Character File

[Curubethion]

I thought it would be interesting to start a "character file", where we share fiction characters that we've made (preferably fantasy). Please don't use anyone else's characters for RPGs/fiction without their permission. I'll start it with one:

Deren of Forde:
Wandering warrior and member of the Eagles, an organization keeping watch on the evil wizard Grucov. Exiled from Forde (his homeland) as a boy, and still haunted by it. Expert fighter and horseback rider; fights with bow, sword, and morstav (wooden staff).

I hope you all like it!

[Elfmaster XK]

Hey. I was just thinking that it'd be good to have a thread where people can post their characters to see if they needed fleshing out.

Ie. Someone posts their character details, and then anyone else can ask a question about them. This gets you thinking about the character as a person, and makes them a more real figure for you to write about. Plus, other people might have more information about a place your character is from if they are from that place or a place like it.

So for Curub, who only has written a short character description I could ask LOADS.

What I will ask is how old is he? How did he come to be so good at fighting? If he was exiled from his land, who taught him? What is he not good at, if he is a good fighter and rider, and a member of a (i presume) highly esteemed organisation? Everyone has flaws.

If he was exiled, and is still now, why is he Deren of Forde? Surely he would not be allowed to be of Forde if they threw him out?

Etc.

Just thought it'd be a nice way to help us all develop well rounded and believable characters.

[Rosie Gamgee]

Very interesting, Curub and EM. Cool ideas. Question: are these characters supposed to be... sort of 'up for grabs'? Or are they the sole property of the people who have created them?
I guess what I'm asking is, if I post a character that I have created, will someone borrow him, or parts of him? Or is this not allowed? (I hate to sound so legalistic--just a question.)

Here's a guy I created for a story. He actually hasn't appeared in the story yet, but he's coming:

Ealadan, Prince of Holtholm. The second son of the King. Tall, fair of hair, blue eyes. Educated by the Loremasters, and in love with the daughter of a lesser noble, a match that would displease the King if he knew it. He travels with three friends to win the hand of his maiden.
Later in the story he will lose his memory (cheesey, yeah), and his friends. He doesn't get the girl. The folk he falls in with call him 'Jolly', and his ultimate fate is to slay a dragon.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Rosie Gamgee

Question: are these characters supposed to be... sort of 'up for grabs'? Or are they the sole property of the people who have created them? I guess what I'm asking is, if I post a character that I have created, will someone borrow him, or parts of him? Or is this not allowed? (I hate to sound so legalistic--just a question.)

I reckon they're all property of their creators unless those specifically state they're up for grabs. Taking other people's characters without permission would be rather against 'netiquette' but there's really no way to enforce it.

[Elfmaster XK]

Originally Posted by Eärniel

I reckon they're all property of their creators unless those specifically state they're up for grabs. Taking other people's characters without permission would be rather against 'netiquette' but there's really no way to enforce it.

Yes indeed, our lovely sea elf moderator is correct. If you do post a character you must remember there is no way to stop someone seeing him/her and deciding to create a character like yours. And in fact there is so much written and only so many types of people. No one is likely to notice really unless they actually steal your character, name, history and all.

Originally Posted by Rosie

Ealadan, Prince of Holtholm. The second son of the King. Tall, fair of hair, blue eyes. Educated by the Loremasters, and in love with the daughter of a lesser noble, a match that would displease the King if he knew it. He travels with three friends to win the hand of his maiden.
Later in the story he will lose his memory (cheesey, yeah), and his friends. He doesn't get the girl. The folk he falls in with call him 'Jolly', and his ultimate fate is to slay a dragon.

What is it like in Holtholm? Is it cold and Icy?
Where does Ealadan live? With the king? In his own little palace somewhere? In a bin?
Who is the girl and why would she displease the king? Not just because she isn't a princess, unless the tradtion is the prince must only marry a princessm which would then be his sister/half-sister, or a foreign princess. And does the king know about the girl yet?
Where do his firends and the maiden come from? Are they also from Holtholm? What are they like?
Who are the folk he "falls in with" They sound unscrupulous from that phrase.
Are they in any way like his old friends? If not, why has he joined them? His memory is gone, but unless his personlality changes greatly would he not still opt for the same sort of people as friends?

[Curubethion]

Wow, this is awesome! It took something like over a year for this to get revived, but...

Now to get to those questions! I've since finished the book that included this guy, and I'll need to flesh him out. I wrote that character description a little while ago, and I was being a bit vague then.

What I will ask is how old is he? How did he come to be so good at fighting? If he was exiled from his land, who taught him? What is he not good at, if he is a good fighter and rider, and a member of a (i presume) highly esteemed organisation? Everyone has flaws.

If he was exiled, and is still now, why is he Deren of Forde? Surely he would not be allowed to be of Forde if they threw him out?

He's about 35 or so years old...I forget exactly how old I made him in my story.
He's gained his fighting skills from training back at home, as well as his journeys abroad and during exile. Some of the members of his organization helped him learn. I guess I should alter that slightly...since he's not a complete expert. He's not really agile, but fairly strong.
His biggest flaw...first of all, he's got that little issue with being exiled, which makes him not that popular. He also has the good ol' problems with facing his past, etc.
"Deren of Forde", which I didn't use that much in the book, now that I think about it, is just an identifier I use for him.

[Rosie Gamgee]

Sorry; haven't checked on this thread in a few days.

Originally Posted by Elfmaster XK

What is it like in Holtholm? Is it cold and Icy?
Where does Ealadan live? With the king? In his own little palace somewhere? In a bin?

Holtholm is the royal city of this particular country. It's breezy and cool, but a very beautiful city. The architecure (argh--for some odd reason I can't spell that word today) of the palace and other royal buildings is something akin to the ancient chathedrals like Notre Dame and Chatres. Lots of vaulted ceilings and butresses.
Ealadan lives in the same city as the King, but they don't cross paths overmuch. He's something of a stranger to his father, seeing as he's the second son.

Who is the girl and why would she displease the king? Not just because she isn't a princess, unless the tradtion is the prince must only marry a princessm which would then be his sister/half-sister, or a foreign princess. And does the king know about the girl yet?

The King doesn't know about her. She came from the south of the country to learn from the Loremasters, for she's a nobleman's daughter. Unfortunately, this nobleman has a rather shady history and the King dislikes him.

Where do his firends and the maiden come from? Are they also from Holtholm? What are they like?

They are not from Holtholm. They're a humble group of gypsies. Some are from the south, others are from different countries.

Who are the folk he "falls in with" They sound unscrupulous from that phrase.

Not unscrupulous. Just.. rude, in a manner of speaking. Unrefined.

Are they in any way like his old friends? If not, why has he joined them? His memory is gone, but unless his personlality changes greatly would he not still opt for the same sort of people as friends?

Some of them may remind him in ways of his friends. He has joined them only because he knows not who he is and where he came from, and he has no where else to go, no other link to reality.


Hey, I have to say that already this has helped me discover things about this character that otherwise I might not have known. Thanks.