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Favourite -type- of character?

Mindfire

Istar
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.
 

Shockley

Maester
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.
 
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
 
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
 

Kit

Maester
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.
 

Mindfire

Istar
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?
 
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.
 

Mindfire

Istar
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.
 
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.
 

Jess A

Archmage
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.
 

edd

Scribe
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.
 

Tamwen

Troubadour
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.
 

Aravelle

Sage
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.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
"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. ^^
 

Kit

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