Character Creation 101

How much should a character be influenced by their race?

Unlike Dippy, I do think about species very early in character creation.

Most characters reject their race/culture in some ways while embracing it in others. Characters who reject everything about their cultures can seem unrealistic, self-hating, or just special snowflakes.

One way to develop a character is by thinking about how they reject their race/culture and how they embrace their race/culture. This push-pull dynamic can create both internal and external conflict and add complexity to characters and make them seem rooted in the ME verse.

In my own characters:


Hansa'Tel (Broken Ground Botanicals)

REJECTS quarian culture in that she has a very atypical set of skills (botany and agriculture) and objected to the Geth War.

EMBRACES quarian culture when she thinks in terms of 'the people', doesn't necessarily like the Geth much, and views her relationships through a captain/crew lens.


Kayana (Capice)

REJECTS drell culture by rejecting the compact and railing about inferiority complexes.

EMBRACES drell culture in about every other way (and by having relatives and friends who are enkindled or compacted).


Maezon (HeirandSpare, who I really want to RP more)

REJECTS salarian culture by desiring individual recognition and a reproductive contract for himself.

EMBRACES salarian culture because he does so while operating within a clan framework and would be lost if it was removed.