Joining a role play game can be a challenge - especially if you don't know anyone and have no idea on what you who you want to be. No matter what anyone says, we have all been there, pretending to know what we are doing when in reality no one has any clue. Thankfully, most of the community here in Freelancer is quite easy going if you are willing to make an effort.
At the end of the day - Practice makes perfect.
This guide won't tell you how to rep a ship to make it affiliated with the chosen group, but it will tell you how to create a character that will be flying that ship, this is only a basic outline - enough to get you started. As time goes by, and your character gets a history in game, you can add that in, and create a full biography of that pilot.
You need to pick a group you want to be from. In Freelancer, this isn't as easy as just picking one, as this is who you will be while in that ship. There are a lot of choices, as in Freelancer, we have everything from pirates to military, miners and traders, and vigilantes to Zoners. Have a look through this list and see if something catches your eye.
Now you have that sorted, and have read up on who that group is and some of their history, you need to create the building blocks for your character.
Are they a girl or boy
What is their name
How old are they
Where are they from
How did they get there?
What do they look like?
Believe it or not, this is all important when making a character, you can't be a girl one day and a boy the next (unless you have two using the same ship) and you cant be an 8 year old - who looks 40 - Admiral in the navy.
1.
So, for example, My character is from Deep Space Engineering. It is a girl named Jess Doe, and she is about 29 years old. She is from Planet Pittsburgh, in New York - Liberty, and was born there. She is tall with long dark hair, and looks like she can be grumpy at times (That might be because she is Vice President of a large corporation, imagine the stress!). She likes to wear jeans and t-shirts with logos on them, but will dress up in dresses and formal clothing when needed.
2.
Ruby is a Liberty Rogue, she is 32 years old, and was born on Freeport 2 in Bering. She is tall, with blonde hair and has some muscles. She is found more often then not wearing a singlet top and jeans, with at least one gun. She will only dress up when she wants something, is going on a date with someone, or spending time with the Rogue Warlord.
Where did you come from?
So, what made your character want to leave the safety of their home, they left their friends and family to go explore space. Did they have no living family left? Are they after revenge? Or are they just someone who loves adventure? This can be a big part of who you are in the game as this is the beginning of defining your history.
The history of your character will define who they are today. If they were bullied as a child, maybe that is why they want to become a navy officer. Perhaps they were the bully which is why they are a pirate now.
Writing a history will be the hardest thing to do in creating a character, as there is no limit to what to put into it, but if you don't put enough, your characters role play might not make sense.
How was their childhood?
Where did they grow up?
How did they like living and growing up there?
Did they go to college/university?
What did they study?
Did they have any extra-curriculum activities?
Were they in an accident?
Did their parents live together?
Were their parents rich or poor?
Have they been married?
Do they have kids of their own?
Did they do something they really regret? (What was it?)
Did an event happen that made them scared of something?
Those are just some examples of what to put into your characters history are written below, but remember -you can add in, and take out anything you like.
1.
For example: Jess Doe had mostly a good childhood, growing up with both her parents on Planet Pittsburgh. She was bullied and didn't have many friends because her mum schooled her at home. Jess went to University, studying Business, Communication, and Accounting. At University, she joined the basketball team, and made some good friends. Jess has always been scared of the dark, since she was about 8 years old because she got lost in a Boron mine one day when she went to work with her Dad. She is now married to John Doe, and has no children yet but she wants some. The only thing Jess regrets is not listening to her Dad more, as he had some really good business ideas, most of which, she has now forgotten.
2.
Ruby was born on Freeport 2 in Bering. She was an angry child and got kicked out of high-school before reaching the end of 5th form. She never went to university and made money by pirating and stealing. Ruby claims not to be scared of anything, but she doesn't like being alone, this is because both of her parents were alcoholics and her Dad abandoned her when she was young. She has one daughter, Samantha Carter, who she claims not to know as that is her other fear - responsibility. Her biggest regret was having Samantha, but again, she wont admit that as she refuses to look weak and loose the power she has over the male Rogues.
What is your personality like?
Everyone has a different personality, if we didn't, the world would be a boring place. Our personality makes us who we are, and it is the same with your character. This is similar to the history because there is no set template to follow. Every person is different, and therefore every description of them should be too.
What makes them unique?
How is their mood normally? (Happy, sad, angry)
Do they cry a lot?
How do they cope with Stress?
What is there sense of humour like?
Are they forgetful?
Are they honest?
Are they forgiving?
Are they immature?
What are their hobbies?
What are their pet hates?
What do they love/hate most?
Use some of these examples as a starting point for your characters personality. This may take a few goes to get it how you want your character to be, but keep at it until you are happy. Also, remember characters over time (like people) will change, so this might need to be updated as time goes on.
1.
Jess Doe is a strict person, who only cries when under a lot of pressure or one of her employees is having trouble or has passed away. She usually copes with stress well, and has a dry sense of humour. She is honest but sometimes forgets important information. Jess isn't afraid to apologise when she has made a mistake. She is forgiving, and is mature. Her hobbies are arts and crafts, music, exploring, and coming up with new business ideas. Jess' pet hates are disrespecting DSE)'s ships that have been lent out, nail biting, and rudeness but she can't hold a grudge when flowers and chocolates are involved.
2.
Ruby is still angry and wont cry, she will just become violent. She copes with stress well and is really good at pretending things didn't happen, she is also very jealous. She has a sarcastic sense of humour and wont apologise or forgive anyone if something has been done wrong. Ruby loves shiny things, especially diamonds. Her hobbies are target practice, manipulating people, exploring, taunting the military forces, and practice jokes. Rubies pet hates are not being the centre of attention, being ignored, and being left behind/left out of anything.
FAQ
Something happened in game, can I add that in?
As long as it was something your character was involved in (or could have been involved in - IE: Rheinland/Liberty war) and is relevant, then by all means - go for it.
I want to do something, but it might effect other peoples Role play, can I do it?
Ask them first, they might be interested in working with you for it, rather then dislike you for messing up something they have been working hard on.
How extreme can my role play be?
You can't go in, take out the entire Liberty navy fleet with a group of 5 bombers - sorry. But - you can escape them in a bomber. Have fun, but keep it as realistic as you can.
I want to be half-human, half-something else, can I do that?
Yes, you can, but you need to go about it the right way. The community is often not very welcoming to it. Cyborgs are all right, humans controlled by Nomads are fine, half animal/half human characters are often looked sideways at and told they can't do that here.
I want to bring a character from a TV series into the game, can I?
Again, yes, but you need to make sure it fits in with Discovery Freelancer.
I want this picture as my character, but she isn't wearing much clothing, can I do it?
This is a game which children play, if you wouldn't show your grandmother, put some more clothing on it and try again.
I don't have no money, can I beg for it?
Are you begging in Role play, or "I'm new and poor, who has money, give me some"?. If your character is a begger - as annoying as people may find it - and if you are role playing and using an appropriate ID, it is ok.
That and not everyone's perception of roleplay involves creating a character and RPing them as one. This is just one of the many forms of roleplay, more towards the immersive style, the other end of the spectrum being the casual one, which is shown by half of the server.
Which, by the way, is not a bad thing. Just a thing to note, however.
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PSA: If you have been having stutter/FPS lag on Disco where it does not run as smoothly as other games, please look at the fix here: https://discoverygc.com/forums/showthrea...pid2306502
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Rather than begging you should tell new players to ask how to get rich themselves (since it's so easy once you know what to do). "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" and all that. Good guide.
As a newcomer in this system, I really think the tutorial shown above by Widow, is extremely useful to understand what it means to walk in the shoes of a character. I just want to thank him for all advices given in this tutorial. When I created my first character, I never imagined I have to create a personality. But after reading this tutorial, the game really seems more interesting.
![[Image: Sanguines2.jpg]](http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee423/SanguinesMoon/Sanguines2.jpg)
