# Favourite -type- of character?



## Jess A

Favourite type of character?

Feisty female lead, dark, brooding guy with a terrible past - seeking redemption, alien personality learning about the world, dashing hero, boy/girl-becomes-dashing-hero-through-story, evil female leader, amusing sidekick?

Give examples from books 

I like a lot of different character types, but I quite like strong female leads with a bit of humour thrown in. Blaze Halfbreed from Glenda Larke's _Isle of Glory_ novels is one example. I don't like it when characters are too 'perfect'. For example, Ayla from Jean Auel's books. She was great in the first two, then she became too annoyingly 'perfect'.


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## JCFarnham

I tend to write female leads, not imperfect, but not perfect either, average I guess you could say, who becoming something greater by the end. As a bit of a back formation I guess you could say I like to read this kind of protagonist. (An example? Scott Westerfeld's lead females, Tally and Deryn, from Uglies and Leviathan, etc. respectively)

That being said, one of my most favourite characters is Harry Dresden (more so in the first couple of books when he didn't seem to be so woe is me, all "I know I'm going to get hurt doing this but...")

I think what it comes down to is a character who acts, rather than reacts. They don't necessarily have to have a massive flaw, as quite a few of that kind of protag end up whining about it in my experience, but equally if they wallow in how imperfect they are while being more or less perfect in everyway, hmmm!

Relatable is the word.


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## gerald.parson

For me, it depends on how they are written. Because I have liked characters I normally wouldn't and hated characters I would normally like. It is hard to say if I have an exact character model I like cause it has a lot to do with execution. For me.


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## Kreigsbane

I have a tendency to favor the big, brutish, long haired, bear like man who doesn't say much and his presence speaks for him. Or like the cold-blooded killer such as Brunner from _Brunner the Bounty Hunter_.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Dashing, sarcastic rogues.


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## San Cidolfus

Unapologetic jerks with no moral sense, a savage sense of humor, and no chance of or desire for redemption.

I can relate to that.  *sighs nostalgically*


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## Jess A

San Cidolfus said:


> Unapologetic jerks with no moral sense, a savage sense of humor, and no chance of or desire for redemption.
> 
> I can relate to that.  *sighs nostalgically*



-chuckle- I am sure that you're a very charming personality.


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## Arcturus

Villains.  They usually have free reign to do whatever they want without those pesky morals getting in the way, they have the snarkiest lines and are quite fashionable.  Heroes are _generally_ boring, flat and...ugh.  Sometimes it gets to the point where the side characters are much more interesting.  Ultimately the villains are the ones who create the plot and portray a more authentic view of human experience, if written well.

Plus, the villains get all the good songs in Disney films.


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## Jess A

Arcturus said:


> Heroes are _generally_ boring, flat and...ugh.  Sometimes it gets to the point where the side characters are much more interesting.



Unless the hero is rather questionable in his or her morals, without being unrealistic. Those are always fun.


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## Kelise

Characters like Locke Lamora. Basically normal and unremarkable, but intelligent (and lucky) enough to get by, without being an amazing warrior or has a photographic mind or something. 

Villains who have reason to do what they do, and prove that 'goodies' or 'heroes' aren't always how everyone perceives them. 

Girls who manage to act normal - not weak, and not strong - in a way that doesn't get feminists raging at the author and so on. Generally the one who doesn't sleep with the MC/hero, and is generally the medic/historian/scribe of the group.


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## Jess A

starconstant said:


> *Girls who manage to act normal - not weak, and not strong - in a way that doesn't get feminists raging at the author and so on*. Generally the one who doesn't sleep with the MC/hero, and is generally the medic/historian/scribe of the group.



Yes there was a discussion on this either here or on NaNo. It was extremely interesting, although 'strength' of character can be shown in many different ways and is hence debatable. That in itself is a topic, I think.


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## Arcturus

Little Storm Cloud said:


> Unless the hero is rather questionable in his or her morals, without being unrealistic. Those are always fun.



But that person would be more of an anti-hero or an anti-villain.  Classical heroes usually need something external to be interesting.  Very rarely will I see the traditional hero as a wonderful character by his/her own means.

For example, Link from the Legend of Zelda.
Despite his millions of reincarnations, he's extremely boring compared to the other characters in the series.


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## Jess A

Arcturus said:


> But that person would be more of an anti-hero or an anti-villain.  Classical heroes usually need something external to be interesting.  Very rarely will I see the traditional hero as a wonderful character by his/her own means.
> 
> For example, Link from the Legend of Zelda.
> Despite his millions of reincarnations, he's extremely boring compared to the other characters in the series.



That he is.

But the games are still entertaining. They certainly lose their charm further along, sadly. But I digress...


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Arcturus said:


> Villains.  They usually have free reign to do whatever they want without those pesky morals getting in the way, they have the snarkiest lines and are quite fashionable.  Heroes are _generally_ boring, flat and...ugh.  Sometimes it gets to the point where the side characters are much more interesting.  Ultimately the villains are the ones who create the plot and portray a more authentic view of human experience, if written well.
> 
> Plus, the villains get all the good songs in Disney films.



Aw, c'mon! "One Step"? Best ever!


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## Ravana

A well-written, complex, intelligent antihero. 

Example? Karl Edward Wagner's Kane. To quote myself, from another thread in this section:


> …the title character is the Kane–with only very minor accommodations for a fantasy world: the "god" who cursed him is only referred to in passing. The curse? Immortality. He's been around as long as humanity has, is as jaded as a human can get, has a moral compass that more closely resembles the Antikythera mechanism than anything anyone else uses for guidance (complete with tarnish and missing parts)… and is still a compelling, heroic figure; the best "antihero" I've ever seen. Especially when you know that, due to his immortality, he will eventually "lose," no matter what it is he sets himself to or how successfully he does it–time, if nothing else, will undo whatever he's wrought. Yet he keeps going.



Second choice: a well-written, complex, intelligent anything else.

Bottom of the heap: whiners = fail. _Especially_ if they're well-written. Doubly so if they're intelligent, as they ought to know better. (Can't think of any complex whiners off-hand… the profession seems to call for a certain lack of depth.)


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## Ravana

Arcturus said:


> Villains.  They usually have free reign to do whatever they want without those pesky morals getting in the way, they have the snarkiest lines and are quite fashionable.  Heroes are _generally_ boring, flat and...ugh.  Sometimes it gets to the point where the side characters are much more interesting.



Yep. The _Batman_ franchise would have folded ages ago if it had to rely on its lead for entertainment value. Even the supporting good guys are more interesting.


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## Jess A

Ravana said:


> Bottom of the heap: whiners = fail. _Especially_ if they're well-written. Doubly so if they're intelligent, as they ought to know better. (Can't think of any complex whiners off-hand… the profession seems to call for a certain lack of depth.)



A sob story and a pity party, in other words?


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## Rose

The heoric male character type I like is someone courageous, compassionate, good moral, thoughful, reliable, passionate, responsible, a warrior, and a problem-solver. A lover in sheets, a little romantic, but, rough with the boys. Lol.


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## Queen Medb

For female characters I like them witty, funny and resourceful...."strong" but not necessarily great warriors or anything. If they do fight I like for them to be combat pragmatists, otherwise it just seems a bit unrealistic.  I dislike female characters who are overly concerned with the unfortunate people of the world, because it's way overplayed. I will seriously put a book down if I see that crap.

As far as male characters go I always appreciate a Byronic hero, cliche as it is. I like them a bit tragic and misunderstood. I think "well intentioned extremists" make for interesting male heroes too.


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## DavidJae

Usually female characters with an edge or strength to their personalities, who are stronger than they appear. Some of my favourites are Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII, Mara Brennan from Green Riders, Scout from Republic Commando and Katsa from Graceling.


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## Mindfire

Ravana said:


> Yep. The _Batman_ franchise would have folded ages ago if it had to rely on its lead for entertainment value. Even the supporting good guys are more interesting.



OBJECTION! Batman is awesome. To say otherwise is heresy. :bat: Incidentally, Batman is the kind of character I like best. The kind who's going to do the right thing and save the day- whatever it takes, rules be damned. But still has a firm moral compass.


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## Steerpike

DavidJae said:


> Katsa from Graceling.



Great book. Don't forget FIRE


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## Shockley

When I was younger I loved the loners, the guys who got the work done but didn't demand credit and were never the leader. I think I was back into Wolverine when I was six or seven, and everything I liked bled from that. Even my favorite fantasy characters still follow that basic formula.

 Then in my later teens I went through a second phase: Intelligent bruisers who don't lead. Even better if they have a complex, intelligent sense of morality and just throw it out the window - especially coupled with fatalism. This was the period where I got into Bernard Cornwell, and I think the main character of the Saxon Chronicles Uhtred Uhtredson/Ragnarson, really exemplifies this. 

 Without spoiling with names, etc., there was a scene that really exemplified his character: He describes coming into the battle and encountering an enemy general (an enemy who he was recently allied with, and is still somewhat friendly towards). The enemy general attacks him and nearly kills Uhtred. The narration (in first person) starts talking about fate (and if I remember correctly, the desire to have drunken intercourse with his wife, though that might be the next book) and things like that. Uhtred resigns himself to death, then the enemy slips on someone else's intestines and Uhtred chops him up. Someone else takes credit for the kill, and he spends a good portion of the book (and the next one) trying to get recognition for the deed.

 Scenes/events like that, especially when the character spends a good portion of the series hacking and slashing his way through problem after problem really endear me to a character.

 As of late, though, I've been drawn to the high intellectual types who use their brains to outwit their enemies. Salvor Hardin from Foundation being the best example.


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## Elder the Dwarf

This is a tough one.  There are so many characters I love, and they are so diverse, that it is really hard to give a definite answer.  Here are a few:

The intelligent, morally firm, philosophically minded warrior; even better if he is a finesse fighter.  Ex: Drizz't, Ham from _Mistborn_, Tenaka Khan from _King Beyond the Gate_.

The morally ambiguous mercenary/assassin/killer: Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle from _Streams of Silver_, Legacy of the Drow, and the Sellswords series, Waylander from _Waylander _

The guy who everyone thinks is a crazy, bloodthirsty animal: Helikaon from The Trojan War series (by David Gemmel.  Read these books!), Logen Ninefingers from The First Law series

Funny character who gets everyone in to trouble: Tas from Dragonlance, Pippin from Lord of the Rings

Generally nice guy: Collem West from The First Law series (ok, most of the time), Odysseus/Hector from The Trojan War, Dox from Mistborn, Caramon from Dragonlance


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## Androxine Vortex

I don't have a specific favorite because I can like almost any character if they are well-written. I'll tell you about my favorite fantasy character though:

Malus Darkblade. A dark elf who just doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself. He is a villain but not one of those types who seek to destroy the world. No, this one has much smaller goals in mind like becoming the ruler of his city, Hag Graef. The entire dark elf society and culture is very violent and corrupted. They worship a God of Murder for Pete's sake! malus doesn't trust anyone and has even betrayed his own kin and killed his father with his own hands to get what he wants. I just love his extremely selfish and brooding personality. He is always complaining and always going "behind the scenes" and making all sort of trouble.

I can't say i like the "goody-twoshoes" characters. It's fine if your character is good but I can't stand it when they are just over the top and don't do anything bad. Sometimes I'll have to check the front cover of the book because I think I'm reading about someone from the Bible lol I like it when there are good characters but have flaws or have to make choices that have bad outcomes. I like characters that seem more human and have a more realistic personality. I can't remember the name of the story but this guy found out that this villain just killed his family and he had the chance to kill him and he said, "I forgive you. You may go." I was like really? Yeah that's great and the author was trying to show the good is best but the villain was also like a high ranking general of the "evil" army so it's like "Ok you let him run away. You really expect him to not do anything?"

Sorry for the rant. What was the topic of this thread again? Oh yes, I remember now! Well like I said it all comes down to how well the author portrays the character, as long as their personality is somewhat reasonable


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## Kit

Shockley said:


> When I was younger I loved the loners, the guys who got the work done but didn't demand credit and were never the leader.



I have a weakness for supporting characters who are never noticed or appreciated, yet are competant, reliable rocks without whom the entire world would unravel. Like the bass drum player in the marching band.


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## Mindfire

Androxine Vortex said:


> I can't say i like the *"goody-twoshoes" characters*. It's fine if your character is good but I can't stand it when they are just over the top and don't do anything bad. Sometimes I'll have to check the front cover of the book because *I think I'm reading about someone from the Bible* lol I like it when there are good characters but have flaws or have to make choices that have bad outcomes.



Goody two-shoes = bible characters? ...Have you actually _read _the Bible?


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## Androxine Vortex

Mindfire said:


> Goody two-shoes = bible characters? ...Have you actually _read _the Bible?



Maybe I worded that poorly, I am a little sleep deprived by being very sick. I was comparing the really "good" characters to like Jesus or something in the sense that they don't do anything at all wrong.


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## Mindfire

Androxine Vortex said:


> Maybe I worded that poorly, I am a little sleep deprived by being very sick. I was comparing the really "good" characters to like Jesus or something in the sense that they don't do anything at all wrong.



Yeah, well trying to avoid creating a tangent here, but it's important to note that Jesus is the ONLY person in the Bible who didn't do anything at all wrong. Even the "righteous heroes" made disastrous mistakes. To loop this back around to the topic, I'd like to say I'm also fond of characters who actually want to do the right thing, but their humanity gets in the way. That's kind of how most people are.


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## Androxine Vortex

Mindfire said:


> Yeah, well trying to avoid creating a tangent here, but it's important to note that Jesus is the ONLY person in the Bible who didn't do anything at all wrong. Even the "righteous heroes" made disastrous mistakes. To loop this back around to the topic, I'd like to say I'm also fond of characters who actually want to do the right thing, but their humanity gets in the way. That's kind of how most people are.



Right. That's what i meant by the comparison. Sorry for the confusion.


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## Anders Ã„mting

Depends. Are we talking about our favorite characters to read about or our favorite characters to write about?



Arcturus said:


> Plus, the villains get all the good songs in Disney films.








Hell. Yes.


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## Christopher Wright

My favorite character is the wiseass. It's the character I'm most comfortable writing. I have no idea why that is.

... none at all...

...


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## Jess A

Christopher Wright said:


> My favorite character is the wiseass. It's the character I'm most comfortable writing. I have no idea why that is.
> 
> ... none at all...
> 
> ...



Have you read Nelson DeMille? His character John Corey is a smartarse. Love him. Some of the things that come out of that man's mouth. He's ex-NYPD drawn into the counter-terrorism game.


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## edd

i like the accidental hero types the best, doing things that seem unpredictable but seems to pull it off with a little style to boot.


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## Tamwen

Right now, I've become a bit irritated with the 'dark, brooding, cool guy' type of character. I prefer a male character who's open and cheerful, a bit of a dork.

But I do love a good batch of sarcasm.


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## Aravelle

Hell. Yes.[/QUOTE]

Um, excuse me but I believe THIS, is the best villian song.

[video=youtube;cmn9iH6bHJc] the hunchback of notre dame - hellfire HD - YouTube [/video]


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## Aravelle

As for what I like... when it comes to men, I love byronic heroes. They just... know how to angst right. And more often than not, they're self made men.

And with my women... I love someone who can be feminine, a dreamer, seem gentle... but can do what's right, sometimes even kick butt in the end.


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## Ireth

"Hellfire" is definitely the best villain song out there... though the reprises of "Friends on the Other Side" and "Mother Knows Best" are pretty cool too. ^^


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## Kit

How can anyone think the best villain song is anything *but* _Poor Unfortunate Souls_???


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## Ireth

Oooh, I'd forgotten all about that one! Shame on me! XD


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## Aravelle

Kit said:


> How can anyone think the best villain song is anything *but* _Poor Unfortunate Souls_???



That one's second best. It's excellent.. but...Hellfire... And tghis is coming from a self-proclaimed Little Mermaid Whore. >_>


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## Jabrosky

One character archetype I really enjoy is the hero who looks monstrous, threatening, or otherwise more like a stereotypical bad guy, but is actually a good guy. I'm thinking Dirge the heroic zombie from James Farr's old _Xombie_ web series. Conversely, I also like it when the more stereotypically heroic-looking characters are the actual bad guys, like Gaston from _Beauty and the Beast_.


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## Xenodeus Blade

For some reason, I always liked the messiah archetype, the person who is destined to be the most powerful wizard/swordsman/Jedi/whatever in history and destroy an ancient evil. But I also like it when they show how being the messiah isn't as good as it sounds and how much pressure one has to got through.


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## glutton

I have a thing for female warriors who are so truly monstrous in might and reputation that the best male warriors of their setting yearn to challenge them to prove their strength.


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## Tumbleweed

'Grey' characters. 
Also 'mysterious stranger' kind of characters.

Examples of those I've liked - Dirk in Jennifer Fallon's 'Second Sons' trilogy. Bran in Juliet Mariller's Son of the Shadows. Kelsier in the Mistborn trilogy.


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## ookami

Egotistical male characters that have a humorous side. E.g. kelsier from mistborn and er'ril from the banned and the banished series


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## ecdavis

Elric of  MelnibonÃ©,  the Albino with Stormbringer was one of my favorites.   Morgaine trying to close all the gates with faithful Vanye assisting her was also wonderful, especially because you could see their relationship slowly change over the course of the books.   Elric of course was more of an Antihero, but certainly moody and brooding.   Morgaine was mission focused and often cold, but sometimes she'd show a bit of warmth.   

In my own stories, I've found most of my characters are females who are very unsure of themselves, but determined, whereas the males are somber and somewhat haunted, but noble.   Perhaps I've read too much of the Arthurian legends.


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## Jess A

ecdavis said:


> In my own stories, I've found most of my characters are females who are very unsure of themselves, but determined, whereas the males are somber and somewhat haunted, but noble.   Perhaps I've read too much of the Arthurian legends.



Hmm yes I do wonder if writers commonly write about character types they read about in other books. I'm certain I do. If I like to read about them, I'll probably write those character types myself.

Looking at my cast...I've got a clumsy witch who is also determined. Her mother is a gypsy/witch with a sharp tongue and no-nonsense attitude. I've got a warrior who is sort of a reformed enemy, and a petulant, spoiled merchant who also reforms in a way. His father was a Duke who turned on his people. I've got a soft spot for witches and characters who change their ways through the books.

Now, just to figure out how to make the selfish merchant likeable, since he's supposed to become a leader.


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## teacup

Confident villains who know exactly what they're doing and arrogant, cocky protagonists.


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## JRFLynn

Tortured souls, those are the types I gravitate towards most...characters that have to overcome their own demons in order to find themselves. Of course, by then some other tragedy strikes so they never seem to catch a break. I do like the cool, confident, cut  'em up characters too (like Guts from Berserk). 

Have to admit though, villains do have that certain zest that gives me the tickles  Writing them is so much fun!


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## knight1298

best way i can say is Badass warriors


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## Legendary Sidekick

glutton said:


> I have a thing for female warriors who are so truly monstrous in might and reputation that the best male warriors of their setting yearn to challenge them to prove their strength.


Brienne from _A Song of ice and Fire _fits this description, as well as my favorite type…

I like a character who strives to do the right thing, even when it's extremely difficult. Book 6 will tell me whether Brienne is still that character, but one thing I like about her in particular is that she's NOT a badass, as seen by the way she reacts to her first time killing a man. She's physically strong, even compared to most male warriors, but she's also morally stronger than… well, just about everyone in the GRRM universe.

That's my type: physically strong, with the physical build being sort of a metaphor to other types of strength that are on a mental/spiritual level.

I like stories that have gray characters, but my favorite is the one who exists in a gray world and rises above it, even if the hero loses his life as a result. Rorschach is an example of one such hero who dies sticking to his principles. He's a badass and arguably a dark, gray anti-hero… but I say he's got a shinier halo than the rest of the Watchmen combined.



EDIT - Some visual aids:







by Kyla79






by thecreatorhd


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