My husband and I are avid gamers. Many modern games allow for the creation of your own custom characters, which means we spend a lot of time bringing our own ideas to life. For me, that means a number of characters from my books end up running around in these other fictional worlds. They fit better in some games than others (Saints Row was kind of a bust) but it’s still fun to see a visual, usable representation of the characters I encounter in my line of work.
While I’ve made the same characters over and over again, there’s always one game I go back to as what I feel makes the best representation of most of them. That game is Ragnarok Online, of course. It’s an old MMORPG, sprite-based games aren’t too common these days, but it’s got a retro charm and memorable gameplay that keep its servers around even now.
Since I’m excited to have put the book in the hands of beta readers for a final round of feedback, I thought I’d revisit an idea I had a long time ago – Tiny character blurbs with tiny character sprites to introduce you to a part of the cast. Ready? Here’s a few characters you’ll get to meet in the book.
Character: Firal
Ragnarok Class: High Priest
Role: The main character of the book, Firal is a mageling girl studying healing arts at the prestigious Kirban Temple. After stumbling upon a nearly-lost society of people, she accidentally entangles herself in a racial conflict that threatens to escalate to war.
Character: Daemon
Ragnarok Class: Assassin Cross
Role: Leader of the Underling armies and Lumia’s right hand, Daemon is a wild mage with an apparent vendetta against the temple, the mages, and the elven king. Desperate to manage his unrefined power, he’s quick to strike a bargain with Firal to learn control.
Character: Ran
Ragnarok Class: Wizard
Role: A blue-ranked mageling at Kirban Temple, frequently subjecting Firal to friendly torment. Despite his playful antagonizing and chipper demeanor, Firal knows little about him or the secrets he seems to be hiding.
Character: Envesi
Ragnarok Class: Professor
Role: The Archmage and leader of Kirban Temple. All business, Envesi’s career and the temple’s success are her highest priorities, even over her responsibilities to the royal family.
Character: Kifel
Ragnarok Class: Lord Knight
Role: King of the elven half of Elenhiise island and sponsor of Kirban Temple. Despite being loved by his people, he is often alone, without family or crowned heirs.
Character: Lumia
Ragnarok Class: Gypsy
Role: The ageless queen of the underground, bent on seeking glory for herself, under the pretense of seeking justice for her oppressed people.
There are more characters than just those, of course, but they’re the ones I find myself creating most often.
Know a game that allows great character customization? Recommend it to me!