Post by Papa Nurgle on Mar 28, 2018 1:31:24 GMT
1. Be open and respective of criticism
Simple enough. People have taken time out of their day to review your character, the best thing you can do is be polite and thankful for it, and above all take what they have said into consideration because if you don't and you just post the same character bio twice, people aren't going to be happy. At all.
To further expand upon this; if someone says something that offends you about your character, take a step back, relax and remind yourself that you're getting upset and defensive about someone trying to help you better your character, and you calling them an asshole for taking time out of their day to help you is just going to make you look like an ass, so don't do it - anyone found breaking this rule will be given a single warning, then a ban, and if it continues, they'll be boycotted from the thread entirely (though I can't see this happening unless you're repeatedly a massive shitlord)
2. Don't be a huff because someone didn't like something about your character
Again, simple enough. Don't get huffy because someone found something lacking in your character. You can change it, just because you don't see anything wrong with it doesn't mean there isn't something wrong with it. Being huffy is a pretty quick and easy way to get yourself and your character ignored.
This is a fact of life, people might not like your character, if you disagree with it, try and debate their points to an extent, but don't start arguing with them because they found holes in your character's bio, it clogs up the thread.
If you're so inclined as to get angry because someone triggered you, take it to PMs, nobody wants to see you throwing a temper tantrum because you've got skin made of paper.
3. When giving criticism, be respective and friendly
Pretty much the same rule as number one. Don't be a massive cunt to someone who's new to the forum. The example you set is extremely important. If someone's being a dick to you and being cheeky when you've given them criticism, ignore them. Or tell a mod member and they'll sort them out.
Seriously. I can't stress this rule enough. Two of these threads have been turned to brimstone because people got snarky on both sides; but don't insinuate it because someone posted a silly character. Be the better person and verbally destroy their character without resorting to insults like a tool.
4. Keep it on topic. Seriously.
Spamming and shitposting is what clogged the last database up, don't repeat it. If you post something out of context in a vain attempt to be funny or anything else, you'll be asked to remove your post if you don't? I'll just ask one of the mods to simply remove it, and drop a temp ban whilst they're at it. Discussions that correlate to the context of the character (lore-related stuff, ect) is still on topic, so discussion about that is fine (and encouraged).
What is "on topic?"
Anything pertaining to the character within reason. Lore discussion is encouraged as well, especially if it involves a certain character.
5. Everyone can give criticism/criticize a character
There isn't some unwritten rule that you have to be an old timer to critique characters. If you're fresh faced and on the forums, feel free to critique a character. Just be careful with what you post, because your criticism isn't above being "criticized" itself and if you post something silly chances are you're going to make yourself look like a bum.
6. Don't throw a fit if someone doesn't review your character right away.
Seriously. Your character hasn't been ignored. People have lives and they can't always critique the character right away. Just be patient, and if you feel your character has been ignored, say something, I seriously doubt people will just blatantly ignore your characters
Any questions feel free to PM me on the forums and I'll respond as quickly as I can.
What I intend to do with this is give you an idea and some advice on how to approach making a character, this isn't something you should definitely follow to the letter, its just some groundwork for you to read so you have an idea of how to make your character or their certain aspects.
Coming up with your characters name
This can either be one of the most fun or frustrating parts of making a character. There are thousands, if not millions of names for you to chose, so finding the right one can be difficult. What you need to understand with a lot of your characters is this; context.
The galaxy is a remarkably big place. Full of thousands of different cultures, beliefs and of course names. What is needed to be understood about choosing your characters name is who they are, what they are and where they are from.
Let's approach who they are first. Your character's name can be a subtle (or not, it's 40k for fuck's sakes) reference or hint to a certain defining characteristic of who they are. Every name has a meaning. You could name your character after a historical icon whom gave you inspiration for your character. It can be from a game or show you like (just for the love of god don't do something cringe worthy like naming your character Asura or something). A lot of canon 40k characters are named after famous historical people or their names are references to certain characteristic ascertaining to them. Perhaps the most famous and ham-fisted of these is Ferrus Manus (whose name literally means metal hand in latin.)
What they are is remarkably important to naming your character as well. As I said earlier, the galaxy is a big place, populated by thousands of different races, but not big enough for you to find an Eldar called "Will". My point being, make the name make sense, consider WHAT they are. Necrons won't have names typical of a human and vice-versa. Your characters race is an important part of your character's naming process, so make sure you take that into consideration and don't wind up making a Daemonette called Esther.
How old should my character be?
There are underlying "rules" and context that you need to consider when coming up with your character's age. After that, it isn't horribly difficult to decide how old to make your character. A characters age would seem like an unimportant, small detail that you shouldn't put much thought into when going about the process of making your character, but it can have a large affect on your character's biography, as well as their personality.
The "rules" as I'll refer to them are fairly simply to understand once put into perspective. First of all, your character's age. WHY do they need to be a certain age? If they have to be older than what would be considered typical of a "normal" character, that isn't a bad thing if it's been executed properly. Don't make your character old for the sake of making them old. If they need to be a certain age in order for certain events in their lives to have made sense/fit in with the rest of their backstory, that's generally acceptable as long as you don't go overboard with it. Don't go and make your character older than canon characters who have been called "the oldest of their breed", the first one springing to mind being Dante of the Blood Angels, who is well over a thousand years old, although the specifics of his age aren't gone into great detail.
Likewise, put your character's race/occupation into consideration when deciding your characters age. Certain species of alien live for an exceptionally long time, probably the best well known of the aliens being the Eldar. However, they're not immortal. They can still die of old age, the exceptionally old ones are seers who have had their lives extended due to their connection to the warp. Certain things like warp entities are harder to give a definitive age to; generally speaking something I do with my characters is give them an age that they were either formed, first seen or when they first emerged from the warp. If you want to give your Daemon/whatever else an actual age. Humans can live for longer thanks to technological/medical advancements within the fourty-first millennium, things like cybernetics, juvenat and even one's own latent psychic powers can keep one alive and kicking for much longer than they naturally would be able to without these things, but they are exceptionally rare, and for your character to have them they'd have to have a good reason.
Another thing I do with my characters, that a few other people have followed is giving your character their age in standard Terran years (365 days) - the galaxy is a big place with a lot of different planets with different cycles/lengths of days, weeks, months and years. If you want to give someone an idea of the age of your character but don't want to use the Terran year idea, simply use the M41. calendar, here's the lexicanum article to give you an idea of how to properly utilize it;
wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Imperial_Dating_System
Gender, Race:
This is the easiest one to explain. What race/gender do you want to character to be? That's entirely up to you. You'll have to follow the rules laid down in the official lore about those races, and abide by them.
What about their position/rank within a certain faction?
That isn't entirely for you to decide. The general rule is that there are no Chapter Masters, no Captains and no prolific leaders of various factions.
If you feel that posting their former ranks/allegiances/whatever is important, then feel free to put them there with a necessary subtext detailing that they have changed their allegiances/views.
Armament and using the RPGs as a reference:
Using the RPGs as a reference point for equipment is fine. It's actually a great source of information for the characters - though the game isn't designed for the kind of roleplays on the forums, the things are usually balanced enough that you could get enough of an idea as to what your character should have within reason. E.g: a hive ganger isn't going to be lugging about a bolter with a bunch of optics, gene-recognition handles and other fancy things that an Astartes or Inquisitor would have. However, using the RPGs as a measurement for how powerful your character is going to be or his abilities (most notably psychic powers) isn't usually the wisest thing to do. The RPGs are hit and miss in this regard, they're balanced around the idea that your character is going to become powerful enough to face certain enemies that wouldn't be able to be beaten otherwise. You're honestly better just going on a lexicanum page, gauging what makes sense for your character to have or just asking people what the general conseus for powers should be. However, Warhammer 40k's canon is sketchy at best, and some people have different ideas about how powerful certain beings within the galaxy are, but that just ask people what a sensible level to have is, and remember that having less is always better than having too much.
This isn't to say that your character can't have weapons above their post, it's not impossible for some lowly smuck Sergeant to get a power sword for going above and beyond the call of duty. Just use common sense, and if you're not too sure about it, just ask on this thread before you post your character so you can get a better idea of what is sensible to have. Just be sure to use your common sense of lexicanum before barraging the thread with a storm of easily answered questions, it wastes your time and it wastes the person answering your questions time.
Personality and Biography
You're more than likely asking yourself why I've branched these two together. It's fairly simple. They're intrinsic to one-another. Your character's personality can be shaped by the events that they're experienced over the course of their lives, just as much as their personality will affect what they have done throughout their lives. Making a character's personality/biography can seem daunting, and depending on how much you go into it, it certainly can be. People I've found tend to focus so much on a singular element about their character (usually the biography) that they leave the other aspect of the character (the personality, usually) barebones. I'm more partial to believing that a character's personality is much more important than a character's backstory, as that's what their entire character is comprised of, and the deeper you go into how they would act/react to certain things, the better.
That's not to say that biographies aren't important, far from it. You just don't need twenty paragraphs detailing about how your character's parents were murdered and then their corpses were reanimated and they commited murder-suicide. Just write down a brief summary about their lives, and if you want to go into more detail about it you're more than free to do it, but for the most part people don't generally care about the novel you're written about your character and what they've gone through, they want to know the gist of it.
As for telling you how to make your character's backstory "acceptable", it's a daunting task. There are so many different things I could go into detail about that I'd probably just get bored writing about them. To make things easier for me (and you, but more importantly me) you can do yourself a big favour and post your character's bio in the character database, and have it critiqued. Or you can simply ask in this thread and I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have. That being said, nothing is perfect the first time, so never write your character's bio like its the definitive, end all edition. Make it a draft, make it changeable and don't go overboard with it.
As for a character's personality, it's difficult to go into detail about how you should write it as well. The main thing you should try and do is give your character... well... personality. Everyone loves the killing-machine-super-murder-hobo to a point, but we've seen it a million times. That's not to say you can't have a murder-hobo, just add your own unique twist to it that makes it refreshing. Give your character some underlying quirks or flaws that make them stand out from monotony and makes them interesting to read about.
To further elaborate on a character's flaws; they're almost always more interesting than a character who is faultless. Flaws give a character depth, and though I'd hesitate to say that relateability is something that can truly be applied to Warhammer 40k - insight into a character's motivations, beliefs and ideals and how their lives/personalities have changed/adapted themselves over time is always interesting to read.
Another note to add is that your character will change over time. It's simply a part of roleplay. It's a broad subject to approach, so I'll keep it brief; anything about your character can change. Their personality, appearance or history can change depending on the events they have undergone in a roleplay or your own development apart from that in either a story or just general tweaking the character. This is fine. This is great, it's interesting to see how events can change a character, even subtle things like a Space Marine wearing the gauntlet of his fallen comrade can be interesting to see within a roleplay.
Simple enough. People have taken time out of their day to review your character, the best thing you can do is be polite and thankful for it, and above all take what they have said into consideration because if you don't and you just post the same character bio twice, people aren't going to be happy. At all.
To further expand upon this; if someone says something that offends you about your character, take a step back, relax and remind yourself that you're getting upset and defensive about someone trying to help you better your character, and you calling them an asshole for taking time out of their day to help you is just going to make you look like an ass, so don't do it - anyone found breaking this rule will be given a single warning, then a ban, and if it continues, they'll be boycotted from the thread entirely (though I can't see this happening unless you're repeatedly a massive shitlord)
2. Don't be a huff because someone didn't like something about your character
Again, simple enough. Don't get huffy because someone found something lacking in your character. You can change it, just because you don't see anything wrong with it doesn't mean there isn't something wrong with it. Being huffy is a pretty quick and easy way to get yourself and your character ignored.
This is a fact of life, people might not like your character, if you disagree with it, try and debate their points to an extent, but don't start arguing with them because they found holes in your character's bio, it clogs up the thread.
If you're so inclined as to get angry because someone triggered you, take it to PMs, nobody wants to see you throwing a temper tantrum because you've got skin made of paper.
3. When giving criticism, be respective and friendly
Pretty much the same rule as number one. Don't be a massive cunt to someone who's new to the forum. The example you set is extremely important. If someone's being a dick to you and being cheeky when you've given them criticism, ignore them. Or tell a mod member and they'll sort them out.
Seriously. I can't stress this rule enough. Two of these threads have been turned to brimstone because people got snarky on both sides; but don't insinuate it because someone posted a silly character. Be the better person and verbally destroy their character without resorting to insults like a tool.
4. Keep it on topic. Seriously.
Spamming and shitposting is what clogged the last database up, don't repeat it. If you post something out of context in a vain attempt to be funny or anything else, you'll be asked to remove your post if you don't? I'll just ask one of the mods to simply remove it, and drop a temp ban whilst they're at it. Discussions that correlate to the context of the character (lore-related stuff, ect) is still on topic, so discussion about that is fine (and encouraged).
What is "on topic?"
Anything pertaining to the character within reason. Lore discussion is encouraged as well, especially if it involves a certain character.
5. Everyone can give criticism/criticize a character
There isn't some unwritten rule that you have to be an old timer to critique characters. If you're fresh faced and on the forums, feel free to critique a character. Just be careful with what you post, because your criticism isn't above being "criticized" itself and if you post something silly chances are you're going to make yourself look like a bum.
6. Don't throw a fit if someone doesn't review your character right away.
Seriously. Your character hasn't been ignored. People have lives and they can't always critique the character right away. Just be patient, and if you feel your character has been ignored, say something, I seriously doubt people will just blatantly ignore your characters
Any questions feel free to PM me on the forums and I'll respond as quickly as I can.
What I intend to do with this is give you an idea and some advice on how to approach making a character, this isn't something you should definitely follow to the letter, its just some groundwork for you to read so you have an idea of how to make your character or their certain aspects.
Coming up with your characters name
This can either be one of the most fun or frustrating parts of making a character. There are thousands, if not millions of names for you to chose, so finding the right one can be difficult. What you need to understand with a lot of your characters is this; context.
The galaxy is a remarkably big place. Full of thousands of different cultures, beliefs and of course names. What is needed to be understood about choosing your characters name is who they are, what they are and where they are from.
Let's approach who they are first. Your character's name can be a subtle (or not, it's 40k for fuck's sakes) reference or hint to a certain defining characteristic of who they are. Every name has a meaning. You could name your character after a historical icon whom gave you inspiration for your character. It can be from a game or show you like (just for the love of god don't do something cringe worthy like naming your character Asura or something). A lot of canon 40k characters are named after famous historical people or their names are references to certain characteristic ascertaining to them. Perhaps the most famous and ham-fisted of these is Ferrus Manus (whose name literally means metal hand in latin.)
What they are is remarkably important to naming your character as well. As I said earlier, the galaxy is a big place, populated by thousands of different races, but not big enough for you to find an Eldar called "Will". My point being, make the name make sense, consider WHAT they are. Necrons won't have names typical of a human and vice-versa. Your characters race is an important part of your character's naming process, so make sure you take that into consideration and don't wind up making a Daemonette called Esther.
How old should my character be?
There are underlying "rules" and context that you need to consider when coming up with your character's age. After that, it isn't horribly difficult to decide how old to make your character. A characters age would seem like an unimportant, small detail that you shouldn't put much thought into when going about the process of making your character, but it can have a large affect on your character's biography, as well as their personality.
The "rules" as I'll refer to them are fairly simply to understand once put into perspective. First of all, your character's age. WHY do they need to be a certain age? If they have to be older than what would be considered typical of a "normal" character, that isn't a bad thing if it's been executed properly. Don't make your character old for the sake of making them old. If they need to be a certain age in order for certain events in their lives to have made sense/fit in with the rest of their backstory, that's generally acceptable as long as you don't go overboard with it. Don't go and make your character older than canon characters who have been called "the oldest of their breed", the first one springing to mind being Dante of the Blood Angels, who is well over a thousand years old, although the specifics of his age aren't gone into great detail.
Likewise, put your character's race/occupation into consideration when deciding your characters age. Certain species of alien live for an exceptionally long time, probably the best well known of the aliens being the Eldar. However, they're not immortal. They can still die of old age, the exceptionally old ones are seers who have had their lives extended due to their connection to the warp. Certain things like warp entities are harder to give a definitive age to; generally speaking something I do with my characters is give them an age that they were either formed, first seen or when they first emerged from the warp. If you want to give your Daemon/whatever else an actual age. Humans can live for longer thanks to technological/medical advancements within the fourty-first millennium, things like cybernetics, juvenat and even one's own latent psychic powers can keep one alive and kicking for much longer than they naturally would be able to without these things, but they are exceptionally rare, and for your character to have them they'd have to have a good reason.
Another thing I do with my characters, that a few other people have followed is giving your character their age in standard Terran years (365 days) - the galaxy is a big place with a lot of different planets with different cycles/lengths of days, weeks, months and years. If you want to give someone an idea of the age of your character but don't want to use the Terran year idea, simply use the M41. calendar, here's the lexicanum article to give you an idea of how to properly utilize it;
wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Imperial_Dating_System
Gender, Race:
This is the easiest one to explain. What race/gender do you want to character to be? That's entirely up to you. You'll have to follow the rules laid down in the official lore about those races, and abide by them.
What about their position/rank within a certain faction?
That isn't entirely for you to decide. The general rule is that there are no Chapter Masters, no Captains and no prolific leaders of various factions.
If you feel that posting their former ranks/allegiances/whatever is important, then feel free to put them there with a necessary subtext detailing that they have changed their allegiances/views.
Armament and using the RPGs as a reference:
Using the RPGs as a reference point for equipment is fine. It's actually a great source of information for the characters - though the game isn't designed for the kind of roleplays on the forums, the things are usually balanced enough that you could get enough of an idea as to what your character should have within reason. E.g: a hive ganger isn't going to be lugging about a bolter with a bunch of optics, gene-recognition handles and other fancy things that an Astartes or Inquisitor would have. However, using the RPGs as a measurement for how powerful your character is going to be or his abilities (most notably psychic powers) isn't usually the wisest thing to do. The RPGs are hit and miss in this regard, they're balanced around the idea that your character is going to become powerful enough to face certain enemies that wouldn't be able to be beaten otherwise. You're honestly better just going on a lexicanum page, gauging what makes sense for your character to have or just asking people what the general conseus for powers should be. However, Warhammer 40k's canon is sketchy at best, and some people have different ideas about how powerful certain beings within the galaxy are, but that just ask people what a sensible level to have is, and remember that having less is always better than having too much.
This isn't to say that your character can't have weapons above their post, it's not impossible for some lowly smuck Sergeant to get a power sword for going above and beyond the call of duty. Just use common sense, and if you're not too sure about it, just ask on this thread before you post your character so you can get a better idea of what is sensible to have. Just be sure to use your common sense of lexicanum before barraging the thread with a storm of easily answered questions, it wastes your time and it wastes the person answering your questions time.
Personality and Biography
You're more than likely asking yourself why I've branched these two together. It's fairly simple. They're intrinsic to one-another. Your character's personality can be shaped by the events that they're experienced over the course of their lives, just as much as their personality will affect what they have done throughout their lives. Making a character's personality/biography can seem daunting, and depending on how much you go into it, it certainly can be. People I've found tend to focus so much on a singular element about their character (usually the biography) that they leave the other aspect of the character (the personality, usually) barebones. I'm more partial to believing that a character's personality is much more important than a character's backstory, as that's what their entire character is comprised of, and the deeper you go into how they would act/react to certain things, the better.
That's not to say that biographies aren't important, far from it. You just don't need twenty paragraphs detailing about how your character's parents were murdered and then their corpses were reanimated and they commited murder-suicide. Just write down a brief summary about their lives, and if you want to go into more detail about it you're more than free to do it, but for the most part people don't generally care about the novel you're written about your character and what they've gone through, they want to know the gist of it.
As for telling you how to make your character's backstory "acceptable", it's a daunting task. There are so many different things I could go into detail about that I'd probably just get bored writing about them. To make things easier for me (and you, but more importantly me) you can do yourself a big favour and post your character's bio in the character database, and have it critiqued. Or you can simply ask in this thread and I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have. That being said, nothing is perfect the first time, so never write your character's bio like its the definitive, end all edition. Make it a draft, make it changeable and don't go overboard with it.
As for a character's personality, it's difficult to go into detail about how you should write it as well. The main thing you should try and do is give your character... well... personality. Everyone loves the killing-machine-super-murder-hobo to a point, but we've seen it a million times. That's not to say you can't have a murder-hobo, just add your own unique twist to it that makes it refreshing. Give your character some underlying quirks or flaws that make them stand out from monotony and makes them interesting to read about.
To further elaborate on a character's flaws; they're almost always more interesting than a character who is faultless. Flaws give a character depth, and though I'd hesitate to say that relateability is something that can truly be applied to Warhammer 40k - insight into a character's motivations, beliefs and ideals and how their lives/personalities have changed/adapted themselves over time is always interesting to read.
Another note to add is that your character will change over time. It's simply a part of roleplay. It's a broad subject to approach, so I'll keep it brief; anything about your character can change. Their personality, appearance or history can change depending on the events they have undergone in a roleplay or your own development apart from that in either a story or just general tweaking the character. This is fine. This is great, it's interesting to see how events can change a character, even subtle things like a Space Marine wearing the gauntlet of his fallen comrade can be interesting to see within a roleplay.