Code: PIRULUK

Oh wow...ok... Um, I'll start by establishing that everything here is my personal opinion, I am by no means an expert, and yes, much of this guide is based on personal experience. You're free to disagree with me, I am in no way asserting that what I have written is a comprehensive guide. Now, I'll address your points in order: 0.5: Yes, While the topic is geared more towards RPing, it does serve as a borderline decent springboard for getting into fanfiction. It was initially supposed to be a part of a series, but between life and other games, I haven't really had the time to write any other parts yet. The title was just meant to sound catchy - note that this topic was not initially a pinned topic, hence I had to try and attract attention somehow.\ 1: I agree. A character does not need to be interesting or unique to really be "good", per se. As you said, it's really more of a safety net; this primer was made to help people with creating their characters for RPing, with the assumption of the audience being complete beginners to creative writing. Not tp mention, that in an RP environment, Each RPer has less control over the interactions between characters than in a normal fic. 2: Again, agreed, but my answer is the same as for point #1. 3: It really depends. Just as there are some characters who have rather defining appearances (Phoenix Wright's Maya and Franziska come to mind) there are also other characters who are good characters because the lack of a noticable appearance draws greater attention to the character's innate qualities (Think NGE's Ikaru Shinji. Yes, he's whiny and yes, he's annoying, but he remains a strong character nonetheless. Another, more clear-cut example of a strong character with an unassuming appearance is Light Yagami). That said, it's true that both extravagance and simplicity can be used to enhance a character, however my key objective when writing this post was to increase the believability of characters in the RPs on here, which is aided by believable attire. Not to mention, it takes a certain level of mastery to make a character have a unique appearance while still focusing on development to distinguish said characters from others, and thus I felt it would be more prudent to leave that to another topic. As for your comment on how this is merely my outline for character development, and the Sue hate, I have to plead Guilty as charged. The motivation for this topic was seeing the many, many Mary Sues on the RP OC thread. As such, I was rather...liberal in terms of laying down the hate. Also, yes it is mainly my outline for character development, but that's the only way I know how to do it. I'm merely sharing my experiences to help aspiring new writers have a bit of help. Each writer has a different way of formulating characters, this is simply mine. ...Also, who's "Storm" ._. 4: Okay, I'll admit I was being somewhat extreme. However, that was mostly in an attempt to be funny. The reason why I was discouraging "sarcastic" or "lazy" or "smart" wasn't so much because I consider them "weak", per se, but really it was because of the entries I was seeing in the RP OC thread. At the time, almost every entry ended the description of the character's personality with "sarcastic", "smart", "lazy" or "smart but lazy". While I agree that it's perfectly possible to build up a strong character from such generic traits, when that's the only thing that you can say about your character's personality, or when that's the only distinguishing trait of your character, there is clearly something wrong. 5: Again, exaggeration for the sake of humour. The "example" I gave was, obviously, satirical in nature. I understand that no individual would (probably) ever create a character like that, I was just illustrating the point that any character's strengths should be balanced with equivalent flaws. I didn't expect anyone to think my example was a legitimate suggestion ._. Also, you didn't have to go and put "guide" in sarcastic inverted commas. It hurts, you know ;_; 6: While a Sue may not always be bad, it does take a high level of mastery to give a Sue character development. The key issue is ultimately one of believability. If the Sue seems too perfect (as most Sues are) no reader will be able to relate and therefore no meaningful connection can be made with said character. In the case of Kirito, he may have the potential to become a Sue, but the fact that he is fallible (for example, when he let Sachi die, or when he almost died in that bit with the first KoB mission) redeems him. Yes, it gives him unnecessary angst fuel, but his character would likely never have developed to the same extent otherwise. It takes a master to make a Sue worth reading, and this primer, directed at beginners, was not made with this level of mastery in mind. The Mary Sue is a pitfall that many new authors fall into, and the objective of this topic is to construct a platform on top of said pitfall. 7a: You seem to have missed my point here. The point I was trying to make was not that the character should not have a trait to differentiate him or herself from others, but rather that this trait should in no way allow him or her an objective advantage over other people, which can be achieved by an equivalent weakness. There's nothing wrong with a character being skilled at something, so long as he/she is equivalently unskilled in another, equally relevant area. The objective here is balance and believability. As for the extreme examples given, again: Exaggeration for the purpose of generating humour. 7b: I'm afraid this is the area where I'm going to have to outright disagree with you. Human beings are flawed; there's no way around it. I maintain that there is no such thing as a person wholly good or wholly bad. To cite your examples of the heartless serial killer and the clergy: What's the probability that said serial killer has never had a benevolent thought in his or her life? Similarly, what's the probability that the clergy have never had an evil or unfaithful thought in their life? The heartless serial killer may experience regret on his or her deathbed. Mother Theresa experienced crises of faith. Humanity is flawed. Everybody who is human is fallible. All of us have the capacity to experience negative emotions such as anger, guilt, envy, lust, impatience. Similarly, all of us have the capacity to experience positive emotions like compassion, charity, empathy, generosity. 7c: Guilty as charged, but, again, this topic was for the primary purpose of RP. It seems most of your concerns stem, at some level, from my somewhat inaccurate naming of this thread. I have since edited it, and I hope that my answers here are satisfactory. I welcome further discussion, though; thanks for your feedback. As a final note, you didn't have to go and criticise my writing style in the manner below. You seem to be implying that my writing style detracts from the quality of the content, which I find to be a rather offensive comment, especially when I changed my usual writing style to try and cater to people with varying attention spans. I appreciate criticism of writing, but not in such an offensive and, quite honestly, rude manner.

Thanks. On another note, This topic has reached 360 replies. WOW.

...You can get a Fennekin. You might not have time to train her though.

Guys, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before: there are no males in the Church hierarchy. Please retcon asap QQ

You forget the fact that Orpha (temporarily) has a Garchomp. Also, it's a shame; Togekiss is awesome Pokemon :<

>full info available on Bulbapedia >one week ...that's possible...?

...only a B? ...You have no idea how jealous I am right now.

Banned for limited world view in assumptions that one needs to be psychic to be omniscient.

I figured that would happen haha

No limitations. It's on the first page of this thread

You could just use Sunny Day and Chlorophyll sweep ._.

I actually have a Fate/stay night RP planned, but I need at LEAST 7 people before I can do anything with it.

1) the core for the filtration system is in the highest floor. 2) the building is insulated 3) Why don't you just go all out attack ._. the acolytes are strong, but not THAT strong. 4) Besides, I don't think Aeon will approve of a strategy that avoids combat. 5) assume indestructible environments. Because Pokemon logic. @Elliot, I hope you're not forgetting the tiny matter of the access pass needed for each subsequent floor? ._.

Nope, too easy. Each floor utilises a discrete air filtration system which purifies the air every 5 seconds. So sleep powder would only affect those in close proximity, and certainly not everyone on the first three floors at once. Hukuna, you have free reign of how your opponents react; you're basically fighting against yourself. If you need help, ask others to stand in as NPCs for you. Most battles i the RP will be like this; only major battles (such as gymleaders) will have me playing the npc. Also, Regarding Fairy Whimis: I know. I KNOW. <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3 Whimsicott, bane of the dragons.

I would really prefer you avoid it unless absolutely necessary, but it's your decision. Do note that I will be expecting your teammates to judge/distrust you for it though. Every bit of fun must come at a price.

Hey guys~~~ I really appreciate the support for my RP, but please don't neglect Alatreon's... I want to see the culmination of that one as well :x

Make your TTar a runt xD It's a "cutie", after all Just kidding. While that strategy is fine, the idea is to not cause a public nuisance to everyone else in Eterna Town :x Besides, this RP uses Pokemon logic, so Earthquakes can't do anything to buildings, EVERYONE KNOWS THAT! Also it is perfectly logical that a completely still room can immediately turn into a sandstorm just because a Pokemon steps in. Besides, TTars aren't that tall. Bulbapedia has a TTar's average height at 2.0m. That's shorter than some Basketball players. tl;dr, I welcome innovation within limits. Do not come up with a strat that results in an easy win, do not use strats which may cause harm to unrelated parties. Even if the distraction idea were to work, it would only work for the first floor. The acolytes on the upper floors are too busy meditating/staring at pictures of Dawn to care about silly little things like Sandstorms. Also, please make sure everyone on your squad has Go-goggles; all acolytes have a pair. And the top floor's arena is open-air, so...yeah.

October 1st, 21 AD. Lucas stands before you, a large statue looming behind him. "Alright, squad 3 accounted for. Let's get this started." He pulls a Pokeball off his belt and depresses the button. A bright red light emerges, materialising into a black Pokemon with a long, flowing mane of muddy red hair. It's three-tipped hands oscillate as it stretches. "Zoroark, please hide us from view." The Zoroark glances at Lucas and closes its eyes. Around you, the air distorts, forming a wall until the outside becomes nothing but a blurry mess. "Thank you." Lucas reaches into his pocket and retrieves his Pokegear. Punching a few buttons, he rests it on the ground. A whirring sound fills the air, before a beam of white light shoots upward from the Pokegear, coalescing into a three-dimensional projection of White. "White. We're in Eterna. Fill us in." White smiles briefly, glancing at the Zoroark, before beginning. "Good evening to you all again. As I'm sure you're aware, the objective of this mission is to secure Eterna as a forward base of operations. To avoid unnecessary complications, the conclaves must be eliminated first. To avoid them from aiding each other, the attack must be a simultaneous, coordinated strike on all four conclaves." White shifts in her seat and adjusts her glasses. "There are four conclaves in Eterna. One in each corner of the Town. Each conclave consists of four levels, with access between each level limited by acolyte rank. On the first level are the first-years, on the top level are the fourth-years and the conclave mother. To gain access to each subsequent level, try and persuade each acolyte to give you a pass. Only one should have it, so you'll just have to guess and check. If you can defeat them in battle, they'll accede to your request - provided they have the pass. It's one of the rules of the convent's power-based hierarchy. Naturally, the opponents will get tougher on the higher levels." White leans forward. "You may have heard of your ancestors battling against organisations similar to the Church of Dawn. You may have been amused by their tales of how the members of these organisations used pathetically weak Pokemon. Do not expect the same from the Church. Each of their Pokemon is highly-trained and dangerous." White crosses her arms across her chest. "And then there's the conclave mothers. Each of them is the strongest individual in their respective conclave. To make matters worse, they're protected by Dawn. Only one person may challenge the conclave mother at a time, or there will be...severe...consequences. Consequences from which even we, members of Team Dusk, are not exempt." White gives you another weary smile. "Well, that's all from me, at this point. When you've defeated the conclaves, meet back here and I'll brief you on the battle with Gardenia. White out." The projection abruptly shuts off. Lucas gives Zoroark a nod, and the bent light returns to normal. "That's that, then. Squad 1, you're taking the Southwestern conclave, near Eterna Condominiums. Squad 2, your target is the Southeastern conclave, next to the closed-down Pokemart. Squad 3, your target is the Eastern Conclave, just south of this statue. I'll be taking care of the Northern conclave. Rendezvous here once you've completed your task." Lucas straightens his beret. "Good luck." ---------------------------------------------- Mission notes (READ THIS): -The conclave acolytes all use fully evolved Pokemon at level 100. -How the fights go is up to you. You control the NPCs for this part. -That said, do try to keep it believable and interesting. Don't make it a complete stomp. -The Conclave Mothers each use 4 Pokemon, which specifically are up to you, but don't just give them teams that you can win against effortlessly. -Again, begin each post with your squad number. -The battles with the conclave mothers should be challenging. Each of their Pokemon should warrant at least 1 decent-length post, with close battles, not stomps. -Appearance of the acolytes: Conclave acolytes dress in completely black, skintight tops and long satin skirts, complemented by a grey hooded cloak, fastened by a clasp on the left shoulder with a blue sun motif. Conclave Mother wears a similar attire, except her cloak is white. Acolytes are 14-18 years of age, while the Conclave Mothers are 19-22. For reference: Squad 1: Color, Jory, Aruma, Odin Squad 2: Aeon, Josh, Lupus, Kael Squad 3: Daniel, Rin, Bereft

>implying that it's possible to categorically classify any setting as "anime-like".

It's a promising idea for sure, but I have no time QQ. So I'll have to pass. I might be able to help co-mod later on when things settle down for me though

Velkommen. Welcome. Irrashaimase~ A big welcome to you. Nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy your time here because you're never getting out the community here is really nice, for the most part. And Eevees are always welcome in my book. You can feel free to play with my Whimsicotts, just don't evolve into a Flareon.

Fire + Water? Isn't that just pure steam? it would probably be an intangible cloud of gas or something.

Nope. Any Pokemon held beyond an individual's legal limit is disposed of. EDIT: Also, the next chapter can begin now. But y'all will have to wait till tomorrow, I'm brain-dead at the moment and can't write anything because of math.

Sorry, but you need a pokemon+trainer pair. Also, you'll have to wait till this mission is over before you can join in.

Banned because Taric.