The book, Dynamic Characters by Nancy Kress is a true wonder for all who wish to improve their RPing as well as their writing. I highly suggest it to everyone who is looking for that extra bit of help. And in the hope that her suggestions will help make this Mush area enjoyable for everyone involved, I have taken liberally from her dossier and created a program to assist you in finding out all there is to know about your character.
The Dossier is divided into 5 Parts:
1) Basic Statistics
2) Preferences and Mannerisms
3) Social Ties
4) A Typical Day
5) Inner Life
PART 1 - Your Character's Basic Statistics
1) Gender
2) Nicknames
3) Age (In years)
4) Height (feet)
5) Weight (lbs)
6) Hair Color
7) Hair Style
8) Eye Color
9) Skin Col
10) Race (Caucasian, Asian, African American, etc)
11) Culture Background (Chinese, African, American)
- This is NOT where you are from, but your /actual/ biological, cultural background)
12) Distinguishing Marks
13) Personal Religion and/or Beliefs?
14) All students live in the dormitory. Describe their side of the dorm room.
- This description will be applied to your room.
- See 'Student Life' for information on the dorm rooms.
15) Medical Condition - General Health:
- Excellent
- Good
- Below Average
- Terrible
17) The type of people your character is often found with outside of class?
18) The school organizations your character is a member of?
PART 2 - Your Character's Preferences and Mannerisms
1) How would you describe your character's manner of dress?
- Expensive Long-Lasting Styles
- Expensive Trendy Styles
- Good Quality Conservative
- Good Quality non-conservative
- Whatever Friends are Wearing
- Whatever is Most Comfortable
- Whatever is Handy
- Dressing to be Noticed?
- Other
Please state the style of dress, and why your character dresses in such a fashion. Also give an example of this style.
2) Grooming:
- Every Hair Perfect
- Average Grooming and Cleanliness for Group
- Clean but Sloppy
- Dirty and a Slob
3) Speech
- Pace
- Accent/Dialect Voice:
- Shrill
- Average
- Deep
- Unusually Musical
- Unusually Authoritative?
- Other?
- Other Languages? (Be realistic)
4) Mannerisms
- General:
- Projects a Calm Image?
- Volatile- Mood Change, and Body Language with It?
- Unusually Fidgety?
- Other?
- General Mannerisms
5) Posture:
- Stiff and Rigid
- Stands Straight but not Stiffly
- Average - Varies with Mood
- Slumped and Defeated-Looking
- Flexible and Graceful
- Unusually Relaxed
- Slouchy and Careless
- Other
- Posture
6) Gestures:
- Doesn't Gesture Much
- Gestures are Deliberate and Controlled
- Gestures Mostly When Excited/Upset
- Gestures Much of the Time
- Gestures Wildly, Even Weirdly
- Favorite Gestures?
- When Does Your Character Use these Favorite Gestures?
7) Habits:
- Smoking? Yes - How Long, What and How Much? No - Why?
- Drinking? Yes - How Long, What and How Much? No - Why?
- Drugs? Yes - How Long, What and How Much? No - Why?
8) Money: (See 'News Agent Allowance')
- Prudent, Cautious — Saves Money
- Average — Some Debts, Some Savings
- Spends Whatever He/She Has, Soon After Acquiring It
- Deep in Debt
9) Leisure/Cultural Preferences
- Enjoys Sports? Yes - How Much? What Kinds? No - Why?
- Enjoys Music? Yes - How Much? What Kinds? No - Why?
- Enjoys Reading? Yes - How Much? What Kinds? No - Why?
- Enjoys Dancing? Yes - How Much? What Kinds? No - Why?
- Enjoys Theater (Plays)? Yes - How Much? What Kinds? No - Why?
- Enjoys Movies? Yes - How Much? What Kinds? No - Why?
- Enjoys the Outdoors? Yes - How Much? Doing What? No - Why?
- Enjoys Going Out? Yes - How Much? Going Where? No - Why?
- Enjoys Shopping? Yes? How Much? For What? Where? No — Why?
10) Is Good Food Important To Him/Her? Yes - How Important? What Kinds of Food? No - Why?
- Can He/She Cook? Yes - How Well? What kinds of Food? No - How Bad?
11) State of Personal Space Controlled by this Character?
- Carefully Planned?
- Expensive?
- Neat?
- Clean?
- Comfortable?
PART 3 - Your Character's Social Ties
How does your character treat/get along with the following? (Assume they have met/exist)
1) How does your character treat/get along with: Significant Others
2) How does your character treat/get along with: Small Children
3) How does your character treat/get along with: Friends
4) How does your character treat/get along with: Strangers
5) How does your character treat/get along with: People More/Less Successful than he/she
6) How does your character treat/get along with: More/Less Powerful than he/she
7) How does your character treat/get along with: Teachers/Headmaster
8) How does your character treat/get along with: Competitors/Challengers
9) How does your character treat/get along with: Local Police/School Security
10) How does your character treat/get along with: Anyone Who Angers Him/Her
11) How does your character treat/get along with: Anyone Who Helps Him/Her or Anyone Who Asks for Help
PART 4 - Your Character's Typical Day
1) WAKING UP:
- What wakes him/her up? Alarm? Roommates?
- Is he/she cheerful in the morning?
2) Does he/she eat Breakfast? If so, What? What does he/she do during breakfast? Read? Talk? Watch TV? …
3) SCHOOL:
- Does he/she anticipate, dread, resent, etc, the school day ahead? Why?
- What does he/she eat for lunch? Cafeteria? Packed Lunch? Go back to his/her dorm to eat?
- With whom?
- Does he/she give genuine attention and effort to classes?
- Is he/she good at school work?
- Would he/she rather be doing something else? What?
4) DINNER:
Who prepares his/her meal? Cafeteria? Self? Order out?
- Who does he/she eat with?
- What does Dinner typically consist of?
5) EVENING:
- What does your character do on a typical evening? Where? With Whom? How much does he/she enjoy or hate it?
6) BEDTIME:
- Does he/she usually go to bed at a consistent time? What time?
- Does he/she usually fall asleep right away? If no, what is he/she doing in the meantime? Reading? Watching TV? Tossing and Turning? Etc?
- Does your character sleep peacefully through the night, restlessly, or very badly?
7) Does he/she dream a lot, little, or never? Are most of these dreams scary, pleasant, etc?
PART 5 - Your Character's Inner Thoughts
1) What is his/her stated dream in life? (The one he/she'd actually admit)
X) What does he/she really long for, underneath? (secret dream)
2) What event is he/she most afraid might happen?
3) How would he/she describe himself/herself, if totally honest?
4) In a single word, how would you, the player, sum up this character's attitude towards the world? Interested? Optimistic? Defeated? Explosive? Compassionate? Dissatisfied? Power-Mad? Controlling? Happy?…… Would your character agree with this assessment? Why?
