(07-25-2013, 05:29 PM)Zarek Wrote: Generally I try to start with an idea of what sort of character I want to play/roleplay, then I spend a while reading up on & researching lore (including things that might stretch/bend the lore somewhat without breaking it).

After that, I like to walk through this site and answer the questions noted there (I tend to keep word docs with notes on my characters).

http://rpg.ashami.com/

Of course, I leave things open to change as I roleplay them (because sometimes the idea dictates things, odd as that sounds), but generally working through the entire 'character sheet' gives me a fairly good idea of how to get into the character's head and figure out their 'voice'. After that, I tend to fill in things and events which would have happened to help and/or hurt the character in their history.

As for how in-depth, it varies. Generally though I prefer to have the major events in my mind with space open for filling in smaller events that effect them as well. Like Freelance mentioned, I try to have some variation between what a character might give in their history and what actually happened.

(07-25-2013, 05:42 PM)Lren Wrote: This is a VERY good way to start things off, one that I tend to go along with too! Sometimes it helps to have a character in mind too, then to hop into a small RP session with them. Get a live feel for them, so to speak. Makes it easier to decide if you like them, then you can continue progression from there.

(07-25-2013, 05:45 PM)Zarek Wrote:

(07-25-2013, 05:42 PM)Lren Wrote: This is a VERY good way to start things off, one that I tend to go along with too! Sometimes it helps to have a character in mind too, then to hop into a small RP session with them. Get a live feel for them, so to speak. Makes it easier to decide if you like them, then you can continue progression from there.

Thanks! Funny enough I use that same method you mentioned too sometimes. Only downside to that one, I think, is it's a little easy to potentially fall back into 'familiar' character personas (I know I have 2 or 3) to fill in the gaps as well. But, when it works it works really well!

(07-25-2013, 07:52 PM)Ildur Wrote: I'm not particularly fond on extremely detailed backgrounds on my characters. I tend to forget details, things that I wrote down as important or defining end up not being so, quircks change or are never used...you get the idea. I prefer to start with a simple concept and play the character once or twice and let it grow organically. I remember the details better in those cases.

I also have a big problem called 'I don't read' (yes, I know it's a flaw), so I'm not particularly fond of other people having very long and detailed backgrounds unless I'm invested in a plot with them, or their character managed to call my attention during an actual scene. But then I'd probably only read the basic information and try to get all the other details by interacting in-character.

With that said, I do write backgrounds for my characters. They are pretty barebones, to the point (sometimes, anyway) and aren't good literature (you can see for yourself on the wiki page of my main character). They are more like internal notes than anything else: if I forget anything, opening the page and looking it up should be easy since it's a short profile. It doesn't work with special mannerisms and quircks, though. I had a character in TERA whose biography said she always had to have something in her hands. It never came up in actual roleplay and, by the time I remembered or read it in the background, it was a bit too late because I had spent various hours where she had absolutely nothing between her hands.

So my advice is to make a basic draft. Then roleplay a bit in a casual scene (like a tavern, or a random walk-up in the street) to see how the character develops organically from there (and to see how you play him or her), and then go back and try to marry your draft with your roleplay, filling out details that seem necessary to define the character as a person.