[hider=Changelog]So, I want this guide to be as good as it can be. I'll add bits and take bits away and it's probably a good idea to record these changes. These dates are in DD/MM/YY format because I'm English and that's how it should be. :P

2/2/14 - Posted the guide
4/2/14 - Added content: general advice, character roles within a cast, abilities and powers within a setting[/hider]

So, I'm guessing that, if you're on this site, you like to RP.
And if you like to RP, I'm guessing you make characters.
And if you make characters, you've probably seen something that looks like this:

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[b]Background:[/b]

Are you sitting comfortably?
Then let's begin.

[b]What is the purpose of a character sheet?[/b]

A character sheet is such a ubiquitous element of play-by-post RPing that we perhaps overlook its functions. In essence, its primary function is to give the GM information, but it gives the GM a lot more information than you might think.

[list][*] Information about your character: this is where the GM will see whether your character fits into the setting, will suit the nature of the RP, and, sometimes, how your character will react to the other players' characters.[/*]

[*] Information about [i]you the player[/i]. You can and will be judged by your character sheet – if not by the GM, by your fellow players. Somebody on this forum once described a character sheet as a 'job interview', which is, I think, a perfect analogy. You will be judged based on the [b]writing ability[/b] you demonstrate and the [b]attitude[/b] you show. If you come across as a poor writer or a belligerent player, some GMs will not give you a second chance and will not accept you into their RP.[/*][/list]

The majority of GMs are quite chilled in general, or are so happy to have people signing up to their RP they'll overlook pet peeves. This is a pragmatic outlook, but not one that fosters the best practise. This article is written with the intention of pleasing the most nitpicky and elitist GM of all time – by thinking about what GMs actually want and expect from you, you can create characters better-suited to their RP, and, by reverse-engineering their annoyances, I think make better characters altogether.

[b]What does a GM want?[/b]

Chances are, the GM really doesn't care about you. They might like playing with you or chatting with you, but, being a GM is tough, and they probably will do anything to get their RP off the ground, at at least the minimum standard they can bear. It's cynical, but it's probably largely true.

That means, they want players with the main following traits:

[list][*] Writing Ability: they want to enjoy your writing and feel that you actually add something in your posts. Each GM varies – I personally value spelling, punctuation and grammar as highly as flare. This can be judged by the wordier sections of your sheet (written descriptions, personality, background).[/*]

[*] Great Attitude: the forum's mantra? Be cool like Fonz. A GM wants somebody that's flexible, friendly, and comes up with their own ideas while totally getting on board with and being committed to the core concept of the RP. They don't want a player that is lazy, careless or unfriendly – this can be judged by your general presentation in the sheet, and communication in the OoC thread.[/*]

[*] Activity and Communication: this can't really be judged by the character sheet, but it's worth mentioning. If you can't post for a while, tell the GM. If you need to leave the RP, tell the GM. If you say you're going to post in an hour or so, do it. Dropping out unexpectedly often kills RPs, and GMs and other players remember you if you murdered their darlings. You can and will get a reputation for this. For the purposes of this article, just make sure your CS is promptly submitted if you say it will be.[/*][/list]

[b]What do I do first?[/b]

So, when faced with a character sheet in the OoC thread, what do you do? Firstly, I recommend copying and pasting the skeleton into a separate programme. A thought-out sheet takes time – by doing it in a separate window, you aren't tempted to click the 'reply' button before you're ready, and, just in case your browser or the Guild crashes, you don't lose your hard work.

Next: think about the information your GM has given you. Make sure you understand the setting; the races (if applicable); what roles (if any) the GM has specified they would like filled; etcetera. Digest this information. There's nothing more frustrating than designing an intricate, deep character for an RP to which they aren't suited. 

Next: see what other players have done. I can't overemphasise this point. Not only will their character give you some inspiration for your own, if somebody has an archetypal 'mentor' character, then, obviously, you should avoid trying to fill that particular niche within the group.

Now you're ready to start designing your character.

[b]I'm so excited! … What do I do?[/b]

I'll be honest; there is no walkthrough that's going to take you through the creative process well. Sometimes characters unfold themselves out of midair and fill the sheet in themselves. Others take more work. If you're stuck for inspiration, talk to the GM. This shows the ability to be self-critical, and they'll feel like you want the best for their RP – it shows great [b]attitude[/b]. Apart from anything else, they might actually come back and say “Well, hey, actually, we need somebody to fill the fighter (or whatever) role on the team!”

Thinking about the role your character plays in the cast is very important here, and you have several ways to think about this. 

[list][*] What does your character's behaviour and personality add to the group dynamic? In what ways will your character be a help, and in what ways a hindrance?[/*]
[*] What practical role will your character play in the 'party'? In a standard D&D Quest, we can think about this in terms of character classes (mage, knight, thief), but this general model is applicable to a lot of modern settings (weapon specialist? Conman? Admin assistant?!)[/*]
[*] Of what thematic role is your character representative to the reader? What conflict do they experience? The key thing about an RP is that it is one story told intimately from many angles. Stories hinge on conflict, and a character's conflict will drive how each player tackles their telling of the story, and adds to the overall theme.[/*][/list]

[b]This is hard![/b]

Creating an original, interesting character [i]is[/i] hard. If you're really stuck for ideas, try looking at a list of [url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArchetypalCharacter]character archetypes[/url]. Think about the niches already filled by other players' sheets, and design your character with complementary or contrasting traits. It's okay to start with a really vague idea and refine it as you go along. The only things I would say as a general rule you shouldn't start with are your characters' powers (in appropriate settings) or what they wear, for reasons I'll come back to later.

If you're finding it a challenge, don't fret. Everybody knows that writing can be hard sometimes, and just because you have writer's block now, it doesn't mean your ideas, when they do come, will be any worse for it.

[b]General Guidance:[/b]

Here is a list of general tips. These are probably the most important elements of putting together a 3D character that you understand, that tend to go completely overlooked.

[list][*] The big Question: a genie bursts out of a lamp and offers your character a wish. What do they wish for? This will tell you what your character wants to achieve. Think about long and short-term goals. In acting and writing, it's always important to work out your character's motivations. This is what will give them a sense of drive rather than passively being the vehicle by which you tell your story.[/*]
[*] The big Why: for every detail you put in your sheet, ask yourself why you have put it there. What does it say about your character? Be honest: did you put that detail in there because you personally think it's cool? Is that magic power in there because it's the kind of power you'd like? What about that expensive car they drive everywhere? Are these details for your benefit, or the reader's?[/*]
[*] The big How: for every detail you put in your sheet, ask yourself where that detail has come from. How did your character come to be where they are, what they are, who they are?[/*]
[*] Day in the Life: understand your character's domesticity, if they have one. What does their daily life look like? Who are their friends? Where do they go? How do they relax? I like to ask myself how they celebrated their last birthday. If you can work these out (in your head; they don't have to go into your sheet), you are more likely to have a realistic, rounded character that doesn't feel like it sprung into existence for the sake of the RP.[/*][/list]

[b]Filling in the sheet:[/b]

The exact contents of the character sheet will vary from RP to RP and from GM to GM. Obviously, relevant details in one RP aren't necessarily relevant in the next. What I'm going to do here is go through each of the common criteria and point out the pitfalls that people can make while doing this. The one rule is make sure that, if the GM has given specific instructions, that you follow them.

[hider="Name"]It's quite hard to get this bit wrong. The only advice I can give is to make a name that actually sounds like a name. Children aren't born badasses, and don't tend to get badass names. In fact, name is probably the least important thing about your whole character sheet. It's nice if it can suit your character in some way (and it should certainly be appropriate to your character's social and ethnic background), but, really, for a Victorian aristocrat character, you really could just type into Google “posh Victorian names” for your character's first name and “common Victorian surnames” for the surname, and see what you get. 

As a general rule, it's extremely cheesy to try to sneak words that describe or reflect your character into the name. While it's clever (I suppose), it will probably come across as tacky or childish in a mature RP. Things like “Lance Flamerage” for a hot-headed warrior or “Vanity Pierceheart” for a gold-digger makes them feel unsubtle and two-dimensional, and in a serious RP, that's to be avoided.

Common culprits in these names include references to elements, emotions, or abstract concepts. While, theoretically, it's not impossible that parents might name their child after these things (see weird celebrity baby's names, or names like “Hope” and “Peace”), the practicality of the name reflects on the [i]parents[/i] and not your character.[/hider]

[hider=Nickname]This may or may not be a heading, but it's worth thinking about. If you feel that your character has a nickname but there isn't a heading for it on the character sheet, either put that nickname in inverted commas or create a new field for it under name:

[indent][b]Name:[/b] John (“Wildman”) Wilde[/indent]

or

[indent][b]Name:[/b] John Wilde
[b]Nickname:[/b] Wildman[/indent]

Nicknames take a bit more thought than names, because the character is slightly more relevant to the name. People with nicknames characteristically have it as an abbreviation of their own name, a codename, or some trait that has been identified in them. That means that the nickname can reflect your character's personality (or a reflection of it) more than the actual name.

It's still unlikely that cheesy, badass nicknames will occur. Perhaps in a medieval or high fantasy war setting, nicknames like 'Shadowslayer' or 'The Dark Feather' might be common, but in most other settings, perhaps not.

It's also worth thinking about how you would react to somebody if they introduced themselves to you with their nickname. If somebody says:

[indent]“Hi, I'm John, but people call me Wildman.”[/indent]

you might ask why. Meanwhile, if he actually says:

[indent]“Hi, I'm John, but people call me Shadowslayer.”[/indent]

chances are you're going to have to excuse yourself and go to the loo because you're laughing so hard. It doesn't seem badass. You won't fool others into thinking your character is awesome through what they're called.[/hider]

[hider=Age]This is not a trick question. Your character's age is how old they are. Think about what your character has done and accomplished. Make sure this is appropriate to their age. There you go.

A seventeen year-old that is the leader of a local criminal gang and has travelled the world and beat cancer and solved poverty is not infeasible, but it's [i]unlikely[/i]. The more interesting characters are often the older ones; they have more experience, and will stand out through their own relatively rarity in the RPing community.[/hider]

[hider=Personality]Some GMs don't put this field in, and like you to demonstrate your character's personality in the IC. Because I like to make sure my players are varied while GMing, I think it's important, but whatever. There's no right answer.

You can be vague here. Your character isn't an algorithm. You don't need to describe every possible input and every possible reaction. It is as simple as working out the good things about your character and the bad things. Often, they will be related. A no-nonsense efficient character might not be the most patient. A friendly, enthusiastic character might be irritating or naïve. Make sure your character has shades to them, otherwise they become 2D caricatures. This is the basis of your character's personality.

Then you can furnish it with details and flavourings. Do they have any quirks, or phobias? Does John 'Wildman' Wilde really love eating bananas? Everybody you know has little quirks, and if you want your fictional entity fuelled only by your ideas, then chances are, your character has little quirks too. These don't necessarily need to go into the character sheet, but they're worth bearing in mind.

Don't forget that in higher levels of RPing, your character should develop over time. Give your character space to grow – maybe have an actual character arc in mind for them while designing this part of them? In almost every other form of fiction, characters are fuelled by conflict and how it resonates against their own flaws and advantages. Perhaps think about the conflict of the RP and relate it to your character.[/hider]

[hider=Appearance]Your character is allowed to be ugly. Your character is allowed to not look perfect.

This cannot be emphasised enough. I've deliberately avoided the term 'Mary Sue' in this article up till now, because it's [url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue]hotly contested[/url] what a Mary Sue actually constitutes. The one thing they seem to agree on is that she's drop-dead gorgeous. While that doesn't mean that your character is a Sue if she's gorgeous, if she has other Sue-ish traits, factoring in her beauty will amplify them and make them more obvious.

In my opinion, this is, after name, the second least important aspect of your character sheet. While it's nice for the other players and reader to have an image of your character in their head while reading your work, this is, as far as they're concerned, a tool with which to identify your character. This is not pornography – they're (probably) not reading your work to derive pleasure from your character's appearance, and, ultimately, don't care.

GMs may ask for a picture, a written description, both, or a give you a choice. Comply with these instructions. Do [b]not[/b] submit a picture instead of a requested written description (or vice versa).

[b]Where a picture is specified:[/b] post a picture appropriate to the setting that accurately depicts your character. Avoid stylised images where the style is not an element within the RP. For example, if [i]the RP is not styled after anime, do not post an anime picture[/i]. In particular I resent anime pictures for non-stylised RPs because anime characters do not look like people. The artwork tends to detail superficial elements like clothes and backgrounds, with the actual appearance of the character being generally overlooked.

There is nothing wrong, if you can't find an image to suit your character properly, with editing the image (if you can), supplying a short written description to clarify or outline discrepancies, or simply asking the GM for their input.

[b]Where a description is specified:[/b] outline the basics. Hair colour, general style, eye colour, notable facial features, build, height (if notable) are almost all of the basic details that people will need to profile your character in their head. Other details are great, but you don't need to go overboard. There is a careful balance that needs to be struck between a boring factfile and going into [url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PurpleProse]purple prose[/url]. Striking that balance is one of the most fundamental tenants of [b]good writing ability[/b].

[b]Things nobody cares about:[/b] your character's clothes are not important. Both in the IC and in your character sheet, you should avoid a 'wardrobe montage' – wherein you detail every aspects of your character's outfit. The problem with this montage within the context of the character sheet isn't obvious. It's supplying relevant* detail, isn't it? Maybe. However, extensive, intense detail into your character's outfit indicates that you heavily value their appearance. These montages can make the player come across as somebody using RPing as an excuse to fulfil superficial material wishes in a fictional land. Some GMs (but not all) might assume that you regard their world as a novelty in which to look fabulous and/or worry that your priority is your own character's appearance rather than anything slightly deeper.

[list][*]Note that specific details in the character sheet about a costume only makes sense if the character wears the same thing every day for some reason (be it a uniform or a coping mechanism or whatever).[/*][/list][/hider]

[hider=Equipment and Selection of Powers]Some RPs may call for some list of some kind. Perhaps your character is a soldier with a variety of weapons or a mage with nine different spells, or whatever. This is usually quite a content-heavy section, so clarity is of the utmost importance. Using the forum's bullet point coding is a great way of separating information to be easily readable. This is where a proofread is valuable – once you've typed up your information, look at it. Is it clear? Is it easily read?

Compare:

[list][*] [b]Pistol:[/b] This pistol was given to Wildman on his fifth birthday. He likes it and thinks it's nice.[/*]
[*] [b]Kitchen Knife:[/b] Wildman takes this knife with his everywhere in case he has to cut some steak and is caught short.[/*][/list]

with

He has a pistol that was given to him on his fifth birthday. He likes it and thinks it's nice.

He has a kitchen knife that he takes everywhere with him in case he has to cut some steak and is cut short.

The first is undoubtedly more clear and a GM can really appreciate a nicely laid-out section. 

Note that this section gives details about your character's abilities. In an RP, it's inevitable that some characters will be more powerful than others, but nobody wants to play with an over-powered character. I've mentioned this before that it's often the flaws and weaknesses in a character that make them interesting, rather than how easily they can obliterate their opposition. 

The other primary faux pas is to take on equipment or abilities that are inappropriate to the setting. A handgun, for example, is an appropriate piece of kit for an FBI agent in contemporary America. A katana is not, unless your character's backstory justifies the cultural clash, such as having Japanese heritage or having spent a lot of time in Japan. Just because it's justifiable, by the way, doesn't mean you should do it. Crowbarring in elements because you personally like them and think they're cool can be extremely amateurish and generally undermines a well thought-through clash. The equipment and abilities your character has should be a natural consequence of their background and history, and not the features around which their background and history should be written. Some equipment and abilities can't be justified though; las-cannons in non sci-fi settings, any magic in realistic settings, etcetera. This should go without say.[/hider]

[hider=Background & History]I don't want an overwhelming overtone from this guide to be 'boring is okay', but this is true. Not every GM includes this field, but those that do include it don't expect you to fill it out with tremendous adventures or horrendous traumatic events and suchlike. The purpose of this field is often to check your writing ability and that your character has been thought-through and that you understand them and how they fit into the world of the RPG. In many ways I consider this a flawed field on the sheet as this section seems to be to test the player's writing (especially by stipulating the amount of content which should be written). In principle, that's fine, and the sheet is, in many ways, an opportunity for you to sell yourself. However, characters that have had an everyman background, are clearly penalised by this, because they don't have that wealth of experience behind them. Quite how you approach this challenge will vary based on what you're working with (the GM, the RP, your character), but this is the place in your sheet, above anywhere else, where you will be judged based on your [b]writing ability[/b].[/hider]

[b]Finishing up:[/b]

Proofread your sheet before posting. Lots of typos look lazy and messy at best, and a Grammar Nazi GM will hate your guts at worst. Spell-check will not do. The odd mistake is understandable, but passages littered with faults will likely be counted against you. Also, make sure you've formatted your sheet how the GM has requested, [i]especially if they have explicitly stated a given format[/i]. If you know the GM or they've given you the impression that this is okay, feel free to go crazy with the formatting. Add fields for extra information, design it completely differently if you like – just make sure the GM is okay with you submitting your stuff like that. While the effort and thought and enthusiasm you put into designing more interesting sheets will likely count in your favour, it can just as easily rebound if the GM gets the idea that you're the type to just do your own thing. It's about nuance, and it's worth bearing mind that counter-intuitive sheets are hard to compare to one another. In information-intensive sheets (that outline, say, what Pokemon you have on your team), the presentation can very easily obscure the information and generally be a hindrance. The golden rule is to follow the GM's instructions, where instructions have been given. Explicitly not giving information the GM has asked for in the character sheet does not show a cooperative, positive attitude.