Creating Whedonesque Characters..

POSTED BY: ZachsMind
UPDATED: Thursday, January 15, 2004 08:04
VIEWED: 3256
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ZACHSMIND

Thursday, January 15, 2004 7:17 AM

Not as easy as it sounds, but let's face facts. There's millions of Firefly fans out there, and only nine main characters in the show. So we're gonna run out of characters for people to play pretty quick. Now, granted we can create an infinite number of threads and everyone can play Malcolm Reynolds somewhere, but if you wanna interact with people in other threads, you're eventually gonna have to create an original character that would fit into a universe based on Joss Whedon's works.

First, to create a Whedonesque character, you gotta make sure you understand his universe. Watching all the shows is a good start. Since we're in a Firefly message board, most of the RPs are probably by default going to be assumed in a universe 500 years from today, where mankind has performed a mass exodus from the desolated and ecologically ruined "Earth That Was." Spacefaring is commonplace, BlueSun is the ONLY soda / restaurant / canned goods / hair cream / et cetera, and chances are you occasionally curse in chinese.

You might be tempted to play an alien, but notice that in Firefly, there was little to no discussion of creatures from an alien world. By Firefly's time, over sixty worlds had been colonized by humans, and they had yet to encounter an alien race. This doesn't mean humanity was alone, but it meant if aliens were around they weren't in humanity's neck of the galaxy. Having aliens show up would kinda go against the grain of Joss Whedon's vision, sorta like playing in Tolkien's Middle Earth but saying there's only elves.

Here's a rough list of things to consider coming up with when creating your character. You don't have to post this any place. Just make a textfile of it for your own edification. You'll thank me later. Also feel free to add more questions and topics of interest. This is just a start. You can expand upon it to your heart's content. Different threads may require you post this information up front, or at least send it to guide players. However, in my experience it's best to keep this largely personal, and incorporate the details into the performance of your character. If your character can't swim, remember that the next time your group's ship crash lands on a mostly water planet.

Player Name: Your name. Your real name, or the nomenclature you go by online.
Character Name: Full name and shortened nick.
Character Age: Usually late teens to middle age is good, but go with whatever works fer ya.
Place of Birth: It wasn't Earth That Was, cuz nothing's lived there in a couple generations. Think up the name of a planet, or use one of the locales mentioned in the series.
Physical Description: height, weight, build, eye color, hair color, skin color, kinda clothes they wear, any remarkable scars, tattoos, body defects, etc.
Occupation: Examples include but are not limited to Doctor, Shepherd/Priest, Pilot, Mercenary, Bounty Hunter, Alliance officer, spy, Blue Sun employee, Courtesan, and so much more. Think of an occupation you know in the 21st century, and extrapolate and guess what it might be like half a millenium from now. Would there be any lawyers are are they all dead? Try to avoid just calling yourself a stowaway or an escapee on the run. You had to have been or done something at some time, even if you were just a student.
Affiliation: Did you fight during the Independent rebellion? Whose side were you on? Mal fought for the Independents. Jayne completely avoided the whole thing. Inara stood up for the Alliance. There's a whole spectrum and it'd help if you knew where your character fit in that area. Even if your character hasn't taken a side, that's still important to know.
Battle-Ready: Armed? What's the weapon of choice? Are they pacifists? What physical training have they had? Streetwise? Experience in barroom brawls?
Family: Any? Mal seems to have lost his, but Kaylee had to leave hers behind. Where's yours?
Fears: from small but irrational phobias to panic inducing horrors, what bumps make your guy quake i

HUMBLE

Thursday, January 15, 2004 8:04 AM

ZACHSMIND-Wow! You took the words right out of my mouth. VERY nice piece of work!! FYI browncoats, there are currently openings for the RP on this this web site under FIREFLY UNIVERSE. You can develop whatever new and original character you like, with respect to storyline. If you've never role played before, this is a good opportunity to get your feet wet. 'Nuff said.