Character Creation: Archetypes

This is another guide designed to help people (both old and new) in creating new characters or improving upon old characters - as with all guides this is not a rulebook and we do not have a rigid system of inflexible "character creation" codes like some role-play environments: neither do I profess to be the know-all of character creation.

However this is designed to give a brief look at archetypes and how to make use of them in interesting and (hopefully) fun ways - helping to avoid cliches or other things that people may view as negative to roleplay and story development in general.

What Is An Archetype?
An Archetype is, simply put, a way of classifying characters - although every character is unique and nobody likes to be given a label in fiction most (if not all) characters can be given a certain "label" determined on certain qualities they may share.

For example the term "Hero" and "Villain" are used to describe two very well known and extremely broad archetypes.

Characters listed as "Heroes" vary immensely in origin, appearance, abilities and so forth but are all linked by certain factors such as the will to protect their world, society or ideals as well as their general battle to uphold some sort of ethical code (even anti-heroes have some standards).

Likewise characters listed as "Villains" vary from world-shattering monstrosities to criminals who pick people's pockets - what links them is certain shared traits such as the desire to damage their world, society or ideals and their disregard for law and order.

Due to the User Battles (also known as Villains RPG) being a complex shared-universe we can't be quite as simplistic as this so we have developed as many archetypes as possible (without, of course, overloading your mind).

The archetypes below are by no means the only archetypes to be found but are hopefully varied enough to aid the majority of roleplayers - also, you may see some archetypes listed and think to yourself "that's not the correct term": don't panic or complain.. everyone has a different way of labelling certain archetypes, as they say: to each his own..

Tragic Hero / Tragic Villain
The Tragic Hero often travels alone or finds it hard to relate to others, they mean well but often end up at the recieving end of some cruel cosmic joke - they rarely get a break and are often destined to lose or continually struggle against forces they can not truly defeat: their victories are often only won with extreme effort and they will usually lose much in the process.

A Tragic Villain is much the same, unlike the traditional villain of fiction they are not necessarily evil characters and the audience often feel empathy towards them - tragic villains are mirrors of the tragic hero, the only difference really being that while the tragic hero seeks to do good the tragic villain gives in to darkness.. the tragic villain can sometimes be redeemed but only a fool would believe all tragic villains can be persuaded to return to the light, often (as is sadly the case in reality) their tragic backstories are simply too much and they lash out at an often unfair world, society or universe..

Advantages
This archetype instantly draws people to a character and avoids the dreaded "2-dimensional" stereotypes that people have associated with high-powered characters in comic books, animation and other storytelling: it also makes a character more "human" and thus easier to relate too (see "The Unknowable Foe" for the exact opposite)

Drawbacks
If played incorrectly this archetype can devolve into the "emo" or "angst" stereotype - however a certain amount of angst is by no means a negative thing (sadly many people forget this), at the same time a character who is nothing but a walking kick-bag with a really really depressing attitude is more repulsive than sympathetic (even tragic characters can have moments of happiness.. without them they seem more a parody than a real person).

Examples In User Battles


The Divine
The Divine is the opposite of The Demonic and is a character or organization that embodies concepts found in real-world religions or beliefs (however direct representations of real-world deities is deeply discouraged, for obvious reasons).

The Divine is a much harder archetype to play than The Demonic as those who take this archetype on must be mindful to create a believable character without offending large groups of people - when roleplaying as a "god", "angel" or other divine being one is always walking a fine line but when played right the archetype can be rewarding for all involved..

The Unknowable Foe


The Unknowable Foe can come from the furthest reaches of space, time or the human mind and can take almost any form imaginable - it may be a monster so terrible that to gaze upon it will drive grown men mad or it may take the form of an innocent child.

The Unknowable Foe is not just an alien, it is an alien that can not be understood by human mindset - they may be malicious or merely so unusual that they cause unease to others.

The Unknowable Foe can also be so incredibly strange and otherworldly that it causes immense danger without even knowing it is doing so..

Advantages
The "Unknowable Foe" effectively obliterates the common stereotype that all species are "human" - in the sense of having culture, language and behavior that complies (somewhat unrealistically) with that of modern day Earth.

Many people have questioned why advanced aliens in fiction, vastly superior to humanity, would happen to speak English or have ideals identical to humans - the introduction of the "Unknowable Foe" pretty much tells such people that not all aliens are going to go along with that stereotype.

Drawbacks
The "Unknowable Foe" is a very hard character to play effectively and in order to have significant impact it should be used sparingly - also, by its very nature, the "Unknowable Foe" is a complex beast and many roleplayers will become confused if you utilize too much cosmic jargon.. for example quoting entire pages of the Necronomicon is all well and good for Lovecraft fans but try to be respectful for users who may not understand such subject matter. Another important thing to remember about the "Unknowable Foe" is that if overused it becomes less and less effective.. so be sure to use the archetype sparingly and with variety..