Character descriptions

[Vindigan]

This is somthing I thought about.

What about if all the characters made a webpage describing their character? Not everyone would have to do it but it would be fun if on the list of "registered citizens" you could click on their name and a web page poped up giving you a little information on that person. The player would write the description on their own webpage and then send the link to the webmaster of that Lyrenzia webpage.

There would have to be a template made so that all the descriptions are in the same format. Information would include hair colour, eye colour, height, weight and anything else you wanna put in it. Maybe a small background story. It would be fun to read

[Ezor Edwickton]

that might be neat but everyone dosen't want to make a web page, things like the characters story is stuff that should be told in game.

[K'kigar Venombite]

Not everyone would have to do it but it would be fun if on the list of "registered citizens" you could click on their name and a web page poped up giving you a little information on that person.

As said above, not everyone would have to.

[Ezor Edwickton]

only so few would have them it wouldn't really work

[Crosis]

The Lyrenzia page was made by Fieps, it would be up to him. Even though, I think the Lyrenzia web page is not the place to do it. Because it would only include the registered citizens.

I remember Tal Rash had a website where he would let people send him their stories, and he would put it up on the site. Although, the site doesn't seem to work at the moment.

[Ezor Edwickton]

The thing i'm worried about it that this might take away from in game role playing.

[Fooser]

How would it ruin roleplay? Your character could have read about certain people prior or during their stay on the island, or anything similar to that.

[Vindigan]

Almost everyone who has a story to tell has writen it somewhere on the RPG board anyway. Would be somthing fun for the people who are waiting for their accounts to be accepted to do. It also gives them a little idea of what is expected of them and maybe a few ideas to develop their own character.

I think i might start this idea on my own website for now. I'll get finding people's storys from the RPG board and put em on a website if they dont mind then when/if it is a sucsess, one of the better websites can take over.

[Aragon]

Would be somthing fun for the people who are waiting for their accounts to be accepted to do.

With this, I see the problem, that then there are many stories, which doesn't concern the historical background of Illarion. And also much countries, towns and other stuff will be put into this stories, which has no background in Illarion itself.
Better is to write only stories about your char, what he has done in Illarion and about the chars development in Illarion over the years. Not fantastic stories about great heros from foreign countries coming to Illarion.

[Val De Gausse]

I began my site already, It's for the whole Eldermoore family, I just have about a paragraph or two about how we arrived here, nothing ot fancy. Then it will have a goods section about items we make and sell, and other stuff too.

[The Returner]

A description is not a story, its a bit of words describing your characters looks/traits.

[Zarah]

I really like Vindigans idea although I am not sure how to realize it. I played a chat based rpg for a long time and the character descriptions (only including the look and the behaviour, the first impression etc.) was really necessary there. When some people met in a chatroom they said "Hello, I am Garon" and then you said "#me eyes Garon" and Garon "posted" his character discription by insert "#me has brown hair...". It was easy for everyone, but not when the descriptions were more than 10 lines long, because it disturbes the roleplay of the other players in the chatroom. It works the same way with houses etc. But houses usually had their own "websites" with discriptions.
I agree that not everyone HAS to do it, but it's practical for the other players if they see the char for the first time.
I really wondered first, why no one does it the same way here. Everytime (Drathe should now this) someone says "#me eyes Zarah" I want to tell something about her. It's very logical: if you give someone your hand IC he will take it, and I guess it's the same with eying someone. The one that eyes the other gets a "reply". That way he is really able to see something. Every sex of every race looks the same. That is the problem. With character discriptions it would be much more fun I guess. I already made them (before this thread) for my chars although noone wants to read them


Zarah

[Konstantin K]

Isn't that sort of what avatars are for in a way?
Although they do not give information about height, weight, and size of the character, they do give a general appearance.

[Zarah]

Yes, you're right K. The avatars give you the first information. Does he look angry, agressive or peacefull and friendly and so on. But not all characters can show you the profession of someone - every char has a profession usually but only some show it -> for exampla Drathes axe on his avatar (hehe Drathe gives good examples). But exactly THAT the character discription could to. They can tell you about:
- the wealth or poverty of a char
- does he hide himself (hooded) or does he show EVERYTHING: (less clothes for example)
- the profession
- the agressivity or friendlyness
- if he is mage or druid

Of course the description shouldn't be like: "My char is mage, he is agressive (BEWARE OF HIM! )..." but there should be light allusions like:"He is wearing a wand. His coat has golden decorations ect." I could search for some old descriptions of my chars or I could post my discriptions of Delia or Zarah for example if someone would like to read an example, but I guess Vinigan would like too

So what are all of you thinking about it?

Zarah

[Willhelm von Krähenweiden]

According to the current numbers there about 50.000 Chars. I assume there are about 300 active players. If 100 of them write a short char-information who would be able to remember all of these?

I fear I won't be able to remember more then 10 descriptions...
So I would be forced to look at Lyrenzia's webside when I start talking to somebody? - I don't think this would work... :?

But if I remember right you've got the option to use a char-description-field when you creat a new char. So sooner or later this will be implemented in the game, won't it?

The best way to describe your characters mood or outfit is stille the "#me" command. In that way you still keep on "roleplaying" instead of simply reading a description...

BTW. I always thought, that Avatars are ooc-stuff...


_

Willhelm von Krähenweiden // William of crowwillow

[Zarah]

Hm, but maybe you could always have a prepared description (that's what we did in the graphic-based rpg). And everytime someone eyes you, you paste a few lines with the most important stuff. My current description of Delia isn't longer than 4 lines. You could whisper it, therefore no other players are getting (?) disturbed by it.
But if someday the character description you enter at the creating of your char gets more important, everything would be much easier of course. Maybe you just "click" the character and can read its discription, I don't know what is planned there.
It's true, that noone can keep 100 descriptions in mind. I normally forgot them again except I played more often with this char. I think it is just necessary to get the first contact to the char, to know, how to make the first steps.

I really would like it if the players began to have prepared description so that I can all "eye" them. Hehe . It's real fun.

Zarah

[Willhelm von Krähenweiden]

I really would like it if the players began to have prepared description...

Hmmm, I thought this is the normal process for creating a char, isn't it...
I normally write a short backgroundstory, a list what my char likes or dislikes and his normal behaviour, or manners, because only if I know my char i can play him/her. (btw. Bror wrote a great roleplaying manual: http://www.freewebs.com/bror/RPG.html - it's really very useful, but German only)

But I agree, there are only few people that try to get description of your char, but there are even less that really HAVE a description if you ask them for one. It's a pitty that this part of roleplaying is ignored by many players, but I don't think you'll change it if few people are describing theeirselves on a webpage.

Greets,

Willhelm von Krähenweiden // William of Crowwillow

[Vindigan]

I don't mean for this to be an official thing that your character can look at. More like what you see in a Final Fantasy manual. It would just tell you a few things about your character that might be different from another character of the same race.

@Zarah
If you want to PM me (or write here) your characters descriptions, i could make an example and then maybe more people might send me a description and we can get a little collection going

[Konstantin K]

I actually did make a description of Konstantin, I created a thread, "Introduction of Mr. K", or something like that, when I joined, explaining what K looks like, his moral principles, and how he got to the island in a few short paragraphs. I think that thread is buried somewhere.
Here is a link to it.

http://www.illarion.org/community/forum ... ntin#77123

I am actually planning to draw an image of Konstantin some day, and put it out somewhere.

[Zarah]

@ Vindigan: Great idea.

So: here it is.
-----------------
Her ears are rather small and tapering. Her eyes show a depth, although her view mostly is reserved and shy but often friendly towards others. She has long dark-blond hair. Zarah seems to be quite young, but as an elv she ought to be older then the 20 years, one would guess. Although her skin is delicate and her look soft, she seems to be sportive. One concludes this by her soft moves and her fast walk. She seems to be plain/simple cause she does without any decorations, but is wearing a lavender-colored dress. In a bag she is always wearing a few bottles with a red liquid.
---------------------------------

So this description should just show a kind of first impression. The most characters (of others) I know have more than just one side. Zarah can be funny too...with her buckets hehe...but this is what the watcher sees or should see at first sight I think.
There is no background story for Zarah yet. I just mentioned a few things IC. But I think one should devide between background story (cause you can not assume anything of the chars past by eying him) and the character description. Normally the background story comes later and only a few persons know the whole story.

I translated the background story of Delia:
---------------------------------------------------
I spend the most time of my life on a pirate ship called the "Lunghammer". It was rough and cold there. People there just needed me because of my mage's talents, cause I could tell them the direction better than anyone of those foolish pirates. They couldn't handle a compass, although they had lots of it from their loots.
One day they found me sleeping on a tree and kidnapped me. They stole all my runes except the ones I needed for my farsightedness. I don't know how they knew which ones they had to take...I travelled the world a lot and have seen a lot of isles and towns. Every visit there ended with a holdup. But I never saw it, cause they used to lock me up somewhere on the ship. It smelled after excrements and old foot there. In the dark I could only see something because of my elven eyes.

On day I could free myself when they forgot to lock me and simply left me behind on their ship when they entered land. I escaped immediatly, just wearing my dress, the old bag and the few runes to the next isle - Illarion.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So that's it I have German versions of it too if someone is interested.

I think we all should put our ideas for character descriptions together. I think we will find a way to publish them somewhere, cause not every player will write a character description.

@ Konstantin: I look forward to your picture and yourself back in game. I read your character description and the background story (I guess it's a bit of both) and really like it. See ya!

Zarah

Zarah

[Crocket]

You could go to my Yahoo group and post descriptions.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Illariongroup
After you join the group go to the files section.
Then click on the link at the top that says "create a text file."
Put your character's name for the name of the file and just put in the description.