What personalities attract you in a character? What characters do you find are easier to write about? Lately, I like playing strong minded, self-serving characters. People who often compare themselves to others or over think things.

Mentally deteriorating, substance abusing ones are the easiest to write about. Heheh... I think I just might know why.

I've made quite a few characters. Most are strong and or intelligent. One of my favorites happens to be a Psychotic murdering madman, with a desire for power as he battles his role as a leader with his need for wanton murder. Barron Vanderbilt. He's a Mafioso styled character, who has his own odd entourage that keeps him in check for the most part anyways. I made him for a Nation RP, and recently rebooted him for my newest project down in my Signature. Another recent favorite, well two anyways. I based a character off Black Dynamite and blacksploitation, Fiendrick. My group loved him. And they knew it was all in fun so no matter how racially charged I made it, they knew it was all a part of his character. Then my last character. Bombardier Bonnie. Or Bonnie Rockport. A Fallout Dwarf. Who loved being rowdy and rambunctious. And Explosions. She loves Explosions. She was a hit as well. A Shortstack of fun, rolled into a lovable package.

My characters are often the really shy, crazy smart ones. I find it easier to play them, because I find it easy to write characters who analyze situations the way I would. Currently, I'm on a bit of a Broken Bird kick, in that almost all of my characters suddenly have REALLY dark, gory backstories. I don't know why. O.o

Recently, I've been trying to make characters that have as much depth and character traits as possible to make them three dimensional as possible. With their own flaws, virtues, goals, aspirations, views, and more. I'm pretty happy with them.

Normally I don't enjoy roleplaying myself or a character that is based off of my own personality/traits/what have you. While that makes the character easy to write by allowing me to just ask "What would I do/say?", it usually ends up in me losing interest in the character quite quickly. However, recently I've been implementing one or two traits I myself have into my characters- I've found it lets me relate to the character without over-saturating him with, well...me.

I've generally been adopting more machiavellian, discreet characters which is a nice avenue as it allows exploring subtle undertones and having outside of action as a focus. Though I have quite gone full spymaster just yet, there's a nice contrast option against that of an extrovert and socially active person as it creates a personal conflict which is another great post tool. I generally try and avoid thinking what would I say/do, but rather what would someone like that do/think which is a great feeling when you pull it off well enough that it seems realistic.

However, recently I've been implementing one or two traits I myself have into my characters

I always, without fail, end up incorporating a part of my own personality into a character, and I honestly don't know why; I'm guessing it's probably something to do with finding them more relatable, and therefore easier to write, I guess. If it's not a part of me, you'll usually find a piece of someone else I know in a character - although I think that's a habit I invented when I was younger to try and make the characters I write more three dimensional - more like real people with real faults and real difficulties (I was that kid that made the Mary-Sue character every single time without fail... If you wanted a small teenager that totally wasn't conventionally pretty but actually beautiful, dead quiet but also really good at making friends if only anyone ever spoke to her, but could also kick your ass in two seconds flat due to her years of ninja training she was subjected to after the death of her parents at brain camp [where she also learnt to be so intelligent, she could probably figure out how to bring the dinosaurs if she really wished to], I was 10000% your girl).

As of right now, I seem to have a few backbones of characters I just wash and repeat every time. If it's a girl, they tend to be quite vein and self conceited, obsessed with their looks to the point where it's almost problematic - the type of girl you already knew probably woke up at 4am just to make sure she could go for a run in the morning, as well as spend the whole hour on her makeup. Aside from being self-obsessed, they have a tendency to be quite rude because, let's fact it, they know they're awesome, so you should clearly know they're awesome. They tend to struggle to make friends, and over use words like sweetie or darling, but only ever to be as absolutely patronizing as possible.

Any guys I write, on the other hand, tend to be the happy-go-lucky, 'I have no idea what's going on but I don't care because I spy free food', kind of characters. Most of the time, if they can't be the joker, they don't actually know what to do, and often end up coping with most of the rp's stressors by making unfunny jokes and waving their arms around like they're trying to fly away from the sticky situation they're in. I find them easier to play than the females I write, and often more entertaining because I laugh at my own jokes when I write (I know, la-ame), but there you go.

I seem to be stuck in these two archetypes though and, as much as I don't mind because it means I can work on them more, it's starting to get problematic...

I tend to play around a bit with different attributes a bit; males/females, older/younger, strong/weak. One thing I do tend to utilise a lot is mental or physical hindrances.

I had a teenage female recently that was in a super hero style RP that died off. She came from a broken home with an alcoholic mother while being depressed and suicidal. Her power however reflected that and when threatened she would become the monster that she feared inside herself. Almost like a self-defence mechanism.

The current character I have in a futuristic/fantasy RP is a demon living amongst humans who has the ability to release her inner self. She has a weapon that is able to inflict injuries upon others by harming the user. Best analogy is that the user can become a living voodoo doll. Essentially it's a very similar character to my last one I mentioned above but I also never really got into detail with the young girl so I utilised some of that as inspiration for the new character.

What I have found however is that I tend to create characters based on what's happening at that present time. Partly through music and media for the view, appearance and style, but the essence of the person comes from my experiences. Bit hard to explain without going into massive personal detail, but I can look at each character I create and see a bit of me in them rather than "I wanna play a Legolas or Frodo".

Crazy Revenge filled assassins

I like this topic. I like these answers. So interesting to read about how other people come up with their characters.

I tend to come up with a character in extremely loose concept form prior to the roleplay, and then kind of let it flow with the story. I find myself sort of "channeling" a character, knowing instinctively whether they would or wouldn't do something, or when I've written something "wrong" for them. Since joining this site I've probably created/resurrected like a dozen characters (I've had hundreds in aeons past though lol). I've mainly been playing males, and I find that I really enjoy it that way. I have issues IRL with my gender identity so it's extremely therapeutic/cathartic to express/explore the masculine in my writing.

... I've been making way too many female characters. Somehow, I just feel that female characters are just plain more interesting and guys are like... yeah, I know what they can do, but females are just that much easier to make quirky and interesting. It is somewhat of an issue, really. Guys can be interesting, but somehow even a character with the exact same personality, backstory, powers and ambitions with the only single difference that the character is a girl rather than a guy would make the character twice or thrice as interesting to play, somehow. I have no real idea of why this is the case, but eh. I can accept it.

Other than that, quirky characters are the best. I like to take archetypes and them make them my own, develop my own of their kind. I also cannot really say that I prefer a specific kind of character, because I always try to see if I can change the personality and make them their own unique being that is quite different than the ones I've made in the past. I usually find I keep the last number of characters I made in my head when I create a new character and then I make sure not to copy them to make a new unique experience for me to play.

So, I guess the answer is "Quirky females". ... But I've figured I need to change that, somehow.

... I've been making way too many female characters. Somehow, I just feel that female characters are just plain more interesting and guys are like... yeah, I know what they can do, but females are just that much easier to make quirky and interesting. It is somewhat of an issue, really. Guys can be interesting, but somehow even a character with the exact same personality, backstory, powers and ambitions with the only single difference that the character is a girl rather than a guy would make the character twice or thrice as interesting to play, somehow. I have no real idea of why this is the case, but eh. I can accept it.

Same here, all of my best characters are female. I can't write interesting male characters for whatever reason.

Depressed, complex, self-critical Latin homosexuals with interests in music, history, mythology, art and philosophy; female, male and gender fluid

Human, all too human...

Write what you know, I guess!

I used to make mostly female characters but this time around I seem to be making more male characters. A pattern of reserved loner seems to be happening with most of my characters, I guess it just seems the easiest to me. I seem to be writing more description than dialogue with these characters.

I also like playing the villain but I've only made one villain so far and he's not even doing anything evil so maybe another one is in order.

Given that the current topic is about the creation of (or continuation of) female characters, I feel I might as well throw my admission in that I, for whatever reason, find the writing of a female character to be easier or more in depth; as if I suddenly have more to say or do with little logical explanation as to why. As @PlatinumSkink said, for some inexplicable reason I find that my female characters are more compelling and or interesting, even parsed against an identical copy of themselves with the only variation being gender.

All of my really refined characters play against type - even my avatar is an admission of that of sorts, as her character is certainly well off the beaten path, as can be defined in the piece alone. Moreover, I feel as if they're more organic, as the only two male characters I've held on to and cultivated evolved naturally, most others were in response to trying to meet certain conditions - like as if they were constructed to fit some role, rather than feeling like they're the result of that niche being open. The two females I've stuck to? They just sort of happened into being characters - just ideas that got set free and kept rapidly evolving on their own and didn't (and don't) feel like they have a definitive end. In fact, there's still a lot more for them to do and become in concept.

Transitioning slightly, I tend to write anti-heroes or characters who are morally ambiguous - three of the four I've kept around for an extended period certainly aren't good persons and are a far cry from anyone you would want to be a heroic person or moral authority. Perhaps they do have truly noble intentions, but frequent horrible, oft violent means (even making great errors in judgment on their personal bias alone) which makes them downright zealots or, in the case of one, fairly monstrous. I find myself making their lives so terrible, not because I enjoy it, but because it feels like it gives an explanation as to who they are and why they do what they do; not justifying their actions, but separating them from the "they're just crazy" and more to, "they really are convinced they're doing the right thing". It gives a sense of credibility, or so I am lead to believe. Also helps that I'm not fond of "this character does bad and or terrible things because crazy".

As an ending note but slightly-relevant-yet-semi-off-topic, I guess my favored archetype is of the "woman-warrior"; both my favorite character who inspired my username here and I've written for is entirely that, as is the close runner up I've worked on.

In the past I always loved to portray a different "mental issue" with my characters, either that or to represent an idea.

I had played with Solipsism, Double personality, Psychosis, etc.

I've also been fond of making "troll" characters

Nowadays though I had calmed however I'm always trying something new or different than what you usually see in RPG.
Between the many I currently had this character whose memories had been completely removed (different to amnesia, as the memories aren't hidden, they simply doesn't exist) in a period that goes from childhood to late teenage. Thus this character's personality is a "plastic" one created from the mashup of her childlike personality with her teen one, but skipping a bit portion in the middle. Been funny to write as she can be quite irrational.

Bright haired, Short-fused characters whom love to drink alcohol and have many partners.

that or Brown hair, happy-go-lucky characters whom only get mad if someone insults their way of life

that, or characters that you can compare to Maes Hughes.

Recently I went through a few months of making characters that had terrible backstories (parents died or wife/son died or somebody they loved died) that didn't correlate with how they saw the world ie they weren't super depressed but functioning soon after the tragedy. I realised that and immediately switched my focus. It was bad characterisation.

Now my characters are really average, run of the mill, neighbour Joe types with a cracked flaw/problem that is going to be developed/have personal growth. I find them more interesting, to be honest, like one of them's a coward whose only skill is running away, in a zombiepocalypse, who wouldn't even try and save anybody (while everybody else, mostly awesome soldiers, would near sacrifice themselves to protect the group).

All of my characters, now and then, have amplified traits of myself, but are also different enough from myself that I'd need a second to think and feel like they do, so they're relatable to me but I can comfortably say I'm not writing my life story out in the open.