Alleyverse Character Discussion

[+Invocation]

9 hours ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

Can I get further discounts for a third/fourth blade?

...Why would you need more than two Blades?

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

1 hour ago, Invocation said:

...Why would you need more than two Blades?

Could be planning to sell them on the black market.  Which brings up another question: since Shardblades are dead spren, would their illegal sale count as organ trafficking?

[+Invocation]

2 minutes ago, ZincAboutIt said:

Could be planning to sell them on the black market.  Which brings up another question: since Shardblades are dead spren, would their illegal sale count as organ trafficking?

Graverobbing and corpse-trafficking, probably.

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

1 minute ago, Shard of Thought said:

Okay... ummm.... Is there anything I should do? Like read through the summary? Where do I post first?

There are a few threads where hopping in might make sense. There's a tavern thread in The Bleeding Spike, the Forge is planning a heist, that sounds fun. Joining a Guild can help you get acquainted with the world and provide some direction but it's not necessary. 

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Hmm. Well, I know how I want to start her out. She needs to kill her sister. It'll be a really long post. Where would I put something like that.

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

1 minute ago, Shard of Thought said:

Hmm. Well, I know how I want to start her out. She needs to kill her sister. It'll be a really long post. Where would I put something like that.

Is her sister in the AV, or on Scadrial? I suppose it doesn't matter. You can throw that in the E3-E4 Timeskip thread, that's the current "recent backstory" type place.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Okay, then. I'll get to writing that.

[AonEne he/him]

I believe there’s also a Character Development Scenes thread. 

[I ♥️ Rashek]

Why do so many AV characters have parental abuse/tragedy backstories? Does this have something to do with how Sanderson writes his main characters?

[AonEne he/him]

3 minutes ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

Why do so many AV characters have parental abuse/tragedy backstories? Does this have something to do with how Sanderson writes his main characters?

Because character development, I guess. *good relationship with character’s parents high five* 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

9 minutes ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

Why do so many AV characters have parental abuse/tragedy backstories? Does this have something to do with how Sanderson writes his main characters?

I think that “tragic backstory” is often a good way to introduce a reason for drastic action. However, the AV is also a very harsh world and I like playing with the idea of what is “normal” in a place like this. For example, Corette’s backstory is “tragic” to us (orphan, thief, almost killed, recruited into the DA) but she has very little problem with it. Granted she’s also a bit abnormally low in the empathy department. So it’s more like, is this character’s backstory tragic to them, and how does the background contribute to their own development. Idk that’s just how I approach character creation. 

[kenod]

Also, a fair number of characters are Radiants, which are required to be broken in some way, which is rather difficult to do without creating a traumatic backstory. It's possible, of course, but more difficult.

Edit:
As for my personal views, at least for my own characters, it's because the backstories are important to the concept/idea behind the character. If I want to create a remorseful assassin, I need a reason for why they became an assassin in the first place, as well as what triggered said remorse. And exactly how this works would also influence exactly how they handle what they did. Someone forced into becoming an assassin would want to get out, but someone voluntarily doing it would need a trigger for coming to understand that what they did was wrong.
The same basically goes for all my characters. If a concept is interesting, I create it, explore what backstories make sense. Sometimes this is traumatic, since that would be the most likely explanation for their behavior, and sometimes it's much more normal, without any real trauma. But even then, you kind of need at least something, because otherwise your character will often be rather bland. Sure, exceptions exists, but they're exceptions. Most of the time, someone with a perfectly normal life isn't going to be voluntarily joining the guilds and fight. Even the ones without any trauma would have some sort of reason, since normal people normally don't go around putting themselves in danger without one.

So, to end my rambling, I feel that a character needs some form of driving force for why they do what they do. Sometimes this is a traumatic backstory (since it's easier to do or makes it easier to fit into existing story lines), and sometimes it's more mundane, but they (almost) always need something, otherwise your character will likely be rather boring or feel unrealistic.

Edited October 24, 2019 by kenod

[AonEne he/him]

2 hours ago, kenod said:

Also, a fair number of characters are Radiants, which are required to be broken in some way, which is rather difficult to do without creating a traumatic backstory. It's possible, of course, but more difficult.

Same for most Allomancers, who have to Snap. Really, in general in Brandon’s books, accessing magic is traumatic. 

Edited October 24, 2019 by AonEne

[kenod]

1 minute ago, AonEne said:

Same for most Allomancers, who have to Snap. Really, in general in Brandon’s books, accessing magic is traumatic. 

For Allomancers it isn't really a thing anymore though, at least not in Era 2. Harmony lowered the thresholds so the whole beating stuff wasn't necessary anymore to Snap.

[AonEne he/him]

Just now, kenod said:

For Allomancers it isn't really a thing anymore though, at least not in Era 2. Harmony lowered the thresholds so the whole beating stuff wasn't necessary anymore to Snap.

I know, but strong emotion means that there’s still a chance for it to be traumatic, and we have a bunch of characters from E1 as well. 

[kenod]

Just now, AonEne said:

I know, but strong emotion means that there’s still a chance for it to be traumatic, and we have a bunch of characters from E1 as well. 

True enough, though without specific confirmation on the threshold there isn't that much to go on for Era 2 characters. I actually once read something that the shock of being born might be enough to Snap, though I think that was just someone's theory.

[overlord stick]

1 hour ago, kenod said:

True enough, though without specific confirmation on the threshold there isn't that much to go on for Era 2 characters. I actually once read something that the shock of being born might be enough to Snap, though I think that was just someone's theory.

I think it was mentioned somewhere that Vin snapped due to painful birthing.

[I ♥️ Rashek]

Are dead characters still included in the 5 characters per era limit?

[+Sorana she/her]

19 minutes ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

Are dead characters still included in the 5 characters per era limit?

You can have five active characters. Dead ones, or retired ones don't count, but please tell an AV-Mod so that we can update the list of characters should a characters needs to be crossed out.

[AonEne he/him]

3 hours ago, Lord Furret said:

I think it was mentioned somewhere that Vin snapped due to painful birthing.

I thought it was when her mom stabbed her

[Voidus]

13 hours ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

Why do so many AV characters have parental abuse/tragedy backstories? Does this have something to do with how Sanderson writes his main characters?

Same reason the protagonist of most adventure stories is an orphan, if you have a stable family life then you're not the type of person to go on a giant adventure around the world.

[I ♥️ Rashek]

Just now, AonEne said:

Assassinations and war are different things from police just straight-up murdering. I don’t remember whether assassinations are officially illegal, but all the natural (not exactly the best word, but we’ll go with it) deaths are something else entirely. And nobody is going to try and arrest a Denizen for murder. Police forces exist to keep the peace, and I don’t think even one in the Alleyverse would be okay with a kill first attitude. 

If the police don't even arrest people for murder, doesn't that make them completely useless?

Kill first is his fighting style, not his answer to everything. It's only relevant if he chooses to fight. It's totally reasonable for a policeman to defend himself with lethal force, considering his history and how dangerous Alleyverse criminals can be.

[AonEne he/him]

13 minutes ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

If the police don't even arrest people for murder, doesn't that make them completely useless?

Kill first is his fighting style, not his answer to everything. It's only relevant if he chooses to fight. It's totally reasonable for a policeman to defend himself with lethal force, considering his history and how dangerous Alleyverse criminals can be.

They do arrest for murder. They just have a different definition of murder. 

A policeman is going to be fighting a lot, though. Defending oneself is reasonable, yes, but I think most people would first attempt to subdue rather than kill, and would not want someone like him in the force. It makes sense for his history, but the police might not see it the same way. 

[+Ark1002]

On 10/18/2019 at 4:16 PM, I ♥️ Rashek said:

If Steelheart was in the Alleyverse, could aluminum bullets hurt him?

I'd actually say no. Steelheart's invincibility is affecting his body, not things attacking his body. So his body would still be invincible. 

EDIT: Also, @I ♥️ Rashek the Precursors are the police force that we have chosen, so I'd mention @Darth Woodrack to see

Edited October 25, 2019 by Ark1002

[AonEne he/him]

8 minutes ago, Ark1002 said:

I'd actually say no. Steelheart's invincibility is affecting his body, not things attacking his body. So his body would still be invincible. 

But the thing causing it to be that way is Investiture, which aluminum is immune to. His body is highly Invested, but the bullets wouldn’t care about that, they’d just bypass it.