It's a personal taste, but I usually work off a very loose concept with 'a hook' more or less. It might be something as simple as a word or a phrase that just clicks, and I suddenly know I want to write a character built on that. I think of a few defining traits that go with the theme, and then build out from there. It's better to start with a light, flexible framework and then add the details in as you go, like a drawing!
Example, a brown haired, blue eyed human could fit in literally any setting ever. You can't go wrong there. Now we plug him into this setting and say 'Well, I like the way Paladin looks as far as gameplay goes, I think I'll make that!'. So we slap some armor on him and give him a sword. Maybe you want to attach a certain significance to his armor or weapons. They could be old relics, handmedowns from a long line of a proud gladiator tradition passed from father to son. Maybe they're shiny and new, top of the line, showing that he's a person of wealth and stature. Dented and dull armor means a seasoned fighter, pretty and polished means you've likely never set foot on a battlefield before.
Thinking about something as simple as that opens up all sorts of interesting ideas. I usually play mix 'n match with different concepts and thoughts until I come up with one I like. He's a tattered war veteran that escaped the Battle of Carteneau by the skin of his teeth. He hasn't seen fit to wear the armor since then, it's fallen into a state of rust and disrepair. His ability to heft a sword has waned in the years eking out a meager existence as a farmhand. He was getting over it all, putting it behind him. Then everything changed when The Fire Nation the Amalj'aa and the Lord of the Inferno attacked...
That's a vague 'sketch' of the character I have in my head. I think about places in game, people I've seen, and events that come to pass, and I fill them in bit by bit the ones I want to matter most. I cut out what I don't need or want, change things around to fit. I know that Paladins are the royal guards of Ul'dah, so I can choose to work that into his backstory. I decide he's going to be blonde instead of brunette or he's going to be an Elezen instead. Maybe I don't want the responsibility of tanking, so I decide to go with a Lancer to start with (You can always change classes later without rerolling! so if you decide you don't like something, you can drop it and never deal with it again!) I think about the big picture and what I want to be staring at for the long haul.
And I go from there, taking the very broad outline and adding in the finer parts. Where is he from, where has he been, what has he done. What he believes, what he's capable of, how he feels about...well, everything. I try to keep a central theme in mind, holding onto those few prominent character traits and building off them. Tie it all together in a good, cohesive character that has a personality as vibrant and real as anyone else's.
Little details, not huge garish ones, are what sets a character apart.
I can go on and on about my own extremely disorganized process, but ultimately you need to find out what works for you. Inspire yourself and look for ideas in places you wouldn't expect them. You'll be surprised what might occur to you!Â
Nothing is ever perfect, and you'll find yourself constantly refining things as you go. And you might come up with something, play for a while and then inspiration hits you. And that's okay too! I was playing for a couple of weeks with my somewhat broody Scholar when I realized I was not happy with several things about him and also I was totally jealous of the summoner's pets, which were way cooler than mine. I had a hard time nailing it down, but it didn't feel right. So I threw the whole thing out and started over from the ground up, this time keeping in mind what I'd already learned from my first run. Refined, reedited, and I had a character that was a bit more lax, a bit less naive, and overall much more fun for me to play, in character and out of character.
Just have fun. Experiment. Challenge yourself. Get invested. There's a whole big world out there, and your creation is going to go play a part in it.
Example, a brown haired, blue eyed human could fit in literally any setting ever. You can't go wrong there. Now we plug him into this setting and say 'Well, I like the way Paladin looks as far as gameplay goes, I think I'll make that!'. So we slap some armor on him and give him a sword. Maybe you want to attach a certain significance to his armor or weapons. They could be old relics, handmedowns from a long line of a proud gladiator tradition passed from father to son. Maybe they're shiny and new, top of the line, showing that he's a person of wealth and stature. Dented and dull armor means a seasoned fighter, pretty and polished means you've likely never set foot on a battlefield before.
Thinking about something as simple as that opens up all sorts of interesting ideas. I usually play mix 'n match with different concepts and thoughts until I come up with one I like. He's a tattered war veteran that escaped the Battle of Carteneau by the skin of his teeth. He hasn't seen fit to wear the armor since then, it's fallen into a state of rust and disrepair. His ability to heft a sword has waned in the years eking out a meager existence as a farmhand. He was getting over it all, putting it behind him. Then everything changed when The Fire Nation the Amalj'aa and the Lord of the Inferno attacked...
That's a vague 'sketch' of the character I have in my head. I think about places in game, people I've seen, and events that come to pass, and I fill them in bit by bit the ones I want to matter most. I cut out what I don't need or want, change things around to fit. I know that Paladins are the royal guards of Ul'dah, so I can choose to work that into his backstory. I decide he's going to be blonde instead of brunette or he's going to be an Elezen instead. Maybe I don't want the responsibility of tanking, so I decide to go with a Lancer to start with (You can always change classes later without rerolling! so if you decide you don't like something, you can drop it and never deal with it again!) I think about the big picture and what I want to be staring at for the long haul.
And I go from there, taking the very broad outline and adding in the finer parts. Where is he from, where has he been, what has he done. What he believes, what he's capable of, how he feels about...well, everything. I try to keep a central theme in mind, holding onto those few prominent character traits and building off them. Tie it all together in a good, cohesive character that has a personality as vibrant and real as anyone else's.
Little details, not huge garish ones, are what sets a character apart.
I can go on and on about my own extremely disorganized process, but ultimately you need to find out what works for you. Inspire yourself and look for ideas in places you wouldn't expect them. You'll be surprised what might occur to you!Â
Nothing is ever perfect, and you'll find yourself constantly refining things as you go. And you might come up with something, play for a while and then inspiration hits you. And that's okay too! I was playing for a couple of weeks with my somewhat broody Scholar when I realized I was not happy with several things about him and also I was totally jealous of the summoner's pets, which were way cooler than mine. I had a hard time nailing it down, but it didn't feel right. So I threw the whole thing out and started over from the ground up, this time keeping in mind what I'd already learned from my first run. Refined, reedited, and I had a character that was a bit more lax, a bit less naive, and overall much more fun for me to play, in character and out of character.
Just have fun. Experiment. Challenge yourself. Get invested. There's a whole big world out there, and your creation is going to go play a part in it.