Post by Deilakrion on Aug 29, 2007 13:58:31 GMT -5
Character creation. For roleplayers and writers, it’s the moment of truth; all the things you’ve wanted to try and all the ways you want to bring a character to life. It’s also potentially tedious, uncertain and frustrating to do so—create a pre-existing being from scratch with all the flaws, strengths and history of a normal person. Where do you start on such a task? For some, it’s as easy as coming up with a race and gender. For others, it’s more a matter of wrestling down concepts without a clue as to where to start. So whether you’ve made many characters you’ve loved or hated or just a few, here’s to all of us who struggle time and time again to make that someone live in our minds.
This is a character guide, in essential, and I’m going to split it into sections in an order that I find comprehensible. Don’t let this discourage you from jumping around to whatever you feel is the easiest starting point—such a creation is highly subjective matter. Too, if you’d like to contribute, feel free to contact me that I might add your own experiences and pointers. Even if you contradict what I’ve put down, don’t let that discourage you. The strategies I’ve used and found to be useful may not be found worthy by someone else—and if that someone is you then give me some more brain-meat for potential readers to chew on.
If you would like to edit/give constructive criticism, feel free.
Disclaimer 1:
**ALL OF THE BELOW IS WRITTEN UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT YOU, AS A PLAYER, PLAN ON BEING A SERIOUS, REALISTIC ROLEPLAYER. IF YOU WISH TO ROLEPLAY FOR THE FUN OF IT, AND WITHOUT BEING REALISTIC, MUCH OF THE BELOW WILL BE OF LITTLE USE TO YOU, AND A WASTE OF YOUR TIME**
Disclaimer 2:
**THE BELOW INFORMATION IS BASED ON OPINION AND EXPERIENCE, NOT FACT. IT IS BUT ONE WAY OUT OF MANY TO MAKE A CHARACTER, AND IF YOU DISAGREE DO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU OR I ARE WRONG. IF YOU PERSIST, I WILL BEAT YOU OVER THE HEAD WITH MY UNAPPEALING, NAKED ELF.**
I. Character basics
Name, race, gender, age, class, appearance
II. Character personality
All the reasoning behind how your character acts.
III. Character history
How your character came to be.
IV. Character structure
What society your character came from and how it affects your character
V. Character rulebook
Boundaries to give your character when it comes to putting your character into play
VI. Character Oddities
The little things that make your character pop.
I. CHARACTER BASICS
The Naming
Well, here you are again, at a choice that involves some creativity. What to name your character? There are some things you have to be careful of, those things being copyrighted names and concepts that uh, sometimes tend to cause lawsuits. So those people who like using pre-existing names (and if one of those people is you)should be careful of which name they pick and how they use it. And, well, those are basically your choices: pre-existing name or create a new one.
Depending on your style, there are many name-generators scattered about the internet. There are also lists of ‘fantasy’ names that you can find pretty easily through whatever trusty search engine you use. Regular names, too, are workable. . .but names like ‘Stacey’ just don’t really cut it for me in a fantasy world. Depends on your flavor, but I’d recommend going for something a little more exotic.
Creating a name, on the other hand, is a little more personal. I’m rather traditional in my name creations—females typically get ‘a,e, i’ vowels on the ends of their names and males get consonants or ‘o,u’. Examples of these that I’ve created are (and please don’t use them without asking me first): Katelia, Sarune, Inarutei etc. for females. Males get names like Keraln, Honoko, Rekuul etc. Of course, I always find it interesting to do a search on the name after you create it. Sarune, for example, is an actual word I was unaware of.
Regardless, I usually will combine sounds that I like to form a name, and then figure out an adequate spelling for it. Be prepared to have your name mispronounced by other people, in the event you should talk to someone about your characters and their names.
Then again, it is also possible to use common words to make your character known by. Plants, animals, weapons etc. can be used as a name for your character. Be very, very careful here, as some word combinations can be trite or unrealistic, and if you’re roleplaying you will want to be realistic. I highly doubt anyone would truly wish to be known as Darkmoon Dagger. If anything, I can see someone being called Dagger, but such a tag is usually given and not chosen. In any case, if you do decide to call your character after a word that is not typically used as a name (as Rose is a common girls’ name versus Oat being not so much a common name), have a given name handy. Most parents wouldn’t call their newborn Dagger, after all, but a playmate or compatriot might give the nickname after a common trait, so even if you never use it, keep that name in mind that your character was first given. This helps to solidify your character later on when you give him a history and personality, and it will help you to know your character better too.
Now, if all of that doesn’t sit right, you can try using other languages as a basis for your character name. Most players/games/books are English-based, so by ‘other’ language I’m referring to anything not English. Keep in mind, though, that you will run across players that speak multiple languages, so I find it best to use lesser used languages. These languages can include Greek, Hawaiian, Cantonese, Turkish etc., but more common languages can also suit (it’s more of a personal preference of mine, to be honest). **Also, keep in mind that some players can be touchy about other languages, considering them to be unrealistic for an English based fantasy world. Remember, common courtesy is king, and if you should find yourself in a situation where someone is disagreeing with the name you have chosen, be polite and remember that everyone is entitled to an opinion.**
I’ve named one of my characters after a Greek word, deilakrion (meaning creature or poor fellow). I’m not entirely sure which dialect it came from, but I know it is a fairly rare and not-oft used word (besides which, I found it online and one can never trust too surely online resources). I used the word because I had a feeling naming a character ‘creature’ would not go over so well and I did not wish to use her true name. It was the most feminine word I could find, but even then my poor character would get mistaken for a male based on name alone.
Which brings me to another point: it’s easiest on you, the player, if when choosing a word you make it as feminine or masculine as possible depending on your character’s gender. If you don’t mind your character being mistaken as the opposite gender, then full speed ahead!
Whatever the case, and however many names your character is burdened with, make sure to pick names you like, because once your character is named and in the fantasy world you’ll have some trouble to go through role-playing (or story, if you’re using the character for a story) wise to change it!
Just how old is too old?
Oh, the question of age. Considering the different races you’re able to pick in a fantasy world, the lifespan of your character can range from very short to very long. The choice of playing a vampire, too, makes things more complicated; it becomes possible to play an ageless player stuck with a young appearance. So what to choose? The popular choice is, of course, either a young adult or one who appears as a young adult. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you might want to watch how quickly the numbers climb.
Making a character between say 15-30 is what I would call the easiest choice. Why? Most players are in that age range, and so thus can realistically portray such a character. Age matters in how you will develop and portray your character, as well as how they will interact with other characters on a daily basis. A character made to be young or old is a trap that a lot of players fall into. You have to remember—people act differently depending on their age, as far as knowledge and habits go. It is easy to make a young character, say an eight-year-old, gradually become more and more adult like without aging him (unless he or she is a vampire), which would make your roleplay unrealistic. In that same vein, it becomes easy to make an older, wiser character act like a twenty-year-old would, which is also unrealistic.
Personally, I believe that playing an older character is the hardest to do. We, as players, are all mortals and thus most of us are fairly young (under 50). We have never experienced being an older person—much less a physically fit older person!—and thus only have our interpretation of it to go by. That said, it’s easy to tack on numbers to an immortal (or long-lived) race without realizing the implications. Someone who is one thousand years old or higher is a person that is really unfathomable by the mind. NONE of us have come into contact with someone like that. It is impossible to say what such a length of time would do to the mind and the way a person acts.
My advice is to keep your character’s age on the younger side. Even a child is pretty easy to maintain, so long as you watch how you’re utilizing the character. If you do wish to make an older character (say 60+), my advice is to make yourself a list of guidelines—beyond the history of your character—that form the basis of how your character matured. Beyond that, just don’t do it. Resisting the urge to make a 2700 year old character who looks like a 19 year old is likely the best way to go (the only exemptions to this rule, I would say, is if your character is eccentric or what have you. Even so, that’s usually caused by the deterioration of the body, which would be negated if you played, say, an elf.).
Also, have you ever heard a middle-aged to older adult say “I wish I knew this when I was that age.”? By the time you are fifty, you have compiled a good list of things you’ve done and tried. Imagine how many things you’ve done and tried if you were to live to be 1000. Imagine how often the cultures and societies have changed, and how the land has changed. Something so simple thing as your character saying “Oh, I’ve never ridden a horse before!” is possible but highly unlikely. One thousand years is a long time. If you are tempted to write me off as being overbearing, then go to a rocky place and count out a thousand rocks. Imagine living that long!
Now if your character has been asleep for 980 of those 1000 years. . .that’s a wee bit different, and not quite so hard to roleplay. Keep in mind though that language, society and landmarks will have changed, so your character’s mind will be imploding with the knowledge that everything he knew is dead and gone. It’d be an exceptional person indeed who could take such a blow with easy grace.
Bottom line: A 30 year old typically does not act like a 15 year old. An 80 year old typically does not act like a 30 year old. Don’t overreach your bounds when choosing your character’s age.
Gender preference
This one is fairly simple. Two choices: male or female. If you are a beginner rper, I’d say it’s easiest to go with your own gender. Whenever I’ve made male characters, I’ve been told they always come across as feminine—but then again some people have no trouble at all creating characters of the opposite sex. There is no real way to go wrong here; pick what you feel comfortable with and run with it.
Pedigree
This is one of the most important and oft overlooked choices you make for your character. The race you choose, depending on the fantasy world you delve into, will and should be the basis for much of your character’s personality and history. It should also, in the perfect world, decide much about how other characters and races look upon your character at first sight. Most games should have a list of race types available with the specifications for those races listed. PAY ATTENTION. If a race that sounds interesting to you is also unfamiliar to you, I would suggest doing some outside research if the game’s race description is not enough. Remember, though, that what the game tells you is foremost what you should go by. If any outside information you receive (or previously knew) contradicts the game’s description, then you should disregard that outside information. If, however, you are making a character for an original story. . .then you do whatever the hell you want and disregard all of the above.
Keep in mind when developing your character how his race acts and what things his race believes. Some people like to play the antithesis of the race’s archetype, and that’s okay, but that doesn’t mean that by choosing that you should write off the rest of the race’s beliefs (if your character was raised by his people, then he will intimately know their culture—and that means you should too). Depending on how the character is raised will determine how he sees the world and interprets it. Don’t blow off the race as being a prettier version of a human; it is just not so. Too, a race also has certain physical aspects that should be considered and adhered to. Fairies are typically tiny. You should know that by choosing them: don’t cheat the race by ‘magical happenstances’ just so you can have the fairy or pixie or whatever interact on a big person level (especially if it’s for romance—just not a good idea). Now, there are some plots that would make this viable and whimsy is not one of them.
The more attention you pay to the heritage of your character, the richer your character will be.
The daily grind
So what does your character do for a living? Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to use a standard type to define your character (whether that be via a game’s choices or just for whatever story you’ve concocted) while roleplaying or writing. Is your character meant to be a fighter or a diplomat? A man of the gods or a rabble-rouser? A simple fisherman or tradesman? Whatever you pick, try to be consistent with it. Most people in the fantasy world setting pick a profession for life, and changes to that profession only come with severe upheaval. If you do plan on changing this profession, come up with a reason and make it a good one that makes sense.
The profession you choose, much as the race, will determine the lifestyle of your character. This profession will support your characters’ beliefs and the personality of your character will reflect back on how he goes about his profession. As well, the appearance of your character will much depend on the profession—a blacksmith would be heavily muscled, a warrior would likely be scarred, a wanderer would be lean and fit etc. The profession, too, is very dependant on much of the other criteria you’ve picked for your character, so be sure to take a look at all that when picking profession. If you do it right, the profession will become an extension of your character, and will help define him as a person over a character. When that happens, you know you’ve succeeded as a roleplayer and writer.
Consider, then, who your character will be (good, bad, whatever) and what will best suit him to further his personality and beliefs. Do not create your character around a profession, as then it becomes very easy for him to be flat and undeveloped. I myself have fallen prey to this in the past, and shall assure you that it is boring and fruitless when your character is profession first and person second.
Other than that, just roll with whatever seems to suit your character. Once you’ve figured out your character’s personality, this should come easily enough. If you’re still having trouble by then, then go back over everything you’ve come up with and add more.
Looking at the mirror
Now, this is one of those things that always seem to run the same way. Physical appearance is easy to take for granted; don’t underestimate looks. The first impulse is usually to create a physically perfect being, which is not a bad thing but may not be right for your character, depending on his past and current behavior. All the same, don’t be afraid to be daring with your character’s looks. Make him slightly crosseyed or scruffy. Have some landmarks on him, like a lost eye or a missing finger or two. Ugly characters are hard to find (and being ugly can, indeed, make your character hard to identify with; most readers want to think on someone pleasant to look at, but for roleplaying purposes it is not such a bad thing), or even plain characters, but that doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t give one a whirl. A character typically defined by looks or personality can be rather unbalanced—try to blend the two, and don’t go overboard on either side. Looks, particularly, can be easy to get wrapped up in, especially when it comes to description. Let your character have the best of both worlds, and try not to base the idea of your character off of good or bad looks.
Back to the landmark thing, the more life has had a physical impact on your character, the more history you can generate. That lost eye or limp he has is a harbinger to readers/other players that he has a story to tell. That’s a good thing. As well, keep the appearance in accordance with your character’s personality and profession. I can hardly imagine a stable master to not smell like horses or have some horsehair or straw caught up in his clothing. I’d expect a weathered stable master to have some scars or old healed broken bones from accidents. On the other hand, a regal lady who is a courtesan would take the utmost pains to attend to her appearance, and would be sure to keep her composure while in public. Any scene she makes not only reflects badly on her, but on her patron, and she would be careful how she acts. A barmaid, though, would likely be used to rough and tumble and wouldn’t be composed or be able to attend to appearance throughout the day. She might be frazzled or have clothing stained with beer and other foodstuffs.
Also, as your character’s appearance changes don’t forget to remember the changes you have wrought. Nothing reeks of ill consistency more than a heavy scar garnered one day that is mysteriously vanished the next without any reason behind it.
This is a character guide, in essential, and I’m going to split it into sections in an order that I find comprehensible. Don’t let this discourage you from jumping around to whatever you feel is the easiest starting point—such a creation is highly subjective matter. Too, if you’d like to contribute, feel free to contact me that I might add your own experiences and pointers. Even if you contradict what I’ve put down, don’t let that discourage you. The strategies I’ve used and found to be useful may not be found worthy by someone else—and if that someone is you then give me some more brain-meat for potential readers to chew on.
If you would like to edit/give constructive criticism, feel free.
Disclaimer 1:
**ALL OF THE BELOW IS WRITTEN UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT YOU, AS A PLAYER, PLAN ON BEING A SERIOUS, REALISTIC ROLEPLAYER. IF YOU WISH TO ROLEPLAY FOR THE FUN OF IT, AND WITHOUT BEING REALISTIC, MUCH OF THE BELOW WILL BE OF LITTLE USE TO YOU, AND A WASTE OF YOUR TIME**
Disclaimer 2:
**THE BELOW INFORMATION IS BASED ON OPINION AND EXPERIENCE, NOT FACT. IT IS BUT ONE WAY OUT OF MANY TO MAKE A CHARACTER, AND IF YOU DISAGREE DO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU OR I ARE WRONG. IF YOU PERSIST, I WILL BEAT YOU OVER THE HEAD WITH MY UNAPPEALING, NAKED ELF.**
I. Character basics
Name, race, gender, age, class, appearance
II. Character personality
All the reasoning behind how your character acts.
III. Character history
How your character came to be.
IV. Character structure
What society your character came from and how it affects your character
V. Character rulebook
Boundaries to give your character when it comes to putting your character into play
VI. Character Oddities
The little things that make your character pop.
I. CHARACTER BASICS
The Naming
Well, here you are again, at a choice that involves some creativity. What to name your character? There are some things you have to be careful of, those things being copyrighted names and concepts that uh, sometimes tend to cause lawsuits. So those people who like using pre-existing names (and if one of those people is you)should be careful of which name they pick and how they use it. And, well, those are basically your choices: pre-existing name or create a new one.
Depending on your style, there are many name-generators scattered about the internet. There are also lists of ‘fantasy’ names that you can find pretty easily through whatever trusty search engine you use. Regular names, too, are workable. . .but names like ‘Stacey’ just don’t really cut it for me in a fantasy world. Depends on your flavor, but I’d recommend going for something a little more exotic.
Creating a name, on the other hand, is a little more personal. I’m rather traditional in my name creations—females typically get ‘a,e, i’ vowels on the ends of their names and males get consonants or ‘o,u’. Examples of these that I’ve created are (and please don’t use them without asking me first): Katelia, Sarune, Inarutei etc. for females. Males get names like Keraln, Honoko, Rekuul etc. Of course, I always find it interesting to do a search on the name after you create it. Sarune, for example, is an actual word I was unaware of.
Regardless, I usually will combine sounds that I like to form a name, and then figure out an adequate spelling for it. Be prepared to have your name mispronounced by other people, in the event you should talk to someone about your characters and their names.
Then again, it is also possible to use common words to make your character known by. Plants, animals, weapons etc. can be used as a name for your character. Be very, very careful here, as some word combinations can be trite or unrealistic, and if you’re roleplaying you will want to be realistic. I highly doubt anyone would truly wish to be known as Darkmoon Dagger. If anything, I can see someone being called Dagger, but such a tag is usually given and not chosen. In any case, if you do decide to call your character after a word that is not typically used as a name (as Rose is a common girls’ name versus Oat being not so much a common name), have a given name handy. Most parents wouldn’t call their newborn Dagger, after all, but a playmate or compatriot might give the nickname after a common trait, so even if you never use it, keep that name in mind that your character was first given. This helps to solidify your character later on when you give him a history and personality, and it will help you to know your character better too.
Now, if all of that doesn’t sit right, you can try using other languages as a basis for your character name. Most players/games/books are English-based, so by ‘other’ language I’m referring to anything not English. Keep in mind, though, that you will run across players that speak multiple languages, so I find it best to use lesser used languages. These languages can include Greek, Hawaiian, Cantonese, Turkish etc., but more common languages can also suit (it’s more of a personal preference of mine, to be honest). **Also, keep in mind that some players can be touchy about other languages, considering them to be unrealistic for an English based fantasy world. Remember, common courtesy is king, and if you should find yourself in a situation where someone is disagreeing with the name you have chosen, be polite and remember that everyone is entitled to an opinion.**
I’ve named one of my characters after a Greek word, deilakrion (meaning creature or poor fellow). I’m not entirely sure which dialect it came from, but I know it is a fairly rare and not-oft used word (besides which, I found it online and one can never trust too surely online resources). I used the word because I had a feeling naming a character ‘creature’ would not go over so well and I did not wish to use her true name. It was the most feminine word I could find, but even then my poor character would get mistaken for a male based on name alone.
Which brings me to another point: it’s easiest on you, the player, if when choosing a word you make it as feminine or masculine as possible depending on your character’s gender. If you don’t mind your character being mistaken as the opposite gender, then full speed ahead!
Whatever the case, and however many names your character is burdened with, make sure to pick names you like, because once your character is named and in the fantasy world you’ll have some trouble to go through role-playing (or story, if you’re using the character for a story) wise to change it!
Just how old is too old?
Oh, the question of age. Considering the different races you’re able to pick in a fantasy world, the lifespan of your character can range from very short to very long. The choice of playing a vampire, too, makes things more complicated; it becomes possible to play an ageless player stuck with a young appearance. So what to choose? The popular choice is, of course, either a young adult or one who appears as a young adult. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you might want to watch how quickly the numbers climb.
Making a character between say 15-30 is what I would call the easiest choice. Why? Most players are in that age range, and so thus can realistically portray such a character. Age matters in how you will develop and portray your character, as well as how they will interact with other characters on a daily basis. A character made to be young or old is a trap that a lot of players fall into. You have to remember—people act differently depending on their age, as far as knowledge and habits go. It is easy to make a young character, say an eight-year-old, gradually become more and more adult like without aging him (unless he or she is a vampire), which would make your roleplay unrealistic. In that same vein, it becomes easy to make an older, wiser character act like a twenty-year-old would, which is also unrealistic.
Personally, I believe that playing an older character is the hardest to do. We, as players, are all mortals and thus most of us are fairly young (under 50). We have never experienced being an older person—much less a physically fit older person!—and thus only have our interpretation of it to go by. That said, it’s easy to tack on numbers to an immortal (or long-lived) race without realizing the implications. Someone who is one thousand years old or higher is a person that is really unfathomable by the mind. NONE of us have come into contact with someone like that. It is impossible to say what such a length of time would do to the mind and the way a person acts.
My advice is to keep your character’s age on the younger side. Even a child is pretty easy to maintain, so long as you watch how you’re utilizing the character. If you do wish to make an older character (say 60+), my advice is to make yourself a list of guidelines—beyond the history of your character—that form the basis of how your character matured. Beyond that, just don’t do it. Resisting the urge to make a 2700 year old character who looks like a 19 year old is likely the best way to go (the only exemptions to this rule, I would say, is if your character is eccentric or what have you. Even so, that’s usually caused by the deterioration of the body, which would be negated if you played, say, an elf.).
Also, have you ever heard a middle-aged to older adult say “I wish I knew this when I was that age.”? By the time you are fifty, you have compiled a good list of things you’ve done and tried. Imagine how many things you’ve done and tried if you were to live to be 1000. Imagine how often the cultures and societies have changed, and how the land has changed. Something so simple thing as your character saying “Oh, I’ve never ridden a horse before!” is possible but highly unlikely. One thousand years is a long time. If you are tempted to write me off as being overbearing, then go to a rocky place and count out a thousand rocks. Imagine living that long!
Now if your character has been asleep for 980 of those 1000 years. . .that’s a wee bit different, and not quite so hard to roleplay. Keep in mind though that language, society and landmarks will have changed, so your character’s mind will be imploding with the knowledge that everything he knew is dead and gone. It’d be an exceptional person indeed who could take such a blow with easy grace.
Bottom line: A 30 year old typically does not act like a 15 year old. An 80 year old typically does not act like a 30 year old. Don’t overreach your bounds when choosing your character’s age.
Gender preference
This one is fairly simple. Two choices: male or female. If you are a beginner rper, I’d say it’s easiest to go with your own gender. Whenever I’ve made male characters, I’ve been told they always come across as feminine—but then again some people have no trouble at all creating characters of the opposite sex. There is no real way to go wrong here; pick what you feel comfortable with and run with it.
Pedigree
This is one of the most important and oft overlooked choices you make for your character. The race you choose, depending on the fantasy world you delve into, will and should be the basis for much of your character’s personality and history. It should also, in the perfect world, decide much about how other characters and races look upon your character at first sight. Most games should have a list of race types available with the specifications for those races listed. PAY ATTENTION. If a race that sounds interesting to you is also unfamiliar to you, I would suggest doing some outside research if the game’s race description is not enough. Remember, though, that what the game tells you is foremost what you should go by. If any outside information you receive (or previously knew) contradicts the game’s description, then you should disregard that outside information. If, however, you are making a character for an original story. . .then you do whatever the hell you want and disregard all of the above.
Keep in mind when developing your character how his race acts and what things his race believes. Some people like to play the antithesis of the race’s archetype, and that’s okay, but that doesn’t mean that by choosing that you should write off the rest of the race’s beliefs (if your character was raised by his people, then he will intimately know their culture—and that means you should too). Depending on how the character is raised will determine how he sees the world and interprets it. Don’t blow off the race as being a prettier version of a human; it is just not so. Too, a race also has certain physical aspects that should be considered and adhered to. Fairies are typically tiny. You should know that by choosing them: don’t cheat the race by ‘magical happenstances’ just so you can have the fairy or pixie or whatever interact on a big person level (especially if it’s for romance—just not a good idea). Now, there are some plots that would make this viable and whimsy is not one of them.
The more attention you pay to the heritage of your character, the richer your character will be.
The daily grind
So what does your character do for a living? Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to use a standard type to define your character (whether that be via a game’s choices or just for whatever story you’ve concocted) while roleplaying or writing. Is your character meant to be a fighter or a diplomat? A man of the gods or a rabble-rouser? A simple fisherman or tradesman? Whatever you pick, try to be consistent with it. Most people in the fantasy world setting pick a profession for life, and changes to that profession only come with severe upheaval. If you do plan on changing this profession, come up with a reason and make it a good one that makes sense.
The profession you choose, much as the race, will determine the lifestyle of your character. This profession will support your characters’ beliefs and the personality of your character will reflect back on how he goes about his profession. As well, the appearance of your character will much depend on the profession—a blacksmith would be heavily muscled, a warrior would likely be scarred, a wanderer would be lean and fit etc. The profession, too, is very dependant on much of the other criteria you’ve picked for your character, so be sure to take a look at all that when picking profession. If you do it right, the profession will become an extension of your character, and will help define him as a person over a character. When that happens, you know you’ve succeeded as a roleplayer and writer.
Consider, then, who your character will be (good, bad, whatever) and what will best suit him to further his personality and beliefs. Do not create your character around a profession, as then it becomes very easy for him to be flat and undeveloped. I myself have fallen prey to this in the past, and shall assure you that it is boring and fruitless when your character is profession first and person second.
Other than that, just roll with whatever seems to suit your character. Once you’ve figured out your character’s personality, this should come easily enough. If you’re still having trouble by then, then go back over everything you’ve come up with and add more.
Looking at the mirror
Now, this is one of those things that always seem to run the same way. Physical appearance is easy to take for granted; don’t underestimate looks. The first impulse is usually to create a physically perfect being, which is not a bad thing but may not be right for your character, depending on his past and current behavior. All the same, don’t be afraid to be daring with your character’s looks. Make him slightly crosseyed or scruffy. Have some landmarks on him, like a lost eye or a missing finger or two. Ugly characters are hard to find (and being ugly can, indeed, make your character hard to identify with; most readers want to think on someone pleasant to look at, but for roleplaying purposes it is not such a bad thing), or even plain characters, but that doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t give one a whirl. A character typically defined by looks or personality can be rather unbalanced—try to blend the two, and don’t go overboard on either side. Looks, particularly, can be easy to get wrapped up in, especially when it comes to description. Let your character have the best of both worlds, and try not to base the idea of your character off of good or bad looks.
Back to the landmark thing, the more life has had a physical impact on your character, the more history you can generate. That lost eye or limp he has is a harbinger to readers/other players that he has a story to tell. That’s a good thing. As well, keep the appearance in accordance with your character’s personality and profession. I can hardly imagine a stable master to not smell like horses or have some horsehair or straw caught up in his clothing. I’d expect a weathered stable master to have some scars or old healed broken bones from accidents. On the other hand, a regal lady who is a courtesan would take the utmost pains to attend to her appearance, and would be sure to keep her composure while in public. Any scene she makes not only reflects badly on her, but on her patron, and she would be careful how she acts. A barmaid, though, would likely be used to rough and tumble and wouldn’t be composed or be able to attend to appearance throughout the day. She might be frazzled or have clothing stained with beer and other foodstuffs.
Also, as your character’s appearance changes don’t forget to remember the changes you have wrought. Nothing reeks of ill consistency more than a heavy scar garnered one day that is mysteriously vanished the next without any reason behind it.