Posted by Kim on August 24, 2013, 3:06pm
Last week, Ben told us about creating a future for our characters. Today's tutorial comes from our own Highjinx, and aims to help you brainstorm a character's past. Use this method to create a new, fully fleshed out character that sings with detail and interest without the need to resort to mashups like the vampire/demon/gryphon/mermaid. Think a plain old human can't seem unique? Think again!Without further ado, here are the brilliant words of the brilliant Highjinx:
Introduction
Firstly, just to get it out of the way, this is not an attempt to discriminate against any style of character or method of character making. There is no right way to make a character. Many players have their own tried and true methods of character building, however others struggle with it.
Through the years I have introduced many new players to role-playing and have coached them through their first character. I've seen some people hit the ground running while others have to sit and think. I realized that it is most often not a lack of creativity, but rather the problem is that they have never really thought about what makes people tick.
That might sound a little deep, “But Jinx, you don't need to be a shrink to make a character!” Yeah, I get that, but… I totally believe that if you are going to build a character and not stray from that character's personality while you are writing for them… then you need to KNOW your character. Intimately.
Get your head out of the gutter. There's only enough room down here for me.
Annnnyway, have you ever asked yourself “What does it mean to create a character, really?” I wouldn't be surprised if you have, it is kind of a big deal for us players and writers.
Anyone can crank out a character. Carbon-copy-cookie-cutters are in abundance in our world and they are miserably boring. The real trick, the true feat of magic that every writer has to pull out of their hat, is creating a character that bursts forth from the page.
Like I said, anyone can create a character, because inspiration comes from every possible thing you can imagine. Your favorite TV show, song, video game, book, food, that walk around the block, your classes, an overheard conversation… the list is endless. What I'm going to (hopefully) teach you is how to go about taking that sudden spark of inspiration and expanding it to create a living character.
After this, if you suspect your characters are carrying on while you're not looking, I'll have succeeded (I take offerings of peanut butter cups and green tea, if you feel so obliged).
Shall we get started? It may take a while...
Basic Information
Since I have no clue how you, personally, are going to begin building your character I will just list off the things as they are shown on the template.
Names: Names are just as important to your character as anything else. Why do you think some people put so much thought into what to name their children? Names are representational, they have meaning. A name can tell a person so many things, from where they came from (nationality centric names) to the strongest traits of a character (direct translations names). They are also important because the right name puts you on the path to figuring out how your character identifies.
Look at it this way; everyone has a name that they were given at birth. Sometimes they don't like it and they end up legally changing it, but most of us grow up with our name and it helped make up the foundations of our identity.
Nicknames are also important. Of course, if you'd rather let your character pick them up as you play that's cool too. However, if you are writing a background for your character it's usually customary for people to pick up nicknames by the time they are out of their adolescence. A pet name from a parent or some other important person in their lives. It's the little details that breathe life into a character.
Era: The times that your character is born into will have an effect on their personality, mannerisms, speech, etc. If you are writing for a character outside your own era, then a bit of research is required. Generally, I've seen characters classified in four categories: Modern, Historical, Fantasy, and Future. Modern means that the character resides some time after the Industrial Revolution, while Historical comes before. Fantasy and Futuristic characters, of course, get a little more creative license.
That being said, when writing for some modern and usually all historical characters, conjecture only gets you so far. If you are going to write outside what you know, then it is time to educate yourself. Otherwise you end up writing a character that feels displaced, and as a result, the character will likely not be very successful. The Internet is your friend, finding information on specific time periods is very easy.
The next thing to look at is your character's time line. Is it fixed or flexible? If a character's time line is fixed, that means they are on a straight path from birth to death. If it's flexible, that means your character has the ability to bounce around time periods. It's good to think about this, you never know what you might find effects your character's behavior or their personality.
Birthdates: How many times have you heard someone tell you or another person they are a typical star sign? A stubborn Capricorn, an outgoing Aries, or a charismatic Leo? Picking a birth date for it's meaning can help hash out your character's personality.
Race/Nationality: This is kind of obvious, but just another thing to think about when character making. Nationality is obviously a basic detail, it's good to question though, are they nationalists? Ex-patriots? Or are they completely ambivalent about where they are from? Details! Details! Details!
Of course, by race, I mean, 'what are they?' Are they supernatural creatures, a being that was never 'human' (demons, angels, gods, monsters, etc.)? Or are they a paranormal human, meaning they were born human but later developed powers or changed entirely (vampire, ghost, witch, etc)? Run of the mill human or an entirely fantastical creature? It all matters.
Religion: Always the hot button topic. You don't have to tell the world what you personally think about organized religion. However, it is good for you to know what your character thinks and keep in the back of your mind. There is almost always a strong opinion to be found when it comes to religion, and those opinions say a lot about your character. Just because it is a topic that gets people fired up, don't be afraid to use it. If your character has strong opinions about their religion, that likely has an effect on their mannerisms. Not every person in the world is politically correct, don't expect characters to be any different.
Sexuality: Now, pardon me while I pull out my soapbox here and get ready for a lecture, because it seems like many players get put off by listing their character's sexuality. Just because you designate a character's sexuality does not mean that you are labeling them a nymphomaniac, nor does it mean you are flying the 'cyber flag'. What you put in your character's information is just that, it is information. Most seasoned players should know that sexuality is as important to a character's identity as anything else. A person's identity is made up of many parts, especially their sexuality. Whether they are asexual, heterosexual, pansexual, homosexual, or otherwise. However, if you feel the need to dissuade people from thinking that you are looking for adult scenarios specifically, then an OOC note should be placed somewhere easy to find. This goes for all things that might make you uncomfortable. (EDITOR'S NOTE: As with all information that another character might not be able to glean just by looking at yours, you may choose to decide on this information and simply not publish it as well.)
Languages: Why are languages important? Because the languages your character speaks help to give clues about either where they've been, how long they've been around, or how their brain works. Some people are fantastic with foreign languages while others can barely master their native one. In the case of historical characters, you should probably know which languages might have been taught at the time as a requirement, based off your character's societal class.
Alignment: Ah yes, the categorization of a character's morals and ethics. It's usually quite important to know where you character stand. What they are capable of doing, and where they will stop. Cause you know... that whole dichotomy of good and evil thing.
Physical attributes
So, now that we got all the basic details down, this is where I kind of leave you to your own devices. This is the part where you get rid of the training wheels and take off down that proverbial sidewalk.
Yup, now you have to start thinking visually. It's your character, no one can tell you what they look like but them… or you… however you want to look at that.
Don't be freaked out though, many players often already have a face in mind. It can be anyone, or a mix of anyones. Think of your favorite models and actors, or just about anything really, because not all characters are human. Find a picture and just start describing them to yourself.
If you can't find a picture, this is where it gets a little more difficult. You have to take all the information you just amassed and do some mental exercises. I'll give you a couple examples of what I mean:
Example one: Physically remove yourself from your house, go to a coffee shop, or whatever and have a 'sit down' with your character. If you're freaking right now, thinking I want you to talk to yourself in public, stop. I'm not that mean. I want you to get a coffee, or a tea, or whatever you like to drink, sit down with your notebook and have a little chat or interview, with your character, in your head. Let them talk to you and while they're talking, begin to formulate a picture of what this person looks like.
Example two: Be lazy, stay home, and write a short story about your character's every day life. Not everyone can just… pick up a face from talking to them. Sometimes you have to know how they move, how they eat, how they react to boredom, or just missing that green light. The more you think about them and the more you let them roam around in your head, the easier it will be to pick up what they look like.
While you're doing this, here are some helpful things to think about:
How old do they appear? Even if they're never going to get older... they have an apparent age.
What is the color of their skin, it's tone, texture? Are they black, white, brown, peach, orange, B'dazzled blue, Fandango pink, or freaking calico?
How about their hair? Long, short, bald, buzzed, dyed crazy colors, respectable incognito Clark Kent part? Or are they rocking a Chelsea Mohawk?
Eyes? Color? Eyes shape? Wide, large, almond shaped? How about the color of the sclera, iris, pupil? Eyelashes? Long, short, thick?
Body Description? This gets a little tricky sometimes. I suggest that you find a height/weight chart. Because there are three things you have to thing about when calculating this: Body (frame) Size, Height, Weight. There is about a big weight difference between a person measuring 5'8” with a small frame who can weight between 126-139lbs, and a 5'8” person with a large frame, who can weigh between 146-167lbs. I suggest Health Check System's Height and Weight Chart. It covers both women and men.
Body Modifications? Tattoos, intentional scarification, implant, piercings, etc?
Scars? Where did they come from? Where are they?
Distinct Scent? Good, bad?
Handedness? Right, left, ambidextrous.
Conclusion
And... that's it. This is all I have for you other than some parting words of wisdom.
Remember… your character is up to you. Just a word from someone who has been around a long while... be creative. Just because your character is a 1/4 Angel, 1/4 Vampire, 1/4 Werewolf, 1/4 human multibillionaire Rockstar hybrid... doesn't make them creative. Less is often more... it's not 'what' they are so much as 'who' they are that is interesting. Master your average run of the mill human first... then work on the insane feats of imagination.
In addition to all this food for thought, Highjinx has also provided us with CUSTOM character sheets! Download them, print them out, and draw all over them! They're a great way to jumpstart your brainstorming, and make sure you remember all that important info you've dreamt up.
FEMALE CHARACTER SHEET
MALE CHARACTER SHEET
ANDROGYNOUS CHARACTER SHEET
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Comments
A wonderful article and it was an absolute joy to read, I also adore how you included some character sheets for folks as I find often that people struggle with this very thing. What information should I be filling out? Why?
I also want to say that I'm very grateful that you added your explanation on sexuality and it's importance to a characters Identity. It's no different from IRL in most cases, a minor detail that sits in the background of your characters mind but can influence actions during some situations. Such as, a cute girl offers you a flower and tells you how sweet you are, and some characters because they favor guys over women may find themselves extra shy, nervous, or perhaps even unknowing of what to say in response to such a gift while also honoring the girl's feelings.
Anyways. Thank you very much for your contribution n.n It was very helpful.
I also want to say that I'm very grateful that you added your explanation on sexuality and it's importance to a characters Identity. It's no different from IRL in most cases, a minor detail that sits in the background of your characters mind but can influence actions during some situations. Such as, a cute girl offers you a flower and tells you how sweet you are, and some characters because they favor guys over women may find themselves extra shy, nervous, or perhaps even unknowing of what to say in response to such a gift while also honoring the girl's feelings.
Anyways. Thank you very much for your contribution n.n It was very helpful.
You are totally right, Kim! I had kind of thought about that, and a few other things, but my tutorial was already getting too long 
I have been thinking about this article a lot, and I wanted to contribute my two cents about names as well!
Not only can a name be used to describe your character, they also say a huge amount about the backgrounds of the character's parents. It can tell us where they came from or what their aspirations for their child were, or what their attitudes toward the world or child-raising were during the character's formative years. How was the character shaped by those expectations and attitudes? Do they agree with them? Did they rebel? Did they rebel and then settle down and accept those cultural norms? What did that do to their relationship with their parents during different stages of their life! It's an awesome rabbit hole!
Not only can a name be used to describe your character, they also say a huge amount about the backgrounds of the character's parents. It can tell us where they came from or what their aspirations for their child were, or what their attitudes toward the world or child-raising were during the character's formative years. How was the character shaped by those expectations and attitudes? Do they agree with them? Did they rebel? Did they rebel and then settle down and accept those cultural norms? What did that do to their relationship with their parents during different stages of their life! It's an awesome rabbit hole!
You're welcome, Liquidchaos. Thanks for reading it. I'm really glad people appreciate it. 
I've rewritten what i was going to say like five times now, and the realization of just saying hey this is pretty spot on for what I try to explain to folk sand has some further good details on some parts I wouldn't have thought of! It's fantastically well written and does make a person think. Thank you so much for writing this up!
Highjinx
September 6, 2013
12:18am
Exactly! I get so upset when people automatically assume that players are looking for cyber because they list a sexuality type. It really is so important to our identities as human beings, it should be given a decent amount of careful thought when making a character.