001. Creating a Character

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001. GIVE YOUR CAT A NAME

Every cat needs a unique name, but a realistic name is in order. Some names are too cliche to compliment a character, while others are the perfect name for such a cat.

There are several main categories that are used in names; animals, plants, relations, and other.

ANIMALS: a name based off a type of animal or prey. Does your cat resemble an animal in any way? For example, a small and timid cat might be called 'Mouse'. A cat with a more vicious personality may be called 'Tiger' and a clever cat may be called 'Fox'. Animal names are mostly used when the cat's parents are strays. Be careful not to use too exotic animals, unless the cat was named by Twolegs.

PLANT: a name based off a type of flower or plant. A dainty, light colored cat may be called 'Flower', 'Petal', or 'Lily'. A dark ginger tom may be called 'Rowan'. A cat the same color as soil, or a cat that blends good with plants, may be called 'Bracken'. Be careful not to go into too much detail... cats don't know many plant names, so they won't name their kits ''Chrysanthemum''.

RELATION: a name based off any relatives or friends of the cat. If your cat's father was named 'Twig' and he died, your cat may be named 'Twig' in memory of him. Some she-cats might name their kits after their Twolegs, so your cat might have a human name. This category is pretty easy to come up with.

OTHER: any other types of names. Names in this category are based off the cat's personality, appearance, or any other kind of names that your cat could be used. Some cats that are named by Twolegs have simple names, like 'Storm' or 'Razor', while others may have 'Fyre' or 'Skye'. If a Twoleg named your cat, then most names are suitable.

002. CREATE YOUR CAT'S LOOK

Referring to step 1, your cat should reflect the name somewhat. Your cat's look and name have to match like matching puzzle pieces. Having a black cat named Flower just doesn't mix well.

There are three elements to making your cat's look. Color, shape, size, and face.

COLOR: what the color of your cat's coat is. There are tabbies, calicos, tortoiseshells, solid colors, or color points. Tabbies are the classic striped coats, which vary in the colors of brown, ginger, and gray. Calico is a coat that is a combination of ginger and black patches. Tortoiseshells are coats that are like a calico's, but the patches are very small and numerous, and tortoiseshells have white mixed in with their coat. Black seems to be more prominent in this coat. Solid colors are pelts that are just one solid color that come in black, white, ginger, brown, and gray. Color points are a bit more unique. The best example of a color point is a Siamese. A color point is when there is one solid color, and then "points" where the color changes on the paws, face, ears, and sometimes tail. The main combinations are creme and brown, black and white, creme and black, and white and ginger. Although there are variations. (don't do weird combos like grey and ginger, because it is unnatural. If you want a better understanding of the color variations, look at a cat encyclopedia) Also don't forget to include the length of their fur. Is it long, short, or medium length? Is it bristly or is it feathery smooth? Does the pelt have a ragged look, or a smooth, oily look?

SHAPE: this is an essential part to making your cat. Never say your cat is "average". That is way too boring. The shape depends on the length, size, and formation of your cat's body parts. For example, a long skinny tail, short stubby legs, or long pointy ears. The shape of your cat also tells us about their abilities. For example, if you cat has long slender legs, then they are a fast runner. Don't do weird combos like a cat with a really short tail when it has long legs and ears and is really tall. Cats usually have their tail the length of their body, so be reasonable. (if your cat's tail got bitten off or something, that is a different story) Scars and birthmarks are important to the shape as well. Does your cat have a battle scar? Does your cat have an eye that was born blind? Does your cat have a nick in its ear? Get creative! The marks on your cat can go from mutated body parts they were born with, to permanent scars from battles.

SIZE: how big is your cat? Don't get too Godpowering here, and say your cat is huge. You can say your cat has large muscles or that they have large paws, but don't say they are the biggest cat in the clan (or something like that). Your cat can be small, even if they are a senior warrior. Size can vary from the size of your cat's paws to the size of your cat's body in general. The ears can be big or small, the head can be big or small, the paws can be big or small, the torso can be big or small, the legs can be big or small, and the tail can be big or small (I refer to this as the tail is "thick" or "skinny"). Be creative with the size, and don't just say "he is small" or "he is large". Say what size every part of your cat's body is.

FACE: this expresses your cat's character the most! There are many elements of the face that you can play with to create your own character.

First, the eyes. The eyes go through the last three steps as well - color, shape, and size. The main colors of cat's eyes are amber (which is an orange color, but can be golden), green (can be sea green, sage, or a somewhat dark green), blue (sky blue or plain blue), yellow (bright yellow, or it is amber), or hazel (a blue-grey-green). Please don't give your cat red or purple eyes! That is so unnatural! Although gray can be an acceptable color, if it is a blue-ish gray. (remember, you can have a cat that has two colored eyes!)

Second, shape. There are only two shapes for cat eyes, which are "round" and "almond". Round is a very round shape of the eye, while almond is more, well, almond shaped. Eyes may also be slanted inwards more, which gives them a more oriental look. Try to avoid making a tabby with slanted eyes because that isn't really natural. Slanted eyes are usually in Siamese or rexes. (although there are some cross-breeds of Siamese having faint tabby marks, but that would mean they still have the body shape of a Siamese) Be careful with what cats you have slanted eyes with
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Third, size. How big are your cat's eyes? Are they really large, or are they somewhat small? The pupil size is also important. Even though the pupils change naturally from how much light there is, cats can make them large when they are scared, or slits when they are angry. (in-between is calm) So if your cat's character is a really mean one, they may have slits most of the time.

The nose also gives a lot of character. The nose can be small and dainty, or large. If your cat has a small nose, that can indicate that they are nosey. If the cat's nose is larger, it can indicate that they can smell well. Is your cat's nose pink, black, or brown? (in some cases, the nose is kind of red-ish) Whiskers tell a lot too, as they show how well your cat can see in the dark. Long whiskers help cats better with sight in the dark as well as feeling the underbrush. Short whiskers disable that assistance. Most whiskers are white, but in some cases they are black.

Next, the mouth. Don't be Godpowering here either, as in don't say your cat has really long fangs. Sure, some cats have really long fangs, but don't over do it. I have one of my characters with long fangs, but short claws to balance it out so it's fair. Does your cat have a large mouth, or a small mouth? Is the tongue really long or short? Are your cat's teeth pearl white or black and yellow?

Cat eyes have black lining around them (like eye-liner) and sometimes it is thicker or more prominent than other cats. That can describe your cat well too. And in general for the cat's face, does your cat have a small, large, flat, or long face? Or a combination of one of those?


This is the main idea for making your cat's look. Just remember to not go too overboard or be too plain. Make sure you don't copy the appearance of cats from the Warriors books. And if it is similar, have the name be complete opposite of that character's name, and hopefully no one will notice.

For more help on coordinating body shape, face, and coats, go to your public library and look at a cat encyclopedia, or look at an online cat breed site. It will help you get a better understanding of what is natural to occur with a cat's appearance.

003. CREATE YOUR CAT'S ABILITIES

Well, this is an optional feature you can add to your cat's profile that I invented. (I used some ideas from Skies of Arcadia) It tells your cat's abilities, or what I like to call them - stats. Even if you don't use these, you should evaluate your character's abilities with this system, and see if they are too mary/gary-stew.

This sometimes becomes a problem. Some people have their cat be like, the ultimate weapon and have all their battle stats at a 10. Not ok! You have to balance their stats out, and don't have their abilities be too grand. I like to make "stats" for my characters, so people know their battle techniques well. Here is a rough idea of how it works.

Example: Attack 4/10 Defense 8/10 Power 5/10 Speed 9/10 Jump 7/10

These are Ivystar's stats (my rpg character). As you can tell, it evens out well. She is fast and has great defense and can jump far, but attack and power aren't so great. Which in general, means she is a agile and lean cat, rather than a muscular and large cat. So here is how you figure out your cat's stats, and what each stat means:

First, the rate. #/10. 10/10 would mean that your cat is perfect in that category, while 0/10 means they can't do it at all. (so if your cat was missing a back leg, jump would be 0/10) 5/10 is average, which is fairly well.

ATTACK: this is basically how well your cat opposes another cat. How well they "attack". So if your cat was really muscular and strong, like Tigerstar, it might be a 9/10. If your cat was small and weak, like Ravenpaw (at first), then it might be a 2/10.
DEFENSE: this is how well your cat can defend itself. It also goes in for how well they can dodge and block attacks.
POWER: this is how strong and how much health your cat has. This goes in hand with attack. If your cat has a high attack stat, then they will probably have a high power stat (and vise-versa). So in general, Tigerstar would have a high power, while Ravenpaw would have a low power.
SPEED: how fast your cat can run. This can also kind of go in hand with dodging, which is defense. Agile cats (like Windclan cats) would have a high stat, while large, muscular cats (like Shadowclan cats) generally have a lower stat.
JUMP: how far and high your cat can jump. If your cat has long legs, they can jump really well, while a cat with shorter legs can't. Generally, if your cat has a high speed, then they will most likely have a high jump as well. But it can vary.

Now that you know the basics of creating stats, here are some examples of characters from the Warriors books!

Firestar: Attack 6/10 Defense 8/10 Power 5/10 Speed 8/10 Jump 6/10
Firestar is pretty much the average character in the book. As you can tell, I judged that most of his stats were pretty average, except defense and speed, which he somewhat proves to be better in.

Brightheart: Attack 4/10 Defense 9/10 Power 5/10 Speed 9/10 Jump 8/10
We all know Brightheart is partially blind and deaf, so her attack and power aren't very high, but her defense and speed are very high, because that is what she can practice the most.

Tigerstar: Attack 8/10 Defense 6/10 Power 9/10 Speed 5/10 Jump 5/10
The biggest, baddest, and toughest villain in the series, has very high power and attack stats. But because of his great attacking power, his defense and speed aren't too great. Jump is average.

Jaypaw: Attack 6/10 Defense 9/10 Power 5/10 Speed 4/10 Jump 8/10
Due to his blindness, Jaypaw can't go very fast and his power and attack aren't very high. He has a high jump because he jumps as far as he can every time because he doesn't know how far to jump.


There are some examples, but otherwise, the rest is up to you! Some general tips though: 1. When adding up your stats, they shouldn't be over 30, but should have a minimum of 15. 2. Have the stats coordinate with each other (like if your cat is fast, the defense and jump should be high too). 3. Do them according to what your cat is like (ex. if your cat is large and muscular, don't make their attack and power stats be low). And have fun with it!

004. CREATE YOUR CAT'S PERSONALITY

This is a hard one to explain, but I'll do my best! Everyone has unique personalities, right? So should your cat! Don't say your cat is kind and loves everyone, or is mean and hates everyone. That is way too unspecific! You must give DETAIL to what your cat's personality is like. It isn't like an appearance where you can say your cat is a small brown tabby with amber eyes - you have to be way more specific, or no one will understand what your cat is like!

When creating your cat's personality, think of your own. Think of these questions when trying to make your cat's personality:
What do you like and dislike? Are you nice and kind to people, or are you ignorant and mockful? Are you always in a happy mood, or a sad an depressed mood? Do you have a short temper, or are you calm all the time? Are you a leader or a follower? Do you pay close attention and listen well, or do you kind of doze off and have to ask people to repeat themselves? Do you try to be your own unique person, or do you try to copy people to fit in? Are you very intelligent, or are you not so bright? Are you a klutzy person or are you very careful and precise? Do you like to hang out with a lot of people, or do you like to be by yourself? Are you humorous or are you serious? Are you ambitious and determined, or are you carefree and go-with-the-flow type of a person? What are your favorite things and fears? What are your goals in life?


The same questions go for your cat's personality. I just thought of all of those in a few minutes. I could come up with so many more! But there is a large variety you can create your cat's personality from just those questions above! Your cat's personality is all up to you, and I can't really help much more with it. For my first character, Ivystar, I used my own personality and added a few things to make it more fit to her character. It's the easiest way to start out, and it helps you get an understanding of how to create them. But here are the main categories I came up with for personalities.

LIKES & DISLIKES: Does your cat love to lay in the sun, or are they scared of water? Simple things like this can tell a lot about your cat's personality. Things they are scared of, what they love to do, their favorite fresh-kill, the apprentice duty they hate the most, etc.

KINDNESS: How kind is your cat? Do they help cats from other clans, or do they not even care about the cats in their own clan? Just because your cat isn't very caring, doesn't mean they aren't kind. For example, you can have a cat that never helps others but is still friendly when talking to or meeting new people.

MEANNESS: How mean is your cat? Would they never lift a claw to anyone, or do they mock other cats all the time? Your cat can be mean with words and / or actions. You can have a cat who gets mad and starts fights all the time, or you can have a cat who just has a sharp tongue.

POPULARITY: How well known is your cat? Do they suggest things often, always lead the patrols, and are very social at gatherings, or are they quiet and usually hide in the shadows? Your cat can be the well known and popular cat (whether if others like them or not), or they can be mysterious and usually by themselves.

INTELLIGENCE: How smart is your cat? Are they usually planning the battles or giving good suggestions to problems, or do they not know much? Does your cat speak with intelligent fluency or do they speak more simple words? Your cat can be very smart, or they can be clever and cunning. Remember, just because your cat isn't the smartest one, doesn't mean that they are stupid.

BATTLE LUST: What does your cat think of battle? Do they long for it, or do they dread it? During battle, is your cat a leader or a follower? Does your cat like the taste of blood, or do they fear it? Do they think battle is unnecessary, or do they think that is the answer to problems?


That's just a few basics, and I could go much further into detail. But, try your best with your personalities, and if your having trouble, you can use some inspiration from other characters, such as having your cat's personality similar to Harry Potter's, for example. You could even use the personality of your best friend or older sister. I hope this helped, because personally, I don't think I made much sense.

WHOLE THREAD COPYRIGHT IVYSTAR OF VICTORIOUS RPG
WITH EDITS BY ADDER.