Analyzing Bios?
I had this idea when reading through the fun thread here. Would anyone be interested in analyzing bios, not necessarily those worst case kind, but general bios that one gets confronted with.
We could systematically work through the strength and weaknesses of each one... basically as an exercise, and possibly an example for other admins about what is important and where one can be a little bit more lenient.
(Admins who are presently trying to figure out whether or not to approve a bio would of course be welcome to post it here (or even only parts) and get some more opinions)
Re: Analyzing Bios? Ah, don't expect too much. I, too, went through some learning process. (and yes, I know better how to spot weaknesses in a bio than how to fix them) And I have also a number or fun-character bios that have faults almost built-in, usually to instill a little bit of either humor or somethig similar into a particular thread.
But here in one of mine, a couple of years old, made for an angsty/serious thread. There should be a couple of edges to find.
Have fun.
Name: Magolim son of Derelim
Species: human, dúnadan
Gender: male
Age: 35
Family: eldest of three children (one brother, one sister). He's married to Serina, who's expecting a child (but she hasn't told him yet)
Appearance:
dark brown hair with only a hint of curls;
dark gray eyes;
tall, strong, a little heavier built than the average ranger;
always looks grave and maybe a little angry (even when he isn't), but that changes when he smiles;
usually wears practical clothes fit for travel in dark shades of green and brown
Talents: tracking and (sword-)fighting, alright with bow and knife; had a special talent for carving
Things he/she can't do: smalltalk, sing, dance, basically anything that has to do with music (He likes to make beautiful flutes, but they never sound good)
Past: As the eldest son of a Ranger his path was clearly laid out for him from the beginning. His father taught him the various arts of hunting and tracking, and the use of weapons. At the age of nineteen he started to travel. A life on the road seemed most suited for him. That changed almost ten years later when he met Serina who looked through his rough exterior and decided to win the love of the man she found underneath. Two years later they married.
Now, with a wife to care and provide for Magolim spends less time travelling and more working to build a home, but will still answer any call from fellow Rangers.
Home /Place of birth: Arnor
Greatest weakness: He's very slow to make friends, which is mostly due to his reserved manner which is often perceived as unfriendly
Weapons: sword, bow and hunting knife
Character: Magolim is one of those characters that you should keep a good distance from when he's angry. Any other time he's quiet, not very talkative and shows little emotions whatsoever. But beneath that rough shell is hidden a loving husband and a good companion with a strong sense of responsibility, only he's careful who he let's come close enough to discover that.
Re: Analyzing Bios?
You know, last night I posted here a looong post. And when I clicked the “Add Reply” button, a lot of Ezboard’s servers get down (from 22.00 to 07.00 of my time) and I lost the whole post. Ni-iice. So, I’m reposting, but shorter this time.
Ok, I had been thinking how to start this and well, I realized that it would all depend of the board the player were applying for. Seriously. Go and look at the bios examples I posted in the ‘fun’ section, they all were approved. Then go and look the applies in S., where they are expected to be *really* excellent (at least if we compare them with other sites). So, I’ll comment the bio as if it was intended to apply for a board less exigent than ToB or S (in short, as some boards I admined/moded until not long ago). In fact, I’m going to comment what I would think about while reading it; what I would tell to the player will come at the bottom, as well as my comments
Name: Magolim son of Derelim Ok, the name sounds as if built in sindarin but I’m not going to check it out.
Age: 35
Family: eldest of three children (one brother, one sister). He's married to Serina, who's expecting a child (but she hasn't told him yet) A bit young for a dúnadan to be married and about to be a father too, but it’s ok. Serina? That doesn’t sound sindarin but, again, I’m not going to check it.
Appearance:
dark brown hair with only a hint of curls;
dark gray eyes;
tall, strong, a little heavier built than the average ranger; Huh-oh. That’s a list, not a description.
always looks grave and maybe a little angry (even when he isn't), but that changes when he smiles; *chuckles* Oh, another “grim” char, “as if he were always angry to the whole world but he can be sweet, you only need to know him and earn his trust”. .
Things he/she can't do: smalltalk, sing, dance, basically anything that has to do with music (He likes to make beautiful flutes, but they never sound good) Ah, yes. Typical too. For some reasons, girls can’t cook or sew or do any of the womanly arts, and men can’t sing and dance, as if it diminished their skills or they were eyed as the modern ‘gays’, while girls would be titled as ‘Barbies’?.
Past: As the eldest son of a Ranger /.../ A bit short and really provides not much info, but it might be a ‘grey’ character. Where does he live, what happened to his parents and siblings? Um.
Home /Place of birth: Arnor Arnor? Arnor doesn’t exist. I would really love to know from where people get the idea that rangers were arnorians.
Greatest weakness: He's very slow to make friends, which is mostly due to his reserved manner which is often perceived as unfriendly As I said before, the ‘grim’ type.
Character: Magolim is one of those characters that you should keep a good distance from when he's angry. Any other time he's quiet, not very talkative and shows little emotions whatsoever. But beneath that rough shell is hidden a loving husband and a good companion with a strong sense of responsibility, only he's careful who he let's come close enough to discover that. Um. *underlines* Would he be one of those players that constantly forces the rest of players to speak and involve him in a scene ‘because, you know, he is so, he would not join them unless you invite him to do it and this assuming you would insist’?.
*takes a note* To tell him to write a desc blah blah and not a list blah blah. If he could write a bit more about his past, great, but it isn’t necessary.
Nolen’s comment: *puts down the admin hat* Back to the Real World! Ok, aside the desc thing, I couldn’t complain. The background is not very developed, but that’s all. Anyway I would keep an eye upon the player because he might be a bit Marysueish -- or a potential problematic player, but I would need to rp with him to solve my doubts, because it might be that he is a newbie, or too shy or not very skilled. And, oh, no rp sample?.
Btw, take no offence for what Nolendur said about the player being the ‘grim type’ and his skills (he can’t sing etc XD). A lot of my Original Chars are like this (Arandur is a good example XD) but you know what I meant, that would be the first impression an admin would get reading the apply
Nolen.
(I’m not sure if this is what you expected we should do )
Re: Analyzing Bios?
*LLLLLLLLLL* Yep, that is basically what I would also say.
Actually, I once ran all my bios that I ever made through the Mary Sue test, and I think two came out borderline.
Re: Analyzing Bios?
The thing is that there are Mary Sues and Mary Sues. I have played a few (a lot) Original charas that would easily be named MS had they taken the test, and I have played with many chars that would be the same.
So, perhaps, it is not the char but the person behind the screen and how he or she manages the char what would made the Mary Sue -- and IMHO it is very important too if the person can justify ICly why the char is this or that.
For example, what's wrong having around a man which family was killed by the orcs being a child, but he escaped and swore to revenge, if he has a good and well worked background? Or a female char that can fight if her history supports it?. And so on. Another (an annoying) thing is if she claims to be Aragorn's sis or or little bro or Legolas' true love, speaking telephatically to Manwë or bearing a silmaril. Those chars, simply, don't rp Tolkien but another thing.
Is it not how the char is portrayed and how he or she acts ICly what makes us sick, interfering in every scene and playing the God, ignoring the rest and bending the scene to his or her whims?. I have read *excellent* applies for Original Chars and Book Chars, which applicant knew a lot the books, but when starting to play, they behaved poorly than the newbiest of the newbies
Re: Analyzing Bios?
I couldn't phrase it any better. The bio can give hints, but in the end it's the player and the style of playing that decided whether the game will be enjoyable or not.
Actually, I have a character, made very early on, that my the usual tests and standards would be called *horrible, and definitely MS* (yes, some things actually need to be changed, now that I learned a bit more, but that's details), and I am asked at time to please bring him into a thread by other players. The thing is that really every part of his personality does have a root in the past, and he usually melds into the story, staying in the background (where this kind of character should stay. I am always surprised at all these "shy" characters suddenly taking over the story.
Andother character would at first sight be called "annoying".. but at the time I made him because just that kind of character was needed in the game. So, it all depends. We can only give guidelines but not definite rules on how to judge characters.
The most important bottom line: If you don't know the player, ask for a sufficiently long roleplaying sample, or at least a really detailed bio.
Quote:The most important bottom line: If you don't know the player, ask for a sufficiently long roleplaying sample, or at least a really detailed bio.
That helps to do some filter... but one never knows of a newbie until you begin to rp with him. Even the greatest of the applies -- oh hold, I'm NOT Galadriel!
Quote:Andother character would at first sight be called "annoying"..
Annoying... ICly? To be annoying from an IC POV is not bad, on the contrary (well, I say this because I like to play 'lively' scenes), the problem comes when the char turns annoying OOCly too. So, to me, a well built char (even if Mary-Sueish after to take the test -- and again, a lot of my chars are MS) is not annoying.
The annoying point (to me, always to me, I repeat) would be to have around Arwen fighting the Nazgul, or Galadriel chatting telephatically with Elrond (or Melian with Thingol ), or some half-elf saving the Middle-Earth thanks to a mithril ring he got from Gandalf that, really, is his father, but no one told him about.
And so on...
Nolen
And just for your fun: Arandur (surely you have heard of him, Andranneth?), was created many years ago and simply because in the thread we were playing we needed to have someone around with enough IC power to fix some things (and to block a MS putting him in his place -- the name was Arandil then, but with time I changed it to Arandur) and we did not wish to involve the Sons of Fëanor to do the job (long tale).
And if nothing else is there, I will offer some of my own for shredding.
)
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