Stupid but Charming: Characters that Players Love
summary
A clear rule of thumb: make characters alive, absurd, not annoying. Practical tools: give a real name, drop them into a specific painted scene, use art to inspire one‑line introductions, and write repeated encounters (Hand of Fate 2 example: Mr Lionel repeatedly steals a pickled onion) so absurd beats escalate. Comedy needs a straight man, unexpected turn, escalation. Checklist items: show don’t tell, ruthless editing, spectacular first line, and give flaws that feel internal and hard to change.
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chapters (10)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:28Disclaimers on writing
- 5:00Alaban technique
- 6:24Making characters real
- 11:41Absurd funny characters
- 18:18Avoiding annoying archetypes
- 24:13Writing tips for games
- 26:21Workshopping characters
- 43:23Further reading
- 45:12Q&A
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