[Guide] Designing a character

[Chaosy]

Table of Contents

Introduction Character definition Requirements Layout Example

Introduction

While I believe most people believe that they can do this without issues, I believe that I can bring up a thing or two that even the more experienced users might pick up on. I decided to do this as I think it might raise the quality of RP in the long run, and thus I think it's worth the time to write this down.

Character Definition

Knowing exactly what a character is supposed to be is key to the creation of one. 1. the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. 2. a person in a novel, play, or film. By adding these two definitions together, we can see that a character is a person with a (usually) unique personality. To draw parallels with roleplay there are two types of units. Either we have the ones that we label by profession. "*The worker screamed in pain.*" These are not not characters because by using the term "worker" we have specified that there is nothing special about this unit compared to other workers. However, once we add some traits and personality.. *Jim screamed in pain as he pulled his brown hair with fear shining through his blue eyes. The usually brave man was at the brink of panic.* Now we have something that resembles the definition of a character. Usually the more information a character got to define itself, the more important he/she is. The one with the most information given through the roleplay is usually one of the main characters of either a faction or simply a roleplayer.

Requirements

Now, what do a well developed character need in roleplay? According to me, the following info is needed. Name + last name Title Race Gender Age Family Appearance Personality Backstory Some of these may sound obvious, even borderline stupid. Many of the mere formalities. But they all have their uses. The more info you have established before writing a character's backstory, the easier it is to write, naturally. All of these topics can be answered very shortly, nothing else is expected. The exceptions being backstory, that's where you should put most of your effort. A backstory would basically explain how a person become the person he is today, so where it starts and ends is up to the writer. So if your created character is an general, you might want to tell his tale on how he achieved that rank, or perhaps a great battle where he lost many dear friends that made him hate a certain race while giving him huge motivation to become stronger. (I know I am being sexist by saying him, but female generals was non existent as far as I know.) The first question people would ask after reading this, at least if they are new, would be something along the lines of: "How long/detailed do my backstory need to be?" Sadly there is no "X words minimum.", however there is no limit. As such, I think one can somewhat accurately judge the skill of a RPer by simply checking the length of his or her backstory. Also, there are far more details you can write down.

layout

The layout itself does not make you a better RPer, but the better it looks, the more people will be tempted to read it. There is no "Do dis" and it magically becomes good looking. A few BB codes I recommend checking out though: [table] [stable] [indent] [tabs] Using [center], [color], [size] and such should be obvious. I will be showing two layouts made by me though. 1. (faction, but still spent a whole lot of time on this)http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/pastebin.php?id=zch9ex 2. check the example

Example(Disclaimer, not written by Chaosy, layout done by me though!)

Overview Magistrix Aneirin(pronounced Anne-uh-reen) is the last member of the dying Sunwither family. Due to her family's nature and state, Aneirin had a thorough upbringing and a promising position within the society, respectively. Unfortunately, the collision of the same society brought the last Sunwither to fight back to the top, as her place wasn't apparently ensured.​ Personality During her young days, Aneirin displayed an obnoxious amount of self-esteem, as unwittingly taught. She was greedy, as she always desired to be noticed by “greater personalities”, generally avoiding contact with “low-lives” like the Light practitioners and most notably, Farstriders – both of which, from Aneirin's perspective, “refused to embrace their innate Arcane potency for a lower profession.” She wasn't a follower of the church dogma and instead admired energies that have greater potential. Neither Aneirin nor her parents feared the consequences of improper magic usage, as they always considered that “it wasn't the case for them.” Times slowly shifted Aneirin into a much humbler person, as her wealth disappeared in the thin wind and her base was unstable as silk. She had a distaste for humans primarily because they've adopted arts they could not master, which is why she couldn't help but laugh in human mages' faces. Under Garithos, however, her pride suffered a cruel demolition, only to end up falling in love with what she hated – as well as grow to embrace what she once laughed at. She felt deeply disgusted when Felblood Elves were created accidentally, which is what later prompted her to do all of the aforementioned. In present times, she retains a mild shame for her past actions and thoughts, always avoiding discussions revolving this period. She also stands up for Blood Knights a lot, showing her appreciation towards such people and their order whenever possible. Politics also seem to disgust her at this point -- probably the only emotion close to hate that she retains.​ Appearance Thanks to her family's welfare, Aneirin has always be seen wearing long, purple or blue robes, all of them possessing various patterns and shapes (e.g. doves, eyes similar to the Kirin Tor's sign, phoenixes) and matched with beautiful jewelry (e.g. necklaces with golden ropes, bearing Silvermoon diadem; large bracelets, usually pieces of enchanted cloth or of golden material; earrings with circular shape, usually sporting a shiny crystal, the colour varying from blue to purple, staying true to this spectrum). Even her shoes were patterned, most of the times fitting the pattern of the robes. After her introduction to the Light's mercy and subsequent awareness of the lowered resources in her possession, the Magistrix resumed to red, black, and purple robes. Very few patterns and most usually, brown or black shoes. The only jewel she's got left is a bracelet received from Mali'thar, as a sign of admiration. As for a staff – a weapon she's never particularly put emphasis on – she received a gift from the Draenei Liudna, following the death of her own husband, who was a mage himself.​ Aneirin Sunwither The Magistrix in the current days. Gender Female RaceBlood Elf Occupation Magistrix in Quel'thalas Interests Popularizing the Blood Knight Order; Divination and Enchantment Status Alive Relative(s) Zelisar (brother), Mali'thar (lover, deceased) Location Silvermoon City Age ~750 Affiliation(s) Quel'thalas, Horde, The Magisters Former Affiliation(s) The Sunfury, Kael'thas' Forces Garithos' Forces Illidari (briefly)