Good Afternoon
I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I enjoy most on the RPG segment of the Vine, and I've decided that it's character creation. I've made many more beings than I actually play with (something I sometimes feel guilty about), but this gives me many opportunities to consider the types of powers I'm using and why. While in deep thought about the next few characters I may soon develop, I realized it may be prudent to write a guide of sorts regarding the development of new characters. And where to start? At the powers. They are, in my opinion, the cornerstone of all my written forms. I've based entire concepts solely around a specific ability or power set, especially ones that I find rewarding to use or useful to fight with. Additionally, in my time here on the Vine, I've noticed interesting ability tropes that come in most handy during combat or character development.
1) The Best Thing Ever
It's a way to cheat death. Anything that would enable your character to survive an attack but still sell it is absolutely golden. Two prime examples of characters who do so are Santiago Porthos and Tenjin. Both possess a way to live through impossible amounts of damage, thus keeping their treasured characters alive, but keep the RP fun through the selling of attacks. Santi can resurrect himself from a single molecule of his form (as I understand it), but he can still be incapacitated. Tenjin is reborn after every death, which lets him eventually keep coming back for more. This allows them to extensively use their characters in a way that lets them take risks and engage high-level foes while still selling realistically. In my opinion, some way for your character to logically cheat death while still letting their foe accomplish something is absolutely the most useful thing on the Vine.
2) Money is Totally a Power
It's extraordinarily useful to have your character be a millionaire/billionaire/king/space conqueror. It's one of those situations where if you can dream it, you can have it. It makes sense (to a degree), and it lets you develop a power/resource you may only use once. Experimental warsuits, guns, teleportation devices; they all equate to one thing. A plot device. Plot devices are not 'cheap,' so long as they are used properly. You can advance any story far beyond any meager beginnings with the use of some fictional dough. Hired goons, new technology, a highly-advanced fortress, all yours with the power of money. Just look at Batman, Iron Man, and SHIELD. Funding is a major asset to any character if used correctly. Of course, it's not really a good thing to have tons of billionaires running around. I like to limit myself when it comes to money with my chars, but I can't deny it's very useful.
3) Weaknesses can be Equal to Quirks, and Vice Versa
Nothing makes a character more interesting (in my humble opinion) than their imperfections. What's a good way to develop an imperfection for your character? A quirk. Will their powers harm them? Can they burn out? Do they have to have 'permission' to use their powers? Are the powers themselves a weakness, so to speak? Anything that helps you stay in a fight while selling is crucial, as I mentioned earlier. These can be personality quirks (a common one is insanity), or even physical ones. Perhaps your character is too large and clumsy to use their powers properly, or their good-nature prevents them from even causing harm to an opponent. They all provide interesting edges to a story, and can be altered to fit their needs as well.
4) Perception Check!
Crucial, crucial, crucial. Much like a healing factor, advanced senses are a borderline requirement for any hardcore fighting/selling. In order to realistically contend combat-wise with many of the other players on the Vine, I've found that having enhanced perception is extremely useful. Super-speed, sight, smell; they all help out in some way. How can you realistically land a hit on a character with the acrobatic skill of Vex, for example, without any sort of enhanced perception? The answer would be with skill comparable to his, something I'll go over in the next section. Otherwise, if your character isn't written with a ninja-style backstory, the only way you're certain to land a good hit (without forcing your opponent to either job or no-sell) would be enhanced senses. Perception is everything here.
5) "Skillz that Killz"
As mentioned before, it's quite important to have some way to contend with other, high-class viners in combat. And how does one do that? The answer is nearly always either enhanced perception, skill, or a combination of both. There is undoubtedly an abundance of ninjas, samurai, monks, and pure warriors around. They may seem at first glance to be street-level, but in reality they are definitely the most potent fighters on the forum. The finesse that comes with writing a disciplined character also works to enhance the writing. Consider the following:
"Tom throws a hard punch at his foe, strength enhanced beyond measure." Tom is a superhuman warrior with class-50 strength. But really, what does this accomplish writing-wise? There's not a lot of class when it comes to a brick, as many people call purely-strength based characters. When it comes to a ninja, there is the potential to write an incredibly complex and lethal series of attacks, because they realistically know how to perform them. For example, Nox could easily use his ninja-like talents to anticipate and dodge said punch, all while using incredibly descriptive terms to do so. The end result? A far more polished post with an equal amount of utility. In short, skill is pretty much a superpower here too, and a very, very useful one at that.
Log in to comment