Unsolicited Character Creation Advice

[Rule Monkey]

I just thought I would take a few minutes to ramble about character concepts and something which is very common in role playing games of all sorts, not just Vampire or other MeT games. Most of us who have played these games for a fair bit of time probably did it at one point or are still doing it. We didn't so much play a "character" as much as a "idealized version of ourselves with cool powers".

This is not to say that doing this is not a valid way of building a character, but rather me issuing perhaps a word of caution when going this route: the more your character is like you (i.e. thinks, feels, has the same ideals and values), the more personal his successes and failures will feel. It may be far easier to role play the character convincingly because you will react more intuitively rather than "act" out the character. But by doing this, you run the risk that attacks against him will feel like attacks against you, your beliefs and / or your worth as a person. This can, for some people, lead to situations where they are not having fun, feel angry at other players for real as opposed to characters being pissed off at each other, and all around the game becoming something that is not enjoyable.

In the end, only you can choose who or what you portray in the game, but I thought I would put this out as a piece of advice; maybe more for newer players who might not expect to eventually come to genuinely feel a connection with your character.

Just try to remember that this is a game about a society which is cruel, unjust and often downright offensive to anybody who believes in human rights. Expect that other characters will try to mess with your character and that once you are down on your knees, others will gather around to kick you while you can't defend yourself. But through it all, it remains a fictional setting and players are acting as their character, not as they really feel or think. While it is not a license to be inappropriate or hurtful, it means that they will not be nice like they, themselves, are in real life.

Even if your character becomes a pariah, try to remember that it has no bearing on your worth in real life. It's normal to feel like crap when your character is down on his luck or gets repeatedly shot down but let your character handle it and plot bloody revenge against other characters rather let it make you feel bad for real or resentful towards other players. You'll see, it provides for a much more enjoyable gaming experience and few things feel as good as managing to get back up and smiting down those who wronged you.
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Rule Monkey
Basket to the gasket, finger on the trigger ...