Proper Character Sheet Making

Hello, here's my guide on making good character sheets when hosting a roleplay. This is a simple guide that will list several different features, sections, and options to add. For more information take a look at ViperaUnion's [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] the best guide made in the strategy section.

Introduction

Character sheets are key aspects in quality roleplaying. When you create a roleplay, unless your RP is a text adventure, you must have a character sheet available for people to enter characters. Most sheets go as follows:

Name:
Gender:
Age:
Description:
Other:
__________________________________________________
However I will take you through a good guide on how to make the best sheets for your RPs. You can also use my FREE TEMPLATE! In any RPs!

Sections

These are the things the sheet is made of. The best sheets have many sections to fill out. Also note: in some fantasy and science fiction rps, you might have to add extra sections. Next you should add "Gender" in which you add the gender of your character. And please, use the word "Gender: " not "Sex: "

Next should be the "Age: "
First, be sure to add a "Name: " section. This is where players will fill in the name of their character. After that should be "Appearance" or "Description" which is where you fill out exactly what your character looks like. After that, the best thing to add is a "Personality: " section where you explain the personality of your character, what he/she/it feels, how they react to certain situations, anything of that nature.

That wraps up the things that are more 'required.' However I usually add something extra to my sheets. There's two more things that could be counted as crucial to your sheet. The "Strengths: " and "Weaknesses: " tabs. Those explain exactly what they point out, the strengths and weaknesses of your character.

Other than that, if you're in a scifi RP you'd probably want to add "Species: " up bellow Name, Gender, Age.
And then at the very end of your sheet you should put a section called "Other:" this lets the player add in any extra info he/she may have, not only that, but it also helps you point out if they read the rules.

Put up in your rules the following: "If you've read the rules write (word) in Other"

If they read the rules they should do as that says. Now that wraps it up. Enjoy the template!

On the subject of character sheets, I'd like to see what the people around here think of something. This is a way of character handing that my IRL gaming group started doing, and it seems to work pretty well in terms of giving us something concrete to work from.

The idea is to replace/supplement "personality" with "Beliefs" and "Instincts."

Beliefs are general guiding principles. They could be related to the character's overall goals or just general ways of dealing with the world. They give the player a direction to RP in and give everyone a succinct idea of what the character is about. Examples of beliefs would be "It's only wrong if you get caught," "The past has an answer to everything; you just have to know where to look," and "(insert faction here) is too caught up in infighting to make any real change in the world, so we need to fix it at all costs."

Instincts are just that. They're the first thing that's likely to occur to your character in a given situation. So, if your instinct was "When entering a room, check for traps," and the GM tells you there's a spike trap, you can reasonably say that you avoid the trap by citing your instinct. Another instinct might be "At the first sign of trouble, ready my sword."

Obviously, this would be an area where GM feedback would be important, possibly to avoid twinking, but it also could be a better way of succinctly telling people what your character is really about.

Very good, I like your ideas. Nice!