Who's 'That Guy'?

That Guy is a Great Character. Which is, unfortunately, almost totally subjective. There are no rules for Great Characters, no method for creating them, no way to even define them. Great Characters are like pornography. I cannot tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it.

None the less, my goal is to create a Great Character. So, there has to be something that I can use to guide me on the way. And there is. Because it is almost totally subjective and because it will be my character, it is my subjectivity that counts.

While there is no way to define what a Great Character is (there are some things they definitely are not), there are a few things they all have in common.

Great Characters are fun. RPG's are a hobby. We play the games to have fun. If it wasn't fun, we wouldn't play. You can have a mediocre character and still have fun playing the game. After all, you're most likely gaming with your friends doing something you enjoy doing. Great Characters always add to the fun of playing for both you and everyone else at the table. It's a subtle difference. Having John at the table playing the game is fun. Having John playing Starstrider in the game is more fun. (Please note that both John and Star strider are fictional and any resemblance to real people or characters is just dumb luck).

Great Characters fit. The game master is telling the story, and every story teller loves to have great characters in their stories. A good game master can pull players and characters into the story and craft things around characters when necessary. Great Characters, by their very nature, contribute to the story and rarely need to be worked around. They fit the setting and the campaign. They don't play in the story, they are part of the story.

Finally, Great Characters are memorable for the right reasons. They almost take on a life of their own. Their players are invested in them and play the character, not the game. With the result being, the character becoming almost a separate person. It's like watching an actor in a movie. You know it's Johnny Depp, but you are seeing Jack Sparrow (sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow).