Alice Weston

In a few people's collective efforts to make the Fanon wiki more organized, consistant, and efficient, I've taken the liberty of making a character sheet temple I believe will be good for all characters, even non-combat ones. So here we go.

Profile
Name: Up to you, but remember that making a swordsman named Sephiroth or a ninja named Sasuke is going to get you a lot less RPing than being original.

Age: Pretty wide open category. Just remember the weaknesses and strengths ages have. Younger will make you weaker and less experienced, but very quick and flexible. Elderly characters will have great wisdom and experience, but perhaps not the best physical condition.

Gender: Self explanitory.

Race: For now, because we have little to work with, human. Perhaps later, this will be replaced by the location they're from as we learn more about the canon universe.

Height: The height of the character.

Weight: The weight of the character. Assumed to be in pounds, but if not, make sure you're clear. And make sure the height/weight/age line up decently. A 14 year old who's six feet tall and weighs 140 pounds is pretty wonky to say the least.

Hair: Hair colour, from what we've seen almost anything is game here.

Eyes: Again, up to you.

Appearance
This section holds much importance, as it is what people will visualize when they see your character. Make sure to cover anything you picture in your mind. Explain the bodily appearance. Are they slim or muscular? Chubby or svelte? Tall or short? Do they have any scars?

Then is the clothing. This can be tricky, so what I often do is cover the main parts. (Chest and lower body) Then move to required extras, such as shoes and needed articles like glasses or gloves. Next and finally, any accessories. Bows in the hair, special jewelery, headwear, etc. It all fits here. be sure to mention the weapon's location and storage here, or in the weapon category.

All in all, there's plenty to cover. You should be able to cover at least two fleshed out paragraphs with decent detail. And remember, this is someone's first look at your writing. Entice them to RP with you. grmmar adn spalling liek thsi does nothing to draw people in.

Personality
Though one of the easiest to think through, personality is one of the hardest sections to get right. The main focus here is to truly establish the character you have in mind. Often the first thing one would go over would be the character's natural mindset. How do the normally act? Talk? View the people and world around them? Here is where you will state these things. And remember, this is just a basis. If you end up RPing the character slightly differently, you can always come back and edit the profile.

Additionally, you should be sure to cover any "special scenario" personalities, for example, alternate personalities, perfected acts and disguises, bloodlusted states, etc. Be sure to delve deep into the character and ask as many questions as possible. Why does the character like what they like? Why do they hate things? Why would they be fond of that type of personality? Hopefully in asking these questions you avoid the next topic.

Contradictions. These can truly kill a character in some people's eyes. A character that is meek and non-social, but loves talking with other people? A person who loves killing but hates violence for no real reason? Contradictions make people weary on how you'll play the character in the end, and weariness is never a good thing. Last thing I'll say on personality is that total cliche or perfect characters should be kept to a minimum. Nothing and nobody is perfect, and this creates the situation where people believe you will RP the character as a flawless beacon of awesomesauce. Cliche characters should also be avoided or very well explained. No idea how many times I've seen the lone wolf teenage boy who is lonely because he doesn't trust people. Ughhhh. Just don't do it without a damn good reason, people.

That said, Personality should be similar to appearance in length; two well fleshed out paragraphs.

Weapons and Abilities
This section is often only associated with combat, which is a mistake many people, myself included, often fall into. With the weapon, it will likely be exclusively combat, unless it has out of combat functions, but abilities are great for expanding on what a character can do. This can be everything from stealth, to a specific attack, to cooking skill. Even knowledge based abilities such as a great education on the legal system can belong here. Look at some of fiction's best characters such as Hannibal Lecter and Bruce Wayne. Undoubtedly their abilities would include understanding the minds of others and detective work.

As some would be pressed to say, stats are best included here. I've often seen some people even use specific stat feats mentioned here, such as specific speeds reached, masses lifted or thrown, hits taken, though this can often fit into the backstory as well. Make sure it's justified in the character's backstory where these abilities came from. The abilities can be variable in length, depending on the character, so I won't set a recommended length. But remember, every character has SOME ability.

For the weapon, this is RWBY, so I honestly have no clue what to say here. We have sniper scythes, magical rapiers, ribbon latched pistol blades, and shotgun gauntlets. Imagination can have it's sweet way with this section. If you want a shotgun lance, rocket launcher hammer (oh wait, we already have something close to that in canon) or a rocket propelled chainsaw launcher, have at.

Backstory
Here it is. The big part. The hard part. I've heard it said by someone on here that they could make two characters a day if it wasn't for this part here and they're absolutely right. The backstory is the most thought provoking part of character creation, and the hardest to instruct people on. In most scenarios, I would say to obey canon and not add major cities where none existed, but currently we have no setting or history info, so the best I can tell you is to give your character a general backstory, creating villages, minor cities, or locations for the events of the character's backstory.

So your first intention should be the justification of everything you've written so far. Explain what happened to make them the person they are, what made them look like how they look, and what gave them the goals they have now. Try your best not to contradict other people's writing or your own, and this part can be the most fun. Display the character's personality, and let them do as they would. This can be a great time to work out joinings with other characters, maybe an NPC in common, an event, or an object. These can make for great RP starters.

Lastly, ensure that your backstory is consistent. Your character's abilities should remain at the same level at an individual stage of the character's life. If he can kill giant monsters with ease, don't have him struggle with one beowolf. Alternately, if he has trouble with three beowolves, don't suddenly have him fight a spider droid and win. Often, I set myself to make the backstory at least four large, well fleshed out paragraphs. Write with confidence, consistency, and absolutely the most important, creativity, and you'll make a great character to contribute to this RPing community.