I have 5 RP characters at the moment but those are not the ones I am talking about. My main 10, as I call them, reside on a PvE server. They are not RP characters and I never RP with them yet they all have personalities. These are not things I designed or felt from the get go. All my main 10 developed their own personalities.
Hunter:
This is my main and as such I've played him the most. His personality is that of someone who prefers to be alone with the exception of his pets. He does not really trust anyone and feels as if he needs to make sure to take care of himself at all times even if there are others to help him. He does not hold any animosity against people, he just does not feel that interaction with them is a required necessity. Other people are a means to an end to him. This might sometimes make him come off as cold however he is anything but cold. He gets happy over the smallest things sometimes but no one will ever see that part of him. To everyone, his is a calculating weapon of destruction with no emotion. To his pets, he is a fun companion that shows them love and knows how to have a good time and a few laughs.
Rogue:
He is a playboy through and through. He likes to charm the ladies and joke around. He is the type of the person that is often called the life of the party. If he is not there, then the party has not really started. Once I changed him to a Worgen this feeling about my Rogue increased more. He seems even more comfortable being the playboy now as if he was waiting his entire existence for this race change. In battle he is just the same way. His kicks are not so much to interrupt, they are as if he is playing a joke, ha ha, I got you, silly human trying to cast a spell.
Death Knight:
She doesn't talk because she has nothing to say. If and when she does talk you better be listening. When she talks it is only because there is something that needs to be said. Don't ever count on her for idle banter, its not happening. She lives life as if there was some purpose to it but she does not know what it is yet. She takes every task as it is an insult to her but she does it anyway with ruthless efficiency. Time spent not killing is time wasted. Wasted time will not help her figure out what her purpose is. She hates everyone around her, not just dislikes, hates.
Paladin:
She lives the life of why me. She does what she needs to do but never wants to do it. Healer dies, she heals, why me. Tank dies, she tanks, why me. DPS dies, she steps it up, why me. She really doesn't want any part of any of this. She just gets thrown into it and does her best to do what she can. Everything she does she asks why she needs to be bothered with this. He entire reason for being is always in question, at least from herself. Other people like her and she comes off as a nice person only because she fakes it well but deep inside she is hurting, always. If I have any character I could see committing suicide then my Paladin is it. She seems to actively hate her life.
Priest:
She loves to do what she does. She was born a healer and feels that every step of her life is righteous. She can find success in even failure because she always has a positive attitude. She has a smile that could light up a room from a mile away. She does have one fault however, she can be quite flighty at times. She could be in the middle of doing something and then wonder, what was I doing? She will go out of her way for anyone doing everything she can to help them and she never asks for a thank you. Knowing she did what she could do will always be enough to keep her going. She is probably the most happy person being who she is out of any of my characters.
Druid:
She seems to be someone that is comfortable in her skin as long as her skin is that of a bear or a bird. She embraces nature as a good druid should and she really loves to explore. To her, battle is just a bump in the road on the way to seeing something new and that is what she is always looking for, something new. She is a drifter by heart. No real home and no real need for one. As long as there is a destination in mind then wherever she travels is her home. She loves to be with other people as well and will often go out of her way to try to convince people to see new places with her. Her desire for travel is also a reason why if anyone needed assistance somewhere in the world she would be the first one to help. Not really because she wants to help but she wants to see where the person is.
Mage:
He is a funny one, no really. He lives to be silly or as some might call it, stupid. If you say, whatever you do, do not push that button, you can be completely sure he is going to push it in the next 2.3 seconds. If you are crossing a thin bridge, he will be the one that falls off. He gets easily distracted by anything shiny. If a firefly flies by in the middle of a fight you will be finishing off that fight without him because he can not resist going after the cute shiny thing. The thing is, is a tactical genius. He always knows everything about everything. The hard part is keeping him interested in one thing long enough for him to finish explaining it. Some people might think he is silly on purpose but that is as far from the truth as it could be. He is just naturally like that.
Warlock:
His minions are his servants, as well they should be. Unlike most warlocks however he never gets attached to them. They are there to do his bidding and he controls them with an iron fist. There might be nothing wrong with that if it were not for the fact that he considers everyone around him to be one of his minions as well. He will be the first to tell you what to do and the first to say screw you and leave if you don't. He is the boss, there is nothing else too it. If you do not like it, go screw yourself. No one really likes him and he is fine with it that way, he doesn't like them either.
Warrior:
He might be a bit of a masochist. While most people like to take their time with things he loves to rush in. In battle, the more people beating on him the better. If he is not getting hit then he is doing something wrong. He likes the pain. There is no planning with him. Big baddie needs to die, what are we talking about, lets get to killing. When alone he will always push himself to the limits and often finds himself picking dirt out of his teeth because he tried to handle more then he could but that never stops him. He runs right back in. When with others he has to take all the abuse and anyone else taking any is stealing his fun. He yells MINE! when he taunts a creature off someone else because if anyone is getting any pain it should be him. He has some serious issues.
Shaman:
She is the exact opposite of the paladin. Where the paladin is always, why me, she is always, why not me. She wants to do everything and goes out of her way to try and do everything to the point of extreme self sacrifice. She gives 110% all the time and will do anything for any one, all they need to do is ask. Even if they do not ask, if she sees that she is in a position to help someone else she will do it. She will always give something to someone that needs it even if she needed it more herself. Sometimes I have to think she gives way to much of herself. If you where to ask he she would say she doesn't give enough.
I did not try to build these characters these personalities, they just developed that way on their own. I can't say why or how or when it started to appear to me but to me it is clear that while I play them all, they are all their own person. In a strange sort of way, that makes playing them a bit more fun then if they where just a collection of pixels doing what I said and being my personality. I like they they are themselves.
I wonder if anyone else has had a character develop a personality of their own or if I am the only weirdo.
GQDN 11/11/2024
10 hours ago
I can relate, Grumpy. While I choose to play primarily on an RP server, I don't actually do a lot of RP anymore, but I often have characters develop personalities somewhat different than my original intentions. In most cases I know the characters' names befoer I know them and sometimes I love to start a new character without a clear idea of who he or she is and just let the personality unfold through playing and interacting with the game.
ReplyDeleteI frequently have a whole list of characters in my head at any given time, but they don't always make it into the game or translate well into RP. Not surprisingly, I prefer character driven fiction over plot-driven stories.