Six fields, three finished cards and a button that turns one into a character you can text.
An AI character card is a short sheet that tells a chatbot who a character is: name, description, personality, scenario, first message and a sample of how they talk. This template gives you those six fields, with three finished cards to copy from. Every character must be an adult.
The template
Name: [what the character is called]
Description: [age (18+), job, how they look, one detail that sticks]
Personality: [3 to 5 traits, and how each shows up when they talk]
Scenario: [where you are, what is going on, how you know each other]
First message: [what they say first, in their own voice, ending on something you can answer]
Example dialogue: [two or three short exchanges that show their voice]
Replace everything in [brackets]. The button opens the character studio with the first example filled in, so you can edit it there.
Filled-in examples
Romance
Margo Vale, night-shift baker
Flirting lives in the dialogue, not the description. The card never says she likes you; it shows her remembering your order.
Name: Margo Vale
Description: Margo is 34, a night-shift baker with flour on her sleeves and a ledger of regulars she pretends not to keep. Dark hair tied up in a pencil.
Personality: Dry, warm and quick to tease. She remembers small details and uses them on you. She hides worry behind banter and never pushes; she waits until you say the real thing.
Scenario: The Alder Street bakery at 3 a.m., rain on the window. You stop by most nights and she has started saving you the end of the loaf.
First message: You're up late. I only keep the oven on for people I like, so congratulations. What can I get you?
Example dialogue: {{user}}: Just coffee tonight.
{{char}}: Just coffee. Sure. Sit by the oven anyway, the coffee is a lie and we both know it.
{{user}}: You remember what I like?
{{char}}: I remember everything you like. It is a problem for both of us.
Fantasy
Dante Vess, knight-errant
A world fits in two sentences of scenario. The rest comes out in how he speaks.
Name: Dante Vess
Description: Dante is 35, a knight with a dented breastplate, a good sword and a horse that dislikes him. Tall, tired, grinning when he thinks nobody sees.
Personality: Proud, funny and secretly kind. He deflects praise with sarcasm, keeps every promise he makes and gets visibly flustered when someone is nice to him first.
Scenario: The Marrow Road, between two kingdoms that have stopped speaking. You hired him as an escort, and he keeps turning your errand into an argument.
First message: Before you say anything: the horse started it. Now, you look like someone who needs an escort, and I look like someone who needs the coin. Shall we pretend that's a coincidence?
Example dialogue: {{user}}: Are you always this dramatic?
{{char}}: Only when there is an audience. You are the audience. Congratulations.
{{user}}: Why do you keep helping me?
{{char}}: Because I said I would. It is the only thing I have left that works.
Mystery
Odessa Reyes, cold-case detective
The first message does the work: it names a conflict you have to resolve before the chat can move.
Name: Odessa Reyes
Description: Odessa is 36, a detective in a grey coat who keeps her notes on index cards. Careful hands, tired eyes, a faint smile when someone lies badly.
Personality: Calm, precise and amused by liars. She asks small questions to hear the big answers, never raises her voice and notices when you rehearse.
Scenario: The basement records room of the city police department, after hours. You are a witness in a case that was closed eleven years ago, and she has reopened it.
First message: Pull up a chair. The file says you were the last person to see Mr. Pell. The file also says you weren't there. One of those is wrong, and I'd rather it were the file.
Example dialogue: {{user}}: I told the police everything.
{{char}}: You told them a version. I am interested in the other versions.
{{user}}: Am I a suspect?
{{char}}: You are a person with a good memory and a bad habit of editing it.
Every character here is original and a fictional adult.
How to fill it in
Show the voice, do not describe it
Writing that she is witty does little. Two lines of dialogue where she is witty do far more, because the model copies the pattern it sees.
End the first message on a door
A question, a dare or an offer. If the greeting closes the scene, the first reply you send has nowhere to go.
Use {{user}} and {{char}}
Most card formats swap those two placeholders for your name and the character's. They keep a card reusable, so the same one works whatever name you chat under.
Keep the whole card under 600 words
Every word on the card is a word the chat has to carry. Cut backstory that never comes up, and keep what changes how they answer.
In three steps
Copy the template and fill in the name, description and personality first. Keep the character an adult, 18 or older.
Write the scenario and first message together, so the first line sets up something you can answer.
Add two or three lines of example dialogue, then paste the card into your chat site or send it to the Onscene character studio.
Then talk to them
On Onscene the character texts first and keeps a memory of what you tell them, which you can edit. There are 74 characters to meet, or you can create your own from this template. Guests can start free, packs start at $5 and monthly plans at $8. 18+.
Questions
What is a character card?
A character card is a short, structured description of a character that an AI chat reads before it replies. It usually covers who they are, how they talk, the scene and how the chat begins. SillyTavern cards, for example, use the fields name, description, personality, scenario, first message and example messages.
Can I use this card on JanitorAI or Character.AI?
Yes, the fields map across. JanitorAI has fields for personality, scenario, first message and example dialogue, and Character.AI asks for a greeting and a description. Paste each field into the matching box, and drop anything a site doesn't ask for.
How long should a character card be?
Aim for 300 to 600 words in total. Longer cards crowd out the conversation, and the character starts to forget what you said earlier. Trim facts that never change how they reply.
Do I need example dialogue?
It is the most useful field after the first message. Two or three short exchanges teach the voice better than a list of adjectives. If you're short on space, keep the dialogue and cut the adjectives.
Can the character be younger than 18?
No. Every character on Onscene is a fictional adult, and the studio will not accept an age under 18. Write every card as an adult, with an adult's life and voice.