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Have you ever made a RPG character that you wanted to write a story about?

Devora

Sage
A curious question.

Was there ever a time when (if you played) D&D where you liked the character you made and his story so much that you wanted to give him his own story from that and make your own world around it?
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Well, it wasn't D&D, but I've crafted novels around plenty of my text-RP characters. Winter's Queen and its sequel are an example, as is my latest untitled WIP.
 

ecdavis

Troubadour
I have an NPC character, my first D&D character (who dies in the first novel), and three DDO characters in my books. But I really loved RPG characters to have a lot of personality, so it was easy to do.
 

Saigonnus

Auror
Yeah, and I have done a bit using one or two of the characters; one being the cliche of the son of a king who tries to earn back his birthright. Since it is a bit cliche, I am not really pursuing it that hard. Another one will make a great villain in a short story if I ever get back to it, since we played a campaign of killers of various types. My character was a neutral evil, gray elf thief/mage assassin who had morals for a killer (he wouldn't kill unless he had a compelling reason, or could justify the murder in some way). he was highly intelligent and creative in accomplishing what he wanted. He ended up founding his own thieve's guild on an island he garnered from one of the other characters; who technically didn't even own it. :p
 
This is how I got my first real win in a writing contest*--I wrote an explanation of how one of my characters became a bard, and added in a possible reencounter with someone he hated. I didn't include any of his adventures per se, or even clearly establish him as an adventurer, but the bond between him and his mentor/student/girlfriend (it's complicated) carried the story despite a somewhat cliche setting.

*The very first time I entered a writing contest, no one else completed a story by the deadline.
 

Jabrosky

Banned
A lot of my story and art characters share certain similarities, most of them cosmetic, with characters I created for computer RPGs. I guess I like to write and draw the sort of characters I like to play as.
 

saellys

Inkling
The Stone Front is based on an RPG campaign my co-authors and I played (and will continue playing after we write the first volume). I've written stories about most of my RPG characters in various settings/genres/systems, but this is the first time I've felt like they could carry a novel.
 

A. E. Lowan

Forum Mom
Leadership
Oh, heavens yes! My entire high fantasy series is based on an RPG we played in High School. Most of our social group had characters, and we rp'd all day.

Yes, we went to an arts school. We were ALL geeks.

Playing WoW, I took it to another level and started making machinima using my characters, which are video stories shot in-game. I tend to set mine to popular music. I haven't made any in a few years, but they were my big creative thing for a while there.
 

Jeff Xilon

Minstrel
Yep. The fantasy serial I'm writing (and putting out chapters of 2-4 times a month) grew from an idea I had for a D&D character whose purely for flavour background was that he had been "polymorphed" from a baby bird into a baby human and then raised human. I thought the various polymorph spells in D&D loaned themselves to all kinds of fascinating story ideas. This eventually grew into my fantasy world idea where an Empire is based on the bedrock of a slave class that was entirely made up of animals transformed into humans and raised to be slaves from day one. A version of that original character will make his way into the stories I'm writing. Like many others have said too I think that a lot of the characters (or at least pieces of them) I've created over the years will show their heads now and then in what I write.
 

A. E. Lowan

Forum Mom
Leadership
Yep. The fantasy serial I'm writing (and putting out chapters of 2-4 times a month) grew from an idea I had for a D&D character whose purely for flavour background was that he had been "polymorphed" from a baby bird into a baby human and then raised human. I thought the various polymorph spells in D&D loaned themselves to all kinds of fascinating story ideas. This eventually grew into my fantasy world idea where an Empire is based on the bedrock of a slave class that was entirely made up of animals transformed into humans and raised to be slaves from day one. A version of that original character will make his way into the stories I'm writing. Like many others have said too I think that a lot of the characters (or at least pieces of them) I've created over the years will show their heads now and then in what I write.

Now that sounds very interesting. Would these people have animal or human natures?
 

Jeff Xilon

Minstrel
Now that sounds very interesting. Would these people have animal or human natures?

For the people in the world that is sort of the big question. They act and think as any human does, but are branded on the forehead to be easily distinguished and are referred to as the Soulless. It is believed by most "normal" humans that they are the equivalent of any other domesticated animal and have simply been given bodies and minds like humans to make them capable of tasks other animals would not be. For this reason animals are often chosen for the transformation based on the tasks the Soulless will be given. Bodyguards and Soldiers are often crafted from dogs, for example. I've set the stories at a time when some humans and soulless are starting to question the traditional doctrines.

I wouldn't want to hijack the thread anymore though for my own self-promotion, so I'll point out that I've written a bit more about the serial on Mythic Threads here: http://mythicscribes.com/forums/self-promotion/8052-empire-animal-my-ongoing-fantasy-serial.html and would be happy to answer any further questions in that thread. You can also find links to the serial in the first post of that thread. Chapter 11 (aka part 3 of the fourth Empire and Animal story) should be ready soon.
 
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Rinzei

Troubadour
Yes, but not quite. I had an text-RPG character that I made for one purpose - God Moding. It sounds terrible when I break it down to the basics, but I was finding in RP sessions with my friend that her characters were all...perfect. Powerful, cool, deep(, unreasonably lucky in everything). And I was getting tired of being the little flawed weakling in the corner. Sure, it made my characters more realistic, but it made their lives difficult and was a major shot to even my self-esteem when everything just "worked" for her characters while I kept mine bound by the laws of physics and probability. So I introduced a villain that would drive my friend's characters crazy, in the same way their perfect characters had driven ME crazy.

So, she started from petty, spiterful beginnings. Over time, and introducing her to other RP sessions with different friends, she started to develop more of a personality and extended behind her original intent. So when my roleplaying began to wane, I felt a deep connection to the character and wanted to put her in a story. I just couldn't think of what to do with her.

It wasn't until I started redrafting one of my older stories that I realised that the faceless baddie in the background...it was HER. She fell into the puzzle just so perfectly, it's uncanny. And so, she lives again, finally taking her place in a story and given a higher purpose than combating Mary Sue RPG characters.
 

KRHolbrook

Scribe
Never played D&D, but have known others to play it. In fact, this week there's going to be a game night at my friend's house and they're all going to be playing D&D that night. Perhaps I'll see a character that intrigues me enough to want to write a story on.

I have roleplayed different characters on RPG forums and a couple of them have stuck in my head. I started a novel on a few of them, but it never got anywhere. I'm sure I'll find a place for them someday though.
 

Carith

Acolyte
Never have played D&D, sadly, mostly because it's hard to find a group where I live at, even when younger. The only problem with living in a small town, I suppose, ha.

But, I've created countless characters on an RPG Forums and several characters have stuck with me through the years. Some of them have elaborate back stories and others, not so much, but I'm currently working on something to bring all of them together. Maybe not all at once, but over the course of the story.
 
C

Chessie

Guest
I have a favorite Skyrim character that gave me the idea for a main character in my WIP. So yeah, why not take inspiration from those characters we create to roleplay? They are still very much ours and can always be tweaked for greater benefits. I think roleplays are a great source of inspiration.
 

Legendary Sidekick

The HAM'ster
Moderator
Guilty! I guess you could say I created the character, then played her in an RPG, THEN wanted to write her story... but still, it was the RPG that made this character exciting to me and gave her personality. Otherwise, she was a nameless drawing and not a woman whose personality is much more interesting (and feminine) than her appearance.
 
Hi,

Not so much. I've tried but it simply hasn't worked out. The main reason is that my preferred characters for an RPG, mainly Neverwinter, Temple of Elemental Evil and Balders Gate, are paladins. But every time I've tried to write story based on a paladin type character its gone sideways. The problem is the lack of character because they're aligned as lawfully good. Howver I have got one that's half way done. The only magic caster I play is a druid, and they seem a better choice for writing, but thus far it hasn't worked out. Strangely the types I don't play, fighters and various wizards because they seem to have serious weaknesses in the game, make better characters to write. Maybe its because those same weaknesses make them more believable characters.

Cheers, Greg.
 
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