How to Get the Most of of Your New Character

Getting a new character started can be really difficult, especially for those of us who haven't had a lot of time to try out some different methods of bringing a new character into a roleplaying game. There are a lot of different reasons for making a new character, and we all want something different out of our characters, but here are a few tips and tricks that you should consider trying if you want to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible with your new character.

Connect your character to the characters you currently play.

This may not work right away if you're starting with your first character, but this can be an extremely helpful way to get characters started. By doing this, you open up the opportunity to use the relationships and connections made by one of your characters to help your other characters along. For example, you may have a character, Character A, who develops a strong friendship with another character, Character B. You could potentially use this friendship to help another one of your characters along! If your new character is a friend of Character A, your new character could get involved with Character B because of the mutual friendship. This could give you access to a variety of plot opportunities or simply give you an IC ice breaker to make it easier to get your new character and Character B to interact. For all you know, your new character might find himself in some big trouble down the line, and Character A might be able to refer him to Character B the Hitman!

Connect your character to other players' characters.

Similarly, you can gain a lot by starting off with connections between your new character and the characters of other players. Maybe your new character is a member of a guild that has members in play. If you happen to know some other players already, your character may even be the sister of a character in play. Using groups and pre-established relationships, you can give your character a great head start and continue to benefit from what other players are doing as the story progresses.

Don't be afraid to remain open to establishing pre-existing relationships.

A lot of people shy away from relationship pages that allow players to apply for relationships or simply list those that they have, but this doesn't mean that establishing pre-existing relationships rather than building all character relationships from the bottom up in-game is a bad idea. Let players know that you're open to the idea of connecting your new character to theirs as a childhood friend, an old crush, or a former classmate, for example. You don't have to shut these possibilities out at any point.

Be very clear about what you want.

If you have ideas you want to try out or thoughts about where you'd like your character to be down the road, don't be afraid to make that known! By being clear about these things, you're more likely to get threads and plot opportunities that you're sure to find engaging rather than running into a huge collection of threads that don't interest you. You should still be open to trying new things that you may not have considered before, but you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't let your fellow players know what you want out of your new character.

Create a clear and concise plotting page if you can.

If the game in which you're using your new character has a place for plotting, keep a to-the-point (fluff-free!) record of your character's current plots and notable relationships along with ideas for threads and plots and any vital background info that might lend itself to new thread and plot opportunities. This could function as a great reference for other players and help you immensely as you get started.

Don't be afraid of open threads.

They can be difficult to start, and in some games they're rare or nonexistent, but open threads can provide great opportunities for you to have your new character interact with characters you may not think to have them interact with otherwise. This can be great for establishing new, useful relationships or simply encouraging you to explore new aspects of your character that your usual writing partners wouldn't urge you to explore.

In short . . .

• Focus on building relationships for your character that will provide you with instantaneous thread and plot opportunities and new opportunities later on.
  
• Be clear about what you want and make sure it's easy for other players to see what you're interested in, what you're character is currently involved in, and what they might be able to work with as they come up with new threads and plots involving your character.
  
• Don't shy away from writing with new players and characters! These players and characters can provide some fresh ideas and lead you to explore new aspects of your new character or form some great relationships for him or her.