The Ways of Character Creation

Some characters start with a name. Others start with a face. And some have no name, no face, but a story begging to be told. Of course, there are always those stubborn ones. Every writer knows them. They’re the characters who won’t cooperate no matter what. There are many ways to deal with these sorts. Take inspiration from real life or other media.

But there’s another way. The decision could be left up to: The Dice.

Why let the dice decide?

Because constraints can be creative fuel. Sometimes strange things happen when choices are taken completely away. Possibilities become vast. A writer might find they have to make things work together that should not work at all. It becomes more than just crafting a simple character.

A challenge.

Take these things and do something with them. What do you do with them? No idea. Figure it out. Find that creativity that’s deep in the soul and pull it out.

How it Began: A Tattered Notebook, Slightly-Not-Very-Sticky Sticky Notes, and A Scribbled Snail

A particular writer (It’s me. Discount Store Hero. I’m talking about me.) once needed an appearance for a character, but the mind was blank. So what did this author do? I wrote a bunch of options down. I stared at them. Uncertain of everything, I idly drew a snail on a Post-it note. And then I grabbed some dice. I rolled them. A character was born.

Now, it might seem like it’s not possible to get an organic, original character from this process. Well, that depends on the rules. And the options you chose.

The Discount Store Hero Method

I’ll share a little bit about my process. I have several lists of things I roll, from appearance to personality traits. There are rules I must follow. After a trait is rolled, it can’t be used again. It gets marked off the list. Erased from existence! Well, for that list, anyway. When a list is emptied, it gets filled with new things. Characters cannot have the same traits, for the most part.

To hold myself accountable, I film the rolls and then send them out into the void of social media and the internet! Of course, sometimes things get adjusted. But those are exceptions and don’t occur often.

Here are the categories I use:

Basic Traits

1. Species
2. Role
3. Vibes
4. Quirks
5. Name
6. First Impressions
7. Habits
8. Species-Specific Traits

Appearance

1. Eye Color/Style
2. Hair Color/Style
3. Skin Tone
4. Build
5. Body Enhancements (This can be something that modifies the body or a handicap, such as a prosthetic limb, a missing limb, blindness, medical disability, or other things.)
6. Markings (Tattoos, scars, etc.)

Equipment

1. Clothing
2. Weapon
3. Trinket

Abilities

1. Anima Branch (The Type of Magic or no magic)
2. Spell Echo (In the Travelers Saga universe, spells operate differently for each person. This is called a Spell Echo.)
3. Echo Visual (In the Travelers Saga universe, spells look different for different people.)
4. Universal Resonance (The cost of the magic in the Travelers Saga Universe.)
5. Anima Resonance (A specific cost for that magic branch in the Travelers Saga Universe.)

Location (Where the story will take place.)

Return Desk (When a die lands on something that’s gone, this list fills that void. This is not always a good thing.)

Throw A Wrench (Just to make life harder, sometimes it throws a wrench.)

Example Character:

Basics

• Name: Idris
• Species: New Universe Creation
• Role: Retired Something
• Vibes: Genuinely Unbothered
• Quirks: Doors slightly open before Idris reaches them. All doors. No exceptions. Even locked doors.
• First Impressions: Distracted by something no one else can see
• Habits: Maintains slightly more distance than feels natural
• Species-Specific Traits: This will be revealed in the story when it is written

Appearance

• Eyes: Colorless, transparent, very unsettling
• Hair: Soft black with burgundy visible only in sunlight
• Skin: Ashen purple with faint luminescent veins underneath
• Build: Short
• Body Enhancement: Enhanced Vision
• Markings: Freckles splattered like ink all over them

Equipment

• Clothing: Simple, dark, nothing memorable
• Weapon: Something not technically a weapon, but works anyway
• Trinket: Something important to someone else. Somehow, the item still knows it’s important to someone else.

Abilities

• Anima: Time
• Spell Echo: Creature Bond - Connects or works through animals
• Echo Visual: Target Marking - Leaves visible marks
• Universal Resonance: No Repeat - Exact form or spell cannot be used twice in a row
• Time Anima Resonance: Echo Moment - Involuntarily relives a recent moment briefly after casting

There are many ways to create characters. This is just one of my own ways. It’s a fun challenge to see how things can work. Not every character is designed this way, but for those who are, they get to have some incredibly chaotic adventures.

Good luck making those characters! Maybe when you’re stuck, grab some dice. You never know what the result might be.

To see how I handle this chaos, check out: Adventures in the Bargain Bin and Reduced-Rate Reflections on NovelDay! You can also find the roll videos on TikTok or other social media under Discount Store Hero.

Note: The author is neither a hero nor a store, but definitely discounted. Probably a snail or sentient spaghetti. Either way, the author is wearing a fruit basket hat while dancing to music only they can hear.