Other Thoughts on playing a wider range of characters?

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Althea

Lady of the Hoot Birds
What it says on the tin really. Just wondering if anyone has any tips for getting comfortable with characters outside of their norm. I normally play female OCs aged between 19 and 35. But I'm wanting to gain the confidence to play males, and canon characters. -_- advice would be welcomed
 
I can't say much on playing male canon characters as I can count on one hand how many times I have. Canons just aren't my thing. This topic here Advice/Help - Playing the Opposite Gender has some interesting advice on playing male characters and if I'm not mistake there's a link in it to lead to another topic about playing the opposite gender. Hopefully it will help you get some ideas on what you want to do going forward. :)
 
I can't say much on playing male canon characters as I can count on one hand how many times I have. Canons just aren't my thing. This topic here Advice/Help - Playing the Opposite Gender has some interesting advice on playing male characters and if I'm not mistake there's a link in it to lead to another topic about playing the opposite gender. Hopefully it will help you get some ideas on what you want to do going forward. :)

Thanks! Super helpful link
 
Aha! I am in two crossover roleplays, in both of which I am playing canon characters, so I somewhat know how to roleplay with them!

But in all seriousness, the main thing you should do if you want to try a canon character is DO YOUR RESEARCH. Look into the franchise they’re from, skim a few wikia pages, read some other people’s roleplaying as them, just get a good feel for what the character is like.
 
Aha! I am in two crossover roleplays, in both of which I am playing canon characters, so I somewhat know how to roleplay with them!

But in all seriousness, the main thing you should do if you want to try a canon character is DO YOUR RESEARCH. Look into the franchise they’re from, skim a few wikia pages, read some other people’s roleplaying as them, just get a good feel for what the character is like.

The biggest fear I have is that if I do all that I will still like... disappoint with my portrayal?
 
The biggest fear I have is that if I do all that I will still like... disappoint with my portrayal?

If it’s a crossover roleplay or a multi-fandom of any kind, there’s a good chance there won’t be any expectations for how your character should act since you know more about them than they do. I haven’t been in a fandom roleplay that’s like focused around a specific fandom before, so I know not any advice to give you on that, but I honestly don’t think they really have huge enough expectations to be seriously disappointed and deem you a disgrace to the character.
 
I hope so. It's something I've wanted to try for a while but I've never been brave enough
 
Well, my advice might not be the most helpful, but roleplaying is like acting. You have to get inside your characters brain and think like them. For example, if you’re very shy but your character is very extroverted and outgoing, you can’t just stay in your own mind or your character may end up more like you than what you put on your template. You need to BE your character.
 
I dunno man, if I were to play a male character, I'd probably play them the same way I play my female characters. I don't think that gender matters that much because how characters act is mostly influenced by their personality, not their sex. Sure, there are some gender-specific things, but I think that you can get away with not writing about them in most situations if you don't have confidence in your knowledge.
 
In more general terms playing a wider range of characters comes first and foremost from your usual style. While it may sound counter-intuitive when put like that, it's really not: You want familiar footing even in unfamiliar lands. Here are a few questions to ask:
*Where do you typically draw your character's actions from?
->Knowing this you may be able to follow a similar pattern for the unfamiliar character. I decide my character's actions first and foremost keeping consistent with what I established about them, so I often check the character sheet's personality as a filter or lens for the character. So if I play a character I'm less familiar with, I can still rely on the familiar method.

*How skilled are you at given types of characters and their requirements?
->If you're not good at solo posts or innitiating conversation using a character that isn't very communicative, you should probably hold off on said not very communicative character. Always make sure you can pull off what your character needs to work, or at least to have a solid plan B.

*Play to the similarities and differences
->Keeping high awareness of the similarities and differences between the familiar characters and unfamiliar characters, while it can make the fact stand out, can be a decent mechanism. Where there are similarities you'll know what to do, what's familiar, and where there's differences you'll know not to do the familiar.

Hope this helps!
 
I find the best thing to do when your starting out is base your character on real people in your life. Someone like a friend, boyfriend, brother, father, etc. Someone that you interact with on a regular basis and whose personality and background your very familiar with.

Because characters do not exist in a vacuum. They are influenced more-so by their upbringing and their surroundings than their personality or their gender. A 30 year old man who spent years being homeless is going to have a very different mindset and personality than a 30 year old man who has been comfortably affluent their whole life.

So that's why taking a real person as inspiration helps, especially someone who your close too. As it gives you a real three-dimensional template that you just have to copy into whatever setting you are roleplaying in. And if you get stuck you can just imagine in your mind "Well if X was really in this situation how would he act?"

For canon I honestly recommend doing the same thing as above, although your recreating a fictional work not a real life person. I would say stick close to the canon storyline/setting as much as possible at first. Once you feel like the person is fully fleshed out in your mind you can expand but I would start simple.
 

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