by Kaet -- work in progress
Before you begin, I just want to mention a few things that will help you do a fantastic job, and hopefully point you in the right direction if you’re still feeling a little lost.
- It’s important to aim for a character whose different sections fit together. If your character is a noble, the status, occupation, residence and clothing should reflect that. If your character is a prostitute, the status, occupation, residence and clothing should reflect that. Keep the general idea of your character in mind and stick to what makes sense.
- You are writing a profile that will be useful when you roleplay, so it’s often helpful to try and think about what people will want to know when they look at your character’s profile for the first time. This means making sure to include the major parts of your character very clearly — appearance, personality and history are the big ones. What would other characters see when they first notice your character? Thinking about this while you write your profile is key — it makes your character’s entrance to the Inn much smoother if other players can accurately figure out how to have their characters react.
Those are just two ideas that should help you get a better handle on what’s important to include in your character profile. I’ll also include a “RED FLAG” section at the end of some parts of the profile, where I’ll list things that the mentors will immediately point out and ask you to change or explain.
Name
Pretty self-explanatory! This is your character’s name, first and last. Pick one you like — Google “baby names” if you’re drawing a blank. Remember that names don’t need to be elaborate to be interesting. We adore simple names. If your character is from a different country, feel free to develop a name that matches the feel of the country; you can figure out which real-life countries correspond to Tammy’s world by checking out tutorials for the different countries. Characters’ last names often reflect their occupation, or the occupation of their family; you’ll see a lot of names like Goldsmith, Cooper, or Tumbler, but that doesn’t mean it has to be like that. You can also include a nickname here, if your character has one.
It’s worth it to note that we have over 100 characters in play, and there is a chance that you might be asked to change your character’s name because no two can have the same name. Please be courteous if this happens — we know it’s tough, but it’s necessary.
RED FLAGS:
- Names that are misspelled nouns (Raine, Ryder).
- Names that closely resemble a person existing in real life (Angelina Jolly).
- Names and nicknames that are unnecessarily dramatic/silly (Shadow, Crimson Runner).
HOW TO FIX IT:
- Change the name.
- Change the name.
- Change the name.
Where he/she lives:
Go back to that general idea of your character. Does she have a lot of money? Does he live day-to-day? Common answers here are apartments or rooms in inns, maybe even a small house if your character is well-off. More than anything else, it should make sense with your character’s status, occupation and history. If your character has an honest job, he may live over or behind his shop. It’s also a good idea to include what part of the city your character lives in — Upper Corus, Lower Corus, etc.
Age, Date of Birth:
Definitely self-explanatory. The year doesn’t matter; all that matters is the age and date. We do have a lot of teenagers so mentors might be leery if your character is a teenager, but if you don’t think you’re ready to play someone thirty years older than you are, we understand that as well. Just choose an age you feel comfortable with — one that makes sense with the rest of your profile — and a date that they were born. Neither have to be complicated.
RED FLAGS:
- Your character was born on Midwinter.
- Your character was born on the 29th of February, January 1st, or another significant date.
HOW TO FIX IT:
- Midwinter is a week-long celebration; change the date.
- Your character is already unique. A special birthday is unnecessary.
Place of Birth:
Again, return to your idea of your character. They can come from anywhere you want — as long as you have a solid reason for why they’ve ended up in Corus, which should be included in your History section and which will be checked by the mentors. The majority of characters in play are from Corus, and from Tortall beyond that, but that doesn’t mean you can’t successfully develop a foreign char. Return once more to the list of countries and their tutorials for help with development.
Make sure that the place of birth meshes with the other parts of the profile. If he’s from Scanra, he’ll probably have blonde hair and pale skin. From Carthak, dark skin and hair. If you’d like a character to be only half-Scanran or half-Carthak, that will be checked out by mentors in your family section to make sure you have a solid explanation. The key here is still to make sense. Don’t push it too far into the realm of the impossible. A traveling merchant and his wife giving birth to a Tortallan baby in Scanra makes sense. A traveling merchant running away with a Carthaki princess and having a baby in Scanra does not.
RED FLAGS:
- Your character was born in a country that doesn’t exist, or a country that is misspelled.
- Your character was born in the woods and raised by wolves.
- Your character doesn’t remember where he/she was born.
HOW TO FIX IT:
- Check the list of countries again and choose another country that makes sense.
- This is illogical and unlikely. Rethink your character.
- Tell us where he/she was born anyway. We know you know where he/she was born. (The amnesiac character itself is one that will be addressed in the history section. It’s generally a bad idea for your first character. Or any character.)
Occupation:
If your character is a regular commoner, there is a list of medieval jobs that you can scan through to choose a job from. Keep in mind that the jobs you automatically think of when you think of the middle ages — barmaids, seamstresses, various types of smiths — are all over the game. Choose something we don’t see often, something you didn’t even know was a job! Again, as with every section, make sure that the occupation you choose makes sense with the status and history of your character.
If your character is aiming to join the Rogue, there is a list of rogue jobs beneath the list of legal jobs that you can look through as well. Thieves are going to be more common than assassins. Most Rogues either have another job to throw people off the track of their illegal activities, or say they have a fake job. If it’s either of these, you should include that in this section as well.
RED FLAGS:
- Your character is the best at his job out of everyone else who does that job.
- Your character is a super stealthy thief/assassin/forger.
HOW TO FIX IT:
- Your character can be good at his job without being the best. Knock him down a few pegs so he still has something to work for.
- Everyone wants to be fantastic at illegal things, but think about what might happen if your char is bad or mediocre Rogue. He could have almost gotten caught stealing a few times, or botch one out of every four people he tries to assassinate. Flaws and problems add depth, and make characters more interesting for you to play and for us to play with.
Status (noble, rich commoner, average commoner, peasant, etc):
Again, fairly self-explanatory. Think of the sort of income your character would have based on her job, and take into account the circumstances of her birth. You don’t have to go into incredible depth here, but make sure it’s explained.
Magic:
Your character either has it or he doesn’t. There are three types of magic to choose from: the Gift, the Sight, and wild magic. The Gift is the all-purpose magic that a significant amount of people have — in small amounts. There is a tutorial for writing Gifted mages that can help you decide if you want your character to have magic. The Sight is more complicated, and we don’t have a tutorial up yet, so feel free to ask a mentor if you need to know a bit more about it. Wild magic is currently restricted, though you can make your character cat- or dog- or horse-hearted, like Onua in the Immortals quartet. This is rare, because these people aren’t just everywhere. If you want a character who is animal-hearted, they cannot speak to those animals or anything big like that; they just feel a simple affinity for that animal, and being around one may be calming or enjoyable.
RED FLAGS:
- Your character has incredibly powerful magic.
- Your character has an abundance of wild magic.
- Your character is animal-hearted.
HOW TO FIX IT:
- Reduce the amount, or have a very, very good explanation ready for mentors.
- He cannot. Look over your magic section and try to find another way that will work.
- Make sure you prove that you’re willing to work hard to play this correctly. If mentors feel it’s too much on top of learning how to roleplay and deal with a new character, they may ask that you remove it. If you don’t want to risk it, go back and read the tutorlal on Gifted mages and see if that wouldn’t be just as good.
Family:
Appearance:
Clothing:
Personality:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
History:
What is your character most ashamed of?
Why is your character coming to the Inn?