Rolling a character is one of the best parts of playing an MMORPG, bringing to mind the excitement of taking on a new role, the anticipation of adventuring with this character, and the simple yet elegant fun of roleplaying with a new personality. Perhaps all these thoughts flooding the brain have been too daunting for some, especially us roleplayers, who often take our character creation to heart. I have been asked many times the question of how to best roll a character for RP purposes. I have also heard enough roleplayers tell me how they roll their characters to know there is no one single best way to take on the task.
I too have created my share of MMORPG characters over many MMO's to discover this fact, while at the same time developing my own way to accomplish this vital feat. During my Army career, I was introduced to the widely known K.I.S.S. principle, and it is a superb one to follow when rolling a character. Now, I also create the history for my characters at the time of creation, rather than trying to specifically think and write it afterwards. To that end, I have added yet another common element to the K.I.S.S. principle, that being the Five W's: who, what, where, when, and why...