Help, I'm Drowning in a Sea of Role-Playing!

Card of the Day:	Nine of Swords
Interpretation:	See the card from 2 days ago. Perhaps there IS something that I am worried about. Or want and know I can't have. *whistles nonchalantly*

Ugh, this is terrible! I have been on SUCH an RP kick that it's all that's on my brain. Anyway, here goes.

A friend is GMing a single player Pokémon campaign for me. First, I love Pokémon in general, but the games and the anime have always been too kid friendly. Now, this campaign is not like those adaptations. Instead, this is a lot closer to Pokémon Special. Basically, it's a lot darker, with actual death, and even creepier and crazier abilities. Of course, the GM has changed the world to her specifications.

Well, my character is an odd one. Izlude Dralin comes from a family of Psychics, though they tend to keep quiet about it. They live in Petalburg City in the Hoenn region (here's where my Pokémon cred comes out). When he was six, the Champion himself helped him catch his first Pokémon, a female Poochyena, whom Izlude named Lana. At nine, he took a trip to Granite Cave by himself, because he's a little to adventurous for his own good. There, a Sableye possessed the poor child, due to his Psychic powers. The Sableye twisted those powers to its own purpose, allowing the Sableye to syphon energy from Izlude.

Izlude is a very athletic, bright, adventurous young man now, at age 17. He enjoys running, especially along the beach at sunrise. Lana, now a Mightyena, is always by his side, partly from love and loyalty, partly from Sableye's twisting of Izlude's powers.

Mind you, this Sableye, as much as it is a detail of Izlude, is a character in and of himself. Playing it is HARD, especially when you haven't yet treated it as a character. Ad libbing characterization is difficult.

Yesterday's Card:	Reversed Page of Coins
Reflection:	Yes. Yes I know who this is. Should I attempt to help?

The Evolution of Words

Card of the Day:	Reversed Temperance
Interpretation:	What am I forgetting to balance? What am I ignoring in favor of other things?

I love writing. It's a way to create a world without having to utilize my mediocre, at best, artistry. Of course, one needs a way with a words to be able to create such a world with writing, and hopefully you've realized by now that I do, in fact, have such a talent. Of course, I might just be pompous, but I do believe that my writing is at least sufficiently developed.

The thing I am discovering, though, is that I'm not very good at world creation. Remember, I have been doing a lot of role playing recently. What I'm learning is I'm not all that interested in the worlds that my characters explore. What I'm really interested in are the people. Worlds are merely places in which characters interact.

That said, the most important character when playing (not GMing) an RPG is your own. I have developed a strange (at least, I think it's strange) way of creating my characters. When I first create a character, I have barely an inkling of who he is supposed to be. I mean, I've got all sorts of stats written down so I can play the game mechanically, but I don't really know who my character IS yet. It's like meeting someone for an interview. You know what they're capable of, but you don't know who they are. But as I play them for a bit, a personality and background begin to form.

As an example, last night we started a D&D 4e campaign. I went in thinking that I was going to play a Half-Orc Warlord, but for some reason, my character is now a Hobgoblin Bard named Kol. I haven't a clue why (ok, so he's a Hobgoblin because of +2 Con +2 Cha, but a BARD? Huh). So, my newly created character needed a personality. I got as far as, ok, he's a Hobgoblin, so gruff and tough, before I ran out of pre-game ideas.

Somehow, "gruff and tough" became "military man", probably because I, for some reason, am playing a Bard that has no training in Diplomacy (I've got Intimidate instead) and no instrument. Yelling and singing are Kol's forte. Why? Well, I only started him last night. I don't know yet!

And thus the crux of my writing strategy: I do not write my characters. I come up with a basis for them, maybe a single aspect or two. I then start playing them and watch them evolve. A well-written character is its own living, breathing entity. I don't write my characters. I meet them, then I get to know them, like an acquaintance that turns out to be a good friend. Yes, I technically am the one that decides how the character reacts to any given situation, but in all honesty, it doesn't feel that way to me.

This is why I like role playing. Watching characters come to life is awe-inspiring, especially when they grow and change like a living being. I have no idea what is in store for Kol, but I'll be right there with him as he learns and discovers the world around him.

Yesterday's Card:	Reversed Ten of Wands
Reflection:	The burden is LIGHTENED. As in, it's fallen off. Whew.

Role Play Rambling

Card of the Day:	Temperance
Interpretation:	Balance, in all that I do. Er, at least that's the goal.

Characterization is about watching a bunch of words become a living, breathing entity.

A good writer is just as surprised as his characters when events occur.

Evolution is not just for Darwinists or Pokémon.

Power gaming in role playing games is merely a substitution for personality.

Diversification in roles not only forces you to act outside yourself, you may find facets of yourself you were not aware of.

Acting is the act of portraying a character as a story unfolds around you. Role playing is the act of creating that story through the eyes of someone else.

The excitement of that natural 20 is nothing compared to the beauty of a well-executed plan. In other words, mechanical luck is nice, but it's the truly immersed gamer that derives the most enjoyment.

The beauty is not in what is described, but what it is written between the lines.

Yesterday's Card:	Reversed Ten of Wands
Reflection:	... Or we can just drop the pile ...

Spirit Quotes

Card of the Day:	Seven of Swords
Interpretation:	Deception. While the idea here is that someone is entering into my world through underhanded means, I'm pretty sure it's my subconscious actually escaping through the window with something I really need to know.

This last Sunday, we finished a scenario in a Spirit of the Century campaign. Needless to say, it was fantastic. It was tense, and we nearly lost. Pulled it out in the end... but AGH!

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because THIS page needs to be shared. This is a collection of quotes said during the game. Some are awesome, some are just plain hilarious. Not all are original, but the fact that they came up in natural course of play should give you some idea of how crazy we are. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yesterday's Card:	Two of Wands
Reflection:	I want to focus on this change. This choice to change. I'm not sure I can do it, but dammit, I will try.