Review has been finished. This thread is now an additional source of information for those joining the HoB or wishing to update their characters. Note that all major updates or update that alter the balance of strength in your character must be brought to the attention of the moderators in character acceptance and review: Myself and AkaMaaku. Thank you.As Lau and co. were working on earlier, there was a sweeping character review being done of the entire list. I'll be picking that up, as will those who'd been doing it earlier - it should be done in not too long. That said:
If you are making a first character:
READ. THIS. THREAD. It has all the basic information you need as well as templating and simple rules. This assumes the basic rules of profiling have been followed.
Subjects of Review:
(1) Motivation and Acceptance:
-Does this character have a reason to go to the HoB?
-Can this character afford to go to the HoB?
(2) Skills and Talents
-If a character is proficient in a weapon, why so? If one is good with bow and sword, note why both have been learned instead of just focusing on another.
-Any talents that would immediately stand out in the past should be mentioned. If a character can't control their power, something should have happened because of it. Even if it's just "was more reclusive/focused on XYZ/interested in XYZ/etc. than usual," a person having an unusual talent or ability will usually show it. And that will make a reaction.
(3) Numberology
-Numbers should make sense. A super-strong character needs to be heavy to support that, a super-fast character needs to think fast or at least be in bullet-time (everything feels slower) often, or they'll zip into something dangerous and most likely severely injure themself. If numbers don't make sense it'll be marked down, because the change from 7 to 14 pounds on a weapon doesn't look like it should mean much but it makes a huge difference when it comes down to it.
-These are largely either Students, Teachers, or very rarely Headmasters. Students should
not be extremely proficient in any one thing, and not knowing something non-essential is
not a weakness. If your swordsman or werewolf character is bad with a bow, then okay. Good for him or her. But it's not a valid weakness. For the same reasons, mastery of a weapon as a student isn't allowed. This is a
school. People are here
to learn. You can't teach someone who has mastery, at least not on such a sweeping level.
-Also in Numberology is that ages should make sense. The school tends to peak between 14 and 21 in relative human terms. A long-living race would send people to learn in such a way at an older absolute age, a short-living race would do so earlier. This is important when considering hybrid races especially.
(4) Description and History
-The description needs to get across a good sense of character, and match with everything else. Make things fit. If anything is missing, it will be pointed out.
-Histories should make sense, and explain something about the character. While the review will in no way grade your writing ability (no matter how good or bad it is), people will be checking to see that things are explained and are clear.
-Races are key to designing a character, and should be approached with caution. There is a temptation to make characters interesting by dehumanizing them, and by all means feel free to do so (werewolves and vampires should be run through Rain while pending approval). But
remember - races carry a lot more than just appearance and style. They carry blood traditions, inherent behavior, blood magic, family ties, age, and a whole slew of important other things. Make sure to take these into account if you are making a non-human character.
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~A
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Next post will contain Character Index.
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