Personal Flair
| Author | Topic: Personal Flair |
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Shaper
Member # 7472
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written Friday, October 27 2006 16:23
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I was wondering, do you guys have any suggestions for fleshing out an NPC's personality? For some reason, the NPCs that I'm creating seem to share one joint personality. -------------------- Scenarios need reviews! Please rate these scenarios at the CSR after playing them! Amnesia • Dilecia • The Empire's New Grove • Express Delivery Twilight Valley • Witch Hunt • Where the Rivers Meet Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00 |
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The Establishment
Member # 6
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written Friday, October 27 2006 16:30
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Well, depending on the situation, you could make them mention others and their feelings about those other individuals. That way, at least, they aren't all living in a social vacuum. Otherwise, write a few sentences on each character, their personality, likes/dislikes, occupation, etc. For instance, this person is a blacksmith, he doesn't really like the city he lives in and wishes he could go live in the mountains. His wife and child died from a plague about 10 years ago. Also, if you bring him some exotic spices, he will give you a discount on his items. -------------------- Your flower power is no match for my glower power! Posts: 3726 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
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written Friday, October 27 2006 17:29
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Slavers of Pardes Valley? Oh, that was the inn keeper that needed the special spices to make his beer. :P -------------------- quote: Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Friday, October 27 2006 18:01
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The absolute first thing you have to do is move away from the mentality that NPCs exist just to give out quests and sell stuff to the party. Put in a few NPCs that do absolutely nothing useful for the PCs -- that way, you're forced to give them individual personalities because you can't define them by what they sell. And once you've perfected the art of making interesting characters, you can carry that skill over to the NPCs that are actually useful. Do you have BoE? Play Roots. No, really. Play Roots and talk to the townspeople of Lakeside. Of the dozen or so people you can talk to, only three or four of them do anything useful for you. The rest exist purely for their dialogue. [ Friday, October 27, 2006 18:03: Message edited by: Thuryl ] -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 7472
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written Friday, October 27 2006 18:06
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quote:Sadly, I don't have BoE. So I can't play Roots. I may download it, put it through the port feature, and take a look at the dialogue nodes, though. -------------------- Scenarios need reviews! Please rate these scenarios at the CSR after playing them! Amnesia • Dilecia • The Empire's New Grove • Express Delivery Twilight Valley • Witch Hunt • Where the Rivers Meet Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00 |
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E Equals MC What!!!!
Member # 5491
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written Friday, October 27 2006 18:39
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I wrote an article on this subject once that may or may not be of help. Improving the Lines Of Communication -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 7472
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written Friday, October 27 2006 18:47
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Thanks Ash Lael. -------------------- Scenarios need reviews! Please rate these scenarios at the CSR after playing them! Amnesia • Dilecia • The Empire's New Grove • Express Delivery Twilight Valley • Witch Hunt • Where the Rivers Meet Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 7472
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written Wednesday, November 1 2006 12:17
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All right, here is exactly why I'm trying to get advice. I want to have different personalities stand out, in a way that you don't even have to see their name to know it's that person. Like certain speech patterns, and so forth. I've included some examples of dialogue that I've written so far. I want you to see if you can figure out how many different people said the following: (Note: I removed any name or gender references, and replaced them with an [X].) (1.) "I don't think so..." [X] mutters a small incantation, and a glowing blue cabinet appears in the corner. [X] rifles through the papers, checks them again, then apologizes, "No, nothing right now..." [X] mutters the incantation again, and the cabinet disappears. (2.) "No. Buy something. Leave." [X] mutters something that sounds obscene. (3.) "So you are the ones that Alkan summoned, and it's about time, too. Let me start by giving you a little background." (4.) "Some can. They spit toxins that are hazarous to your health, and make you ill. Some spit globs of corrosive acid, which is even worse." (5.) "Unfortunately, no. I came here recently from Valorim, so I don't know much about the monsters and stuff. They make excellent wands, though." (6.) [X] shakes [X] head sadly. "A needless waste. Thank you for bringing me tidings of his demise. I will sleep easier at night knowing he is in a better place." (7.) [X] struggles with this for a while. "I...I...Welcome to my store. I have magical jewelry just for you." How many different people do you think said these phrases? -------------------- Scenarios need reviews! Please rate these scenarios at the CSR after playing them! Amnesia • Dilecia • The Empire's New Grove • Express Delivery Twilight Valley • Witch Hunt • Where the Rivers Meet Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00 |
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? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
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written Wednesday, November 1 2006 13:10
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#2 was TM. Other than that, 3 individuals is my wager. -------------------- quote: Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 7420
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written Wednesday, November 1 2006 13:32
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I'd say three as well. However, I'm basing that on what they are discussing rather than how they are saying it. My advice: your people are too polite. Also they all use similar rhetoric. Make some people mean, some with poor speech, some who just say strange things for no reason. Here's an example: look at these boards, see all the different ways people can express themselves? Have some eccentrics, but also don't try to give every townsperson a personality. Even though that seems to be what a lot of people expect, it would make the important people less special. Sometimes you just need bland townspeople. -------------------- You lose. Posts: 2156 | Registered: Thursday, August 24 2006 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 4153
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written Wednesday, November 1 2006 14:41
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I'll guess that they're the same person, for the sake of argument. I mean, out of context, any group of dialogue bits could be from the same person. -------------------- Gamble with Gaea, and she eats your dice. I hate undead. I really, really, really, really hate undead. With a passion. Posts: 4130 | Registered: Friday, March 26 2004 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 7472
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written Wednesday, November 1 2006 14:57
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Actually, they're from FIVE different people. I guess I need to re-vamp some dialogue. Thanks, guys. -------------------- Scenarios need reviews! Please rate these scenarios at the CSR after playing them! Amnesia • Dilecia • The Empire's New Grove • Express Delivery Twilight Valley • Witch Hunt • Where the Rivers Meet Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00 |
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Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
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written Tuesday, November 7 2006 15:11
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A single random sentence isn't enough to distinguish characters. For example, taking a random sentence out of 8 posts on this board is unlikely to tell you who made each post. If you want to give your characters personality, I'd suggest thinking of them like characters in a novel: Who are they? What do they like/dislike? How do they relate to protagonist and people around them? This will help you a lot more than unusual speech patterns. In fact, you should make distinguishing speech patterns only for a few characters that really need them (a foreigner with strange accent, a little kid with simple vocabulary, an excentric wizard who never uses a simple word if he can find a six-syllable word to use). If you try to give distinctive speech pattern to every character, you risk turning them into caricatures. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00 |
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Master
Member # 5977
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written Tuesday, November 7 2006 23:31
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Though most advice has already been given, I'd like to add the following: Looking at your NPCs as characters in a novel might not always work. I'd rather look at them as real, living people. Look at them as being your friends in real life, or familiy. Something more important though, is that you let things happen. If you let things happen (think o small things: a parents' son has died, or a few mice plague a bakery, no big fancy stuff, like armies conquering the city. That makes it too complicated than it has to be), you will have to form an opinion for at least the NPC(s) directly connected to the thing that's happened. I'd say that you give other NPCs in town an opinion about it too. It will liven up your characters incredibly, or so I have felt it myself. When nothing happens and nobody has really somehting to say, a town can get boring quite soon. -------------------- Play and rate my scenarios: Where the rivers meet View my upcoming scenario: The Nephil Search: Escape. Give us your drek! Posts: 3029 | Registered: Saturday, June 18 2005 07:00 |