What makes the best protagonist?

[Xaeris]

The way I've got the poll set up, I'd say it applies to either PSO or PSU fanwork. The question's pretty straightforward I think; what job makes the most interesting main character? Certainly, well written, any of them can provide for a compelling reading experience, but I think it's worth noting that each one will have its own approach to combat, and thus, will be written differently.

Me, I'm all about the Force type. Though when I first started out, I admit, my characters carried big swords and performed Omnislash ripoffs (I was 15, cut me a break). As I wrote on though, I found myself constricted by having to write melee. That's not to say that melee is intrinsically limited; anyone who's read a Conan novel will lol at that notion. Still, it just wasn't for me.

I like Forces because it allows me to kill bosses in more believable (relatively) ways. I never did understand why dragons die just because you load some meseta into their ankles. The class is a grand workout for the imagination if you ask me.

So that's my story. What's yours?

[qoxolg]

I already voted Hunter-type without reading your story :wacko:, because that would be the most stereotypical protagonist.

But since you said: "What job makes the most interesting main character?":

Depends on what you think is interesting..

I'd say the "Ranger-type".. why? Rangers don't have "special" powers. They don't differ much from real soldiers. Hunters can use awesome/epic fighting skills, forces can use epic magic. Of course this would be fun in a movie/game/anime/comic, but in a written story it wouldn't work that well. Rangers also seem a bit more mature to me (in PSO that is) and I think they would be good squad leaders. so.. uhh.. yeah.. :wacko:

[Libram]

I've had experience writing for all three, and it's not just in the Ruler of The Land thread that used to sit in PSO Social. I've also seen a good amount concerning all three types. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it ultimately depends on how well the writer can use them. I will say that the Ranger type seems to be the least represented.

[DezoPenguin]

Myself, I'd have to vote for the Ranger-type, though as Libram notes, it really depends on the kind of story being told. My own PSO fiction tends towards the sci-fi/conspiracy-intrigue kind of thing, and in this genre I prefer the Ranger as a protagonist. The use of firearms as a major combat choice seems to better fit with the sci-fi setting (certainly, it's easier to write, since the utility of swords and other melee weapons in modern combat is dictated by the game system, not by the kind of "real-life" physics that are more easily told about in a story.

Likewise, as qoxolg noted, the Ranger is most similar to a modern-day soldier, who thinks tactically about a situation. It's mentally easier (or maybe lazier) to think of one in that way, and that's the kind of protagonist I need for the kind of story I write.

I do note, however, that I tend to write about pairs of characters, either Ranger/Hunter or Ranger/Force. Partly that's because it gives the protagonists someone to play off of and also to trust, and also partly it's because when combat situations arise, the "game-world" in which they exist is better defined in terms of group play and so a team better fits the subjective reality.

Either that or I'm just way, waaaaaay overthinking this.

[Lance813]

See, I'm more of a hybrid-character writer. I would say somthing a little ranger, a little force. Only because hunters have been blown out of proportion. If you wrote about a hunter I would say do a HUnewearl. They are HU/FO.

Adds more depth I believe.

P.S.- I didn't vote. ^^;

[CupOfCoffee]

It definitely depends on what type of story you're writing. But as far as personal preference goes, I'd say that force characters make the most interesting protagonists, followed by rangers, with hunters coming in last just because--like it or not--the spiky haired sword swinging musclebound teenager is the epitome of cliche.

I like dialogue-driven stories that make you think or see something in a new light, and forces sometimes seem to support that style a little better than hunters or rangers, although like I said, it really depends on the story and the author. Forces fight in a way that is inherently unrealistic, so it's probably got the most potential for stirring imaginations; hunters and rangers just attack things with weapons, which leaves more room for corner cutting.

[TheOneHero]

Do I need to say it depends on what/how you're writing? :wacko:

Personally, I prefer the Ranger. However, the majority of my PSO fictions tend to shy away from the classic game mechanics. I believe in most cases, they limit the story in certain aspects.

*goes to bed*

[darkante]

I would say Ranger also, seems like it could a bit more realistic in a future enviorement.
I can imagine them have a hard corporating with Hunters, probably say they are clumsy, idiotic and probably have a huge war against each others.
Forces is probably in the background, thinking of a reason to why this meaningless fights continues for a long long time.

But in the end, they will leave there difference aside and cooporate to fight the true evil.
Dark Force, who had manipulating them since the beginning.

Kinda like the PSU story but not as cheezy made.

[Rust]

Like most of the people, I'd go for Ranger. The use of firearms and military tactics can make combat situations interesting a wide range of ways. Not to add PSO/PSU Rangers (only CASTs for PSO) can have the use of traps added to the mix.

I'd say pure Forces are OK as well, since they have a lot of spells, but when you think about it, it's only about changing the graphics of each spell to give the illusion of variety, for the most part, so that could turn bad on a written fiction.

Hunter is a big no-no. It could fall too easily in the most aweful clichés.

I voted Ranger, but I'd go more for a Ranger/Force hybrid than a pure Ranger myself. You get the opportunity to still use magic as a backup without having a character completely unadapted to physical combat. So, either RAmar/RAmarl on PSO, or Guntecher on PSU.

[DezoPenguin]

A lot of people have mentioned the "cliche" aspect of the Hunter protagonist, and I'd like to expand on that a bit: the male human swordsman is the generic "main hero" of eternities of fantasy literature and nearly every JRPG ever created (including the classic Phantasy Star games, except the first, which featured a female human swordswoman who was nonetheless exactly like every other JRPG protagonist except for gender*).

Nor did the transition out of "fantasy" into science-fiction territory change this cliche (Eusis/Rolf in PSII? Cloud in FFVII? Squall in FFVIII?).

So yeah, when the main character is a HUmar, then the author is immediately forced to spend time and energy demonstrating why the character isn't an example of the Generic Hero, especially if the character is in their late teens to early twenties.

Thus, a Hunter protagonist, if used effectively, is more likely to be a female, a nonhuman, or both, simply to step outside the "generic" label. It's not necessary, but it's the easiest way to immediately label the character as something other than every "..."-speaking player avatar we've ever encountered in our gaming lives.


*which actually makes Alis still one of the most unusual female characters in RPG gaming, but I digress.

[biggabertha]

PSO-wise - I would say that the Force is the best protagonist. Writing wise, it is so much easier to describe or allow the reader to envision what you have written with their imagination.

For instance, Rabarta can be described in so many ways:

Conical icicles emerged spiraling precipitously beneath the ice queen's tapered feet.

Sub-zero ice enveloped their feet effortlessly as the smug child flicked his wrist towards them.

A moat of ice appeared encircled the crouched figure, rooting all of the nimble Sinows in place.


Similarly, Rangers have an exceptional and fantastically unexplored region to be described in. Only those who have actively used firearms understand the true difficulty in repeated useage of firearms. It really isn't just "point, 'pew pew pew' " but those whom have not fired off over 100 rounds in a heavy handgun in less than ten minutes may not fully understand how jarring the experience is.

Written well, I think Rangers could very well do with the being an ideal support role towards the protagonist - if not even the protagonist (but I'm biased to pretty pictures...).


Hunters are very nice because there are a large amounts of inspiration to draw from with them. So many authors have written exciting battles that clash and ring through your mind that you can use effectively.


For PSU.... I'd definitely say that the hybrid types (specifically Fighgunner, Wartecher and Guntecher) are the most ideal protagonists. Not only are they very strong individuals but there are stronger counterparts (the forte, acro and master types) to them that makes the reader aware that the protagonist isn't Superman/Supergirl. (Effectively invincible - anyone remember how Superman was just ridiculously strong to begin with then they had to nerf his powers and abilities so avid fans would have something else to read? His cloak could stretch from one end of the Earth to the other!!)

I'm biased to Protranser though, so I left them out on purpose - they're so weak to begin with and so difficult to appreciate that I just have a soft spot for them.

>.>; But uhm... that's waaay off topic!

Where do Protransers fit in your poll?

[KaFKa]

limiting yourself to a 'class archetype' for your protagonist is self defeating imo. The protagonist should be someone (or something) that whoever your target audience can connect with, or at least someone that feels, well, human. Limiting to an archetype can be helpful to give you direction and a concept of how the charachter is going to develop, but speaking from experience (and many a session of masochistic self-loathing after reading my own stuff) you can't limit your charachters to someone else's boundaries.

But I digress, personally a hunter or ranger type would be my pick.

[DezoPenguin]

limiting yourself to a 'class archetype' for your protagonist is self defeating imo. The protagonist should be someone (or something) that whoever your target audience can connect with, or at least someone that feels, well, human. Limiting to an archetype can be helpful to give you direction and a concept of how the charachter is going to develop, but speaking from experience (and many a session of masochistic self-loathing after reading my own stuff) you can't limit your charachters to someone else's boundaries.

But I digress, personally a hunter or ranger type would be my pick.

Aw, but digressions are fun!

In the context of PSO/PSU fiction, though, I genuinely think that it's necessary to confine the protagonist (with one exception, which I'll get to later) to a recognizable class type, and here's why:

When you're writing within the bounds of a given universe, it's vitally important to make sure that your story confines itself to the "rules" of that universe. I absolutely do not want to read fiction based upon a game universe which breaks the set rules of that universe. It immediately destroys the willing suspension of disbelief and makes me, as a reader, wonder why the heck the writer decided to write a story set in that narrative universe if they didn't want to write about that universe.

Now, I'm not saying that it's necessary to confine in lock-step to the game mechanics per se. There are elements of gameplay that exist within games solely for game purposes. The effective range of firearms in PSO, for example, is absurd. The fact that monsters carry around items and money with them is another: I certainly don't want to read a story in which the characters kill a Mericarol and one of them yells "Woohoo! Red box drop!"

But when I read a story about a character in a game universe--and since PSO/PSU are MMORPGs, they pretty well have to be about original character protagonists, not existing canon characters--I absolutely don't want to see a new character who surpasses or diverges from the abilities set forth for "real" PCs. I don't want to see human swordsmen who can throw around the technique power of a Force--or worse yet, who can command all-new psychic or magical powers that no in-game character has at all. Keeping the characters to the rules helps to keep "power creep" from getting out of hand and Mary Sue-dom at bay.

The exception (see, I told you I'd get around to it) is for the character that doesn't reach the standards of the PCs in one way or another. To use some PSO-based examples of what I mean:

--a Lab scientist who doesn't have special powers or combat training at all, but does feature scientific knowledge and access to data and information.

--a military "grunt" (who is probably close to a Ranger in ability/training, since they carry rifles, but they aren't quite the same)

--someone like Elly Person, who has some of the abilities of a FOnewearl but ultimately isn't "up to" the standard of full Guild training and abilities

--an Administration bureaucrat investigating conspiracy within the government ranks

So yes, there are indeed plenty of ways to create an original character within the PSO/PSU universes outside the generalized templates of game PCs. But characters like that depend on being put in stories which are quite different than the usual experiences we see in the game, and therefore require original storytelling and narratives.

So ultimately, my advice is, so long as your protagonist conforms to the underlying structure of the narrative universe, then go for it. But if the storyline concerns the kind of plot that dovetails well with the existing type of story (i.e. it requires a mission to Location X on Ragol), then it's better to stay within the templates the game provides for that type of story.

And as an addendum, I might further note that it's important to, even if you are using such a template, that you develop the character by way of personality, giving them speech patterns, interests, hobbies, mannerisms, goals, and a coherent psychology so that they really are a character, not just "Busty HUnewearl #36" from Central Casting.

[MetaZedlen]

I would say hunter.

Even though the class has the easiest tasks and characteristics to write about, try to push it far from the limits, which is what I will be trying to do if you have read the small amount I have posted so far.

[KaFKa]

Aw, but digressions are fun!

In the context of PSO/PSU fiction, though, I genuinely think that it's necessary to confine the protagonist (with one exception, which I'll get to later) to a recognizable class type, and here's why:

When you're writing within the bounds of a given universe, it's vitally important to make sure that your story confines itself to the "rules" of that universe. I absolutely do not want to read fiction based upon a game universe which breaks the set rules of that universe. It immediately destroys the willing suspension of disbelief and makes me, as a reader, wonder why the heck the writer decided to write a story set in that narrative universe if they didn't want to write about that universe.

Now, I'm not saying that it's necessary to confine in lock-step to the game mechanics per se. There are elements of gameplay that exist within games solely for game purposes. The effective range of firearms in PSO, for example, is absurd. The fact that monsters carry around items and money with them is another: I certainly don't want to read a story in which the characters kill a Mericarol and one of them yells "Woohoo! Red box drop!"

But when I read a story about a character in a game universe--and since PSO/PSU are MMORPGs, they pretty well have to be about original character protagonists, not existing canon characters--I absolutely don't want to see a new character who surpasses or diverges from the abilities set forth for "real" PCs. I don't want to see human swordsmen who can throw around the technique power of a Force--or worse yet, who can command all-new psychic or magical powers that no in-game character has at all. Keeping the characters to the rules helps to keep "power creep" from getting out of hand and Mary Sue-dom at bay.
Good points all around, and I agree with the overall idea of what you are saying. However, I would also like to point out that in many fan fictions (and the more well remembered ones, i would say tentatively) the protagonist surpasses or breaks the mold of what is status quo in more ways than just simply power of attacks or application of strategies. Of course I would say that a (lets just go basic for sake of argument) HUmar archetype in story X is your classic hackn'slash pro but is also somehow able to throw rafoies that shame forces, is a bit out of hand and in bad taste. But that same Humar being able to do more than the simple basics for the sake of making him feel more heroic in certian cases/situations is well within what one would consider reasonable. What I was getting at in my original post was that stringent adherence to 'the mechanics' is for better or worse, underwhelming.

The exception (see, I told you I'd get around to it) is for the character that doesn't reach the standards of the PCs in one way or another. To use some PSO-based examples of what I mean:

--a Lab scientist who doesn't have special powers or combat training at all, but does feature scientific knowledge and access to data and information.

--a military "grunt" (who is probably close to a Ranger in ability/training, since they carry rifles, but they aren't quite the same)

--someone like Elly Person, who has some of the abilities of a FOnewearl but ultimately isn't "up to" the standard of full Guild training and abilities

--an Administration bureaucrat investigating conspiracy within the government ranks

So yes, there are indeed plenty of ways to create an original character within the PSO/PSU universes outside the generalized templates of game PCs. But characters like that depend on being put in stories which are quite different than the usual experiences we see in the game, and therefore require original storytelling and narratives.
I agree completely on this aspect, and support the notion that creative and original storytelling is the backbone of a great fanfic.

So ultimately, my advice is, so long as your protagonist conforms to the underlying structure of the narrative universe, then go for it. But if the storyline concerns the kind of plot that dovetails well with the existing type of story (i.e. it requires a mission to Location X on Ragol), then it's better to stay within the templates the game provides for that type of story.

And as an addendum, I might further note that it's important to, even if you are using such a template, that you develop the character by way of personality, giving them speech patterns, interests, hobbies, mannerisms, goals, and a coherent psychology so that they really are a character, not just "Busty HUnewearl #36" from Central Casting.

Again, agree on all counts and would put extra emphasis on the last paragraph.

[McLaughlin]

Some may say a Hunter type is cliche, but I only see it as a challenge.

The supporting cast is there to cover some of the weaknesses a protagonist has. If he's got no weaknesses, there's nothing to write about. He (or she) won't ever lose.