Advice/Help How do you store and keep track of your OCs?

[monxmiracle]

As roleplayers and writers in general we experience this problem a lot in our lifetime where we make many original characters and have to come up with bios for them. Now my question is as you’ve aged and progressed as a roleplayer what are your preferred ways of tracking and keeping tabs on how many OCs you’ve made, their bios, and all that other wonderful stuff. For me as I’ve gotten older I’ve found that its quite harder for me to fill out long and detailed character sheets. When I was younger I found it quite fun to pass time and fill out a detailed character sheet, but nowadays I don’t really feel the urge to. Perhaps its because I rarely do group roleplays nowadays or its because I roleplay with my friends either way.

Intially when I first started making OC bios I was roleplaying on Amino where the wiki feature is a prominent way to make an OC bio. Than next upon migrating to do tumblr and twitter groups I found some people either make a Google docs or a carrd for their OCs. On discord I find that most groups give you a dedicated mun channel / category and you post your oc bio how you like, whether it be directly in the channel, in a carrd or so forth. Nowadays I tend to store my character bios in discord, or in a carrd. I’ve been thinking of exploring docs, and possibly using codes on here to store bios. Though I digress, I’m curious how other people store and remember things about their OCs. Do you organize them in a specific fashion or keep a haphazard notes sheet? At the moment, I’m still trying to figure out the best method of keeping track of my own OCs. At the moment I have over 70+ OCs and counting, and its at the point where I feel like I make far too many to focus on. How many have you made? And again how do you go about keeping their information all categorized?​

 

[nerdy tangents]

Private Workshop

I usually fill out the OC template on there first so I can do a grammar check before posting it.

So yeah I have two character threads /

One is to show off the OC codes. One is to store the old OCs.

 

[Lunar Bunny]

I make new characters all the time and the ones I  really love tend to exist in the ether until I decide to recycle them or something. Because my OCS are usually tailormade for whatever the rp in question was, I rarely reuse any of them, so I don't actually have this issue where I need a place to store their information. I used to when I was younger but I quickly realized it was pointless due to them never seeing the light of day again anyway.

These days, I store only the active characters that are currently in a rp via the Private Workshop here on Rpnation. It's usually just whatever character sheet the rp used (if group) and some separate notes for myself. So, yeah, bio and notes is all I keep track of.

 

[GojiBean]

As I've aged, I have stopped saving old role-play OC characters and prefer to challenge myself by making new ones for each new RP I get involved in.

The only time I save character information is if they're a character I want to use in a story I plan to novelize in the future.

Cheers!

 

[Abyss]

I use Google docs to do most of my writing because of the auto-save feature. I also have some of my OCs stored in the Private Workshop as well. Admittedly, when I want to reuse a character, a lot of the time I go back to the old CS threads and just grab them from their original RP. Sometimes I save different versions of them as well, because I've made changes to fit into a new setting or had fun trying different codes.

I seem to have undergone the opposite process from a lot of people here. I've always had a couple 'go to' characters that I would adapt for really similar settings, but I used to make way more characters in the past for each specific RP I joined. Now I've got a few characters that I've spent a lot of time working on and I adapt them as neccessary. Occasionally I get the spark to make brand new characters, but overall I think I got burned out trying to make new characters when I didn't actually get the chance to use to use a lot of my existing ones IC.

 

[monxmiracle]

I use Google docs to do most of my writing because of the auto-save feature. I also have some of my OCs stored in the Private Workshop as well. Admittedly, when I want to reuse a character, a lot of the time I go back to the old CS threads and just grab them from their original RP. Sometimes I save different versions of them as well, because I've made changes to fit into a new setting or had fun trying different codes.

I seem to have undergone the opposite process from a lot of people here. I've always had a couple 'go to' characters that I would adapt for really similar settings, but I used to make way more characters in the past for each specific RP I joined. Now I've got a few characters that I've spent a lot of time working on and I adapt them as neccessary. Occasionally I get the spark to make brand new characters, but overall I think I got burned out trying to make new characters when I didn't actually get the chance to use to use a lot of my existing ones IC.

I honestly can relate to this, I don’t feel any sense of fullfilment making new OCs for a roleplay especially when I already have so many other preexisting OCs who don't get to see the light of day. Having a few go to characters seems much less daunting than making a new one every time at least from my experiences. Especially since some roleplays may not last long so for me making a new one for every roleplay doesn't feel realistic. Or maybe I just like familiarity with my characters?

 

[Abyss]

I honestly can relate to this, I don’t feel any sense of fullfilment making new OCs for a roleplay especially when I already have so many other preexisting OCs who don't get to see the light of day. Having a few go to characters seems much less daunting than making a new one every time at least from my experiences. Especially since some roleplays may not last long so for me making a new one for every roleplay doesn't feel realistic. Or maybe I just like familiarity with my characters?

For me it's both. At some point I'm going to be shuffling ideas around from my pre-existing characters anyways, so I figure I might as well get a good handle on their personalities and lots of experience in writing them specifically, so that I hopefully end up with very distinct characters that hold up on their own regardless of what changes I need to make.

I like having some familiarity as well. I like having a strong idea of my character's personality. What makes them tick. I find that sometimes their personalities also change depending on the setting or RP storyline as well, which is fun. Some characters who were very somber might end up a little more cheerful in another universe, etc.

Either way, it's lots of fun!

 

[monxmiracle]

As I've aged, I have stopped saving old role-play OC characters and prefer to challenge myself by making new ones for each new RP I get involved in.

The only time I save character information is if they're a character I want to use in a story I plan to novelize in the future.

Cheers!

Have you found this helps with your ability to improvise and keep your creativity flowing or? I personally have a difficult time coming up with my OCs on the spot, and just sticking with them. Especially since they’re blank slates and I have no clear vision in mind. With old characters, I’m more comfortable with them I suppose, so making new ones I probably won’t use feels odd to me.

 

[GojiBean]

Have you found this helps with your ability to improvise and keep your creativity flowing or? I personally have a difficult time coming up with my OCs on the spot, and just sticking with them. Especially since they’re blank slates and I have no clear vision in mind. With old characters, I’m more comfortable with them I suppose, so making new ones I probably won’t use feels odd to me.

Over time, yes. It's helped me come up with new characters on the spot.

For example, my character Elena from a now-dead RP called Divinity Unbound: The Dragon Goddess (Fantasy - Divinity Unbound: The Dragon Goddess (Characters Page!)) is one of the few reused characters I've ever had (since the original RP died too a few years ago). The only thing that's common between this version of her and the original is the face claim image. Everything else about this CS was done from scratch without referencing the original design.

I completed the CS as you see it in about 40 minutes, and that's about average for a CS of this detail for me. If I have less detail, it usually takes 10-15 minutes.

 

[Sugarnaut]

I use Notion to planning plots, store characters, and write out my posts. It honestly depends on how far the roleplay goes to get a dedicated Notion spot though. Usually I chuck them into discord or the private workshop if I'm in a rush.

There's a great app called Story Plotter that I use sometimes for my characters though.

 

[Inno]

Google docs and Google Keep. Keep also me to put a tab for character profiles so when I need to store or pull up, boom, there it is.

 

[ShredKnives]

a comprehensive google doc containing one-sentence descriptions of my characters, sometimes linking to actual bios but nevertheless starting as a single line to use as the hook for other partners to be appealed by

though a majority of the time, i end up just making a brand new character for new rps haha

 

[monxmiracle]

a comprehensive google doc containing one-sentence descriptions of my characters, sometimes linking to actual bios but nevertheless starting as a single line to use as the hook for other partners to be appealed by

though a majority of the time, i end up just making a brand new character for new rps haha

that’s smart, i feel like knowing myself doing a comprehensive doc would take some time, especially with the amount of characters i hoarde. although maybe one day

 

[monxmiracle]

Google docs and Google Keep. Keep also me to put a tab for character profiles so when I need to store or pull up, boom, there it is.

I know Docs exist but what is Google Keep? I haven’t tried it before honestly

 

[monxmiracle]

I use Notion to planning plots, store characters, and write out my posts. It honestly depends on how far the roleplay goes to get a dedicated Notion spot though. Usually I chuck them into discord or the private workshop if I'm in a rush.

There's a great app called Story Plotter that I use sometimes for my characters though.

So I’ve seen notion used a couple of times for like discord rp if I recall I met someone whi had their character done out entirely in Notion. Though my question is it as easily accesible as docs or? But I do like the customizability aspect of notion with templates though. I’ve never heard of Story Plotter but I may check it out as well

 

[Inno]

I know Docs exist but what is Google Keep? I haven’t tried it before honestly

Google Keep is just basically an app on the play store where you can write notes, upload pictures to said notes, and even do some basic drawing stuff. You can use it on the computer but to me it looks better on mobile.

 

[Sugarnaut]

So I’ve seen notion used a couple of times for like discord rp if I recall I met someone whi had their character done out entirely in Notion. Though my question is it as easily accesible as docs or? But I do like the customizability aspect of notion with templates though. I’ve never heard of Story Plotter but I may check it out as well

Notion's easy to use for docs. The organizing is a bit wonky but not the worst.
I like using it though because it has a mobile version.

 

[Idea]

I just store characters on the character feedback subforum here on the site, mostly for the sake of saving them. I don't generally re-use characters with a couple exceptions, namely an OC I made for My Hero Academia, which I only use for roleplays set there.

 

[Onmyoji]

I don't really keep track of characters because I rarely reuse them. If a rp dies out I'll just create new character for new rp.

I do sometimes keep notes though, and when I look through them I sometimes find interesting ideas that I can use again for different characters.

I'm using Scrivener to keep notes on my OCs because it has a very cool system for organizing info. Basically, I have a big file called "Rp" where I keep all rp information on various rps and it has folder for plots and folder for OCs. The OC folder has a basic template that I can fill for every OC I want to store there.
But as I said, I don't do it that often. Mostly storing OC ideas that I liked more than others for some reason.

 

[Nicodemus.]

Google docs mostly. Recently I've started making use of the on-site private workshop to format the OCs I make in docs.

 

[BackSet]

I store them in my memory.

No, that's not a joke. I have a very good memory when it comes to characters. I could tell you the details of the very first character I ever created back in 2017(?) from his backstory to his appearance from memory. Admittedly, I should probably start writing this stuff down cause I know my memory won't be this good forever (I already have problems with other things though in my defense I usually don't find those things particularly interesting and being ADHD certainly doesn't help) but it's a hard habit to get into.

 

[monxmiracle]

I store them in my memory.

No, that's not a joke. I have a very good memory when it comes to characters. I could tell you the details of the very first character I ever created back in 2017(?) from his backstory to his appearance from memory. Admittedly, I should probably start writing this stuff down cause I know my memory won't be this good forever (I already have problems with other things though in my defense I usually don't find those things particularly interesting and being ADHD certainly doesn't help) but it's a hard habit to get into.

See I used to do that but like as you said being ADHD has not helped short term memory wise, so I’ve started logging them into sheets so I have all their info in one place. That and using the thread on here for character showcases is also fun cause of the different bbcodes i can use.

 

[Punkie]

So I used to not have an official place to store them at all tbh... but then I got a Toyhouse account and now I try keeping everything on there.

If anyone is interested in trying out Toyhouse by the way, let me know and I can get you an invite code. I have tons of them that I can't get rid of...

 

[vada]

Like others, I use a Google account a lot. Docs can be a great way to store favourite roleplays, world building details, or Character Sheets. But something else I've started doing in the last couple of years, that may be a bit unorthodox, is using the Contacts section within the account. I don’t mess around with coding a whole lot (because I suck at it lol), and my Sheets can be somewhat basic. So it was easy enough to transfer my Sheets to Contacts.

Use the Face Claim as your contact photo, and then simply fill in as many details as it calls for. I.e, name & birthday. I use custom fields for Siblings, Parents, Career, Sexual Oritentation, Face Claim, etc. Then in the Notes section, I add their detailed Background, Personality, etc. I like it because you can also add Labels, so if you have created a lot of characters over the years, you can organise them by race (Angel, Demigod, Demon, Human, etc). Or really, any other category you can come up with. I have more than 200 characters, so that definitely helps.

And it’s also really handy to have that Google account on your phone. All your Character Sheets right at your fingertips, in your Contacts. Just make sure you only have the one group selected when you’re browsing, or else a lot of actual contacts will be mixed in.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

I don't keep track of them. In all my years of rp'ing I've reused the same sheet maybe two or three times, images are another matter, but I tend to make a new OC and never reuse them if I can help it.