I made Cannonball Ruby to be a simple experiment on EfU to get to know the world and how the rp works. She ended up being quite a major character by joining the Seekers, owning a ship and finally attempting to escape to the surface. Everything about Ruby was made up on the spot from pretty much the word go - but she ended up, in my eyes, with a very sucessful character.

On the other hand...

My new character, Lyra Lockheart, her history and background has been deeply planned out and sorted so it all develops during the time I play her. Slowly she is becoming a very intresting character to play (though I haven't played her long enough to compare her to Ruby yet).

So...

I am curious to other players thoughts and experiences when they design their characters. Do you make it up on the spot or spend ages planning it out before hand?

I do a little of both, depending on the concept. Some chars have evolved, while others were almost fully fleshed out at the start. So, I really can't vote either way...

I tend to do both as well.

I never, ever plan my guys out.

I actually do put a little thought into a character's history and motivations before hitting that final Play button. The amount has varied depending on the character, but it gives me a framework to play the character within, and doesn't take up all that much time.

Well, except for the kobolds and goblins I've made anyway. They were totally spur of the moment. :wink:

I have planned characters in the past. Lately I form more loose guidelines and let things evolve...sometimes to the point the character goes in a way I hadn't anticipated.

If you are confused on which way to go...go Cyric! Who knows if it's real or lies then XD

I work on the principle of the loose background model, from which I can anticipate the concept's reaction to certain situations and subjects. I don't like the lack of freedom associated with a rigid background; I like to have room to grow and improve.

I establish a concept I like first, then decide on the class and attributes. I'll usually start out with some hazy notion of the backstory, but I never really flesh out the details until after character creation.

For instance, when I rolled up the name Jaden Sarkish in a name generator, I thought it had a good ring to it, but Sarkish sounded more like a human's first name than an elf's last name. So I asked myself, "how would an elf in Sanctuary get a first name for a last name?"

Thus, Old Man Sarkish was born, the human who raised Jaden from early childhood. Suddenly, I had a concept for a Lower elf, and ranger seemed like the natural choice for his class.

I find that if I start with the concept, then figure out how to make it work in an offline trainer, I'm much more satisfied with the results than if I pick the class first, then develop the concept around it afterward.

Whatever you do is incorrect. Call me elitist, but my way is far superior.

Your way is the same, you just took fewer words to describe it.

I usually plan mine out well in advance. I may add additional details as they progress if it helps to explain some aspect I had not previously considered. I think this has made my characters more interesting to play, even if I never really end up telling anyone the backstory.

Slightly off-topic: Even though I think a solid backstory is helpful, I think that it is nice to leave your future a bit more open for change. Combining your past history with your present experiences and future goals really contributes to having a character that evolves. I think if the character evolves and adapts slightly or even abruptly, then it's more likely he/she won't get stale.

I do both.

Sometimes at the same time.

Sometimes slowly....yeahh.

Lerzon is basically : make it up, whatever I tell one person, tell the rest.

Yay.

Noirin was the only Character I had an established back ground for, but his history is still hazy, I don't even have his lineage.

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. But I generally have some sort of loose idea to base my characters around. A patron deity, a class or profession, race (keeping in mind racial stereotypes and whether I want to go with them or not). Normally I don't spend time detailing my characters, I just get ideas at random when watching TV/reading/listening to music/talking to people and so on.

Then I may or may not go with them. Sometimes I get disheartened with my main because I've had a really great idea that I know will pass if I don't make it and play it. But the feeling passes and I get back into the action.

I always have a background and a concept when I create a character.

Hmm, I make a basic structure for my character's backstory then flesh it out through RP.

I get an idea of who I want to play before creating. Mostly picking the defining flaws and the reasons I have them. Then I think of how I got into the city and choose any relevant information about my history that could be asked about by another person. Then hit create! And stop when I cant make the levels, stats and skills work to handle it all. >.>

(shakes a fist at the limited number of skill points available to human rogues with a 16int)

I tend to have a rough idea and then fill it in with things happening to me at the time. It's a constant source of complete and utter randomness.

Take Oona. I have a rough idea of her personality... Slow to anger, and quick to forgive in certain areas. Once she's riled, watch out. But I really didn't get to know this side of her personality for some time. For me, Oona has always been Oona. I'm just getting to know her better the more we interact.

Obviously my characters viewpoints and reactions are tinted by the lense of my own life. Books I've read, stories I hear at work or school, a show on tv, some crazy crap that happened to me... There is a lot of inspiration to draw from in my meager existance. I'm sure many of you lead more interesting lives than I do, and therefore have even more inspiration to draw from. It's just a matter of doing it. Let your mind wander. Don't think about what your character will do or why, just watch them do it.

The character has always been there. It's part of you. Let them out to play.

Oona I tend to have a rough idea and then fill it in with things happening to me at the time. It's a constant source of complete and utter randomness.

Take Oona. I have a rough idea of her personality... Slow to anger, and quick to forgive in certain areas. Once she's riled, watch out. But I really didn't get to know this side of her personality for some time. For me, Oona has always been Oona. I'm just getting to know her better the more we interact.

Obviously my characters viewpoints and reactions are tinted by the lense of my own life. Books I've read, stories I hear at work or school, a show on tv, some crazy crap that happened to me... There is a lot of inspiration to draw from in my meager existance. I'm sure many of you lead more interesting lives than I do, and therefore have even more inspiration to draw from. It's just a matter of doing it. Let your mind wander. Don't think about what your character will do or why, just watch them do it.

The character has always been there. It's part of you. Let them out to play.

As... crazy as that sounds, it does make a lot of sense. Characters tend to be interesting to me, and I'd assume everyone else, because they connect with something about me. The gritty/mischevious side of me (Dugbone) or the theologian in me (Westmore) or the part of me that loves scheming and plotting (ALL of them). In the end, you're really just playing parts of yourself, but who else is more suited to do so than you!

Now, looking on the other hand, the characters that I've made that I don't enjoy tend to be very unlike me. A Hoaran paladin, for instance, that I played for some time. I never really enjoyed playing him as he was a very confused (and confusing!) character because I couldn't connect with him.

I don't want to know what Leslie says about me.

The character has always been there. It's part of you. Let them out to play

That line made me cry a little. Well said.

-Kalos

I'm interested to see the results here...

Anyway, I'm definately a little of both - characters are dynamic, so they need to change to reflect what happens to them in the game world. But a good solid background really fleshes out a character and lets you start acting it out from when you first set foot into Sanctuary, clad in rags, smelling to high heaven, hungry, wild-eyed and overjoyed to be 'safe', but at the same time refusing charity from other PCs, due to the fact that you may have been 'nobility' or sceptical. Haven't seen that role-played out very well, very often.

I usually try to write a nice, lengthy backstory for my characters. Although, lately, I've found myself barely able to do it, mainly because I'd rather be investing time into writing other things. Regardless, after I play the character for a day or two, I tend to be able to go back and write a lovely, fitting little story for them. Most often, though, I only start them off with a few major events in their life, and how they ended up in the Underdark.

I think it is very important to plan a character's background up front, as the experiences you've had in life partially define a character's personality. This goes a little beyond 'Drow burned my village, made me a slave and now I hate them'. The more background I put into a character, the more I can become them. Furthermore, being able to tell others how you were as a child for example, will make you a more realistic character in their eyes. If the only thing your character has ever done is 'killing Orogs on a DM quest' is a little less entertaining to others than sharing how Benito Delgado's relationship to Philip is, and how that relationship and its resulting consequences have marked that poor man for life [SPOILER, CRUCIAL INFORMATION WITHHELD]. Besides, to make a really fitting character you'll need to think it through. Ultimately, on-the-go is like lying. You'll get caught in your own web (whether lies or innovation) if you're not careful.

Ultimately, on-the-go is like lying. You'll get caught in your own web (whether lies or innovation) if you're not careful.

That's what the 'Journal' is for ;) To keep the "lies" consistent.

-Kalos

Make them up as you go along seems to have come out top for voting, but it is quite close (almost 50/50).

But as most of you have said, you like to do a bit of both. And I think that is the way forward for a fairly sucessful character.

So maybe some advice for the new players, make character, a good idea for a background - then do the rest as you go along!

I think its important for you to understand the core of your character before you set foot into the setting to simplify matters and turn it into a more memorable experience. Application-chararacter as the exception to the rule, it should be enough to know why your character is whatever his alignment is - what his values are and throw in a flaw to make it all the more enjoying. InGame experiences will definitely enable one to shape the character as they live on - but having a (semi) solid foundation from the start is totally the way to go.

Except for Halfblood.

I try to have a general reason as to why/how my character got to Sanctuary. I have a limited backstory created also.

As the character progresses and I get a feel for how he would react to some of the situations that happen to him, I flesh out his backstory more, creating a more detailed personal history.

As the character gets closer to his IC goals, I flesh it out even more.

Creating a character for me is the same when i write a new screenplay, the characters take on a life of their own figure it out from there at the deeper levels.

I usually try to come up with the more generic stuff. Where did he live in? Why did he become an adventurer? Why does he worship X god? What about his family, does he have any contact with them? Why did he become X alignement? What are his goals, his motivations? What does he fear, what does he love, etc. Once that's figured out I make up the little details on the fly.

I usually think of a backstory before I create my chars. Sometimes I dont but mostly with app races I DO ROFL.