How do you create your characters?

[Dragalge]

How do you all envision your characters in whatever RP you are in? Obviously it has to stay consistent with the theme of the RP but how are the personalities and such thought of? Do you try and mix things up with each of your character's appearance, personalities, hobbies, etc or do you just keep it consistent throughout every RP? Share here!

For me, I try to make sure my characters are different enough as possible. Of course, such a feat is impossible so I do reuse some assets from previous characters but I often try to put in some sort of twist in these reused parts to make them not seem as clone-ish as previous characters that I have created.

 

[Monster Guy]

I make a character I like. One that I would want to see in something, or an archetype I like. Everything else goes from there.

I reuse characters all the time. I work hard to make them, why should their stories come to an end just because the RP they were made for didn't make it?

 

[Vern]

I usually have a 'base' character lifted from a series I like, and use that as the basis for the appearance and personality. And then I write the history and change that personality to suit it. Eventually, after I reuse the character enough, I end up with someone who's only visually similar to the original character they were based off and are really someone else altogether personality-wise.

I do reuse characters constantly, mainly because I get attached to them really easily. Most of them are also connected to each other in some way, shape, or form.

 

[Sketchie]

It starts with me reading the signup and thinking to myself, what kind of character would fit best in this world? Do I have a character that would work well in this world, or is this the place for someone new? If I reuse a character, I pull their most recent profile and update it to fit the world. If it's someone new...

I start with their appearance, and meticulously figure out what exactly they look like, head to toe. Then, by Feeling It, I give them good personality traits, their hobbies, bad personality traits, and then discern their core and what motivates them. (If they have any illnesses, it will probably show up right here.) It's very personal, almost intimate, I'm creating a soul, a life, a fictional yet perfectly real being. All this while I'm crafting their history, their journey. I rarely write any character with tragedies, because we're Delta Airlines, and life is a f***ing nightmare! And tragedies are fun to write. Then I wrap them all up, make sure all the bits and pieces are in place, and then they're ready to exist.

 

[TikTok13]

I usually read the sign up post, and read as many applications that have come before me, to get a grip with the characters in the world. I tend to go for the more soft-spoken, kinder characters that are quite intuitive, just because I find those characters interesting (and I follow the sin of making characters like me).

But a big part of my character creation is the MBTI personality theory, which I always apply to my characters in order to get a better grip on them. Being an INFJ, I often cross the border into neurotic obsession of linking my characters to the theory, but the cognitive functions help with fleshing out my characters.

 

[VampirateMace]

I start with a few basics, whatever I already know I want to do. Then I jump around piecing the rest of appearance, personality, history, etc together. Often I'll finish the appearance first and the history last. When I'm done the character should read as a realistic person; like if they don't exercise they're not going to be ripped.

 

[Tearen the Absol]

I will generally select whatever character I feel the story needs the most to be well-rounded. The world is full of fascinating people who often end up in places they are unexpected; what happens when a gambling charlatan is forced to become a folk hero? Can an elderly hermit keep up in a world of digital monsters? If most people are playing gritty action heroes, I will play a demure homemaker. If people seem to be trending towards open-minded visionaries, I will want to play the stubborn contrarian.

I guess it could be summarized that I will always design a character around whatever brings a unique perspective on ensuing events. I then work hard to establish how they got where they were. After that, physical details fall into place pretty easily. I tend to keep things like their personality pretty simple and open to allow for some development and flexibility.

 

[Hydrangea]

I usually do appearance first. I tend to prefer playing girls, as I find it easier. However, I'm FAR more attached to my male characters and have reused them on multiple occasions whereas I will usually make new female characters. This is a tentative list of all the characters I've used, most of these are just name and image --- but some actually have their profiles completed. (Oliver and Joshua have never been used, but they exist). I try to create well rounded characters that fit what they've been thrown into in their respective roleplays, which is probably why I make a lot of characters. I love all my children.

Personality wise, I like to imagine most are dynamic. A few are a little jaded, but damn do I love my damaged babies. History is more of the same, although I do find that there is usually some kind of tragic catalyst in everyone's history.

 

[Minteh]

For me, it usually begins with reading the sign-up haha. I like to have a good idea of what's going on before I even think about considering putting up a character. Usually I have a rough idea what my character is going to be like before I complete, as I try to base them after certain traits and archetypes. I don't reuse a lot of characters, though certain traits and mannerisms can sometimes be carried across between them.

When creating the character, I tend to do appearances first, as it gives me a good idea on what they'd look like, and could potentially influence possible changes to their character. Personality usually comes next, although I sometimes like to leave that till after I've written out the history, as certain events may have impacted their characters. History is a mixed bag for, sometimes I find it easy to write, and sometimes I struggle.

 

[fango pango]

I just tend to see the plot of the RPG and see what would work really well for me there. Generally this leads to me running extreme assholes in RPs but I tell ya what it works dammit. Then I figure out more fleshed out personality traits and actually make a look based around that. This generally starts as bullet points which then becomes a sprite which then helps add extra detail to the points. Since Hydrangea began making sprites for the looks it's been a lot more fun to do looks, so thanks for that. As for history..well..I just kinda figure out very important parts first obviously, then work out the rest as I'm writing the sign ups. Maybe not the best way to do it, but honestly it's the only way I've found works. My most recent character's key points in history were they dated someone then broke up with them when they didn't feel the love, learning to draw, and how he got into the club where all the characters meet. From there just working out how to make everything connect whilst also adding various other details to add some depth to him and then bam, you have a character!

 

[Solsabre]

Really depends on the inspiration for my character. I've recycled a few characters, mostly because I haven't seen their full story yet in one rp. Might depend if I need a character of a certain type (this is more for fanfic purposes going this route). I might have a certain concept or unique angle I might want to try out and I'll build a new character that way. My latest character that I'm making a sign up for was brought to life, because I wanted to use his last name so bad.

Snodgrass.

This last name cracks me up and I love it. I was waiting for an excuse to create a character to go with this name.

So Eugene William Snodgrass was born.

 

[TheSequelReturns]

Nine times out of ten, a concept will come to me while I'm reading the introduction post of the sign-up page. Sometimes its a fully fleshed idea and I know exactly what to do with it. More likely, its a core concept like a character class, a theme for appearance, a set of personality traits, or even just a codename or a power (depends on the RP) and I go from there. I almost always follow the sign-up on the way down the list, so once I've got an idea or concept that gets the gears turning, the next step is almost always the name. This is where I decide if I'm going to modify/adapt/reuse a character I've created before or create a new one. First names I always keep for my characters, last names are subject to change depending on the RP setting.

If I adapt an existing character I tend not to tweak them much. Only what it takes to get them to fit. When making a new character, I keep with my strategy of following the sign-up on the way down. So the typical order is Name -> Details (gender, etc) -> Appearance -> Personality -> History. I mold their appearance to match their name and abilities. Then I get their personality to work with appearance or vice versa depending on the sign-up order. Once all that's settled, I go through their history bit by bit, sort of exploring it as I go. Usually, I let their backstory unfold from a starting point and tweak it only as much as needed to work with their personality. Often times this evolves from explaining a key personality trait with a key history event and then letting the narrative continue for as long as the sign-up needs. If at any point in this process I discover a new idea or have a change of heart or decide I like something that contradicts something else I work that out.

TL;DR, I start with a key concept or detail that I like and let it snowball from there slowly fleshing out the rest of the sign-up.

 

[InnerFlame]

In general for me the RPG world itself will make me make certain character: a RPG about villains and immoral characters I make that kind of character. Most time I just get a feeling or I feel like making a certain kind of character after reading the plot and I just make them. I like to explore and try to make and play different characters, it one of the fun of RPG for me. I'll also look at other people's characters too sometimes so when their too many happy, cheerful, and friendly people, I like to throw a monkey wench in and make a unfriendly loner if its appropriate. Or if a lot of the characters seem too serious and stiff, I'll make a happy-go-lucky character to lighten up the mood. I also try not to stick in the same age group as everyone else if possible. I don't do that all the time but you know, having a variety is the spice of life.

I rarely reuse characters unless I feel incredibly unsatisfied about their adventure and I really want to use that character. I always revamp them to give them a fresh feel, like rewrite their personality and appearance; it helps me get a new feel for the character. Occasionally when I reuse a character I'll change their appearance and personality to better fit in the RPG and/or their new history. My character, Raven, is actually a darker remake version of my character, Nox. Raven is pretty much Nox with some difference in appearance and in a different location that gave into his darkness and greed. I've done this a few times when I felt that character could fit somewhere else, but not fully without changing things about their to have them fit the part better.

For me, the GM character(s) very well sets the tone of what kind of world it is to me, which why I like to read theirs before making my own to get a better feel of the world. But since that's not always an option I try to figure it out from the plot itself. From there I start with bare basic: Gender, age, sometimes name and all the other special field for the RPG depending on what it is. Then I go straight for personality writing a basic one and from there I question myself: What would a person like this look like and what could cause them to be that way? From there I write a bit of their appearance and history ask myself more questions: And if he lives like this how would his built and clothing look? How would people perceive them if they look like that and how would that affect their personality. And like that I try to connect the three fields to try to create a realistic character. Can't say I'm best at that but it for me, a person that makes new characters all the time, it helps me to do it like that.

 

[Schade]

From scratch. every time. lol

No, i like the process of making a character for an RP. though i have reused a few characters before, thats not really my thing. I like creating characters that fit into the scenario of the rp, as well as trying to make them different from the characters of everyone else. My go-to personalities are usually either the dark and brooding, or the jolly comedy character. The reason for this lies mostly in my own preferences, but also in how long my experience in rp'ing goes.

 

[Samayouru]

I usually have a set number of characters at my disposal for different RPs (in fact I have eight different characters for Digimon RPs depending on the situation) and I only usually create new ones either if I want to or if it's a kind of RP I haven't taken part in yet. As you can imagine I'm generally well prepared for RPing character wise.