Character/Bio Writing Template

Basics
Name: This is pretty self-explanatory, full name, maiden name.
Nicknames/Alias: Again, self-explanatory. If they have nicknames explain the meaning behind
them (unless its an abbreviation).
Face Claim: I normally write bios before picking face claims but some prefer to do it the other
way. This is a very general rule but try to deviate too much, no more than years years, from the
real age of the FC.
Age: For some supernatural/fantasy/sci-fi genres you may need a appearance/physical age
as well.
Gender: Again, self-explanatory.
Sexuality: Again, self-explanatory.
Date/Place of Birth: Time and place of birth is quite important as itll effect other parts of the
bio like name choices or childhood life.
Currently: Location-wise.
Nationality/Species: Self-explanatory. Please note that ethnicity and nationality are different.
If there are species in your roleplay, you might also have sub-species groups.
Occupation: If applicable.
Rank: For roleplays that feature hierarchies like royal families or schools where there are no
jobs, so a ranking system is more suitable. Can also be used to describe social class.

History
Childhood/Family Life: Who they grew up with? What was family life like in general? Does
your character know who their parents are, are they the biological parents, what were their
expectations for your character? Any particularly memories, traumatic or life changing? Did
your character grow up in a specific type of culture or belief system that shapes who they are
now? Any lingering health problems or hereditary family illnesses?
Education: For the real life based roleplays set in the present, level of education can be
important. For roleplays set further back in history, how much education can be important. I
find education to be an important factor because it effects who we are, who we can be and
who we want to be in the present day. Education and wealth also help determine social
background.
Accomplishments: Mention those relevant to the personality development of plot. For
example, if your character received a music scholarship it will make them having memorized
every Mozart piece more believable. Or if your character graduated top of the class in sword
fighting, it might explain why they started hacking away at zombies with a machete as
opposed to running in the opposite direction. There can also be negatives to some
accomplishments, for example, receiving a military medal can show a character as courageous
and dedicated to their country. But (depending on the medal) it could also mean they were the

only survivor of an air raid which resulted in long term guilt causing them to avoid meaning
relationships that could lead to their happiness.
Regrets: Everyone has regrets; if only I could turn back time, if only we had known earlier, if
only you had seen the other choice earlier. Regrets can be a huge part of a characters subplot
(talked about later) because when someone acknowledges theyve done something wrong, the
first reaction is normally to fix it. Someone who has no regrets, also says a lot about them.
Secrets: Everyone has secrets, how big are your characters? Think about things like who
knows, how many people does it effect, anyone in particularly that cannot know the secret,
consequences of certain people knowing.

Personality
Positives/Virtues/Skills: In general, positive traits are aspects that make that your character
likable whether its their attitude, behaviour or actions. Positive traits are also things your
character is good at which places them at an advantage.
Flaws/Weaknesses: Flaws make your character real and believable so think before you write
something down for the sake of it. Read the history again as qualities will emerge from events
in the characters past. To me, flaws include negative aspects (especially in abundance) which
have a negative effect on themselves and/or others, traits that prevent your character from
being perfect, or just weaknesses like phobias.
Do not just come up with a random list of traits totally plucked out of thin air. A number of
personality traits are often directly related to our history/background - so re-read what was
written above and make logical connections. Personality is revealed by behavior, how one
interact with others and what decisions they make. Also be careful that you dont contradict
yourself; someone who is childish will probably not be the leader of a political rebellion any
time soon. Likewise, someone who is physically weak will probably not be jumping into every
bar fight they see. A classic Mary Sue contradiction is lack of self-confidence even when every
male character is lusting after them.
Im sure you dont need me to tell you no Mary Sues and Marty/Gary Stus, or Anti-Sues. Its all
about balance, Im not sure if theres a general rule but its best to try for one negative trait for
each positive.
Even with positive and negative traits, there can be different types of positive and different
types of negatives, some traits can double as both strengths and flaws depending on the
context*, some flaws are only viewed upon as flaws by a certain demographic**, certain
positives that are too positive or shown habitually can come off as a flaw instead*** and then
there are those traits which arent really flaws at all****.
For example:
(*) Stubbornness is generally viewed upon as a negative trait but at the same time
perseverance is a positive trait. I call these neutral traits where context is most important. If
Character A is refusing to even listen to why Character B thinks A is doing something wrong,
this is viewed as negative. However if Character A refuses to give up on their dream job even if

Character B says they dont think theyre suitable, this is viewed as positive attitude.
(**) I have no idea if being sarcastic is considered positive or negative (another neutral for me)
but sometimes the younger generation will see sarcasm as being snarky and sassy, thus cool
whereas the older generation will just see it as being rude and/or argumentative.
(***) Confidence is a positive trait, too much confidence can make a person cocky and
arrogant, over-valuing themselves. Same with intelligence, one can turn arrogant and look
down on others less fortunate. Another popular one I see is cautious characters who can be
seen as paranoid.
(****) Clumsiness. To be totally honest, I dont even know what clumsy is. Is it a lack of
co-ordination, a lack of grace, a lack of common sense (tripping over your feet when walking
across a flat platform is not clumsiness; thats just the inability to walk across flat platforms., in
which case I would be more worried about their health) or an excuse used to cover up
mistakes/accidents? Well anyway, this is not a personality flaw because the majority of the
time its used to portray the character as cute instead.
Personality Type: Sometimes for my own characters, or major characters in a story I will give
them one of the sixteen personality types.
Archetype: Again, this is when I want to be detailed or sometimes I use to plan out bios to
make sure there are different types of characters.
Likes & Dislikes: This is more of a fun section. Favourite colour, foods, places in the world?
Music, books, quotes? Types of clothing? Hobbies? Preferred activities in their free time? For
people your character dislikes, leave it to the relationship/enemies section.
Dreams/Ambitions: Dreams will often change due to circumstance or age but I would still
make a note of short term ambitions and goals which can later tie in with the characters
subplot (mentioned later).
Fears: Can include phobias that will be relevant but also fears related to the plot. For example
theres a zombie outbreak, their greatest fear could just simply be into a zombie. Or if these
zombies are soul-losing, flesh eating zombies, the characters greatest fear could be hurting
(a.k.a. eating) a family member.

Relationships
Parents: Including whoever was the acting guardian. Details on how the relationship was. Was
it more like mentor and student or best friends, how close are they now.
Siblings: Those bound by blood or by factions or cults. Again details on how the relationships
worked. Closet sibling, sibling rivalry, twins?
Children: If applicable, make the ages realistic.
Spouse: If applicable.
Current Partner: If applicable. How stable is the relationship, is marriage something both
people are thinking about?

Ex-Partners: If applicable. Maybe small details on why/how the relationship/s ended.

Boss/Employer: If applicable.
Co-Workers: If applicable.
Friends: If applicable. How did they become friends, how do they interact with each other, does
you character behave differently in front of their friends and the outside world? What do the
friends think about your character, are they truly friends or is there an ulterior motive?
Enemies: If applicable. A good one to include for creating future drama though have a realistic
reason. She has better hair than me is not really enough to imply they are enemies (I guess
unless its a high school RP?).

Supernatural/Fantasy
Weapon of Choice: I noticed a number of fantasy characters tend to name their weapons as
well?
Physical/Magical Strengths: If you have a vampire and all vampires in your world have super
strength, include it here.
(Unique) Powers: If you have a vampire and all the vampires in your world have super
strength, dont include it here. Other powers that dont come collectively to the same
species/group.
Physical/Magical Weaknesses: With every power should come a weakness, again to make
your world believable. Maybe the more power used by your character, the quicker their body
runs out of energy. Or maybe a classic elemental approach, water kills fire and fire melts
metal?

Physical Description
Build: Includes height, weight and general build.
Hair Colour: Remembering to find a face claim who has gifs with the same hair colour.
Eye Colour: Gif-wise I dont care about eye colour because you can barely see it, personal
preference.
Distinguishing Marks: If I have a face claim in mind, I tend to skip over this section apart from
distinguishing marks and tattoos. Making a note of physical features can make description
paras easier. If you have a shape-shifting/glamour species, what do they look like in their
other form?

Subplot
Where was your character at just before and at the start of the roleplay? Firstly, a physical
location is important. So for a town RP, is your character a resident, a tourist or a new citizen
who moved in just before the start of the RP. If we use the zombie outbreak example again, was
your character at home, were they on vacation and got stranded, are they able to contact their
family, etc. Next is where their head is at. Did any events happen just prior to the start of the
story, any deaths or life changing events? Who is the most important person in their life prior
to the RP starting, will it change during the story?

What is the storyline unique to the character? The plot/setting on the main RP is a group
plot, each character needs their own subplot. Their own goals, their own motivational reasons
and a conflict which stops them reaching that goal (can be tied to the main plot). Is their
conflict internal or external, does your character even know how to reach their goal, if so,
what is their next step?