Alan_Blackjack Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 As the title suggests. I've recently started a character who's been in the military, and when I start this type of character, it often gets me wondering how to portray a believable character with that kind of background as a whole. From my current standpoint, I often disregard from focusing on military aspect of my character, usually making the mention of their background as subtle as they can. I also tend to focus on all aspects of my character's life instead of solely on their military past, even making it the least of their priority from time to time unless conversation about it is brought up in a suitable moment. What about you guys' takes on how to portray a realistic veteran character? 1 Link to comment
CertifiedKiller Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 What I would say is don't go down the route of 'Oh I was in intense combat, I have PTSD' because it's very overdone and not that realistic. Rather, I'd say find another role in the military, there are tons of roles in the Military that don't involve frontline combat. For example, vehicle maintenance, computer related roles, drone operators, recon, intelligence... do stuff like that.. hell you could even just RP having been in the national guard and giving out humanitarian aid or helping to control civil unrest. Not every Veteran character has to be an action hero. 4 Link to comment
Alan_Blackjack Posted July 2 Author Share Posted July 2 1 hour ago, CertifiedKiller said: What I would say is don't go down the route of 'Oh I was in intense combat, I have PTSD' because it's very overdone and not that realistic. Rather, I'd say find another role in the military, there are tons of roles in the Military that don't involve frontline combat. For example, vehicle maintenance, computer related roles, drone operators, recon, intelligence... do stuff like that.. hell you could even just RP having been in the national guard and giving out humanitarian aid or helping to control civil unrest. Not every Veteran character has to be an action hero. I agree with you on that, though personally I like to roleplay my character serving in combat roles. But since I don't really know how PTSD works, I usually resorts in having my character never deployed in war zones or with very limited exposure to intense combat to counter how drastic combat gives people PTSD. For example, this time my character is a MP, not necessarily a combat role, but they've been through some attacks at the FOB that didn't actually result in intense combat when they were deployed. Personally I think this still keeps things interesting for her background story while not making her into the traditional "I been through combat and have PTSD" trope. 3 Link to comment
Jorgensen Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 (edited) Honestly, I don't mind veteran characters. But, I do mind it when it's EVERYTHING about their character like it's the only thing about them. Especially when they haven't done the research and have medals they wouldn't realistically have. Like yes, your character served in the Military/Armed Forces. But, there is more to a person than their time fighting. Don't make it their entire thing like they were some form of heroic being that is now crippled with PTSD - When not every role is frontline or every character has to be. If you're gonna RP it, put the time in to researching, be creative etc etc. Edited July 2 by Jorgensen 3 Link to comment
Sam2 Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 Problems come when they do the minimum amount of backstory setup for the character and their story falls apart immediately when challenged. I'm not saying you have to get every detail right but you have to do the broad strokes. Also don't give your character a medal of honor or make them a 30 year old colonel because you're going to get clowned on. Link to comment
bombstrap Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 my biggest qualm with people that rp veterans often portray themselves as these badass all-american chris kyle patriotic superheroes with little to no depth in their characters at all. just do your research and make it make sense 7 Link to comment
Alan_Blackjack Posted July 2 Author Share Posted July 2 8 minutes ago, Sam2 said: Problems come when they do the minimum amount of backstory setup for the character and their story falls apart immediately when challenged. I'm not saying you have to get every detail right but you have to do the broad strokes. I actually happened to do a lot of research that I ended up burnout myself and deleting the character soon after because I forgot some small details once when roleplaying a TACP character. My take to be honest? Try to be detailed, but just enough so you can convince most roleplayers and not be a trope of the no-fun, stereotypical characters. Too much details doesn't serve you extra good anyway since you forget it. Link to comment
Xantholic Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 To be frank, veteran characters are generally very poorly done and usually portrayed to be complete badasses rather than just regular people. I much prefer to see characters that are just regular people rather than veterans. 3 Link to comment
takethatflight Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 Btw Iraq still Has Weapons of mass Destruction 1 Link to comment
ShyakBarigam Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 One of my characters wasn’t a combat veteran (unless you count the streets of South Central), but she's had near-death experiences. I’m not 100% sure if I’m right (correct me if I’m wrong), but I feel like roleplaying PTSD would be comparable to roleplaying panic attacks due to specific situations your character gets placed in. Something I’ve done with my old character. Don't show what your character is thinking, just showing that your character is distressed. If you’re roleplaying that your character had a military job that requires more than just being physically fit (for example something else than regular infantry or whatever), then I do suggest keeping it realistic by yourself some questions. Why did your character not re-enlist or apply for more 'safer' job within the military, what job would fit my character after they left the military etc. Also don't flaunt around ICly that your character has been in the military unless there's a reason to talk about your past, otherwise you might get clowned on OOCly. 1 Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now