@BrokenPromise

Aye, especially hell. When your dyslexic, you assume everyone has perfect ability to locate this infmation, break down sections. Paragraph ans so.

Nope... Woeld ain't like that.

Aye, at least of you want to do a chexn, maybe make the last question what your charceters favorite cookie or so if you want to test it. It's way less trisky. You can lao have fun with it like someone's spirit animal.

Here's something to consider with post history: some roleplayers don't have an extended library of posts to choose from. Many are new, many more may dabble in different sections and individual roleplays of varying standards — you wouldn't want to make a hasty generalization: "This person wrote like this once or twice; they will definitely write like this for my roleplay."

Here's something to consider with post history: some roleplayers don't have an extended library of posts to choose from. Many are new, many more may dabble in different sections and individual roleplays of varying standards — you wouldn't want to make a hasty generalization: "This person wrote like this once or twice; they will definitely write like this for my roleplay."

Of course, especially with new players. But if someone does have a catalog of repeat instances? Ho boy.

I have a hard time joining RPs if I don't know the GM these days. I've made way too many character concepts and spent too many evenings working on them to have them go to waste because the GM can't be bothered to keep the plot moving.

I'm strongly in favor of detailed character sheets. I got my start RPing in Facebook Harry Potter RP groups, where all we really had was a picture, a name, house, brief bio, and a blood status. It was super rough and quick and it worked well there, since it was essentially one liners all the time and none of the plots actually connected together or lasted very long (I remember at one point, one of my characters was aged 10 years and had kids of his own, and at the same time, their friend they went to school with was still a 4th year.... But that's not really relevant to this lol).

But now that I'm older, I really crave really intricate and long lasting stories. I think that fleshed out CS's are really conducive for this. Even something as seemingly trivial as height has come up time and time again in RPs I've been in - such as a realization that one of my babies, Guin, is almost a foot shorter than her boyfriend. And for scars and tattoos, those can really tell a story all of their own. I have one character, Arya, whose scar has a lot of importance to her backstory - it really relates how she grew up.

But as messy and disorganized at this response is - I think the CS matches the RP. If you want something intense and well plotted out, then an in depth CS is a must. If you're just kicking around ideas in a sandbox and you aren't that invested in having things be rigorous or that it'll still be that same story in a month or so, then sure, go without a CS. I've had a lot of fun doing RP styles like that with friends just by text message for example.

As long as you're happy and you're having fun, do whatever works for you. What I enjoy won't always be what someone else enjoys.

I take a pretty harsh view of digging through profiles to judge people. Matter of fact it's a good way for me to end up blacklisting a GM and passing otherwise-good roleplays by. If you want to judge someone, you should judge them in the present rather than in the past.

Back to topic, my last response was rather brief and only partially descript. A better response than my previous is to drop this absolute unit.


This is my latest character framework. Note that this is NOT meant for public or GM consumption. This is a framework to help me work through building an incredibly complete character that I've adapted for public release. When I work through these, it's often not super coherent in places, but it's the content that counts. This is what I use to develop my characters to a ridiculously thorough degree. When filled out right, it's thousands of words, rambly as hell, and generally indecipherable to everyone except myself. And I'm gonna give this to my players and tell them to fill it out too.

I stress again this is NOT what I'll be using to vett characters. I don't expect players to actually finish these things for weeks. Its an exercise I merely encourage them to undertake to really build out their characters more than they may have initially considered.

This is what I would say it takes to really define a good, well-written character accurately.

I take a pretty harsh view of digging through profiles to judge people. Matter of fact it's a good way for me to end up blacklisting a GM and passing otherwise-good roleplays by. If you want to judge someone, you should judge them in the present rather than in the past.

Can't speak for everyone, but in the 7 years I've been GMing, I've had some hard lessons about running games and currently, I've been keeping games running for well over a year at minimum the past few tries. That comes down to vetting players and following a two-stage application process, through character sheet reviews, and some quick homework on an applicant. If I see someone hasn't been able to last in an RP for more than a few weeks or months, or cause drama and friction, or they join multiple RPs at once and commit to none of them, I'm not taking the chance because I have been burned way too many times. I tend to get upwards of around 20 applications every time I run an RP and I usually have 8-10 slots; I'm taking the best sheets and most consistent players with the best personalities every single time.

Is it harsh? Sure, but I'm tired of having flakey and problematic players because I want someone willing to invest in a 2+ year roleplay.

The beautiful part of this forum is there's enough options out there that if you don't like something, you don't have to join it. I won't apologize for or change my methods because a few people think it's unfair or invasive because at this point, I'm aiming for quality and a good community that will see a game through to the end. Considering my current RP is over 1.5 years running and in the third and final act, I feel pretty validated.

Okay, dropping my two cents into this one. Been reading through it for a bit. I have gotten a lot of back lash over the last years here on this forum for the way I run things. Both right to my face and behind my back (funny how people think what they say to someone else won't get back to me, it usually does in the form of screen shots from Discord to PM's) - either way it doesn't bother me and I find it funny. Especially when it is from someone who has never Rped with me.

Outside of my rules the biggest thing I get backlash for are my CS's. I have been at this for a long time. Over 30 years Rping, over 20 years GMing. I do vet Rpers by their past posts and actions, who are in the past works towards who we are today. Don't get me wrong, even an Rper that has burned me in the past usually gets a second or even a third chance if they go for it. If they change, awesome, if they don't you can bet they will be blacklisted and if asked I will pass along my past experiences with the Rper.

My Cs's are overly in-depth and I know this. Part of that is a vetting process. Part of that is because I am a huge believer in if you don't have a fully fleshed out CS you cannot stay true to your own personal character vision. Refer to ~Staying True To Character Concept~ for more on that. It pretty much speaks for itself. You have to have a well thought out character and a way to stick to it if you are going to evolve the character over the course of an RP. Your starting CS is only the jumping off point. It should be updated regularly over the course of an RP.

Outside of a way to get an idea of an RPer, how dedicated they are, and give them the first tool they need to stay true to that character... Sad to say but it is there because I don't trust Rpers. Some will blatantly make up shit on the fly to work it in if they are seeking romance or an over powered character. This has been a huge problem over the years and I guard against it. If I have it down on paper so to speak, I can nip that in the bud. I am lucky, I have an amazing group that I really don't have to worry about anymore and a select few I could easily go "Just give me a name and a physical description" and know they aren't going to betray my trust. Thing is, I run the same rules for everyone. It doesn't matter if you are someone I like, someone I don't know, or someone I loath - you will have the same rule and IC treatment as everyone else. You have to if you are going to be a good GM in my book. So everyone has to fill out the monster CS.

Will my ways work for everyone and in every circumstance? Hell no. And they aren't meant to. I found what works for me and after nearly 4 years under this name I am not changing it. I have multiple completed RPs, several that have or are currently running for more than 3 years straight, and haven't had a single RP die on me since 2016. (And even those weren't true RP deaths, they were still running and we chose to stop them to jump ahead into another Rp that was tied to it further down a timeline.) I do what I have to make sure my Rps last and stay strong. Again, my ways don't work for everyone and they shouldn't. It would get pretty damn boring out there if everyone did it the exact same way. We all need variety.

As Dervish said, good thing about this forum is that it is so large that if you don't like the way someone runs things or how you have to fill out a huge Cs for them, you don't have to. You can find someone else on the forum that is more aligned with what you want to do and what you want to achieve in RP. Or you can run your own. My biggest issue is people bashing others for the way they chose to run their RP. If it works for them, or even if it doesn't, who cares? It is their RP and if it makes them content to do it that way, let them. That is what Rp is all about. To enjoy yourself and to try new things. There is a Gm out there for everyone and if there isn't a Gm out there that works for you, host your own.

Granted having said all this is rather pointless as those that agree with me don't need convincing and those that don't aren't going to change their minds from a single post, but hey I do love an exercise in futility.

Alright, that is enough. Happy Rping/Gming.

Lady A~

Not sure how much I'll be adding to the conversation that hasn't been said already, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A CS, to me, is an integral part to RPing on forums- public Rps, anyway. A private invite-only thing is a free-for-all where the rules are made up and the points don't matter. However, when you're dealing with potential strangers, you need some way to test them and see if they're not pulling a fast one on you. I suppose you could do something janky like having 5 hour philosophical discussions in private with each potential applicant to gauge their worth, but most normal people would prefer something easier to fill in; some kind of test like you'd get in school.

'cause, really, that's what a CS is in the end. You get this sheet of paper with a few questions on it that you're free to write down anything in, and depending on how well the one judging your hand-in likes it, they give you either a passing or failing score, usually with red markers pointing to where you went wrong in the case you didn't pass the test.

How much detail has to go into this is pure personal preference and up to the GM of an individual RP. Personally, I wouldn't go much further beyond a Name/Age/Appearance/Personality/Background slam-dunk, with the addition of any magic, inventory and/or combat prowess depending on the kind of RP you're running. Any other detail comes across as excess to me, especially as I sincerely doubt the use of the name of your third cat, but I can see why others would want to go all Oliver Twist on us and ask if they can have some more. Of course most would then go "MOOOORE?!" back and promptly move on to a new check, but that's the kinda player the inquiring party was trying to avoid, innit?

so yeah, a CS is pree subjective as all hell. Either way, I think it's a great way to gauge both the skill and priorities of any given person. I've found that they work best as a description of the core concept, and most other stuff gets built on as the RP progresses- kind of like a voice actor sounding weird for the first three-ish episodes as they try to work out their definitive voice (and boy do VA's sound weird for the first few episodes compared to the last in whatever the hell I watch). Prolly doesn't help I half-ass any and every CS I can nowadays, as some of the ones where I put the most effort in also belong to RPs that never even got to the IC ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Oh, and a thing that also works for me is to PM your GM some details you don't want other players to know, just in case there's some mystery element you want to explore together with everyone. I tend to do this a lot.

I find it strange, somewhat ironic, and even a bit funny how @Lady Amalthea can be the source of almost everything I know about GMing and yet we have such radically different views on the subject. Roleplaying is a collaborative storytelling exercise at its core and I can't imagine trying to do that in an environment where I fundamentally distrust applicants and players. I even say that as a particularly cynical individual who has become rather ruthless in my enforcement of rules. But I digress as any further elaboration on this becomes a discussion on game management methodology and that's a topic that can fill a thread on it's own.

Yes, this comes from the status discussion started by @Rain and continued by several other members, so why not have a healthy medium to continue the discussion that isn't limited to 200 characters?

So, to summarize, we have some saying they are useful because it encourages creativity while others claiming the concept of character sheets are pointless. And then there's the middle ground of going the simplistic route (this was said by @Chai).

So, where do you stand when it comes to character sheets? Are you for them? Against them? Selectively for them when it's necessary? Or do you prefer to just use the simple approach of pic, name, age, gender, and personality traits?

Discuss!

I didn't think character sheets/profiles were necessary at all oh no, not me, I didn't need them, what for? until my uncle, a well-known story teller, actor and writer of books for the younger ones, made me notice my characters were so plain he could iron his shirts on them, then I started to study the CS's and now I guess I'm all for it. Again thanks for giving me a motivation to write.

Not sure how much I'll be adding to the conversation that hasn't been said already, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A CS, to me, is an integral part to RPing on forums- public Rps, anyway. A private invite-only thing is a free-for-all where the rules are made up and the points don't matter. However, when you're dealing with potential strangers, you need some way to test them and see if they're not pulling a fast one on you.

This is exactly what it comes down to. People wear you down, man. Years of shananagins wear you down. There are different types of role players, from hobbyists to passionate story tellers who would put their free time and energy into something else if they didn't care about their stories so much.

Joining one of my normal RPs (the one I'm working on now isn't as hardcore on an individual level) is a huge investment. If you have school in 2 months, or are just passing through and got excited. . . you probably shouldn't fill out a sheet on the spot. But again, people where you down. I'd rather a thread crash and burn to death than have 6-8 people show up and destroy or abandon it within a month.

I think key here is, some use heavy weight tomes. Other quick and easy, or in between but definitely useful.

They help to keep all the ducks in a row and so, updated to keey track of facts, things like jewrally or just little stuff you might forget.

Now though, definitely somthing that needs to know your audience, know what you want, and know how you gonna achieve because a bad CS sheet is a real intrest killer. It's a concept you need to adjust as you go, what works for one will not work for all. Though definitely favour keep it simple, even if heavy you do not want to have to spend 10minutes just working iur what goes where. Easy to use does not have to mean short.

If you need a full appendix guide and supporting documents to fill it out and just to translate the CS. That is bad. Supporting is fine, but the CS should be able to be filled out without needed multiple sources just to make sense.

The CS needs to be able to stand on its own and be understood. A complicated RP will need supporting info, but that info should not be used to prop up you failing to design the CS correctly.

Basically like a logo. A good CS should be simplely laid out , easy to identify the companants and you should be able to fill it out without tricks or trap sections.

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I just sort of like having the character come together on the sheet. Sometimes it happens in the personality section, other times it's the power section. It can even happen in the Bio section. But there just comes a point I'm like "Oh yea, I know what the character is now."

Least favorite is selecting artwork. When I describe an outfit, others seldom remember. Using pictures removes this problem, but I feel like the picture then dictates how I have to make the character. It's even more infuriating when I make the character before looking for art. It's almost impossible to find something that works.

My least favorite thing about when it comes to sheets would be pictures and then you have to select artwork for it. I'm more used to describe an outfit for my characters and when I have to find one then I can't because it'll be for the most part impossible depending on what the sheet is like one for a fantasy setting for example but I'm more used to describing it so in that view it is similar to your least favorite thing about a CS.

Guess I prefer a semi-detailed character sheet. Where appearance, personality, skills background and other essential traits are listed off in detail or a paragraph or two (unless it's something like age, name, etc.). Outside of that there is skills or abilities and a few other traits but those are more adjustable from roleplay to roleplay based on the universe's lore or setting. I don't think I'm a big fan of the whole 'likes', 'dislikes', and 'fears' sections most of the time since it seems to be just a thrown bit of information. If a character really likes, dislikes or fears something to a strong extreme of being notable, it can be blended into skills or personality traits as a passing mention.

I think it is rather helpful especially for those who are roleplaying a lot since it can help keep track of different characters as well as their separate histories and personalities. If you end up 4 or 5 roleplays each without a character sheet, I figure it may become difficult over time to remember different specific background details and some of them may blend together. It gives a general guideline and reminder to refer back to for players, as well for the GM.

In the GM's case it could easily help rope in possible plot points that the characters would be interested in or involve the characters' specific background traits. It easily helps to identify which characters are too strong for the roleplay or simply do not fit in. There's also the nature of a person's writing skill and level, if someone is consistently writing one liners for their character descriptions in personality, background, and so on it's an obvious red flag if that's not the intended roleplay format.

Character sheets are important if they are important to the game. I find it nice to check out who is playing and what they're like and it has proven to be an easy reference point to help with fleshing out a post. If there are going to be character sheets, simple is best. If you're going to try and make me jump through a bunch of hoops with some complicated bullshit template or arbitrary pro/con crap then you can fuck right off.

Character sheets are fun to make. They're good reference if I ever forget a character's experiences, voice, aura, whatever. Nothing beats reading old rp posts, but sheets are aesthetically pleasing and make good review. That being said, I don't make character sheets for roleplay characters myself - it's all in good fun for me, and I'd rather spend my time actually writing than simply compiling information.

It really depends on how they're used. I've been in groups that were against character sheets and almost every time there were people accidentally creating the same characters just different names and genders or pushing their characters toward similar character arcs without realizing it until we got the "multiple characters with two souls, one body oh crap this was supposed to be my thing" happening. Also, going through 2,053 posts just to find a character's eye color (when even the rper forgot their own character's eye color) isn't my idea of fun.

I consider them a starting point with a little bit of a direction. Sometimes things change. That's okay. If I'm running the rp, I usually keep a copy of the rp, copies of the character sheets posted by the players, updated character sheets I keep that include observations and relationship arcs, and whatever notes I need.

I won't do them in 1x1's, but they're useful in group RP's so you can gauge where the character fits within the universe.