Creating a new Shirefolk character

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Some helpful tips for creating a new Shirefolk Hobbit character.



There are several things you need to decide, when choosing a name for your character. The first is whether to be Upper, Middle, or Lower class (for information about the three, see +SHIRE HELP CLASS).

Once you've made that decision, you need to decide which of our extensive list of families you wish to be a member of; they're listed, sorted by class, in +SHIRE HELP FAMILY.

Finally, you need to pick a hobbity first name. The basic naming rules are listed in +SHIRE HELP NAME2, although they are only intended as a basic outline; there can be exceptions to them. The Name-Maker in the Newbie Rooms (which can also be accessed via +Shire Name; see +SHIRE HELP COMMANDS NAME for info) can be used to create some example names.

To set your surname, just type:

  &SURNAME ME=<your choice>

followed by


To set your first name, type:

  @NAME ME=<New Name> <password>

The naming rules for female characters are simple: choose the name of a flower, a gemstone, or a meaningless frilly sounding name. For male characters, the rules are more complex.

(1) The "conventional o". Generally, male hobbit characters have two syllable names ending in -o (Bilbo, Frodo, Lotho). This works for any upper or middle class families not specifically mentioned elsewhere in this file.

(2) Buckland names flow a bit more and always end in -ac, -oc, -ic, or -as (Merimac, Saradoc, Doderic, Saradas).

(3) Took names are also longer like the Brandybuck names and can end in -im, -in, -as, -us, -and, -ons, -ond, -ard, and -old (Finubrim, Mecabrand, Hildifons, Laminard).

(4) Bolger names are also long and frumpy, normally ending in -gar, -car, -bald, -bert and other endings (Fredegar, Odovacar, Wilibald, Filibert).

(5) Hornblower names can go into category (1), but can also be -old names (Tobold).

(6) Burrows names can go into category (1) but can also be -us names (Rufus).

(7) Hobbits from poor families have less high sounding, more common names (Samwise, Hamfast, Hobson, Robin).


(1) hobbits had brown hair, almost uniformly. Blond hair is HIGHLY discouraged. If you want to have a shade, try auburn or sandy, which is at least part brown. Brown sounds very generic, but it has several shades. Try and work with it. Also, hobbit hair is curly.

(2) Blue, green, brown, or hazel eye colors. Steer clear of 'exotic' shades like violet.

(3) Don't be too tall! hobbits should be around 3'. Period. However, PLEASE try and take exact measurements out of your description (especially metric: to say that you're 97 centimeters tall just doesn't sound right!). It's much more evocative to use descriptive language than flat measurements. Anything over 3'2" is probably WAY too tall. Conversely, feel free to be shorter than average, as it helps detract from the stereotype from hobbits who want to be taller than average. Think about it... now that everyone is taller than average, the average people are short and the taller than average are only average! (4) Pudgy. Yes, it might be unattractive by human standards, but it's what we hobbits are. If you want to live vicariously through a well-muscled stud or an anorexic Baywatch wannabe, you're probably in the wrong culture. As hobbits adored good food and cheer, there's nothing undesirable about a proud paunch!

(5) Furry feet! hobbits are gifted with a healthy growth of hair on their usually bare feet. Only Bucklanders wear boots on occasion. So, remember, your character has a nice growth of foot hair!

(6) Clothes! Hobbits like to wear nice, bright clothes; greens and yellows are particularly common, with colors like brown working well, too. Male hobbits tend to wear shirts, waistcoats and trousers, with female characters generally wearing long skirts.

Now that you know what hobbits look like, you can set your description. To do this, type:

@DESC ME=<Your Description Here>

Double-check that there are no typos, grammatical errors, or misspellings in your @desc. If you make a typo in RP, people see it only once, but they see a typo in your @desc every time they look at you! Also, learn to VARY your SENTENCE STRUCTURE. This makes reading a description much more interesting.

Also, descriptions are used to detail how things look, smell, feel, or sound. Actions, on the other hand, should be RPed and therefore should be left out of your @desc.

For expert @descs, try not to make judgments for the reader. For instance, a description stating that one is better-looking than most is not ideal. Don't tell the reader that your character is beautiful or handsome or cute: let them decide for themselves. If you've got a scar and a false eye, the reader will most likely think you're ugly. If you're well-groomed, rosy-cheeked, and plump, they'll think you're good-looking.

For instance, see bad example (1) and compare it to good example (2).

(1) BAD. Dandelion is a small hobbit girl. She looks nice and is smiling, She is wearing a yellow dress with sunflowers on it. She has curly brown hair that falls into her eyes and she pushes it away behind her ear. She has a silver necklace witch she twirls around her finger. She looks at you and winks. Dandelion often keeps things in her pockets.

(2) GOOD. A small hobbit girl, with a cherubic face and rosy cheeks. Her curly brown hair bounces down to her neck, where she wears a silver necklace. A neat pattern of sunflowers graces her bright yellow dress. The colourful dress has large pockets, with plenty of room for storing random items.

The first example contains actions, makes judgments for the reader, and has a couple of grammatical and spelling errors. Combined with its horribly repetitive sentence structure, this is what you should avoid in your description.

In the second example, this player has given the reader freedom to decide whether or not Dandelion is 'nice.' There are no glaring errors, and the sentence structure is varied. It doesn't describe what she's doing (that's what RP is for!), therefore it will fit most situations. If Dandelion is getting robbed or having a vicious argument, would she be smiling, winking, and playing with her hair? Probably not. This is what you should strive for in your @desc.

There are several useful resources at hand for writing your description. The first, and simplest, is other players' descriptions. Just +DISPLAY <name>/DESC to take a look at some examples :)

Elendor's +Wardrobe system is very useful for storing multiple descs, so you can vary clothes, write a desc for each season, etc. See HELP WARDROBE for more info on how it works.

If you make a mistake in your description, rather than retyping it, you can very often just use the @edit command to fix it -- HELP @EDIT explains how. (Editing commas doesn't normally work too well:)

A couple of logs of lectures are also available on the 'net about writing good descriptions:



Your character has a history. She didn't come down from the sky, in her tweens, from nowhere. She had a childhood, went to school, perhaps, developed friendships and years of great stories. To make your character a REAL hobbit, you need to jot down a history.

Your history should be the sort of stuff that family, friends, and neighbours would know about him. The names of his parents, and maybe a few stories about them. The time he had a crush on young Grisella Bolger, and how he took her on a ride in his father's cart but drove it off the road, making her fall in the ditch and causing the wheel on the cart break. They'd know how he was given a good beating when his father found out, and that Grisella has never forgiven him. He once got sick from eating a bad mushroom, and he hates Great-Aunt Elida because she always pinches his ear.

This works well for family members and close friends and neighbours. If your character is a Took, Tooks everywhere should know a thing or two about him. But a Whitfoot from Michel Delving meeting him for the first time? Probably not. Your history is for people acquainted with your character. If a stranger uses parts of it without your permission, tell them to stop. And, conversely, ASK before you start blabbing off about something in someone's history.

Finally, keep your history in theme! Don't write a history with parents killed by orcs, travels all over Middle-earth, and loads of nasty adventures. Know hobbits (see +SHIRE HELP THEME BASICS) before you make your history. Also, due to an increasing number recently, histories with young, orphaned hobbits need special approval from the LA staff.

When you think you have a good history written up, type:

       &HISTORY ME=<Your History Here>

followed by


Ask yourself questions about your character's past, and address them in your history:

  • Where was your character born? (see +SHIRE FAMILY <Family Name>)
  • What is their family like? (see +SHIRE FAMILY <family name>)
  • Who is your character's father? Mother (including maiden name)? Siblings? Grandparents? Children or grandchildren?
  • What sort of childhood experiences helped to shape their personality?
  • How did your character's environment and place of upbringing affect them?
  • What are your character's goals? What motivates them?
  • What education, if any, has your character had? Remember to explain how your character gained any skills or knowledge they have. (Note: Only wealthy hobbits were afforded an education. Consider whether your character should even be literate.)
  • What other events have shaped your character or affected them in some way? Have they ever been in love before? Are they married? What sort of jobs have they held? What were some of the high and low points of their life?
  • What are your character's strengths? (Upstanding, gregarious, mature, etc.)
  • What are your character's weaknesses? (Cowardly, panicky, allergies, etc.)
  • What is your character's personality like? How do they react to meeting new people? To unusual circumstances? To change?
  • Who do they admire? The Thain? The Mayor? Their father? Uncle Roffo, who is a blacksmith and can drink ten pints of beer and still walk steadily?
  • Any fears? Goblins? Ghosts? Elves? Great-Aunt Elida who pinches their cheeks?
  • What are their favourite pastimes?
  • What was the most embarrassing moment in their life? What happened?

The answers to these questions will flesh out your character. Don't just answer them in laundry list form. You shouldn't answer them in any particular order, and you should keep the history in the form of a narrative. Pay attention to your character's connections to others; this will be the basis for all RP. You are invited to ask existing Shirefolk about their histories and to coordinate with them to create shared concepts. Create a backstory together. Just imagine the RP that it would provide! If you need any ideas, just contact the Shire LAs and we'll be glad to help you.


All Shirefolk players should get themselves set up with a title, when they've decided what they want their character to do/be. If you have one, it should reflect your job, but if you don't (you're too young, or are extremely rich and don't work, etc), it can mention a hobby, or just a description of how your character spends his time. It shouldn't really be more than a few words long; when you think you have a good idea, just page a Local Admin and we'll set it for you :)

You don't have to spend all your time RPing your job -- most people prefer to RP socialising, or hanging out with friends and family at the local inn, etc. But having a job can tie in nicely with developing his personally -- merchants may be more friendly to outsiders, etc -- as well as giving you more RP opportunities.

In the books, Bilbo and Frodo didn't have "jobs" as such. They were gentlehobbits of lesiure, with plenty of time for parties and good fellowship. This may not be suitable for or appealing to all players, though, and your job can enhance your RP. A reporter could gather news and write stories for the Shire Chronicle. A gardener could travel to Michel Delving to pick up plants or tools. Farmers and merchants could sell their goods through RP. There are many, many options.

The most important thing when choosing a job is to pick something you enjoy! If you don't enjoy accounting, don't be an accountant. If you know lots about pipeweed, consider being a merchant or farmer. It's that simple :) Use your imagination and your job to stimulate RP and delve deeper into your character.

No one in this culture is required to RP a job, it's just suggested to broaden your RPing horizons. If you do choose to RP a job, you don't need to worry about exchanging +Money if you don't want to; just RP it, if you prefer that. Remember that the main aim to having an IC job here is to enjoy yourself :) If you find a job isn't right for you, contact an LA and we'll help you find something you'll enjoy more.

Below is a list of jobs, separated by class. If you have any questions, just ask an LA :)

Upper or Middle Class: Accountant, Actor, Antiquarian, Appraiser, Author, Banker, Chocolatier, Confectioner, Dancer, Doctor, Food Critic, Food Inspector, Genealogist, Gentlehobbit, Gossip, Haberdasher, Herbalist, Historian, Librarian, Mathom-House Curator, Midwife, Moneylender, Newspaper Reporter, Overhill Lady, Pipeweed Merchant, Playwright, Pony-Seller, Silversmith, and Teacher

Lower Class: Bartender, Basketweaver, Beekeeper, Blacksmith, Bricklayer, Broommaker, Buttermaker, Candle Maker, Cheese Maker, Chimneysweep, Cooper, Egg Seller, Farmer, Fishmonger, Fruit Vendor, Gardener, Glassblower, Glazier, Herder, Lamplighter, Launderer, Leatherworker, Maid, Messenger, Milkhobbit, Miller, Painter, Papermaker, Pawnbroker, Peddler, Ropemaker, Servant, Shepherd, Stablehand, Tanner, Undertaker, Waiter, Wheelwright, and Woodworker

All Hobbits: Baker, Brewer, Butcher, Cook, Dressmaker, Embroiderer, Engraver, Hatmaker, Innkeeper, Milliner, Miner, Perfume Maker, Piemaker, Pipe Maker, Pipeweed Farmer, Potter, Sculptor, Shirriff, Young Hobbit Lad/Lass, Tailor, Town-Crier, and Walking-Stick Maker

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