How to Create a Character Sheet

[CJ Mason]

Putting Together a Great Character Bio


So, you have this great idea for a character. The best thing you could ever do is to write a bio! A bio is the greatest tool you could ever have for keeping track of all the little details about your character. Who they are as a person. Important events that made them the way they are. Little actions and quirks that make them unique.


USING A BIO TEMPLATE


Templates give you all the basic information you need to create a well rounded character that is relevant to the Roleplay you want to join. Not all Roleplays give you a template on what they want in a character bio. If the game you wish to join doesn’t provide one - do one anyway. If you are provided a template, fill it out according to the Game Master’s specifications, and don’t delete anything from it unless it says you can. Game Masters may have specific things they need to know about your character before you begin playing. If there is a problem with your character, they would be able to point it out in your bio and say so before it becomes an issue in the Roleplay.

• Mini Bio Template
• Basic Bio Template
• Ultimate Bio Template
• Trait Chart and Personality Componets
• Fictional Character Sheet

• 
  
  
  Character Name: Name of Character.
  
  
  Gender: Male or Female.
  
  
  Job/Role: This is their occupation or school grade. This can also be their role in the roleplay. (Hero, Mentor, Sidekick, Etc.)
  
  
  Age: How old they are.
  
  
  General Appearance: Hair, eyes, height, and basic looks. Pictures are also good.
  
  
  Current Goal/Purpose: Their agenda or goal the character wants to accomplish.
  
  
  General Personality: How they behave and how they interact with others.
  
  
  General History: A basic rundown of the characters past and how that brings them to and relates them to the present events.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  A basic template is going to include a few extra details to help round out a character. It has sections to help you remember little details that can be important, and allows for areas to add in more data.
  
  
  GENERAL CHARACTER STATISTICS
  
  
  Character Name: The name of your character.
  
  
  Gender: Male or Female.
  
  
  Species/Race: Human, Demon, Etc. Or even Race and Nationality.
  
  
  Age: How old is your character.
  
  
  Birthplace/World: Where the character comes from.
  
  
  Occupation/School/Grade: Their job or their school grade.
  
  
  More:
  
  
  PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
  
  
  General Appearance: Eyes, Hair, Height, and other visual details. Pictures also work.
  
  
  Strengths: These are the thing your character is physically good at doing.
  
  
  Weaknesses: These are things your character physically WEAK at.
  
  
  More:
  
  
  MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS
  
  
  Current Goal/Purpose: Their agenda they would like to accomplish.
  
  
  Talents: Little things your character is good at. This can be anything from cooking to playing Sudoku.
  
  
  Inabilities: Things your character is terrible at. For example, spelling or getting along with animals.
  
  
  Fears: Things your character is afraid of, has a phobia of, or even small events they don't want to happen.
  
  
  General Personality: This is the personality that the world sees. What people believe of your character. How the interact with other people.
  
  
  Inner Personality: The part of your character's personality that they don't like to reveal to others. What people rarely get to see!
  
  
  Secret: That one thing they don't want the world to find out.
  
  
  More:
  
  
  HISTORIC BACKGROUND
  
  
  General History: Childhood and important events that helped make your character who they are today.
  
  
  Present Life: The events in the present life that tie them to the current plot!
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  The Ultimate template contains more information than you could ever need, but offers lots of little details to toss in. This is great if you're expanding the information on a character you've been playing for awhile.
  
  
  GENERAL CHARACTER STATISTICS
  
  
  Character Name: The name of your character.
  
  
  Name Meaning: If the name happens to have a special meaning.
  
  
  Alias: Other names or nicks your character might be known by.
  
  
  Gender: Male or Female.
  
  
  Species/Race: Human, Demon, Etc. Or even Race and Nationality.
  
  
  Age: How old is your character.
  
  
  B-Day: When they were born.
  
  
  Zodiac Sign: Zodiac sign for "personality" help.
  
  
  Bloodtype: Also interesting for personality types.
  
  
  Place of Birth: Where the character comes from.
  
  
  Current Residence: Where the live right now.
  
  
  Occupation: Their job.
  
  
  School/Grade: Their school grade or college major.
  
  
  Family: Any living or dead family members.
  
  
  Gemstone: For birth month or even a favorite!
  
  
  More:
  
  
  PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
  
  
  Height: How tall.
  
  
  Hair: Hair color and style.
  
  
  Eyes: Eye color.
  
  
  Distinguishing Marks: Tattoos, scars, birthmarks, etc.
  
  
  General Appearance: Basic physical description and clothing style. Pictures are also good.
  
  
  Strengths: These are the thing your character is physically good at doing.
  
  
  Weaknesses: These are things your character physically WEAK at.
  
  
  More:
  
  
  MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS
  
  
  Allies: Friends and trusted people to the character.
  
  
  Enemies: Their foes.
  
  
  Current Goal/Purpose: Their agenda they would like to accomplish.
  
  
  Aspirations: Personal dreams and desires!
  
  
  Hobbies: Things they like to do.
  
  
  Likes: Things they enjoy. Stuff, food, music, etc.
  
  
  Dislikes: Things they hate!
  
  
  Talents: Little things your character is good at. This can be anything from cooking to playing Sudoku.
  
  
  Inabilities: Things your character is terrible at. For example, spelling or getting along with animals.
  
  
  Fears: Things your character is afraid of, has a phobia of, or even small events they don't want to happen.
  
  
  General Personality: This is the personality that the world sees. What people believe of your character. How the interact with other people.
  
  
  Inner Personality: The part of your character's personality that they don't like to reveal to others. What people rarely get to see!
  
  
  Fondest Memory: A memory that stands out as a favorite.
  
  
  Biggest Regret: The one they they really regret about their life.
  
  
  Secret: That one thing they don't want the world to find out.
  
  
  More:
  
  
  SPECIALTY CHARACTERISTICS
  
  
  Special Items: Any items that might be precious or important to the character.
  
  
  Weapons: Weapons they might carry or know how to use.
  
  
  Magics: Kinds of magics, spells or abilities they might have.
  
  
  More:
  
  
  HISTORIC BACKGROUND
  
  
  General History: Childhood and important events that helped make your character who they are today.
  
  
  Present Life: The events in the present life that tie them to the current plot!
  
  
  Special Historic Notes: A quick checklist of the major "events" in the character's life.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  PERSONALITY COMPONENTS
  
  
  Personality Components are those emotional and psychological attributes characters may possess. Feel free to print the following list and copy it for each character. Either circle the components that apply to this character or use the list to select components to be added at the end of the character chart. Each character should possess several attributes in order to be well-rounded.
  
  
  

  Absent-minded Abrasive Abusive Accident-prone Accommodating Accomplished Adaptable Adventurous Affectionate Agnostic Agreeable Aggressive Alone Aloof Ambitious Amusing Angry Annoying Antisocial Anxious Apathetic Apologetic Appreciative Apprehensive Approachable Argumentative Aristocratic Arrogant Articulate Artistic Assertive Audacious Authoritative Belligerent Bewildered Bewitching Boisterous Bored Bossy Brave Brazen Calculating Callous Carefree Careful Charismatic Charming Chaste Cheerful Classy Clumsy Cocky Compassionate Compliant Composed Compulsive Conceited Condescending Confused Congenial Confident Conscientious Conservative Considerate Consistent Conventional Content Contrite Controlling Cooperative Cowardly Crafty Cranky Creative Critical Crude Cruel Cultured Cunning Curious Cynical Daffy Dainty Debonair Deceitful Decent Delicate Defiant Despicable Detached Determined Dignified Direct Disciplined Disgusting Dishonest Disorganized Distant Distraught Dogmatic Domineering Dowdy Downtrodden Dramatic Dull Dumb Easy-going Educated Eccentric Egocentric Egotistic Elusive Embittered Emotional Empathetic Energetic Enigmatic Enthusiastic Excessive Excitable Exotic Extravagant Exuberant Faithful Fanatical Fatalistic Fearless Feisty Finicky Flamboyant

  Flexible Flippant Flirtatious Flustered Focused Forgiving Fragile Frank Friendly Frigid Frugal Frustrated Fun-loving Gaudy Gentle Glamorous Gloomy Good-natured Graceful Gracious Grandiose Gregarious Greedy Grotesque Grumpy Haggard Hateful Heartbroken Hesitant Holy Honest Honorable Hopeful Hospitable Humble Hypocritical Hysterical Idiosyncratic Ignorant Imaginative Immature Immodest Impatient Impeccable Impudent Impulsive Incoherent Incompetent Inconsiderate Indecisive Indifferent Indiscreet Inept Infantile Informed Inhibited Inhumane Innocent Insecure Insensitive Insouciant Insulting Intelligent Intimidating Intolerant Introspective Introverted Inquisitive Insightful Intellectual Intelligent Intuitive Inventive Irresponsible Irreverent Irritable Jealous Judgmental Kind Knowledgeable Lascivious Lazy Lethargic Lewd Liberal Logical Lonely Loving Macho Maniacal Manipulative Masochistic Materialistic Mature Mean Melodramatic Merciful Messy Meticulous Miserly Modest Moody Naïve Nasty Neurotic Noble Noisy Nonchalant Non-committing Nostalgic Obedient Obnoxious Obscene Observant Obsessive Open-minded Opinionated Opportunistic Optimistic Organized Ornery Outgoing Outspoken Overbearing Paranoid Passionate Passive Patient Perceptive

  Persistent Persuasive Pert Perverted Pessimistic Petty Philanthropic Pious Plain Polite Pompous Practical Presumptuous Pretentious Prim Private Profane Promiscuous Prosaic Proud Psychopathic Psychotic Pushy Quiet Quirky Rational Rebellious Reclusive Reliable Religious Remorseful Remote Resentful Reserved Resilient Respectful Righteous Romantic Rowdy Rude Ruthless Sadistic Saintly Sarcastic Sassy Savvy Self-absorbed Self-conscious Self-effacing Self-righteous Selfish Selfless Senile Sensitive Sensual Sentimental Serene Serious Shallow Sheepish Shy Silent Silly Simple Sincere Sleazy Sloppy Sluggish Smart Sneaky Snobby Soft-spoken Spiritual Spiteful Squeamish Stern Stingy Stoical Straight-laced Strict Stubborn Submissive Subtle Supportive Surly Suspicious Sweet Sympathetic Tactful Talkative Telepathic Temperamental Tense Tentative Thoughtful Thrifty Timid Tireless Tolerant Tough Traitorous Trivial Trusting Tyrannical Unapproachable Unassuming Unclean Uncommunicative Unconventional Uneasy Uninhibited Unmotivated Unreasonable Unscrupulous Vain Vengeful Verbose Vindictive Virtuous Vivacious Vulgar Vulnerable Well-groomed Wholesome Wicked Withdrawn Worldly Zany Zealous

  
  
  Character Traits
  
  
  Full name - a character's name is very important. Surely, different types of people come to mind when we hear the names "Bubba" and "Thurmond Elton Radclift, III." Therefore, we must carefully consider both the first and last names of our character, as well as his or her nickname. A good quality Baby Names (with meanings, preferably) book is a great addition to your reference library. Consider the character's age, ethnic background and social status in naming your character. The telephone directory can help to find last names; there are also websites and books that list surnames by ethnic origin.
  
  
  Besides the character's official name, we also need to know what he is called (and, perhaps, what he prefers to be called).
  
  
  Date of Birth/Age - we should carefully consider assigning our character a birthday. Even though I am not a follower of astrology, I check my character's sun and moon signs, as this helps in fleshing out the character. I also check for important historical occurrences on both the day and during the character's developing years of life (any of us who know people who lived through the Great Depression know that they have been affected by that).
  
  
  Address - this can be as detailed or as vague as you wish, but it should answer a few questions: does the character live in a large city, the suburbs, a small town or deep in the country? Does he/she live in the United States or elsewhere? If in the States, which region? What is the economics of the neighborhood/area/region?
  
  
  Height - this doesn't need to be specific. "Tall" or "average" is fine unless it is a defining characteristic of the character.
  
  
  Weight/Body Build - again, we don't really need to know a character's exact weight, only if he or she is stocky, slender or "had a figure that . . ."
  
  
  Hair - keep in mind the character's ethnic background in assigning hair and eye color. Of course, you do not always have assign typical coloring to your characters, but if you don't, you'll need to explain. You may also want to mention the length of the character's hair, the style, and the type (curly, wavy, straight).
  
  
  Eyes - Besides the color of the character's eyes, also include the shape, length of ashes, shape of brows and anything else peculiar to this character. This is a good place to be creative in listing the eye color. Instead of "brown," try "copper" or "chocolate." Instead of blue, be specific: sapphire, aquamarine or crystal blue.
  
  
  Peculiar Physical Traits - list any peculiarities of your character's appearance here. Does his left eye twitch when he lies? Does he chew his lip when apprehensive? Does he smoke? What does he smoke? What brand? How often? If he wears eyeglasses, what do they look like? Does he have any moles, scars or birthmarks?
  
  
  Glasses/Contacts
  
  
  Smokes
  
  
  Nervous Habits
  
  
  Distinguishing Marks
  
  
  Health - does your character have any health problems or weaknesses? Does he/she walk with a limp, have a plastic jaw, suffer from migraines? Arthritis? How is his/her blood pressure? Is he a walking heart attack, or does she run five miles every morning before dawn? How does he feel about his health? Is she a hypochondriac? Or has she never been to a doctor in her life?
  
  
  Smell - everyone has a smell. It can be the clean smell of deodorant soap, the strong smell of a specific perfume or aftershave, the musty smell of old age, the tell-tale smell of stale beer. Of course, a character's smell can change from scene to scene, but try to imagine what he/she typically smells like on an average day.
  
  
  Voice - does he have a deep, resonant voice? Does she have a throaty voice or a squeaky voice? Does his voice crack? Does she usually shout or whisper? Can he carry a tune? Is his tone pleasant or grating? Does she speak with perfect grammar or slur her words? Does he insert an expletive between every second word? Which one or ones? Does he have a distinguishing laugh? Does he talk rapidly or slowly?
  
  
  Usual Walking Style - Does he limp? Is he always in a hurry and runs everywhere he goes? Does she skip? Wiggle?
  
  
  Mannerisms - What else distinguishes this character from everyone else? Does he greet people with a hug? Do his hands move when he talks? Does he snap his fingers regularly? Does he shrug his shoulders? Does he slouch? Have military posture?
  
  
  What type of clothes/shoes/accessories does he/she wear? Does he have a favorite flannel shirt he wears every Saturday? Does she apply makeup before breakfast? Is his dress impeccable or gaudy? Trendy? Casual? Classic? Expensive? Second-hand? Matching? Scuffed?
  
  
  Any peculiar tastes in clothes/shoes/accessories? What is his favorite article of clothing?
  
  
  Eating habits/mannerisms/tastes - Does he slurp? Burp? Gulp? Eat on the run? Prefer steak or hamburger? Sushi or spaghetti? Eating out (and where) or at home? Big meals or small? Is he polite or piggish?
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Character's Full Name:
  
  
  Reason or meaning of name:
  
  
  Nickname:
  
  
  Reason for nickname:
  
  
  Birthdate:
  
  
  Astrological Sign:
  
  
  
  
  
  PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
  
  
  
  
  
  • 
    Age
    
    How old does s/he appear?
    
  • Eye Color:
    
    Glasses or contacts?
    
  • Hair color:
    
    Distinguishable hair feature (bald, receding hairline, etc.):
    
    Type of hair (coarse, fine, thick, etc?)
    
  • Typical hairstyle:
    
  • Height:
    
  • Weight:
    
    Type of body/build:
    
  • Nationality:
    
  • Skin tone:
    
  • Skin type:
    
  • Shape of face:
    
  • Distinguishing Marks?
    
    Scars?
    
  • Most predominant feature:
    
    Resembles (famous or not):
    
  • Accent?
    
  • Is s/he healthy?
    
    If not, why not:
    
  • Physical disabilities:
    
  • Physical abilities (what is character good at? sports, etc.):
    
  
  
  FAVORITES
  
  
  
  
  
  • Color:
    
  • Music:
    
  • Food:
    
  • Literature:
    
  • Expressions:
    
  • Book:
    
  • Quote:
    
  • Expletive(s) (swears):
    
  • Mode of transportation:
    
  
  
  HABITS
  
  
  
  
  
  • Smokes:
    
    What?
    
    How often?
    
  • Drinks:
    
    What?
    
    How often?
    
  • Worst bad habit?
    
  • Quirks:
    
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  
  
  
  
  
  • Hometown:
    
  • Type of childhood:
    
  • First memory:
    
  • Most important childhood event that still affects him/her:
    
    Why?
    
  • Lower education:
    
  • Higher education:
    
  • Booksmart or streetsmart?
    
  • Religion and/or religious views and/or tendencies?
    
  
  
  Firsts:
  
  
  
  
  
  • Job?
    
  • Kiss?
    
  • Sexual experience?
    
  
  
  
  
  
  FAMILY
  
  
  
  
  
  • Mother (name):
    
    Relationship with her:
    
  • Father (name):
    
    Relationship with him:
    
  • Siblings:
    
    Birth order:
    
    Relationship with each:
    
  • Children of Siblings:
    
  • Extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.):
    
  • Close to family? Yes/No
    
  
  
  
  
  
  CHILDREN
  
  
  
  
  
  • Does character have child(ren)?
    
    How many?
    
  • Are all children with the same partner?
    
    If no, why not? If no, what is the custody arrangement?
    
  • How does character relate to his/her child(ren)?
    
  • Which child is character's favorite?
    
    Why?
    
  • Character's most favorite memory of his/her child(ren)?
    
  • Character's least favorite memory of his/her child(ren)?
    
  • Is relationship with children good?
    
  • Is relatioinship with children important to character?
    
  
  
  
  
  
  OCCUPATION
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • Where does character work?
    
    How many years?
    
  • Relationship with co-workers?
    
  • Like his/her job?
    
    Why or why not?
    
  • Dream job:
    
  
  
  ATTITUDE
  
  
  
  
  
  • Greatest fear:
    
  • Worst thing that could happen to him/her?
    
  • What single event would most throw character's life in complete turmoil?
    
  • Character is most at ease when:
    
  • Most ill at ease when:
    
  • Priorities:
    
  • Philosophy:
    
  • How s/he feels about self:
    
  • Past failure s/he would be embarrassed to have people know about:
    
  • If granted one wish, what would it be?
    
    Why?
    
  • Daredevil or cautious?
    
    Same when alone?
    
  • Biggest regret?
    
  • Biggest accomplishment:
    
  • Minor accomplishments:
    
  • Character's darkest secret:
    
    Does anyone else know?
    
    If yes, did character tell them?
    
    If no, how did they find out?
    
  
  
  
  
  
  PERSONALITY
  
  
  
  
  
  • Greatest source of strength in character's personality (whether s/he sees it as such or not):
    
    
    
  • Greatest source of weakness in character's personality (whether s/he sees it as such or not):
    
  • Character's soft spot:
    
    Is this soft spot obvious to others?
    
    If not, how does character hide it?
    
  • Biggest vulnerability:
    
  • Which of the 7 deadly sins does character fight (or give into, willingly or not)?
    
    (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride)
    
  • Which of the 7 virtues does your character have (or fight against)?
    
    (chastity, abstinence, leberality, diligence, patience, kindness, humility)
    
  
  
  TRAITS
  
  
  
  
  
  • Optimist or pessimist?
    
  • Introvert or extrovert?
    
  • Drives and motivations?
    
  • Talents (hidden or not)?
    
  • Extremely skilled at:
    
  • Extremely unskilled at:
    
  • Good characteristics:
    
  • Character flaws:
    
  • Mannerisms:
    
  • Peculiarities:
    
  
  
  SELF-PERCEPTION
  
  
  
  
  
  • 
    One word character would use to describe self:
    
  • One paragraph description of how character would describe self:
    
  • What does character consider best physical characteristic?
    
  • What does character consider worst physical characteristic?
    
    Are these realistic assessments?
    
    If not, why not?
    
  • How CHARACTER thinks others perceive him/her?
    
  • What four things would CHARACTER most like to change about self? (#1 most important, #2 second most important, etc.)
    
  
  
  
  
  
  • If change #1 was made, would character be as happy as s/he thinks?
    
    If not, why not?
    
  
  
  
  
  
  INTERRELATION WITH OTHERS
  
  
  
  
  
  • Is character divorced? Why?
    
    If yes, how many times?
    
  • Has character ever cheated on any signficant other?
    
  • How does character relate to others?
    
  • How is s/he perceived by...
    
    Strangers?
    
  • Friends?
    
  • Wife/Husband/Lover?
    
  • Children
    
  • Co-workers?
    
  • Protagonist?
    
  • Antagonist?
    
  
  
  [*]First impression character makes is:
  
  
  What happens to change this perception?
  
  
  [*]What do family/friends like most about character?
  
  
  [*]What do family/friends like least about character?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  GOALS
  
  
  
  
  
  • Immediate goal(s):
    
  • Long range goal(s):
    
  • How does character plan to accomplish goal(s)?
    
  • How will other people around character be affected?
    
    
    
  
  
  PROBLEMS/CRISIS
  
  
  
  
  
  • How character react in a crisis (calm/panic/etc.)?
    
  • How does character face problems?
    
    Kinds of problems character usually runs into:
    
  • How does character react to NEW problems?
    
  • How does character react to change?
    
  
  
  GENERAL
  
  
  
  
  
  • Jewelry?
    
  • Other accessories?
    
  • Drives a ... :
    
  • Where does character live?
    
    With anyone? Yes/No
    
  • Where does character want to live?
    
  • Spending habits (frugal, spendthrift, etc)?
    
  • What does s/he do too much of?
    
  • Too little of?
    
  • Most prized possession: Why?
    
  • Play musical instrument?
    
    Which one(s)?
    
    How did s/he learn?
    
  • Does character like animals?
    
  • Any pets?
    
  • Likes music?
    
    What kind?
    
  
  
  TECHNICAL
  
  
  
  
  
  • Owns a computer? Yes/No
    
    If not, why not?
    
  • Email address(es):
    
    If more than one, each used for...?
    
  • "Handle":
    
    Meaning to character:
    
  • Uses computer for business, pleasure, both?
    
  • Play computer games?
    
    If yes, which game(s)? If yes, how many hours per day?
    
    If so, are they/it multiplayere game/s?
    
  • Name used on each game & meaning to character?
    
  • List 4 online site(s) (URLs) visited daily?
    
    1.
    
    2.
    
    3.
    
    4.
    
  
  
  UNCATEGORIZED
  
  
  
  
  
  • Person character secretly admires:
    
  • Person character was most influenced by:
    
  • Most important person in character's life before story starts:
    
    Why?
    
  
  
  
  
  
  

Below we’re going to talk about the typical areas you will find in a character bio. Each characteristic adds extra dimension to your characters, ultimately creating something unique and interesting to play!


GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS


Name, Gender, Species/Race, Age, Birthplace, Occupation/Grade, Family, Current Location. These are good stats to give people a basic idea about your character. For these kind of stats, it's perfectly okay to give one or two word answers. It's just a basic foundation on who your character is.


Basically what you get is: "My name is Julian, I'm 18 year old human female from Canada, and I'm a half-ass psychic. I have no family, and I'm currently homeless on the streets of New York." That's the first few things you tend to learn about a person.


General Characteristics Resources


- 20,000 Names


- BabyNames.com


- BabyNamesWorld.com


- Kabalarians.com


PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS


Height, Hair Color/Style, Eye Color, Distinguishing Marks, General Appearance, Strengths, Weaknesses. All of these are physical characteristics to give readers an idea of what your character looks like. It's always a good idea to be as detailed and graphic as possible to what your character looks like.


Example: "Julian is a slender, homely, if not too young looking girl. She hates the fact she looks more like a 14 year girl old than a 19 year old adult. She dresses the most practical way possible, slim fitting black pants, and a various collection of normal shirts. Julian is not out to impress with looks, in fact she'd be happier if no one noticed her at all."


MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS


Friends and Foes, Goals, Fears, Dreams, Talents, Inabilities, General Personality, Inner Personality, Secrets. These are characteristics of a mental nature. The Mental Stats are the second most important things to add to any character bio. This is what lets people know who your character is on the outside to the world, and on the inside that no one ever gets to see. Your mental stats should be as descriptive as possible. Let people know how your character treats others. Talk about the things they can't stand, or the things they love. How are they like on the inside? Do they hide their true self from the world? Or are they very open individuals? Is there anything they wish to keep secret from the world?


Example: "Julian spends most of her time alone on the streets. She has no friends, and no true enemies as she rarely gets involved with other people. To the world she is a strange little kid, most likely a delinquent, but all Julian has ever wanted was security. She has a great talent of getting out of bad situations, but she's quite mouthy and make things worse all at the same time. The special thing about Julian is her talent with psychic phenomena. This is something she never lets people know, aside from random tarot card readings for cash."


Mental/Personality Characteristics Resources


- Western Astrology


- Additional Western Astrology


- Chinese Astrology


- Additionl Chinese Astrology


- Celtic Zodiac


CHARACTER HISTORY


The Past, Childhood, Teenage, Young Adult, The Present and Special Events. A character's history is THE most important thing in your bio - and yet most people skip this step. The history is what makes your character more like a real person. It tells of their experiences, and why they act the way they do. It's always best to list important events in your character's history that effects them greatly in their present life. Did something in their childhood happen to make them fear something in the present? Is there a person in their life that had a huge influence on them? Was there an event that changed the way they behave?


Example: Julian was the only daughter to a ‘nark’ - someone that spilled criminal secrets to the police. Spending most of her young life in witness protection with her father, when she turned 16 she ran away from home. Now Julian lives on the streets using her unusual gift to help make cash to survive with, but unable to figure out how to dig herself out of the hole she trapped herself in.


WRITING SAMPLE


Even if it’s not a requirement for the Roleplay you want to join, a short writing sample is a great way to showcase an important piece of your character. An excerpt from a major event in their life gives insight. A quick scene of something they do daily displays little quirks they may have. This also provides your Game Master with an example of how you will post in the Roleplay.


QUICK BIO TIPS


Use proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. Make your bio look neat.


Typos are one thing, but if your whole bio looks like an English teacher's nightmare, it makes you look "not so smart". Neatness COUNTS. If you can't write up a proper bio, what proof do you have that you can actually play well in the Roleplay? It makes you and your character look bad.


- Spellcheck.net


Avoid commonly used characteristics.


Otherwise known as “overused cliches”. Example: A kid abused by his parents, then they die a horrible death, he grows up in an orphanage, learns tons of martial arts, and goes on to kick arse as hero of the story. These are very common in characters, and often you'll end up with a roleplay where everyone has the same history or too similar. Try to be as unique as possible from the other characters in the roleplay when creating your character.


See what other people have done with their characters.


This will help you avoid creating a character too much like someone else’s. You also may be able to plot with someone to create a cool plotline in the story and gain yourself a posting partner!

 

[The Hollowed]

Thanks for doing this. :3

 

[A Murder Of Corviknight]

Thank you~ Was very helpful~

 

[InfiniteOtaku]

Thanks, this'll be helpful in creating a character. Also, thank you for the character sheet to use because I was looking for something good like that that wasn't EXTREMELY detailed and WAY too literate for me to fill out.

 

[DeathsLastKiss]

Very helpful indeed

 

[Aru]

Thank you! This was very helpful!~

 

[Blazinghookshot]

A very stupid question I know but... Where do you give your character sheet to the GM? Or at least the information for your character. thank you in advance.

 

[Mordecai]

A very stupid question I know but... Where do you give your character sheet to the GM? Or at least the information for your character. thank you in advance.

In a roleplay, you'll see tabs at the top. One says "Main" the next will say "Overview" and another still will say "Character Sign-up." You post in the character sign-up tab. There are all sorts of different tabs that are available for users to use in addition to the three mentioned above. Here is a helpful guide to tabs:


Site - A Guide to Roleplay Tabs!

 

[Coyote Hart]

I like how we all use baby names when trying to name a character.


I'll definitely re-review this more than once.

 

[Nyne]

20,000 Names[/URL]


- BabyNames.com


- BabyNamesWorld.com


- Kabalarians.com


PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS


Height, Hair Color/Style, Eye Color, Distinguishing Marks, General Appearance, Strengths, Weaknesses. All of these are physical characteristics to give readers an idea of what your character looks like. It's always a good idea to be as detailed and graphic as possible to what your character looks like.


Example: "Julian is a slender, homely, if not too young looking girl. She hates the fact she looks more like a 14 year girl old than a 19 year old adult. She dresses the most practical way possible, slim fitting black pants, and a various collection of normal shirts. Julian is not out to impress with looks, in fact she'd be happier if no one noticed her at all."


MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS


Friends and Foes, Goals, Fears, Dreams, Talents, Inabilities, General Personality, Inner Personality, Secrets. These are characteristics of a mental nature. The Mental Stats are the second most important things to add to any character bio. This is what lets people know who your character is on the outside to the world, and on the inside that no one ever gets to see. Your mental stats should be as descriptive as possible. Let people know how your character treats others. Talk about the things they can't stand, or the things they love. How are they like on the inside? Do they hide their true self from the world? Or are they very open individuals? Is there anything they wish to keep secret from the world?


Example: "Julian spends most of her time alone on the streets. She has no friends, and no true enemies as she rarely gets involved with other people. To the world she is a strange little kid, most likely a delinquent, but all Julian has ever wanted was security. She has a great talent of getting out of bad situations, but she's quite mouthy and make things worse all at the same time. The special thing about Julian is her talent with psychic phenomena. This is something she never lets people know, aside from random tarot card readings for cash."


Mental/Personality Characteristics Resources


- Western Astrology


- Additional Western Astrology


- Chinese Astrology


- Additionl Chinese Astrology


- Celtic Zodiac


CHARACTER HISTORY


The Past, Childhood, Teenage, Young Adult, The Present and Special Events. A character's history is THE most important thing in your bio - and yet most people skip this step. The history is what makes your character more like a real person. It tells of their experiences, and why they act the way they do. It's always best to list important events in your character's history that effects them greatly in their present life. Did something in their childhood happen to make them fear something in the present? Is there a person in their life that had a huge influence on them? Was there an event that changed the way they behave?


Example: Julian was the only daughter to a ‘nark’ - someone that spilled criminal secrets to the police. Spending most of her young life in witness protection with her father, when she turned 16 she ran away from home. Now Julian lives on the streets using her unusual gift to help make cash to survive with, but unable to figure out how to dig herself out of the hole she trapped herself in.


WRITING SAMPLE


Even if it’s not a requirement for the Roleplay you want to join, a short writing sample is a great way to showcase an important piece of your character. An excerpt from a major event in their life gives insight. A quick scene of something they do daily displays little quirks they may have. This also provides your Game Master with an example of how you will post in the Roleplay.


QUICK BIO TIPS


Use proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. Make your bio look neat.


Typos are one thing, but if your whole bio looks like an English teacher's nightmare, it makes you look "not so smart". Neatness COUNTS. If you can't write up a proper bio, what proof do you have that you can actually play well in the Roleplay? It makes you and your character look bad.


- Spellcheck.net


Avoid commonly used characteristics.


Otherwise known as “overused cliches”. Example: A kid abused by his parents, then they die a horrible death, he grows up in an orphanage, learns tons of martial arts, and goes on to kick arse as hero of the story. These are very common in characters, and often you'll end up with a roleplay where everyone has the same history or too similar. Try to be as unique as possible from the other characters in the roleplay when creating your character.


See what other people have done with their characters.


This will help you avoid creating a character too much like someone else’s. You also may be able to plot with someone to create a cool plotline in the story and gain yourself a posting partner!

 

[Nyne]

Really awesome, this is very helpful. Thanks much.