I realized a few weeks ago that I'm pretty bad RPing my character. I don't know if it is just I'm stuck in a certain mind-frame. To be honest, I -think- I play my character more like someone from Hallifax (or at least I think so), emotionless, exact, and by the books.

So, any advice or idea would be greatly appreciated...

Also, if anyone has any books that kinda fill the role of what a Geomancer should be like, that would be great. I really *really* want to expand the lore that we have but I'm stumped on what is acceptable ideas for Lusty. Plus, I suck at writing. In December, I got a 2 week vacation and I want to sit down and write out some stories to submit for Bardics.... Help me become a better writer

browse author aiakon

Oh yes. Aiakon.

Okay... I'll get cracking reading his stuff.... Any outside Lusty suggestions?

I'd suggest reading Morvior too in terms of good Geomancer writing. As for OOC advice on RP? This seems like a decent little article. Best advice I can personally give is to develop a consistent character. Stories come later, first you need a character with quirks, strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes that you can play with.

Othero basically said what I wanted. Before crafting some sort of grand narrative for your character, make him decide to really like steak. Or silver jewelry. Something like that. Also, you don't need to be loud to broadcast your RP (some certainly do, but my personal opinion is that you don't need to), it will come across in subtext and how you present yourself/speak to others/so on.

A good thing about the Geomancers is we've had a reasonable amount of variety among our members in the past. Aiakon was a driven, cabalistic, periodically insane old curmudgeon (how I miss him!), whereas Morvior is more of a mad scientist. Who is also grumpy and insane. So...that isn't a great deal of variety, but trust me, it's there. Scholarly or mystical Geos may seem to fit the guild model better but I really like the new emphasis Jinto is putting on art and designing for the guild.

Last thing that I would recommend would be to develop a character that is consistent, but flexible. You shouldn't let your RP control your enjoyment of the game, so be able to change it if you're hindered excessively from doing something you want to do.

Emotionless, exact and by the books can fit into Mag just as well, really. So if that is how you envision the character, don't go changing it. Just because it is a "stereotype" for one city does not mean it cannot be played in another context.

What I've learned about what forms a good character is that the most important thing is their motivation. What does your character want? Is it knowledge, power, love, recognition, vengeance or something else? With that also comes the background. Just like real people, character are the product of their past in one way or another. They can suffer it, they can rebel against it, or it can be all they have ever known until someone comes by and drops the bombshell. Thirdly, your character has a personality. This is a complex thing, not just "nice" or "cold".

Since you have been playing for a while, you are at the advantage that things have happened, which will have influenced your character. If you have a family, you might want to look at those characters and think that traits might have passed on, or not at all.

As for writing, the only way to get better at it is by doing so and keep doing so. In another game, my character keeps a public journal. That has both helped me in working on my writing, and in developing that character. Plus, it makes a handy tool to keep track of past events. Something you could do just for yourself as a bit of training. Also, don't say about yourself that you suck, if that is what you think. If you let a lot of people read your work and -they- say it sucks, then you can safely say that. But it is also something you can learn, and there are a ton of good internet resources for that. Just google keywords like "better writing" and "writing tips". You'll find that they will often say that the only way to get better is to write, write and write more.

For books, I'm not too sure. Personally my character has been influenced by reading a lot of Jane Austen, Bronte and other works from that time, but then with a dark twist. I'm sure there are more classics from that era and later that can apply, but I've only really begun working my way through them. I don't really read much modern-day fantasy novels, but there might be some that carry resemblances. I've seen some names mentioned on the forums in the past, so maybe a little forum search can shed some light on that?

double post

Prime example of a Geomancer:

Insane and seemingly feeble, but also dangerous.

I loved that guy!

Bumi can earthbend with his nose. Beat that.

Geomancers shake the earth by glaring. We win

Bumi can swim through earth and grow crystal bindings, which double as a yummy candy treat. Beat that.

Hotwheels. Beat that.

Lots of great things have already been said so I'll just add this:

Cool Geomancer book authors: Aiakon, Telrath, Gabranth, Lenalith, etc. Libellus Geomancie is your main friend here, Lenalith's rituals were great too. But that's Geomantic beliefs, not Geomancers are known to do. So I suggest finding your thing and building upon it.

For example, take a look at Aiakon's many essays (both the collected versions and other works) - he'd study and mock furrikin, light vs taint, he'd preach vehemently against Celest and Serenwilde in many literary forms (prose, essay, and even poem!).

Then take a look at Morvior, he doesn't really go out of his way to do much these days but at his prime what defined him was his research (take the famed book on Merian biology, so you could consider him a... biologist), service to Fain, and annoying his wife by refusing any contact with water and bickering about being forced into clothes.

Lenalith on the other hand studied ritual and various ritual related tools (for example, look at her book on extraction and application of blood for ritual). Then again, she also wrote a really awesome 'Newcomer's Guide to Magnagora' (published under Magnagora) and was very involved with the young ones.

What shall Xarcon be then? Pick one of the fields and pursue it. For example, if you wish to be the next crazy 'biologist', get your Apprentices to bring you various elfen specimen and set aside some time for a great dissection roleplayed session with involvement of others. If you feel terrified by the notion, prepare some things beforehand (such as look up the right terminology, check Morv's book, and check out anything else remotely related, even prepare some clever conclusions you will draw), then prepare the space (Kharaen's cartel has this awesome sterile experimentation bed!) etc. You don't have to do it every day but be consistent, next time you hear someone mention some new species or some peculiar behaviour exhibited by some race, offer your services to 'inspect'; or just fidget with a scalpel-reminiscent dagger once in a while.

To Nil with what's acceptable, well not completely so, but don't let that prevent you from trying different things or throwing up new ideas.

Consistency.

I didn't initially vote on Jinto's first referendum as I didn't see the point, after his second post on the matter though I voted in favour simply because I could better see how it could be beneficial/interesting to us.

I agree with Vaylin. A lot of ideas that seem conventional to us now came from players just writing something that seemed interesting at the time. Case in point: Morvior's Merian biology. Even my vignette on the Earth Lords wasn't really based in coded 'fact', per se, but it seems to be accepted nowadays