Forums » RP Discussion » What's a suggested format for character pages?

As someone who loves freeform RPs (no bios, just go and learn the characters as you play), I've never had much experience with character sheets and/or stats. I was roleplaying online before I got into D&D, so even the D&D style sheet seemed very... boxy, to me. I am sorry if this doesn't make sense.
What I mean is, it doesn't really give room to grow, and it may have information on there that is not needed (for instance, let's say your character has some type of soul connection to a falcon and so has tendencies that may be falcon-like. But the character themself has no idea of this, so pointing it out in a bio sheet would be interesting, as the fact is true, but unneeded knowledge to the players). So, it seems like you are limited to thinking inside a box.

That said, I still think that for a general 'cheat sheet', the Character bio/sheet is still the best option (A resume of a potential roleplaying partner, if you will) to use. But what sorts of things do you put in it, and how do you format your characters' pages?

What do you think is integral information, that is important enough to always be on every one of your characters' pages?
And by this I mean the pages on RP repository.
Is there a 'standardized format' of some kind?
Always have 'history', 'eye color', 'rp type', etc.?

I am just looking for some input into how to format my own pages. I have many different characters, but all at varying stages of development. So it seems the traditional bio/sheet may not work. I'd also like to know what sort of OOC information you put on your character pages-- on some I've noticed players putting what times they're available to rp and where, what they're interested in, what type of rps they do, and what format (paragraphs, etc.).

So what's the most important information to you, as a player, to inform others?
And what is the most important to you when you're reading others' pages? What is easiest to read? What makes you leave and go to another character page instead?

I think it depends hugely on the game you are playing, how many people you are playing with, how much background info is common to all players and how much needs to be explained, and how much mystery you want to maintain.

For most of my pages, I go out of my way to only include information that you might be able to find out IC before meeting the character. For example, one of my characters is a member of the "local" nobility. So there's a pretty damn good chance other characters in the region will have heard of her, seen paintings or statues of her -- possibly even seen her face on the money. And as a public figure, there's a whole lot of information about her out there. A lot of that information is completely false, because humans love to make things up about one another, speculate wildly, and sometimes think they're actually telling the truth but got wrong information from someone else that they trusted. Or maybe heard the right thing but just plain misunderstood. So I include all those odd rumors, true and false and a mix, because I think it gives incredible flavor to the setting and gives other characters many many jumping off points for RP.

I also have a creepy Illithid who is very secretive, but who has a habit of turning up in libraries. Not many people have seen that character in person, but there's for sure a sort of "urban myth" floating around. "Don't go to the library at night, or your brain might be eaten!" So I include that and not too much else.

But in that case, I've also included a thorough listing of abilities that that character has. Because everyone would know all those abilities ICly upon meeting the character? No -- I included it as a form of OOC accountability, to show that the character has a specific set of skills that I didn't just make up on the spot. I've played with free form people who seem to just continually learn things because they don't want to "lose," thereby never giving anyone else the chance to get ahead or feel special, and so I listed out the more powerful skills to make certain it was well known they were there in advance and wouldn't be abruptly deviated from.

Frankly, rumors and things that other characters might possibly know in advance are my absolute most favorite thing to find on a character profile, or to put there. It makes it feel to me like we all exist in a real world, where narratives are continuous and connected and word can travel, rather than just being anonymous plot devices that appear and disappear without making a ripple. Sometimes quick cheat sheets of heights, weights and etc. can be useful, especially if you are playing through an adventure with rickety bridges and the current narrator, GM, DM, storyteller, whatever you call the person in charge of the environment, needs to decide whether a structure collapses when you jump on it, or whether you can see around the person standing in front of you or if you're too short.

If I include OOC info, it's generally to help other players who might be interested find me, and I try to make sure it is very clearly labelled as OOC. I always try to make certain there are some secrets to be discovered through RP.

Also; some games or groups require approval for a character to join, and they will all have their own set of information that they need to know about before they can make their decision. So what you include is always going to be in flux depending on the needs of your group.

I always like to include at the very least a description of the character's appearance, because that's what everyone can see and immediately know if they glance the character in a tavern or wherever. I also include a short description of obvious personality traits that other people's characters can derive by observing the character for a short time, depending on how perceptive they are. I leave details to be found out during RP.

I add a brief summary of the character's background as well so people can get some insight into the character. I always assume people will be as fair as to realize their character can't know any of that yet, and the summary isn't as detailed as to leave no surprises for RP.

I try to list inventory as detailed as possible, in case someone's roleplaying a thief and should be snooping around in my character's belongings, or if someone else's character is attracted to shiny things and my character happens to wear some. Ah, and inventory is also good to list so nobody will make up the items they own on the spot, just because it's convenient, like Kim mentioned with skills.

Lately I've been wanting to add "Roleplay Hooks" to my OOC pages, detailing the most likely ways other people's characters can come into contact with my character.

That having been said, I don't mind extremely detailed character sheets with loads of information that will probably never even be found out during RP. I like reading about what makes characters tick, and I am able to separate OOC knowledge from IC knowledge, without losing fun. There's as much charm, maybe more, to a character sheet that leaves lots of questions to be asked, though.

I use an rp profile template to get his actual information down, but usally a character page also has rp guidelines (the always/never chart), tgt dice aspects and a list of what seperate continuities he's in, followed by the main info, then gallery, backstory & guestbook. If more is needed, I'll add it.

That depends on your needs, as people said above. In a chat, I'll put a description of my character physical and sometimes spiritual since there's so many powerful folks about in RP. On RPR, though, I use it as a store house for room descriptions, small details I may forget, and letting people get a bigger overview of my intent with the character than when they're just playing with it at, say, The Keep.

So really, do whatever you want. She made RPR super flexible, so do what thou wilt!