Creating A Character
At this point, you have probably either already created a roleplay of your own or you have found someone else's roleplay that you are interested in joining. That is the first step you take when you want to roleplay. After you have moved on from that step, you are not ready to jump right in just yet. Before you can do that, you need to create your character. In this guide, you will find tips on how to do just that.
When creating a character, keep the sign up form that is provided in the roleplay in mind. As a reminder, the sign up form usually looks something like this:Username:
Character's Name:
Appearance:
Personality:
Age:
Rank:
Family/Crush/Mate:
Password:
Other:
You can use this as a basic list of what you need to consider when creating your character. For this guide, only the following categories will be focused on: their appearance, their personality, and their name.
I. AppearanceYou might think that the first step when creating a character is to choose the character's name. However, choosing a name can be difficult at the top of your head. This is why you should imagine your character first, and then you can pick a name.
The easiest place to start when imagining your character is with their appearance. In other words, imagine what you want them to look like. When considering looks, keep the following characteristics in mind: size, fur, eyes, and special features.
A. SizeThe first characteristic to consider when imagining your character's looks is their size. Describing a character's size is more than only saying if they are big or small. Sometimes they are more in the middle of the scale. Additionally, there is also their body type to consider. With people, for instance, some are short and thin, while some are big and tall. Then, there are also those that are largely built even though they are shorter, as well as for the other way around. The same can be said for when you are considering your character's size.
To break it down, when describing your character's size, ask yourself these questions: a. Are they tall, short, or somewhere in the middle?
b. Are they skinny, bulky, or muscular?
This will all be put into paragraph form later. For now, only a simple profile with short answers will be provided. a. Are they tall, short, or somewhere in the middle?
Somewhere in the middle b. Are they skinny, bulky, or muscular?
Very skinnyB. FurThere are many characteristics that your character's fur has. Their fur is a specific color, length, and it can also be patterned in a way. Those are the factors you need to think about when creating your character.
a. Color
i. When you describe your character's fur color, not only should you consider the color itself, but also think about what shade of that color the fur is. For example, cats can be orange, but there are many shades of orange. Their fur can be a light or dark shade of orange. That applies to almost any other color you can think of for a cat's pelt.
b. Length
i. Just as cats' pelts can be a wide variety in colors, they also vary in length. Some cats are short-haired, while others have longer hair. Moreover, sometimes their fur can appear longer on different parts of their body than the rest. Some cats, for instance, have especially fluffy tails or underbelly fur, but the rest of it may not seem to be as noticeably long at first glance. Then, like with everything else, there are also the gray areas where their fur is neither noticeably long or short.
c. Patterns
i. Finally, cats are known to have unique patterns on their pelt. A lot of cats are tabbies, for instance, but there are five types of tabby patterns: classic (splotches), mackerel (narrow stripes), spotted (spots), ticked, and patched (tortoiseshell). In addition to those patterns, there are also calicoes and cats that have one color as their base with white on their chest and/or paws. Whichever pattern you choose for your character is up to you. Just make sure that you are specific about the pattern when you describe it.
Here is the short example for describing your character's fur (again, only a short profile with short answers is being used for now): a. What color is their fur?
Light ginger b. How long is their fur?
Short fur with a fluffier tail c. Are they patterned?
Mackerel tabby with white on their chest and pawsC. EyesThis may be self-explanatory, but when you are determining their appearance, remember that their eye color is also part of the process. If you want to go for something more realistic, look up pictures of cats that match what color their fur is (along with the pattern if there is one) to see what color eyes the cats in the pictures have.
The only other thing to note here is that like their fur color, their eye color can vary in shades a bit. So, if you want your cat to have green eyes, decide if you want them to be a brighter or dimmer shade of green. Also, sometimes eyes can appear to be a different color in different lighting. For example, if a cat has light green eyes, they could appear to be yellow in bright sunlight.
Example: a. What color are their eyes?
Light green eyes that can appear yellow in bright sunlight.D. Special FeaturesFinally, the last factor to consider when creating your character is to determine if you want them to have special features or not. A special feature can be something like a battle scar, or it could be that your character has an abnormally long tail, or something else along those lines. The important thing to note here is that a special feature is something on your character that is permanent, such as a broken leg that never healed properly, which would cause your character to walk with a limp.
Example: a. Does your character have any special markings or features?
They have a nick on the tip of their left earE. Putting It TogetherOnce you have finished considering all of these features, it is time to put what you decided on together and to elaborate on it, if necessary, to make sure the description flows nicely. Also, make sure to decide on if you want them to be a tom or she-cat and include that. This is where the simple profiles from earlier will come together.
Simple Profile: * Size- in between short and tall and very skinny
* Fur- light ginger mackerel tabby with white paws and chest
* Eyes- light green eyes that appear yellow in bright sunlight
* Special Features/Markings- nick on the tip of their left ear
Paragraph Form:______ is a medium-sized tom with a very skinny build. In fact, he is so thin that it makes him appear smaller and younger than he actually is. He is not so skinny that it is unhealthy, however. It is natural for him. ______ has light ginger, mackerel tabby fur with white paws and a white chest. His eyes are light green, though they can appear yellow in bright sunlight. He has a nick on the tip of his left ear from a battle he fought as an apprentice.
II. PersonalityAfter you have the appearance portion of your character's creation worked out, the next thing to do is to determine what you want their personality to be. Writing out a personality is more than just listing character traits. A personality should describe who the character really is and how they interact with others. A character's personality is what makes them an individual. It is what sets them apart from others, for no one's personality is exactly the same as someone else's.
When you brainstorm your character's personality, it is important to consider their character traits, strengths and weaknesses, and their age.
A. Character TraitsAlthough character traits should not be all that goes into your character's personality, that does not mean they should be left out. When writing out their character traits, go into details about them. Instead of only writing that your character is kind, shy, loyal, and good with kits, include when they are kind and who they are shy around. If something in particular makes them angry, write exactly what that is. The more you elaborate on your character's personality, the more you and other roleplayers can understand who they are.
Feel free to be creative with your character's personality. Although, there are a couple of traits you should keep a watch on, and that is their respectfulness and ruthlessness. Sure, having an evil character in the roleplay is fun, especially if you are the one roleplaying the evil character. However, unless your evil character was created for future plot reasons, there is a line to draw for all of this. If a character is too disrespectful or too ruthless, then they would likely get kicked out of the clan eventually. No one wants a Tigerstar or Brokenstar in their roleplay. Therefore, if you choose to make your character disrespectful or bloodthirsty, know what the limits are.
B. Strengths and WeaknessesStrengths and weaknesses play a part in your character's personality as well. Remember, every character has both strengths and weaknesses. When you see a rule in someone else's roleplay that is against having "Mary-sues" and "Gary-sues", they are asking you to not create a completely perfect character. All characters have their flaws, and every character has something that they are not necessarily good at. Creating a character with more strengths than weaknesses is fine. Just try not to overdo it.
Strengths and weaknesses can be related to skills, or they can come from their positive and negative character traits. In fact, they should come from both skills and character traits. Having both helps balance it out well.
a. Skills
i. In Warrior Cats, the basic skills they learn are how to hunt and fight for their clan. These skills are usually the primary ones to put as a strength or a weakness. On the other hand, skills are not limited to hunting and fighting alone. Skills can also be something like being able to sneak around well at night because your character has a dark pelt.
ii. Keep in mind that some characters will be better at certain skills than others. Also, some may only be average in everything, and there is nothing wrong with that. Your character does not have to be outstanding at anything, but that does not necessarily mean that they are horrible at everything either. Again, it is important to balance it out.
iii. Finally, the last thing to note when deciding on what your character's skills are is to consider their location and their body build. For example, a cat with a bulkier build is not likely to be a very fast runner, and neither is a character who lives in a dense forest, simply because there is not a lot of space for running. Another example would be for swimming. If swimming is not a skill that the clan practices regularly, it is unlikely for your character to be very good at it.
C. AgeAlthough age does not have a direct correlation with personality, it should not be entirely ignored. Age has a connection with personality through maturity. For example, the maturity level between a seasoned warrior and a kit is great, and that should show through the character's behavior. In other words, a seasoned warrior can definitely be playful and enjoy having fun, but they should not be entirely childish either. If they are a seasoned warrior and still act like exactly like a kit, then in the real warrior's world, they might have been considered too immature to have become an apprentice at that time.
With everything in mind now about the personality, here is an example of a well-written out personality. This will be for the character made earlier, in the appearance section of this guide:For the most part, _______ is a pleasant cat to be around. He is introverted, especially around cats he has never met before. When he is around cats he knows well and is comfortable around, however, he comes out of his shell a lot more. At that point, he is much more sociable. ______ has a strong sense of humor and likes to joke around and have fun like anyone else, but he easily loses patience with those who goof off too much at the wrong times. Also, ______ is extremely stubborn when it comes to his duties. He often pushes himself to or beyond his limits because he is always trying to impress the older cats of his clan, as he is still a young warrior. The light ginger tabby tom is a decent hunter, but he could be better if he was more patient with the wait. Because of that, he is much better at fighting. Nonetheless, he is not outstanding at that either. He is basically the average warrior at any of those skills. His biggest strength comes from his loyalty and determination, though they easily contribute to his weaknesses because he often does not know where to quit.
III. NameOnce your character's appearance, personality, strengths and weaknesses, and skills are finished and thought out, you are finally ready to name your character. There is more than one way to go about naming your character. Some prefer traditional naming, while others may prefer nontraditional naming, which is also known as lyrical naming. Before getting further into it, here is the difference between those two:
Traditional Naming- with traditional naming, a character's prefix is based off of their pelt color or their size, while their suffix is either based off of a certain personality trait or certain skills.
Lyrical Naming (or Nontraditional Naming)- Lyrical names are names that are either made to sound pretty or to represent only part of a character, in a non-traditional way. These names do not particularly make sense when relating to the cat or their abilities. They do not distinguish them from another character as well as traditional naming does.
If you want more information on which names are traditional and which ones are not, please see the naming guides in the posts below.
For now, whichever method you decide to use, keep these ideas in mind:A. Be RealisticBe realistic with the names you choose. As in, avoid names such as "Rainbowshine" and "Emeraldpelt". Names like that do not really make sense because cats cannot be rainbow, and cats probably do not know what emeralds are. So, in other words, make sure the names you choose make sense.
C. Be Unique and CreativeIf you can help it, use names that are not found in the Warrior Cat books. Come up with your own names instead. Also, before you submit your character in another person's roleplay, especially if you are joining after the roleplay has been going for a while, check to make sure your character's prefix was not already used by someone else. Using the same prefix as someone else should be avoided, especially if both are kits or apprentices at the time, because it would likely get confusing for both of you. You might mix up your character for being theirs, or it could be the other way around.
Along with that, try to choose a name that will make it easy to distinguish your character from another. Find something notifiable about them and use that to help you.
IV. Tying It All TogetherAt last, now that you have decided what you want your character's appearance, personality, and name to be, it is time to put everything you wrote together.
For this, it is easier to just go back to the sign up form that would be found or provided in the roleplay. The categories in bold are the ones that you can fill out based off of what you worked on for your character. For the rest, see the guide above about creating your own roleplay.
Username:
Character's Name: Gingerstripe
Appearance: Gingerstripe is a medium-sized tom with a very skinny build. In fact, he is so thin that it makes him appear smaller and younger than he actually is. It is not so skinny that it is unhealthy, however. It is natural for him. Gingerstripe has light ginger, mackerel tabby fur with white paws and chest. His eyes are light green, though they can appear yellow in bright sunlight. He has a nick on the tip of his left ear from a battle he fought in as an apprentice.
Personality:For the most part, Gingerstripe is a pleasant cat to be around. He is introverted, especially around cats he has never met before. When he is around cats he knows well and is comfortable around, however, he comes out of his shell a lot more. At that point, he is much more sociable. Gingerstripe has a strong sense of humor and likes to joke around and have fun like anyone else, but he easily loses patience with those who goof off too much at the wrong times. Also, Gingerstripe is extremely stubborn when it comes to his duties. He often pushes himself to or beyond his limits because he is always trying to impress the older cats of his clan, as he is still a young warrior. The light ginger tabby tom is a decent hunter, but he could be better if he was more patient with the wait. Because of that, he is much better at fighting. Nonetheless, he is not outstanding at that either. He is basically the average warrior at any of those skills. His biggest strength comes from his loyalty and determination, though they easily contribute to his weaknesses because he often does not know when to quit.
Age:
Rank:
Family/Crush/Mate:
Password:
Other:
V. Extra InformationLastly, here are some additional tips for when you are creating your roleplay character: *Use a picture to help you describe your character. You can even post the picture here for others to refer to. If you do this, just make sure to provide both the picture and a written description for your character.
*When choosing a rank, keep their age in mind. This especially goes for if you are wanting to be considered for a deputy position, or if you are deciding whether to choose apprentice or warrior. An apprentice normally earns their warrior name once they are 12 moons of age. A deputy would need to be old enough to have reached their warrior ceremony, gained more experience, and to have successfully trained one apprentice. 30 moons or older is typically the age people look for in a deputy character.
*It is acceptable to have shorter personalities for kits because kits do not have a fully developed personality. If you want, when you post forms for kits, you can go ahead and write out how you want them to be when they are older. Otherwise, you can write a short one and allow their personality to develop more as they get older.
*Do not make more characters than you can manage at a time.
*Have fun and do not be afraid to try out new personalities.
