OC maker: a random character generator

What the generator gives you

One tap gives a whole person, not a list of adjectives. Each result has a name, a genre, an age between 21 and 58, a job in that genre's world, an archetype, three traits and a flaw, something they want, something they fear, a secret and a way of talking. It ends with the first thing they would say to you.

Every piece comes from lists written for this page, so nothing is borrowed from an existing story. The picks are random, but the same address always shows the same character, so you can reload or send the link to a friend and see exactly what you saw.

• Genre: fantasy, mecha, slice of life, urban fantasy or tournament.
• Archetype: one of twelve story roles, from hero and mentor to trickster and everyperson.
• Traits and a flaw: three strengths, and the one weakness that will cost them something.
• Want, fear and secret: the three things that make a scene happen.
• Voice: how they talk, plus a greeting in their own words.

How to use a random character

Treat a result as a first draft from a friend with good taste and no patience. Keep the parts that make you curious and change the rest. If the job fits but the flaw does not, swap the flaw. If the name is wrong, try the name generator and keep everything else.

Then ask three questions. What do they want tonight, not in general? What stops them? Who would they argue with? A want, an obstacle and a rival turn a profile into a scene, and a scene is what you need to write or to play.

Anselm Kovacic, a lead test pilot on oeYYeo's own cast, shows how little it takes. He has a job, a frame called Old Mule, a checklist he reads out loud, and a want: to walk the next frame out safely. Every conversation with him starts from those four facts.

Why every result is an original adult

oeYYeo is for original characters written for grown-ups, and the generator holds to the same rule. Ages run from 21 to 58. Every character has adult work in an adult world: a ferry captain, a night bus driver, a duelist ranked twelfth and climbing. Names are invented from our own lists and checked against a list of existing anime, manga and game characters.

That matters when you bring a character to life here. A character made on oeYYeo must be your own original and an adult, and saving runs a safety check. Starting from a generated original makes both easy to promise.

From a random result to a character you can chat with

Tap the button under a result and the creator opens with it filled in: the name, the genre, a tagline, who they are, a greeting and two lines in their voice. You add anything else they will not do, choose a portrait (drawn for you, or your own upload of an adult) and decide who can chat: anyone with the link, or only you.

Saving needs a free account, and the result waits in your browser while you sign up. Member characters are never listed in browse or search. Every character on oeYYeo is AI, and the app says so under the box where you type.

• Open the character creator
• How to make an original character, step by step

OC maker or character creator: which one do you need?

Some OC makers are dress-up games: you pick hair, eyes and clothes, and you get a picture. This one starts from the inside. It writes who a character is and how they talk, because that is what makes a character worth talking to. The look comes last, when the creator draws a portrait from what you wrote.

If you already know who your character is and only need a piece, use the smaller tools. The name generator gives eight original names by genre. The traits list helps you pick strengths and a flaw that fit together.

• Character name generator
• Character traits list

In their own words

Read next

• Character name generator: A free character name generator for original characters: anime-style, fantasy and sci-fi names by genre, each checked against a list of famous characters.
• Character traits list: A character traits list for writers: strengths, flaws and traits that cut both ways, how each one shows in a scene, and a roller that picks three and a flaw.
• OC template: A free OC template: the character profile fields that matter, filled in for an example, 20 questions to ask your OC, and a generator that fills it in one tap.
• OC ideas: 15 original characters: OC ideas that hold up: 15 original character prompts by genre, each an adult with a job, a want and a flaw, plus how to turn one into a character.