Character Creation Guide
I am sure there are several resources online for creating a character profile for a role playing game. I, however, want to create my own set of tips and tricks that help me when I am creating characters for my novels and other things I like to do. This method is fairly quick and basically involves answering a few questions. You can always fill out the details and add other topics if it strikes you. This is just a foundation for fun character building! You can compile your character by simply writing a list or get more creative by writing a short essay or story about your character. Have fun with it, there is no wrong way to do it!
The basics: So when creating a character you shouldn’t neglect the simple things. I always like to initially ask myself some of the following questions:
- What is the characters name?
- Does the character have any nicknames?
- What does the character look like? Age, Height, Race, Hair color, Body Type, Interesting features (like scars or dimples or a twisted pinky)
- What is unique about my characters personality. Fears, obsessions, likes, dislikes, quirks etc
More Details: Once you have the basics for a character, it’s always a good idea to think about a few more things to make your immersion into the characters lives more realistic. Here is a list of things you might want to think about for your character.
Background Story: This can include things like where your character grew up, their job, any major life events that shape who they are. Examples: Death in the family, disease or illness, successes and adventures, relationships and big decisions that they may have made. How did your character live? Were they wealthy or struggling? Did they have lots of friends or none at all? These are the details that can influence your decisions but aren’t essential to character creation.
Secrets: This aspect of a character can make them very fun to play. Are they really a villain trying to infiltrate the group? Do they know more about situations than they let on? Did they do something they are ashamed of? Having this type of information can make your choices more fun as you try to steer the story to your desired end
Visuals: The last step I like to take is to create visuals. Much like a vision board, I go around the internet and find pictures that represent my character and compile them into a document. This can include pictures of people that resemble my character, clothes they might wear, a home they might have lived in, etc. This helps me to get even more immersed in the world of who I am playing and since I am a visual person I feel like everything is just that more real.