Forums » RP Discussion » What are your techniques for making new OCs?

I'm open to a few suggestions. But what do you look for when making an OC? What direction do you go for a design? Where do you draw inspiration from?

It really varies for me, and mostly depends on what I wanna do for the character. For example, with Krik and Ket when I was making them I wanted a duo of characters that needed each, hence the original muscle a neuron idea, since a muscle can't move without a neuron, and a neuron is useless without a muscle to move. So like I said, it jsut kinda depends on what I'm doing with the character.

The process can vary, but sometimes if I need to whip up a quick character I'll do this:

1.) Choose a species and a gender. I'll use dice to choose randomly from a numbered list if I can't make up my mind on either.
2.) Go on pinterest, an imagebooru, or a show's wiki to find characters that can serve as inspiration for looks/personality/whatever. I think an imagebooru's tag system is especially helpful for this.
2.) Give them a random hobby and some personality quirks, both of which can be generated at springhole . net.
Actually, sometimes I just bypass steps 1-3 and generate an entire character on there if I'm really out of ideas— they have tons of generators for lots of different things and even some writing advice.
3.) Give them an occupation, ashort-term goal, and a long-term goal.
4.) ???
5.) Profit!

Hope this helped.

I admit it, quite often my characters are inspired by spite or some trope that annoys the crap outta me.
Or something I see and think "oh I like that idea but WHY did they do it so badly!?? ARGHHH" (Which might be a bit arrogant to assume I can do better but i'm being honest, a lot of my ideas stem from "why did you waste such a cool idea???" stuff lol)

Also if it's a new character for an rp that's established and i'm already playing in (I tend to play multiple characters in a single game) then it's "what SORT of character do we need here? What might make for an interesting dynamic? What story do I want to tell?"

But generally speaking, I find inspiration from all sorts of places. A very vague seed will form like "Ooo plant aliens, we should have plant aliens" or "why are all vampires pasty white guys? We need more black vampires!" or even "that random person has awesome hair, I want to draw that." lol.

Once I have an idea of what SORT of character i'm making: "A plant alien" "a black vampire" "a girl with cool hair" then I start fleshing things out. I admit I often start with appearance, but that's because i'm a very visual person. Then I get to thinking logically. for instance "okay, how would a plant person work culturally?" "okay, how did this guy become a vampire? Who was he beforehand?" and "She has cool hair, what sort of person would have such extreme hair? What personality would I associate with someone with fluro pink dreadlocks?"

Then I write a little brainstorm, ideas and traits. Little ideas that pop into my brain, questions to answer.

My character sheets tend to follow the same sort of formula: Vital stats (name, age, height, build, general appearance) and personality (I start with random traits and then flesh things out as I get to know the character more and stuff starts to pull together) followed by skills and talents, things they're good at and things they aren't so good at. Hobbies and interests, just little things that help to make a character feel more like a person. If for instance I decide they play Bass guitar, I need to then figure out WHY they took it up in the first place, why that instrument? are they any good? Do they play in a band or is it just something they do to relax? They play a particular sport, why that sport? Do they actually enjoy it or only do it because of parental expectation? I find working out a character's hobbies, interests and talents then helps fill in gaps in personality.

Do they have a job? If they're still in school what sort of student are they?

Relationships. I start with family and whether they can stand their parents and any siblings (family relationships also help flesh out personality) and then work on to any friends or contacts I think might be relevant. (This is more important when i'm building a character for an established world or group, say for instance, the crew of a space captain or the coworkers of a cop etc) and I keep things pretty open unless I want them to have an NPC contact who'll be important to the story somehow.
Or I want them having a link to an existing other oc. (I have several characters who are related to one another for instance)

If i'm creating a fantasy of sci fi race, at this point I also like to build the world they inhabit, think about how their race works and what their precise "rules" are. For instance the vampire traits, which change depending on your source material. I like to build them from scratch taking elements I like from various sources heh. Same with my aliens, I like to think about how a race like theirs could have evolved (though of course, taking artistic liberties because scientifically plausible is more fun than really realistic imo.) and how their culture might be. That then also helps build more personality. For instance you have a race who are super tactile and really really friendly, how does that reflect in the individual?
You have a race who live in a harsh desert environment where death is really common, how might that impact their development and reflect in their attitudes, ideals, morality and personality?

Personally I find it far easier to build a character knowing where they come from. History is the last thing I tackle, but I go back and forth between all the sections as I go, adding and removing things, tweaking stuff as I work out more. Don't be afraid to remove things that don't work or don't make sense once you write up a history, don't be afraid to go back and add more stuff into previous sections. My character sheets are a constant WIP, i'm always editing them as I learn more about the character and never forget, people DO change and evolve over time as well. Don't be afraid to allow your character to change a little as the game progresses, for their ideals to shift, their priorities to change, their attitudes to alter. someone who starts out the game as standoffish and slow to trust may slowly start to come out of their shell and that's AOK, that's development and it's a wonderful thing.

But above all else, I find that the only real way I can develop a character properly is by PLAYING them. Once I have very bare bones ideas down, I find throwing them into a few rps to be the most useful way of fleshing out their personality and working out how they act and behave.

I tend to overthink things, but I also like thinking about their deeper psychology. Like "this is how they are on the surface but really I think it's because deep down they're like this". So WHY is the abrasive bully that way? WHY is the over friendly everyone's friend person like that? Is there anything deeper going on? (sometimes there isn't, but sometimes there is some sort of overcompensation or hiding going on, which is interesting to explore)
But that's me overthinking and being a bit OTT haha.

My best advice is that once you have a rough idea, play play play! it's the only way i've ever found to really flesh out any idea.

Usually, I don't really create characters for the sake of creating characters when I make characters for roleplaying. When I see an advertisement on here that really interests me, and I don't already have a fitting character, I just quickly write up a character based on that advertisement from that inspiration. I think more, "What kind of character would be needed for this roleplay? What would be the most fun to play in this kind if situation?" first. Then, the other bits fall in later, making up details and information as I feel fits.

They don't make for the most developed characters, or the most thorough profiles, but I tend to usually wing my characters as I write anyways. Honestly, I guess I have issues with this sort of thing too, but that's how I currently make my characters. My weakness is more of the history and family connections of my character, as those are the things that interest me the least. I know they're important, but sometimes, I just don't want to bother!

1. I look for how the character would fit into the scene and setting of the RP they are created for.

2. I don't usually have a 'design' in mind at first but it builds as I write up a history for the character. That said, I do have a sort of base template for Middle Earth, Black Company, etc. that has basics of the world in it already.

3. The RP story I will introduce the character in to. Sometimes a running RP story has me create a secondary controlled character to write.

I’ve been making up characters for years now, mostly because I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed acting & writing.

First, I always think of their sex and character traits. Then, I’ll pick a name. If they’re entitled or self-centered, I’ll pick a name that sounds a bit posh or names that are typically common within people of a higher social standing.

Then I’ll go on and make up a backstory; why is this new character an entitled, spoiled brat? What happened in their life that made them develop that character trait? What occupation has this person committed to and why? Does it have anything to do with their character traits, does their job fit them as a person, or are they just doing it to get by, and are thus resentful and miserable at and about work? What are this person’s mannerisms, habits and lifestyle? How would the society around them react to those mannerisms and their lifestyle in the time I’ve put them into? Is it something generally accepted or frowned upon or could they get in some more serious trouble if things got out? How are they coping with the danger? Do they have any family or friends, acquaintances, co-workers...? What’s their relationship with them like and why?

Last but not least, only after I’ve got EVERYTHING else down, I’ll get to the appearance. Are they a member of the working class and thus have rough, blemished skin and an unkempt appearance or are they an aristocrat who’s had access to the finest health treatment and cosmetics money can buy? How do they dress?

And that’s usually how I make a character.