Post by shadowstrike on Jul 8, 2018 22:11:56 GMT
Character Creation and filling out the template.
With Transformers Sparks, the staff has tried to streamline the app to the necessities of what is needed to identify issues with new characters, while also allowing for players to post in further detail if they desire. As a result, almost all the sections listed are things that people naturally think of when creating a character. For the purposes of this guide, I'll go through each step trying to explain exactly what each category means in detail, as well as provide suggestions and methods to help you decide on your answers.
Table of Contents
1. Name
2. Allegiance
3. Function
4. Alternative Mode
5. Height and Appearance
6. Tools
7. Weapons
8. Personality
9. History
10. Other
Name
This section is where you provide your OCs name, and if desired any nicknames the character might possess (if providing nicknames, though, I would use brackets to make it obvious what is their primary name and what are nicknames).
Depending on how you design your own characters, you’re likely to either choose the name first and build off from there, or create the name based on the information you've already decided on. In my personal opinion, you'll often produce a better name for your character if you design them first before giving them a name.
Regardless of how you create a name, there are some common ways to create names quickly.
The most common of which is combining two words to create a single name. Such as in the case of the canon character Soundwave, as well as my own OC, Shadow-Strike, while others might use a single word such as Blurr or Serenity. In either case, a name is designed to suggest or highlight a characteristic of the character - for Soundwave his name was linked to his alternative mode of a Cassette player, as well as his position as a communications specialist.
A good way to find a name which suits the character is often using a word linked to the theme of the character: For example, the Astrobot Redshift's name comes from a physics term related to space. Meanwhile with my own character, Serenity, her main personality trait is her calmness, so when looking for a suitable name, I searched for synonyms of calm and in turn found Serene, which led me to 'Serenity'.
Another thing to consider is your character's history - for in the world of Transformers where a Caste System led to nameless cannon fodder and the darker threat of Quintesson slaves, the name your character uses might not be their only one. For example, in Transformers Prime, Megatron was sparked a miner with the name D-16, before taking the name Megatron based off of the legendary Prime, 'Megatronus'.
Allegiance
The most simple way of looking at Allegiance is what faction you belong to, in which case this is a rather straightforward answer - although still very important, as the faction you associate with shapes people's conceptions of the character. In the most simplistic of ways, you can look at the Autobots as the good guys and the Decepticons as the bad guys, which for some people is enough to base their character’s faction choice around.
Another thing to consider, though, is what exactly either faction desires and how this could be interpreted - in the case of the Decepticons, for example, the idea of expansionism isn't an inherently evil desire when the resources of your homeworld are incapable of sustaining your people. Your character doesn't need to believe or approve of everything their faction does.
If you wish to go into further detail, however, there are a few things you can consider.
If you’re part of a larger faction such as the Autobots or the Decepticons, then it's also possible you might be part of a sub-faction - for example, the Wreckers. Just as your major faction helps determine the type of character your creating, a sub-faction can be just as important. In the case of a Wrecker, for example, it places them in a role where suicide missions are common, which in turn might suggest they’re suicidal or reckless.
In the case of a 'Neutral' character, you might want to consider your relationships with the different factions. Since the term neutral is often used to refer to a character who is not part of the Autobot or Decepticon army, it can be rather vague and the differences between a wandering Junkion medic such as Scrappy and a Freelance Mercenary such as Shadow-Strike are very different. For example, Shadow-Strike may have a working relationship with either side, but might be known more for taking Decepticon contracts, while Scrappy could have a grudge against Decepticons which makes him unwilling to assist them, but not like the idea of joining the Autobots, and so consider himself 'Neutral' since he's not part of either side.
Function
A crucial part of any character is their purpose or profession, which shapes their 'role' in the roleplay. As such, when deciding their function, it's important to not only consider what this role would mean for the character and how that would affect them, but also how it will affect your roleplaying experience. For example in the case of a combat orientated role, such as a soldier, you’re quite likely to find yourself often being part of fights on the forums, where your biggest accomplishments will be what you do on the battlefield - while a scientist, for example, might find themselves instead spending most of their time outside of combat, with their biggest accomplishments being what they build and create.
With many Cybertronians living for millions if not billions of years, though, it isn't impossible for them to diversify, such as a heavy weapon specialist with some ability as a squad leader, or a mnemosurgeon who can perform as a combat medic. In either case, it's just a matter of linking the roles together in a reasonable way, to avoid becoming a Mary Sue who can do everything. For example - in the case of Shadow-Strike, his primary function as an Assassin means he can perform a number of combat roles, such as a scout or a sniper, while he possesses enough knowledge of Cybertronian physiology to perform emergency repairs, but he does not possess the knowledge or training to deal with the critical scenarios or complications a medic would.
Some functions include.
Combat
Assault - "Usually located on the frontline of an attack this role often possesses some form of weapon or ability to make them dangerous in close range, as well as either superior armour or agility to sustain combat in such environments.
Combat Medic - Similar to most medics, the primary role of a combat medic is to heal their allies. Such a role shouldn't be considered inherently weak, however, as it's possible for a medic to use their knowledge of Cybertronian physiology to harm just as easily as to heal.
Demolition Expert - Assigned to sabotage points of interest, the demolition expert uses weapons capable of massive destruction in a wide area. In most cases, they use explosives, although devices such as jackhammers capable of shaking the surrounding area are not uncommon either. It is not rare for such characters to possess knowledge of the structures they target.
Heavy - Usually generalized as slow moving but heavily armoured, the heavy role often possess a powerful armament that makes them a difficult threat to fight face to face.
Guardian - A highly defensive role, the guardian often possess some form of gadget or ability that allows them to effectively defend a position. Just because their role is defensive, though, doesn't mean they aren't deadly - only that they're designed for a primarily defensive position.
Scout - The role of the scout is to provide information quickly to the rest of the forces, as such they're often characters equipped with abilities that allow them to reach their target quickly, as well as possessing some ability at stealth.
Sniper - Specialized for long range combat, the sniper usually possess a weapon designed for precision and heavy damage against a single target.
Soldier - A rather general role, the soldier isn't specialized for any specific form of combat, but does possess a basic knowledge of many different forms.
Non-combat
Communication Experts - Tasked with providing ways to communicate between different members as well as securing such channels. A communication expert can just as easily be designed as a spy who breaks into enemy communications.
Engineer - The role of an engineer is diverse, as such it's a good idea to consider what they focus on -such as whether they're a ship engineer or a weapons engineer, and it's possible for there to be overlap. Due to their mechanical nature, it's also possible that an Engineer might also be an accomplished medic.
Medic - Similar to the earlier mentioned combat medic, the medic role’s primary purpose is to heal others. Like real life medics, it is quite possible for a medic/doctor to specialize in a specific field, such as an emergency surgeon.
Merchants - Even during a time of war, there's always something to sell.
These are just a few different examples of the functions that exist, and it's possible for them to overlap, with many characters possessing some role they perform both in and outside of combat.
Alternative Mode
One of the main features that separates Cybertronians and their kind from traditional robots is their ability to transform between different forms. In most occasions, this means that they possess a standard robot mode as well as an alternative mode, although some characters possess either more forms or something else rather than a robot mode. While most Cybertronians should be capable of transforming between multiple modes, this excludes monoformers and those who have damaged their T-cog (the organ that allows them to transform.
The most common of these Alternative modes is either a land-based form or one that is flight capable due to the uses either provide. However, they are not the only alternative modes that exist, rather there are more than I could possibly list in a single setting. So instead I've tried to group them into five sections, these are: Air, Land, Sea, Utility and City-Form.
Air refers to forms that possess the ability to fly, including aeroplanes and helicopters. The main advantage of these forms is their mobility, as unlike land or sea-based forms, they’re not restricted to the ground or sea, and can bypass structures and the like by simply going over them. Such forms are also traditionally faster than other forms, with those who are space-capable being significantly faster at their top-speeds. On the other hand, excluding the very extremes, traditionally flight-based forms can't carry as much and are weaker than their land-based brethren, although naturally, exceptions do exist.
In terms of land-based modes, the variety that exists from tiny motorcycles to mobile mining platforms is massive. In general, compared to Air and Sea forms, the Land-based modes are usually the most durable at standard sizes between 20 to 50ft, as well as being the most commonly used, although past those sizes it isn't uncommon for other alternative modes to be used more often. For the most part, however, it is generally accepted that the majority of transformers possess a land-based alternative mode.
The least common of the three terrain based alternative modes would be the Sea-orientated forms. This is due to the fact on most occasions, sea-based forms aren't as useful, since most structures and the like are often located on land (or air/in space). Which often leaves most sea-based forms separated from their favoured terrain - although worlds like Aquatron are places where such forms excel far above their non-water-based alternatives. In addition to this water-based forms can often end up being gigantic both in alternative mode and robot mode due to forms such as Energon Tankers.
So far, the examples I've used have been all vehicle-based - however, it's a good idea to consider that alternative modes don't have to be based on a vehicle. Such as the case of beastformers, who take the form of some type of animal - whether it be earth-based or not - as due to the nature of the Transformers Universe, it's just as easy to base a beastformer off a mythical creature - of which, the most popular example of that would be Predaking's ability to transform into a Dragon in the Transformers Prime cartoon.
When creating a beast based alternative mode, it's a good idea to consider such forms often suggest the character will possess some animalistic qualities, usually based on their mode. In general, I also often consider beastformers stronger at melee combat/close range - especially in their beastform - in comparison to vehicle-form transformers.
If, however, you wish to use a vehicle mode, it's a good idea to decide if you want it to be military-based, since such forms naturally come with either more armaments or greater durability in comparison to civilian-based forms. That isn't, however, to say civilian forms can't be highly armoured or possess a wide array of weaponry - rather they often possess a stealth and an 'assault' form where their weapons are deployed. However, traditionally civilian forms are used for stealth, allowing them to blend in, where a military form would be conspicuous, and their assault form loses all sense of discretion.
Whereas the examples above all share the purpose of providing mobility to the character in their favoured terrain, utility alternative modes are designed to provide a different use, which includes a wide variety of different abilities - for example, a combiner part, a telescope or even a gun mode. Regardless of the form chosen, a utility mode is almost always directly linked to either the character’s profession or personality, since their form sacrifices the mobility and adaptability of a vehicle form to provide a much more specialized role. For a more defined example, a communication specialist may choose a broadcast beacon that allows them to perform their job better when in that form.
The last alternative mode I've mentioned before is a City-Mode. In terms of who uses this form, it's restricted entirely to Titan-sized characters such as Metroplex and Trypticon, since this form is - as the name suggests - a 'city' or at least a section of a Cybertronian one. Excluding a few such as those on Velocitron, most City-Modes are completely incapable of moving from the position they've rooted down on, although sections and pieces of them can still be moved around freely - like, for example, a bridge or some weapon emplacements.
Alongside their main alternative mode, it's also possible for a character to possess additional forms such as the canon character Blitzwing or Sixshot, although Multiple alt mode users are extremely rare. If you desire such a unique character, it's a good idea to decide on forms that mesh well together, as alternative modes affect the strengths and weakness of a character and a triple changer with out of synch modes will find themselves struggling. For example, I once knew a person who desired a Triple Changer and decided to transform into both an Attack Helicopter and a Tank, despite the weight of a tank being significantly more than the helicopter - and as a result, when fighting other people, he often found himself stripped of the durability of a standard tankformer while lacking the speed and mobility of a standard helicopter.
- A list of Alternative modes is currently a work in progress, when completed a link should appear here.
Height and Appearance
In the template, for the purpose of organising the information in an easily accessible and reviewable way, height and appearance are separate sections. For the purposes of this guide, though, I feel it’s better to combine the two so I don’t go over the same details in two separate parts. With that statement made, I’ll begin covering the two sections.
The main reason why I’ve combined the two is that they both cover the feature of size, with height naturally covering how tall a character is. In contrast, appearance can refer to their body-type. Either way, both are influenced by the character’s alternative mode, since each form should take up relatively the same size, with mass shifting tech equating for minor deviations.
Even with mass shifting, though, it’s a good idea to consider how the body type will directly affect the character’s height. Since, even if two mechs possess the same alternative mode, if one is considerably wider than the other, it’s likely the other is taller to compensate.
When filling out the appearance section, a good piece of information to know is that you can either write a description or use a picture. For those who use a picture, we request that the image fits the race displayed to avoid issues like someone posting a superhero picture and then saying “but a robot” underneath.
This forum also disapproves of art theft and does not allow a user to use a picture of someone else’s OC without their permission. Official TFs art though may be edited for the picture of an OC or left unedited for a canon character, while references you made or commissioned are perfectly acceptable.
For those who aren’t using a picture, though, a written description is still easy enough to fill out. When doing so, the simplest way to separate it into different parts is: colour scheme, body type and notable features.
The body type has already been discussed above alongside height, so instead, I’ll now focus on the other two.
In the case of colour scheme, it’s a good idea to consider the faction that the character belongs to, as well as their function/theme. Autobot characters are more likely to wear reds and light colours, whereas Decepticons frequently lean towards purple and darker colours. However, that isn’t a rule, but rather a common theme, in the same way it’s likely for a medic to wear white and red.
For notable features, it’s often a good idea to aim for at least two features that would make your character stand out. The easiest ones to remark on are parts of the alternative mode - for example, some land-based characters have their doors displayed around their shoulders in robot mode, while a tankformer can have their tank barrel located in a variety of areas, including the chest or back. Otherwise, excluding those examples, you can have battle damage (although in that case try to consider why they haven’t had a frame upgrade or repaired it), or just a feature that fits the character's theme such as a cloak for an assassin.
Tools
The section for tools refers to equipment that can be used to assist in a task, although not to be mistaken with weaponry or basic armour. Due to the wide variety of tools that exist and their purposes, almost every Cybertronian is assured to possess at least one tool to assist them with something or other.
The most basic and common tools are comm-links, which allow characters to communicate with others over distance and in scenarios where vocals would catch attention. Visors are similarly common, providing both protection to the optics as well as allowing characters to display additional information on their heads up display.
For those who perform construction or repairs (both structures and Cybertronians), such characters are likely to possess a number of tools on their person so they can work quickly without having to get equipment from elsewhere. Sadly, it’s common for such characters to simply name their equipment under the vague terms ‘medic tools’ or ‘builder tools’, and although that is technically allowed, it’s a rather poor description.
Instead, I would personally suggest considering what specific tools a character would possess on their person as well as what tasks they regularly perform so you can give them a tool to assist with it. For example, as a healer, to know the extent of someone's injuries would require them a way to figure out such information quickly, so a scanner would be a helpful tool. To a similar extent, if they were a combat medic, they might have a blow torch so they can seal wounds in the field before reaching a med-centre with equipment for more thorough repairs.
It’s a good idea, though, to think outside the box when considering tools, as given a suitable reason almost any tool can be used to assist in some form or another. For example, my OC Shadow-Strike possesses a medical scanner despite not being a medic, for as an assassin it can help identify weak points he can target.
On the other hand, there are the basics that are often overlooked due to how obvious they are. An example of this would be thrusters on a Cybertronian with an aerialmode.
While a scout/spy is typically going to possess some form of tool that allows them to be hidden, it’s a good idea to consider what form of detection they want to hide from. As, for example, an invisibility generator would hide from sight, but is unlikely also to cover other forms such as sound and radar. This can, in turn, lead to a character often possessing multiple tools to assist in such a task.
Weapons
For this section of the guide, I intend to focus on the character aspects of choosing a specific weapon, rather than going in-depth into the different types of weapons that exist. This is because such a task would almost certainly be worth a thread of its own, and I believe would detract from the intention of this app to focus on character creation.
So to begin, it’s a good idea to consider whether or not your character does, in fact, use weapons, and if they don’t, why. For those who don’t possess a weapon, it’s important to consider the Cybertronian race has been at war for centuries, if not longer, so those who don’t even possess a weapon for use in emergencies are extremely rare. As a result, meaning those few who do exist almost always have a significant reason such as being a pacifist, although even then, many such characters likely possess some form of non-lethal weapon for self-protection.
One of the reasons such lack of weaponry is extremely rare is because the majority of Cybertronians possess integrated weapons, which allows them to carry them within their frame internally. This can make disarming an integrated weapon difficult, although on the flip side such weapons take up space in the user's frame, in turn restricting their size.
Even in the case of handheld weapons, though, you're still in a way restricted to a limited number of weapons you can carry - which is determined by the size of your character. This isn't a set value, however, and even then there's a lot of leeway as long as you are able to explain why you might possess an excess of weapons. For example, my character Shadow-Strike possess two marksman rifles, a sniper rifle, a grenade launcher and dual blades alongside some other tools, in his case though each weapon has a specific place within his body where the devices are held, such as the blades being located in his gauntlets while the sniper rifle is located in his backplate before it's deployed on his shoulder.
Regardless of how many weapons your character possesses, it's also a good idea when deciding what weapons they possess, to also assess their capabilities with each weapon they use. Just because a character possesses a weapon, doesn't mean they might be particularly skilled with the type, which may, in turn, lead to them using an easier to wield weapon of that category such as an automatic pistol rather than a precision hand cannon.
On the flipside, a skilled warrior may use an unorthodox or harder-to-use weapon, sometimes as their only armament, which can tell just as much about the character's background as other features. An example of this would be that someone using only a melee weapon is likely to be extremely skilled due to the existence of firearms, which would then suggest they've had heavy training, which can feature in their backstory.
- A list of weapons is currently a work in progress, when completed a link should appear here.
Personality
Now admittedly when it comes to personality, I often find myself using a personality generator with the questions answered from the viewpoint of the character I'm creating. For the purpose of this guide, however, I believe it's best to first cover it without the use of such tools so anyone who wishes to do so can create their personality manually.
To begin with, then, it's often a good idea to have a few personality traits from which you can begin to expand from - for example courageousness, strong willpower and decisiveness are all similar traits, which make it easier to produce a personality that is consistent. Notably, all these traits are ones that can often be expanded on further for a more accurate description of their personality. To clarify this, the term courageous is often used, and a quite popular one both for Autobots and Decepticons alike, many of who simply describe the character as courageous when instead a good idea would be to identify specific fears of the character and how they would regularly react. Although in the case of using that example, it's a good idea to avoid saying cliches in an attempt to make your character sound cooler.
In most occasions, the terms I've described can be considered positive, so it's a good point at this stage to suggest that you also provide a number of weaknesses. These can often be related to your other traits, for example, a character who is strong-willed and courageous might be so because they're egotistical to the point they're capable of underestimating threats or the opinions of others. Another option is that the character could be possibly detached from reality, making it easier to provide decisive actions because they don't consider the consequences, which could be a result of their backstory if they're a veteran soldier or the survivor of a disaster.
To hopefully incite some ideas, for whichever character your using, I'd like to provide some things to consider - in particular, how both your character’s function, background and faction have affected their personality. As an example of this, it's a common theme that Decepticon characters are usually harsher and 'evil' while an Autobot is often considered one of the heroes of the story. With that said, the basics of creating a personality are rather simple, as long as you can find a way to string traits together into a psyche that makes sense (or doesn't, for those mental ones out there).
For further development, other parts of the personality that could be included are relationships and opinions they might possess. Although in the case of relationships, it can often lead to people taking notice of other OCs they've created, you might also find it interesting to discuss creating a relationship with another player’s characters to fill out personality (assuming you talk to the owner of the character first).
With all this stated, hopefully creating a personality should be something this guide has helped you with. Now though for those curious I'm going to describe the steps I often take for creating a new OC with the use of this personality test; www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test
In most occasions when doing so, I'll take the test answering it as I believe the newly created OC would, which should then lead me to the results page for whichever personality type my character has received. From there, I then cherry-pick the pieces I find most fitting for my character, using my own words and terms to get across the points stated in the results. For the purpose of quickness, I often find the Introduction, Conclusion, and strengths and weakness are the best sections for general information, although the others can also provide useful information for helping you develop a personality.
History
History is a difficult thing to discuss when it comes to character creation. The simple reason for that is as a character grows and develops, often so does their history as more of their background is created and revealed to allow further depth or even just rectify issues that existed beforehand. With that stated, then, I think it would best to discuss first the necessary points of a history that should be considered for when you first post your app, before bringing up the details that might also be added in to further flesh it out.
As such, when creating a history the things I would consider necessary are: when and where your character was created, why they have the job/function they do, and how they joined the faction they're a part of.
In the case of when your character was created, a common decision of people is to give exact numbers as a way of dictating when they were created. Personally, though I think such a decision makes it, in fact, harder to fill out a bio as the way you sync up events might be entirely different from another person, as whereas one might consider ten thousand years a long period of time for an inorganic race another might consider the same for a hundred years. Instead, then, I would recommend that rather than trying to give an exact timescale, instead reference where the events might have occurred in relation to a specific era, such as an elder born during the later days of the Age of Primes or a Made To Order soldier created soon after the Great Civil War began. This way it only takes a look at the timeline to have a rough idea of when they were created, rather than trying to figure out if 1,000 years is closer to a post-exodus character or a golden age one.
With that out of the way, I’d like to bring up the main reason why I consider the era that a character was born is important. The most obvious is, of course, that experiences shape a person, and so an older mech would be different from a fresh-out-of-production Civil warbot. This is especially true because of how different the experiences each era would have brought, in particular, those born during or before the golden age and those born during the war, with an example of this being that an older mech may long for the past, a new mech may not even have any conception of his race not at war. It’s due to such differences that it’s important to consider carefully when your OC would have been created.
After which, you can often then go into describing how they got their first job and any notable experiences they had during it. When filling out this section, it's a good idea to consider when they were created, as a character born before the great war is going to possess a different job to one that was created during the war. For example, a war-bot is naturally likely to be created for the purpose of whichever job they were first given, and it'll often be focused on helping the war effort in some way - while in contrast, a pre-war mech is likely to possess a more peaceful function, although it's a good idea to consider that due to caste system, most golden age transformers would have first acquired a job linked to their alternative mode. Apart from how they acquired the job, it's then a good idea to at least give some information on what they did during that job, whether that be skills they acquired or events they were involved with to further develop the character.
The last main factor to character history, then, is how they joined the faction they're part of and anything interesting they've done as a member there. It's a good idea, in this case, to consider how the faction they're part of would recruit members - for example, the Decepticons quite frequently performed rallies during the dying days of the golden age, while in contrast, an Autobot could easily be someone who opposed the uprising as a security officer for the Senate and later the Autobots.
Either way, when writing this part of your history, it's a good idea to try and avoid direct interactions between your character and canon characters - as although it's quite likely for a future Decepticon to be inspired after watching one of Megatron's rallies, a mech who supposedly becomes his secret adviser and bodyguard, in contrast, would be unlikely and also causes issues for any person who wanted to play as a Decepticon canonically close to Megatron.
Past them joining though, it's also a good idea to write some of the things they've done since joining the faction. This can be used to show how the war has directly affected your character and give others an idea of how the war has shaped them. For an example of this, a cleric or some other golden age profession would generally be assumed as rather gentle but over the thousands of years that the war has taken, that same character could be thrown into countless life or death scenarios and massacres that have left them using that intelligence to lethal and harsh consequences.
For those who aren't part of a faction, it's a good idea to instead write about why they're not part of either faction and the history between them and the main factions. For those who are part of a faction, they can also write about their history with the other faction, although if you intend to go for the revenge cliche or anything similar, then try to be original in some other way.
For other things to cover in your history, as additional detail it's also an interesting idea to cover some of the relationships your character has created.
Other
When it comes to the Other category, everything I suggest is optional. These are merely things I think could be added for the purpose of giving your character further information and is unnecessary if you don't desire to add any of these ideas. With that in mind, these are also the suggestions I thought up for things that haven't been described by the other categories and so your free to come up with your own things as well. This includes; Strengths and Weaknesses, Skills, Abilities and Character Voice.
Strengths and Weaknesses go hand in hand when describing them and are a rather common mainstay of roleplay apps. In general, the agreed upon idea is there should be a decent balance between strengths and weaknesses, not necessarily in there being an even number of them but rather that the weaknesses are of similar severity to the strengths. Past that, however, the main thing to keep in mind when writing strengths and weaknesses is how they'll affect your character during the roleplay experience. For example, there's very little point in saying they're slow as a weakness, yet when roleplaying they move at similar speeds to everyone else.
When it comes to suggestions for strengths and weaknesses, you can usually separate them into mental and physical traits. In the case of physical traits, they're often affected by appearance and alternative mode, with a focus on stuff such as how quickly your character moves and how durable they are, as well as weak points and injuries that affect them. Whereas mental traits are ones that affect your psychology, such as hating a group such as Predacons to the point of being unable to work with them.
Often when describing Strengths and Weaknesses, it's also possible for you to mention skills. These include your talent with different forms of combat, technology and even social ability. When mentioning skills, it's a good idea to remember that this doesn't require you to mention all your skills, nor does it require you to only mention the best ones. A good idea is to not only cover the strongest skills, but also the character’s weakest. For those looking for some example skills here are a few: Single Fire Rifles, Hand-To-Hand, Weaponsmith, Hacking, Diplomacy and Gambling.
For Abilities, I consider them as unique or unusual skills and techniques that aren't adequately explained by any of the above categories. Such as Blurr’s insane speed which often outpaces many other Cybertronians of comparable size and alternative mode or a transformation ability which allows them to function as a stationary turret without being a completely different alternative form from their robot mode. Just remember that abilities aren't a necessary feature, and more often than not could be reasonably explained as a gadget or some other tool above.
It's rather common throughout a character’s lifetime that they'll develop a voice, whether that be specific voice qualities or a voice actor people can associate with them. So if you happen to have a specific person to voice the character in mind, then you could always mention so in Voice, although like the rest of this category it's a completely optional decision.
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