"Would it sound better if I were a man?"

Now that you know all the little bits and pieces of what makes you who you are, you are ready to start working on what you look like.

You ought to have determined a race by now, and at least a vague idea of where you're from. If not, do so! Keep your background in mind... not too many ch'taren from the depths of swamps, things like that. Read up on the race you are to be sure you have a clear idea of what you ought to look like. I've seen way too many shuddeni with eyes in my day.

If you're really stuck, start from the top and work your way down. Hair, eyes, mouth, face, body. Try and think of any notable features. Scars and tattoos are very trendy these days, but feel free to experiment. I would highly recommend keeping the bright pink zebra striped hair to a minimum. This is a classic fantasy world, not a cyberpunk meets anime bonanza. If you DO decide to give yourself something like a scar, be sure to think of where you got it. Things like that should always have a backstory.

"Strike a pose."

If you can at all avoid it, try not to describe too many things you wear specifically. Vague descriptions of clothing are much preferred, as if you are described as wearing a full suit of dragonscale, and yet are only ACTUALLY wearing a black vest and some boots, people will be either very confused or more likely, irritated. It can be assumed that you are wearing a general plain outfit of sorts, and are not flashing the world if you are not wearing any leggings, but I wouldn't go much further than that.

Also, try to refrain from describing actions in your description. Things like "Rystaia notices your gaze and returns it fiercely." or "Rystaia spins around and kicks a wall." are really frowned on. You may NOT notice their gaze as they are hidden or you are asleep or any number of reasons. And doing something that active in your description is quite peculiar if you consider that means you are doing it every single time anyone looks at you. If you need to, include general mannerisms that someone may pick up from a quick glance, but even that can be touch and go sometimes.

Remember to match your description with your charisma. If your charisma is 10, you are NOT the most beautiful creature in creation, despite what your mamma told you. If you don't train your charisma at all, you are probably average looking for your race. If you want to be gorgeous, prepare to train up that charisma!

"Deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper."

EXDESC is another thing you can add to give your description flavour. You can add exdesc keywords so people can look at specific things, such as your lovely tattoo. Describe it in a brief, simple form in your character description, and in your exdesc for "tattoo", give a much more detailed and elaborate description.

Pro tip: SPELLCHECK! Every time I read a description where someone spelled "tattoo" "tatoo" I get that much closer to a slaying rampage. It's a very simple matter to paste your description into a text editor and run a spellchecker, or if you don't have access to one, to ask someone to proofread your description.

"You're some kind of beautiful stranger."

At any point in this process, you should come up with a name. I usually figure out my background before picking one, but whatever works best for you. The most important thing about your name is that it should be YOURS, as in, wholly original. It may seem clever to you at the time to name yourself after some obscure band, but if and when someone logs in and recognizes it, you're spoiling the role-playing experience for them as any time they see it they'll be thinking entirely out of character. There are many name generators around, if you're stuck, use one.

"You know you can do it."