Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Melpomene 10-20-04, 11:19 PM	I made this for my potential PCs. Enjoy. Ten Tips to Having a More Diverse and Interesting Character 1.) Hair and Makeup a. An important element to having a rich and developed persona is the physical aspect of the character. There are a few (actually 100) aspects of personality in the DMG (page 128) covering elements such as thin, fat, short, tall, lisping, bald, stooping, etc., in addition to a number of other personality linked attributes. Deciding what the character looks like is an important stepping stone in becoming well-rounded. b. A sword is a sword, right? Well, not really. The look of your equipment is important, as well. Is your armour square or flowing? What is the tone of the metal? Is your sword purely strait or does it have notches? Curves? Barbs? A furrow down the middle to draw blood? Does any of your equipment have runes on it? A suit of armour made by an elf will look distinctly different from one made by a dwarf, or an orc. c. How do your vices and lifestyle reflect on you? Do you have piercings, tattoos, visible scars, missing body parts (or even just a chunk taken from your ear), a red nose from too much drinking, a beer gut, a gold tooth, a glass eye, a hook-hand, eye patch, self-carved runes or symbols, brands, studs, pock marks, yellow teeth, or any of a number of other maladies? d. How your character faces the world is important, too. Do you wear your hair up or down? Is it braided? Do birds live in it? Do you keep is short to keep foes from grabbing it? Do you keep it long to taunt them? Do you tuck it back to keep blood out of it? Do you wear a wig? Do you have facial hair? 2.) Your Stuff and You a. As mentioned before, equipment reflects on you. To this point, there is a personality difference between what people choose to buy and choose to leave behind. b. Your weapons and armour are the most important things you are likely to carry with you. Armour is locked in place by a number of concerns such as max dex score, class abilities, cost of special materials, and will most likely be decided on practical levels rather than aesthetic ones. Your weapon, on the other hand, is a very personal matter. Even if you plan on breaking every weapon you own (as a master thrower would) your choice of weapon reflects who you are. For example, the difference between a rapier and a scimitar is mostly a matter of preference. A rapier wielder is more likely to be a dashing swashbuckler, while a scimitar swinger will certainly have a touch of Arabian flair. c. You are also a reflection of the mundane equipment you carry. If you buy perfume, signet rings, scroll cases, vestments, or mundane jewelry, you will certainly alter what your character feels like. An orc barbarian wielding an ax may not feel like it has too much personality, but if it wears perfume to keep away bad swamp spirits, it suddenly begins to feel much more developed. d. Any magic object you carry aught to make itself felt. Even a hand-me-down cloak of resistance should have a little personality. “It is woven from sheep wool, inlaid in green and brown, and just a little warmer than it should be when the wind blows.” Giving a little sentence like that to you magic items will make them feel more a part of you. A major item, such as a staff or magic weapon, deserves even more respect. e. Your clothes will also reflect directly on you. If all your character wears is full plate, this is a moot point. However, since this is seldom the case, decide what garments make up that character’s ensemble. Is it flowing or restrictive, does it follow a theme, what’s it made of, etc? f. There are alternatives to the listed magical items in the DMG. Just because it’s called “Bracers of Armour” doesn’t mean it has to be a bracer. A “tattoo” of armour is just as good. A scroll of fireball would be just as nice as an incense of fireball. They serve the same function, and make as much logical sense. With the DM’s approval, of course. 3.) “So, who are you?” “Yeah, what’s your angle?” a. Your character is somewhere in their early adulthood, leaning toward late childhood as they begin their careers. That leaves a rather impressive chunk of time to be filled in. Remember, the standard, “Was born, grew up, became an adventurer” is not sufficient to be considered well-rounded. Really consider why you took to the path of the adventurer. b. You had a family. Were your parents nice? Did they approve of your career path? Are they still alive? Do you visit them? Do you have brothers or sisters? What are they like? Are they adventurers? Did you have aunts, uncles, grandparents, nieces and nephews, cousins, etc.? If you’re a half breed or a plaintouched, this is an especially pointed question. c. Where did you grow up? Did you live in a nice community? Where do you feel “at home?” Do you still go back? Is there a terrain type that suits you? d. Where are you going? What are your ambitions? What do you hope to accomplish in life, both personally and professionally? 4.) Aligning the Heavens a. You should have an alignment somewhere on your character sheet. This is an important part of who you are, because it reflects, to some degree, how you view the world. The keywords to remember (page 89 PHB) are Crusader, Benefactor, Rebel, Judge, Undecided (or Balanced), Free Spirit, Dominator, Malefactor, and Destroyer. If you feel that the word sums you up, go with the corresponding alignment. Remember, good over evil is usually a choice; law over chaos is usually a disposition. b. Most humanoids are either Neutral Good or Lawful Neutral. If you can’t make up your mind, these make very good launching pads to start with, to change and modify as you move into things. c. Don’t be afraid to be evil. Unless you have a paladin in your party, evil a perfectly valid form of alignment. (Or even if you do have a paladin, with DM and player’s permission, you may sneak him in there anyway, just to make things interesting.) Being evil is harder to keep up than most people realize, but it can make for a refreshing change of pace. d. Your equipment should reflect your alignment. Paladins would look silly wearing pitch-black full plate. A blackguard would look silly in mirror-sheered mithril. A chaotic character should also look suitably haberdashed and flim-flam to represent their nature. If you look the part, you tend to feel the part more. It is easier to envinsion yourself as a mighty warrior, a champion of good, or a powerful mage if you happen to look like one. 5.) Who’s Your Deity? a. In a world where the gods and other outer forces have a vested interest in the happenings of the mortal plane, deity choice is quite important, even if you aren’t a member of the clergy. There is only one class which should be without a deity, and that’s the druid. Druidic law offers up to a more primeval force in some cases. Otherwise, everyone has someone to pray to. b. You don’t need to be a full-blown devotee to your god (Well, unless you’re a cleric or paladin), but you should know at least the lay information on your god. If you worship Corellon, for example, you should know that he put out Gruumsh’s eye. Furthermore, you should also know what day that was, because there should be a feast to celebrate it. You should also know your god’s portfolio, and maybe one prayer to offer when situation demands. c. Try to incorporate a few stray things into your speech, especially if you have a high knowledge: religion score, which reflect your displaced nature. Changing “What the Hell?” to “What in the Nine Hells?” or changing “God help us” to “Pelor help us” makes you feel more organic. d. If your god has a symbol that you want people (or outsiders) to recognize, you don’t have to be a cleric to wear it. A good number of Cloaks of Protection will have Pelor’s or Garl’s insignia on it. A headband of intellect may bear Boccob’s symbol. 6.) Racial Profiling a. Your character is a product of their race. Even if they have forsaken their heritage, it has still touched them in some way. Monstrous races especially need to think about how they feel about their kinsmen and how they fit into society at large. b. Does your character have any races they just don’t like? Does your character feel more at home with a certain race then another? Does your character tolerate any other races? How do they feel about monsters? Animals? Undead? Everything Else? c. What kind of society brought this character up? Was it repressive or open-minded? Do they value freedom or order? Do they have progressive or backwater views on politics, gender, or vocation? Are they chased Victorians or reveling partiers? 7.) What’s in a Name? a. This is just a short and simple tip: Pick a good name! This is harder than it sounds. The PHB provides some good starting names, but you should certainly expand. Try looking in obscure literary and folklore texts to find some good names. Also, if you’re still stumped, you can look at random names from books or movie credits. Bob the Fighter is acceptable for a single game session, but Sir Robert Du Nebbel is a bit more imposing 8.) Speaking of Language…. a. A good chunk of characters will know multiple languages. Wizards and Bards are especially subject to this. There are a few way to use that language as a means of expanding a character. b. The first things most people learn in another language are some choice curses. People will know you speak aquan if you spout out aquan curses when things go wrong. Also, in times of stress, you might just erupt in a spout of babbling, especially if common isn’t your fist language. c. Also, there’s Spanglish. You may mix parts of you language with another. For example, “Ooh… nobbed him right in the lethrim…” If you keep this up for long enough, people will certainly know what your multiculturalism. d. You should also say what you mean if you know the language. A sonnet in common is nice, but it becomes more interesting if it’s in elvish, Ingan, or Celestial. Or Giant. Or Infernal. e. Lastly, you don’t have to know anything about the language. No one really speaks Halfling, so it doesn’t matter. If you want to say that Halflings speak Spanish, elves speak Cantonese, and Celestial is Latin, that’s perfectly fine, as long as every other character who speaks it knows what’s going on. 9.) Falling in Love is Easy a. To flesh out a character and make them seem more alive, a romantic interest can add depth and feeling. Note that if you’re too belligerent in explaining your romance, you can easily annoy your compatriots. However, saying that “My character now has a wife” is a little blunt (even if it is a step in the right direction). b. You can also make overtures to have romance with female (or male, as circumstances demand) party members. This is a common ploy, and you shouldn’t feel embarrassed doing so. They may accept or rebuke you as often as you both like. Treated well, this can make a campaign much more interesting. 10.) Being Good in a Team a. Just a final reminder that, whatever you do, make sure the other players agree and accept it. If you want to play an evil, rude, bigot you’re welcome to…. Until people start to complain.
dorkknight23 10-21-04, 02:52 AM	Bravo! I really like this list.
Melpomene 10-27-04, 06:09 PM	Bravo! I really like this list. Aw... thank you... :blush:
Doomhawk 10-27-04, 06:40 PM	Awesome list, I'm definitely saving this one for the next time I make a character (which is right now, actually. It's for a Star Wars campaign, but most of the advice still applies). In regard to choosing an interesting name, I've found that when I can't think of anything, I'll look at the "Common Names" section and then try to come up with something that sounds like it fits in. That way I still feel like my character is my own (since I made up the name instead of stealing it from the book), but I won't get funny looks from the other players ("Jaz'grel is an odd name for an elf...").
Callista 10-30-04, 01:46 AM	Kewlness! I especially like the ideas about equipment appearance. However, I'm not so sure about the "look your alignment" angle, except possibly for Chaos/Law. You risk becoming a cliche if your Blackguards are always in dead-black armor and your Paladins always wear shiny silver full-plate. Besides, do Evil characters always want to be known as Evil? Probably not. And do Good characters spend an hour a day polishing armor? Again, probably not. Maybe your Blackguard wears the shining silver armor--he's a deceptive fellow, and he'd rather like people to think him Good than Evil; he can do so much more for Evil that way! And maybe your Paladin's armor is battered and tarnished; he's been fighting evil for a while now, and he really doesn't have the time to do more than keep his armor functional. There are, after all, more important things to the cause of Good than looking nice. Wearing things that are nontypical for your class, race, or alignment can be a good character quirk... like the half-orc who is careful to always keep his clothes neat, and prefers wearing feathered hats... But other than that? Yep. Cool list.
nihility 10-30-04, 02:12 AM	Wearing things that are nontypical for your class, race, or alignment can be a good character quirk... like the half-orc who is careful to always keep his clothes neat, and prefers wearing feathered hats... Over on the CO boards, whenever a discussion of tactics comes up, one thing that is always mentioned is to never look like a standard member of your class. The usual advice is to use hats of disguise to make the wizard look like a fullplate-wearing tank while the actual tank is made to look like a frail old wizard. In any case, wearing long grey robes and a pointy hat into battle as a wizard is probably a good way to attract missile fire. That said, robes of office and such are a different story. For formal occasions, it's quite reasonable to stick to the social conventions.
Callista 10-30-04, 03:09 AM	Heh. :) Well, I'm not saying you can't use illusions or whatnot to make your wizard look like a full-plate-wearing fighter; but that's not the point. I'm talking about avoiding cliches and emphasizing character traits through different clothing. How about having your wizard in simple peasant clothing, which he feels is more comfortable than robes: Maybe his mentor saw his talent and took him on as an apprentice while he was still a poor boy, and he hasn't changed his style, since he simply doesn't see the sense of it. That sort of thing. And I really don't think a paladin would wear shining armor, except in formal affairs... not if he's actively fighting evil. You get mud and blood and stuff on your armor that way, and there's really not much you can do to prevent it. Though, you could always have a vain paladin who spends an hour each night polishing armor; that would be just as good, really. Besides, character optimization and RP aren't mutually exclusive. Though, when given the choice, I'll take RP any day...
nihility 10-30-04, 03:40 AM	That was actually what I was trying to get at, too, though I didn't express it well. I agree, and I would personally say that having all your wizards walk around dressed up like Merlin or Gandalf is both bad tactics and bad for roleplay. Regarding the shiny armor thing, I depends on one's code. For example, in Hagakure, Yamamoto Tsunetomo mentions several times that a samurai's daily grooming and preparations are an essential part of his discipline. The idea relates to destroyng the self and placing yourself in accord with your station and inevitable death, but that's not really the point. The point is that, in some disciplines and cultures, you are supposed to spend an hour or more on grooming yourself in such a way as to exactly conform to the standards for a person of your station. This is not vanity, but rather a part of transforming the individual. It should be said that Tsunetomo was regarded at the time as a loon from the backwaters, but he was pretty influential later on. Anyway, with this in mind, one could view the paladin that rigorously polishes her armor every day, even when on a campaign or otherwise in the field, as acting in such a way as to put her duty and her station above her other desires. Sure, the armor gets messy the next day. Sure, it would be easier to maintain it at a lower level. Why, then, might a paladin polish it anyway? Maybe it's part of her discipline, maybe it's order for the sake of order, or maybe she's vain. It's all about context and intent. I think it's interesting to think about why a character does things. You never know what little detail will wind up speaking volumes about a person. With this in mind, I find this statement quite reasonable: How about having your wizard in simple peasant clothing, which he feels is more comfortable than robes: Maybe his mentor saw his talent and took him on as an apprentice while he was still a poor boy, and he hasn't changed his style, since he simply doesn't see the sense of it. That sort of thing. So, yeah, I agree.
nihility 10-30-04, 03:44 AM	Besides, character optimization and RP aren't mutually exclusive. Though, when given the choice, I'll take RP any day... I'm better at math than I am at writing, so I tend to go for the number crunching if I have to choose. I completely agree with the sentiment, though, and I think good RP and good optimization should support each other.
His Majesty 10-30-04, 04:58 AM	In regard to choosing an interesting name, I've found that when I can't think of anything, I'll look at the "Common Names" section and then try to come up with something that sounds like it fits in. That way I still feel like my character is my own (since I made up the name instead of stealing it from the book), but I won't get funny looks from the other players ("Jaz'grel is an odd name for an elf..."). You might find this thread useful: How-To: Name Stuff. And I like the tips too.
Strife 10-30-04, 06:44 AM	What follows here is two links to to rather extensive writups on character creation http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=105563 http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=176982 edit: Added the second link for convinience
Melpomene 10-31-04, 12:36 AM	Well, to be fair, aughtened this entire board be on making charicters? In relation to 'looking like a wizard' and 'bright armour,' I mean that it is easier to envinsion yourself as a mighty warrior, a champion of good, or a powerful mage if you happen to look like one. The clothes will make the man. This is, admittidly, more for first-time or low-order players, but a paladin in midnight black plate may be tempted to start hurting people just because he looks threatening. IMHO, of course, and as always.
Trydan 11-01-04, 12:02 PM	Nice post, Melpomene. The only suggestion that I would make would be that of formatting. Could you perhaps make the section-headings boldface or something. E.g. 1.) [/i]]Hair and Makeup a. An important element to having ... to get 1.) Hair and Makeup a. An important element to having ... or similar. Also, a blank line between the sections I think would also help.
Melpomene 11-01-04, 06:47 PM	Sorry, it was a cut and paste job. That aught to be better.
nihility 11-01-04, 07:09 PM	Good heavens, that is so much better. I can actually read the whole thing now. Thank you! This is a good resource.
nihility 11-01-04, 07:13 PM	Since I think this is a useful resource, I'd like to help make sure it reads well. If all your character wears is full plate, this is a mute point. You want "moot" here, not "mute."
Melpomene 11-01-04, 07:38 PM	Aw... thank you... :blush: :eek: I usually try to be on the right end of the bell curve with grammer and the like. So, further revised.
Kyy'Dakh 11-02-04, 05:23 PM	Nice thread. I often wind up focusing on crunch, so you've given me a bit to think about for descriptions of my equipment and such. Thankfully, most of my chars have good enough background for me to fill in small but significant details like that.
Trydan 11-05-04, 05:44 AM	Thanks for fixing up the formatting. It is much easier to read now. I've added a link to this thread from the Character Development Board FAQ (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=88555).
Melpomene 11-15-04, 04:21 PM	Aw... that was really sweet... thank you. :blush:
'orrible 'obbit 11-12-05, 10:56 AM	An extensive and well thought out list. I tend to find quirks easiest (for me anyway) is my character a drunk? A womaniser (or someone who imagines he's a womaniser!), if religious is he/she a zealot or doubtful? Weaknesses can flesh out a character just as much as posh plate and chain. My old DM used to say "everyone has their own story" and that pretty much sums it up for me.
SilverFoxKnows 11-12-05, 12:13 PM	That should be required reading, or at the very least, a sticky.
nihility 12-01-05, 08:22 AM	:bump:
cloud__1 12-02-05, 04:07 AM	a. An important element to having a rich and developed persona is the physical aspect of the character. There are a few (actually 100) aspects of personality in the DMG (page 128) covering elements such as thin, fat, short, tall, lisping, bald, stooping, etc., in addition to a number of other personality linked attributes. Deciding what the character looks like is an important stepping stone in becoming well-rounded. Umm, just to be a smart arse, there is only 99. Check number 100 and 26 (i think) and you will see what i mean.
Jodjod 05-01-06, 06:58 PM	The only thing I can see the irks me is that the section on alignment. Most humanoids are passively neutral, not Lawful Neutral or Neutral Good. Otherwise, good job.
Khelvaster 05-09-06, 11:26 AM	The only thing I can see the irks me is that the section on alignment. Most humanoids are passively neutral, not Lawful Neutral or Neutral Good. Otherwise, good job. You are also wrong. The reality is that there is an equal number of humans at every single alignment. Remember, just because 1/3 people are some shade of evil doesn't mean they are stupid enough to act on it.
Need_A_Life 05-10-06, 04:16 PM	You are also wrong. The reality is that there is an equal number of humans at every single alignment. Remember, just because 1/3 people are some shade of evil doesn't mean they are stupid enough to act on it. Don't you mean that most people are Neutral with a tendency towards one of the nine alignments? Of course it depends on the setting, but alignments are based on acts rather than empty words ("I kill the infant for the greater good"). The tools a person use to accomplish their goals are the thing that defines alignment, not the goals themselves (World domination is not evil-only, I'll have you know).
kiesloth 05-12-06, 10:16 AM	congratulations! a very nice article that was. if you had the time to do so, write your ideas about basic classes, defined as warriors/mages/stealth looks. I would also be interested in name ideas from you.
Dei 05-13-06, 09:55 AM	I agree with the others, very good list, I was just wondering though if anyone had a character faq? Like a list of questions that you answer in relation to them that defines who/what they are and how they act and will basically allow them to easily make the decisions your list engenders. I remember that a long time ago there was one that did the rounds but I haven't been able to find a link to it? Anyone have something that could fit the bill?