Welcome to Gaia! ::

OKAY~

[before.we.start]
YAY! I dont know what I was thinking when I made this... but oh wells. Here we go.

[intro]
Yeah... I know it's hard to flesh out your characters, which is why I shall grant you my knowledge. :3

Um... not much I can say to this. I know there are a lot of character dev. guides out there, but hopefully I can provide you with some useful stuff.
This will be all on one post, hopefully... or else I'll break it up in different posts...

START!

[names]
I usually start naming my character first, which is something you can do after... But let's do it now, shall we?
There are bunches of different name dictionaries out there, but I use Kate Monk's Onomastikon (an onomastikon is a dictionary of names). This dictionary sorts names by region and is designed for authors. However, it doesn't give the definitions to the names so you'll probably have to use Behind The Name, which is a pretty cool etymology site.

Of course, you can always create your own name, which is harder/easier depending on how you're feeling on the day of creating the name. :3
Make sure your name sounds region-legit... Or in other words, you wouldn't want to name a character Roger if he lives in Cambodia, or do you? Think about their history, maybe there was a special ritual behind their name. Maybe they were named after a plant or an animal or their great-great-aunt.

[personality]
One of the most difficult things to do is to create the personality. This, of course, is the soul of your character. Without personality, RPs would be totally boring! So here we go:

What usually helps is the history of your character. Usually the experiences they've been through help them shape their personality. Maybe they haven't gone through any experiences, so they're naive. Or maybe they've seen so much people die that they're a little loopy.

What also helps is describing your character in one word first, and then sort of developing that one trait. For example, a character who is mischevious can also be carefree, happy-go-lucky, and a multitude of other traits that will make their personality intricate.

Also, you want to make sure that you're being realitistic or unrealistic (if it calls for unrealism... or something o.O) Think of yin and yang, where there's darkness, there has to be light. A character can't be all bad or all good, and they can't be all emo or all happy either.

It also helps if you ask yourself questions, I found a good list of questions for character dev. here: Character Questionnaire

[looks]
Most people prefer to look for images for their character's looks. The solution for that is a search engine like Google or an image archive like... like... Er... I dunno. I don't use image archives, sorry... There are also some good stock photos of different models and stuff at Deviantart. But to browse stock photos only, you'll need to get an account.

But if you want to descibe your character in words, check out the Character Questionnaire again, there are questions about skin color, etc. so that you won't leave anything out.

[supapowers.magic.weapons]
This is sorta fun, giving your character powers, weapons, etc.

MAGIK!! Let's start with magical powers and such. The number one thing is DONT OVERDO IT. Because giving your character control over all the elements is stupid and corny (it is). Give your character only one/two powers. That'll be enough, believe me. No one likes a godmoder. Oh yeahs... Some more about magic. You should ask yourself: Where does the magic come from? Does the magician draw it from his/her lifeforce? Or do they draw it from an outside source, like nature? Do they need a channeling device like a wand? Or does it just shoot out of their hands? Do they have a familiar? How did they get their magic? I don't have a resource for magical powers yet, but if I find something useful, I'll post it right away.

SUPAPOWERZ!! Again, the same as magic. Don't overdo it, give your charcter only one/two powers, etc. Actually, it's best if you give your character only one superpower. It's just more realistic and you won't look like you're godmoding. If you need ideas for powers, read/watch X-Men or Fantastic Four or some Marvel/DC comic thing... Or watch Heroes and read their graphic novel. There are some great superpowers there :3.

WEAPONS. There are different types of weapons out there, but again, don't overdo it. I know you'll be excited to give your character like, five billion of them, but restrain yourself. Limit their skills to specializing in one/two. Go to google and look up 'wushu weapons' or something... Or go to some online wushu/kung-fu/martial artsy store. They usually have cool weapons. Like this one: Kung-fu Direct. Click on wushu short/soft/long weapon or traditional long/short weapon (don't ask me why 'weapon' is not plural, 'kay?). Then you'll have a bunch of options for some cool weapons like tigerhooks and deer horn meridian axes (o.O)...

[critiquing.other things]
If you want me to critique your character's profile, just post it. It doesn't matter what kind of skeleton you use, just make sure everything is labled.

You can go ahead and critique other's profiles yourself, the more the merrier. Make sure you're nice and give a reason why you're saying what you're saying. Don't just say, "Your profile is great." Say, "Your profile is great because..."

Also, if you have any great resources, go ahead and post them! I'll add it to my guide with your username next to it or however you want me to credit you.

exclaim [updates]
[7/29/07] Now critquing! Post your profiles!
[7/31/07] Editted some stuff, broke up paragraphs. Added an official "magic" section for the [supapowers.magic.weapons] section. Also added a new section: [critquing.other things]

[fin]
Ah... that's all I have for now. I'll add more when inspiration hits me. Make sure you check out the poll and post comments/questions/concerns. It'll help me be more helpful :3
Yay.

~pickles

Pretty good so far, although you forgot to mention skin color in Ezoreil's appearance.

And he doesn't have much faults. Even though it's good that you made him realistically normal and such, it'll be much more interesting if he has at least something wrong with him. Maybe he gets frustrated sometimes because he wants to get better?

Also the section about monsters, maybe you could beef it up a bit. It's really easy, just tell it like a story.

Oh yeah, the part about him learning wind magic, remember to ask yourself why. Why does he want to learn wind magic? Does he need to better defend himself?

Overall, good job. I'd say 8/10.

Gaia name: Ezoreil
Character name: Isaac "Zack" Adrastos
Race: Human
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Personality: Speaks his mind regularly, even when he knows he’s wrong. Very mischievous, he loves to play pranks.
Fun loving, he is always cheery and care-free.
Often procrastinates, when a school project is due or if any work is to be done. Is sometimes very impatient.His name is an oxymoron to his personality, His last name means not to run away, but he is a sensible fight and will run away if he thinks he can't win.
Background: Born into a loving family, in the safe town of Barton, He had a relatively normal childhood. No serious injuries, except for maybe a broken arm. At the age a 13, he began studying Kendo, the art of swordsmanship. He had always a fascination with Ninjas and their tools. Because of this, he usually carries smoke bombs and other firework around with him.
Never had too much of a problem with people, maybe argument or two with his parents but nothing to out of the ordinary. The day Zack received his bokken (wooden training katana); he went out into the fields and mountains to fight the numerous monsters that inhabited the area. Over the years, his sword has been broken dozens of times; it is now coated in bandages. He just started a magic course in college, and has began to master the Wind element, because he thought it would be the easiest out of the four elements, and the majority of the monsters that live around his area where of the earth type.
Weapons: A bokken given to him by his kendo teacher. Covered in bandages.
Smoke bombs and other fireworks, used to distract or blind enemies
Appearance:Has Semi-tan skin not brown but a darker hue.Black hair just past his shoulders. Deep forest green eyes. He wears a white T-shirt with the Japanese symbols for dragon (ドラゴン) in red, on it. Also wears casual jeans with suspenders down around his waist.
Skills: Sword-play, Wind magic’s, Computers, Science
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Better?
Oh, Sorry when it said "Xeke" that was the first name I came up with.
I'm working on the monsters part.

Player: whitewolve202

Name: Jace Solidor

Gender: Female (Dressed as Male)

Race: Human

Age: 19

Appearance: She appears to be a short male, around the age of sixteen, standing around
5’6”,with a toned body that suggests at heavy training in combat. Her face, rarely cleaned, is
covered in a light layer of dirt, disguising her finer features from the male populace she frequents. Contrasting with the darker tone of her dirt-covered face, her grey eyes often hold the attention of those she is speaking with, looking upon the world with a calmness not generally found in the males of her city. Her untamed hair, cut short to strengthen her image as a male, is the color of burgundy.
When standing among the crowd, the first thing that might be noticed, aside from her abnormal shortness, is the conspicuous lack of a right arm. Though this is normally disguised by the wearing of a cloak at all times, when seen without the cloak, her arm seems to have been hewn off at the shoulder, which is constantly under wraps.
Beneath the cloak she wears a loose, neutral green sleeveless shirt that is kept in a state of perpetual repair, patched up the moment a hole appears, and discarded when found to be beyond repair. Underneath the shirt, her chest is wrapped, in order to disguise herself when passing as a male. A worn leather belt around her waist is home to her sword, a simple, unadorned weapon that was given to her upon entry into the town militia. The belt holds up a pair of brown pants, in a similar state to her shirt, falling down to her ankles, partially covering her patchwork leather boots, which seem to be on the verge of falling apart.

Personality: Growing up on the lawless streets of the City of Men, she developed a fierce
personality, allowing her to stand against the male thieves of her age, who often expected her, as a woman, to back off when they wanted something, theirs or not. She is very opinionated about the state of things, though in time she learned hide this as she increasingly took on the visage of a male, until it became habit for her say one thing while thinking another. Among her “friends”, she is humorous, laughing at the crudest of jokes as much as the rest of them, all the while condemning them in her mind. So long has she presented this façade that any hint of true personality has been lost, locked away so as to maintain her presence in the male hierarchy which she so detests. To her shame, she is uneducated in all forms, only able to master grammar by not talking like the males that surround her.

History: Born a child of rape, in a city where the number of rapes a man had committed
was simply an addition to his prestige, Jace lived the life of a thief, stealing food so that she and her broken mother could eek out a life. Being female left her at a disadvantage on the male dominated streets, leading her to quickly develop fighting skills in case some of the boys decided to try to steal what she herself had stolen.
By the age of eleven, despite the respect she had earned as a pickpocket and a fighter, she decided that she would never trust a male, as they were all scum. It was then that the male hierarchy began to assert itself in her life, punishing her for petty thievery that males were committing and receiving praise. Seeing this preferential treatment, she began disguising herself as a male so she and her mother could continue to live.
Three years later, she started to develop her male disguise into a living personality, one that participated in the street fights between males from different sections of the city, working her way into the higher levels of organized pit fighting. During this time, between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, she began to search for the one who had raped her mother. At the end of her sixteenth year, seeking to find such information from her mother, they got into a fight, ending with Jace cursing her mother and running off to challenge the one she suspected.
The challenge was accepted, and at the end of the fight, out of breath and unable to stand, she was punished for her impudence. Held down by the fighter’s followers, her right arm was chopped off at the shoulder, rendering her unconscious and unable to participate in the Pit fights ever again. If not for the immediate cauterization of her wounds by a nearby doctor, she would have died.
Afterwards, she took up residence near her mother, who had taken ill after their argument, keeping her safe from all those who visited with ill intentions, practicing with her left arm until the day when her mother died. With all connections to the corrupt city severed, Jace set off into the world under the disguise of her alias, seeking a place she'd be comfortable with as a home.

Sure!
Two opinions are better than one!