A challenge for you...

[Dave H]

I would like to challenge my fellow players. In light of the recent events with my character, I’ve been thinking. Role playing is fun because it allows us an outlet and escape from everyday life. It gives us a chance to be something we never are in real life. If something upsets us, we can take it out in game by getting in a battle and beating the hell out of something. What if you could really do or be that person and live that life? Imagine what it would be like.

For me, the storyline with my character hits a very personal issue with me. So depending on what my character is going through, affects me IC & OOC. In this way, it challenges me to fight something in me that I am afraid of or whatever the case may be. My character is a part of me and always has been. So it helps me change certain things about myself along the way. It also forces me to think about the challenges of everyday life. Role playing is the only way I can bring out the sides of me I don’t show around other people. Mainly because I know no one will put me down for anything I do with the character.

So here’s my challenge to you; I challenge you take your commitment with your character to the next level or higher. Ask yourself why/if you like/dislike your character. What is it about him/her that you can relate to? Is there a side of yourself that you’ve always wanted to show that perhaps the character could help you with? Keep in mind the wide opportunities you could have to explore different sides of yourself. Is there something the character could teach you? Is there anything you have in common with your character? Dig into your characters past. Did you ever write out a background for your character? What is their motivation for life? Are they living, or merely existing? How do they want to spend their unlife? Are they bored? If so, why? There are some questions in one of my table-top books that I’ve posted. They may help if you are feeling stuck with your character or if you are feeling bored with the game. We already have some storylines going with a couple characters in which the person playing them needs to decide their emotional involvement and devotion with the character.

Keep in mind if you do have something you want to do with your character, don’t be afraid to go to the ST’s to ask for assistance. If you have an idea for a storyline for your character, bring it up. Being an ST is hard enough, so let’s help them out. This is our chance to be actors. That’s all live action is. Acting! When we see an actor in a movie or on TV, they are given a character, and the actor goes through the emotions to bring the character to life. We create a character and it’s our job to bring that person to life also. Only difference is that we don’t have a script. It’s a role for us to play! Hence the term: Role-Playing. So…do you think you are up for this challenge? Step up to the plate…I dare you!

[Nathaniel Polonius]

*Shameless bump

[Vai Castillian]

Did you want some kind of reply?

I tend to keep what's going on with Vai under my hat. Dave, if it makes you feel better, I do think about this stuff. But I'm playing a secretive character, and I'd rather leave her inner workings a mystery.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

I want to kill you all and take over the city for myself and all Garogylekind! MWA HA HA HA!

[Marius]

Let me tell you about Marius:

Marius was born to wealth, and grew insensate to the suffering of those without. The worst thing that ever happened to him during his living years (aside from being shot in the stomach and spending the next two weeks in agony), was to be forcibly moved to Paris as a hostage to his father's allegiance. During this time, he was feted as a guest of the king, granted a commission in the royal guard and lived even better than before.

Marius as a character grows out of the desire to redeem. His sire is Paul Atreus Gallus, based on Paul of Tarsus whose name was originally Saul, and whose desire for redemption caused in him a lifelong struggle to build the Christian faith and ultimately his martyrdom in Rome despite being a Roman citizen. That's the general plot for Marius' character.

Marius makes mistakes, which all characters should, but he admits them, which is a good quality. What drives Marius though is a complete inability to forget his mistakes. He was cruel to the misfortunate, so he is radically republican. He has killed in anger, so he masters his self-control not to lose his temper. He has lost loved ones to political machinations, so he abhors politics. He left someone for dead, so he will never abandon a companion again.

What I love about playing Marius is that he turns his failings into principles, and he is utterly resigned to not compromising them. At least three times Marius has reached this crux ICly, and it's always been a character defining moment when he recognizes his mistake. Like Vai, I don't talk about Marius' motivations in character very often, but if you are present when this happens, you'll see me tear up, get a tremor in my voice, get dramatic. I love it when this happens, but I don't really need the ST to go out of their way to create a story to make that happen. Marius will have those moments without any help; though I admit the Isabella plot -was- one of them.

I am not sure what the next level is for Marius. He's struggling each week to magnify his calling in the city. Leading is dangerous for a man of principle, and it is doubly so when there are at least two people in the city that would rather do the job. I think that if there is a next level for Marius it will be somewhere in the midst of becoming a more forceful leader, and walking that balance between leading by example, and commanding through respect. For that, the everyday plots that Jason runs are more than enough for me to keep giving my character one hundred percent of my attention.

Thank you for running such an open game Jason; and thanks to Dave for opening his house to us; and thanks to everyone who invited us to play such a large role in your stories. If you do make a flyer, let me know what sort of illustration you would like on it and I will draw that for you.

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