piercings identify him as a slave and they were welded shut such that he'd have to rip his ear to shreds to take them out.
I was also thinking of giving him TIME powers, but I feel like that would be way too OP.
Guess I'll just flesh him out slowly and steadily. Any more comments/suggestions?
Nyhior wrote:
Well, first of all, I'm not totally sure if it's even good that I'm letting his backstory dominate personality, although it seems to make sense, in this situation.
I think backstory helps develop a certain personality, but doesn't determine it. The extent of how much it affects his personality depends on the backstory, though.
Keep in mind that a character's history won't usually change details like talents, strengths, weaknesses, etc. unless the history extremely impacts him.
Also, though you've described him with "fighting broken spiritedness", the fact that he might go on a potentially very dangerous quest to find his parents is a bit contradictory. It takes courage to do that, if aware of the risks, and though I'm not completely sure what you mean by "fighting broken spiritedness" I don't think it makes much sense considering.
As you develop him further, though, you might change things about him.
Well, slaves tend to be dehumanized by owners, and have their spirits 'broken' such that they obey everything and are treated as objects. I wasn't sure how to better phrase that. The thing about him, though, is that he still has that spark of strong will and rebellion inside, and once he's had people help him it brought that part of him out a little, hence the 'fighting' bit.
Also, his parents are a general goal of his, but indeed, I don't see him taking on the initiative to do that yet. (hmm, I'll edit that post to clarify that as a goal)
Also, his parents are a general goal of his, but indeed, I don't see him taking on the initiative to do that yet. (hmm, I'll edit that post to clarify that as a goal)
Short of repeating everything the previous posters said, backstory helps you (and others) get a feel for the character, where they're at physically, emotionally, mentally.
Backstory would explore: Why he was enslaved. How old he was when he was enslaved. And then what he does when he finds freedom? Will he go off in search of food? Something he's dreamed about food (a cake or delicacy he hasn't had for a long time) or money or clothing?
I have a character, Nebi, who is a thief. And he was enslaved at one point--hence the collar around his neck, which is charmed not to be tampered with. His main goal is to find someone to remove the collar and chain, but in the meantime, he's so busy thieving and causing problems for himself that finding someone willing to remove it--is not very likely.
(I like throwing irony into my character's life.)
Often, when I'm stuck for backstory, I try to write a short story about 'a day in the life' of the character. And then examine what they may have gone through, and what they could go through that would encourage them to 'mature' or at least face their fears.
Just some ideas.
Backstory would explore: Why he was enslaved. How old he was when he was enslaved. And then what he does when he finds freedom? Will he go off in search of food? Something he's dreamed about food (a cake or delicacy he hasn't had for a long time) or money or clothing?
I have a character, Nebi, who is a thief. And he was enslaved at one point--hence the collar around his neck, which is charmed not to be tampered with. His main goal is to find someone to remove the collar and chain, but in the meantime, he's so busy thieving and causing problems for himself that finding someone willing to remove it--is not very likely.
(I like throwing irony into my character's life.)Often, when I'm stuck for backstory, I try to write a short story about 'a day in the life' of the character. And then examine what they may have gone through, and what they could go through that would encourage them to 'mature' or at least face their fears.
Just some ideas.
http://www.rprepository.com/community/newspost.php?post=219
I think this article might be an interesting read for you. It might point out a bunch of things already said, but Ben's explanation is worth a read regardless.
I think this article might be an interesting read for you.
It might point out a bunch of things already said, but Ben's explanation is worth a read regardless.
Thanks for posting this, Sanne!
I personally don't believe that backstory is all that important to the character development process. It IS useful for a number of things, but I consider the things it's useful for to be mostly minor considerations.
Nova mentioned past and future to have a sort of cause-effect relationship and that's true, backstory can be useful for shaping the dreams of a character. But if you go too in depth with it a backstory can do more harm than good. Characters and people are (arguably) shaped by their past, but moving forward with roleplay is a future driven exercise. So, strike a balance. Flesh out enough to work out who this person is, but let the little details be.
As for time magic, be very very very careful. That can get wonky fast.
I personally don't believe that backstory is all that important to the character development process. It IS useful for a number of things, but I consider the things it's useful for to be mostly minor considerations.
Nova mentioned past and future to have a sort of cause-effect relationship and that's true, backstory can be useful for shaping the dreams of a character. But if you go too in depth with it a backstory can do more harm than good. Characters and people are (arguably) shaped by their past, but moving forward with roleplay is a future driven exercise. So, strike a balance. Flesh out enough to work out who this person is, but let the little details be.
As for time magic, be very very very careful. That can get wonky fast.
Ben wrote:
As for time magic, be very very very careful. That can get wonky fast.
Oh goodness, yes. Made that mistake a few times and I think I've finally learned from it, as it introduces corkscrews into a character's timeline. *shakes head*