RolePlaying hints for Corax
Corax are fun to roleplay, especially if you've already got a sense of curiosity, and a hint of trickster in you. Here's a few hints, however, which you can use to round out your corax character:
• Watch everything. Actively stare at things, if it helps. Everything has a little mystery behind it, and its amazing what secrets unfold to the watchful eye. Alternatively, pick up absolutely everything and give it a closer examination. Shiney things are the most fun to pick up - go for coins, jewelry, bullet casings, broken glass, mirrors, etc.
• Question everything. You never get to hear the good stories unless you ask the right questions. Of course, getting around to the right question might take some time, but its great fun seeing how long people will keep answering you before they realize they're in a game of 20 questions. Anyways, the most fun questions are rarely the ones which people expect you to ask.
• Explore. This can be dangerous, but it's arguably one of the most exciting things a person can do. Get into absolutely every place that people don't want you to be... whether that is a notebook, a locked room, a closet, or a safety deposit box. Being caught doing this can lead to a sudden cessation of the exploration, though, so you do have to be careful. Then again, what's life without a little risk?
• Make obscure statements and references. This enhances your mystique. Okay, some people might not appreciate the odd comments you make, or the fact that you won't explain yourself - but after a while they'll get used to it. You can credit yourself with having made their day a little more surreal, if nothing else.
• Collect something. Ravens and Crows are avid collectors. You could have a collection or rare coins, or bottle caps, or stamps, or empty bullet casings, or odd novels, or computer viruses, or any number of exciting things. Not only does collecting give you something to do with your free time (and all time is "free" if you think about it) but if you ever get caught in an awkward situation, you can always claim "I only climbed the fence because I saw this great bottlecap on the other side" or "I'm sorry - but provoking him was the only way I could see what kind of ammo he had. And I didn't have any flechette rounds in my collection yet!"
Be sure to develop some of your own quirks & obsessions, too. Corax are a unique breed, and they pride themselves on that fact. Go out of your way to make sure everyone knows you march to the beat of a different drum.
Corax make excellent LARP characters - they have so many opportunities to be so obviously different from everybody else. Take advantage of this, and play up your corvid nature:
• Move differently. Have you ever watched the way birds move? Take tentative steps, cock your head from side to side while listening to people, startle whenever someone approaches you too quickly, and never stop looking around you.
• Sit differently. Actually, don't sit at all: Perch! Keep your feet under you at all times. Sit on the backs of chairs. Crouch on the ground instead of sitting on it. Turn chairs around so you can 'perch' on the seat and lean your arms on the backrest.
• Talk differently. Talk in spurts, and then suddenly be quiet. Or drop your voice to a whisper when talking about things which aren't secret. If you know how to caw, do so at appropriate moments (like when people aren't expecting it). Use convoluted sentances... or really simple ones (especially if you're corvid). Make obscure references and then refuse to explain them.
Corax love to use quotes. Before a game, make a list of 5 quotes (from movies or books or a list of quotable sayings) and see if you can use them in casual conversation before the night is out. Make a game of it.
Wear black (like that's tough, eh?). Or wear strange things... attatch bits of colored string to your clothes, or shiny wrappers and pretty stones. Collect gaudy jewelry at garage sales and second hand stores (the kind with really big fake gems) and wear lots of them, all over. Ask people for things (like the silver foil from their cigarette pack, or a loose thread from a bright shirt) and then incorporate it into your costume.
Always want what someone else has. Make a big deal of getting it. Once you have it, leave it lying around where anyone else can take it.
Pick things up and put them down. A lot.
Hint that you know things no one else does. Practice that 'knowing' smile.
Start to say something, and then stop yourself. "Of course, that's not nearly as interesting as the other day when the Prince found out that his - Oh! Nevermind." or "I don't suppose you heard.. um.. oh, I shouldn't - Uh.. Just forget it." or "Say - you're looking pretty good. I didn't expect to see you again after the... Ooops. Forget I said that."
Be flighty. Startle easily and then pretend nothing happened.
Balance on the balls of your feet, and try not to let your heels touch the ground - not even when you're walking. You'd be surprised how much differently you begin to behave... you tend to act more suspicious, you move a little quicker, you shift your weight more, and people around you approach you more cautiously - even if they don't realize what's different.
Go after one item, or bit of information, or person, and when everyone is convinced that that is what you want, shrug it off, and ask for something else (which you really wanted all along).
Whisper things in people's ears. Very obviously. Even simple, non-secret things, like asking where the bathroom is. Its a great cover... that way, when you do need to communicate a secret, no one will suspect. Also, when other people ask your victim what you whispered to them, no one will believe it when they say "She wanted directions to the ladies room".
Wink at people for no reason. It makes them think you know something they don't.
The corax tongue is difficult to understand. Not so much because it is made up of strange noises, caws, and squalks, but because it relies heavily on quotes. Have you ever shared in-jokes with your friends, and needed merely to repeat a small part of a phrase in order to have everyone know what you meant, and start laughing? Well, the corax tongue is a lot like that, but with a wide range of quotes, and an instinctive understanding of the 'in-jokes' behind them (and really, everything is a joke if you think about it).
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