How do you get in to character?

[Falcii]

I am finding that the most difficult, and often most intensely rewarding portion of the game is the RP. I was wondering how other players develop their characters in preparation for plot heavy games.

Right now I am getting alot out of writing my notes from the perspective of my character as if she was writing in a journal (which she was and it has recently been read by the whole party, so yikes but regardless) and talking about how she feels about various party members and NPCs.

[Elkad]

It never happens before the game starts. I usually don't even really have a plan or a backstory.

The character develops a personality of it's own in the first few sessions.

[Falcii]

It never happens before the game starts. I usually don't even really have a plan or a backstory.

The character develops a personality of it's own in the first few sessions.

Really? How do you manage to keep rationale consistent? I'd be very interested to see how you avoid just defaulting to your own personality every time like I seem to do when I don have a pre established plan.

[Thurbane]

Someone posted something I find really useful on these forums recently (in the DM Life Hacks thread).

If you're having trouble coming up with a character back-story or personality, try instead to think of three adjectives that describe your character, along with a catchphrase, battle cry or motto that your character uses.

[Kelb_Panthera]

You've gotta start somewhere and I usually start with the race/ class that the characters starts off with. I'll go with an elven generalist wizard for an example.

First, examine the class. Why is he a member of this class? How did he come to be a practitioner? Who was his instructor (if any?) How do people generally feel about that class and how might that impact him? How does his family (if any) feel about him being a member of this class?

For our example: He grew up with an awe for magic, thinking it was just the best thing ever. He sought instruction with his town's hedge wizard; a tough but fair man of decent intellect but little ambition. Elven folk take kindly enough to magic and encourage individualism generally anyway, so there wasn't really any opposition or prejudice leveled at him before he became a proper wizard. His parents were largely hands-off types, as elven parents tend to be, he tends to see his friends as his closest associations.

This leads to more general occupational questions. Does he belong to a group of associated members of his class? A more general organization? What are his long-term goals? Does he have any duties he's expected to fulfill?

To our example: He associates with a few other would-be arcanists in his town but only loosely. He doesn't belong to any larger organizations of note, save being a lay-member of his town's church of Corellon. He wants nothing more in life than to gain a wealthy patron and join an arcane organization so that he can plumb the depths of wizardry, perhaps even become an archmage at some point. Having no major associations, his only duty is his regular turn at the town militia's scouting and watch duties; a duty he can easily be released from if he's to be leaving town for a good while.

With a general outline, you can pick out a few more specific moments in the characters life to flesh-out; his first time meeting a member of one of the common races, an unfortunate incident, and a moment of triumph.

I'll pass on examples here.

As you're going through all that, remember to consider how the characters race might impact these things. Once you've gone through this process, personality should just flow naturally.

Do note that, for anything but humans, the "Races of" books are excellent sources for non-human psychology. Definitely give them a read if you haven't already (as always, consult your DM for any changes to the defaults).

[BWR]

Like Elkad, my characters are mostly blank slates at the start of the game. I will have some vague, super-generic personality traits attached to them but these may change during play. Part of this is wanting to make a character that fits with the rest of the group, at least initially. If I have blank slate it can adapt to the rest of the players and the game.
Most of it is that I have a very hard time inventing a character divorced from a setting (and recently the only games I've played have been in pretty bland, featureless settings, or ones I know little about). Give me a rich setting with lots of history and culture to work with and I'll have a fairly detailed character with a usable backstory (though hopefully not one that will get in the way of the game).

On the subject of backstory, I will often create the backstory during play to flesh out the character as its developing. No, not in the 'I know this particular bit of extremely vital knowledge because my uncle just happened to have been best buds with the BBEG and learned these precious secrets'-type way.

[Mordaedil]

Depends a lot on prep time.

For a character I am going with now, we've had a few weeks of preparation, so I've had a lot of time to simmer down exactly what I wanted to play, how she acts and how she interacts with the rest of the party as I asked what the others were playing.

A lot of my ideas come from so-called shower thoughts, where I am in the bathroom mulling ideas over and often come to some conclusion, like who her parents are, who her siblings are, what they do, etc.

From knowing that, I knew a little more about her as a person, how she'd have grown up, and then I rolled her ability scores and got surprisingly good stats, with exception for wisdom, which was an abyssmal 3. But working with the DM a little I got some ideas on how that would work out as well, an insanely gullible, weak-willed, easily distracted girl. It also informs me a little more of her personality so I could incorporate that into my roleplaying. She became a little bit more naíve through the information I got from her ability scores.

I also try to step back, look at how I want to roleplay my character and consider it from the perspective of the other players. I play D&D to have fun and don't want to put my character on a pedestal, but I want her to be remembered by the rest of the group as someone fun to play with, so I try to think of what aspects of her character might grate the other players and try to downplay that part.

Originally, I wasn't really sure about anything regarding my character besides that I wanted to play a young wizardess. But as I had all this time, I allowed my time to really think about what she is and I think I've basically got it nailed down. She's become a skin I can just wear now, if that makes any sense.

[Âmesang]

I find it helps if I'm basing the character on one I made in another game, like SoulCalibur, Dynasty Warriors, or even Adventure Quest; the voice and dialogue combined with the character's appearance helps things to jell in my mind… especially if, even by sheer coincidence, I can make the character fit into whatever setting I'm playing in.

I've also a number of non-D&D characters I (poorly) draw that I'd like to convert over, simply 'cause I've drawn them for so long that, over time, personalities came to mind for them.

Still, I have made characters purely from scratch (usually based on a figurine I own) and sometimes something just 'clicks' anyway, even if in a somewhat cliché manner (like a haughty, stuck-up drow blackguard investing the giant incursion on Faerûn, taking inspiration from Against the Giants).

[Gruftzwerg]

for newbies it takes a lil more preparation compared to experienced player, who already think about such things at the moment they decide what character to play/build.

You need to set the view and behavior of you character:

- view can mean, are you a small/medium/large (..) character? How does the world look from your perspective?

- do your race/culture/background have special social opinions compared to others?

- what personal characteristics should your character have? (calm or easily upset? spontaneous or planning every detail out? what do you want to achieve (might, glory, gold? or are you just a mad Berserker you don't cares for anything else than fighting? ..)

- if you make a detailed background, you are set for good roleplay. your background should have enough info about your character and behavior and is therefore a good guide for yourself.

For the start it can be easier to copy a character from a film or a book. Later you can start to be creative and plan your psychological character, like you plan the rest of your (rule-wise) character.

[zyggythorn]

Depends on whether the campaign has a Zero Session for me, mostly.

By and large, the blank slate is what I start as otherwise.

But if there is a Zero Session, ill find out more in the world, and explicitly give the GM rope to hang my character with. (Be it that my parents could be very good people, or just very good at hiding their shady sides; or even that classic 'may or may not have made a Pact with something' option)

[Gwazi Magnum]

I find one's approach to roleplaying largely relies on where they stand when it comes to Mechanics/Optimisation.

For me, I'll spend hours on forums and slugging over Guides to build an effective character. But I do this so in-game I have something playable and not being curb stomped, I still very much intend to have a personality for them. So my steps end up becoming the following:

1. Build the Character
2. Think of a basic history (Came from a Tribe, Cast out Noble etc.)
3. Think of two of three general traits that summarise the character. At least where first impressions are concerned.
4. Start play with those traits and allow it to naturally branch out over time through events in the campaign

Note 1: How much branching out actually happens largely depends on how ham-fisted the DM is with Alignment. If they're the kind to constantly get mad at the player for doing certain actions, I'm likely to feel discouraged from playing someone realistically or practically, so I usually never leave those handful of traits. If the DM's the kind to mostly not pay attention to alignment though, then I tend to feel that I've been given the room and flexibility to respond properly to situations which is where most of my favourite characters have come from.

Note 2: Switch the order of steps to #3, #2 (Optional), #1 and #4 and this is also how I tend to generate important NPCs whenever I'm DM'ing.

[TheifofZ]

I've come to prefer a mix of a Blank Slate and Background based start to develop the character.

First, I usually reverse engineer a history based off the theme of the character I'm going for.
If I'm building a wizard, I ask 'who taught him. Why? what did he learn? Why did he want to become a wizard'
And then I go back further to the race, and possibly where he grew up, if that has an impact.

After that, I think up at least one event that shaped how the character views the world.
Be creative with it; there's a LOT of different things that happen to people all the time, and how people react can be wildly different.
(In one campaign I'm playing a character that is a reluctant cannibal; he knows its wrong, but after being one of the last survivors in a starvation situation, he's grown use to the taste.)

So now I have how the characters race, lifestyle, and class affected their attitude, as well as something major that changed how they think.
That gives me enough for a broad attitude, with slight nuance. But rarely do I come to a campaign knowing everything about how a character thinks.
After that, I let the first few sessions shape and grow the character naturally.
As to getting into character each week; I just focus on what parts of me I have put into the character (it's inevitable; some part of me always gets put into my characters; rarely is it the same one) and then dwell on the core feelings of the character. After that, it's like putting on a coat.

[Knitifine]

I usually think of a very short description of my character, and try to make sure that everything either ties back to that (or later on as they develop) ties to another trait that already ties back to that. Usually the first session is a little rocky, but by the second or third I have scenes to go back to to remember what being in that character's head space is like.

Examples phrases:
"Troubled adventurer's daughter."
"Human who thinks she's a dragon."
"Young and slightly insane sorcerer."
"Badass spoiled princess in self imposed exile."

[Jay R]

Want what the character wants. If he wants to protect the forest, you should want the forest protected. If he wants to gain the Paladin's respect, you should want him to get the Paladin's respect.

In the SCA, I have to ignore my American egalitarianism and actually want to be in fealty to the King, to serve the Queen, to be gracious to the ladies, to fit into the feudal system, etc.

[Seto]

I like to come to the first session having already a pretty detailed idea of who my character is. I generally discover more about them while playing, and I sometimes I find that they play differently than I expected them to, but I don't like blank slates because I want to be believable from the onset.

The way I proceed is: first, get info about the game. What level, what tone, what atmosphere. Then, keeping that in mind, I get an idea of a character. Not a backstory, a visual, cinematic idea, in a precise scene for example. How do they look like? How do they react? When meeting the King, are they respectful, afraid, or smug? What are the core traits of their personality? I keep at it until I have a concept that fascinates me and that I want to explore. Then I write (either in my head or on actual paper, depending on the DM, kind of game, etc.) a description of that - appearance, tastes, personality, things they want, things I imagine them doing.
Then I largely deduce the backstory from that. How do I justify who my character is, how have they come to be who they are? The backstory is also the part where I try to avoid clichés. If my first idea of a character is a cliché, that's fine, because clichés are there for a reason, they're archetypes that appeal to the imagination. But in the backstory, I consciously try to give new twists and turns to the archetype, to make the cliché interesting again, which in turn induces some changes in the character's description. This is also the part where I may ask the DM for more info, to better integrate the game world in my backstory.
If I still feel like huge parts are missing, making lists can help: 3 adjectives, 3 things my character likes/dislikes, 3 things that may make them cross a line, 3 things that they will never do; etc.

Then I show up to the game and I try to strike a good balance between staying true to my character's core, and keeping an open mind, being ready to change and take advantage of the game's roleplaying opportunities. Because let's be real, writing up a character is nice, but the real thrill of roleplay is telling an interactive story and leading your character through unexpected paths.

EDIT: Oh right, in the case of D&D, you also have to build your PC mechanically. (I started rp with freeform so it doesn't immediately jump to my mind). That should come pretty early, I'd say it's a part of the character concept/visual idea. Is your character a badass swashbuckler, or a gruff shaman? Also, it gives you stuff to use for the backstory: when did your character acquire such-an-such ability, how did they use it? It can be fun to take a gimmicky, secondary class feature, and make it a turning point of your character's backstory. That way your abilities get more flesh, they're not just things you can do, but things you have done and that are important to you for precise reasons. And that helps define your style and separate you from other characters of your class.

[Quertus]

It depends on the character. A lot.

The order in which I generate personality, history, and mechanics is not set. Often, they influence each other over and over: wizard who likes archaeology... is there a skill or feat that could reflect this? No, wait, who said they were any good? They had a major accident at their dad's priest's dig site. Should I consider lich loved? Their favorite color is blue, but they like it best when it's got some nice brown dirt on it. Loved to get into fist fights with other kids, usually took things to the ground. Sensing an earth theme - should I pursue this?

Then, once I have enough material that sticks, I iron it all out, and take the character for a test run. I ask how they would handle various scenarios (often cribbing from my previous adventures), and see if I can understand the character well enough to quickly give consistent answers. Exploring any answers that seem inconsistent can tell me something about some of the character's more subtle traits.

Then I ask myself if this is a character that I'd enjoy playing.

To get in character for the season, I usually just remember where we are, and how we got there.

[dascarletm]

I usually just start talking to myself as the character, and in whatever accent/speech patterns they would use. I do this for an hour or so before the game starts.

[Elkad]

Really? How do you manage to keep rationale consistent? I'd be very interested to see how you avoid just defaulting to your own personality every time like I seem to do when I don have a pre established plan.

For the first couple sessions I may do just that. Well, not me, just a prototypical adventurer with no specific motivations beyond greed and power. Or a copy of a character I played 35 years ago. But it's not fleshed out at all. A basic personality? Sure. A backstory? Not at all.
Just steal a line from a book and make it work.

Laughter is an interrupted defense mechanism, no sane sentient being interrupts a defense mechanism. Hmm. Not Nessus (who made the quote), he goes catatonic with fear (though he did go on a hell of an adventure). Not Spock, because other emotions are valid. But I can make something work here.

The first few sessions I learn about the world I'm playing in. That, plus some memorable moments from the first few encounters will start to build something. I may or may not ever come up with a "proper" backstory for that character. His backstory is his earlier encounters in the game world. Your experiences shape you. In this case, all the shaping is done by the experiences that give experience points.