[Airerûthiel]

The thing that appeals to me about role playing is how like creative writing it is, except that you have no idea where your story will go because it lies in the hands of every gamer as opposed to just your own. This often makes for a tale littered with twists and turns, which keep me (speaking as both a reader and a writer here) wanting to know what happens next and may possibly give me an idea for my next post in that game.

When I think about joining a game I look for ideas that are a little different from the norm - while I'm not denying adventures don't appeal to me (indeed they do, all the games I have played in except the inns were/are adventur games), I like those that are a bit different and more challenging. This, I believe, enables the potential RPGer to push themselves further and strive to improve their writing in order to meet the standards of a particular game.

I haven't actually 'chosen' to join any games whilst I've been an active Barrow-Downs member (which is only since around Christmas), having been invited every time. Usually I start off in the inns and then see where my character goes from there - for instance, if a game comes up and my character has not been particularly active for some while, I will volunteer if the game appeals to me.

My characters generally start off with the names of friends/families/celebrities going into a name generator and then taking whatever I get as a starting point. I usually try to give my characters unusual features to make them seem a little bit different and 'off-the-beaten-track' as it were. Some of the appearances and personalities are based on people I know - for instance, Maikadurion from 'Ride' is largely taken from my tomboyish best friend. Another thing I like to do is to link my characters' backstories, such as them being related to or good friends with another character, in order to give them more 'bulk'.