Character Creation Guide

[Lucius Malfoy]

If you are just starting out at this site it is best that you have a look at our Simple Beginner's Guide.

This guide is for the character creation stage, specifically the A-Z Profile.

Here at Malfoy Mansion RPG, one of our main priorities is keeping things canon. The books dictate such things as Harry being the chosen one, Voldemort being the most powerful dark wizard of all and Snape being one of the best potioneers of all time.

Details like this are important for us to keep to. We do not want players asking for characters to be at a similar level of greatness as characters like Dumbledore or other more powerful wizards.

It might be a good idea to put your character through The Mary Sue Test before submitting.

We provide a profile template for you to use, and here I will give a few basic guidelines that you should try to keep to.

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Vital Stats section:

Here are your very basic details. You should be able to fill out all of these without much trouble.
If your character is not a student, then you should probably still mention the Hogwarts house they were in, as it is a signifier of their character.
Age may be the most difficult thing to work out. If you know what age you want your character to be, you might want to work out their birth year. This sites canon begins in 1998, but the site itself was created in 2006. That is a difference of eight years. So everything you do has to be worked out as though it is eight years ago. 2011=>2003 and so on.

Appearance section

We have a lot of people. A LOT of people who join wanting a gorgeous character who everyone will fall in love with for their looks. It gets terribly boring. And when everyone is gorgeous it makes it meaningless. So we would rather your characters are more normal looking.
We also discourage you from making your character look similar to canon characters, especially if they have a similar personality as well.
We suggest using people from British drama and sitcoms rather than Hollywood blockbusters. After all, the people in Harry Potter universe aren't ALL stunning and glamorous (just the Malfoys, right? ). They are normal people living unusual lives.
We also rather that when a character and their looks have been accepted, that you don't change the actor/ actress you originally chose, especially if they look different to your original one (have they had a face transplant?!) - unrealistic and confusing.
As far as canon goes, characters who have been cast in the films should be the actors that you use on the site. If they were never cast then feel free to choose for yourself.

Background section

Possibly the most important section. We would like a fair few details so that we can get a good idea of what the character is about.
You can give a little back story which describes how they got to be where they are now.
Mentioning how they discovered that they were magical is always good.
If they are a bad guy, it is best to describe why it is that they hate muggles or other creatures and think that they are better than them. It is odd for a person to just be naturally evil.
Have a look at some of the already written Profiles to get an idea.

Other Details section

These details are more minor ones and may not all apply to your character.

Properties of wand are usually done in three sections: length in inches, type of wood, magical element. Choosing Your Wand

Not everyone played Quidditch, at least in a team. But if you wish to mention that they played with friends and had a preferred position then that is fine. If they didn't play at all, you can either say so or just erase that from the profile.

Corporeal Patronus can only be cast by people who are very skilled at the charm. A lot of people will only be able to cast a blue wisp at best. Dark characters can not cast them at all. They are another thing that reflect the personality of the character. Do not just choose an animal like a wolf or panther because you think it's cool. They are not the characters' favourite animal, they are a representation of them.

Thestrals are the winged horse like creatures that can only be seen by people who have seen someone die. Seeing a dead person does not count, the actual act of death is what counts.

Wizards get their apparition license at 17 years old, so if your character is younger that is an automatic no. Older, depends on whether they can do it or not.

Subject grades are another thing that people tend to make too good. Fair enough if you wish to excel at one or two subjects, but very few wizards are good at everything. So make your marks realistic. Potions particularly is one that a lot of people want to be good at. But reign it in dudes - it detracts from the abilities of characters such as Snape and Slughorn who are meant to be masters. Of course, a character may be talented in the field, but only as far as a student goes, and not to be comparable to the bestofthebest.

Political Alliance Section

This section details the allegiances of the character. If you decide to be close to a certain character, you should probably PM them on the site and ask if they are happy to cooperate with what you are asking. Remember the serious ongoing issues in the Wizarding World, most of them will have strong opinions about stuff, even the kids.

Favourites section

This is simple enough. Just a list of favourite things that could also help with character development and help you with consistency.

Personality section

This section details the strengths and weaknesses of your character, physical, emotional, mental and magical.
Similarly to the other sections, we would rather that you do not overpower your character. We do not care for god moding. Try to give your character as many weaknesses as strengths to keep things realistic.
It may be best to avoid writing things like intelligent or charming. Sometimes writers can not pull this off, so it depends on your ability as an RPer to convince us of this. If you are certain that you can, feel free to include it.

Remember exceptional skills are rare, so we may not accept everything that you ask for.
Advanced Characters Abilities

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Of course we will moderate character applications, but it would help no end if you try your best to keep to this.

Thanking you!