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RP Character Building Idea: Five Fears
brylars
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Five Fears
The true measure of courage is not to face danger fearlessly but to face fear and overcome it. What makes characters uninteresting are those without flaws, like not being afraid of anything. Those without fear lack an important emotional tool to add weight to their stories and move forward character development.
The Body
One of the most common fears to confront a character adventuring in a dangerous world is that of physical harm. After all, the job is dangerous. Pain and death are obvious and appropriate fears that most characters will face often during their lives. It may add flavor to some characters to make this fear of specific injury: for instance, a bard may be terrified of an injured hand or loss of their voice, which will affect their music. Some players may want a more subtle approach. For example, a warrior may fear their body aging, thus losing their strength or agility. A character can fear an inadequacy that does not exist which can lead to other fears.
Body Related Fears:
Pain
Permanent Injury
Weakness
Inadequacy
Sickness
Death
The Mind
The most powerful tool any character has in their arsenal is their mind, since it controls how they put their skills to use. It can also work against them. They can get stuck constructing invisible enemies and threats out of harmless things. Shadows can be signs of lurking horror; coincidence can be a sign of a superior enemy; an oddly phrased sentence can be a sign of conspiracy. It is a dangerous world out there and characters make calculations about danger out of necessity. Their fear becomes apparent in how they draw those conclusions and react to them. The mind is also the space where characters catalog their plans and resources. Any anxiety about failure, readiness, or progress is felt through the mind. A character can get caught up with attempting to make a foolproof plan but their situation may make any plan’s success uncertain, regardless of the number of contingencies. Certain characters are dependent on their minds in ways others are not. For a magic user, their mind and ability to study magic are paths to power. With power comes great danger and responsibility. It is easy to tie this story to fears of inadequacy and anxiety over sense of self. Fears of the mind are less visceral than others, but they carry no less weight.
Mind Related Fears:
Lack of Sufficient Preparation
Post-Traumatic Stress
Inadequacy
Being Lost
Lack of Needed Information
Existential Dread
The Heart
Emotional storytelling is the core of character-driven fiction. The way you interact with other characters drives a great deal of the story. Rejection is an uneasy theme around which to build fear. Our world is already fraught with social strife surrounding appearance and acceptance. Facing rejection is especially terrifying when one’s way of life depends on trusting other people. On the other side of the coin, intimacy is another common fear. Allowing yourself to care about others makes the pain of loss more pronounced and opens you up to new vulnerabilities. Fear of intimacy raises the stakes on otherwise mundane interactions.
Heart Related Fears:
Being Alone
Rejection
Intimacy
Social Inadequacy/Inexperience
Loss
Social Pressures to Succeed
Family Pressures/Expectations
The Soul/Spirit
The world of fantasy offers boundless possibilities for exploring spiritual themes. It is very possible to play a character who simply fears evil as a force. A story about good and evil on a conceptual level becomes more grounded when you have characters that embody those concepts. Evil is very easy to understand when it can swing a sword or cast magic at you. You can even create internal conflict by exploring the thought process of a good person for whom violence is an unavoidable aspect of life. Fearing personal corruption is a great way to add weight to actions and decisions your character must make. Also there is the other side of the coin. Your character may choose the “evil path” and give themself to a dark entity or power. Their motivation may be vengeance and their fear would be a change of heart causing them to stop their plans.
Soul Related Fears:
Becoming Evil
Eternal Loss
Eternal Punishment
Crisis of Faith
A Specific Evil Person
Vengeance
Internal Change
Being Rejected by One's Ancestors
Bring Cast Out of One's Religion
“The Beast”
“The Beast” is abstract. Despite being abstract, the beast is probably the most commonly represented fear in storytelling. It is based around the unknown and the unknowable causing harm. The most obvious manifestation of the beast is monsters: the awful creatures that lurk in the deep dark dungeons of the world. It is easy to play a character who fears a specific monster. Almost every creature has some terrifying aspect that can cause great fear in a character. The beast is also a central aspect of cosmic horror, where a forbidden truth or power can unravel the stability of reality and create a world of instability and insecurity. There is also an element of the beast in the fears that drive hatred or bigotry. Those who are ignorant and fear what they do not understand are in thrall to the beast.
Beast Related Fears:
A Being with a Monstrous Appearance
Destructive Abilities
Powerful Abilities
Unfamiliar Artifacts
Unknown Cultures
Strangers
Old Enemies, a People or an Individual
NEXT: RP Character Building Idea: The First Time You Risked Your Life ...
Edited by brylars on October 17, 2022 2:40PM The true measure of courage is not to face danger fearlessly but to face fear and overcome it. What makes characters uninteresting are those without flaws, like not being afraid of anything. Those without fear lack an important emotional tool to add weight to their stories and move forward character development.
The Body
One of the most common fears to confront a character adventuring in a dangerous world is that of physical harm. After all, the job is dangerous. Pain and death are obvious and appropriate fears that most characters will face often during their lives. It may add flavor to some characters to make this fear of specific injury: for instance, a bard may be terrified of an injured hand or loss of their voice, which will affect their music. Some players may want a more subtle approach. For example, a warrior may fear their body aging, thus losing their strength or agility. A character can fear an inadequacy that does not exist which can lead to other fears.
Body Related Fears:
Pain
Permanent Injury
Weakness
Inadequacy
Sickness
Death
The Mind
The most powerful tool any character has in their arsenal is their mind, since it controls how they put their skills to use. It can also work against them. They can get stuck constructing invisible enemies and threats out of harmless things. Shadows can be signs of lurking horror; coincidence can be a sign of a superior enemy; an oddly phrased sentence can be a sign of conspiracy. It is a dangerous world out there and characters make calculations about danger out of necessity. Their fear becomes apparent in how they draw those conclusions and react to them. The mind is also the space where characters catalog their plans and resources. Any anxiety about failure, readiness, or progress is felt through the mind. A character can get caught up with attempting to make a foolproof plan but their situation may make any plan’s success uncertain, regardless of the number of contingencies. Certain characters are dependent on their minds in ways others are not. For a magic user, their mind and ability to study magic are paths to power. With power comes great danger and responsibility. It is easy to tie this story to fears of inadequacy and anxiety over sense of self. Fears of the mind are less visceral than others, but they carry no less weight.
Mind Related Fears:
Lack of Sufficient Preparation
Post-Traumatic Stress
Inadequacy
Being Lost
Lack of Needed Information
Existential Dread
The Heart
Emotional storytelling is the core of character-driven fiction. The way you interact with other characters drives a great deal of the story. Rejection is an uneasy theme around which to build fear. Our world is already fraught with social strife surrounding appearance and acceptance. Facing rejection is especially terrifying when one’s way of life depends on trusting other people. On the other side of the coin, intimacy is another common fear. Allowing yourself to care about others makes the pain of loss more pronounced and opens you up to new vulnerabilities. Fear of intimacy raises the stakes on otherwise mundane interactions.
Heart Related Fears:
Being Alone
Rejection
Intimacy
Social Inadequacy/Inexperience
Loss
Social Pressures to Succeed
Family Pressures/Expectations
The Soul/Spirit
The world of fantasy offers boundless possibilities for exploring spiritual themes. It is very possible to play a character who simply fears evil as a force. A story about good and evil on a conceptual level becomes more grounded when you have characters that embody those concepts. Evil is very easy to understand when it can swing a sword or cast magic at you. You can even create internal conflict by exploring the thought process of a good person for whom violence is an unavoidable aspect of life. Fearing personal corruption is a great way to add weight to actions and decisions your character must make. Also there is the other side of the coin. Your character may choose the “evil path” and give themself to a dark entity or power. Their motivation may be vengeance and their fear would be a change of heart causing them to stop their plans.
Soul Related Fears:
Becoming Evil
Eternal Loss
Eternal Punishment
Crisis of Faith
A Specific Evil Person
Vengeance
Internal Change
Being Rejected by One's Ancestors
Bring Cast Out of One's Religion
“The Beast”
“The Beast” is abstract. Despite being abstract, the beast is probably the most commonly represented fear in storytelling. It is based around the unknown and the unknowable causing harm. The most obvious manifestation of the beast is monsters: the awful creatures that lurk in the deep dark dungeons of the world. It is easy to play a character who fears a specific monster. Almost every creature has some terrifying aspect that can cause great fear in a character. The beast is also a central aspect of cosmic horror, where a forbidden truth or power can unravel the stability of reality and create a world of instability and insecurity. There is also an element of the beast in the fears that drive hatred or bigotry. Those who are ignorant and fear what they do not understand are in thrall to the beast.
Beast Related Fears:
A Being with a Monstrous Appearance
Destructive Abilities
Powerful Abilities
Unfamiliar Artifacts
Unknown Cultures
Strangers
Old Enemies, a People or an Individual
NEXT: RP Character Building Idea: The First Time You Risked Your Life ...
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