RWBYFanon v5
RPG Social => RPG Discussion => Topic started by: Xarias Fury on November 16, 2017, 06:01:58 AM
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With the release of Volume 5, I've decided to do a little thread on stuff since it's been quite a while since I've done a discussion of sorts. Sure I could always do away with this in chat but not everyone would be able to read each other's thoughts once it gets drowned out by other conversation. So here it is:
What do YOU find most important in a character?
Their overall design? Race? Their weapons(this is RWBY afterall)? Backstory? Semblance? Personality?
This topic covers both on-site characters and the show itself, if you want comparison so have at it.Anything counts and of course multiple things can count too but of course I'm not asking what degrees to which each things matter but what matters the most at the moment so no flooding the thread with a massive explanation of each thing but please do elaborate why you find one thing in particular more important than the rest. I'll withhold my own opinions for now but a lot of you probably know what things I tend to be nitpicky on in Character Creation.
Oh, As always avoid spoilers for Volume 5, so if you're going to quote something please do so from the previous 4 volumes. Technically spoiler counts a week after public release but to be safe and fair let's stick with volumes 1-4 for now for reference and quotations sake.
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Personally, I find that the most important part of a character is how everything meshes together. This isn't overall design, but rather how every element of the overall design interacts with the others.
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I think it's important that a character is memorable in their own way. Whether it's because of a distinct personality trait, something particularly interesting about their history, or, better yet, a badass/emotional moment seen in actual RP.
Matter of fact, RP-wise, what probably makes a character great is conflict. When you have two characters meet and all they have to say to each other is 'hi, how are you? haha, cool gun, my dude', it gets dull fast. If those two characters find something they disagree on, and are willing to argue, or even fight over it, then that's where the RP gets good.
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Most of my experience comes from playing DnD, the group I played with was fantastic but everytime someone had a "gag" character so to speak it became clear how limited their options were and quickly became boring. I mirror that still, I enjoy characters that are a bit grounded. Walter is 100% right in that they need to be memorable, but if it the character is nothing but a gimmick I tend to lose interest.
Out of the ones you listed backstory is by far the most important to me, a good backstory informs everything else and without it the character can lose cohesion.
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I've always found, especially with combat characters, that a dynamic is quintessential. That is to say, there needs to be a "rhyme and rhythm" to how they do things, both on and off the battlefield, a synergy of who they are in action and who they are in person. RWBY is an excellent example of this, as most of the weapons also express a lot about their wielders. Weiss, for example, is often extremely rigid in her thinking and very to-the-point, even though this behavior has come back around to bite her in the past -- a rapier, which is to say a non-curved, pointed, double-edged blade which, while graceful, is also extremely direct in function, is the perfect embodiment of her personality. Blake is a versatile and complex character, seeming almost to be different people depending on the situation: she can be forceful, even cutting, but also switch gears to become indirect, evasive, or surprise you with her choices. Having a multi-form, multi-function weapon that doubles as a mobility aide encapsulates that perfectly. And Yang... well, do I even need to go into what having the ability to literally punch people with shotgun/micro-missile blasts says? I think we all get that one.
I suppose what I'm saying, in simplest possible terms, is that motivation matters a lot, and needs to be reflected as a continuous thread in what a character chooses and how they express themselves: food, clothes, weaponry, the works.