The ToC Character Appreciation Thread [Archive]

Ataraxis

12-17-08, 09:52 AM

We've amassed a fair deal of character profiles for the tournament, so I thought it was about time to open this! We've all read a good number of them, but who's your favorite to date? Which is the one you're most afraid of facing and, conversely, the one you're most eager to fight? Moreover, if you have any questions you'd want to ask a certain character's writer, or if you simply want to discuss about a point of interest you found in his or her profile, this is the place to do it.

Simply put, this is the thread where you can leave any comments, critiques or compliments you have on a character - though keep it clean and courteous!

noodleguy

12-17-08, 12:09 PM

I think I can answer all of those at one.
This guy (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17729) scares the crap out of me, yet is also awesome. And I would simply be honored to come up against him.

Lord Synical

12-17-08, 12:44 PM

I'm looking forwards to Lice, myself.
He's going to be... fun... to say the least.

BlackAndBlueEyes

12-17-08, 12:48 PM

Gonna give props to noodleguy.

Gotta' respect anyone who plays a goblin.

Lord Synical

12-17-08, 12:52 PM

Ain't that the truth?

Christoph

12-17-08, 12:53 PM

Goblins are the shit.

Shadowed

12-17-08, 12:54 PM

Atle

12-17-08, 09:41 PM

http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17702

At first I was all 'I should look at his character and see if anything catches my interest in a big way so I have something to post'.

And then I saw this:

"Pyromancy - Extreme"

And all was right in my world. Extreme Pyromancy? Sounds like something out of a particularly brutal Warhammer story.

Also, the image is rather enchanting. I've always had a thing for paladins.

Lord Synical

12-18-08, 01:55 AM

No no, you see, I'm very extreme.
I win extreme.
I lose extreme.
I'm extreme... to the extreme!

Syaoran

12-18-08, 02:20 AM

http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17738

This guy...cause he seems the most elemental out of the other profiles. I wanna go toe to toe with elemental powers. But If I had known you were allowed a familiar in this...i'd have given myself one.

Kristopher

12-19-08, 12:12 AM

http://althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=136138#post136138

This guy scares the hell out of me, simply because I know a little of what he can do. But At the same time I'm looking forward to going up against him. Can't wait.

Nieve.Roja

12-19-08, 06:31 PM

Arsène

12-19-08, 07:16 PM

This good sir here. (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17747)

I can't help but get this MGS feel when reading his profile. I would love going toe-to-toe with him, especially since we both come from a realistic-ish setting. Of course, I know he'd tear me a structurally superfluous new behind, but I'd enjoy it.

I'm so glad someone else got the MGS feel. When I first started the profile, it wasn't in my mind. But the closer I got to finishing, the more I pictured Raikov and MGS3, to the point where I had to start listening to this. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjlcEe2VGkg)

EDIT: And then when I was finished, I realized he came off like a MGS boss when he uses the crows.

Tainted Bushido

12-19-08, 08:25 PM

I'm so glad someone else got the MGS feel. When I first started the profile, it wasn't in my mind. But the closer I got to finishing, the more I pictured Raikov and MGS3, to the point where I had to start listening to this. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjlcEe2VGkg)

EDIT: And then when I was finished, I realized he came off like a MGS boss when he uses the crows.

Vulcan Raven <3

Nieve.Roja

12-19-08, 08:36 PM

We totally require a nerdy NPC with glasses now.

You know... Do you think love can blossom, even on the battlefield?

Atle

12-19-08, 08:41 PM

Metal Gear Sigint.

Game over.

Mabus

12-20-08, 08:17 AM

Geez, I was hoping there would at least be a melee warlord archetype somewhere in there. I was thinking 'well, not everyone will show up with their most uberfied character....will they?'

Well, whatever. Though I may have been more effective as such, I suppose it would be cliche if I used a violently insane android serial-killer in a tournament again.

And kudos on the goblin.Goblins have to be the most under-appreciated fictional species.

noodleguy

12-20-08, 08:45 AM

Aren't they though?
Goblins are awesome. Although, uh, I might be a bit biased on this matter.

Atle

12-20-08, 09:32 AM

Ironically enough, Mabus, Zhang is exactly that- the ToC character is based off of my D&D 4.0 character, a purely melee combatant of the Inspiring Warlord class.

On another note, Silas Gesse (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17892) seems pretty freakin' sweet in the way of melee as well. I hope Zhang gets a chance to lay down his quarterstaff before this guy for some gracefully brutal fisticuffs.

Ataraxis

12-20-08, 10:33 AM

Yes, I also look forward to a battle between Zhang and Gesse. The moment I read his profile, I instantly thought of yours and how the two would make quite a match, so here's to hoping!

Also, Epsilon (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17872) and Knight Vanguard (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17894) should either team-up, or fight each other - either way, it's still a not-quite-sci-fi-but-just-as-kickass showndown.

Lord Saladin

12-20-08, 06:07 PM

I really like the look of Teal's character, Shandris Velcon (http://althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17905).

Hopefully I will be able to get in a match with her.

Lord Synical

12-21-08, 03:10 AM

Ha! That's Teal. She'll be fun.
She's one of the more energetic of Dark Rain's members.

Farmboy

12-21-08, 03:44 AM

Vegna comes from GUA, the same forum as I'm from. Sara Sixblades is an excellent example of how to do such a character, as befits one of the GUA elite roleplayers. I'm looking forward to seeing what Istar and Lord Asiram, also from GUA, manage to put up once they get their sheets on here. Those three are possibly the best writers on GUA.

Yeah, you can tell that Vegna's from GUA with those OOC comments plastered all over his/her IC posts.

Me? I'm looking forward to Logan's character sheet... Mostly because he's my partner and he hasn't been on in four days. I'd love to participate in this, but if he doesn't post his character soon, I'm withdrawing due to lack of interest.

Slayer of the Rot

12-22-08, 03:35 AM

I like Saxon's "Brom". A match between him and Dan would probably be pretty badass.

lPulse

12-27-08, 10:37 PM

And I just wanted to say that using different colors in your roleplaying posts is distracting and should probably be avoided

Yes but no too. I use a color for speech on my posts. It makes "landmarks" for reading or fast-referencing.

Even when people have different layouts from mine my color for speech is no problem; it is bright enough to be easily seen on dark layouts but not so bright that it`s hard to differentiate from light ones.

Caden Law

12-27-08, 11:14 PM

Yes but no too. I use a color for speech on my posts. It makes "landmarks" for reading or fast-referencing.

Even when people have different layouts from mine my color for speech is no problem; it is bright enough to be easily seen on dark layouts but not so bright that it`s hard to differentiate from light ones.
I use different colors from time to time, along with different fonts. It's a quick way to differentiate depth and tone, among other things.

Shadowed

12-27-08, 11:23 PM

It's also a great way to look like a terrible writer and offend the sensibilities of your readers.

MaxBlade

12-28-08, 11:00 PM

Seriously, unless you're not a great writer (like me) you don't need OOC comments to explain what your character is doing. I generally try to avoid those type, but I do use them to communicate to whoever else is in the thread, because it's faster then PMing, or AIMing.

I am definitely wanting to meet Honuse Relaiyent, Shadow-ed's (?) character in battle. Look in his signature for the link.

Caden Law

01-01-09, 06:49 PM

It's also a great way to look like a terrible writer and offend the sensibilities of your readers.
If someone is offended by altering text, they haven't been on the internets long enough.

Alternatively, some git could be changing it up too much in one post :D Really, it depends on how heavily you use it. If it's just to toss in a bit about someone's voice being different, or someone deliberately speaking in a strange voice, without having to include five billion redundant words about it; why not? It's not like this is novel-grade writing. Can't speak for anyone else here, but I usually RP on Althanas to vent excess/predictable creativity. Half the reason I write like Terry Pratchett or another famous author here is so I don't do it in the writings I hope to get published.

When it's just for fun, screw the sensibilities of an audience. :D

EDIT: And also, just to avoid derailing the thread, I happen to like my partner's character. Cael Inkfinger Strandssen (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17816), for the curious. Sure, there are about two billion scrawny bisexual magi bois running around, but Cael is at least funny about it. Plus he makes for a nicely Zany Guy to Aeraul's Straight Guy routine. It's like a buddy cop movie with more napalm.

Shadowed

01-01-09, 07:48 PM

If you're fine looking like a bad writer on a, ahem, writing site, then by all means! If you either can't or won't take another sentence to describe emotions, then at least you acknowledge that your writing looks sub-par to even the most mediocre of professional standards.

Christoph

01-01-09, 08:31 PM

Let us keep our manners, please. Everyone will have ample opportunity to display their high standards once round one starts in a few days, or even sooner in the side events.

Azlen

01-01-09, 08:36 PM

Though I'm not partaking in this tournament, I've noticed interesting characters, and cliche. Well...I'm lying most of the characters I have seen are cliche. Admittedly it is hard not to create a cliche character, but you would think with so many different Role Playing sites, there would be a variety of characters.

By the way I was really impressed with Shadowed character. It was not cliche at all.

I liked Cael Inkfinger Strandssen too. It was a refreshing read.

BlackAndBlueEyes

01-01-09, 08:51 PM

Awesome, you point your finger in the general direction of this website and call a good portion of the population's character cliche. Right after the nice mod asked you to play nice, as well.

Shadowed

01-01-09, 08:56 PM

Actually, the message from the nice moderator was more or less predicated on those engaged in discussion within this thread participating in the ToC, as he most likely thought my opinions on the subject to be an attempt at a pissing match. But as Azlen stated, he will not be in the tournament, therefore the generic message preceding it was not explicitly directed at him.

But that's all moot, as most roleplaying characters are indeed cliche; even despite what Azlen said about my character, I am well aware of many cliche elements of him. It's difficult to be entirely original in a world where mass-marketing sucks the like out of any new idea to crop up, relegating new ideas to be compared via levels of cliche, rather than the black and white of 'cliche' or 'not cliche'.

Christoph

01-01-09, 09:19 PM

Actually, my message had been directed at all the participants of this discussion, present and future, whether they have chosen to compete in the Tournament or not. The purpose of this thread is to express appreciation for good characters, not to talk down to anyone. Common courteously and humility is to be expected. Knowing that it isn’t good manners to speak ill of the majority of the characters in this Tournament is also expected.

With that said, let us get back on topic.

Gordie

01-01-09, 09:26 PM

I'm interested in seeing how Nikolai and the guy who can lift 3000 pounds....

Not sure who made his character

NightCast

01-01-09, 10:38 PM

Lulz at Shadowed. I am a personal fan of Honuse (Shadowed's character) and Logopolis' character. Reminds me of Lukien and Vash from the ToL.

Also I might be slightly biased due to knowing Shadowed and GAR...err... Logopolis from GUA.

I'd also like to add a side note on the word cliché. It's much as Shadowed states; a world in which your own mothers are mass marketed tends to sorely deplete the availability of entirely original ideas. For crying out loud, my main character Ryondel (aka General, DarkStrike, etc) has a blade called the Blade of Artaria, but to most others, since I named his long-lived "angelic" race Artarians, they call it the Sword of Angels.

About 2 months after having created the sword for him, drawing pictures, determining if it were to be a typical magic blade, or just an ordinary blade, the whole works, I come across a book in a Bus Station (You know, the terminals always have the whole works) in New York City called "The Sword of Angels," by John Marco. It was the first time I had ever seen the book and I KNOW I never heard of it before that point because nobody that I knew in high school read fantasy, hell my two best friends don't read at ALL.

The guy who pointed out the cliché characters, I'd like to make a point. Your character uses a broadsword and two steel daggers, never seen that one before (I hope my satirical poke is obvious).

My guy is a "shadow" demon. Bet you ten bucks you never saw that before either (I continue to hope the satire is evident). My guy's name is Morgoth, gotten from a stupid inside joke with me and those same two best friends. I was completely unaware that Morgoth was the name of Tolkien's big bad guy in the Silmarillion until Letho, here, when I was going through the character approval process, pointed it out.

My point is, cliché in fantasy is going to happen no matter what. I don't care what you do. You could crossbreed Hobbits and Draconians and call them Drobbits. Bet the name is taken, bet someone's already done it before. Don't take the characters at face value. It's what each author does with the character, the message he/she tries to impart with them, that makes the character special.

Caden Law

01-01-09, 10:59 PM

<snip>
...myeah. Seriously, guys. This is a thread for the appreciation of other people's characters. Make new threads if you'd like to argue about cliches or text format. :)

EDIT: Incidentally, I rather like your character. Even if he probably is a wee bit anorexic for seven feet tall...

Inkfinger

01-01-09, 11:04 PM

My point is, cliché in fantasy is going to happen no matter what. I don't care what you do. You could crossbreed Hobbits and Draconians and call them Drobbits. Bet the name is taken, bet someone's already done it before. Don't take the characters at face value. It's what each author does with the character, the message he/she tries to impart with them, that makes the character special.

I have a friend who is always quick to point out: "Cliché gets to be cliché because it works."

But to throw in my two cents:

I like Jericho (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17945), and hope to see more of him, am borderline terrified (...well, not really, but you know what I mean) of encountering Dan (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17937), and really like the idea behind 'Hopper (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17722). Honuse Relaiyent (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17829) is a character right up there with Dan for the well-written-creepy factor. And and and I like Aeraul (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17836), Yuka (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17798)and Lask (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17826), but I will admit a bit of bias as I know the writers of those ones, and they each have yet to create a character who I don't enjoy reading. And D: Sh33p, Cael isn't bi (or anything, really, he just wants tea and a book)! He just...wound up in the wrong place with the wrong sorts of people. Or something.

Really, though, most people came up with interesting characters. I think this thing'll be fun no matter how it turns out.

NightCast

01-01-09, 11:21 PM

Grassy-ass Sen-your Caden. (Gracias Señor Caden)

Yes, he is a wee-bit anorexic. Makes him look more demonic in my head. I mean think about it, you have a slightly emaciated thing with glowing red eyes after you. Kind of eery, no?

But, I wasn't really sure with body proportions. My friend who is as tall as me, as broad in the shoulders, but has a runner's build, weighs about 150. I'm 6'2," I'm more "meaty" and weigh closer to 200. It wouldn't be far fetched to say a 7' runner would be in the 240's or so. So like we said, a wee-bit anorexic is all.

EDIT: I feel that my comments may make me seem ungrateful for the comment that you have generously supplied my flagging self-esteem. This is not that case. Thank you, I just love me a good conversation. I will also cease posting in this thread since it seems to be beyond me to stay on topic. I will not have the mods here have to deal with the same thing I had to deal with when I modded the ToL.

Isis Ixidar

01-02-09, 03:30 AM

Every character in this tournament is cliche. Every last one, even mine(especially mine) and I'm sure wherever you RP yours is. Nothing is original anymore and its quite possible that nothing was ever original to begin with. You could nit pick the best profile in the world but it'd get you nowhere because its just a profile.

A good RPer could be a Teletubby and make it look good. A profile is just a profile. And a cliche is only as bad as you let it be.

SoulBeaver

01-02-09, 03:42 AM

I'd like to add in my two cents before nominating some guys ^^ Anyway, cliche isn't all too bad in my opinion. It's nothing I ever try to aim for, and I don't think most of the guys here tried to aim for modesty. It only becomes a bother when the person who accepts modesty also writes like crap- I'm not pointing anybody out, it's just a fact. That's no fun, and a dead giveaway to their playing style: also crap.

So, that's what I wanted to say ^^ I nominate my totally uncliche fighter that's not participating in the tournament, Syphon! The zombie cyborg! Take two cliche things and smash 'em together! Now we have a bipedal automatron that hunts for brains with a flamethrower and rocket launcher! If THAT isn't awesome.

I'm not entirely sure if I tried to sarcastically make fun of myself, or show a sense of pride in that character...Huh.

There are a few characters I like. War Machine is one because he also reminds me of my Tungsten Golem. Huge characters always gain a massive plus ^^ Grunt and Hopper seem cool as well, but I haven't had the time to look through all entries yet D: Anyway, cheers!

Also, I'd like to point you to an awesome what-if. What if this thing died in the first rounds of combat after all this waiting and creating and teaming up? :D High five for disappointment!

Azlen

01-02-09, 08:45 AM

I know you said stay on topic but this is public apology.

Well, I never meant anyone to think that I was saying everyone is cliche. As a matter of fact the only reason I said that at all, was because I at first was going to say there were many original characters, I didn't want to lie so I backtracked. I also never said my character was not cliche. Yes I am sorry for any "disruption" I may have caused, I didn't want to make everyone start flailing around in their brains, reaching for retorts because their character was threatened (or just because they like to argue).

I was making a statement. That is all, I posted when I did not see the moderator's post, so like the nice mod said. Let us stay on topic.

By the way Nightcast, I do like your character, great story IMO.

NightCast

01-02-09, 08:53 AM

=]

I'm just hoping I can maintain that level of writing in the Solo I've got going on. I have a bad case of the creativity drought. I go dry faster than an alcoholic runs out of sparkling grape juice.

But in an effort to steer this conversation back on topic:

What do you guys like about each of the characters that you appreciate, and why does that appeal to you so much? Goodness knows we'll each have different opinions. Like I said with Shadowed and Logopolis, I like them because they' be representin'! But on top of that I like the bloodlust and integrity that Honuse seems to keep at all times and I just like Logopolis because he has a strong satirical wit that he typically incorporates into his writing.

EDIT: Oh, I evidently fail at resolutions. So much for not posting in this thread again.

Lord Synical

01-02-09, 11:20 AM

Am I the only Pyromancer?
That's dissapointing.

Christoph

01-02-09, 12:13 PM

I think it’s well established that most every character idea has been done before. That doesn’t necessarily make every character a cliché. Clichés happen when a concept that has been overused to the point of death is played in a dull, predictable manner. Rather than chasing the unattainable true “originality” at the expense of making believable and enjoyable characters and stories, I aim for authenticity, both with their abilities and personalities.

The trick to authenticity in terms of character abilities lies in adding depth and realism – IE: allowing your character to become affected by his/her powers. A mage that throws fireballs is dead horse that has been beaten, run over by a bus, and dropped from a plane. Now, I love pyromancers, but I take it to a different level. My main Althanas character harnesses fire, letting it become a part of him. He must contend with severe burns when he overexerts himself, various physical changes from the after-effects of his practices, and even subtle personality changes. How this character contends with the consequences of his powers defines, at least in part, his personality. Similarly, my ToC character uses telekinetic powers that slowly drain the life and vitality from him, in addition to causing severe migraines, nosebleeds, etc.

It doesn’t necessarily need to be an issue of merely writing a character possessing powers that have drawbacks. The idea is to play out a character’s abilities realistically and creating deeper, more believable and genuine personalities underneath their abilities. My partner Gesse did so nicely, taking the martial artist cliché and turning it into an authentic character. I also like Lice (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17727) for the same reason, though as a Goblin instead of a martial artist. I’m sure that there are others that I haven’t had a chance to read yet.

Aeraul Smythe

01-02-09, 01:10 PM

Am I the only Pyromancer?
That's dissapointing.Pyromantic Judo, punk. :D

Petoux

01-02-09, 07:19 PM

First ... thank you for the VERY generous comment Shadowed, I greatly appreciate that, and I can't wait to show everyone what a GUAer is capable of. I am excited to go up against everyone else actually, because in some way or another, we all have different techniques that set each other apart giving a massive array of random skills regardless of what their character is or can do.

Just because you can be a demon that is 9999999999999998 feet tall and destroy entire planets with a touch of a finger (okay TOOO MUCH of an exaggeration, but you get the point :p ) doesn't mean you will win.

Just because you are the best writer in the world, doesn't mean you are going to win.

I think everyone can be looked at as an equal challenge, and no one should be judged by "their cover." I think everyone on here will have their own unique situations that set themselves apart that say ... it's anyones' game.

Shadowed

01-02-09, 08:20 PM

I formally retract my statements about Vegna. I was trying to get a joke going, but I think he proved that it's impossible to believe he's the best GUA has to offer.

Petoux

01-02-09, 09:19 PM

I totally agree I am not the BEST to offer, but I do give a good challenge. You'll see in good time.

Why the hostility all the time towards me anyway? What do you have against me that has you hate me so much?

Arsène

01-02-09, 09:19 PM

I formally retract my statements about Vegna. I was trying to get a joke going, but I think he proved that it's impossible to believe he's the best GUA has to offer.

You were smarmy before, now you're insulting. Don't let myself or any other moderator warn you again. It'd be such a waste to see such incredible, nearly godlike talent thrown out of the tournament because of bad behavior, wouldn't it?

Atle

01-02-09, 11:18 PM

Hey, I like characters.

They say a lot about the people who write them. Whether or not a character has depth, a real personality, is entirely dependent on their writers. Without writers (or storytellers in general, really) there would be no characters for writers to write or give depth and true vitality to in their writing. Writers.

Respect your fellow authors, forgive their trespasses and let them learn from you. Respect their characters even if they appear completely absurd to you or you'll end up appearing like an absurd wise-ass.

That said, I like any character that had time, thought and creativity put into its creation. That being everyone here (hopefully), I wish you only the best of luck- and trust you'll remember that the point here isn't to be the most powerful combatant, but the most masterful weaver-of-tales (speaking from experience, respect helps).

Parentheses.

I'll see you all on the field of glory.