The Featured Character of the Month: Pygmy!

[Tarot]

Hello, Mizaharians! We are extremely pleased to announce the third ever Featured Character of the Month for May 2010, Pygmy. Please congratulate her and enjoy the ritual 10-question interview that comes with this award! Of course, a winner's speech is entirely expected as well as more question from our ever curious players. Tarot: How did you get into roleplaying? Do you have any glorious tales to share? Pygmy: I used to play Final Fantasy as a teen but I've never played D&D or any table top RPG! I hadn't even heard of play by post until two years ago. I'm still a colossal newb in very many ways. I have to thank the lady who used to manage the Electronics Boutique at my local shops, she recommended a lot of things to me. Without her I never would have played any RPGs. She was lovely. I don't know if I have any glorious tales, though you could ask Khiara about Urchin if you wanted to know a horrible one. His full name was Cake Urchin, he liked cake. Tarot: How did you land on play-by-post roleplays? What do you think about this particular format? Pygmy: I had been reading a novel in progress that I had really enjoyed, when the author took the story down. I looked up her blog and discovered she'd turned the novel into a roleplay game. I signed up for it, having never played before, so I could know how the story ended. I liked the creative and collaborative aspect and I hadn't written for years. It was a great outlet for trying different styles of writing and for composing different characters. My first PC was a single parent, bartender and spy. I still miss her a bit, she was perpetually tired. I sincerely enjoy the play by post format. I still write stories singularly but it's a very different kind of writing. Pbp is very social and it's given me plenty of opportunity to try out plot-building with other people. It's like writing exercise. You get to build a story with others, without having to worry about some of the constraints that exist in writing singularly. You can have as many quiet scenes or fight scenes or dance party scenes as you like. The entire game world exists around you, with more freedom than you'd ever get from within a playstation. There's so many choices for character development and you get to meet some incredibly nice people. Tarot: Kelvic are one of the most popular races, but the vast majority play predator-type animals. You just signed up one day with an idea for a pygmy goat Kelvic. How was the idea born and what did you find appealing about it? Pygmy: Kelvics always appealed to me because in many ways, they've got the dog end of things (I made a pun). Their entire personality is based around needing someone else and growing up incredibly quickly, then dying young. I didn't realise just how popular they were when I signed up but I did think that wolves and cats were going to be fairly popular, mainly because people like them (I know I do) and they provide some very useful advantages in terms of stealth and hunting ability. All good things in an RP like Mizahar, which has lots of fantastic, deadly monsters. That said, when I saw the Kelvic page for the first time, I knew I wanted an animal that had a strong personality with absolutely nothing to back that up. I'd been writing in pbp's for a while, so I wanted a challenge and I had recently seen a video of a baby pygmy goat. It was cute, it could jump, it liked people and it was the silliest thing I had ever seen. Exactly the sort of animal someone would be embarrassed to shapeshift into... or embarrassed to own, given the status symbol associated with owning a person as exotic as a Kelvic. The idea was very amusing to me, expecting to see something impressive or vicious and instead getting a farm animal. Especially if that farm animal thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Goats are very proud creatures, despite the fact that they're glorified sheep. I really like the concept of someone who is flawed, sometimes cranky and at times very rude but still has a lot of good qualities. I enjoy writing Pygmy because she has a lot of room to grow and despite numerous failures, she holds herself in good esteem and has many positive qualities. She's the dorky kid in the family and she loves it. Tarot: If you were to restart your PC today, would you change anything? Do you tend to stick to a development plan, or just go with the flow when it comes to roleplaying? Pygmy: I haven't been playing for too long, so at the moment I can say I'm happy with her as she is. I might have gone back and changed some of her skills but it's been a very gentle learning curve, so I can't complain. I tend to have a mix of long term goals combined with improvised threads. The great part about RP is the uncertainty, it's much easier to have surprises when multiple people are writing. I have a few places I'd like Pygmy to visit but for now, I want to see how Endrykas treats her and helps her develop as a person. I do believe that some characters are better suited to a structured plan, I've played characters before that had more well-defined goals. Pygmy doesn't enjoy too much structure as a character, so it's easier to leave things to go as they will. If I played someone with career ambitions or specific aspirations, I'd treat them differently. Tarot: One peculiar thing about Pygmy is that she occasionally sings lyrics from RL songs. Is there a pattern to how you pick them and do they have a special significance? Pygmy: I will be brutally honest and admit that I can't write songs for shit or money. Aside from that, the songs I pick are ones I like and ones that I think suit her personality. Pygmy is very Bluejuice. Those guys did a gig in the Sydney CBD to shoot a clip once, with a planted dancer in the audience who faked a religious fit at the end of the song. They're high energy and so is she. Paul Kelly songs are a better choice for setting because he writes songs with a narrative. I threw some of those in because he's awesome and because I like the way he writes. Recently there was a concert staged of artists covering his songs, in recognition of all the work he's done. Some of those takes on his compositions made me think Pygmy could sing them. Des'ree was, well, I remember hearing her from my childhood. I think she's lovely. I like to share those sorts of things, to show appreciation. I make sure to reference the songs I use on Pygmy's character sheet, so other people can listen to them and to give credit where it's due. You may have noticed that I use Australian artists a lot. I listen to Triplej, so I get to hear more local artists than I otherwise would. There will definitely be some Clare Bowditch in future, some Dan Sultan and Sarah Blasko too. They're brilliant artists and they sing about the sorts of things Pygmy cares about, love, happiness and heartbreak. Tarot: As a relatively new player, what did you find most helpful when you started out? And on the other hand, is there an aspect of the game that you found lacking from a newbie's perspective? Pygmy: Mike! Seriously though, the most helpful thing was how newb-friendly the community is. I rocked up out of nowhere and everyone was very friendly and very willing to help me navigate the forum. It was a bit difficult to find things at first, since areas like the player scrapbooks and character sheets are hidden behind other links, like the resources forum. If I couldn't find anything, there was always someone in chat willing to point it out. My only problem was initial navigation, which is possibly an inherent one given how large the forum is. That single problem was easily solved by talking to people in chat, so it all worked out pretty well in the end! I do still occasionally get lost, though. It's mildly embarrassing but I always find my way eventually. Tarot: While Pygmy is definitely as unique as they come, quite a few people struggle to find their PC's "voice". Do you ever encounter that problem and do you have any remedies to share? Pygmy: I have had that problem when writing NPCs on the fly, in the past. These days, I tend to wait until I have a solid idea for a character before I write one up. I usually start with a dominant personality trait and think about the sort of person that would have it. In Mizahar's case, I had a race in mind as well. I don't usually have difficulty with her voice, though in surprising situations I have to think of what her immediate response would be and ironically, that can take a little time. In my case, the easiest way around a block is to break things down into smaller pieces. All characters have a few sensitivities and reflexive responses to joy, anger and offence. I tend not to think about what I would do. With Pygmy, her basic personality is assured, spontaneous and extroverted. No matter what the situation is, I know she's going to be blunt unless she's trying very hard not to be. She's educated to an extent so she can speak well and has a good vocabulary. Though she is illiterate, her illiteracy necessitates a good memory. There's also a basic goatliness and desire for attention and affection that comes with being a Kelvic. If I think about her in those terms, it's much easier to consider what her “voice” sounds like. If there's a specific situation the character is facing, sometimes break it down into questions: How does this make them feel? Do they realise why? How would they usually respond to this feeling? I do think that voices develop over time and RP is much more forgiving of that introductory period. If you can't think of what to do, the best thing to do is just try something. If it doesn't work out the way you wanted, you can always try something new the next thread until you have a better idea of how a character feels and sounds. Your PC friends will understand. That's one of the best parts of RP, the space it gives you to try new ideas. Even if those ideas don't work, you've learned something. Tarot: What thread do you dream about writing with Pygmy at some point? Anything goes, no matter how outrageous! Pygmy: I would dearly like her to hypnotise someone at some point. I know that if anyone ever tried to hurt somebody she cared about, she'd go to great lengths to make them suffer for it. If I had the opportunity to take her to a dark place and use magic besides, I would be interested in seeing how it panned out. Not just in terms of how she viewed herself afterwards but how her friends and acquaintances saw her. She's a ball of fluff most of the time but beneath that there's a resolve that could be used for better or worse. It would depend on the situation she was in. Alternatively, I would like her to be the Queen of Pirates for a day. She would greatly enjoy that. Tarot: In a dangerous world like the one we roleplay here, your PC has a notable lack of offensive or defensive skills. Do you ever feel uneasy thinking that she might run a deadly risk in any moderated thread? How do you feel about character death in general? Pygmy: She is definitely at serious risk of becoming a professional damsel in distress. I knew it would be an issue from the beginning but I couldn't see her as being the sort to learn how to fight. She gets by on charming people and hanging around stronger groups. I've always liked writing about people who are comparatively ordinary in the face of the fantastic. If you took away the ability to turn into a goat, Pygmy's not very unusual at all. I wanted to emphasise that aspect of her character. I don't particularly feel uneasy about her potentially dying, if it happens I know it will be because I put her in a situation she wasn't likely to survive. I'm going to try not to let it happen but if she does have a fatal accident, I'll be ok with it. I don't write her as a particularly thoughtful person, which allows her to do things she might otherwise not, with an added risk. The risk makes things interesting. I wouldn't like to play on a board with a lot of character death but I don't mind if it happens from time to time. Settings like Mizahar are full of excitement. Without the potential for death, some of this excitement gets muted. If Pygmy punched a glassbeak in the face, I think I'd be disappointed if she didn't at least lose something vital. The possibility of a horrible death keeps games challenging. Not that I'm advocating horrible character deaths! Tarot: And to finish this like a proper job interview, where do you see yourself in a year, Mizahar-wise? What are you looking forward to, IC and/or OOC? Pygmy: That's a tricky one! I suppose I see Pygmy developing her skills and hopefully maturing as a person. I'd like her to travel and meet some of the other races as well as some other Kelvics. Out of character, it would be fun to see if I can write up some obscure lore on upper class etiquette, if it fit with setting. I'm going to be much more free at the end of the year, so maybe I can even write up a new character from one of the other, incredibly cool races. I love the Akvatari. Mostly, I just want to continue to have fun and Mizahar has been a lot of fun!

[Gossamer]

Grats! You are amazing and deserve this!

[Vanator]

Congratulations Alex! You know the thing I love most about RPing with you is that you have a great character that you play to the hilt. I don't worry about you writing her to meet anyone's expectations, I know its going to be Pygmy's true character we see!

Congrats again mate!

Mike

[Alistair deGrey]

Congratulations Pygmy! ^_-

I won't lie, you have one of the most interesting Kelvics I've seen. Way to differentiate!

By the way, how is Aragog doing?

Regards,
Morse

[Siana Skyglow]

Congratulations, Pygmy! I've always wished our characters could interact with each other, and it's very interesting to learn a little more about how you thought of her and play her.

[Siiri]

Lovely read, Pygmy. Gratz! =)

[Hirem]

Nice grab Pygmy! I hope our characters can meet up one day.

[Jinka]

Congratulations to you!!! <3

[Nel Sayo]

Yay, congrats!

Goat power!

[Malia]

Congrats, Pygmy! I think you deserve it, although I haven't stalked your threads ... should start doing that now.

I wonder if you're such a funny person irl. Picking a goat just for the irony of being a goat Kelvic, that's hilarious.