[Dominic]

Anyhoo, I have a second reason for making a post...


TIPS FOR SURVIVING IN THIS FORUM WITHOUT HARSH CRITICISM:

First off: Read the first post in this thread, understand it, and abide by it. The RPG forum is for roleplaying.


Right, I'll move on to help those actually get it...


PLAYERS:

Characters:

READ THE SIGN-UP THOROUGHLY.

Make absolutely sure your character abides by the rules set out by the DM during sign-ups. If they say 'No NE chars' then DON'T submit a Night Elf Druid.

Don't always use the same character every time. Admitedly, there are some long-timers here who consistantly use the same character (*cough* Johono *cough*) but those characters are modified somewhat every time.
You shouldn't just make one character, save everything you've written about him/her/it, and then just copy and paste him/her/it into every RPG you apply for.

If you absolutely MUST use a character you've made before, make sure he/she abides by the rules the DM sets out. If each character starts out at level 1, your Super ArchMage will NOT work. Similarly, make sure you actually adjust the character to fit the system of play employed by the DM.

Try to avoid needless complication. Why make a Half-High, Half-Night Elf character? Why? Just because? Unless you can give a helluva good reason, such things generally don't work out. Similarly, why make characters so completely unorthodox (or stupid) that they cannot possibly fit into the world established by the DM? An orc that pops zits as a weapon, for example?

Must you create your own species? Do the ones already established (or implied) by the DM not cut it? Making up new ones tends to be quite difficult to do well, as I'm sure many would attest to. You have to do a LOT of good writing or risk being one-dimensional and forgetable. Try just pushing the envelope, instead of breaking entirely from it. Try, say, a Kobold or Gnoll character, instead of a Kasredf'lhhgs character. Don't ask me what a Kasredf'lhhgs is, because I honestly don't know.

If you absolutely must play an original species, it helps to stick to what I call 'TLTAOH':

TWO LEGS, TWO ARMS, ONE HEAD.

Also, try and fit the character into the established setting. Would a Martian (as in, somebody from Mars) fit into a WarCraft game? Likely not.

If you MUST play a gelatinous cube that slithers about and dissolves stuff, then at least try and make him/her/it able to communicate and interact with his/her/its fellow party-members. If it has to swallow something just to say 'I'm going to the bathroom, be back in a sec,' then there's a problem. Darkest likely knows what I'm talking about.

Most DMs ask for the history or backstory of your character. Please, please, please, for the lovaPete, do not start off with 'Little is known about this character.' That is just so cliche! So Already-Been-Done-Too-Many-Times-Over. Being an 'enigma' isn't cool, it's lazy! We don't care what OTHER people know about the character. We care about what the character knows about him/her/itself. Amnesiatic characters don't usually work out, either.

Don't just put something into your character (a trait, special ability, habit, etc.) just because it's 'cool'. Characters that take directly from other things that are cool at the time tend to be one-dimensional unless the creator is REALLY good with his/her writing. It usually just shows that you've created this character on a whim and don't particularly care for it, which leads to the question 'If he/she doesn't care for the character, how can they care for the game?'




Dungeon Masters:

Just one at the moment (it IS 1:20 in the bloody morning, here...)

Try not to start out the whole thing with the stereotypical 'You're all in a tavern. Some guy comes in and needs help / announces something / attacks. Try to vary it, somehow.