Like OldBlueDragon my RPG gaming experience goes back a few years and I have been fairly consistent with the types of characters I enjoy playing.
My first D&D character was a Paladin to the dismay of my friends. It wasn't until some time later that I understood why and it was then that I began to experiment with other character classes. The restrictions of playing a Lawful Good character really began to eat at me. It certainly didn't fit my personality. I found that Chaotic Good alignment suited me much better. Unfortunatly, the ruleset didn't allow for Paladins to be of any alignment except Lawful Good, so I looked for the closest alternative and discovered Rangers.
I loved the close to nature and solitude aspect of the Ranger as well as the solid melee abilities. The parts that bothered me though, were at the higher levels when they began to resemble Druids and took on too many mystical aspects. I never cared for animal companions either.
To change things up, in later years, and to present more of an interesting roleplay challenge for both myself, the group, and the gamemaster, I began looking at a Paladin anti-thesis and was dismayed at the lack of a true antiPaladin class. Evil Clerics didn't cut it, because back then, they were still limited to blunt weapons. My friends and I would debate this disparity on occasion (Why don't the Evil and Neutral gods have Paladins or classes with comparable abilities and strong melee skill), along with the long standing debate on why a Mage could not choose to devote years of study and learn to (even haphazardly) use a sword and why a healthy human of modest strength could not devote many hours of rigorous training and weight lifting to increase his base strength by even one point? By the time that these concerns were addressed in AD&D 3rd edition, we had long since moved to computer games and it was moot.
Baldurs Gate saw my first Fighter/Mage. I had previously looked down upon dual classing, but I decided to do so in this case not for roleplaying reasons, but to max out my characters potential within the limits of the game. Computer gaming made the birth of authorized cheating so much easier and so much more forgiveable. I admit to many a reroll
I also discovered that with the experience cap within the first game, I could make 5 levels and still have enough experience to make level 8 in another class. I figured Fighter would be the most profitable as a first class with the higher hitpoints and greater melee abilities, as Mages are not very strong in early levels.
My first Everquest character was a Shadowknight and my choice has been consistent across various other games since. It was great to finally be able to play an evil character. I worked hard at increasing monster factions like the Crushbone Orcs and took great pleasure roleplaying in that zone, often from the throne of the Emperors chair, taunting the good players camped at the far end of the room, huddling close together in fear of aggroing the orcs prematurely. This is one of the things I miss most from Everquest that is not in Everquest 2. I loved working on factions, especially the monster ones. Factions seem to have only a trivial importance in EQ2 and I have not found any real way or any real incentive to raising EQ2 mob factions.
I have almost exclusively played Humans from the very beginning of my roleplaying gaming experience. I tried a brief stint as a Minotaur which was memorable and enjoyable and have made occasional Elves, but never with any satisfaction. Elves have always been too popular and their racial attitude always seemed to elitist for my tastes. I took great pleasure in roleplaying Human mercenaries that specialized in hunting Elves for various Human kingdoms.
Dwarves were always fun to play with, but they never suited my play tastes.
As my tastes swung to the dark side in later years and as the mythology became more abundant, I discovered Dark Elves. The perfect antithesis to Elves that would fit well with an evil class and provide for a roleplay experience that was not Human.
Since Everquest, I have played almost exclusively, Dark Elves. I played a Dark Elven Shadowknight in EQ, a Dark Elven Enchanter in EQOA, as well as a Dark Elven Shadowknight in Champions of Norrath.
When I discovered early on, before EQ2 was even released, that traditionally evil races could become traditionally good classes and vice versa, I was sold. I knew exactly what character I wanted to create months before EQ2 was released. To this day, my Dark Elf Paladin is my main and only character. I have enjoyed being fairly unique on the Qeynos side (at least on my server) and still occasionally get comments like,"Oh, wow, I didn't realize that you are a Paladin!"
From a gameplay perspective, I enjoy playing a Paladin because of the versatility and excellent self reliance. I can and have, soloed very well. The heals and wards allow for me to play unique roles at times, as group healer when no healer class is around. I can also help a group healer in a pinch and have great abilities to buff the mitigation and avoidance of a main tank if I play as a back up tank. My damage output is fairly decent as well, especially with a two-handed weapon. Overall, I am completely satisfied with my choice and my role in the EQ2 world.
I miss the undead pets though and would probably create a Shadowknight alt, if EQ2 SKs had to ability to summon them, like in EQ. I have been considering creating a Necromancer alt, but the only thing stopping me is the time constraints. I barely have enough time as it is, to play one character.
I also don't like the idea that "tank" classes aren't supposed to be damage classes. I never liked being put into boxes and have someone define my character before I've even "rolled the dice." It was because people said that EQOA mages weren't supposed to have high hitpoints or be good at soloing, that I created a Human Mage and put every level stat bonus into Stamina, and found that I could solo very well, despite a lower damage output and powerpool. Which has also contributed to my efforts to tailor my Paladin for the most damage she can.
Live Update 13 decreased the abilities of many of my damage spells and/or significantly increased their power consumption, but the auto attack damage has (supposedly) gone up, which will go well with my preference for two-handed weapons.
I usually spend a long time adjusting and tweaking my characters appearance or abilities at the character creation screen. I didn't keep track of the time, but I probably spent at least an hour on Xczaria. I think her undergarments are horrible and am glad I will never have to see them again, but I like her appearance. The facial options also remined me of the Tiger Woods game.
That's quite a bit of info I've shared with everyone, I hope at least it was diversionary and slightly entertaining. If you play on Neriak server, be sure to say hi!
Edited, Wed Sep 28 00:46:52 2005 by Kallirye