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As far as accent and geography, do some research. If the details do not exist, then take some liberties and make them up. Over the years I have applied some earth accents to RPG lands. Use an accent you will have fun with.
So you're a noble, and now you're adventuring. You could say that as one who is not first-born you will not inherit what the oldest child will, and must seek your own fortune. Or, you are a bastard. Do you seek to support your sibling, or are you jealous? If you are the first-born, then there should be agood reason you are adventuring. Perhaps there is a curse or ancestral enemy.
Regarding the slight of hand issue, just come up with some kind of motivation besides material main, such as being a thrill seeker, or you are rich and bored, or just a klopto. You don't necessarily need to steal expensive items.
A few things regarding RP in general.
1) Choose a flaw or weakness of some kind. Everyone wants their character to be a bad-ass without weakness, but that gets boring. Sometimes people can't help making bad choices. Is it gambling, drinking, arrogance, gullible, trust issues, an irrational fear, a bad temper, dislike of small humanoids, mumbling, lack of manners, sex-crazed. By the way, really try to avoid using your flaw to screw over the entire party.
2) Choose a hobby of some kind (playing cards, basket weaving, table-top war games), and something that is the most importantt thing in your life even if the character hasn't realized it yet.
3) Its impossible to not put part of your own personality into role-playing, but you can make some conscious choices to adopt personality traits that are not yours. Being someone else is what put the RP in the G. Is there a common trait that many of your characters have? Change it. If you are shy, then your character should be outgoing. Are you a smarty-pants? Play a character who only sees what is in front of him. We're not just playing a board game, we're also improv actors.
I'm afraid it's rather late here, but I think I grasped most of what you said, and I'll give my best response!
I'm not exactly sure when or how it happened, but one day, people went to their local Pen and Paper type stores, and started picking up the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and thought it was the best idea in the world to play it like casuals, with no love of lore, NPCs, or story. These were, and still somewhat are, the dark times my friend. It's a sad day when you get weird looks, or shunned upon for role playing.
In most of our games, role playing is HEAVILY welcomed, and rewarded greatly for any attempt made to do so. My most recent character in our home-made campaign was a near seven foot tall, towering lizardfolk knight. I didn't delve too much into his past, but his back-story had his wife, one kid (which turned to four by the end of our literal year long campaign) and much more. His homeland was a prominent part of the story, and we visited it regularly, and the GM had no issues playing out the roles of his family, nor did I have any troubles interacting with them.
Though...I may have misinterpreted that role play sense, if it's personality you meant, well; my Knight was a near run of the mill hero, but hey, sometimes that's alright! He was proud, brave, a champion of justice and a selfless guy. A LOT of my fellow party members usually play the treacherous merchant bard, the quick to steal in it for herself rogue, the trouble starting young lad..monk. Basically, fire starters. Our GM is very good at remaining neutral in the actions of the players generally, and he knows full well characters won't get along the same as their players would. Countless times, even though I know it would make the player mad, my character acted out against a decision the other party member made. I mean, it's what he would do! The bard heavily contemplated selling off a half celestial child in exchange for access to a gold pile near the size of a colossal dragon that an ancient wizard owned (evil wizard!). When the bard motioned to accept the offer, my knight drew his sword, much to the anger of the bard's player. When the bard tried to shove past him, my knight cut him down (not totally slaying him, but critically wounding him. Needless to say, the player hated my character and myself both in and out of game for a few weeks.
To finally make a point and stop my rant, go for roleplaying, or go home sir (or madame!). What I mean is, always roleplay when you can, and however you can. As for your character's back story, perhaps see if you can bend the rules a little and rework it? With my characters, I usually go race, what class they would be, and perhaps their social standing in the world, then I go for family, children, etc. Just saying though, your character having a family is one thing, but be cautious if you get attached to your character. Soon you can't afford to let them die and are afraid to play them for a total destruction of the family left alive should your character die haha
I don't know if it's really a problem for other players, but once every blue moon, I get so attached to a character that it feels like I literally take their spot in the world.
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The game is most assuredly more fun when everyone gets into their characters! Congratulations on being brave enough to give this a try. It can be quite intimidating for a lot of people.
That said, you are on the right track. A good background is a solid foundation for you to advance your character's story and personality. If you don't feel "connected" to your backstory, though, it's much harder.
There's no right way to do that, unfortunately... The best advice I can offer is to put something of yourself into the character and the background. The more relatable he is, the more you will care about him. Secondly, make him flawed in some way. Paragons with no obvious shortcomings tend to not feel "real". It makes them very stunted and awkward as characters. Thirdly, play the guy you want to play. Not the one the mechanics work for, or the one that fits the scheme, or seems the coolest.
Happy gaming!
How do your character's stats, skills, and feats reflect him as a person? How does his backstory feed into his behaviour? How does he play to his alignment? What kind of quirks does your character have and why does he have them? All of these questions should help you learn to develop your character's behaviour alongside his backstory.
Next, if you feel uncomfortable with roleplaying due to current group atmosphere, let your GM know! If the GM suggests, encourages, or (if necessary) enforces roleplaying, it does actually help. Try staging an in-character conversation with one of your fellow players, have everyone give their name and rough synopsis of their backstory to each other and play off of that. Try to increase the amount of in-character conversation that happens each session.
Believe me, I started with a group that had literally ZERO roleplaying. Half the people in the group just had the party munchkin roll their characters with no explanation or character guidance, and nobody even knew each other's character names (two people didn't even have a name, only two people could tell you their character name off the top of their head), nobody had any backstory, and nobody ever said a word in-character. I did talk to the GM out of session, mentioning everything above, and he agreed to help improve the atmosphere. If you just explain that you're disappointed with the group and their lack of roleplay, a good GM will do everything he/she can to change things around.
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I look to literature and film for inspiration. I tend to file away my favorite characters and try to channel them at the table. One thing I recommend though is not getting too caught up in what your character is supposed to be. Often, I read threads about absolutist like "must kill all undead" or folks playing rangers favored enemy to the point of suicide. These characters are more like avatars of ideas than actual characters. IMO, this style makes the whole game fall flat. You seem to be looking to bridge RP and mechanics so I would say you are on the right path.
As for the stealing, you need to remember TTRPGs are a group game. You are playing up an aspect of your character and that's great, but if its not aiding the adventure chances are the GM and/or other players will downplay it. On the flip side, if all your attempts are waved away then maybe you need to discuss with the group opportunities to get the most out of your character.
Lastly, don't think of RP as a switch. Many people get discouraged because they decide to RP more but their attempts fall flat or the group doesn't follow. You need to give it time for you and the group to grow into it. People tend to fall into habits and adjusting or breaking them is a slow process. Hope this helps and have fun!
Kleptomania is a good flaw. But, a flaw in role play is only actually a flaw if your character also sees it that way... Does that make any sense?
What I mean is, if you (player) and your character are both super-proud of the fact that the character steals everything not nailed down, then it doesn't work as a character flaw.
If on the other hand, he doesn't understand his own motivations, tries to stop and can't, never quite grasping that it's the rush and the fear of being caught, coupled with a desire to hurt the "oh-so-proud nobility" for shunning him... then it's a flaw.
You have already had some good advice.
Accents can be fun but they are best at first impressions so a strong meet up and the occasional catch phrase will more than cover how good your vocal range is. What really nails in character speach is keeping it in character. This does not mean you dont enjoy the table banter it means that when you adress the other characters or npc you do so as your character. This sounds simple but you would be surprised how often people rely on out of character resolution to moments.
Example: The party pulls into town you were told to look for a halfling in a seedy bar/tavern you learn he wont be in till mid morning tomorrow. The dm says you can stay here. You remember that the dm descibed the place as a real dive. Everbody nods and takes note of the missing coin on their sheets. Lean forward and speak as your character. "Hell no. This place stinks." As a noble, and hey a guy who likes the nice things enough to steal for it, I refuse to stay in the low rent joint. You look at the dm and speak to a local. "Hey friend I'm looking for a nice place to stay for the night drinks here are good enough but is an inn that hasa touch more class." This might cause another 30 or 40 seconds of chatter which you answer in character. But in under a minute you have created a moment that speaks to the kind of man you are.
It's the small touches that really can go along way.
Shorter example:
Assuming your thief is also the trap guy. When you announce to the gm you are checking a door for traps follow it up in character statement , "Hey guys shhh. You want this blowing up on you." Turning to the gm I listen at the door (cup yohr hand to your ear like your straing at the door then) And I check for any traps (mime a quiet tap on the door and roll perception).
Lastly try as often as possible to base behavior on character perspective not player awareness. Meta game tactics should be considered certainly but so should character knowledge, morality, attitude and so on.
I like the idea of having an uncle who ended up being your mentor/role-model/father-figure. He should also be the younger brother who did not inherit a title so you have something in common. Either he has no children, or none really worthy of favoritism.
Back to being a klepto. Are you and the uncle two peas in a pod? Maybe he has sticky fingers too. Or maybe he's legitimate and you steal to keep up the appearance of success in front of your family. Or maybe you simply have mental problems.
Finally, I also encourage you to complete a character write-up. It can include information on family, personal history, appearance, personality, or any combination of those. It is important to include details that will get your role-playing started, but also remember that a character should grow over his or her career. Leave room in the write-up for details that will be filled in as you go.
One caution or rather question your character idea raises is your are pro stealing but against corruption. This has a bit of ideological tension to it establishing how this is a part of your personality would be important. For instance "yeah im a thief but I make no bones about it but what gets me is the hypocracy of so called honest people knowingly buy from goods made by slaves or the bribes expect to do "legitimate" business."
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You have back story. but what is his character like? Is he a morning person, or is he best not spoken to till after coffee? Is he methodical, maybe meticulous in keeping armour and weapons in order? Is he used to servants doing everything and keeps suddenly remembering he needs to do things for himself? Does he care about what he eats and drinks, perhaps fussy, or a connoisseur? Does he like to read and if so, what?
Think about how he might behave during a typical day, in camp and at meals and waiting for things. What he thinks about weather or comforts, how much, if at all, he prefers staying in inns, what he enjoys and what he hates.