Role of characters in AARs
Starting out
Each of your characters needs a plausible and easily recognisable identity. Think of whatever character you last liked in a book or movie and they will inspire a set of adjectives – Sherlock Holmes as the enigmatic genius, Jack Sparrow as the eccentric romantic, Decimus Maximus as the tragic hero, Mr. Bean as...Mr. Bean.
In AAR writing the game provides various tidbits that form the the basic information required. In TW AARs this often includes a name and title, family, and maybe some personality traits over time. Often the starting characters of a game will provide an adequate starting cast – usually the protagonist, perhaps some support characters, and maybe one or more antagonists. Imaginary characters can then be added to this to suit your storyline. The key is for each character to be believable and have backgrounds that relate logically to the time period as well as other characters. Calling your characters Abdul and Mohammed may not work the best for a story set in medieval France, for example. Sometimes deliberate mismatches could be used to spectacular effect, but in such cases a plausible explanation of the mismatch must be prepared – how Abdul came to be in medieval France.
Main characters
A small group of well-defined main characters will typically define your readership’s relationship with your story. Being the centrepiece of your story, each main character should have a recognisable persona with a well-defined background, personality traits and a purpose to serve. Often it is helpful for main characters to be defined in pairs or in small groups so that characters can be contrasted against one another, and so that there are opportunities for interaction. Good versus evil is a simple yet effective, if a little overused, dichotomy. Male and female characters can be paired as potential lovers. Old and young can become mentor and protégé. Etcetera.
Support characters
Depending on the importance of the role, a support character’s personality and background can be described in great depth, or not at all. The support character’s primary role is to cause some kind of interaction with the main characters in such a way that readers are able to learn more about the latter in specific ways or to progress a story in some way that doesn't involve the main characters. A childhood friend can relate stories of childhood. An old flame can provoke forgotten emotions. A sibling can reveal thoughts of jealousy and rivalry, and so on.
A good idea is to maintain a relatively large cast of support characters, even if some have no immediate use to speak of. These “dormant” support characters are stored away for future use, and can be employed once suitable events require them. They can also be used as side plots or distractions from the main plotline.
Character development
People change over time, and AAR characters should be no different. Over the course of an AAR, all characters should show some sign of development – not just through the accumulating of victories and battle scars – but also in terms of how such events their personalities. It is important that as the reader follows the story he feels that he has grown with the characters, and as characters grow their personalities – anything from their approach to events to their thought processes – should vary accordingly.
For the main characters, it is especially important that as the story progresses, these characters are seen to be progressing along a defined trajectory along a story arc, be it a personal mission, a goal set by another, or some other form of landmark. Having the reader feel the glory of success – or even the pain of failure – could all help to bring him closer to your main character. A glorious victory could galvanise the tentative squire. The consummation of love could cause a brazen warrior to review his priorities. The loss of a loved one, on the other hand, could traumatise a character in some way.
Twists and turns are essential to any good story, and just as in real life, your main characters should experience unexpected events once in a while. These help to break them from clichéd models of archetypal roles which can make the character seem predictable and uninteresting if adhered to for too long. This is where support characters – be it one you've put on the back burner or one who is freshly introduced – and their interaction with other characters comes in. Perhaps a distant cousin has arrived with tragic news of a death at home? Maybe a traveller brings news of the impending Mongol invasion? A battle and the death and suffering that comes with it could give a character a new outlook on life?
Killing main characters
Killing a, or even the, main character is one of the most poignant things any writer can do – to both his readership and himself. If you’ve invested adequately into a main character, suddenly killing him will – unless you’ve provided adequate foreshadowing and maybe even then – almost certainly provoke feelings of shock, sadness, disappointment, and even anger among your readership. Even when the killing of a main character is well executed the anguish it causes may cause some among your readership to protest against your decision, or even to abandon the “ruined” story all together. The death of a well-crafted character may even cause the author himself to lose heart in the plot, fearing it is tainted by the death.
Despite these potential pitfalls, sometimes killing a main character can be an incredibly powerful way to bring the story to a climax, for example at the end of the story. The trauma you cause in your readers can multiply the glory of his life and the significance of his sacrifice. The final moments of a main character – be it a melancholic swansong or a heroic last stand – can help take him to that next level of greatness.
The key to killing a main character is to do it in a manner that seems meaningful and is “epic” in some way. It would be rather silly for your main character to trek across the desert in search of vengeance only to die of an infection, for example. Permanence is another important attribute of such plot turns – that brave sacrifice will lose all meaning if your character is brought back to life somehow a few chapters later.
Not to be done by the faint hearted. |
Lesson 2
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Originally Posted by Herald of Omnisiah
