[Guide]The Simple Character Thread

Shenorai

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Hail, O players of the stage. Greetings to the casual players, the veterans, the rookies, and passerby's alike.

Usually, creating the character is that first roadblock in any beginner's role-playing experience. However, Characters are also one of the most integral elements to a role-play. To help conquer that roadblock, Kaos and I have pieced together this guide and template for your use.

Keep in mind; unless the GM says so, not all of what you will see below is required for every RP. Some role-plays do not require Weapons, Armor, or Magic simply due to the setting of the game (like a high school RP or an animals-only RP).

To help you get started, we shall use a Simplified Character Template for this exercise, which are currently not eligible for Role-Play Battles (RPB's). If you wish to delve into more advanced templates, have a look-see here.

Now, let's create a character. Open up WordPad or your computer's equivalent. I will go over each section one at a time. If you need assistance, don't hesitate to ask or check the explanations below!

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Let's say that we want to enter a generic Fantasy role-play. Your character must band together with others in order to stop a wizard from obtaining a magical gem that would enslave the kingdom. (Hey, use the idea if you want, I don't care. It's generic.) The GM has stated that you may use whatever race or species you wish.

I have provided a detailed explanation of each section as well as a few references that you may use if you feel stumped. If you need further assistance, don't hesitate to ask.

As a very important note: The Photograph under the Appearance section is NOT a substitute for filling out the section. If a GM sees that you use pictures to do your describing for you, s/he may deny your application simply because you are not displaying your writing capabilities. If you cannot describe your own character and use scapegoats like pictures, a GM may see this as laziness.

Name: This one's self-explanatory. Should your character be known by many names (or not have a name at all), include Nicknames as well. If you're stumped, try websites like Behind the Name, Rinkworks, and Squid.org.
Gender: Male? Female? Transsexual? Androgynous? This does not refer to your character's sexual preference.
Age: This is your character's actual age. "My character is 20,000 years old, but looks 12," does not fall under this category.
Race: Is your character Human or not? Non-humans, such as fantasy, supernatural, or even animals, will need a longer explanation of typical traits and behavior.
Appearance
- Hair
: This describes the character's hair color, length, thickness, and usual style. An entire body covered in thick fur would still fall under this category.
- Eyes: This describes the character's eye shape and color. This includes unusual pupils (black dots) and irises (colored circles).
- Height/Weight: How tall and heavy is your character? Both Imperial and Metric are acceptable. Height conversion is about 1 inch = 2.5 centimeters. 1 foot = 30 cm. Weight conversion is about 2.2 pounds = 1 kilogram. 100 pounds = 45.4 kg.
- Skin: This section covers skin tone, complexion, scarring, and tattoos.
- Build: Your character's muscle build falls in this section. Is s/he athletic? Scrawny? Fat? Average?
- Attire: Describe your character's usual outfit. If they have multiple outfits, feel free to list what occasion they are worn on. If your character is nude for whatever reason, that falls under here too.
- Noteworthy Features: This is where all the other miscellaneous features are described, such as extra limbs, unusual markings, and other anomalies. "Such and such looks younger than his/her age," would also be listed here.
- Photograph: Here is where you are allowed to post up a link to a picture of your character. Or a picture of your character inside spoiler tags, if available. Remember: This is NOT a replacement for the rest of the Appearance section. Stolen artwork will potentially be removed.

Weapon(s): These are your character's physical armaments. Use common sense when creating your character's arsenal, lest s/he becomes over-encumbered. Describe your weaponry down to its length, weight, and any special designs/accessories. Should your character hold multiple weapons, take their size, weight, and practicality into consideration.
Can't decide? Check out Weapon: A Visual History of Arms and Armor. Even unusual weapons - such as books and purses - can be listed here.

Armor: Chest plates, helmets, bucklers, etc. land in this category. Most heavy armor sets require another set of hands to equip, making them impractical for solitary travelers. If your character does not wear any armor, simply state, "No Armor," and move onto the next section.

Magic: You may use this section to describe the sort of magic your character typically delves into.
It is recommended to include what type of magic the character uses, as well as the source of their magic (Artifact, deity, ancient incantations, self, etc.) how often they can use this magic, and their most common spells that they use.

It is difficult, if two characters have an opportunity to fight one another, to apply logic to a force that defies the laws of reality. You need to include most, or all of your character's spells, any possible drawbacks the spells have, and their nature, with as much depth as you can write it.

The further the magic has to go, the more destructive or powerful the magic needs to be, the more projectiles, targets, or areas involved in the spell, the speed of the spell casting,the speed the spell takes effect, and the duration a spell will last all cause the spell to take more energy. Frequent casting of said spell will cause more and more strain on the character.

Any spell that directly affects a character, with no possibility to resist, respond, or dodge, is not allowed. (Vaporization, transformation, disintegration, teleporting them into a volcano, etc.)

The distance the spell travels is also a factor in its damage, meaning someone standing nearby will take more damage than someone standing across the room.


- Spell: Spellcasters tend to specialize in specific trees of magic. You can either see this as Elemental magic or even follow The Elder Scrolls Schools of Magic, if you so desire. Use this section to describe each spell your character has learned and follow it with that spell's Drawback. Multiple spells? Rinse, lather, and repeat.
-- Drawback: For every Yin, there is a Yang. There is always a cost to the spells your character casts. Naturally, the stronger the spell or the more effort put into a spell, the greater the drawback. If your character is the source of his/her own mana, then exhaustion is a common side-effect. And so on. Artifacts or magical stones that act as the source of your character's magic may warp, crack, or shatter when overused.

Abilities/Skills:If your character has a special ability that isn't of a Magical or Supernatural nature, it's listed here. You may also describe other skills such as lock picking, cooking or rune carving here as well.

History:When it's required for a story, include a brief description of your character's history. What brought them to the events of this story, why are they here? Your full life story is not going to be publicly available in a library, so, keep it short and sum up the character's motivations and situation.

Even when a story does not require it, or you're just making a profile to keep for general use, writing a character's full life story is not a bad idea, even if it's brief, but a shortened version of their full history is just about required if you break 1,000 words.
The more you flesh out your character, the easier it is to get inside of their heads.


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That's about it! Feel free to ask friends or anyone else if you have any trouble. Brainstorming with other people is the fastest way to work out a believable character that will be fun to play, and fun for others to play with.

Here is the template on its own. Feel free to use it. If you need help, either refer to the guide above or ask a question below.

Name:
Gender:
Age:
Race:
Appearance;
- Hair
:
- Eyes:
- Height/Weight:
- Skin:
- Build:
- Attire:
- Noteworthy Features:
- Photograph:

Weapon(s):
Armor:

Magic:
- Spell:
-- Drawback:

Abilities/Skills:

History:
 
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