Creating Compelling Characters In Blades, there tends to be a strong emphasis placed on story. And without strong characters, a story is nothing but a sequence of events. It's the characters that make us care about those events, and that give those events power. So, how do you create a good character? I've previously written an article on giving depth to background figures like shopkeepers and guards, but what about those focal, important characters? How do you make your characters the kind that players will love (or love to hate)? What I advance here is not the only way to develop characters. It may well not be the best way. It's just my way. Whenever I create a character, I start by deciding what the one most important thing in the world is to this person. What is it that he values more than anything? Maybe it's honour? Maybe freedom? Peace? All these are noble motives, though not all your characters need to be noble. Money, power or their own safety could as easily be their greatest desire. Whatever it is, be sure that this is what drives their every action in your scenario. Then, I take that driving a desire and find a situation for that character to be in. Something that brings out the best (or worst) in his particular personality. For example, Stalker (in A Small Rebellion) wants nothing more than freedom from the Empire. It's a noble ideal, but he wants it so much, that he'll do anything to get it - even become a monster himself. Similarily, Commander Groul (in Nephil's Gambit) wants control - so he manufactures a war for himself to win, just so he can be a hero and get more power. It's important to note here that in a good story, plot is inseperable from character. You couldn't replace Commander Groul with any other character - the story wouldn't work. No other character would do what Groul does. In my scenario Revenge, the villain Bur-Denn is motivated by just that - revenge. If he wanted, he could probably escape the island and flee to safety, and the scenario would never happen. But his safety is not the most important thing to him, so he stays. Similarily, if the "hero" Kassand were not also motivated by revenge, he wouldn't be there in the first place. They're almost mirror images of each other, and neither character could be changed without ruining the story. It doesn't really matter whether you come up with a great character and build a story for him to be in, or if you come up with a great story and find the right characters to play the parts, or if you develop both at once. The end result should be that you have a tightly woven, compelling story with characters that intrigue us. -The Creator