Character Sheets & Pictures

  • Thread starter Delusional IIV Idol
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Delusional IIV Idol

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I noticed recently that I have turned a lot of people off by not wanting to use pictures or even do character sheets. I'll do them but it depends on my partner. some of my main reasons are that I normally can't find the picture I want to use and it doesn't match what I see the character as, the character sheets usually are just summing up the character and some people just want to follow them to a t. so i have a few questions

  1. do you use character sheets, if yes then what kind of character sheets would you use? if no why wouldn't use them
  2. what makes a good character sheet, what makes a bad one
  3. do you like using pictures, descriptions or both?
 
It sounds like you usually do one-on-ones and I prefer group RPs myself, so I'm not sure how much of this is applicable to you, but:

I find CSs really useful because they let me sum up my character for the GM's purposes. The GM can look at my CS and tell me whether the character fits the setting, has an acceptable level of strength, and is fleshed out enough to fit the standards of the roleplay in question. Without a CS, these things might cause problems later on when they're much more difficult to fix.

A good CS has a good balance between quality and quantity. Personally I dislike the sheets that have like, thirty fields, as they're just a chore and I don't understand how all that extra information could be useful. A bad CS could also have too little information -- for example on that omits the backstory, unless the setting calls for the characters to not have one for whatever reason -- or asks the players to describe the character's personality and/or appearance in just a few words, like a bulleted list. I find that those barely require any effort on the player's part and very little real development is done.

I almost never use pictures. I'm with you on this one -- there's never a picture that quite fits the character enough. If I've had an artist draw the character previously, though, I'll use that. I have a blurb about this in my signature warning people about it, since I know some GMs prefer or even require pictures and I don't want there to be any confusion. I'll also always ask if just a description is okay, if the CS didn't already specify.

It's also worth noting that a CS shouldn't be the be-all end-all of a character! With the exception of things that could give them a clear edge in combat or puzzle solving -- notably powers, skills, and possessions -- I think it should be acceptable to bring in traits that weren't explicitly mentioned in the CS. If you had to stick to what you wrote, your character would fall completely flat. We simply can't capture every single facet of a living, breathing person in just a paragraph or two.
 
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I noticed recently that I have turned a lot of people off by not wanting to use pictures or even do character sheets. I'll do them but it depends on my partner. some of my main reasons are that I normally can't find the picture I want to use and it doesn't match what I see the character as, the character sheets usually are just summing up the character and some people just want to follow them to a t. so i have a few questions

  1. do you use character sheets, if yes then what kind of character sheets would you use? if no why wouldn't use them
  2. what makes a good character sheet, what makes a bad one
  3. do you like using pictures, descriptions or both?
I do. It is between my partner and I whether we want to do them or not. For me, either or is fine. I'm not going to get bent out of shape if my partner doesn't want to do one. For myself I really have to get inspired to do one I am proud of. I'll do something basic because I prefer to tell the story of my character in the thread rather than reveal everything in a CS. I might want to change things around completely later on.


I suppose a good one is being able to tell enough information about your character without giving away details you want to be in the actual thread. To be honest, I can't really say what is a good versus bad character sheet because everyone is entitled to make a sheet how they deem fit. Who can say whether it is good or bad.


I get an image of my character in my mind before I search online. I know I won't find remotely close to what I am searching for but I'll get as close as I can or not bother with one at all. In any case I'll use descriptions too.
 
I'm more into 1x1s than groups at the moment. With groups a CS is definitely mandatory so that the GM can keep people from breaking their rules. For 1x1s it's a little more flexible depending on what the partners agree on. Personally I like CSes since they give me a chance to review my character and what I know about them, and then be able to use them as a reference later if I need to check on details, but I don't like when it gets to super specific stuff. Feeling organic is something I really care about for my characters, so making up stuff on the fly just to fill out a character sheet isn't something that works well for me. It works out better when it's a character I've been using for a long time where I'm more sure of who they are. I do tend to deviate from some of the information on them as things progress, but overall it's something I like to have. I don't tend to make CSes for side characters unless it's really general stuff for reference, like a picture, age, and basic personality. Even if I don't post a CS in a roleplay, I'll probably do one just for myself.

I spend waaaaay too much time looking up pictures to find just the right ones for my character. They aren't always spot on to how they look in my head, but close enough for what I need.
 
I don't care for character sheets, but if they are needed (for group role plays) then I will fill out whatever is provided. For 1x1s I normally do not use one, but if my partner wants one then I will fill out a basic form. Gender, age, a very simplistic personality.
For a good character sheet for group RPs, I agree with Moogle-Girl.

For images, I hate using an images unless it is one I have commissioned. I want the picture to look like my character, and the only way to do that is to pay an artist. Plus, I spend a lot of money getting realistic art *pokes avatar* so I like to show off the beautiful art.
 
  • do you use character sheets, if yes then what kind of character sheets would you use? if no why wouldn't use them

I don't necessarily use sheets, but I do use a site called Litphoria on which I host full profiles complete with preferred activities and plots for the story! It's similar, but not quite the same.

  • what makes a good character sheet, what makes a bad one

A character sheet, to me, is a sheet of easily-accessed information posted directly, rather than linked. I don't think they're bad as a whole, but a bad character sheet might offer too much or too little information, and leave a partner uncertain what to do with a character OR overloaded and unable to understand the whole thing

  • do you like using pictures, descriptions or both?

I use a bit of both, though my pictures come from either commissions or doll makers (with one exception, which is an animal character that I need to buy art for). I don't like using faceclaims save for as artistic reference for when I buy art, and I don't like grabbing art from google or anything like that, because to me, it seems unfair to the artist, even with credit.

~*~​

Overall, I tend not to use them, but I do like their effective use, because it makes it easier to plan things with my partner, and to look back for appearance details later in the RP rather than having to go "Shit, gotta comb through or embarrass myself by asking OOC about a thing my character would know by know!"