SAMPLE PERSONALITY PROFILES

This page presents several sample profiles of RPG characters. You will notice that I include a brief summary below each one; if you have the time, I recommend this. Putting your character's personality into prose can bring the data to life. Role-playing is all about narrative and your character's personality should be no different.

These lack background profiles, which would certainly add a lot more depth. But even these brief outlines gives each character a distinct flavor, making it easier to generate creativity, flow, and surprises in your next game.

Gung-Ho Warrior

Primary Motivator	Achievement	Sense of Humor	Crude
Emotional Disposition	Excited	Sexuality
Moodiness	Labile	Sexual Orientation	Heterosexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Lascivious
Outlook	Optimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Modest
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Spontaneous	Openness to sexual experience	Low
Boldness	Intrepid	Promiscuousness	Medium
Flexibility	Stubborn	Religion & Spirituality
Affinity	Warm	Affiliation/Adherence	Indigenous/Casual adherent
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Engaging	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Candid	Converting others	Never
Conformity	Conventional	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	Swordplay; famous warriors; birds
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Whistling; singing (badly) to himself; superstitious about killing or eating birds
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Drinking; woodworking; bird watching

This Gung-Ho Warrior is driven by the desire to achieve, to become the greatest warrior around—many of his decisions will be influenced either on the opportunty to improve or to prove (to himself) his existing skills. He is an excitable guy and it doesn't take much to get him charged up. He thinks most things will turn out okay and he tries to see the best in people. He's trustworthy and puts in his fair share of the work. In battle he is daring and a bit reckless—the greater the challenge, the more excited he gets. He is personable, charming, and altruistic, although his sense of humor is crude. He likes to talk and is a pretty open book—he generally wants to discuss swordplay, stories about famous or mythological warriors, and his long-time interest in birds. Although he wants to be a great warrior, he isn't particularly creative and wants to fit into established cultural norms; he is uncomfortable with rebellious or irreverent types. He really likes women and has a strong sex drive; however, he is also modest and a bit shy around them. When he does approach a woman, he tends to be romantic; he generally looks for straightforward relations and is intimidated by unusual requests and sexually forward women. He has a casual relationship with his family religious traditions, and will talk about his beliefs as long as he doesn't think anyone will be offended; he is tolerant of other beliefs and has no interest in converting others. People around him will notice that he tends to whistle when hiking or when otherwise calmly engaged with something; when not whistling, he sings softly to himself, often out of key. He refuses to eat birds and will become upset whenever anyone tries to kill one. This warrior likes to drink (which is when his crude humor really comes out), watch birds, and enjoys carving small things out of wood which he often gives away to friends or romantic interests.

The Sad Healer

Primary Motivator	Beneficence	Sense of Humor	None
Emotional Disposition	Melancholy	Sexuality
Moodiness	Even-tempered	Sexual Orientation	Heterosexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Low
Outlook	Optimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Modest
Integrity	Conscientious	Sexual Expressive Style	Romantic
Impulsiveness	Controlled	Openness to sexual experience	Narrow
Boldness	Cautious	Promiscuousness	Low
Flexibility	Flexible	Religion & Spirituality
Affinity	Warm	Affiliation/Adherence	Fellowship/Orthodox
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Inclusive
Interactivity	Engaging	Expression of beliefs	Occasional
Disclosure	Secretive	Converting others	Casual
Conformity	Conventional	Attitude	Humble
Topics of Conversation	People; current events; relationships
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Daydreaming; insomnia; grooming others (eg. picking leaves out of hair)
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Dancing; poetry; darts

This sad healer is a woman driven by the desire to help the world. She has seen much suffering and has a somewhat bleak view of the world, but she copes with this by doing everything she can to make things better. She is not easily perturbed and is highly controlled—she is very deliberate and focused. Likewise, she is averse to fighting and will only do so to protect life or for some obvious greater good. Even when an enemy is injured, she will be motivated to apply healing or help, as long as doing so would not be a danger. She is very open-minded and tolerant of others and, despite her sadness, is very empathic and caring towards nearly everyone. Her social demeanor is courteous, modest, and generous; however, she is reluctant to talk about herself. She considers herself to be traditional and can be distressed by rebellious attitudes.
      She doesn't have much of a sense of humor, but neither is she a scold; she will smile politely at a joke. She has a low sexual drive usually, but even when interested she will act modestly. She believes in monogamy and disapproves of infidelity and promiscuousness. Although her spiritual path is inclusive and welcoming of others, she herself is a highly orthodox adherent. She will occasionally discuss her beliefs and is willing to attempt gentle conversions.
      In casual conversation she will tend towards talking about other people, relationships, and current events. People around her will notice that she daydreams a good deal, suffers from insomnia on occasion, and has an annoying habit of grooming others. She loves to dance, but only when she thinks she is alone. Reading poety is also a favorite pastime, as is the game of darts, which she learned from her father.

A Questionable Character

Primary Motivator	Acquisition	Sense of Humor	Dry
Emotional Disposition	Anxious	Sexuality
Moodiness	Even-tempered	Sexual Orientation	Heterosexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Healthy
Outlook	Pessimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Flirtatious
Integrity	Unscrupulous	Sexual Expressive Style	Seductive
Impulsiveness	Spontaneous	Openness to sexual experience	Adventurous
Boldness	Cautious	Promiscuousness	High
Flexibility	Flexible	Religion & Spirituality
Affinity	Cold	Affiliation/Adherence	None/Atheist
Comportment	Discordant	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Reserved	Expression of beliefs	None
Disclosure	Secretive	Converting others	Never
Conformity	Conventional	Attitude	Irreverent
Topics of Conversation	Money; complaining or gossiping about others; flattery
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Facial tics; eavesdropping; mumbling; neck cracking
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Counting money; dicing; gambling; fishing

This questionable character is none too pleasant. His core motivation in life is the acquisition of wealth, perhaps because he is a generally anxious person and the idea of having wealth is comforting. In all, he is an even-tempered fellow with a bleak and cynical view of the world. He is not too trustworthy and will exploit people and situations if profit is available (although he doesn't necessarily gain pleasure from such exploitation; it is usually just a means to an end). When he sees an opportunity for gain he will jump right into it without too much thought, although he is the opposite when danger arises—in battle he will tend to seek cover and fight only when confident that he will have the upper hand.
      He is generally adaptable to changing situations and doesn't hold allegiences or promises too tightly. He is self-absorbed, greedy, and suspicious of others and has a cold bearing—he is quickly defensive and critical. Socially, he tends to keep to himself and is evasive or deceitful about personal information. When he does talk, it is uaually about money or complaining about something; when he thinks there is potential gain, he will engage in hamfisted flattery. Although he often resents people who are socially or financially successful, he is too anxious to act openly outside the boundaries of acceptable behavior; his transgressions are covert.
      His sense of humor is dry, subtle, and under-the-radar. He has a healthy libido and can be flirtatious and seductive when he feels confident; however, his lack of sincerity tends to put women off. When he does get lucky, his hidden atypicality comes out and he enjoys unusual and kinky experiences. This is not limited to sex—he frequently seeks out strange and countercultural groups and situations, as long as his anonymity and safety is assured.

The Happy Rogue

Primary Motivator	Play	Sense of Humor	Pranks
Emotional Disposition	Joyful	Sexuality
Moodiness	Phlegmatic	Sexual Orientation	Bisexual
CORE TRAITS		Libido	Lascivious
Outlook	Optimistic	Sexual Expressiveness	Brazen
Integrity	Unscrupulous	Sexual Expressive Style	Crude
Impulsiveness	Spontaneous	Openness to sexual experience	Adventurous
Boldness	Intrepid	Promiscuousness	Medium
Flexibility	Flexible	Religion & Spirituality
Affinity	Warm	Affiliation/Adherence	Indigenous/Agnostic
Comportment	Agreeable	Tolerance	Tolerant
Interactivity	Engaging	Expression of beliefs	None
Disclosure	Secretive	Converting others	Never
Conformity	Heterodox	Attitude	Irreverent
Topics of Conversation	Humor; stories of own exploits; sex
Quirks, Habits, & Oddities	Chewing (straw, grass, etc); exaggeration; "special" mushrooms;
Hobbies & Enjoyments	Theatre; music; riddles; pratical jokes

This female is a real character; she wants nothing more than to enjoy life. She is a naturally playful and happy person, and not much gets her down for long. Her world is a fun place—she is not naive, but rather chooses to see the humorous in things. Although more or less trustworthy, she isn't very industrious or dependable. In part, this is because she is flighty and easily distracted. Although not reckless, she is no coward and gets a thrill out of danger. She's very easygoing about things and comes across as genuinely warm, charming, and friendly, which happens often since she deeply enjoys personal interaction (which she does with a lot of laughing, flirting, physical touching, and eye contact). As much as she likes to talk and laugh with others, she is actually very closed about her internal world and background, and she always finds a slippery way to change that subject. Cultural norms don't play an important role for her, except that she enjoys breaking them—not because she enjoys chaos, but simply because she thinks most rules are uselessly restrictive. This is one reason why she frequently engages in pranks and practical jokes, to shake things up and "punish" people who are too serious.
      She is a very erotic creature, largely because she finds flirting and sex to be fun. She can be brazen in her sexual expression, although she knows when to turn it off. Her advances tend to be crude, but that doesn't mean she isn't picky. She can also be true to one person...just not for very long, since she will eventually be distracted by someone new.
      She also has no real interest in religion. She is completely tolerant of other beliefs, but has no patience for people who try to force their morality on her. In cases when religion plays a restrictive role, she will become highly irreverent and even downright offensive.
      This rogue loves to talk about things that are fun and entertaining; she especially enjoys telling tales of her past exploits, which she tends to exaggerate into tall tales over time. She will also go out of her way to enjoy a local theatre show, musical performance, or party. She tends to chew on things, like straw or grass, and on occasion will partake of a special mushroom that induces an altered state of mind.