Creating Character Profiles - Suggestions and Discussion

[JenivereDomino]

So, as a part of creating my game I'm planning a lot of the details and thought this may be helpful as a discussion and prompt for fellow writers. I'd also say that this is a resource for you to use, so if you need to change things about the character to better fit how the story is moving, then don't be afraid to do so as long as you have kept things consistent in the actual game/fiction itself (including character progression/development if they grow and change within the story).

When I was first thinking about the main characters in my game, I decided to create a full profile of them to help decide on characteristics and as a good resource to refer to when writing in scenarios as I can look back and see what drives them. I come from a background of playing D&D so I do this a lot when creating new player characters to use or NPCs if I'm the DM for a campaign.

The following is my suggested outline for the things you should know about your characters, but I'd love to hear some feedback on anything that you think would be helpful to add to this format and if you find it helpful. I've added some examples and suggestions to show what I mean for each thing too.

BASICS

Name: Full Name
Nicknames: All nicknames, and who they allow to use them. How long in the story until their nickname is used by the main character(s)?

Trope/Class: eg, "-dere" type

Colour Code: Main colour scheme for name tag and art

Attitude: Serious? Flirty? Leader type?

Flaws: What are the downsides to their character? Do they have bad habits? Are they angered easily (eg, Ed from FMA gets very angry if people call him short). Remember, we all have flaws, no person is perfect, and these can help your characters feel more grounded and realistic.

Family/Hometown: Where did they grow up? Is this place in your game? What are their immediate and extended family like? Does this impact their personality?

Weapons/Abilities: If there's combat in the game or pseudo combat, what do they use to fight? Do they have any special/magical/other abilities?

Quirks: This could be anything from always wearing odd socks, to any bigger personality quirks that may make them stand apart from other characters.

Likes: Anything from simple likes (eg, cake, the colour red), to deeper concepts (eg preferring people who are honest) - good to build on this for character interactions. Think about what really makes the character happy.

Dislikes: Same as with likes, it could be small insignificant things or much bigger things. What annoys them? What makes them tick?

Humour Type: Do they enjoy a good pun, or do they have a dark and cutting sense of humour? This affects not only any jokes they may make but how they react to what other people say too.

Initial Demeanour: What would be the first impression they give off when they first meet someone? Perhaps they are very shy at first, but warm up and open up later. Or maybe they come across as very light hearted and humourous, but hide a dark side behind that which isn't obvious at first.

Manner of Speech: This may not be relevant to every character, but perhaps you have some who are more formal, or who use older out of date language (like Old English using Thee and Thou, for example.)

Favourite Food: Might seem inconsequential, but it can always come in to it as a little moment at some point. Maybe the player character has a choice of something to offer them, for example.

Religious Affinity: Do they follow a specific religion and does this affect the way they interact with the world? This may be more relevant to a game in which you have your own world state and religions (particularly for fantasy worlds) but can be interesting to think about for some other genres too.



FULL BACKSTORY

Early life (0-Teen): Where were they born? Were there any big events that affected their life in this stage?

Teenager to Young Adult: Are there any old friends from the past who will come up in the story? How did they change? Do they have any embarrassing secrets?

Young Adult to Plot Start: What age is the character at the start of the game (or the point at which they join the story)? What else has happened in their adult or recent life that shapes how they act and react?

Goal: What is their main goal in life? Are they looking for love? Or do they dream of starting their own business making ballgowns? What drives them, and how do they aim to achieve this?

Mannerisms: Do they have any little physical or vocal mannerisms you can bring into your writing? Perhaps your character with cat ears will twitch them when annoyed, or another character might use their hands a lot while talking and potentially lead to them spilling or dropping something when they are excitedly talking about something?

Fears: You don't have to ever use this, but everyone is afraid of something, and it can drive the story and character relationships forwards. Maybe they're just scared of spiders so someone will have to come to the rescue with a glass and some paper, or for something more serious maybe they are terrified of being alone and will do anything to make people happy so they won't leave.

Bonds: Who are the people (and/or organisations) most important to this character? Who do they rely on when times are tough? Who do they spend most time with?

Attitude to Companions: How do they feel about the other characters and NPCs in your world? Not everyone has to get along, perhaps they have a rival or enemy, perhaps their outlook and attitude to someone will change after a certain point in the plot.

Important Plot Points: What are the important things you want to happen with this character in your story? Are they a love interest? Or are they someone the player needs to feel close to in order to feel the loss when something happens to them? Are they an antagonist? Do they have an important role in the story, or is there something to do with them that you need to include in the story? When do you want to bring in the foreshadowing to the events? All of these details can be important and help prompt your writing, especially if you get stuck.

[RicharDann]

Gotta say this is a very well thought approach for a Character Profile Sheet! It covers the most important aspects of a character in my opinion, it's not unnecesarily long, and the explanations make total sense so I would say it's perfect. I myself use a very simplified version of this (using the Alignment Scale of D&D to have a general sense of behaviour and personality) but I can see the benefits of fleshing out your characters by including the little quirks that makes them unique. Maybe I wouldn't use it for every single character, but at least for Main Characters I feel this could be almost mandatory.