Character aspects

[Haru]

So I'm still having a bit trouble with character aspects. Using them is not so much a problem, but coming up with ones that not only describe the character but his place in the world is a bit of a challenge.

Now my question is, what kind of Aspects should a character have? At the moment we have "High Concept", "Trouble", "Background", "Rising heat", "Story" and two "guest stories", which are ok descriptions, but it could be better. What I am looking for is sort of a list of things aspects should cover, like a "social aspect", etc., and maybe what kind of information it should convey about the character.

It can probably even be a list of more or less than 7 things, since you can sometimes put 2 things into one aspect or have 2 aspects cover 1 thing from different angles. I just would like to gather up a little guideline to make it easier to come up with appropriate aspects.

[devonapple]

I think you already have a good idea of the spread of things an Aspect could cover, and are worried that you haven't covered enough of the bases.

Thankfully, with Milestones, a dud Aspect can be replaced when it is no longer relevant to the character.

One of the early chapters of YS has a list of Aspect types, as well, and I can't remember them exactly, but here are some suggestions:

Style: whatever your character is good at, this informs it, providing an edge and hopefully a drawback (Combat/Magic/Investigation/etc.)
Social: Personality, Attitude, Charm
Behavior: Code, Ethics, Dysfunction
Relationships: specific or general; may overlap with Personality; could be with an NPC or another PC
Antagonists: Rivalries, Hunted (this may be a Trouble, or just a historical Aspect, reflecting some adversarial relationship vital to your character)
Identifying Quote: may overlap with Personality, Ethics, or anything else

[Praxidicae]

List of things character aspects should cover:

• Anything important to the Character

It's really rather difficult to list aspect 'groupings' as they could be literally anything. Basically an aspect should link to something; events, people, objects or ideas, that helped shape the person that the character became. These shouldn't be something transitory or mundane, but something that is critical to the person that they are, that if changed would literally shake the character's world to the core. As an example Harry has the aspect of "My Mother's Silver Pentacle", which to most people is just a nice trinket, it isn't itself magical or even particularly unique, but what it represents is important enough to Harry that it's loss or destruction would probably be a hefty blow.

I'd be hesitant to apply any constraints to character aspect choice such as 'you must have a "social aspect"' etc. as in many cases character concepts might not have room for such constraints.

I know this wasn't really what you were looking for, but I think that attempting to codify "types" of aspect is somewhat of a waste of time. Particular aspects can, and often do apply in innumerable situations, and an aspect that might on the surface apply stringently to a particular situation, can, in the hands of an imaginative player be used far outside that arena. The trick, as I believe YS states, is to be flavorful and descriptive.
Your character isn't just "Strong as an Ox", he's got the "Strength of an Olympian Demigod", suddenly a purely physical aspect can be applied to a myriad of situations applicable to History, Religion, Mystical/Mythical Knowledge, or even excessive drinking ("Yeah I used to go partying with Dionysius...This ain't nothing.").

[Haru]

• Anything important to the Character

I'd be hesitant to apply any constraints to character aspect choice such as 'you must have a "social aspect"' etc. as in many cases character concepts might not have room for such constraints.

Oh, I was not going to put constraints on it, far from it. But if you are trying to find that last 2 aspects, it is easier if you know where to start looking. In my case, I often have the high aspect + 3-4 further aspects that describe most of what I have in mind for the character. The remaining aspects, at least in a first draft, often become very similar to the existing aspects regarding what they cover. In this case, putting constraints on the remaining aspects would simply mean "look at the list and see what you haven't covered, but should". Not even generally, but for the character. Character aspects are extremely widespread, but that can be a curse at times.

@devonapple
Yes, that's a good start, thank you.

[devonapple]

In this case, putting constraints on the remaining aspects would simply mean "look at the list and see what you haven't covered, but should".

Exactly. I see them as suggestions/inspirations, rather than a checklist.

[UmbraLux]

I just would like to gather up a little guideline to make it easier to come up with appropriate aspects.

Some good points above.  It's also worth emphasizing devonapple's list of categories - you don't need to lock yourself into the book's list.  In many ways, I think the game did us a disservice by categorizing them during character creation.  The categories seem to generate a reluctance to change. 

Aspects aren't static.  Five of the seven are very malleable and some should, in my opinion, be changed as the game goes on to reflect how the character changes and grows.  Under the right circumstances, even trouble and high concept are changeable.  If your other aspects don't change it means you either picked perfect aspects the first time and your character isn't changing / growing or you're settling for sub-par aspects.