I dunno, stuff I like. Maybe a song I have had stuck in my head, a turn of phrase I heard and like, a documentary I watched. If I’m really stuck I tend to just give it rest. It’s a hobby not a job and if I’m not into it then it doesn’t help to force it.
Yeah, too many to count and list. I tend to keep it to pulpy fantasy for wow RP, wow is a pulpy fantasy setting and I like to keep on theme. I second stealing Joe Abercrombie’s turns of phrase though.
I am particularly fond of the BG2 Jan Jansen motif where he has either seen whatever you’ve encountered before somehow or has a cousin relative who is somehow relevant to it - stole that.
For RP - it’s ok to steal. We’re not publishing novels, we’re not selling anything, we’re not writing peer reviewed papers, we’re pretending to be elves on the internet.
Can be previous written works of my own or role-playing partners. In general I’m quite impressionable when it comes down playlists, audiobooks, cinematics and written works. Leave me alone with one or more of the above, and chances are I’ll be jazzed up and inspired afterwards.
Depends on what I’m writing. Reading about a setting’s lore, real life history, ritual magic, cultures and song lyrics have all helped for some thing or another. The blockage comes in want of detail and is loosensed by elaboration.
Obviously esoteric occultism, secret societies and tomb raider with this one. Conceptually, I like playing users of magic(s) in places and contexts where they’re not quite accepted.
She’s plundered troll tombs looking for useful tablets detailing interesting new curses. Also engaging in [REDACTED] to get her way and avoid trouble with authorities as one does when one’s interests aren’t strictly legal.
When writing a character, look at who they are and what they do. Everything has a cause and creates further motivating factors. For good or ill. Running out of story isn’t a bad thing but at that point the real question is whether further ideas are better served in a new character.
Where do you find your inspiration when you hit a writer’s block?
Generally, it’s just consuming content from other creatives that helps me, especially when I’m in lousy burnout ruts. I’ll read a book, play a game, listen to music, watch a new movie, go to the museum and stare at some paintings, etc. that really helps to inspire me. I also enjoy going onto AA and reading new stories and old stories where I admire those RPers writing skills or characters and that helps to motivate me. A good example is whenever I feel I need some inspo, I’ll start a new Disco Elysium playthrough and there’s some revelatory thing in there that can help me get back into that writing itch.
Are there themes, concepts, characters, or ideas from other media that inspired your RP?
Saoirse herself, at least, was inspired by a webcomic at the time I was reading and some pondering on the way femininity gets a weird wrap at times, especially in fantasy novels with female characters. I challenged myself to write a good-hearted, overtly feminine character that had quite a lot of ‘stereotypical’ feminine traits, and to make those her strengths and empowering qualities than playing into the common pitfall of a woman’s worth being equivalent to how ‘brave’ or ‘powerful’ she can be by engaging in traditionally masculine qualities. A certain Draenor veteran you know as well (), for another example, was inspired by a movie I watched about a war veteran trying to find her place in society after a traumatic brain injury.
Have you incorporated any of those ideas into your own RP?
Of course, we are in a creative hobby! It’s a hobby about sharing and bouncing off of one another. All my ideas get woven into my RP in some way or another, whether it’s characters or campaigns or NPCs.
(Bonus) Do you have any recommendations for others?
Kill the part of you that cringes! The people who care the least about what others think about their ideas and choose to engage fully with that inner creative to do what truly excites and interests them will always have more fun than the one who hyper obsesses and compulsively compares what they’re doing to others. (And despite how it may feel at times, this hobby is about having fun.)
I wrote more pages to my fantasy novel yesterday after proper steaming than I had the last 30 days.
Yes, yes, and yes. I get inspired by the way other RP, their characters, other media that I consume and/or real life elements. Music also helps me search for themes and ideas for the thing I am currently writing.
My current main Atahalni for example was inspired by Matowa back in the day, but also has many sources of inspiration, ranging from Agent Smith to Gul’dan. Ans I continue to be inspired by things and incorporating them into the rp with him.
Read fantasy novels, fanfic, watch videos etc, whatever makes you inspired. And go to Sauna.
I consider it more acting then writing so even if I am in a state or mood where I struggle to engage with conversation or what’s going on, usually exposing myself to the RP anyway in spite of it gets me back in the flow of things.
Sylvare as a concept is old, I have more characters in media that didn’t exist when I created sylvare where I recognize some of his traits in then I have characters that served as an initial inspiration for Sylvare. Not too strange if you consider Sylvare has existed for over half of my own lifespan. I still look at media and sometimes recognize traits I want to adopt and that’s how I usually make sure there’s always something to grow towards. This is a bit of a process, I often test the waters in my own head with new concepts to see where they’d fit or clash with my characters existing beliefs and values.
Yes I have.
If you want your character to change, don’t go by the new day new me method of just changing your character overnight, try to put your character in situations or try to extract from situations your character is in a justification to commit to changes to their personality or otherwise to your character, this can feel more organic.
“Thus while Sauron multiplied [illegible word] evil, he left ‘good’ clearly distinguishable from it. Gandalf would have made good detestable and seem evil.”
That would be scarier, right? I play several overtly black-hearted villains as well, but the idea of an ostensibly good-natured character using all his grandfatherly warmth and charm for his own Machiavellian ends has the potential to be a lot more frightening to me. A few people caught on to that theme, I think, and recommended I should read the First Law series, which explores something similar, suffice to say it’s been a big inspiration since!
Khadgar’s temptation in his Legion Harbingers video is one I keep coming back to as well for inspiration, hits on the same themes of self-righteousness, power corrupting vs good intentions, etc.
Depends whether this is in regards to the motivation of logging in and look for roleplay as someone who doesn’t roleplay in a guild environment, or whether it’s about writing stories for my roleplay characters.
For the first, I’ve a big library of unwritten, untold stories in my head that I’d still like to explore in the right circumstances.
For the second, reading books often helps - yet I’ve done it shamefully little the past few years. I don’t suffer as much from a writer’s block as I suffer from my attention splintered in a thousand different directions daily. In today’s digital world that feels increasingly fake (particularly after AI becoming mainstream) and chronically online, I’m increasingly nostalgic of the times when I had the focus to write more stories and read more books. Some might assume I’m a very productive person with all the art and events I post, but truth be told, I waste so much time procrastinating through browsing. Part of the reason why I recently deleted most social media apps from my phone - let’s try reclaim that sweet sweet focus.
I think Tolkien had its impact in trying to portray my elves with a bit otherwordly and timeless vibe to them. As far as the depictions of my characters go, I think I generally draw more inspiration from Ghibli style stories and how the heroes and villains are portrayed in those stories, rather than Marvel-esque superhero films.
Yes - the reason why Acrona has always looked sadge is because she was created around the time when I was a huge fan of the Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust movie. Something about that film’s seriously melancholic, beautiful, timeless art style, music and haunting storytelling, resonated with me so much I’ve never let the vibe fade away with my somber sorceress. Recently I’ve started embracing said film’s style more in my own visual art too, as sometimes embracing things you used to love when you were younger can trigger a newfound passion and energy for hobbies
Leave your phone on the highest shelf sometimes, allow yourself some time with just your own thoughts, read at least a couple books per year to expand your mind’s horizon, and reflect on your own life experiences; perhaps there’s something interesting there that can add more depth to your roleplay and stories. I quite like books tackling psychology matters for the same reason; the more we understand ourselves and other people, the more diverse characters we can portray in a way they feel like real, unique people.
THIS is the single most crucial thing to get right whenever there is a character I’m trying to flesh out. I must know the melody with which the character speaks - Tara, for instance, will always make a question by presuming she knows the answer already ( “Ain’t this the right way to go?” ), and has goblin-esque shortenings like “y’all” in her speech. She says “Aye” instead of “Yes”, because she’s used to being around trolls who say “Ai”, etc, etc.
For me to figure out who a character is, I will obviously have a story in place and a mog I’m excited about - but if the character has no voice, then… that’s a character without a soul, basically. And that’ll spell doom for their future!
Often from taking an extensive break to refresh and recharge. I’ve found that it’s nigh-impossible to forcefully break through writer’s block so I try to let it pass naturally instead. However, when I’m on the uptick afterwards my inspiration usually comes from either WoW lore itself (predominantly WC2, WC3 and Vanilla-Era stories and thematics) or adjacent/inspired sources.
I suppose I am permitted to yap for this moment.
Consciously or otherwise I do seem to find myself repeatedly drawn to certain particular thematics throughout my characters and stories. Religiosity, spirituality, communalism, naturalism, functionalism. More specifically Catholic themes such as grace and theism. Merondills intended to embody such themes by presenting a very literal and physical representation of grace through redemption, though his view is closer to Quaker Catholicism in that he believes all beings and all life hold within them a fragment of the Light’s infinite grace.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that I take a lot of inspiration from character’s directly. Having said that Uther, Turalyon and Alonsus have certainly been inspirations for Merondill’s theological outlook. Some of the Jedi’s introspective philosophy oozes itself in there as well at times.
As much as people bemoan it you kind of have to incorporate Christianity into Priest and Paladin RP. We have precious little to go on if you want to get into the nitty gritty of theology. We don’t even have prayers or holy days.
Read voraciously where and when you can. I don’t do it nearly enough anymore.
Just go there and do it, do not wait for “perfect moment” or “suitable character” to RP with.
Walk up to the average silent walker/sitter and ask them what they think about the current weather.
There is no “perfect RP”, small talk and being able to “read the room” are the most important things you can learn by simply talking about anything.
I’m not sure where inspiration comes from tbh, I tend to get a character concept, throw it out there and see if it works. 99% don’t, frankly. Not because they’re bad ideas but because I have the attention span of a hyperactive squi- oooh shiny lid!
I’ve found that I tend to lean towards characters who are in some way fanatical, there’s a running theme in my characters of faith I’ve noticed. My Miraluka Sith melded her personal faith into Sith thought to create a very curious look on the world. Made a brutal, harsh Sith who was astoundingly predictable once it was understood that she took the code rigidly religiously yet also saw Jedi as wayward brothers. My Troll was a fanatical Loa follower, Night Elf elune etc. It’s a running theme.
They also tend to be extremist to start with, I’m sure there’s some deeper psychological thing at play there but I just find the concept of having to adapt to a changing world interesting.
Recommendations… somebody said to work out how the character speaks first, I’d agree with that. Speach influence thought and vice versa, once you work out how they speak… literally finding their voice, a character tends to fall into place.
In this characters case for example it came when I decided she referred to herself as I’n I (I and I). Why? Because she means her and her loa. She’s stating in every sentence that the loa are with her, always. And things just fall into place from there, intially anyway.
So yeah I’d say start with how your character speaks, or a key phrase, word, saying, something that informs who they are fundementally. Things branch from that point.
), for another example, was inspired by a movie I watched about a war veteran trying to find her place in society after a traumatic brain injury.