Favorite FIMFiction Characters - #6 · 10:06pm May 8th, 2013
Is it cheating to use a character from an RP that's on FIMFiction?
Screw it, it's my blog, I'll do what I want.
#6 - Virgil Cor'adamas from "The Unity Games"
Yeah, yeah, I know. Some of you are thinking it's not right to put a character from a writing/roleplaying tournament onto this list, but I don't care. Virgil was a damn good character, and as the winner of the Unity Games, he's getting a story anyways. But what about him did I like so much?
Let's start with his backstory. When he was younger, he had a family and lived out in the woods, where he managed to carve out a living for them all. Unwittingly though, he built said home on a dragon's territory, and in response, that dragon basically tore his family away from him in a brutal manner. Ever since then, he's been hunting down dragons and information on where his lost daughter is. When he caught wind of a tournament, he decided to join it on the desperate hope that he could find his daughter, or at least some measure of peace. If you want the detailed summary, just click the link up there and you'll see his character post.
What I really like about this character is how much you end up sympathizing with him. He's not some young, reckless earth pony with magical powers. He's an aged veteran with nothing but his wits to help him out of situations. And in a role-playing tournament, with no especially strange/over-the-top tricks to use, that's pretty damn impressive. I mean, this wasn't just a competitor. He won the tournament in the end, and he fought mages, bounty hunters, and all sorts of crazy opponents to get there. A little off topic, but you still see why he's so likeable.
Another reason is that in all of his posts, he didn't gloss over his backstory at all. Instead, he very clearly told everyone who had earned his trust the entire story. He felt guilt for failing his family, he felt anger at those who had taken it from him, he felt hopeless in the fact that he thought he might never see his surviving family member again. Yet no matter how much weight he carried, he always had a sense of pride in everything he did. He didn't open himself easily, and always rose to whatever challenge was put before him. I was happy to have my ass handed to me by him, just because of how well he had been written. And that's another thing to mention; no matter who he encountered in the Unity Games outside of the battles, no matter how varied the personalities, he remained the same. His changes were gradual, not sudden, and carried over very well throughout the entire course of the tournament.
He was a tough old bastard, and I was glad to go through that tournament just so I could see more of his posts and wonder at his character. He would have definitely placed higher if he were in an actual published story, but for now, he's more than earned the number six position.
-Traveler
Damn you Omni and your capability to add more shit to my read later list...
Everybody loves fleshed-out characters, though I don't read much RP. I'll read that one RP just because Nathan wrote for it.