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[Remuthra]

That's why people don't use first come first serve. Some people just don't play in a constructive way.

[Harbingerjm]

I'm not sure if it's him or his personality or his lack of experience or what, but he ruins more plans than he helps. Did I tell you about the time he ruined a plan, sometimes one he made, by angering the guards outside the building they were entering?
I'd have to be more specific, because he's done that in everything from low fantasy to cyberpunk.

Yeah, some people do crazy things. Like get themselves kicked out of taverns and cost other part members gold by damaging the furniture in an attempt to imprison random townsfolk.

[Remuthra]

I'm not sure if it's him or his personality or his lack of experience or what, but he ruins more plans than he helps. Did I tell you about the time he ruined a plan, sometimes one he made, by angering the guards outside the building they were entering?
I'd have to be more specific, because he's done that in everything from low fantasy to cyberpunk.

Yeah, some people do crazy things. Like get themselves kicked out of taverns and cost other part members gold by damaging the furniture in an attempt to imprison random townsfolk.

It's what any sensible person would do if constantly jumped by people who proceed to run out the door. I still don't see how that damaged anything.

[zombie killer]

I'm not sure if it's him or his personality or his lack of experience or what, but he ruins more plans than he helps. Did I tell you about the time he ruined a plan, sometimes one he made, by angering the guards outside the building they were entering?
I'd have to be more specific, because he's done that in everything from low fantasy to cyberpunk.

of course i have to ruin the plans of the GM, thats half the fun of roleplaying! also, the cleric got killed because he abandoned us in one of our characters hours of need. and i remember the cleric being armed. and if he was not armed, what kind of fool walks into a dungeon unarmed?

[zombie killer]

my character was taught that healing people was one of the highest ways to praise his god- the god of healing, and that hurting people was bad, and that peace is a very good thing.

[Remuthra]

I'm not sure if it's him or his personality or his lack of experience or what, but he ruins more plans than he helps. Did I tell you about the time he ruined a plan, sometimes one he made, by angering the guards outside the building they were entering?
I'd have to be more specific, because he's done that in everything from low fantasy to cyberpunk.

of course i have to ruin the plans of the GM, thats half the fun of roleplaying!

I disagree wholeheartedly with this. While I personally enjoy attempting to subvert the plans of GMs who use plot railroading, one of the worst things you can do in the game is to act destructively. The fun of roleplaying is the roleplaying itself, and while it isn't fun to look to the GM for the next point of the story, it's also not fun to play for the purpose of going against the GM. The best experiences come from the time that the players went somewhere the GM didn't expect, or accidentally prevented an important event in the story, or killed the main villain before the GM expected. The best roleplaying story I've ever heard was the result of a character accidentally throwing a flask of acid directly in the face of the party's godlike employer, prompting a full manhunt and eventually leading to the party attempting to overthrow a city and attempt to defeat him and keep him from resurrecting.

[zombie killer]

I'm not sure if it's him or his personality or his lack of experience or what, but he ruins more plans than he helps. Did I tell you about the time he ruined a plan, sometimes one he made, by angering the guards outside the building they were entering?
I'd have to be more specific, because he's done that in everything from low fantasy to cyberpunk.

of course i have to ruin the plans of the GM, thats half the fun of roleplaying!

by ruin the plans of the GM, i mean avoid the obvious adventure hook that the GM threw at you, and do something else. i am not saying you should totally de-rail the GM, but if avoiding the dungeon does that, it is not your fault. i was running a game, and the player avoided the dungeon i had made. i just tossed some pirates at him. what i am trying to say is, that a good GM should be able to hook you, or be flexible enough to live with it if your character chooses to not go with it.
I disagree wholeheartedly with this. While I personally enjoy attempting to subvert the plans of GMs who use plot railroading, one of the worst things you can do in the game is to act destructively. The fun of roleplaying is the roleplaying itself, and while it isn't fun to look to the GM for the next point of the story, it's also not fun to play for the purpose of going against the GM. The best experiences come from the time that the players went somewhere the GM didn't expect, or accidentally prevented an important event in the story, or killed the main villain before the GM expected. The best roleplaying story I've ever heard was the result of a character accidentally throwing a flask of acid directly in the face of the party's godlike employer, prompting a full manhunt and eventually leading to the party attempting to overthrow a city and attempt to defeat him and keep him from resurrecting.

[GreatWyrmGold]

I'm not sure if it's him or his personality or his lack of experience or what, but he ruins more plans than he helps. Did I tell you about the time he ruined a plan, sometimes one he made, by angering the guards outside the building they were entering?
I'd have to be more specific, because he's done that in everything from low fantasy to cyberpunk.

Yeah, some people do crazy things. Like get themselves kicked out of taverns and cost other part members gold by damaging the furniture in an attempt to imprison random townsfolk.

Oh! Did I tell you about the time he complained about starting the adventure in jail (as a rogue), and then he got into trouble with the law in every town they went to?

of course i have to ruin the plans of the GM, thats half the fun of roleplaying!

I was referring to the plans of the other characters you've ruined. Or your own plans.

and if he was not armed, what kind of fool walks into a dungeon unarmed?

Um, a healer? Whose only purpose there was to let you guys heal between battles because no one played a cleric?

my character was taught that healing people was one of the highest ways to praise his god- the god of healing, and that hurting people was bad, and that peace is a very good thing.

Are you alright? Next thing I know, you'll be capitalizing your sentences!

...The best experiences come from the time that the players went somewhere the GM didn't expect, or accidentally prevented an important event in the story, or killed the main villain before the GM expected. The best roleplaying story I've ever heard was the result of a character accidentally throwing a flask of acid directly in the face of the party's godlike employer, prompting a full manhunt and eventually leading to the party attempting to overthrow a city and attempt to defeat him and keep him from resurrecting.

My experiences support this argument.
Especially the times when someone (zk) screws himself over. Did I tell you about the time that we were playing GURPS, he angered some guards, and then hid in the ground and waited for the other PC to show up? (The best part is, he rolled so badly on his roll to guess when that would be that he came out to see a completely empty and primarily ransacked castle.)

I've gamed with this guy a lot. Most of the face-to-face campaigns I've been in, in fact.

[Harbingerjm]

The best roleplaying story I've ever heard was the result of a character accidentally throwing a flask of acid directly in the face of the party's godlike employer, prompting a full manhunt and eventually leading to the party attempting to overthrow a city and attempt to defeat him and keep him from resurrecting.

I think the best one I've ever heard was about a kobold with an umbrella.

[Gamerlord]

GWG, you're acting a bit like a dick. Calm down a little.

[GreatWyrmGold]

GWG, you're acting a bit like a dick. Calm down a little.

I blame te time of night.

[zombie killer]

GWG, you're acting a bit like a dick. Calm down a little.

I blame te time of night.

Then I suggest you go to sleep

[Lenglon]

Step 1: does your character focus more on their goals or their actions / methods?

Step 2:
if the character is goal-oriented, what are that character's goals?
if the character is more focused on their actions/methods, what are the general principals they live by?

Step 3:
why does this character act this way? why is that their goal? why are those their principals?

Step 3.5 (repeat as necessary):
why @ the answer to step 3?

Step 4:
what side effects would that source of motivation have upon your character? what other quirks would that inspire?

for example, lets take your healer-cleric.
first, when people asked about it, you said:

good cleric, likes healing people, and helping with his magic.

that is a code of behavior, namely, heal people when able, help using magic when possible.
that answers steps 1 and 2.
next, we have step 3, why? and you've answered this as well:

my character was taught that healing people was one of the highest ways to praise his god- the god of healing, and that hurting people was bad, and that peace is a very good thing.

ok, so your cleric was taught to behave this way, answering why he does this, but you've missed a couple key questions here:

How did your cleric come to become a cleric? what made him/her decide to devote their life to the god of healing? was it out of admiration for healings in the past? was it out of a desire to heal him/herself? maybe there was someone he/she wanted to heal but couldn't?

standard questions to help you write a backstory:
What kind of childhood did your character have?
what is/was your character's family like?
why did your character choose to become a _____?
what angers your character?
what scares your character?
what makes your character happy?
what makes your character sad?
how does your character react to someone being a jerk?
how does your character react to someone being kind?
how does your character react when overwhelmed/confused?
what motivates your character?
what kinds of memorable experiences would your character have growing up?
does your character have any particularly beloved family members? if so, why?
how would the above-mentioned memorable experiences affect your character here and now?
what is your character afraid of?
what is your character notably not afraid of?
how does your character handle their fears?
when your character is over-stressed, how does he/she relax?
how well does your character handle being tired?
how well does your character handle alcohol?
how well does your character handle pain?
how well does your character handle death (of party members, family members, friends, aquaintances, and of unknown persons)?
how tall is your character?
what kind of build does your character have (buff? skinny? fat? etc.)
what scars, if any, does your character have?
what is your character's complexion? (pale? dark? blue? tan? red? something else/in between?)
what kind of clothes does your character wear?
what is your character's hair color and hairstyle?
what is your character's eye color?
does your character have any distinctive features? (malformed hand? unusual walking style? very deep voice? missing limb? etc.)
how would your character's appearance and distinctive features change how people behave around you?
how would these changes to how people behave affect your character?
does this help any?

[Harry Baldman]

One possible quirk is to have the character collect something. Like rocks, for instance. Or strange bones. Or rare books.

[GreatWyrmGold]

GWG, you're acting a bit like a dick. Calm down a little.

I blame te time of night.

Then I suggest you go to sleep

Done.