Roll the Dice: It Builds Character

Pursuant to yesterday's post about wanting some actual RP in my MMORPG, I started trying to give some thought to Rufaniel's character, for if and when some RP opportunities come along. Up to this point, I had very little to go on other than some vague impressions of a certain amount of arrogance. I tried to pick up queues from her outfits, but she hadn't really settled on any that she liked. She started out with the Helmingas set, but the bulky cloak seemed grandiose and just plain awkward. So next I pulled out the Moria champion's armor and dyed it scarlet ("Rufaniel" basically means "red maiden"). That worked fairly well, but still lacked a little something.

It turned out, the answer was very simple: go back to Helmingas, ditch the cloak, replace it with a more functional quiver. This makes the rest of the Helmingas set look like a durable, practical outfit that a warrior (who still cares about their appearance at least a little) might actually wear. Suddenly, BOOM. Character formed in my head.

Rufaniel is from Mirkwood-- they're the rednecks of elf-kind. But being Tolkien elves, this still makes them way more refined and spiritual than any human, and they're certainly not feral like Elfquest elves. (Interestingly, Thranduil {and by extension, Legolas} are Sindarin, rather than actual wood-elves. There's probably an interesting story of how Thranduil came to be in charge of Mirkwood... but I don't know what it is.) Combining that with her close-cropped hair and her bang-about outfit, and layering in the already-existing arrogance, and a personality begins to form.

Rufaniel is a tomboy, competitive and fierce, longing for exciting adventures. She doesn't aspire to power or "greatness," but she does want to experience amazing things. As such, she quickly becomes bored with small things or quiet moments. "Savor" is not a thing she does, not really. Even her most brilliant triumph would only be acknowledged with a lopsided grin and an enthusiastic "Ha-HA!"

She doesn't have the "antiquity fetish" that so many of her kindred have; she has a healthy respect for the great deeds of times past, but she is very much a creature of the moment. If a story from the First or Second Ages is applicable to the task at hand, she's keen to hear it, but she has very little interest in simply sitting around engaging in nostalgia.

This is also where her arrogance comes from: she tends to dismiss hobbits as "irrelevant" for instance, or common folk as not worth paying much attention to. It would be a mistake to think she doesn't understand them: just the opposite in fact. She's very perceptive and often knows all there is to know about a person after giving them a cursory examination. She also knows that such people can rise above the moment and surprise you, so she's ready for that when it happens. But it usually doesn't happen.

This, I think, is a personality I can work with. It's also more flexible than Lachwen, who really belonged in a much more urban setting than anywhere you might find on Middle-Earth. (Lachwen really belongs in a setting like Eberron or someplace like that.) Should RP moments come up, Rufaniel will be ready to go. :)

-The Gneech