Hi! Since there is already a section on character creation flopping around WritersCo, and since there is a blooming roleplay section here now, I thought I'd take some time to chat you up about how to make a solid roleplay character, and about the differences between good roleplay characters and good story characters. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar, I shall supply a list of terms I'll be employing pretty frequently.
Note: the information contained herein is the opinion of the writer of the article, [Mister Saint]. If you disagree with the content of this article, and feel the need to talk about it, be polite and use the comment board. Otherwise, keep it to yourself.
Glossary of Terms
PC: Player-character. Character controlled by you, the player, if you can believe it.
NPC: Non-playable (or player) character. A storyline character controlled by the GM.
GM: Game master. The player who controls the NPC's and provides the setting, plot, and events. I.E. the one doing the most work. ^^
Powerplay: Acting without allowing others a chance to react. I.E. swinging a sword at Bob and cutting his leg off, without allowing Bob a chance to say whether the swing hit or not.
Godmode: Playing as if your character possesses godlike powers. Commonly, never failing to dodge attacks, absorbing hits without reacting, ignoring the moves of other players, and such.
The Basic Character Sheet
When creating a new character, fill out the following fields to start with. At first there is no need to be uber-detailed, though it should end up pretty heavy.
I'll go through each of these sections individually.
Name/Age
Your character needs a good, solid name that it is easy for other players to type and pronounce, and one that fits your character. As funny as Bob the Alien Lizard King would be, he would really need a lizard king ish name instead.
Also, avoid incredibly long names. I once had a character named Vosviachiraun Akhivarose, which is far too heavy for roleplay, so he only once referred to himself as such. For the rest of that game he went by Vos. Some of the better examples of naming trends I'll pull from my boon compatriot [La Divina]'s stables, and some from my own.
These names are relatively short, simple to type and pronounce, and are not unnecessarily ethnic. Examples of some bad names I've seen in the past (without users, just in case any of them decide to grab an account on here)...
Bad names:
Mystic Beauty
Thunder
Darkrunner
Most improper nouns (as the entire name, though it is easiliy acceptable in surnames)
Le'norien Phy'Dairre
So a few things to keep in mind for naming. Short-ish, memorable, and easy to type. Lay off ethnic names and spellings that your character wouldn't have. If your character is not Japanese, I do not expect hir to have a Japanese name. If you character is not Drow, I do not expect hir to have a Drow name... unless it can be explained.
Age
Unless you absolutely feel it necessary and can explain it, don't make your char 10,000 years old. A natural lifespan is just fine for an RP character. Keep in mind that, with being incredibly old, your character will probably act incredibly old. The elderly are generally more cautious and thoughtful than the young, more pron to making careful decisions. They get bored with things they've been doing forever. Even if your char is not physically old, mentally, things still get frickin' tiresome. The best thing to do is, if your character looks like s/he's twenty one at the peak of health, make hir twenty-one!
Race/Species/Occupation/Class
Race/Species
Depending on the source, wizard is or is not a race. Generally not.
If you must make a fan-ish character, stay true to the race you're borrowing. Drow are an exception, I'll talk about them in a minute. But if you, say, play a Ring Wraith, or a Wookie, or a Yokai (from InuYasha), don't stray from the original creator's design. If you're going to do that, you may as well make an original character instead.
Since Drow are mostly known for R.A. Salvatore's work, but also have involvement in Dungeons and Dragons and other bastions of writing, it's okay to play a drow as you see fit.
Occupation/Class
First, not everyone can be an adventurer or a wanderer. People have to eat, and eating costs money.
Find a job for your character that tailors to the character. If your character is a mighty knight, then hir job probably won't be 'Bounty Hunter' as we know that knight's are estate-holding lords and servants to a crown. Don't we?
Never ever make your character a Samurai. Unless your character is a Japanese officer, probably an estate holder, in loyal service to a single lord. Samurai did not wander, were not travelling heroes, they were freaking nobility. And the popular examples of samurai were never, ever, female. Even today the Japanese culture holds men on a somewhat higher pedestal than women, and in the last five hundred and some years of Samurai, women were centerpieces. Now, like pretty much everything else, there were exceptions, but not enough to really warrant basing a roleplay character off 'em.
I rail on Samurai a lot. If you do your research, and lay off the romanticized texts, movies, and games, you'll find that not all Samurai were mighty warriors, or even that just. It's an overused term for an overrated sect that operated in a very small, very isolated little corner of the world, whose entire existence had miniscule effect on the world at large. *writer's note: I am not prepared to argue this point, it's semantics.*
Class
Try to keep your character's rank sensible. If you're a traveller, chances are, you aren't a grand general or royalty.
Appearance
This is easy. Unless there's a reason for it, your character does not need to be too spectacular. It is entirely possible that your character looks like a normal person... blemishes are possible, a basic smile, a beer belly... no need to have a perfect person to play, since you are yourself imperfect. We all are. The basics are just fine... hair/eye color, height, weight, build, any distinguishing features.
Personality
The best PC's, in my experience, have a very middle of the road personality. Not too silly, not too serious. Brooding characters, no matter how cool it is to be dark, tend to get on the nerves of other players and often are difficult to play alongside. Conversely, PCs who are too fun and energetic can often demean others and sometimes upset players.
Skills/Abilities
In my eyes, this is the biggest footfall for RP PC creation. Allow me to summarize/ripoff a statement from my dear [Nightshadow].
RP is not about impressing other players with your PC's beauty, sex appeal, super powers, wide array of skills, tragic history, or supercool weapon. It's about having fun, and impressing others with your creativity, writing ability, and ability to push a plot with others.
I love it. Now, let me dive right in here. Some powers that you might ascribe to a character are simply rife with godmoding potential, and should generally be avoided for PCs. A short, and incomplete, list.
Teleportation (numero freakin' uno, do not give your character this ability. It is just too powerful a skill, and can really screw up plotting for the GM)
Super-speed (beyond reasonable levels. Being extra quick is okay, just not, like, The Flash quick)
Flight (see teleportation, though flight can be used responsibly)
Shapeshifting (again, can be used responsibly. You must set physical limitations for this ability, recalling that matter does not just appear out of nowhere)
Alchemy (only the Full Metal Alchemist version, it's just too powerful)
Telepathy (can be used responsibly)
Psychic power and future-seeing (can screw up plots too easily)
Undefined powers (abilities that aren't fixed in definition)
'Unmatched skill with a sword' (or something similar)
There are more. but this is a pretty good list... use of these powers can easily screw up a carefully planned plot, as well as piss off other players. Ascribe skills that your character might logically have, and keep them within the parameters set for a particular game. If the game is a medium power game, your character should be, at max, just barely superhuman.
Skills and abilities also includes mundane tasks like cooking, sewing, machine skill, artistic ability, and so forth. Just remember that your PC should have flaws, and not be perfect at anything.
Weaknesses
This is your big chance to keep your character from being a Mary-Sue. Ascribe some realistic weaknesses to your PC here... some chink in hir armor. Perhaps s/he is vulnerable to wind magic, or has a trick knee, or can't hit a curve ball. Flaws are what make characters believable anyway.
This is a vital section. Don't fill it up with dumb things just so that you can say your character has weaknesses... like, do not put that your character is vulnerable to being stabbed. No shit. Or allergic to cows. That means nothing. Real, useful weaknesses that define a character are what you need.
History
I feel like being brief. you should too. Your character's history should be concise, hitting all the pertinent points, and should NEVER say anything about 'no one knows' because at least your character should know. This sheet is for the other players anyway, and they need to know everything about your character.
Now, a few pitfalls. Dark, mysterious pasts are overused and overrated. A tragic past is fine, within reason, but dark and mysterious pasts can be found in cereal boxes these days. I have six in my closet. If your character's only motivation is 'seeking revenge' or 'trying to find lost family member' (with certain exceptions on that one) you need to try again. Remember that your character is defined by hir history, it is what has shaped hir to be who s/he is today.
AMNESIA BAD! NO USE! UNLESS HAVE VERY GOOD EXPLANATION!
Quirks
Everyone has quirks. Me, I headbang a lot, and I sometimes say 'meep' for no reason. Be creative.
There you go. Just adhere to the three major rules.
1) Be reasonable in your character's power level.
2) Have a creative story and lay off the darkness.
3) Make your character fun to play and fun to play with.
Stumble!