What is your normal character creation process?

[Peacemaker .45]

I was pondering this question recently as I was perusing the role play's around and reading their character sheets; Character Creation. Everyone has their own process of creating characters and how they go through the process of thinking one up.


While I know this is a hard question to ask, because in ways it is vague. Creating a character is very dependent on the RP you're in and what the person who created it is looking for in the characters. So for this, let's focus more on your process of how you approach a more normal character sheets. Do you try coming up with ones who are more interesting? Is a mysterious and large backstory always a prime focus? What is your focus and/or process for creating new characters?

 

[Saccharine Cyanide]

I feel like this question comes up at least once a month. : P


I usually start out by coming up with a core idea, like "a gangster with a secret" or "a magician who always plays by the rules." I try to create a character I think can contribute to the rp, won't step on any other character's toes, will be interesting and will be fun to play.


I like to look at pictures that I think might reflect what the character looks like, and I start to imagine what their personality might be like.  I come up with some hypothetical situations and decide how my character would react.  Ranging from basic conversations to the apocalypse.


I never develop a character fully before I start a roleplay. I let them develop naturally through the story, which sometimes means they end up being a bit different than their character sheet.  I'm sometimes surprised by the direction they take, but that's just a part of writing.

 

[Flooffy]

It's different for me, each time. Sometimes it just comes to me. Sometimes I see how the plot is. How did character react to events of the world, their past. How and what changed something? I usually do a bit of brainstorming, just take notes what I think fits the theme, make single ideas into something more, then play around with appearance. Some come easier than others, really. 

 

[determinator]

They usually just bust my mind lobby's door down and dropkick me in the face

 

[eclipsehowls]

I tend to play characters that are slaves to someone else in the role play.  Then I just think up a backstory to them.    With wolves I prefer playing omegas or Shaman. 


There isn't really a lot I do in regards to character development and creating them.  I've had a character who was a single mom getting out of an abusive relationship,  a pregnant teen in high school and then later a teen mom in a different role play, I've done vampires, werewolves and dragons, other humans.  I was a Pegasi once...that was a crock because the role play died after a month thanks to disinterest...that was on webs dot com. I've learned not to depend much on other people in terms of role playing.   They tend to let me down.  I guess...I look at character creations as people I would be in an alternate universe or a chance to experience something new. 

 

[Skilpaddene]

When I'm thinking of a character, I usually think of some really interesting backstory. To get the personality, I think of how their past would have shaped them into what they are today. And sometimes I go backwards with that process. For the RP that I am hosting (Undercover Exorcist), I went for a character with an unknown background that will slowly be revealed and will depend on what happens with the plot.

 

[ApfelSeine]

I almost always start from one of two points: appearance or occupation/identity. Sometimes I formulate both at once. I'll envision a character and decide that they look like a princess or knight or journalist, etc. Or I think of the role the character will play and envision an appearance for them. (The appearance usually changes somewhat by the time I'm done creating the character.)


These attributes are usually just a spring board for the next step, which is to describe their motivations and moral code. I construct their belief system and define what drives them in life. Generally I'll follow that up with a basic outline of their personality, working out who they are as I describe them. This process starts with an idea that seems to develop on it's own, almost as though I'm describing a person who I know. At this point, I get a rough idea of their background and start to describe it, generally keeping it pretty simple but all while picturing key events that made them who they are. I fill in whatever gaps are left, amending their appearance if how I picture them changes, and finishing it all of by giving them a name. I'll usually name them something that matches their character, but sometimes I just search through names and find one that feels right.

 

[Greenbriar]

I come from a writing background more than a role playing one, so I start with the setting or plot (or songs  ) and then visualize a scene within it. Who is there? What are they doing, and what does that say about them? Starting from that still frame I fill in the rest of the discussion, action and emotions until I understand who the characters are in those few minutes, and then I focus on one at a time to take them back through their life and background.


With my roleplays to date, I've had it easier as I've found images to support the settings and plots and then been able to lean on those pictures to pick up on the emotions that lead me to the backstory - but then in roleplays I only need one character rather than a group that need to intersect at some point.

 

[Wyvir]

The personality is usually the part that I focus on first. I try to get a rough idea of the character, especially the core values & traits. I just start listing positive and negative traits that might suit the character, then start changing and deleting traits that I don't like. Then I write the history of the character. I usually think of parts of the history when I write the personality, and this us sully just involves piecing the pieces together, and editing bits that I don't think fits. After that it's just the name, which I usually leave for last, since I feel it should sort-of fit the character.

 

[Shiona]

I start with the looks and like to keep it simple. Usually I have a specific setting or just one scene in mind, or even just two lines of dialogue that I heard or came up with, that I would like to play out. So I think about what I would want to play, what personality traits my character should have to react like I want him to in this specific first situation, and what history formed those personality traits. I make up a lot of the backstory as I need it. I try to add a weakness/fear of something (or several), dislikes, likes, and at least one thing he does not want anyone to know. I think most people have at least one thing they don't want others to know.

 

[call me rae]

It does kind of vary to a certain extend by the roleplay I'm in. Usually since I'm in 1x1s I start with the role I'm taking, then usually do an elevator pitch which I then flesh out.


for those unfamiliar with the term an elevator pitch is a short description of your character ( like 100 words ) that you would give someone on an elevator if you were trying to pitch them an idea for a character for their story.


it is basically a quick overview.


once I have the pitch in my head I'll flesh it out as needed for the plot.


then I pick a name and appearance.

 

[Kazu]

I generally focus on appearance first. I take my sweet time finding a picture that suits my needs, and depending on what their pose is, their style of clothes, even to the point of their hairstyle, my ideas for my character will change. I usually get the most inspired by staring at something. Say for istance I pass a pretty flower, and continue thinking about it, I can start thinking up plots for stories or roleplays surrounding this flower.


If I don't have a picture to look at, I often struggle greatly thinking up a personality, background, all that important stuff. 


And right after I choose a picture, I tend to go start digging for names. I love giving my little imaginary people meaningful names, it's a lot of fun. 

 

[yaint]

i conform to the very strong belief that a character is who they are because of their story. so i give them a 'baby persona' or base personality with just a few traits that are going to follow them through their whole life. then it's just a case of building upwards - thinking about how experiences affected them, thinking about how certain memories make them feel. if they did anything worth being sent to jail for, they're going to carry that secret with them 24/7 and get defensive about the topic. if they ever experienced a trauma, that's their reason for having certain fears or flashbacks. if they're embarrassed by their past selves then they can be awkward and anxious around old friends but very bouncy and outgoing with newcomers. 


it really is all about the personality for me. appearance is pretty much a mix-and-match of whatever works for their ethnic group, plus any scars or tattoos and the like they might have gained over the years. 


everything is in the story.

 

[404]

I haven't been in the rp community for long, but I've made a few characters in my short time. I start off with a reference for appearance and personality, usually just a small sketch and anchoring personality traits that I have in mind for the character. Then, I begin to build the character, adding their personal details beginning with their likes and dislikes, history, quirks, etc.. Personality usually comes last for me because I have a tendency to change the character as I create them and keep small sectors in my head of those anchoring personality traits and the ones that have accumulated from their hobbies and biography. Once I'm done combining them to create my character I'll add a final reference for appearance and voila.

 

[Cynthiera]

Have a list of random traits.


Roll 2 D100 die for each trait.


Dislike the character and begin with an on-the-mind concept.

 

[Tedronai]

I'm actually the opposite to @Saccharine Cyanide, I look for characters that do step on the toes of others since I believe that conflict breeds interesting stories.


The specifics vary but as others have said far better than I probably will, it starts from a simple idea, that could be as simple as "I like this character but wouldn't it be interesting if this/that/the other was different" or "what kind of person who really antagonise this other character". That gives me a general idea of the type of character I want to create and I start to ask myself what kind of history/experiences would make a person like this. As someone said in a similar thread, a character with a tragic backstory who is all rainbows and sunshine jars (that's not to say it couldn't work, but you'd have to explain it).


Say I want a character who's suspicious I might give them a history of being betrayed by everyone they've ever loved, someone who's greedy now might have been destitute at some point, someone who's altruistic might have themselves been saved by someone in the past. I throw these maybes together until I have someone I want to write more about. When the mix is right you can't help but want to write their story.

 

[4ever Midnight Star]

I always start with an idea. (This is for magical roleplays) Usually, I get an idea from some of the photos online. Then, it starts being original. Depending on the RP, I will change the backstory. After everything, I choose a name.

 

[Saccharine Cyanide]

I'm actually the opposite to @Saccharine Cyanide, I look for characters that do step on the toes of others since I believe that conflict breeds interesting stories.

Oops, I think I worded that a little awkwardly. I meant to say that I make sure my character isn't too similar to someone else's and isn't trying to whisk away their role in the plot, rather than not being in conflict. xD

 

[NUSKI]

Rather than an idea or what 'type' or character I want to make, I actually start off with a biography/backstory in my head. Mostly from there, I can tell if I want my character to experience a traumatic experience in his life and so on. The biography also helps with crafting an interesting personality. I find that starting with an idea is too vague and the character might be limited to what could be its full potential. Usually when crafting a backstory, I can kind of get an idea of what I what my character to look like as well. If I am having trouble with creating a backstory (for me, I really hate cliche ones[murdered family etc.] so I try to make them as unique as possible) I will start looking for a look for my character and I can kind of use the look to craft my personality. Also your personality could be the cause of something or everything that has happened in their past.

 

[budgieboo]

usually i just bang my head against a wall for 12 minutes straight until something comes up.

 

[Tenebrous]

Get random inspiration out of nowhere, sits down to type it all out only to have my mind blank out when I touch the keyboard. 


I would then proceed to cry myself to sleep and wait for my dreams to eat me. 


Next, I'd wake up and use my dreams as inspiration and BAM A CHARACTER HAS BEEN BIRTHED. 

 

[Tardy Grade]

Sees an RP about an interesting topic and free slots open . Says yes . Spends a sleepless night trying to make one :'3

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Get idea => Find image => Day dream => Write some stuff => Repeat steps three and four as many times as neccessary => Complete

 

[Irick]

I come from a writing background more than a role playing one, so I start with the setting or plot (or songs  ) and then visualize a scene within it. Who is there? What are they doing, and what does that say about them? Starting from that still frame I fill in the rest of the discussion, action and emotions until I understand who the characters are in those few minutes, and then I focus on one at a time to take them back through their life and background.


With my roleplays to date, I've had it easier as I've found images to support the settings and plots and then been able to lean on those pictures to pick up on the emotions that lead me to the backstory - but then in roleplays I only need one character rather than a group that need to intersect at some point.

I'm actually from the other side of the fence (my first experience making characters is mostly in the context of games), but this funnily mirrors my process fairly well.


Once I've fleshed out a character in the context of a backing setting to a point I can easily slip into character I write up a short story or commission a scene that I can use to bring that character back into my mind after hiatus. For example, here is my Pathfinder character Elyril (Some Blood) who is a Kitsune cleric of Besmara, the Pirate Queen.


I can still slip into that character after nearly a year of inactivity  Visuals can be such a powerful tool of association!

 

[Seraph X]

This is honestly an easy question for me, as my process starts the same.


I ask myself, what kind of character do I like to follow the exploits of? Usually my answer is something like "a noble yet young swordsman with emotional scars" or "a beautiful girl with mystic powers who hides from the world". Once I have that, I flesh out the character's appearance and personality based on that, asking myself as I go these questions:

1. Why do they have emotional scars/hide from the world?
   
2. Is their past tragic, or is there something about themselves they wish to hide?
   
3. What could get them to open up?
   

Once I can answer these questions, I add in the name and then create the history. For me, you always need to start with a basic character concept. For me, a guy who loves writing, that's fun to do, and I enjoy it. The best part is every character concept you can come up with has probably already been done, so the key - for OCs particularly - is just to make your own take on a concept. Make it your own and roll with it.