She Refuses to Die...

[Sagequeen]

Or even stay dead.

When I write, my characters do what they want to do; I am a spectator. Arienne, my main's nemesis, is just such an example. She started out as a faceless NPC, then quickly became a major player, much to my surprise, in The Spinner's Web. Erissa confronted and killed her in Escape from Anebrilith. (Please see my sig for links.)

So what would you do? Make her a PC? She's got a long future, I think, not just in opposition to Erissa.

But how weird is it to make threads where you are essentially talking to yourself?!? Because for Erissa's driving side-story, the two will conflict again. At this point, I think repeatedly. But I see Arienne doing some naughty deeds when she's not fighting against Erissa...

[orphans]

Major NPCs?

Personally I don't find it strange as I feel that's what the characters are supposed to do once they develop a life of their own. You're the guiding hand and you can try to make the characters dance to your tune. Sometimes they do, and other times they run the complete opposite direction.

The way I see it... the writer is the DM and your characters are your PCs in the group. Unless you want to have chest high walls everywhere to guide them with an iron fist, they'll run around on their own, doing their own thing.

Sometimes they need it, sometimes it's more interesting to see what happens.

I'm not schizophrenic

[Sagequeen]

Lol :D

But maybe I wanna play her and be naughty.

For research purposes of course.

**Edit: Kay, so I get what you are saying. I just tend to identify with my main more (and that may be the reason she tends to lack flavor). I guess I've sorta answered my own question, but the next one I posed: is it strange to post to yourself?

[orphans]

We all play with ourselves...?

Not sure how to reply....

[SirArtemis]

People write with multiple accounts sometimes. I've seen Duffy do it. I've seen Jensen do it. I'm sure there are others as well. Sometimes you can make a separate account if you want. Other times you can just write them as NPC stories with your main account. Example: Orphans writes as Mother Holly among other characters.

[Sagequeen]

Gotcha :) TY Orphans and Artemis.

[Zook Murnig]

The Manda was posting with herself before any of you were born. And she's got plans to do a battle that way, too. Her whole storyline with Skie And Avery and Tshael is born of adoptive sisterhood between the twins' mother Natamrael and Tshael. For fuck's sake, Tshael paid an assassin to kill Natamrael in front of her children. And yet, the storylines for all of those characters diverge and converge throughout, never being completely tied down to each other.

But, I can't imagine not controlling the characters. The way I see it, you're the writer, and they don't exist without you. You make them do whatever you want, but depending on their personalities and abilities it may or may not work out the way you like. If I were to make Caduceus start cackling and killing innocent bystanders it wouldn't be well written or believable, because my heart wouldn't be in it. It's against his character, and it's not the direction I would actually like for him.

[Vigil]

My characters take on lives of their own. I write them by giving them a voice, a personality and a purpose. I've noticed when I write that things don't really turn out the way I myself expect them to at the end, almost as if the characters I'm using guide the events themselves to a certain end. I'm not trying to sound whimsical, but that's really how I'm starting to see it. Liam was supposed to be a vigilante and everything he did at the beginning was supposed to give him weight and something to atone for when I finally kill him off and have him wake up somewhere after getting shot in the head. I'm unsure if I want to do this anymore, and the more I write with him, I'm realizing that unless I gave someone as pious as he a sense of morality and direction, then the actions he must take are meaningless. The change from inquisitor to vigilante is hollow and the meaning only extends to the context of the change, not the character itself. That's not something I want.

[Sagequeen]

Yes, I agree. My characters take on lives of their own, and what is logical for them to do drives my story.

Which is why I wondered if I should just make Arienne a PC. She is proving to be very interesting.