What do you like/dislike in an application sheet?

[Foxypaws 44]

Provided your chosen site does them anyway! For me, applications are my go-to for referencing someone else's character to decide how mine will interact, so I do like having one available to me. The template can be fancy as all get out, but I don't want the writing prompts within to be needlessly complicated.
 

What do you hate? I cannot stand extra fields for likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. I can write those in my personality section if I see fit, thank you very much! I find it quite annoying  trying to come up with a fifth 'dislike' because I have to have a certain amount. Can I just write cheese in there and call it good? No, I have to also write why he doesn't like cheese, ugh!

 

What do you consider unnecessary? Appearance sections that want you to write a book about what your character looks like when they also provide a place for a photo. I have actually taken part in roleplays before that wouldn't accept my character until I wrote more than three paragraphs. No thank you. While my own site has an appearance section in the application, it is to note special markings or things that stand out. I'm not going to ask you to describe the amber hue of his facial freckles in three or more sentences.

What do you consider necessary?  A personality and history section are a must have for me. I need to know how that character is going to interact with mine. (And I reference my own writing to make sure I'm staying consistent with my characters!) And I would like to know more about their background, just to get a feel of who they are.
(If my character is a baby though, please don't make me force a history out of them. Let me write it as they grow.)

 

[Prophetess 137]

What I hate... is the overextended ones that have 50 things to fill in without any need to. I hate the templates ones the most. I'm not great with coding so they just make it more hairpulling and stressful for me. I understand something uniform, but templates just are more trouble than they are worth. 

 

What is unnecessary... needing to know every personal detail about the character. Likes/dislikes, favorite foods, and things like that aren't really needed in a profile/app. Gifs, extra pics, and so forth also really aren't needed. I know people like eye candy, but some things are just overboard. 

 

What is necessary... the basics. Height, weight, things the character owns, friends/allies, what the character can do (skills, powers, etc), and history/personality. Apps don't have to be long and drawn out. They can be really simple. 

 

I may be old fashioned but sometimes it's better to keep things simple without a lot of to do over it.

[Kazetatsu 263]

 I generally use free for all apps, so there isn't much of a set template of how to show off a character. 

 

Usually I put things in that I think should be obvious within an acquaintance relationship to start, looks, basic personality, sometimes, passions or faction. a very quick overview of abilities.

 

I definitely leave out anything that I don't want characters to meta know, especially if these details are not likely to cause threats to the characters around them. I don't usually include things about sexual orientation for that reason. If I have the option to, I may also leave out large parts of personality, where they work, extended details about their values, or goals. anything my characters want to keep secret for the sake of their own development and long term goals. if it is revealed ic of course, that's its own thing.

 

I will include any of those details above if I am either looking for plots revolving around such details, or as a disclaimer to let players know that my character could be dangerous or cause them trouble, for example, in the case of a crazy person who sometimes will try to kill folks randomly.

 

aside from the basics, the way i decide what to put then is. "is sharing this detail going to enhance or hinder plotting."

if enhance, I can put it in, but it may be optional, if it's hinder, I leave it out. if neither, than the detail is likely trivia, and unnecessary.

 

 

[Morrigan 1,826]

I don't like apps personally. I do see their value as reference sheets but to me that's like a Character Sheet in DND. It's not meant for the other players, it's meant for the DM to create some story around it and since most sites don't take non-canon or premade characters into account when dolling out their site story it makes the moot as everything in a character sheet is something you should determine in character.

 

If I gave what I would prefer in a character sheet?

Height

Eye color

Build (for sites without Playbys or character representations being mandatory).

General Appearance (if you want to give a general run down of what to expect when encountering the person).

Species (if it's relevant to the RP).

 

Personality and History I've always felt are too intertwined to separate so if you have them I always recommend combining them but I think stuff like that should be private to the staff and force the users to actually figure it out in character OR discuss it OOC if they are supposed to have a history together.

[Dun 68]

I generally hate anything unnecessary for 'approval'. If you don't need to know the info to determine whether my character will work in the game, I don't want to have to disclose it. I'm totally ready to write some reference info in there (general fields, basics-- those work), but to be required to write likes, dislikes, detailed history info, every tattoo, etc.-- Let me LIVE. 😉 I like to keep a lot of tricks up my sleeves, and I want the freedom to decide how to present reference material people can actually use (not a massive novel), in a way that works for me.

 

What's necessary or unnecessary really depends on each individual game. Sometimes you have to disclose details about magical capabilities or superpowers, so an admin can help you ensure those details align with the parameters of the game. Sometimes you have to demonstrate an understanding of a canon character. If people add some basic fields to make the application double as a reference bio-- thumbs up!

 

Applications aren't necessary for most games, of course, so I'm a little perturbed when people put application systems in place only to end up approving all of the applications or denying some for absurd reasons. I'm a big fan of games that skip them altogether, when they can. For Fragile Futures, just like Initium and Escova before that, I put out a mandatory bio form with a general About section and a Magic section, for characters who are capable of magic. Folks can put whatever reference info they want to into their character bio, along with basic OOC info, the name-- super simple stuff. Then they can run off and get to writing, without waiting for an OK. If I ever find that someone's up to something with a character that doesn't fit and will ultimately get in their way, I'll just let them know. There's no need to make everyone wait or reveal a ton of info upfront, on the off chance that someone will goof or a garbage player will roam through.

[Icewolf 258]

Coded templates, especially ones with hovers and other unnecessary fancy things. Like others have said, I don't really like over describing their appearance. I don't like short, one or two word lists for their likes, dislikes, personality, etc... They are quite meaningless because sometimes you just feel like putting anything in there and then later wondering why you put it. Likes and dislikes, favourite food, etc, are perhaps better to find out in the story and some likes and dislikes can really depend on the character's experiences in game. Family is necessary to list, but I don't think that friends and enemies are since again, that is something that can be explored in the game as you aren't always going to know who your character likes, is friends with or hates until they meet each other and interact. Having fields in the list which really have no relevance to the setting because it's been copied from a resource site or something, and no thought has been given into if it's relevant to the board it's used on or not.

Edited February 5, 2019 by Icewolf

[Somniac 207]

I actually like applications as an at-a-glance hook for getting people involved with your character. That said - a character is just a concept to me until they've been test-driven.

 

I generally start with a high level of trust for my fellow roleplayers, and am also delighted to hand out some tools/secrets to fuck with my characters. If 'secrets' and such are repeatedly misused and communication doesn't clear it up, just means our styles aren't compatible.

 

Hate: 

• Wordcount requirements. There's an art to brevity, and these rules inevitably lead to purple prose.
• Being forced to define a personality right away. I prefer to make certain any character I have has a decent chance of taking different paths from others currently in my repertoire, and part of that involves learning about the characters available to play against. 
• Strict aesthetic guides. I chafe at needing a portrait, and then a gif, and then a fancy signature - fuck, man. I just want to write. I will go overboard on my own time if I'm feeling it.
• Tons of mandatory fields. I prefer to treat character creation more like planting a seed and seeing how it will grow than a Chia Pet project.

Unnecessary:

• Mandatory trivia. Admittedly, it's helped me come up with quirks I wouldn't have otherwise, but the compulsory nature adds a dash of exasperation. I prefer sites that treat you as a collaborator rather than an unruly student.
• Frequent profile format changes that mean everyone has to overhaul their profiles on the regular.

Necessary:

 

My ideal character app is just a history blurb that ties a character into the lore and has openings for others to get involved. A lot of places mandate face claims, so a physical description beyond height, stature, and notable deviations from the claim seems like overkill unless written descriptions are allowed as a substitute.

[Dragon 673]

I don't like anything but the basics in any sort of app. 

 

Name

Age

Height

Build

Occupation

Faction (If Applicable to the setting) 

Species (If applicable)

 

An appearance description if the player either chooses not to use a visual rep, or the character has physical traits that are not portrayed by that rep/player is unable to photo-edit properly. 

 

So in short, on most sites, a character's Avatar and Mini Profile are capable of containing pretty much everything I need to know going into a new encounter.

 

I dislike history and personality sections because they are flat useless in building character relations - all they really do is put some sort of preconceived idea in each writers' mind. Ideas that may or may not (will probably not) actually pan out when it comes to a thread. I don't need to have an idea about how someone's character 'might' mesh with mine. All I'm interested in is a provocative, stimulating set that will naturally allow me to play against the other party in an organic fashion - same as meeting people in real life. When you start a new job, or new school, or join a new organization you have no idea whatsoever how your personality is going to mesh with any Jane or John Doe you meet. Preemptive knowledge of history and personality are not only unnecessary to development, but can be hugely stifling. There are a lot of missed opportunities that stem from someone looking over god-level knowledge of another character, then making assumptions like 'oh they're too different, they won't get along' when in reality some of the strongest friendships in the world are between people who, on paper, appear to be incompatible polar opposites. 

[Josie 198]

What do you hate? 

All of it.

 

What do you think is unnecessary? 

See above.

 

What do you think is necessary? 

How many characters you have that I can plot with, and knowing what kinds of plots you want to do with your characters. I don't need to know why you want to do those plots; I can surmise it's because you'd find them fun. 

 

But that's not an application, that's talking about ideas, and that can be achieved in a plotter or even over messages.

 

The only person who needs to know a character well enough to write them is the person writing the character- everything else can be learned by the other players via writing in threads with that character. That's what makes it all fun for me. Even if there are applications on a site, I will bullshit my application and will read through exactly none of the other applications because I don't want to know anything about your character before I write with them. That's like reading in-depth reviews and summaries and synopsis-es for a book you really want to read before you've read the book.

 

Absurd amounts of emphasis used for emphasis.

[Shieb 47]

What do you hate? 

Having something unnecessary required in the application. I like quirks and silly things, but don't make me come up with something unnecessary to my character, and then stop me from playing if I don't. I've had this required for things like D&D alignment (outside D&D), gender, sexual identity, romantic identity, etc. I do enjoy making these things for a character, but that doesn't mean they're immediately necessary for me to play.

 

What do you consider unnecessary? 

I mostly hate things because they are unnecessary. Requiring something that isn't necessary just makes me grumpy.

 

What do you consider necessary? 

This mostly depends on the character, honestly. Give me enough space to make sure other characters know what mine looks like at a glance, and so other players know what they're getting into, if they're afraid to ask. I can go into ridiculous detail, but rarely is my character's romantic interest or specific inner turmoil or their strengths and weaknesses actually essential for every single character in the same way.