Role Play 101

IV. Supernatural Things Like Powers & Race

Race:
So, you've decided: maybe I don't want to be human. Maybe I want an elf, or maybe I want a dragon, or maybe something for a race you came up with yourself, for example. Awesome! While humans are the simplest, they can sometimes be the most difficult to play as because you want to do all these awesome things with your character; things that maybe a human character just can't do.

If you want to make your character according to something that already exists in the fantasy world, make sure you do a little research before you just go ahead and say: "yeah, I'm an elf". What can elves do? What are the subspecies of elves? Are you really sure you want to play by these rules, or are you going to give your character a background story that changes why your elf isn't like the rest. 

Powers:
So your character lives in the world where magic and powers and abilities like that are everywhere. But where to start? First off, before you even begin to just come up with all the different kinds of powers, remember: do not give your character too many. And, be unique! Think outside the box! Almost everyone uses fire, or fire-related concepts for powers, and if you use it too, nobody will really give you much credit, even if your character is super cool with a great story.

So you've spent all this time thinking and you finally came up with a power your character has. Awesome. Now, how does it fit in with the character's story? You should give your character powers that match up with his story, or if they don't, role play out how the character got the power so it becomes a part of the story. (best way is either with a Storyline Role Play or Sandbox Role Play)

But again, don't let your character to have too many. The less powers you use, the more creative you have to be, and the more creative you have to be, the more people will respect your role playing ability. So again, think outside the box. And once more, avoid making your character a "Mary Sue"/"Gary Sue".