Developing a personality for your character

Tarkenton

So, I think I've read a few things on the IRE articles about this, and it's really been bugging me that I haven't nailed down a lot of Tarkenton's personality.  I started doing some digging online, and found a resource that I've liked so far to help flesh him out.

http://rpg.ashami.com/

Has a nice set of tables and the like with things to choose from, as well as recommendations for figuring out a background, motivations, and the like for your character.

Daraius

Wow, that's intense. I'm going to see if I can retroactively sculpt Daraius from this block of variables. 

EDIT:

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Balance	Sense of Humor	Dry
Emotional Disposition	Calm	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Phlegmatic	Sexual Orientation	Unexplored?
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Anemic
Outlook	Optimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	None
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Controlled	Openness to sexual experience	Narrow
Boldness	Cautious	Promiscuousness	Monogamous
Flexibility	Stubborn	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Warm	Adherence	Agnostic
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Reserved	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Candid	Converting others	Never
Conformity	Conventional	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Art and culture, family, civil service
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Fastidiousness, canine body language, touch aversion
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Theatre, teatime, civil service

EDIT: That's a pretty detailed breakdown of sexuality... Is that really such a big factor in some games? Also, it occurs to me that if I'd used a resource like this when I started, my character would have been totally different. I hope he's not as boring as this makes him seem.

Maellio

This seems decidedly interesting, so I'll try for Maellio [as best fit]

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Order	Sense of Humor	Surreal
Emotional Disposition	Curious	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Even-Tempered	Sexual Orientation	Bisexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Healthy
Outlook	Realistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Modest
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Controlled	Openness to sexual experience	Moderate
Boldness	Cautious	Promiscuousness	Monogamous
Flexibility	Flexible	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Warm	Adherence	Orthodox
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Engaging	Expression of beliefs	Constant
Disclosure	Secretive	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Conventional	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Bureaucracy, Philosophy, Physical Sciences
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Teeth sucking, Whistling, Snacking
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Gardening, Experimentation, Theatre

[Additional Religious Association]

Religious Association - Church

Religious Roles - Abbot/Priest

[Mental & Emotional Disorders]

Addiction - Food

Depersonalization Disorder

Daraius

Hey you got color.

Maellio

Copy/Paste?

Ried

Very nice. I could definitely use this for helping flesh out characters for a tabletop RPG my friends are playing.

Daraius

My initial character building went something like, "Ooh, I want to be a dog man. Ooh, Hallifax, new and shiny. Gotta be an Aeromancer? Crap, guess I'll be insecure about that since lobo mage is going to suck." I think most everything after that was based on the character's experiences and interactions (with a little bit of engineering on my part when I decided being a monk would be more fun).

Marcella

"Let's see if this game has any deep roleplay motivations by playing someone with really good intentions in this really, dark, super-evil city."

It worked.

I freaking love ur'Guard lore. If I had picked any other guild, I think I would have quit Lusternia a long time ago.

Mariel

What do you know! Mariel started out as the opposite (make someone who's ruthless, cruel, sadistic and taciturn in a city full of love/light/holiness). As with you, things got deeper pretty quick.

Parua

This is an amazing tool! Thank you for sharing!

I think I'm early enough in my RP with Parua that I can implement this chart without creating drastic changes, and yet creating depth that I've never had before in my IRE characters.

Turnus

Okay, decided to do this for Turnus.

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Service	Sense of Humor	Dry
Emotional Disposition	Calm/Contemptuous	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Phlegmatic	Sexual Orientation	hetero
CORE TRAITS		Libido	healthy
Outlook	Cynical	Sexual Expressiveness	flirtatious
Integrity	pragmatic	Sexual Expressive Style	crude
Impulsiveness	deliberate	Openness to sexual experience	moderate
Boldness	vigilant	Promiscuousness	Monogamous
Flexibility	narrow-minded	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	uncaring	Adherence	adherent
Comportment	gruff	Tolerance	tolerant
Interactivity	taciturn	Expression of beliefs	constant
Disclosure	closed	Converting others	never
Conformity	traditional	Attitude	judgmental
Topics of Conversation	The good ole days, sharp objects, etc
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Lately, watching moss grow

Moi

How do you get those pictures?

Turnus

I copy pasted it from one of the previous forum posts and filled in with my own info.

Alary

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Service	Sense of Humor	Slapstick
Emotional Disposition	Excited	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Labile	Sexual Orientation	Bisexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Lascivious
Outlook	Optimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Flirtatious
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Spontaneous	Openness to sexual experience	Adventurous
Boldness	Intrepid	Promiscuousness	Polyamorous
Flexibility	Flexible	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Warm	Adherence	Orthodox Adherent
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Engaging	Expression of beliefs	Constant
Disclosure	Candid	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Heterodox	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Combat, Humor, Religion
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Collects odd things, excessively touching others, needless apologizing, exceedingly bad humor
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Combat competition, writing, reading, bookbinding, murder

Religious Association: Cult

Religious Role: Jihadist(lolwut)

Mental & Emotional Disorders: Addiction to Battle, Anxiety, Dependent Personality Disorder, Mania, Paranoia, Pyromania

Ehehehe that was fun.

 

Peridot

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Understanding	Sense of Humor	Gleeful
Emotional Disposition	Curious	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Labile	Sexual Orientation	Unexplored
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Anemic
Outlook	Optimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	None
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Shy/Romantic
Impulsiveness	Spontaneous	Openness to sexual experience	Narrow
Boldness	Intrepid	Promiscuousness	Low
Flexibility	Stubborn	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Warm	Adherence	Othodox Adherent
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Intolerant
Interactivity	Engaging	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Secretive	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Conventional (for Glomdoring)	Attitude	Judgemental
Topics of Conversation	Philosophy, current events religion, hobbies, arts and entertainment
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Humming, nodding, collecting odd things, superstitious, exaggeration, aversion to touch, smelling things
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Hunting, jewelry making, carving, playing an instrument, philosophizing, writing, riddles, painting

This was a lot of fun. I feel like things are -sort of- coming together, now. Thanks for this.

Shaddus

I'm a little disappointed that this isn't filled in by a list of questions.

Shaddus

How do I get a blank, fillable copy to post here?

Tarkenton

Copy and paste it into word?  Or just quote someone and edit it inline here.

Shaddus

Vitas -

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Achievement	Sense of Humor	Cynical
Emotional Disposition	Calm	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Phlegmatic	Sexual Orientation	Unexplored, likely Heterosexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	(if it were explored) Healthy
Outlook	Confident	Sexual Expressiveness	Brazen in Private, Modest in Public
Integrity	Pragmatic	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Rash	Openness to sexual experience	Moderate
Boldness	Reckless	Promiscuousness	Monogamous.
Flexibility	Nonchalant	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Altruistic	Adherence	Orthodox Adherent
Comportment	Gruff	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Loner	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Frank	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Rebellious (Hard to explain)	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Philosophy, current events, religion, tactics
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Eating carrion, reveling in carnage and messy battle, attempting to gross people out, enjoying being the black sheep of the family.
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Hunting, metalworking, tailoring, attempting to evade responsibility.

Mimie

woaaah necro

Lavinya

I always meant to do one of these for Lavinya! Good necro!

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Recognition	Sense of Humor	Cynical
Emotional Disposition	contemptuous	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	even-tempered	Sexual Orientation	heterosexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	healthy
Outlook	Confident	Sexual Expressiveness	flirtatious
Integrity	Pragmatic	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	steady	Openness to sexual experience	Moderate
Boldness	vigilant	Promiscuousness	Monogamous.
Flexibility	cautious	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	impassive	Adherence	Orthodox Adherent
Comportment	cultured	Tolerance	(quietly) intolerant
Interactivity	discerning	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	reserved	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	traditional	Attitude	judgemental
Topics of Conversation	Politics, religion, herself
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Disquieting fondness for certain cute things, extreme vanity, compulsive spoiler of family
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Designing, politicking, engaging discussions, derision of underlings, doting on husband

Asatir

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Destruction	Sense of Humor	Dry
Emotional Disposition	Curious	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Even-Tempered	Sexual Orientation	Unexplored
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Anemic
Outlook	Optimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Modest
Integrity	Unscrupulous	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Controlled	Openness to sexual experience	Narrow
Boldness	Cautious	Promiscuousness	Monogamous
Flexibility	Stubborn	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Cold	Adherence	Orthodox Adherent
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Intolerant
Interactivity	Engaging	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Candid	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Conventional	Attitude	Judgemental
Topics of Conversation	Religion, Viscanti/Taint Culture, Aesthetics
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Strong but secret disdain of those perceived as inferior
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Bookbinding, Letter-Writing, Hunting/Sparring

Selenity

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Beneficience	Sense of Humor	Gleeful
Emotional Disposition	Joy	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Labile	Sexual Orientation	Hetero
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Anemic
Outlook	Pessimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Modest
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Controlled	Openness to sexual experience	Narrow
Boldness	Cautious	Promiscuousness	Low
Flexibility	Flexible	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Warm	Adherence	Casual Adherent
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Engaging	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Secretive	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Conventional	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Herself, current events, history, nature, poetry, learning
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Singing, reciting poetry, needless apologizing, blaming herself when things go wrong, tree climbing
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Theatre, gaming, singing, philosophizing, reading, research, storytelling, art appreciation, writing, playing an instrument

Rialorm

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Achievement / Service	Sense of Humor	Dry
Emotional Disposition	Curious	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Even-tempered	Sexual Orientation	Bisexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Healthy
Outlook	Optimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Modest
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Seductive
Impulsiveness	Controlled	Openness to sexual experience	Narrow
Boldness	Intrepid	Promiscuousness	Low
Flexibility	Flexible	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Warm	Adherence	Orthodox Adherent
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Intolerant
Interactivity	Reserved	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Secretive	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Conventional	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Current events, politics, profession (guild and trades), philosophy
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Tree climbing, non-functional wings
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Combat competition, eating, drinking, hunting, reading, watching plays, tattooing others

PS: @Tarkenton where is yours? :P

Mamoru

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Nobility	Sense of Humor	Jokey
Emotional Disposition	Calm	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Even-tempered	Sexual Orientation	Hetero
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Healthy
Outlook	Upbeat	Sexual Expressiveness	Modest
Integrity	Honest	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Focused	Openness to sexual experience	Moderate
Boldness	Daring	Promiscuousness	Monogamous
Flexibility	Adaptable	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Warm	Adherence	Casual Adherent
Comportment	Courteous	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Listener	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Mysteeeeeeerious	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Conventional	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	History, books, knifing people, poetry
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Dresses extremely formally, inventing/using titles
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Dancing, singing, diving, impromptu poetry

Septim

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Recognition	Sense of Humor	Jokey
Emotional Disposition	Joyful	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Labile	Sexual Orientation	Bi
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Healthy
Outlook	Upbeat	Sexual Expressiveness	Modest
Integrity	Manipulative	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Thoughtful	Openness to sexual experience	Moderate
Boldness	Vigilant	Promiscuousness	Low
Flexibility	Forgiving	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Warm	Adherence	Casual Adherent
Comportment	Courteous	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Talkative	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Unreserved	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Rebellious	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Forging, Guild Advancement tasks, Humor, Philosophy
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Wearing thigh-high socks, having conversations with denizens, eats copious amounts of cinnamon
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Forging, Designing, Reading, Talking

 Some of these were hard to decide definitively on.

Arien

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Service	Sense of Humor	Dry
Emotional Disposition	Curious	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	(Forced) Even-Tempered	Sexual Orientation	Hetero
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Anemic
Outlook	(Secretly) hopeful (Outwardly) cynical	Sexual Expressiveness	Puritan in Public, Brazen in Private
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Controlled	Openness to sexual experience	Moderate
Boldness	Intrepid	Promiscuousness	Low
Flexibility	Relentless	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Altruistic	Adherence	Orthodox
Comportment	Courteous	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Loner	Expression of beliefs	Constant
Disclosure	Closed	Converting others	Aggressive
Conformity	Free-Thinking	Attitude	Ecstatic
Topics of Conversation	Philosophy, current events, religion, politics, music, art, nature, writing, tradeskills, relationships
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Pacing, insomnia, superstitious, tree climbing, talking in sleep, smelling things, facial ticks
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Politics, battle, religion, writing, beastmastery, runist, nature-lover, bookbinding, spending time in the library, theatrics, merchantile, spoiling her children, missing her husband, hunting, falconry, painting, gardening (hur hur), riddles, bird watching, playing an instrument.

Religious Association: Church
Religious Roles: Matriach, Priestess, Prophet, Guru

Mental and Emotional Disorders:

Addiction (Work) - Heavy
Addiction (Battle) - Moderate
Anxiety
Ethnomania
Selenomania
OCD
Paranoia

Euthymia

This is for Euthymia

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Service	Sense of Humor	Gleeful
Emotional Disposition	Curious	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Even-tempered	Sexual Orientation	Heterosexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Lascivious
Outlook	Idealistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Brazen (private)
Integrity	Honest	Sexual Expressive Style	Crude (private)
Impulsiveness	Rash	Openness to sexual experience	Adventurous
Boldness	Reckless	Promiscuousness	Medium
Flexibility	Open-minded	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Supportive	Adherence	Casual Adherent
Comportment	Modest	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Listener,Taciturn	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Mysterious	Converting others	Never
Conformity	Freethinking	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Hobbies and pastimes,Work/profession/money,Learning
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Being often confused
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Sports,Combat competition,Hunting

Elanorwen

Guess I'll try one of these too.

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Achievement	Sense of Humor	Cynical
Emotional Disposition	Angry	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Labile	Sexual Orientation	Homosexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Healthy
Outlook	Pessimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Brazen
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Seductive
Impulsiveness	Spontaneous	Openness to sexual experience	Adventurous
Boldness	Intrepid	Promiscuousness	Monogamous
Flexibility	Flexible	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Warm	Adherence	Orthodox
Comportment	Discordant	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Reserved	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Candid	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Heterodox	Attitude	Judgmental
Topics of Conversation	Work, Science, Humor
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Daydreaming, Blade sharpening, Insomnia, Smelling things
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Theatre, Gaming, Riddles, Art appreciation

Tremula

This could be fun!

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Recognition	Sense of Humor	Dry
Emotional Disposition	Curious	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Even-Tempered	Sexual Orientation	Asexual (Bi-romantic)
CORE TRAITS		Libido	None
Outlook	Cynical	Sexual Expressiveness	Flirtatious
Integrity	Deceitful	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Rash	Openness to sexual experience	Extremely Narrow
Boldness	Cautious	Promiscuousness	Monogamous
Flexibility	Relentless	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Nurturing	Adherence	Orthodox
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Barely Tolerant
Interactivity	Listener	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Secretive	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Traditional	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Politics, Religion, Relationships, Entertainment, Current Events, Philosophy
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Facial tic, Hair stroking, Eavesdropping, Animal lover
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Music/Art appreciation, Theatre, Reading, Research, Horse Riding, Storytelling, Dancing, Aethersailing, Singing, Reading

Religious Association: Cult, it seems.
Religious Role: ...close call between two, but I think High Priestess
Mental Disorder: Narcissism (according to @Lavinya [she's right, though]), Phobia (buried alive)


It would be cool to see another thread where we do part II as well!

Aerotan

Usa time!

PRIMARY MOTIVATOR	Medicine	Sense of Humor	Dry
Emotional Disposition	Curious	SEXUALITY
Moodiness	Even-tempered	Sexual Orientation	Homosexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Healthy
Outlook	Optimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Modest
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Controlled	Openness to sexual experience	Adventurous
Boldness	Intrepid	Promiscuousness	Polyamorous
Flexibility	Flexible	RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Affinity	Warm	Adherence	Casual
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Inclusive
Interactivity	Engaging	Expression of beliefs	Seldom
Disclosure	Candid	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Heterodox	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Work, Science, Medicine
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Vegan by choice, Biological Vegetarian, Eavesdropping
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Research, Jewelry Making, Stargazing