Biography Guide
Created by Captain Isaac Rhodes on Mon Jul 11th, 2022 @ 9:04pm
Overview
The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of what goes into creating and developing a good character biography. Anyone who is planning on joining the USS Thejal (or is already a member) should read through as there are several things you’ll need to take note of.
Before You Begin
Use your imagination. Picture your character in your mind. Then delve into their psyche to determine their background and what made your character who they are. Make your character believable and also unique to you.
Use other resources. A good place to reference is Memory Alpha. It contains quite a lot of information on various canon species and also canon characters (if you’re struggling for inspiration). More helpful links are listed at the end of this guide.
Getting Started
The first step when creating a character from scratch is to figure out what position you want your character to be in and what race you want them to be, then create their talents and history to reflect that. The outline below will give you a good basis for creating your character:
- Name:
- Previous Posting:
- Nickname (if any):
- Age:
- Place of Birth:
- Species:
- Gender:
- Marital Status:
- Physical Description:
- Personality/Psychological Profile:
- Family History:
- Personal History:
- Academic Record:
- Official Starfleet Record:
- Hobbies:
Species
For those who are new to collaborative writing, it’s best to choose a human character and your own gender. Familiarity is the key to successful role-playing. There are times when even the most experienced of role-players will have difficulty playing an alien race or a character who is very unlike themselves in some way.
If you want to tackle an alien race, make sure they are part of the Federation. There are some cases where singular individuals of a race or foreign government may be accepted into Starfleet, but these must have a backstory that has been thought out very carefully and in detail. It usually involves either gaining Federation citizenship or receiving a sponsorship from a serving command-level officer.
If you are unsure about your character’s race, discuss it with the commanding officer.
Choosing your character’s race can be especially tricky when using mixed races as some races are physically incompatible with each other. Your race choice may limit certain other aspects of your character’s biography (e.g. place of birth).
Physical Attributes
Physical attributes are descriptors that help you and your fellow players imagine your character’s physical appearance. Start with the basics – age, height, weight, hair and eye color. Don’t forget to include how the character wears their hair (e.g. length, style, etc.).
Make sure to describe their general physical build (e.g. muscular, wiry, etc.). Include any attributes such as tattoos, big feet, or scars that might help identify your character. This gives you and your fellow players something a little more unique to work with.
Some players have portraits created for their character. You can also use existing images from sources found around the internet.
Personality Traits
Personality traits are things that help you and your fellow players imagine your character’s behavior as well as their approach to life. What are your character’s strengths? What are your character’s weaknesses? What are their hopes and dreams? As you write, think about events in your character’s life that may have been instrumental in helping to form these parts of their personality.
Always be sure to give a good balance to your character as “super-characters” are difficult to play with and only serve to frustrate other players. If the commanding officer feels your character is too “super”, they may ask you to balance it out more.
Character History
Personal and family history covers the time from your character’s birth to their enlistment in Starfleet (non-commissioned) or their entrance to Starfleet Academy (officers). This is where you can describe their parents, siblings, places they’ve been during their childhood, etc. Where were they born? What was their childhood like? Are there any significant events that occurred? Why did your character decide to join Starfleet?
The more detailed you make the personal and family history, the more fun you will have playing this character. You’ll refer to this history the same way that you refer to your own history in real life.
The second portion of a character’s history is their career life which includes academic experiences and Starfleet service records. This portion will continue to grow as you write so keep your biography available for updates.
You will want to include past missions and experiences as part of this section. Typically, this looks like a timeline of assignments in the “service record” or “chronology” part of the join form and a written out description under the history sections. Include their experiences at the Academy or enlisted training school, any friends or enemies they made, what their first assignment was like, as well as any assignments leading up to the point where they joined the Thejal.
This portion of your character’s biography will be a major factor in determining what starting rank your character is given on the sim. If you have a particular rank in mind, you will need to discuss that with the commanding officer. You also need to make sure what you write for your character’s biography realistically supports this. For example, no one comes out of the Academy and gets a posting as a lieutenant commander.
Be aware that, no matter how you tailor your character’s biography, the commanding officer reserves the right to grant them a lower rank and ask you to alter the bio accordingly.
Additional Sections
Our biography form on the Thejal has a few significant improvements over the standard seen on many other simulations. In addition to providing additional sections encouraging you to write more about each part of your character’s history, there are fields to provoke thought on the relationships your character has with their family, with friends, and with romantic interests beyond simply naming names.
When things happen to your character like an illness, a death, a divorce, a promotion, these should be noted and kept updated in your character’s biography here on the site. Remember to keep a backup at home, just in case!
Follow-Up
Questions, comments, and concerns are always welcomed and should be directed to a member of the command staff via private message or email.
Modification and enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of the commanding officer.
See Also
- Application Guide
- Character Introduction
Source
Adapted from the “Biography Guide” of the USS Highlander. Used with permission.
Updated: 07/11/2022
Categories: Character Development