When monotony strikes…

[cutecuddlydirewolf]

As of late, I just feel as though my characters have become… boring. Most are in their mid-forties now, and don't really have any lives to speak of. This has led me to starve about four of them, and have one try and kill herself. I have three more that I want to get rid of, and plan on doing so.
Even though I'm doing a mass genocide, I still can't seem to shake the monotony that I played those characters with. For instance, out of the characters I'm keeping, almost all have life goals and aspirations. Still, no matter how hard I've tried, not one has been able to accomplish their dreams. They either keep hitting road blocks, I'm busy IRL and don't have time to play them, or no one is willing to either listen to or help them. It seems that every character I make always ends up being stuck in some town where I can't do anything with them, and I feel that I have no choice but to let them wither away.
What I want to know is if there's a way to make characters exciting to play again, a way to get the enjoyment out of Cantr that I did back when I first started playing. I don't want to quit the game entirely- I'm still really fond of some of my characters- but I want to have fun again. Any ideas?

[*Wiro]

Some of this thread might help. It helps to limit your # of characters, but it's also great to be bold. People can't guess that you're willing to play but need guidance. Have your characters be honest and clear about what they'd like, to give local leaders and philanthropists a chance to assist. A final alternative is to outright demand a vehicle to travel the world. Travelling is relatively low maintenance stuff. You just check up on them a few weeks later and they're on some foreign shore.

[Kyriel]

If people won't help you accomplish your dreams, then reach out for them yourself. If you're stuck in a dead-end town with seemingly no way out... walk away. If you need a ship and can't find anyone willing to part for one for any price... build one yourself.

[LittleSoul]

It helps that when you actually pick a goal you try your best to list out each step you think you'll need to get to reach that goal as well. Then you'll feel that sense of accomplishment even if it's a goal that takes many decades to reach in game. Picking a goal in the first place is pretty difficult, too. I try to think of things that fit my characters personality. It helps if they are particularly passionate about something - an idea (like a religion, or uncommon perspective you could turn into an organization), or an action which you could start a business around, or even a vague desire like wanting to be famous, rich, or knowledgeable.

If they're boring.. it's time to come up with a new goal. They (and you) need to be inspired to do something different that shakes things up, and makes things fun again. Changing the environment helps too, and keeping your character numbers down so you aren't spread too thin. For me, if I go above like five then I either end up with a bunch of boring chars or a bunch of waaaay too interesting ones that are overwhelming to play because there's so much going on all the time

[Friar Briar]

If you need a ship and can't find anyone willing to part for one for any price... build one yourself.

Or steal one. 9/10 of my characters would recommend.

Also, finding the right people to rp with makes everything worthwhile in this game.

[*Wiro]

If people won't help you accomplish your dreams, then reach out for them yourself.

Or assist someone else in accomplishing theirs. This game is full of people with dreams. Not everyone can be a leader. The game needs followers, too.

[Friar Briar]

The game needs followers, too.

And troublemakers too.

[LittleSoul]

The game needs followers, too.

And troublemakers too.

Agreed. Trouble makers are the most fun to play sometimes if they are played smart (so they aren't killed).

[SumBum]

If you decide to make drastic changes with your established chars then please show some courtesy and respect to the players around them. Ease into those changes or figure out a way to make the changes at least somewhat in-character.

RPing that your char trips, conks their head, gets amnesia, and suddenly knows no one around them is lame but I suppose at least that gives an in-game reason for your char starting over. It's always mind boggling to me that other chars seem to just forget the amnesic char's history as well and act like everything's hunky dory (ie: "who cares that she was a lying slut before - now we all love her even though she tried to steal my man a year ago").

All I'm asking is that your chars don't just out of the blue start a crime spree when they were perfectly moral/ethical before, don't suddenly turn to the love of their life and say "Things have been awesome for 20 years and we've never had any problems...but see ya."

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for trying to make/keep the game interesting for you as the player. These are just things that I have actually witnessed in the game and it's really like a big F YOU to all the other players who interacted with those chars for years. When you have chars that are established then it does take a little more finesse to change their course, but it's certainly not impossible.

[hyrle]

"Things have been awesome for 20 years and we've never had any problems...but see ya."

I had a character go through this once, and it really allowed me to do some interesting things with her personality. It changed her... not necessarily for the better, but definitely gave a relatively flat character a lot more dimension.

Don't be afraid to shake things up a bit. Even if Sum Bum thinks it's a big "F YOU", I'm actually glad that character's lover left my character. Not every player will take it this way, so don't be afraid to make the big changes.

[*Wiro]

I'm pretty sure that's not what SumBum said.

[hyrle]

No... I got SumBum's point. It was basically... "If you're going to change an established player's life drastically, ease into it and warn others." I get that. I just don't care if someone doesn't... I don't take it personally if someone's bored and wants to change things up.

[Kyriel]

And sometimes, if you've been roleplaying a character all along as, say, always wanting to sail, or something, but has been stuck on land due to whatever circumstances, it's hardly out of character for them to finally get fed up with it and take steps to reach what have been roleplayed as their goals all along.

[SumBum]

My point was that I understand players need to make changes to keep the game interesting for them, but it doesn't have to be done in a extreme crappy lame way. I'd rather have players interested in playing versus a bunch of sleepy chars, believe me.

On the other hand, how many times have players complained that it's too hard to trust chars because they can change on the whim of a player? Avoiding that loss of trust between players is what I'm talking about. I think it's very feasible for chars to change directions with their lives while still maintaining consistency in their personality. I'd even be willing to brainstorm intriguing ways for players to make those shifts. Maybe even the buildup of that change would be more interesting than the change itself.

[computaertist]

Avoiding that loss of trust between players is what I'm talking about.

Player's still trust each other?

We must be slow learners.