Taking Risks With Your Character
Written by Harry
October 17, 2008
I’ve participated in role-playing games with many people in my life. The most memorable players were the ones who took risks, and I enjoyed playing with those risk-takers a great deal.
Risk-takers aren’t people who make stupid go-for-broke types of risks. The number one rule in role-playing is that stupid gets your character killed. Risk-takers, players who take calculated risks that make a game rock, know this very well.
Too often, role-players become very attached to their characters. These players constantly choose safe, predictable routes that often lead to a major snooze-fest. This happens because these players don’t want their character to get hurt, either physically or mentally.
Take a Chance - Go On, You Know You Want To
Conflict is the key to any good game or fiction novel. One way to bring about conflict is to take chances with your character.
Part of the fun of being in a role-playing game is getting your character out of sticky situations (or into them). Sure, you could go the safe route and do what you might do in the situation, but why not really take the time to think about what the character would do?
What’s the worst that could happen? Well, if you’re stupid your character might die. Taking a chance doesn’t mean being stupid, though, and the results could be spectacular.
These chances and risks might not always seem the safest or easiest course, but sometimes a risky move could set off a whole chain of events you never dreamed possible.
Out of Character For My Character?
When you’re in a crisis situation or under a lot of stress, do you really act like yourself? You probably do things that are out of character for your personality and everyone who knows you notices.
Likewise, it’s alright if your character steps out of line. Maybe he found a well of courage he never thought he had or maybe he’s not as tough as everyone thinks he is.
Think of these situations as defining moments for your character. Just like you, your character needs to grow and develop. The only way is by taking chances.
So this week, go ahead and take a chance. See what your character is capable of doing - but remember, be smart!
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I’m pretty sure Lizzy takes chances in most situations. I can be so sure when I say this because that’s one of my favorite things about writing and RPing is that I can jump right into things exactly the way I wouldn’t in my own life.
That’s what makes this so fun! Love it!
But….
There are also areas where Lizzy (mostly) plays it safe, and those are becoming more and more apparent to me as her personality expands and she growns as a character.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..The Visual Design of 2.7
I think I tend to hold back a little with Natalie because I don’t want to do things out of character for her. Of course, if I tried really hard I could probably find a way to take more risks with her and still be in character.
I think you’re definitely right about being afraid of hurting my character. I’ve started to realize that I hold Natalie back for a lot of the same reasons that I hold myself back in real life - I don’t want to do anything that would make other people think badly of me (or her). For example, at the dinner party, I could have gotten her downright drunk - flirting with Jaydin and Cole, being downright silly… but I was afraid of what sort of repercussions she might have to deal with later. Silly of me, I know (and the night’s still young!) so I really do need to let go a little and let her be more daring than I’d ever be.
@Allison Ha! That’s funny you used that example. I was telling someone during that scene that I was really enjoying Natalie getting a little tipsy. I was wondering how far you would go with it.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..The Visual Design of 2.7
Well. Risk-taker extraordinaire, here, enough to cause car accidents, leaps off 60 foot buildings, create kitchen-sink fireworks… yes, yes. No pleasure without pain, I say! Bring it on!
@James: And it’s gamers like you that make it worthwhile for the STs on the other side of the screen.
@James Ah yes, there’s my mentor.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..The Visual Design of 2.7
@Everyone And please ignore all the links to WordPress posts in CommentLuv. I can’t seem to remember my blog address is .com and not .org.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..Gary: 2002
I just reread the Men with Pens post “Hurt Your Characters“, and since my thoughts on it relate more here than they do there, I’m bringing the conversation this-a-way.
I’m all for hurting your characters and making them deal with life. It’s a necessity in good fiction. I can see where people would find it a difficult thing to do, but I would think in a RPG setting like Escaping Reality it would be even more difficult. When you’re writing on your own, you ARE God. You make all the calls, and can decide what the consequences will be to any action. When you’re participating in a group writing project, as we are, you don’t have that same control.
In solo writing you can call a halt at any point. At ER you leave a whole hell of a lot up to other players and your Story Tellers. That’s downright terrifying!! Particularly considering the most recent events in our storyline. It was the first time I felt real fear for Lizzy because I was purposely putting her in harm’s way. Yet I did it, and SHE did it, and the elation she felt afterwards I shared wholeheartedly.
And apparently I’ve hijacked your comments section.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..Gary: 2002
@ Nicole - Hm, good point. I think that sheer fear of, “Ohmigod, what’s he/she/they going to do to my POOR CHARACTER?!” is 80% of the fun. The anticipation, the, “POST, dammit!!” drives me bananas in a good way. Exciting. Not terrifying though
Exciting.
It’s good, eh?
@Nicole: I agree with James. You just can’t get a thrill like that writing by yourself. I love that unknown wild card factor of other sharp players or STs who create the situations to begin with. Once you’ve done it, you want more.
@both of you Oh yes exciting and crazy addictive! Most definitely. Just saying. It’s freakin’ frightening too. Luckily I adore thrillers and thrill rides, so I’m hooked.
No need to convince me.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..Gary: 2002
Jaydin tends to be kind-of reckless when he doesn’t think the risk is going to kill him, and when he feels his pride is on the line (interactions with Johnny Cooper being a prime example). When he’s actually in danger, he will take risks, but he thinks a bit more carefully about how to do so in a way that he has a reasonable chance of survival.
As for the part of playing the character, it’s nerve-wracking! This last scene with the two privates, Cole and Jaydin had me scared. I certainly didn’t want Jaydin to get himself killed there. I’m actually glad that Cole killed Becker when he did, because Jaydin’s next move would’ve been pretty risky.
I was wondering not too long ago whether you could get some similar type of randomness just by incorporating dice-rolls into your character’s actions. I’m not sure how well it would work, and it certainly wouldn’t add other characters’ actions very well, but maybe it would help a little bit…
@Maquis: James and I use dice rolls all the time for sticky situations. In this case though, they really weren’t required. If Jaydin had tried to stick Becker with the knife, then yes, a roll would have been required.
For the most part, vampires and werewolves strike instant fear into humans. Add to that a man getting shot time and again and not flinching would make any human hysterical.
James and I also know our own characters’ limits and capabilities really well. There were a few moments of behind the scenes discussion regarding what Cole would feel when he killed the one “ghost”, and I also wrote out my thought process with Cole’s options before he took his first shot.
James knows that Cole is pretty good with firearms, and I left it open and up to his discretion. He could have asked me for a roll, and I would have done so willingly. But Becker was an expendable NPC, so James turned it around and left the outcome to me.
Sometimes in scenes where it’s just our two characters, we’ll do rolls for the tiniest things, like an emotional reaction or whether or not the other will win at a card game.
If you ever want a random roll for something, just say so. It’s a player risk, but it is fun when you have to abide by the dice.
I guess I wasn’t quite clear. I was thinking when writing solo, dice rolls could add a bit of randomness that could give you an interesting edge on the story
@Maquis: Ah, I’m a step ahead of you. I mention that in an upcoming post this week. And you’re right, it absolutely could.
I think this week at ER has been a huge shake up for me personally, more than the rest of you. Having never been involved in gaming before, I don’t think the reality of killing off the charactors had ever really sunk in before. It was like..oh yeah..if you did something REALLY stupid…and I was thinking ok, then I won’t write anything suicidal and get Selene killed….
I never envisioned that the first sign of trouble in the game and we would/could loose a major charactor. It’s like that first moment as a kid that you come to terms with your own mortality.
I know that that is how Selene is…she is just LA LA LA…Vampires and Werecats..she always thought they existed and now she’s living it but she hasn’t really DEALT with it…she is still in her fantasy world…nothing really bad has happened that has broken up her imagination and told her the reality is different from what she has always envisioned…
Now someone is dead…that’s less fun.
I’m not feeling …like taking a chance…I’m feeling like sending her home to read a good book where she will be safe and not get hurt.
That’s just me being honest. And it gives me some insight into how she will feel when it hits her too…
And oh by the way…I HATE roller coasters!
@ Wendi - Rest assured that we don’t take character death lightly. Harry got it fast and good because as an experienced player, he was being a twit with Jake.
See, the thing is that you can’t sit back and say, “I won’t risk anything.” That too can get a character into fast hot water. The person who doesn’t fight back gets beaten. The one who never moves gets shot. The wallflower eventually gets noticed. By being proactive and taking changes, a character learns, gains skills, and becomes stronger, more able to fight off dangerous circumstances.
And also… what happens if another character’s life depends on your character’s actions? Think of Lee. What would happen to him if no one came after him because they were too afraid for themselves?
@Maquis Really interesting idea, but… I don’t think my nerves could handle that much chance. There’s control, and then there’s control.
Nicole Brunets last blog post..Gary: 2002
James,
I know you are right and even though my gut reaction is to hole her up in her cottage, my need to jump into everything will prevail. HER need to rescue everyone wouldn’t let her think twice about holding back…more of a reason why I worry for her safety though…
Wendi Kelly-Life’s Little Inspirationss last blog post..Speaking From the Heart