Character Theory How do you decide you character's weapons?

[Truthblade]

For many characters (depending on the roleplay of course) one of the most important things to do about your character is selecting their weapon, physical or magical, and melee or ranged.. How do you go about deciding what they use? What weapons go well with what characters? Do you prioritize practicality, or personality?

I myself have weapon problems with my characters some times. One of my favorite OCs (that I still have yet to use in a current rp) is a large strong bruiser type character. I traditionally have him wield a large two handed swords, as swords are generally are more associated with heroism, as well as the fact they are just flat out more practical than most other weapons. But sometimes I wonder if an axe would suit him better, since, while it may not be as practical, it does suit his character better (to me anyway).

What are your thoughts on the subject?

 

[Yaruzaru]

I go for what suits the character's personality first. A Practical weapon is not always the most fitting weapon when you consider your character's preferences and mannerisms if that makes sense.

 

[Whisker]

For many characters (depending on the roleplay of course) one of the most important things to do about your character is selecting their weapon, physical or magical, and melee or ranged.. How do you go about deciding what they use? What weapons go well with what characters? Do you prioritize practicality, or personality?

I myself have weapon problems with my characters some times. One of my favorite OCs (that I still have yet to use in a current rp) is a large strong bruiser type character. I traditionally have him wield a large two handed swords, as swords are generally are more associated with heroism, as well as the fact they are just flat out more practical than most other weapons. But sometimes I wonder if an axe would suit him better, since, while it may not be as practical, it does suit his character better (to me anyway).

What are your thoughts on the subject?

I consider practicality paramount over personality archetypes – most of those are based off Hollywood portrayals of how these weapons work anyways with no real bearing of substance. That's not to say personality isn't important (it is), but I consider it far less important than build, reach, and what is necessary to balance the party.

That's just my opinion though.

 

[Tarmagon]

It depends on the scenario and the character. Is he or she a crack pistol shot? If so, how did they develop that skill? Do they have any martial arts background? If so, which one(s)? Does the world they are in permit weapons carried openly? What are the rules on lethal force?
The list goes on and on. So, it's not really a matter of practicality over personality, it's a blend of the two. Background, training, availability, and acceptability to the society at large that the character is moving through. In the end, once all the other factors are taken into account, it's all about what do YOU feel the character likes/is skilled with. Do you love to write sword battles? Blademaster/mistress. Love archery? Bowyer. Gun nut? Sniper/pistoleer. You get the idea.

 

[Viper]

I actually pick out a power/weapon first and then build my character around that, not the other way around. What kind of personality would you have to have to choose to learn necromancy without feeling nausea every time? What is a likely profession and origin for someone who knows how to wield a bow? This works really well for group RPs because then you can 'fill in' a missing role (for example a tank or a healer) but not have to comprise a pre-made characters personality since it's all from the ground up.

In the rare occurrences that I do have a character in mind and THEN need to pick a weapon, I focus far more on what makes sense versus what their personalty would like or what is best for the RP. If the character was raised as a noble, then they likely learned how to use a sword and shield more so than a bow or axe. However if they were raised in the wild as hunters or criminals, than the reverse makes sense. It's like guns. A teenager raised by regular parents (average in all ways) would not know how to shoot a gun, or if they do then they have only done it a few times with the same/similar gun. Your character had to learn how to fight somewhere, so keep that in mind when you pick a weapon. Your character does not need to like their weapon, it doesn't even need to fit their personality in the least bit, as long as it is more practical/realistic to their life experiences. You don't always have a choice what weapon (classes) you are forced to learn about.

As for when I need to pick a power, things get a bit more difficult since the rules change every time. For this, I normally just pick my favorite power or what I am craving since a lot of times the powers are seemingly random. If I need to be more thoughtful though (like what you are asking) then I also take a more practical/realistic mindset to power choices. A hunter would learn nature magic or summoning animals. A scholar would know rituals, things that time time and preparation since they are not on the battle field. Things that are useful to them in their lifestyles at that moment. No solider would know how to control water since they are fighting armies in an open field most of the time, so give them fire or rock. As for more high school magic role plays.... I like to think about adaptation. What 'awakened' their powers? What situation would they come across where magic could have saved their life? If they fell off a cliff they would gain air so that they could prevent their fall at the last moment. If they got in a car crash, in order to survive they awakened the ability to harden their skin at will. Typically something is needed to trigger a new found power, so give them a power that matches the reason.
~~~
This turned out kind of rambley but I hope it helped you!

 

[PanOtterPus]

For me it's more about personality/setting/background. I'll take into account convenience, but essentially it revolves around what's suited to that particular character and what they'd enjoy most or be better skilled at.
Convenience comes into account - if you're in an apocalyptic setting and scrambling to find a weapon, you'll pick up the first one you come by, maybe swapping it later if you find better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Smol Birb]

I honestly just go with what ever makes the most amount of sense.
For instant, are they short and quick on their feet? I'll probably give them a knife of some sort. Are they not very keen on getting close to people, and have good eye sight? Gun or bow. Are they taller? Sword, possibly a shield. Lots of upper body strength? Compound bow, heavy sword, pipe, etc. I just like to use what makes sense.

 

[AldarisLordOfLight]

A character's weapon would reflect on how they act, their attitude towards most things, and their style of dealing with adversities and trials they may face. So for me, when I choose a weapon for my OCs it would reflect who they are in the world they live in. But sometimes there are certain scenarios that would limit the choices of weapons so I would pair them instead with weapons they believe would be best suited to their style and disposition. Would they prefer force or precision? Up close and personal or fight from afar? I would like to believe that they are people too, so it stands to reason that they would choose their weapons if they were alive here with us in the waking world.

The attitude and character disposition would also apply when I pick my character's power/abilities as well. So it's a matter of consistency.

There's this habit as well that when it comes to weapons, it changes for the character overtime. It's like their weapons would also reflect on how they grew within the confines of the world they operate in.

That's what I think on the matter of characters and weapons.

 

[Lorsh]

Unless the character is some sort of warrior/aristocrat who really gives a shit about what their weapon looks like, I usually don't base weaponry off a character's personality/traits, unless it's practical/makes sense. I find highly customized weapons (mainly in regard to strange colors, engravings, cosmetics, etc.) somewhat weird if the character themselves is not obsessed with weapons. A weapon's just a weapon, usually.

 

[Umbrie]

it is a matter of what skillset the character specializes in, the weapon restrictions of the place the character grew up in, and the practicality of the weapon relative to the character's skillset. personality is totally not important to this at all.

i'm going to use one of my other characters that isn't my pride and joy Umbrie as an Example for once.

Pyrus Aniri, one of Umbrie's many different elemental Nymph sisters is a Fire Element Nymph who became a Priestess of the Forgefather after seeing a connection between her affinity for fire and her affinity for Blacksmithing, though she could smith greater weapons than any dwarf as she saw fit, and hits with the fury of an erupting Volcano, her Short temper made it hard for her to truly devote herself to anything that wasn't blacksmithing, and as a priestess of the Dwarven Forgefather, she got to do lots of blacksmithing.

a Herectic Group attacked the temple she was staying at and slaughtered the Dwarven priests she worked with, and in self defense, with limited weapon skills, she found out she was healed by fire, and thus, she combusted herself and beat down the herectics in flaming hand to hand, her clothing didn't survive, but having brawled like many dwarves at the temple, she struck furiously and recklessly.

Pyrus's hand to hand style was Dwarven Tavern Brawling, and she hates to sully her hammer with the touch of a herectic who opposes the forgefather.

she fights with fury, aggression and passion, beating things down with a burning body. she later learned other applications for her fey fire magic when she returned to her mother and was shown more of how to use it in combat. then she returned to the dwarven inquisition and started melting the faces off of herectics, using the strength built from blacksmithing to hold her foes down as she burned them alive. though not truly a Dwarf, Pyrus is seen as an honorary companion of the Dwarves.

 

[MoxxyMoxx]

Character Weapons can be simple and complex but I'd look at your character's persona. Are they more physical or more mental? Practical or Fashionable? Melee, Short Range or Long Range? Lots of things come into play. With Steven Universe for example each of the gem's weapons represent a key trait. Jasper is hot headed and has a helmet, Steven is protective and caring and has a shield, Sugalite is wild and dangerous and has a flail, Smoky is childish and has a yo-yo, Pearl is precise and has a sword and so on and so forth. With my own characters, I like to play intelligent and practical people meaning with weapons I tend to go with simple, easy to find and use weapons like swords, knives, pistols and the occasional shotgun.

 

[Idea]

Usually speaking, powers and the like are the first thing I pick. They are really the thing I can be the most creative about or the thing that allows me to explore types of characters that might´ve been impossible in the setting otherwise. I like playing around with the rules.

Then, I see how that power can affect someone and shape a personality and history around it. Nowadays usually history first, since history tends to have cause and effect and it feels more natural to have a personality that comes out of a character´s backstory.

However, in those instances when the personality or story of a character come first, it usually means I already have a strong grasp of what kind of character I want to be playing. From there, I do my best to get into my character´s shoes: What kind of weapon would THEY pick? If it´s a very rational and calculated character, they will want the most effective and pratical weapon possible, if they are a sadist, they may want one that inflicts the most pain regardless of effectiveness, if they fear pain they will likely resort to ranged weaponry, etc...

 

[BunnyBoiVeena]

I would say practicality always comes first. You could train any character, let alone any person, to have any weapon, no matter what their personality is. In a sense, practically could come from personality, or rather, nature. Consider the person's background and whether or not the weapon was practical for it. Was it commonly used? Was it standard-issue for the military at the time? When did the character start using the weapon? How exotic is the weapon?

Practically would also come from a character's persona in other ways such as character strength and agility. It's not practical for someone short like a dwarf or gnome to use a long sword. A normal sword would be proportionally the same. A person who is fast would normally utilize the quick and short-ranged daggers as they require little to no strength to use and use speed to their advantage.

Common use and standard issue pretty much go hand-in-hand. If the military uses it, then its most likely because the weapon was designed in a way that the military uses it for a specific role. The Mongol's bows made it easy for horseback archery. The Roman's shields made their phalanxes very effective. Etc. Now, where there's a military there are always rogues that sell the military weapons or steal it from corpses, as such, it gets common use in civilian practices, legal or otherwise.

There is also the difficulty of the weapon to consider. Whips take much longer to master and use effectively than swords. A shortbow is easier to use compared to other bows such as longbows. The time they pick up the weapon should very well define how much they've trained with it and how good they are at using it. Moreso when it comes to exotic weapons that require special training to use.

Finally, there is the environment. If one's character has lived long enough in an area, they'll have learned certain weapons don't work there. Swamps for example. They are often associated with trees with annoying vines that limit movement, tall grass areas, and water. Everywhere. A staff-like weapon such as spears isn't useful as its long length can get caught against vines or even slowed down by the grass or trees. Weapons commonly associated with swamp areas are swords like machetes, axes for tree cutting, bows because of the dense terrain. What if they were raised in an environment with horseback riding? They could use a bow like the Mongol's did. But what if the population didn't wear thick steel armor? They would most likely used curved swords instead of straight blades. The curvature would make horseback drivebyes easier.

I would say that practicality in the end can also define one's personality and background. The origins of the weapon a character could use can very well define where they came from, where they've trained, or what kind of environment they've lived in.

 

[Terrabreak]

In my case I have some sort of guide I use most of the time. Depending on the character's personality and the fighting style they have, I try to define those and then choose the weapon.

Guns for pride, bows for grace, axes for power, swords for balance, rapiers and spears for technique, daggers for speed, etc.

I dont always follow it to a T but it serves as a starting ground to decide.

 

[James_Sinclair]

I look at all necessary factors: their frame and demeanor, what time and place they live in, race, lineage, anything that can sway them. With this I find out how they fight and what weapons fit best out of what they have access to

 

[Bealocwealm]

I'm not a combat-heavy player. My main char favours a bow because I decided it would be a fun playstyle for me as I personally enjoy stealth and ranged combat to melee. I have a postapocalyptic larp char who wields a massive length of rusted pipe, which requires both hands to use, because I didn't want to larp another ranged-only char under the postapoc game's rules set, but still wanted to keep as much distance between me and baddies as possible, because I'm bad at running. If I hadn't designed them for larp and with an eye to expanding my combat experience, though, this char would likely just use a sniper rifle as I originally planned.

I may not play enough combat-heavy chars to have weapon choice be a frequent concern, tho.

 

[BDark]

I think it has to do with the following in almost respective order; the last two are equally as important:
> Setting (especially time period)
> Character type/career (sometimes irrelevant)
> Personality
> Build

For the first point: Setting.
As we all know, a setting is when and where. If you have a roleplay set in, say, England a couple of years before the Dark Ages, then you'll have Vikings running around. If you have a roleplay set in Ancient Egypt around, say, 1530 BC, then you'd have the Hyksos ruling Egypt. You wouldn't want a character walking among Vikings shooting down enemies with a rifle... Unless he's a time traveller, of course. You also wouldn't have a native-American holding a Mongolian sword.

Next is the character's career.
This is sometimes irrelevant depending on the type of roleplay you have, or the career (a mercenary could literally wield any weapon, ranging from a slingshot to a nuke-shooter, and still be quite good at his job), but we'll consider it anyways.
Let's say your character is a hunter. That means he'll need to be stealthy, so his weapon would be something ranged, like a bow or a gun. It could also be something like a spear, or even throwing knives. If your character is a barbaric raider, then he'll most likely use heavy weapons like axes, swords, or hammers. Consider your character's position in his society/in the world. Of course, you could have a character who's a marksman in the army but secretly (or not so secretly) trains with an axe, so he would use both.

Then we've got the personality to consider:
A strategist or a head-on-charger won't make much of a difference, although it's still good to consider. I mean, you could have a Viking (with whom I am obsessed), a stereotypically barbaric brutal-type character, be a strategist while a Ninja, a generally strategic and stealthy character, be a head-on charger. While these two roles wouldn't normally fit the character, if you could make it work, then go ahead, give your charger a light weapon. I'd much rather have my energetic, teleporting, almost-insane character use knives or dual blades rather than an axe or even a gun.

Finally, we get to the physical build:

Arguably more important than the previous point, build is not something to throw right out of the trash. Consider the natural body type/shape, the current form, and any abilities/disabilities. For example, a cripple wouldn't use a bow and arrow or a greatsword but could use some sort of magical abilities (like Professor X) or something Sci-Fi, like something installed in his mech suit/wheelchair (maybe he's a cyborg?), depending on what your roleplay is like. A brute would most likely use really large, damage-dealing weapons like a greatsword, a war hammer, or a battleaxe, o maybe even a bazooka or a rifle, while a smaller, more mobile, light, hit-and-run type character would most likely use lighter and quicker weapons, like a bow and arrow, knives, daggers, dual blades, sabres, or plasma blasters.


Another thing I'd like to point out is this:
Consider foreign weapons. Everyone knows longswords, crossbows, and snipers, but how many people use, or even heard about, weapons such as the Dao, the Khopesh, or the Macuahuitl? Not many people. Maybe use the bolas or halberds more often, as, despite being well-known, they are surprisingly used very little.

Or maybe I'm just wrong. Dunno, really.

 

[adrian_]

For many characters (depending on the roleplay of course) one of the most important things to do about your character is selecting their weapon, physical or magical, and melee or ranged.. How do you go about deciding what they use? What weapons go well with what characters? Do you prioritize practicality, or personality?

I myself have weapon problems with my characters some times. One of my favorite OCs (that I still have yet to use in a current rp) is a large strong bruiser type character. I traditionally have him wield a large two handed swords, as swords are generally are more associated with heroism, as well as the fact they are just flat out more practical than most other weapons. But sometimes I wonder if an axe would suit him better, since, while it may not be as practical, it does suit his character better (to me anyway).

What are your thoughts on the subject?

I have to disagree, as axes are very practical as weapons, they combine the universality of a sword, with the power a hammer, along with the fact that they can be very useful out of combat, however I'm talking about a hand axe, instead of a greataxe. But do what you would like to do.

 

[adrian_]

But when it comes to military role plays, I stay in the range of a certain nations weaponry and pick something that suits me, which would be something light, however having the ability to keep someone or something away, much like if my char were something like a tank commander, a grease gun or sidearm would be my choice. If the roleplay is shifted towards being very historically accurate I would however have to deal with fact of constant jamming from both weapons, but it's worth it if I can use the weapon effectively.

 

[SirBlazeALot]

Hmm I don't think I've ever given this much thought. Since it's highly dependent on the setting, I think that shit helps a lot. Usually when I know the setting for action RPs I already have a "class" in mind for my character. Like oh I'm gonna make a healer, so she'll have like a staff and maybe a magic book. Or oh I'm gonna make a scout so I'll give him a pistol and a dagger. Stuff like that.

In my only RP though, there are actual classes with explicitly listed weapons to accompany them so the heavy lifting in that departments already done.

 

[Birdsie]

It depends on the character.

I like to play the "angry berserker" archetype sometimes, so I give them a huge ax that has chainsaw properties, or the biggest gun imaginable with 11 barrels and 22 magazines.
Some other times, I might be a sorcerer with a khopesh-shaped sword, or a spear-staff.

 

[Unwavering Knight]

By the size of the enemy's neck.

 

[Cosmos]

I tend to choose one that has a good balance of personality to practicality, since I create a lot of rogue-type or intelligence/speed rather than endurance/strength I tend to lean more towards the more lightweight, easy to carry weapons. Especially since a lot of my characters are rather childish in nature I have to take into account what fits for them, no matter how practical a 16 year old who acts like they're ten is not going to be carrying around a giant two handed sword in most circumstances. XD

But then again I also prioritise magic over weapons a lot, or have weapons as a secondary to fist fighting or hand-to-hand combat, leaving me with a few small daggers, a short sword, a cutlas or sometimes a small pair of guns. In certain circumstances even using a staff or extendable stick to gift with when needed~

 

[TheRockInception]

The more flamboyant and animate character, the more elaborate and engraved the weapon is.

I honestly love silver plated, engraved, ivory gripped semi-automatic pistols.

 

[Nogoodname]

Generally I choose my characters weapon based on what they would want. For example one character I use a lot is a rogueish treasure hunter. A quick learner with a proficiency for pre planning. So obviously for her I would choose a weapon that A. Fits her body type and fighting style (she's roughly 5'3 with an athletic body type so greatswords and such are right out) B. Offers versatility for a variety of situations and C. Works well in areas that she would most likely fight in being the tight quarters of old ruins and caves. She uses a shortsword and a hand crossbow. The two weapons together A. Play to her fighting style as both are easy to use and don't take a lot of strength B. Offer versatility, the two weapons allow her to fight in melee and at range, hand crossbows aren't overly difficult to load and she can also use the bolts for other things like springing traps from a distance. And C. Work well in tight environment as that's where she'll mostly come into conflict.

It's important to remember though that even bad weapon choices can be good character design, and really fun too! Because it's a learning experience for your character. I still absolutely LOVE the AtLA episode about Sokkas sword because it showed a lot of interesting character development from just a mundane stick of metal.