Character Ideas

[Wandering Inquisitor]

Greetings,

I have a scenario I need to fill in with some more characters. I could go with a random character generator of some sort but that often doesn’t yield great results. So I was wondering if there was a character idea thread similar to the idea dump thread. If not, then post your random character ideas here.

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Random Character Idea #1

This young kid appears to be a normal youth, but he seems to hold many strange opinions. He acts like a rather bitter old man, often complaining about “things these days”. While obvious mimicry, he is rather competent in defending his views. The child is also quite helpful and a methodical worker despite his attitude; volunteering or rising to a challenge as if required to, simply by being asked. He will also use old fashion terms and dated military lingo.

Left on his own devices, he will doodle or read quietly. If conversed with he will often talk about history, politics, and old movies or novels. Though his interpretation or history and politics are from a standard conservative viewpoint, he has a few odd opinions about classic stories, often missing hidden metaphors leading to a different conclusion about the work.

[tigerkidde]

I was checking out the unanswered posts. But in terms of a character idea, I have been presented with a conundrum.

Which is cooler? Pirates or ninjas?

This debate has raged on since the days of the Legendary Kawasaki Ninja Clan discovered their wheels and blazed into the maddening sunset. And a few years ago, the pirates have reclaimed lands thought lost and with that, more souls. But how can one simply vote which is cooler? No. Actions speak louder than words.

And ninjas were the victors of the polls that had been taken during that time.

But another candidate arose. The dreaded Space Pirate. The space pirate seemed to use their intergalactic raiding machine and stranded the ninja clans upon the Earth as it was invaded by a zombie... with a gun (like the BAR). And if you could see the image that I saw, you would know that this Sgt. Badass Zombie was the bane of humanity standing over a human on the ground with gun ready and aimed. And... well, this zombie with a gun trained other zombies to use gun and they took over the earth.

The ninjas knew they could not outdo the zombies with a gun, so they implanted themselves with cybernetics and became partially immune to the effects of zombie-ism. They became ninja cyborgs (Cyrax and Sekstor!) And with their ninja kite jetpacks, they flew into space to rival their old foe, the Space Pirate.

But the zombies had infected one of the ninjas, unbeknownst to the clans.

And this ninja had an inkling for the seafaring lifestyle of a pirate and what better than a sea of stars. And thus he was born...

The zombie space pirate ninja cyborg with a gun.

And now, no one is as badass as he...

Except his arch rival, the vampire space pirate ninja cowboy cyborg with a katana.

[adrix89]

The zombie space pirate ninja cyborg with a gun.

Less is more

You might think having extra things is a good thing but its actually a bad thing
Lets take The zombie space pirate ninja cyborg with a gun versus a 100% ninja
Now I may not know who is going to win but what I am certain is who the reader will side with,and if the reader sides with someone and he hasn't won then YOU (the creator) lost
Coincidently this is the difference between western the superheroes versus eastern the teenager,superheroes might be cool but you already know who your going to identify with
Sure there is badass in eastern but they are usually grown,for example in Fate the greatest baddass is grown from Shiro which by the end grows baddass too
Take for example wolverine an mutant with superhuman strength, claws and a exoskeleton made of indestructible adamntium with the added bonus of healing ability
Versus Shiki a kid that sees death when he takes the glasses of and has some skill with a knife
So my recommendation is for everything other than bosses less is more,and in some occasions even bosses

[tigerkidde]

The combination of characters was a horrible pun to end the polls on the board which it was originally happening. I'm just stretching the argument of pirates vs. ninja. I'm already turned off at zombies with guns, ninja cyborgs, ninja pirates, ninja with guns, space cowboys, cowborgs, and samurai cowboys. If anything, it would be a parody of said roles.

[She who comes and goes]

And yet, I bet a sufficiently skilled writer could make a zombie space pirate ninja cyborg with a gun into a likable and relatable character.

Unfortunately, I don't really get "random" character ideas--they all tend to be specific to their settings/cultures/story roles, which can mean things like that their entire race/family/social circle is zombie space pirate ninja cyborgs with guns, and thus they are heavily tied to the story they live in--but some people are really skilled at such things. (John Su from DeviantArt comes up with some really clever characters for the more whimsical, non-realistic genres.)

[adrix89]

And yet, I bet a sufficiently skilled writer could make a zombie space pirate ninja cyborg with a gun into a likable and relatable character.

In kurogane a samurai has been turned to a steel doll(with a talking sword but thats extra) the idea here is that it isn't an addition but an subtraction so the protagonist is less than he once was,as he is not human anymore
While for example in Naruto Sasori which is basically the same only wood is taken as an addition and thus is less relatable so the chick with bash wins
So depending on the story and circumstance things may vary but in most cases less is more

[pinkmouse]

Nen kept her eyes squeezed shut against the glare. The air reeked of antibac but at least the pain had gone. That was good. She guessed that without the meds they were pumping into her, she'd be screaming her head off: shattermine damage wasn't exactly point-accurate stuff.

Lying prone like this felt wrong even on a gurney; a violation of training. Her sensei would be ashamed to see her so vulnerable, open to attack even by the un-Trained.

Her body hadn't moved. The shock penetrated even the augmented endorphin haze. She couldn't remember the last time that awareness of vulnerability hadn't been synonymous with countermove. Consciously she moved her hand into basic position, clumsy as a neophyte.

The high-pitched whine didn't warn her. It seemed she lay for an age, gazing in chemically cushioned shock, staring at the partially assembled tangle of plastic and ceramosteel that was her new hand.

Military custom - she'd been drafted. Again.


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Thanks, the discussion just set me off. If this sets your plot-bunnies hopping, feel free to use.

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