Current Character Description - Ror Surion
An athletic, tanned male elf with short, brown hair. The hair is longer on top than at the sides and springs up in spikey strands at the back of his head. The ears are adorned with small, rings at the tips, and engraved with elven runes. He has thin, brown eyebrows set above cobalt blue eyes and a straight nose. A white scar runs as a thin white line from his hand till his shoulder. His mouth is broad and his teeth are remarkably white. He is usually dressed in a TriPower military uniform with white overcoat that reaches past the knees. Red and blue lining is seen at the end of the sleeves, while the collar covers the whole neck. The collar is secured with a button on the right. As button the silver symbol of the TriPower Research Unit is used. No military rank is worn next to it.
How to write a Character Description
If you never roleplayed before and you want to roleplay, where do you start? In this post an example will be given on how to build a character from nothing simply by asking yourself a few basic questions and following logic.
A who or a what? A who
A male or a female? A male
A human or something else? Something else
What race then? A dwarf
Age? Middle-aged (note: no numbers yet)
Height? A bit above dwarf average (note: once again no numbers yet)
Weight? Average dwarf weight
Chubby or muscular? Muscular
Why muscular? Because of his profession
What is his profession? He is a blacksmith
Does he dress like a blacksmith? Not anymore
Why not? Because he is an adventurer now
What does he wear then? More armour worthy of a soldier. And he is a dwarf, so chainmail!
Does he use a weapon? Yes
What kind of weapon? A hammer
What kind of hammer? A large warhammer
Any special clothing or jewellery? He wears a broad belt with a gold buckle over his armour
So, what skin type underneath all that armour? A light skin type
Any scars? None
Anything else about the skin (pocks, sweaty, rosy, whatever)? Ordinary
Colour of the hair? Red
Bald? No
Facial hair? Yes, a beard!
What kind of beard? A big one, trimmed into a point with tassels at the end
Any companion animals? None
And that should give enough information to write a description on your very first character:
A red-haired dwarf with a big beard that's neatly trimmed into a point with tassels is dressed in chainmail with large armour plating. A broad belt with golden buckle is set across his waste and on his back he carries a large warhammer. The muscular build of this above average sized dwarf allows him to carry the combined weight of his armour and hammer.
See that nothing was mentioned about him being a blacksmith? That's because you can't see that when you look at a person. Unless there was a detail to give it away. For instance:
A red-haired dwarf with a big beard that's neatly trimmed into a point with tassels is dressed in chainmail with large armour plating. A broad belt with golden buckle is set across his waste and on his back he carries a large warhammer. The muscular build of this above average sized dwarf allows him to carry the combined weight of his armour and hammer. The callous palms of his hands have the scars of blisters on them.
Nice! Furthermore, although no scars or skin specifics were thought up when writing the description, for a reference to his period as blacksmith it was a subtle addition. This is a demonstration of how a description grows slowly along with the background of the character until it makes sense logically.
With the description done, specific traits such as actual height, weight or age can be worked out. Either by guessing the right figures or by looking the averages up online. Then again, there's nothing against keeping traits such as age, height and weight descriptive as they were in the first outline!
A who or a what? A who
A male or a female? A male
A human or something else? Something else
What race then? A dwarf
Age? Middle-aged (note: no numbers yet)
Height? A bit above dwarf average (note: once again no numbers yet)
Weight? Average dwarf weight
Chubby or muscular? Muscular
Why muscular? Because of his profession
What is his profession? He is a blacksmith
Does he dress like a blacksmith? Not anymore
Why not? Because he is an adventurer now
What does he wear then? More armour worthy of a soldier. And he is a dwarf, so chainmail!
Does he use a weapon? Yes
What kind of weapon? A hammer
What kind of hammer? A large warhammer
Any special clothing or jewellery? He wears a broad belt with a gold buckle over his armour
So, what skin type underneath all that armour? A light skin type
Any scars? None
Anything else about the skin (pocks, sweaty, rosy, whatever)? Ordinary
Colour of the hair? Red
Bald? No
Facial hair? Yes, a beard!
What kind of beard? A big one, trimmed into a point with tassels at the end
Any companion animals? None
And that should give enough information to write a description on your very first character:
A red-haired dwarf with a big beard that's neatly trimmed into a point with tassels is dressed in chainmail with large armour plating. A broad belt with golden buckle is set across his waste and on his back he carries a large warhammer. The muscular build of this above average sized dwarf allows him to carry the combined weight of his armour and hammer.
See that nothing was mentioned about him being a blacksmith? That's because you can't see that when you look at a person. Unless there was a detail to give it away. For instance:
A red-haired dwarf with a big beard that's neatly trimmed into a point with tassels is dressed in chainmail with large armour plating. A broad belt with golden buckle is set across his waste and on his back he carries a large warhammer. The muscular build of this above average sized dwarf allows him to carry the combined weight of his armour and hammer. The callous palms of his hands have the scars of blisters on them.
Nice! Furthermore, although no scars or skin specifics were thought up when writing the description, for a reference to his period as blacksmith it was a subtle addition. This is a demonstration of how a description grows slowly along with the background of the character until it makes sense logically.
With the description done, specific traits such as actual height, weight or age can be worked out. Either by guessing the right figures or by looking the averages up online. Then again, there's nothing against keeping traits such as age, height and weight descriptive as they were in the first outline!
Ghost from the past
The Past week had gone by in a blur. Psycho reflected on the current global events, a vision of the future and a ghost from the past. All three of these events directly correlated to the hard times that had occurred in the past few years. Psycho decided to go the bar in Polaris. The icewine there and the cold lake were a calming place. The effect of the area could be seen upon the black and red energy coming off from him.
As Psycho drank he fingered the tiny silver key. The key had been used only a few times. Fewer than Psycho would have wanted to say it had been used. Just after the heavy rain storms had poured the streets of Westbridge contained A friend from the long distant past. Psycho observed Tenchi in Westbridge. His unique black hair which was normally short with a tail was now scruffy. His feet hands and face had deep smudges of soot and mud. In Psycho's eye Tenchi had definitely fallen into some hard times. Psycho greeted Tenchi warmly.
'Hello my old friend how are you?'
'I have just been visiting my old house.'
'Have you been staying at your old home?'
'Yes, I have just been thinking of the Past'
Psycho knew that there was more to the story. Risking angering his friend he probed deeper, wanting to help Tenchi.
'May I ask What is at your old home?'
'Nothing remains but a corner of the home, the rest was consumed by fire.'
'My friend you can not stay there it is not good for you.'
'I insist that you stay an available guest room.'
Tenchi smiled and accepted Psycho's offer. Psycho had run quick to zozo, he quickly checked the guest room, grabbed the sliver key and return to Westbridge. When he arrived Tenchi was no where to be seen.
As Psycho drank he fingered the tiny silver key. The key had been used only a few times. Fewer than Psycho would have wanted to say it had been used. Just after the heavy rain storms had poured the streets of Westbridge contained A friend from the long distant past. Psycho observed Tenchi in Westbridge. His unique black hair which was normally short with a tail was now scruffy. His feet hands and face had deep smudges of soot and mud. In Psycho's eye Tenchi had definitely fallen into some hard times. Psycho greeted Tenchi warmly.
'Hello my old friend how are you?'
'I have just been visiting my old house.'
'Have you been staying at your old home?'
'Yes, I have just been thinking of the Past'
Psycho knew that there was more to the story. Risking angering his friend he probed deeper, wanting to help Tenchi.
'May I ask What is at your old home?'
'Nothing remains but a corner of the home, the rest was consumed by fire.'
'My friend you can not stay there it is not good for you.'
'I insist that you stay an available guest room.'
Tenchi smiled and accepted Psycho's offer. Psycho had run quick to zozo, he quickly checked the guest room, grabbed the sliver key and return to Westbridge. When he arrived Tenchi was no where to be seen.
Old Character Description - Ror Surion
An athletic, tanned male elf with brown hair down to his shoulders. The hair is braided according to ancient elven tradition to keep it out of the face and behind his pointy ears. He has thin eyebrows set above cobalt blue eyes and a straight nose. A white scar runs as a thin white line from his hand till his shoulder. His mouth is broad and his teeth are remarkably white. He is dressed in a Tripower military uniform with white overcoat that reaches past the knees. The long sleeves are lined twice with red and white and the large collar covers all of his neck. On the collar the silver symbol of the TriPower Research Unit is pinned. No further military rank is worn next to it.
Character biography - Ror Surion
As a young orphan, Ror grew up on the streets of Westbridge, until rangers took him in and taught him all a man needed to know about nature's realm. And so, as an adult, Ror stayed away from city life and all its problems. Instead he was a wanderer who preferred the endless frontier of the plains or the greenery of the bountiful forests. Life and love were good, until an airship accident tore it all away and send Ror to unknown worlds and places, of which he neither heard nor dreamed of. After a long journey Ror found his way back home, but home was no more the same. Instead there was Kefkaburg under the Imperial fist of Vector. It was the misery he saw there that made him join the TriPower Kingdom. These days he is one of the TriPower's research officers. Ror works, as sage, for a future in which nature and technology coexist together in harmony.
Crawling out of Books
Another book down and no closer to answers. It was almost as if the knowledge of true planar travel had been purposefully wiped out. There was one more place he could check for information but he was loathe to enter another Lich's lair. When dealing with undead that were thousands of years old whos entire purpose was to collect knowledge and magic it was best to err on the side of caution.
Eyes hurting from staring at texts for untold hours, Vorcet walked down to the garden behind his house. He took a seat at the bar that he kept running in the small airship port occupying this part of the garden and ordered a glass of whiskey from the bartender. He could no longer really taste the spirits nor could he get drunk, but there was something soothing about familiar habits from before he had willingly put his lifeforce into a gem to give himself the years necessary to continue a persuit of knowledge.
"I had an interesting visitor this evening" Ildren said casually from accross the bar. "This airship port gets many interesting visitors Ildren, some I dont even recognize and I own the place." Vorcet responded with a bit of humor in his voice. "I bet you dont get the sort with wings bearing sealed messages often." Ildren said with a smirk on his face as he slid the rolled parchment accross the bar in front of Vorcet.
Vorcet recognized the seal as Sanria's and uttered the words to a small warming spell, channeling just enough magic to melt the wax. He unfurled the message and began reading. Ildren focussed his attention on polishing the glasses behind the counter.
"There is always something to take me away from my research." Vorcet muttered more to himself than anything. "Well. Is this new something more important than what you were doing?" Ildren asked acting the part of the barkeep. "This would have a more immediate impact on the people here and now." Vorcet responded not realizing he was talking to a bartender about his problems. "I believe you have your answer then." Ildren stated matter of factly as he turned his attention back to the never ending task of keeping the bar clean. "Thanks Ildren." Vorcet said as he got up and headed to the area of the garden he used for transportation spells.
"Perhaps Ive been away from the castle a bit too long." Vorcet mumbled to himself as he uttered the words to take him back to the magnificent castle on the floating island. As he sat behind his desk to wait for this "Ror" to show up at the castle again.
Eyes hurting from staring at texts for untold hours, Vorcet walked down to the garden behind his house. He took a seat at the bar that he kept running in the small airship port occupying this part of the garden and ordered a glass of whiskey from the bartender. He could no longer really taste the spirits nor could he get drunk, but there was something soothing about familiar habits from before he had willingly put his lifeforce into a gem to give himself the years necessary to continue a persuit of knowledge.
"I had an interesting visitor this evening" Ildren said casually from accross the bar. "This airship port gets many interesting visitors Ildren, some I dont even recognize and I own the place." Vorcet responded with a bit of humor in his voice. "I bet you dont get the sort with wings bearing sealed messages often." Ildren said with a smirk on his face as he slid the rolled parchment accross the bar in front of Vorcet.
Vorcet recognized the seal as Sanria's and uttered the words to a small warming spell, channeling just enough magic to melt the wax. He unfurled the message and began reading. Ildren focussed his attention on polishing the glasses behind the counter.
"There is always something to take me away from my research." Vorcet muttered more to himself than anything. "Well. Is this new something more important than what you were doing?" Ildren asked acting the part of the barkeep. "This would have a more immediate impact on the people here and now." Vorcet responded not realizing he was talking to a bartender about his problems. "I believe you have your answer then." Ildren stated matter of factly as he turned his attention back to the never ending task of keeping the bar clean. "Thanks Ildren." Vorcet said as he got up and headed to the area of the garden he used for transportation spells.
"Perhaps Ive been away from the castle a bit too long." Vorcet mumbled to himself as he uttered the words to take him back to the magnificent castle on the floating island. As he sat behind his desk to wait for this "Ror" to show up at the castle again.
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