User blog:GlassCrescent/Newcomers Guide: Designing a character

Making characters can be a little bit tricky. After all it's not just the design that counts!

General information: Race, Name and Age
Let's start off easy. Who is your character?

You should start by choosing gender and race, since they are two easy characteristics. Examples of races (you can see a full list here): Subclasses of a certain race are like the many different nationalities of humans, they are the same species however have evolved slightly differently to suit the location. The Subclass is dependent on the parents and the lineage of the character.
 * Human
 * Elf
 * Half-Creature (Centaur, Harpy, Werewolf) --> (Half-Horse, Half-bird, Half-wolf)
 * Orc
 * Demon
 * Dwarf

To choose a name for your character might be difficult if you haven't fully fleshed out your character so you can always skip this step and come back to it when you feel they are ready for a name.

Names do grow on the user but try and choose a name that you don't hate too much because you might end up stuck with it. To get the perfect name for your charactacter try to choose a name that includes your characters nationality or race because cultures would be very different depending on where your character's parents are from. Though your character's name isn't limited to this.

To begin with a name you should always start with the first name. You may want to look up names that mean something that is related to your character or just fit in with their status and place of birth. To choose a last name look for things that accompany the first name well, if the first name sounds the same as the surname it's better to change one.

If you need inspiration for a name use name generators for ideas. My personal favorite is fantasy name generators (it also has non fantasy names too).

Then you should think about your character's age though try to stray away from teenage characters because there usually is a lot of them. However making older characters does mean there are limits on them the same goes for younger characters so aiming for the 20-40 range is good.

Your Character's Personality
A character's personality is more important than their looks, (especially for a roleplay). Instead of making a list of likes and dislikes, you should think of a list of traits and some flaws. Choose a few of each to try and balance them out but make sure they don't contradict eachother. A few good flaws include: Looking for examples of character flaws online is a good idea as there are many resources out there that can help.
 * Over dramatic
 * Forgetful
 * Reckless
 * Over emotional
 * Impatient

Now you have your characters traits, you have a good base of a personality.

If you want to give your character a mental illness you should think about it and if it would suit them if not then they don't need it. Instead of an intense mental illness, you could try a fear of something or a love of something strange. These both work to flesh out a character better.

Occupations and Specialists
Your character may need an occupation to gain money or unless they are a high ranking noble or royal. Occupations can also be a good way to introduce your characters to others, travel the world and climb up the social ladder. If you need an occupation for your character see this page. Sometimes occupations give your character a specific role however unimportant occupations don't. Some occupations also require a specialist to do the work and are named after that specialist class.

Specialists are people who have a lot of talent in a certain area which is usually a certain type of magic. They work a lot like fantasy classes. The specialised classes often have lots of occupations so it's very varied. For example:
 * Witches (Wikken magic): Apothecary,
 * Paladin (A branch of Warrior): Soldiers/guards
 * Warrior (Swords, up close fighting): Soldiers/guards
 * Rogue (Stealth): Spies/assasins
 * Priest/Priestess (Cleansing/Holy magic): doctors/prophets.

Design
To design a character you need to think creatively but some characters are better off more plain than others if it suits their personality or role. For example a humble farmer or an arrogant royal. One would be more extravagant than the other and look more well presented. Always thinking about who your character is and their personality helps give them a look that suits them.

For eyes, you should try and choose one colour though in some cases dual coloured eyes work with characters. If in a fantasy setting roleplay you can usually have non natural coloured eyes.

For hair, you should choose a style that would benefit their work/lifestyle like short cropped hair or tied up styles for people who do manual labour.

Giving your character clothes and acsessories also helps to bring them to life but like humans they can also have multiple outfits. Don't restrict them to one outfit and always have other options depending on season or weather.