So before you can touch that character sheet, you need to know your setting and your audience. Here's the major first step to consider before moving on to your actual character-building.

GENRE

Where is your character going to interact with others in medias res? In other words, mind the genre. Here are a few examples:

Fantasy- these characters may wield magic or cast spells or originate from fairy tales, mythology, and/or folk lore

General Fiction- these are characters you might see in the hallways of your high school or walking around the average city park

Vampire/Werewolves- these are bloodthirsty, fanged, supernatural beasts. You may also witness zombies and witches/wizards in this category

Sci-Fi- these characters will have an affinity with advanced technology or dystopianly encounter catastrophic scenes of apocalypse and try to survive with their wits and technological assets around them

Romance- these characters are designed for the sole purpose of falling in love or seducing others

NPCs- these are non-player characters, usually controlled by a moderator or game master, intended to aid the flow of some more vast in scope role playing adventures

Fandom- these characters have predetermined personalities or guidelines and all you have to do is assume their headspace

Just to name a few, those are the most popular I see out and around.

Note* You should respect genre in role playing, eg. Do not institute a fantasy character into a general fiction genre without permission from the game master. If you plan to use your OC to write a fanfiction or begin your own story, that decision of course falls to you.

NEXT CHAPTER TO BE PUBLISHED: Sep. 15, 2018