RolePlay Tips

Admin · Administrator Joined: 13 Aug 2014 Posts: 14

Cannon character = a character already existing in any kind of media form (films, books, series, anime, manga, cartoon, games etc).
Note 1: Let's say someone writes a fic about Harry Potter and introduces a new character (an OC, someone nonexisting in the actual series). That OC, despite not belonging to J.K.Rowland, exists in the fic's universe and belongs to its writer, hence he/she/it is a cannon character for you.
Note 2: Real persons (like celebrities) are not cannon characters, but the procedure pretty much apply to them too.

Now, let's get to the actual point of the topic, shall we?

No one says you should know the character inside out, but you should know him/her/it pretty well nonetheless. Of course it's rare that someone plays it perfectly and mistakes are acceptable, but try to keep as close to his/her/its personality as possible. That's pretty much the only rule about RPing a cannon character.

Alright, if you play a character a while after the (let's say) series' end, you may change a few things about him/her/it. Then again, make it believable. If it's a major change, it needs a reason.

One thing that often occurs is this: emotion. As I've seen, many people see the colder and/or mysterious characters as cooler. Me included - guilty. I'm totally fine with that (wouldn't I be a hypocrite to disagree?). And they are usually, if not always, the smart and/or analytic ones too. Yet, the tendency is to make them more... Sentimental. Or overly victimise them. In most cases the cannon don't have and would deny any feeling (moreover the positive kind of feelings), which inevitable leads to 'a weak point' when they actually get the feeling. This may cause them to act stupidly, alright, but keep a decent limit. Also, remember that they don't get a mental breakdown as easy as the other type of characters.

And speaking of feelings... How about romance? I know you like it, girls ;) Unfortunately, this is the part where most cannons go OOC. Why? Because most characters played are the ones with the type of personality presented above. Leaving aside the cannon couples, let's talk about falling in love regarding crack pairings between cannon characters and cannons x OCs pairings. It's highly unlikely that a character with this personality would fall in love at first sight. It's more likely that they find the other person interesting or they feel attracted to them in a way they can't explain (highly unlikely they have ever been in love). They may instantly feel physically attracted in a way they know what it is, but, really now, not be head over heels over him/her. How is it possible? You don't have to be in love with someone to be physically attracted to him/her - it's primal instinct, as well as the need for... Intimate activities. Then again, it doesn't apply to everyone; there are cannons (quite a lot of those I know) who wouldn't just see someone hot and jump to 'that' kind of thing the next moment. They might want to see the other person again, yes, but wouldn't declare their never ending love the next day. More likely, they would 'check' on the person first, you know, get to know a few things about him/her... Be a little reserved about feelings. Then it can gradually grow into something beautiful.

Back to the mental breakdown. 'Spontaneous' cannons can get it more or less easily, but not the 'cool' ones. The 'spontaneous' ones are... Well, spontaneous, you don't really know what to expect from them at times; they are really hard to generalize. The 'cool' ones, on the other hand, as (again) I said above, are showing less feelings... They are more composed, reserved, analytic and all the package. Instead of freaking out when things get worse, it's more likely that they analyze the situation and calmly think to a way out. Or blindly attack... But, again, without freaking out. Usually, it takes a hard blow to give them a mental breakdown. However, tricks of the enemy (like a technique that creates illusions and play with the mind, for example) may help. Also, when things get sad, it's not much likely that they would take a seat and cry their eyes out. Same goes for tears of happiness. In fact, I guess it goes for any kind of tears... I haven't really seen a cannon with that personality, in his right minds, sincerely crying (maybe over really hard blows only?).

Another general tendency is throwing all the bad things at a certain character. Poor guy/girl... Ahem, okay, back! Here I'm not talking about damsel in distress cannons. The stronger characters may loose or get some injuries (otherwise it's godmodding, remember?), but don't make them always end up like that and laying down with all the hope lost. Even when the hope is lost, a strong character - and I have a whole bunch of cannons that I can give as examples, along with situations - doesn't really give up. May do it temporary, yes, but never forever. Or may fake it and secretly plan a counterattack. Endless possibilities. He/She doesn't surrender to despair so easily. The point is - don't make them the damsel in distress or crying baby every single time the things get worse. That's just not like them.