A Good Character Submission Outline (Thurough)

[LynnJuniper]

I'm not sure where to post this, but I eventually decided against the general discussion thread and opted to post it here. I use this for making a lot of characters in my book and a few characters for Layo. A submission doesn't exactly need to include all of this or be formatted in this way but I do believe that with this you'll find some of the fundementals to character creation (besides the D&D Standard such as Alignment and class).   All Credit to the original writer of course and here's the link: http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun98/lazy2.htm  ----
  The following is the same sheet fixed to fit what I think will work in Layo. I'm aware some may not agree with this method but for those who do....  
 
  PS : This in no way substitutes for the History section of your char which should still be written
   Character Profile Worksheet       [SIZE=13]Basic Statistics       Name:    Age:    Nationality:    Socioeconomic Level as a child:    Socioeconomic Level as an adult:    Hometown:    Current Residence:    Occupation:   Talents/Skills:   Birth order:    Siblings (describe relationship):    Spouse (describe relationship):    Children (describe relationship):    Grandparents (describe relationship):    Grandchildren (describe relationship):    Significant Others (describe relationship):    Relationship skills:      Physical Characteristics:       Height:    Weight:    Race:    Eye Color:    Hair Color:   Skin color:    Shape of Face:    Distinguishing features:    How does he/she dress?    Mannerisms:    Habits: (smoking, drinking etc.)    Health:    Hobbies:    Favorite Sayings:    Speech patterns:    Disabilities:    Style (Elegant, shabby etc.):    Greatest flaw:    Best quality:      Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes      Educational Background:    Intelligence Level:    Any Mental Illnesses?    Learning Experiences:    Character's short-term goals in life:    Character's long-term goals in life:    How does Character see himself/herself?    How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others?    How self-confident is the character?    Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof?    What would most embarass this character?      Emotional Characteristics        Strengths/Weaknesses:    Introvert or Extrovert?    How does the character deal with anger?    With sadness?    With conflict?    With change?    With loss?    What does the character want out of life?    What would the character like to change in his/her life?    What motivates this character?    What frightens this character?    What makes this character happy?    Is the character judgmental of others?    Is the character generous or stingy?    Is the character generally polite or rude?      Spiritual Characteristics  Does the character follow a deity?    What are the character's spiritual beliefs?    Is religion or spirituality a part of this character's life?    If so, what role does it play?                  [/SIZE]
 
  History:
  [SIZE=13] [/SIZE]

[Tanman]

Added to this...I try to bring in as much history of the character and who they interacted with. I like to have some backdrop to my character and perhaps some tragedy. (This gives me an opportunity to easily bring in a CDQ).

If the character believes in a Diety, I turn to the handbook, and read thoroughly what it means, and try to understand it. if i don't, I read CDTs of other PCs that are of the same diety and try to understand their view points. At times I can spend up to 6 days researching a character and fleshing it out exactly similar to Lynn's approach.

I tend to focus on history and what went on with the character and give a brief description on the mannerisms of the character. If i give some personal details it helps me RP them.

[darkstorme]

And I'd pull "does this character believe in God" from the list.  Belief in the gods isn't required in Layo - they exist.  It's like saying one doesn't believe in, say, chairs.  You can believe in them or not, but the fact remains that you can sit down.

Whether they FOLLOW a particular deity would be a better question, methinks.

[LynnJuniper]

*grins* Belief is a very subjective thing. Rhynn believes the gods exist, but she doesn't believe (read : Have faith ) in them.

But that's a completley different subject alltogether.

Upon Further thought, that is a very extreme and unique view Rhynn has: Question changed.

[OldBear]

I wish I had seen a post like this six months ago.  I should really go ahead now and take the time to fill it out on my existing characters.  Hmm but then no time to play.  What a dilema!  Thanks for the thought process, it will help in the future.