Last Updated: April 14, 2019 by Cauthrien
This guide is intended as a resource for players who are new to Thedas: Timelines, and potentially new to this style of roleplay in general. Our goal is to make creating a character a fun and painless process. To that end, if you have any questions that are not answered by this guide, please do not hesitate to PM a member of staff or join our Discord server here.
Before You Begin...
Before you start the process of creating a character to play on Thedas: Timelines, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:
Roleplaying Format
Thedas: Timelines uses a play-by-post (or PBP) style of roleplay. We believe this format of roleplay provides a better vehicle for conveying a character’s inner thoughts and emotions and makes for an all around more cohesive experience.
If you’ve never played this way before, think of it as collaborating with other players to write out the narrative for a specific story. Roleplayers coming from play-by-email formats or any format in which interactions are played out in long form will find this style familiar.
However if you come from a background of only roleplaying in short form using chat programs or in-game text and emotes, you’re still very much welcome here! Before creating your character, take a look at some of the threads posted by our players to see this format in action and get a feel for what information will be most important during roleplay.
Interacting With Others
While anti-social people absolutely exist and we don’t want to discourage anyone from playing a character true to their personality, keep in mind that Thedas: Timelines is an environment that relies on characters interacting with one another.
Not every character has to be a friendly extrovert, but when creating your own character, you should keep in mind their reasons for wanting--or needing--to interact with others. Doing so will help you find more opportunities to play that character and give you a variety of other characters to play with.
First Character Restrictions
Some specializations are locked to new players due to how rare they are or how they affect the world of Thedas, as well as the added considerations in roleplaying them. Players may only apply to play a character in one of these specializations once they’ve demonstrated roleplaying proficiency with their first character.
These specializations include:
Other specializations will require greater care on the part of the player app’ing them and greater scrutiny from the reviewing member of staff. The below specializations must be explained thoroughly and compellingly in backstory as they are still quite rare and require special knowledge:
Note that the above restrictions apply to character creation only. All specializations can potentially be earned through roleplay. If this is something you’re interested in pursuing, feel free to contact a member of staff and we can help you plan a plot that will facilitate this. For information on pursuing the path of a Grey Warden after character creation specifically, see this post.
Additionally though there are no restrictions on new players creating lesser nobles (backwater banns, second sons and daughters, lords and ladies without holdings, etc), nobles with greater political influence are reserved for players who have a bit of experience navigating the roleplaying landscape of Thedas: Timelines. When in doubt, just check with the moderating team.
Canon Characters
While much of the information still applies, this guide is primarily designed for those creating an original character. See this post for information on playing a canon and a list of currently available canons.
Creating Your Character
To help you create a character you can enjoy playing on Thedas: Timelines, here are some of the most important aspects to consider:
Inspiration
Every character is borne from a spark of inspiration. Whether it’s a desire to see a version of your in-game character come to life in roleplay or a wish to play out a specific archetype, personality, or backstory, now is the time to fully embrace the spark that led you to read this guide.
Name
When naming your character, keep where they came from in mind. Locations in Thedas draw a lot of inspiration from the real world. While it’s not a 1:1 and should mainly be used for naming inspiration, you can consider Ferelden as being inspired by medieval England, with a large Saxon and even some Celtic influence. Orlais is most easily represented by France, Antiva by Renaissance Italy, the Anderfels by Germany, Nevarra by Prussia, and Rivain by Moorish Spain.
The Free Marches are a bit hard to pin down, as the city-states are generally regarded as a melting pot of several different cultural inspirations. In-game, however, many of the NPCs have Germanic and English-sounding names.
For Human names, a baby name site like this one is an invaluable resource.
Qunari still under the Qun usually use titles (ex: Sten) or nicknames for personality traits in qunlat. You can find a list of common words here that may help. Tal-Vashoth retain this naming culture by taking on nicknames within their vocabulary. Vashoth can have both qunlat influenced names or names that are common to the area in which they were born and raised.
For all races, a name generator like this one can be helpful in generating ideas.
Physical Description
When it comes to physical descriptions, consider in-game character models and the sources of cultural inspiration mentioned above. You are of course not limited to these inspirations, as the people of Thedas are many and varied.
Use your best judgment when deciding height, hair color, eye color, etc. All attributes should be realistic or otherwise explained.
Skills and Abilities
Creating a character for roleplay is quite a bit different from creating a character in-game, and as such we’re less concerned about specific skill names and ranks and more concerned with getting a general idea of what your character knows how to do, and what they do well.
Skills and abilities should be informed by your character’s backstory and personality, as they will be most useful to you when roleplaying. You can find more information about skills here.
Personality
This is perhaps the most important thing to consider when creating a character, as it greatly informs how you’ll interact with others. People tend to have complex personalities that can change over time, so don’t be afraid to leave yourself some wiggle room for growth.
When you first start thinking of your character, however, you may find a personality archetype helpful. You will of course want to flesh out that archetype with personality traits gained from your character’s backstory. Try and think about how you might respond to and interact with others if you experienced what your character has.
Backstory
Also incredibly important to your character is their backstory. When deciding this, remember we don’t need to know every last detail of their lives from birth up to now--just the things that made them the person they are today.
If you don’t have a backstory in mind yet, consider reverse engineering one from your character’s personality. If you want to write someone who’s extremely guarded, for example, it’s important to know what made them that way.
While written for tabletop RPGs, this is an excellent article on crafting a compelling backstory. And of course when it comes to fitting your backstory within the Dragon Age timeline, you’re welcome to ask for help on Discord.
Timeline
You should let us know which Timeline you wish to participate in. If you wish to participate in more than one, you will need to add the addendum to the profile template with the requested information for the later timeline of your choice.
The Character Profile
Below you’ll find the full character profile with details on each field. If you’d like a specific example of an approved profile, you’ll find one here. (And a Civilian profile here.)
You may paste the URL of a screenshot or commissioned artwork at the top of your profile, beneath the IMG tags. No faceclaims or art for which you do not have express permission. If you need help hosting an image, please contact a member of staff.
Name: Your character’s name (sans any titles) with their most prominent nickname in parentheses after it, if applicable.
Race: At this time you may choose between Human, Human (Elf-Blooded), Dalish Elf, City Elf, Dwarf (Caste), Dwarf (Casteless), Dwarf (Surface), Qunari, Qunari (Tal-Vashoth), or Qunari (Vashoth).
Gender: Use whatever word your character best feels represents their gender.
Date of Birth: Please use the date format of Day Month, Age:Year. Ex: 11 Firstfall, 9:13. You can find the Thedas calendar here.
Occupation: This is different from your character’s class. If they have a title, it goes here. Otherwise this is however they make their living.
Companion(s): Keep these as common sense as possible unless you can explain an unusual companion in your backstory. For the most part this means commonly domesticated animals. Those of wealth or means may have a horse or mule. Rangers can of course have a wilder companion. Can be left blank or marked N/A.
Physical Description
Anything another character would notice at first glance. This includes but is not limited to height, build, skin tone, eye color, hair style and color, and any distinguishable markings such as scars or tattoos.
Skills & Specialties
Class: Your character’s in-game class. Rogue, Warrior, or Mage. If you would rather play a character with no martial training, you may put Civilian here.
Specialization: Your character’s in-game specialization for their class, if applicable. Note you will have to make reference to how they attained this specialization in your backstory. For a list of Specializations, click here.
Weapons & Armor: Any weapons or armor your character typically uses. Much like companions, this should largely be kept to common sense choices. Consider your character’s social and economic status when specifying what kind of weapons and armor they would own. Exceptions can be made for family heirlooms, but they should be explained in your backstory.
Languages: List the languages your character is fluent in followed by whether they are fluent in verbal communication, written communication, or both.
Non-Combat Skills: Provide a short (1-2 paragraph) narrative describing your character's skills outside of combat. This can include skills found in the games, such as Stealth and Coercion, as well as anything your character is good at. You can find information here to see a list of potential skills, and if you can think of one that's not included, just ask the mods & we'll work with you. Unusual skills should be explained in your backstory and all skills should fit logically with your character's age and background.
Combat Skills: Though combat is not used extensively in Thedas: Timelines, you should still have some idea of your character’s combat skills. See this article for information on all of the different skills available to you. Similar to the non-combat skills, provide a short (1-2 paragraph) narrative describing the weapons styles and types of combat that your character is familiar with. Again, unusual skills should be explained in your backstory and all skills should fit logically with your character's age and background.
Note: If your character is a Mage, this is where you will also list the schools of magic that your character has studied. Generally, a mage will know 1-2 schools of magic in depth, but a mage could also know basic spells across several schools instead; use your character's age and background to get an idea of what might fit.
For a list of mage spells available to each school, click here.
Personality
This is the space for you to describe your character’s personality in-depth. If they are duplicitous or guarded, you can include what they show others as well as what they do not.
Backstory
The meat-and-potatoes of your profile. Rather than describing every detail of your character’s life, focus on the most formative events. Of particular note is how your character gained their class and/or occupation, how they obtained any unusual skills, items, or companions, and the experiences that molded their personality.
Ready to Create Your Character?
We recommend you have at least these two wiki pages open--Skills Overview and Specializations--while working on your profile. We also strongly recommend working from your specialization backwards when allotting skills.
Create a new post in this forum in which the title of the post is your character's name. Then copy the below code and paste it into the body of the post so you can simply fill in the appropriate fields.
By posting in this subforum, you acknowledge that your character is ready for review by a member of staff. If you want to post your profile in progress, please do so in the Workshop. Once it's ready for review, PM a member of staff and we will be happy to move it to this subforum for you.
Addendum
If your profile was designed for the DAO/DA2 timeline & you want your character to participate in the DAI timeline, we ask that you provide an addendum to your profile with a quick overview of what changes your character has undergone in the intervening years. Just PM a member of the moderating team to unlock your profile. Here is a description of the format, followed by the code:
Backstory Update Summary: Where your character is in the world, any positions they may hold, training they achieved, and any major points of growth you want to mention. This should be between two to four paragraphs. If you need to add more, that's fine, but staff might ask you to trim any superfluous information if it runs exceptionally long.
Skill Updates:
New Specializations: If your character would have gained an additional specialization please note the spec and the level proficiency of that spec here.
Non-Combat Skills: Provide a short narrative on any new non-combat skills or significant improvements on existing ones
Combat Skills: Provide a short narrative on any new combat skills or significant improvements on existing ones
This guide is intended as a resource for players who are new to Thedas: Timelines, and potentially new to this style of roleplay in general. Our goal is to make creating a character a fun and painless process. To that end, if you have any questions that are not answered by this guide, please do not hesitate to PM a member of staff or join our Discord server here.
Before You Begin...
Before you start the process of creating a character to play on Thedas: Timelines, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:
Roleplaying Format
Thedas: Timelines uses a play-by-post (or PBP) style of roleplay. We believe this format of roleplay provides a better vehicle for conveying a character’s inner thoughts and emotions and makes for an all around more cohesive experience.
If you’ve never played this way before, think of it as collaborating with other players to write out the narrative for a specific story. Roleplayers coming from play-by-email formats or any format in which interactions are played out in long form will find this style familiar.
However if you come from a background of only roleplaying in short form using chat programs or in-game text and emotes, you’re still very much welcome here! Before creating your character, take a look at some of the threads posted by our players to see this format in action and get a feel for what information will be most important during roleplay.
Interacting With Others
While anti-social people absolutely exist and we don’t want to discourage anyone from playing a character true to their personality, keep in mind that Thedas: Timelines is an environment that relies on characters interacting with one another.
Not every character has to be a friendly extrovert, but when creating your own character, you should keep in mind their reasons for wanting--or needing--to interact with others. Doing so will help you find more opportunities to play that character and give you a variety of other characters to play with.
First Character Restrictions
Some specializations are locked to new players due to how rare they are or how they affect the world of Thedas, as well as the added considerations in roleplaying them. Players may only apply to play a character in one of these specializations once they’ve demonstrated roleplaying proficiency with their first character.
These specializations include:
- Reaver
- Blood Mage
- Keeper
Other specializations will require greater care on the part of the player app’ing them and greater scrutiny from the reviewing member of staff. The below specializations must be explained thoroughly and compellingly in backstory as they are still quite rare and require special knowledge:
- Spirit Warrior
- Arcane Warrior
- Shapeshifter
- Legionnaire Scout
Note that the above restrictions apply to character creation only. All specializations can potentially be earned through roleplay. If this is something you’re interested in pursuing, feel free to contact a member of staff and we can help you plan a plot that will facilitate this. For information on pursuing the path of a Grey Warden after character creation specifically, see this post.
Additionally though there are no restrictions on new players creating lesser nobles (backwater banns, second sons and daughters, lords and ladies without holdings, etc), nobles with greater political influence are reserved for players who have a bit of experience navigating the roleplaying landscape of Thedas: Timelines. When in doubt, just check with the moderating team.
Canon Characters
While much of the information still applies, this guide is primarily designed for those creating an original character. See this post for information on playing a canon and a list of currently available canons.
Creating Your Character
To help you create a character you can enjoy playing on Thedas: Timelines, here are some of the most important aspects to consider:
Inspiration
Every character is borne from a spark of inspiration. Whether it’s a desire to see a version of your in-game character come to life in roleplay or a wish to play out a specific archetype, personality, or backstory, now is the time to fully embrace the spark that led you to read this guide.
Name
When naming your character, keep where they came from in mind. Locations in Thedas draw a lot of inspiration from the real world. While it’s not a 1:1 and should mainly be used for naming inspiration, you can consider Ferelden as being inspired by medieval England, with a large Saxon and even some Celtic influence. Orlais is most easily represented by France, Antiva by Renaissance Italy, the Anderfels by Germany, Nevarra by Prussia, and Rivain by Moorish Spain.
The Free Marches are a bit hard to pin down, as the city-states are generally regarded as a melting pot of several different cultural inspirations. In-game, however, many of the NPCs have Germanic and English-sounding names.
For Human names, a baby name site like this one is an invaluable resource.
Qunari still under the Qun usually use titles (ex: Sten) or nicknames for personality traits in qunlat. You can find a list of common words here that may help. Tal-Vashoth retain this naming culture by taking on nicknames within their vocabulary. Vashoth can have both qunlat influenced names or names that are common to the area in which they were born and raised.
For all races, a name generator like this one can be helpful in generating ideas.
Physical Description
When it comes to physical descriptions, consider in-game character models and the sources of cultural inspiration mentioned above. You are of course not limited to these inspirations, as the people of Thedas are many and varied.
Use your best judgment when deciding height, hair color, eye color, etc. All attributes should be realistic or otherwise explained.
Skills and Abilities
Creating a character for roleplay is quite a bit different from creating a character in-game, and as such we’re less concerned about specific skill names and ranks and more concerned with getting a general idea of what your character knows how to do, and what they do well.
Skills and abilities should be informed by your character’s backstory and personality, as they will be most useful to you when roleplaying. You can find more information about skills here.
Personality
This is perhaps the most important thing to consider when creating a character, as it greatly informs how you’ll interact with others. People tend to have complex personalities that can change over time, so don’t be afraid to leave yourself some wiggle room for growth.
When you first start thinking of your character, however, you may find a personality archetype helpful. You will of course want to flesh out that archetype with personality traits gained from your character’s backstory. Try and think about how you might respond to and interact with others if you experienced what your character has.
Backstory
Also incredibly important to your character is their backstory. When deciding this, remember we don’t need to know every last detail of their lives from birth up to now--just the things that made them the person they are today.
If you don’t have a backstory in mind yet, consider reverse engineering one from your character’s personality. If you want to write someone who’s extremely guarded, for example, it’s important to know what made them that way.
While written for tabletop RPGs, this is an excellent article on crafting a compelling backstory. And of course when it comes to fitting your backstory within the Dragon Age timeline, you’re welcome to ask for help on Discord.
Timeline
You should let us know which Timeline you wish to participate in. If you wish to participate in more than one, you will need to add the addendum to the profile template with the requested information for the later timeline of your choice.
The Character Profile
Below you’ll find the full character profile with details on each field. If you’d like a specific example of an approved profile, you’ll find one here. (And a Civilian profile here.)
You may paste the URL of a screenshot or commissioned artwork at the top of your profile, beneath the IMG tags. No faceclaims or art for which you do not have express permission. If you need help hosting an image, please contact a member of staff.
Name: Your character’s name (sans any titles) with their most prominent nickname in parentheses after it, if applicable.
Race: At this time you may choose between Human, Human (Elf-Blooded), Dalish Elf, City Elf, Dwarf (Caste), Dwarf (Casteless), Dwarf (Surface), Qunari, Qunari (Tal-Vashoth), or Qunari (Vashoth).
Gender: Use whatever word your character best feels represents their gender.
Date of Birth: Please use the date format of Day Month, Age:Year. Ex: 11 Firstfall, 9:13. You can find the Thedas calendar here.
Occupation: This is different from your character’s class. If they have a title, it goes here. Otherwise this is however they make their living.
Companion(s): Keep these as common sense as possible unless you can explain an unusual companion in your backstory. For the most part this means commonly domesticated animals. Those of wealth or means may have a horse or mule. Rangers can of course have a wilder companion. Can be left blank or marked N/A.
Physical Description
Anything another character would notice at first glance. This includes but is not limited to height, build, skin tone, eye color, hair style and color, and any distinguishable markings such as scars or tattoos.
Skills & Specialties
Class: Your character’s in-game class. Rogue, Warrior, or Mage. If you would rather play a character with no martial training, you may put Civilian here.
Specialization: Your character’s in-game specialization for their class, if applicable. Note you will have to make reference to how they attained this specialization in your backstory. For a list of Specializations, click here.
Weapons & Armor: Any weapons or armor your character typically uses. Much like companions, this should largely be kept to common sense choices. Consider your character’s social and economic status when specifying what kind of weapons and armor they would own. Exceptions can be made for family heirlooms, but they should be explained in your backstory.
Languages: List the languages your character is fluent in followed by whether they are fluent in verbal communication, written communication, or both.
Non-Combat Skills: Provide a short (1-2 paragraph) narrative describing your character's skills outside of combat. This can include skills found in the games, such as Stealth and Coercion, as well as anything your character is good at. You can find information here to see a list of potential skills, and if you can think of one that's not included, just ask the mods & we'll work with you. Unusual skills should be explained in your backstory and all skills should fit logically with your character's age and background.
Combat Skills: Though combat is not used extensively in Thedas: Timelines, you should still have some idea of your character’s combat skills. See this article for information on all of the different skills available to you. Similar to the non-combat skills, provide a short (1-2 paragraph) narrative describing the weapons styles and types of combat that your character is familiar with. Again, unusual skills should be explained in your backstory and all skills should fit logically with your character's age and background.
Note: If your character is a Mage, this is where you will also list the schools of magic that your character has studied. Generally, a mage will know 1-2 schools of magic in depth, but a mage could also know basic spells across several schools instead; use your character's age and background to get an idea of what might fit.
For a list of mage spells available to each school, click here.
Personality
This is the space for you to describe your character’s personality in-depth. If they are duplicitous or guarded, you can include what they show others as well as what they do not.
Backstory
The meat-and-potatoes of your profile. Rather than describing every detail of your character’s life, focus on the most formative events. Of particular note is how your character gained their class and/or occupation, how they obtained any unusual skills, items, or companions, and the experiences that molded their personality.
Ready to Create Your Character?
We recommend you have at least these two wiki pages open--Skills Overview and Specializations--while working on your profile. We also strongly recommend working from your specialization backwards when allotting skills.
Create a new post in this forum in which the title of the post is your character's name. Then copy the below code and paste it into the body of the post so you can simply fill in the appropriate fields.
By posting in this subforum, you acknowledge that your character is ready for review by a member of staff. If you want to post your profile in progress, please do so in the Workshop. Once it's ready for review, PM a member of staff and we will be happy to move it to this subforum for you.
Code:
[CENTER][IMG]image url[/IMG][/CENTER]
[B]Name:[/B]
[B]Race:[/B]
[B]Gender:[/B]
[B]Date of Birth:[/B]
[B]Occupation:[/B]
[B]Companion(s):[/B] N/A
[CENTER][IMG]https://www.thedastimelines.com/forums/images/PhysDesc.png[/IMG][/CENTER]
[CENTER][IMG]https://www.thedastimelines.com/forums/images/SkillsSpec.png[/IMG][/CENTER]
[B]Class:[/B]
[B]Specialization:[/B]
[B]Weapons & Armor:[/B]
[B]Languages:[/B]
[B]Non-Combat Skills:[/B]
[B]Combat Skills:[/B]
[CENTER][IMG]https://www.thedastimelines.com/forums/images/Pers.png[/IMG][/CENTER]
[CENTER][IMG]https://www.thedastimelines.com/forums/images/BackStory.png[/IMG][/CENTER]
[B]Timeline:[/B]If your profile was designed for the DAO/DA2 timeline & you want your character to participate in the DAI timeline, we ask that you provide an addendum to your profile with a quick overview of what changes your character has undergone in the intervening years. Just PM a member of the moderating team to unlock your profile. Here is a description of the format, followed by the code:
Backstory Update Summary: Where your character is in the world, any positions they may hold, training they achieved, and any major points of growth you want to mention. This should be between two to four paragraphs. If you need to add more, that's fine, but staff might ask you to trim any superfluous information if it runs exceptionally long.
Skill Updates:
New Specializations: If your character would have gained an additional specialization please note the spec and the level proficiency of that spec here.
Non-Combat Skills: Provide a short narrative on any new non-combat skills or significant improvements on existing ones
Combat Skills: Provide a short narrative on any new combat skills or significant improvements on existing ones
Code:
[B]Backstory Update Summary:[/B]
[B]New Specializations:[/B]
[B]Non-Combat Skills:[/B]
[B]Combat Skills:[/B]
Last edited by a moderator: