The Forest of Shadows: Character Creation

Last Updated: 4/5/02

Fill in the following form to create a NEW character. Items with flowers () are required. Items in parentheses are not currently applicable. Please don't spend more than 5 or 6 minutes on required information.

Please do not use a character or name that you have used in a previous RPG.

Name: Not your own, your character's.
Description: Eyes, hair, build, (approximate) age, maybe simple clothing. (The professions don't really work with characters younger than 16.)
Species: Human (Male or Female) Other species are not available for starting characters. FAQ: Can I have a non-human character?
Starting Profession: See starting professions. Yes, you should pick, since it may help define your character. FAQ: Can I use another profession?
Personality: Brief, please, only three or four words. (This is just the basic type. You may, of course, have a character as complex as a real person, but here we just want the general idea.)
One Strength: One thing—anything—that your character does well. It doesn't have to be deep or exciting, but it should be as specific as possible. Pick something fun! (We assume that your character is good at their profession unless you indicate otherwise.)
One Weakness: One thing your character does really badly. Should balance out the strength. (Please see above.)
Blood Type: I don't really care, nor do I want to know. Furthermore, it's irrelevant, since blood transfusions haven't been invented yet. Yes, this is a joke. You're right, it isn't very funny.
(Bio:) Although you may certainly think of a bio now, I don't want it. Expect to define your past as you go—it's more fun! Remember, we are creating this world together, so we don't know enough now to give everyone a past.

If you spend more than about ten minutes on all this, you're thinking too hard! If you're stuck on one item, we can help. Ideally, one ought to be able to fulfill these requirements in about five or six minutes. FAQ: I don't have everything I need for my profile.

Keep in mind that the we roleplay in third person and present tense. Your character's profile should reflect this. When posting, the title of your post should be the name of the character. Be sure to start your own topic!

Many players ask to have specific weapons or items that are reasonable for their character's professions. So, if you have something that you particularly want, feel free to ask about it in your first post. The key word is "reasonable," which will be determined by Salli and the storytellers.

An Example to Follow:

Name: Shanna Windstar
Description: fiery red hair, emerald eyes, tall and slender, generally wears robes in various shades of green, age 19
Species: Human (Female)
Starting Profession: Elemental Mage
Personality: bright, quick-tempered, friendly
One Strength: an excellent cook
One Weakness: absolutely terrified of snakes

(You can find the profiles of actual player characters and a list of all accepted characters here. Scroll down to the first four or five to get a better idea of what I expect.)

An Example Not to Follow:

Name: Bob the Porcupine
Description: Purple hair, laser eyes, exactly 3'7" and 173 lbs., wearing fluorescent pink swim trunks and a purple and orange striped beach towel.
Species: Figment of Salli's Imagination
Starting Profession: King of Siberia
Personality: mwahahahaha
One Strength: strongest creature living
One Weakness: dislikes the color aquamarine
Blood Type: III
Bio: Has been ruling the world (from Siberia) for twenty-six years.

How to Avoid Common Mistakes and Misunderstandings

Although many profiles do get accepted without any modification, many require some adjustment before we accept them. Don't feel bad if you're asked to change something--it happens to lots of people.

Based upon past mistakes, there are some things you can do to make character submission and acceptance as quick and easy as character creation.

Choose a specific strength and weakness. Neither of these things needs to be related to the character's profession, and neither of them needs to be anything already connected with the profession. (For example, mages are already good at magic and bad at physical combat.) The point of this category is to give players and storytellers something fun to play with, so be creative.
Feel free to ask questions concerning anything you're unsure about before submitting a character.
Include all of the information listed as mandatory. We cannot accept incomplete profiles.
If you're leaving something blank because you need help, please say so. Otherwise, we'll probably assume you just forget it.
You must choose and specify a starting profession from the list available. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Your character must be entirely human. There are no exceptions to this rule.
There are, in fact, no exceptions to any rule. Although we do stretch rules on occasion, this happens rarely, so don't count on it.
If you feel the need to elaborate upon your character's personality, also include a three or four word version of the description so I do not have to ask you for it later.
Include your character's age.

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