Newbie : TRP3 first glance and about

Hey guys !
I just had two questions for you RPers :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m trying to find good first glance and making a good back story for my character. To my surprise it actually takes time and much thoughts to put something together.

What do you think of the about section telling the backstory of a character ? I see a lot of people do that and even go to the extend of purchasing artworks from artists to link them on the about page.
I feel it kills the mystery and need to know a character through RP. So I’m not very into writting one (except maybe for myself). I did make a full story and first glance for my battlepet, I felt inspired lol.

Also, I really like the first glance part though, to point to other players things that could be significant.

I made some but I just wanted opinions from other players on them. I tried to make the description sounds from the PoV of your character. English is not my first language so there might be some mistakes.

Intimidating presence :
This demon hunter looks calm, collected.
Yet with his piercing burning eyes, tall size and fel-infused armor, you can’t help but feel a powerful aura around him.

Fel-infused armor:
Most of the armor is infused with Fel energy.
It seems it could greatly enhance the powers and strength of its wearer.

Red Bandana:
This demon hunter wears a bandana on his forehead. Looking at it closely, you notice some tiny dry blood stains.

Azzinoth replicas:
Those warglaives are clearly replicas of Illidan’s.
Though not as powerful, it appears a lot of Fel magic was infused in them. They might be just as deadly to demons and any of this demon hunter’s prey.

Skull:
On the belt, you see a skull attached to it. It looks like it could be a female Night Elf skull with… horns?
Could it be linked to the purple diamond this demon hunter wears ?

Thanks for your help guys !

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Hi there! Glad to see you’re working on a new character and joining our community <3

To me backgrounds are a good thing to do mostly for yourself, but if you’d like other people to know some backing information (such as members of your race, or ‘team’ like the Illidari) its a good thing to have. I myself have a series of ‘prompts’ in my profile, for anyone looking for a reason to approach my character.

I do really like your First Glances! They’re direct and straight to the point, but perhaps do away with the thoughts of others? Maybe make them more ‘if’ based, which will allow players to both get a glance and perhaps save something for a later ‘notice’ during RP. For example:

“This demon hunter wears a bandana on his forehead. If one were to look at it closely, they might notice some tiny, dry bloodstains.”

But that’s just one of us RPers opinion :stuck_out_tongue: Welcome to the community!

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When I decide to write a new character I usually keep it simple with style
my background tells a quick history which explains skills, attitude and I make sure to leave it open which hints towards a goal or dream, and I do this in a written style that reflects the characters personality, for instance if they have a large ego I might write the story in 1st person with lots of self praising.
then I add to the story as my roleplay progress, if I join a guild I like i’ll add them into the present story etc.

regarding first glances I keep them about my character, for instance “silver tongue” I would explain as: watch your words around this one, their sharp wit and silver lounge is like a razor blade.
basically I make it about the character without pointing out how others may feel or view the trait.

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I see what you mean about not describing how people should feel. I admit I had the narrator voice from Divinity OS2 in my head which indeed has description of items where he says how your character feels at times. And I can see how it wouldn’t fit and allow people to make their character feel one way or the other.

Thank you both for the tips !

“At a glance” sections should be just that; what people will see on your character at a glance. Something about their hair, jewelery like necklaces for example, a facial scar or tattoos if they’re exposed.

Too many people saturate their ‘glances’ with full detailed bloat. It’s literally what you see upon glancing at someone as you walk by them, so really keep it to 1-3 short lines.

What you’ve got is pretty alright. I would change the “if you look closely” thing about the bandana becauss that’s not really something you’d notice at a glance but that may just be me being pedantic.

this is purely a personal thing for me, I wouldn’t have stuff like aura’s or presences. that, to me, feels like it belongs in a more descriptive area like the ‘about’ tab. Again, purely personal on that part but otherwise you’re pretty solid on your glances.

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This basically. You can also add a scent or sound, such as sulfur and a click from a cane when they walk - anything a character could notice immediately about your character.

I would refrain from putting backstories in the about section - let people get to know your character through RP. Instead, I feel the about section could contain a physical description, gear and/or weapon description, any auras or perhaps cursed/blessed objects etc. If your character has any quirks such as a strange voice or a facial tic you could also put that here, or simply leave it to emote descriptions during RP. The advantage of adding it is that people will know rather than perhaps only finding out thirty minutes into the RP that your character has a tic.

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Thanks everyone, doing some edits right now :slight_smile:

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Great! Will you share them, too? :smiley:

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That was the idea :stuck_out_tongue:
I also remade some I had for my battle pet who always follow me around.

Here they are, I tried to keep them short and on point as much as possible :

imgur. com/HuS8yd8

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This looks great to me! But I’m back from a hiatus, so I don’t know what the standard is these days. But kudos!

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