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[Makkal]

Let us imagine that you've met a new RPer who wants to play a badass and they're looking to you for help. Specifically, they want a character that comes off as:

• Combat experienced
• Physically and mentally hardened
• Dangerous

They haven't even made the character yet. What suggestions or advice would you give them? What characters would you point to as being good examples of badass?

Note:
This is not a thread to discuss whether playing a badass is a good or bad thing, or whether badass characters are based in masculine anxiety, or to explain how your character is secretly badass even though they don't come off that way at all.

[Silver Night]

A couple things that occur to me immediately are:

1) Less is more. The more your character talks about all the shit they've seen, the less impact/believability it tends to have. This isn't universally the case, but often seems to be true. The cryptic silence can be a useful tool for you.

2) Patience (not unrelated to the above). In my experience the most dangerous seeming characters are the ones you realize are dangerous over time. Maybe letting people hear about past experiences in dribs and drabs. Having an air of being dangerous and letting that work for them, rather than telling people they are dangerous.

3) This depends on the exact type of badass you want to be, but having stuff in-game to back it up can help. It might be PvP (and you don't have to be perfect at it, or flying impressive ships, just doing it can be enough), it might be vast wealth, it might be well engineered corp heists. No one asks Istvaan if he's a badass.

4) Be imperfect. Don't be a perfect combat machine. When you talk, talk about your failures too.

[Samira Kernher]

It's a matter of being able to call on wisdom from past experiences. You don't need more than that. They can be very new to being a capsuleer while still coming off as combat experience, hardened, and dangerous, because the latter are all about self confidence, knowledge, and wisdom, not skillset. An ex-military character who has just recently become a capsuleer, for example, is still very new to the differences (of which there are many) of flying ships as a capsuleer, but are still able to draw on their decades of baseline combat experience in how they relate to the world around them.

For me, personally, after playing a hardened veteran on another game, the trick is to just understand what wisdom and experience entails. Someone who is a veteran has seen many, many things. They've been through many things. They've succeeded many times, and failed many times. They've been around the park and so don't get very jumpy or excitable. They're very confident in themselves (afterall, they've survived where many others haven't), and while this can make them arrogant, they don't often brag or try to prove themselves--they know their own abilities, they know what they're capable of, and they know that reputation builds itself based on your actions, not your words. They're reserved and cautious, because they know that being a hero gets people killed. They're smart, intelligent, and look for the best solution, not the quickest one--they know how to be patient, as Silver said. They avoid taking stupid risks. They're dangerous because they know how to play to their strengths while avoiding their weaknesses. They're also going to tend to be cynical, possibly bitter, and set in their ways. Experimentation gets people killed--proven tactics are usually the ones that win out because they've been practiced to perfection. They'll have muscle memory, both physical and mental, and be able to react to new situations quickly and decisively.

In EVE gameplay, an experienced individual is more likely to research and study what they're going to do before they do it. For example, to a lot of people I've come across as being very experienced, because I've put in a lot of work into researching EVE gameplay before jumping into it. Almost nothing surprised me, because chances are I've already read about it and mechanically and/or mentally prepared myself for its eventuality. This is something that any new player can do, and for a person wishing to play a hardened veteran is something that they should look into doing. Even though such a character might not have very many skills learned, they have the presence of mind to avoid jumping into dangerous situations without knowing what they're getting into.

Basically, the trick is to just know what you're talking about. A veteran is going to know things, and be able to call on those things, even if they are still just now learning how to use capsuleer ships. Being new to being a capsuleer does not mean you are new to life.

[Makkal]

Age, Faction, Gender, and Appearance:

Badassness tends to be associated with being experienced and 'tough.' Humans are visual creatures: the younger, softer, and smoother your character appears, the less badass they come off as.

By default, male characters are older and rougher looking than their female counterparts, and people seem to be more inclined to acknowledge their badassery. 'Hardened soldiers' and 'grizzled mercenaries' tend to be men in pop culture, so people will pick up on that character archetype faster. A female character will have to work harder at being perceived as badass, but once that happens, they seem to get more recognition.

Certain factions have a built in level of badass for the character to exploit. Caldari tends to rate the highest while Gallente the lowest. It's not unusual for Federation men to be told they're 'pretty boys' and likely gay while conversation around Caldari often brings up their strong chins and rugged stubble.

Minmatar, with their tribal tats, selection of leather apparel, and more primitive aesthetic, have a strong stock of badass. The Amarr have less due to class issues and the rejection of things 'rough' or 'coarse.' 

[Samira Kernher]

The Amarr have less due to class issues and the rejection of things 'rough' or 'coarse.'

To the contrary, as the only race that can actually make a truly aged character, in my opinion the Amarr are one of the best choices for looking visually experienced. Especially for women. Amarr women are, IMO, the only female model able to actually look like a veteran. The women of other races can certainly look "tough", but not experienced.

[Makkal]

Amarr women get a big plus in that regard, yes.

[Sakura Nihil]

My pieces of advice for "a young badass"...

* Less conversation is better.  A truly dangerous person gives away little information, but takes in a lot.
* Accept your limitations as a young pilot - don't threaten to destroy someone's alliance, you can't.
* Being rich helps compensate for the lack of ship-flying ability.
* Don't let people talk down to you, even if you're new.  Don't take bullshit.
* Don't be a cliched hardass in your portrait, with the folded arms, sunglasses, and smirk.

[orange]

* Don't be a cliched hardass in your portrait, with the folded arms, sunglasses, and smirk.

So true...

[Repentence Tyrathlion]

1) Less is more. The more your character talks about all the shit they've seen, the less impact/believability it tends to have. This isn't universally the case, but often seems to be true. The cryptic silence can be a useful tool for you.

Very much agreed, and I'd possibly go further.  Don't talk about heavy stuff at all, save for maybe a cryptic remark every now and again.  The folks I've known IRL who've been in the army might chat about the basic stuff, but never about the actual combat.

The scariest man I've ever known never raised his voice, never sounded anything but fairly chilled, and yet I still felt animal terror if I had to work with him.  Sure he was big, but that wasn't it - there was something about the way he held himself.  My point is: show, don't tell.  Less is more.  Show them by their surroundings, by the way they run their ship, by their approach to life, not by talking about their past heroism.  A hero (wannabe or otherwise) can be a badass, but the two are definitely not synonymous.

[Seriphyn]

Caldari tends to rate the highest while Gallente the lowest. It's not unusual for Federation men to be told they're 'pretty boys' and likely gay while conversation around Caldari often brings up their strong chins and rugged stubble.

JFC, does this annoy me. This is a product of the Homogeneous Internet Culture which is Homophobic, Obsessed with Facial Hair and/or Ron Swanson, and has Overcompensating Views of Masculinity (gotta be as tall and/or as big as possible to be masculine). This is generally combined with a complete misunderstanding of the concept and, as usual on the Internet, failing to consider the idea that masculinity may have subjective definitions (or rather, does have subjective definitions). I generally roll my eyes at hypermasculine/hyperbadass characters because it appears as insecurity and/or overcompensation on the player's part, as outlined by Makkal in the OP. I lift weights and eat steaks regularly IRL, but I'm kidding myself if that automatically makes me 'manly' or a badass. In fact, I encourage people to take off 10 points for the fact I even mentioned that particular IRL detail. I can say for sure the desire to get bulky and wear tight t-shirts definitely originates from some sort of insecurity on my end, and I am certainly not alone in that.

It's amusing that the "Caldari badass, Gallente gay" paradigm exists when you can easily get a wide-set jaw ethnic Gallente male character that looks like Jason Statham or some other Hollywood hero. At the same time, I generally consider Civire to look like absolutely ridiculous caricatures, like an entire ethnic group of David Coulthards or older Dolph Lundgrens. You can't really get much variation amongst them either, so it's almost "Badass Manly Character EZ-Mode". Tangent: In comparison, the ethnic Gallente bloodline really offers a lot of diversity, if you compare that previously linked Gallente portrait to this absolutely amazing pretty boy by Darveses.

Now that the rant is over...

As just alluded to, if you or your character has to mention how Manly or Badass they are, they're probably not. To me, it's a natural thing that comes across in self-confidence and personality. To emphasize Seriphyn's 'badassness' (or alpha personality as I typically go with), I tend to rely on confident body language and a dominating/controlling personality in social interaction. Driving the conversation, being gregarious, even smiling and being friendly too. Then for body language, even little stuff like leaning forward on one's knees, slouching in a laid-back manner, folding arms, and so on...and that's just "/me folds his arms tightly with pensive frustration, almost hugging himself" not "/me folds his massive, well-honed arms, causing his t-shirt to tighten around his massive frame, muscles bulging from the fabric". Trust me, I've seen the latter, and it makes me roll my eyes. I think we, as readers, are more than capable of imagining how a heavy-set character might look like if he folds his arms.

Sure, Seriphyn is all big and muscular, a trained marine that can rip a man's heart out with a feather (joke), but he and I never mention it, and I think that's important. A Badass character shouldn't need to tell everyone or remind everyone that they are a Badass character; if it's a natural thing we should be able to see it without a mention! It's like the colour of your skin or your gender.

EDIT: And if we can't see it, doesn't matter! It's an inherently subjective thing that is down to individual perspective; I may not see it, someone else might. But trying to enforce the view among everyone via IC hnghhing so that there is unanimous agreement your character is a badass is a bit silly IMO.

[Lyn Farel]

What others said.

[Desiderya]

In my opinion it boils down to this:

If you have to tell others that you are a badass, chances are that you aren't.

[Repentence Tyrathlion]

In my opinion it boils down to this:

If you have to tell others that you are a badass, chances are that you aren't.

QFT.

Elysa might be considered badass, but that never came through my mind when I was designing or writing her.  I had a firm concept of a grumpy, semi-Provist (not that I knew the term at the time... yay innocence ) who'd more or less grown up in a military academy.  She took shit from nobody, spaced crew who fucked up too badly, and took a long time to understand the concept of 'fun'.  Does this add up to a badass?  Did she come across as one?  No to the former, no idea to the second.  It never really mattered (or occurred) to me.  She was who she was.

[Lithium Flower]

I think we should define, what is the goal: to look like badass, or to be actual badass.
For example, my character looks very innocent, but will jump with fists on opponent even if he will be like two times bigger and four times heavier.
As main components of being actual badass I would name:
1) violent nature - yes, you have to roam around killing ships, have some history of actual killing (in person) and don't be hesitant in applying physical force when possible
2) abruptness. Yield yourself to emotions, but only time to time. Be sometimes cool and calm, sometimes explosive and passionate.
3) daring: don't let yourself be intimidated. Do not consider anyone stronger than you before you 'taste' this strength. Do not think about consequences of your momentary actions: just act! Leave planning for long terms, but in short terms simply act mindlessly according to situation.

When you will be both unpredictable and violent, people won't know what to expect from you and would prefer to avoid staying close to you. That's what I would name intimidating behavior instead of intimidating look.

[Karmilla Strife]

In a spaceship game, the bad-ass-ness that matters happens in space. If they are new and want badass cred I recommend jumping right into PVP and getting a record to back up their claims of being combat experienced. A great example would be someone like Sid.  He showed up with smirk and sunglasses, but because he was out there ruining lives with his rifter, people didn't treat him like a joke.