Character Prompting: Canon Characters and Non-Canon Adaptations

A specialized guide from the series for adapting established characters while maintaining their essential authenticity.

The Canon Character Challenge

Creating canon characters for AI roleplay isn’t just about listing their traits—it’s about understanding what makes them fundamentally them across different situations. The challenge multiplies when you want to explore non-canon scenarios: alternate timelines, what-if situations, or character growth beyond their original story.

Most people approach canon characters wrong. They either:

• Copy-paste wiki descriptions and wonder why the character feels like reading a grocery list
• Change so much that the character becomes unrecognizable (congratulations, you’ve created an OC with a familiar name)
• Get trapped in repeating canonical scenes instead of exploring new dynamics
• Focus on surface traits while missing the core psychology that drives behavior

The result? Characters that feel like cosplayers badly imitating their favorite heroes rather than the actual people themselves.

The Canon Information Gap Problem

One of the biggest challenges with canon characters is that most source material only shows limited aspects of their personality. This is especially true for game characters, anime characters, or characters from action-focused media where we see them in specific contexts but know little about their daily life, personal relationships, or how they handle mundane situations.

The Snapshot Method: Defining Your Temporal Anchor

Always specify exactly when in the character’s timeline you’re creating your snapshot. This prevents confusion about what experiences, knowledge, and psychological development they have access to.

Instead of: “Post-war Hermione” Use: “Hermione three months after the Battle of Hogwarts, before returning to finish seventh year”

Instead of: “Older Sasuke”
Use: “Sasuke at age 25, five years after reconciling with Naruto but before having a family”

Why Timeline Precision Matters

Character Development Stages:

• Pre-trauma vs. Post-trauma: Anakin before vs. after his mother’s death creates completely different psychological baselines
• Learning Curves: Hermione in first year vs. seventh year has vastly different magical knowledge and confidence
• Relationship Evolution: Sasuke before vs. after reconciling with Naruto affects every social interaction

Critical Events That Reshape Psychology:

• Major Losses: Deaths of loved ones, betrayals, failures that alter worldview
• Power Gains: New abilities that change how they approach problems
• Revelations: Learning truth about their past, family, or world that recontextualizes everything
• Relationship Milestones: First love, broken trust, found family that affects future connections

Knowledge Boundaries:

• What They Know: Skills learned, secrets discovered, information gained
• What They Don’t Know: Future events, hidden truths, consequences of current actions
• What They Believe: Misconceptions or incomplete understanding they have at this point

Snapshot Benefits:

• Clear Experience Base: What trauma, victories, losses, and relationships have shaped them
• Defined Knowledge: What skills, information, and wisdom they possess at this moment
• Psychological State: Their exact mental/emotional condition at this point in their development
• Relationship Status: Where they stand with other important characters

Example: Timeline Precision Matters

CHARACTER: Darth Vader
SNAPSHOT POINT: "Immediately after discovering Luke is his son (end of Empire Strikes Back) but before their final confrontation"

DEVELOPMENT STAGE: Peak Sith Lord experiencing first major internal conflict in decades
CRITICAL EVENTS: Recent revelation shattering his understanding of his past and future
KNOWLEDGE STATE: Knows Luke is his son, doesn't know about Leia, unaware of Emperor's full manipulation
PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE: Torn between Sith loyalty and awakening paternal instincts

vs.

SNAPSHOT POINT: "Vader during the Clone Wars as Anakin, after secret marriage to Padmé but before mother's death"

DEVELOPMENT STAGE: Conflicted Jedi struggling with attachment
CRITICAL EVENTS: Secret marriage creating internal guilt and fear
KNOWLEDGE STATE: Unaware of Palpatine's true nature, believing in Jedi ideals while breaking them
PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE: Hopeful but anxious, still believing he can have both love and duty

Gap-Filling Within Snapshots: Your snapshot defines what canon information exists at that moment. Everything else becomes a gap you need to fill logically based on their psychology at that specific point in time.

You must actively fill these gaps with believable extrapolations that fit the existing canon, or you’ll create jarring inconsistencies when the character encounters situations their source material never addressed.

Example: Game Character Gaps

Take someone like Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII:

• What we know: Stoic warrior, traumatic past, complicated relationship with identity, skilled with massive swords
• What we don’t know: How does he handle mundane conversations? What’s his sense of humor like? How does he react to flirtation? What are his table manners? Does he understand modern technology?

Wrong Gap-Filling:

Cloud becomes chatty and sociable in casual situations because "he's learned to open up"

This violates his canonical introversion and emotional guardedness.

Right Gap-Filling:

Cloud remains economical with words in casual situations but shows care through actions rather than conversation. His humor emerges as dry, understated observations. He's awkward with flirtation but not hostile. He treats technology like weapons—learns what he needs to function, ignores the rest.

The Logical Extrapolation Method

For every gap, ask: “Given what we know about this character’s psychology, how would they logically handle this unknown situation?”

Sasuke Uchiha Extrapolation Example:

Known Canon Traits:

• Obsessed with gaining power
• Struggles with emotional vulnerability
• Highly competitive
• Values strength above social connection
• Has abandonment trauma

Gap-Filling Questions:

• How does he handle being sick or injured?
• What’s his reaction to surprise parties?
• How does he deal with people who are persistently friendly?
• What happens when he encounters something he’s genuinely bad at?

Logical Extrapolations:

Illness/Injury: Sasuke hides weakness obsessively, trains through pain, gets angry when forced to rest. Views physical vulnerability as unacceptable failure.

Surprise Parties: Extremely uncomfortable with group attention focused on him personally rather than his abilities. Likely to leave quickly or turn it into a competition somehow.

Persistent Friendliness: Initially suspicious of motives, then annoyed by what he sees as weakness or naivety. May grudgingly respect those who maintain kindness despite his hostility.

Personal Failures: Becomes obsessive about mastering whatever he's bad at, potentially neglecting other areas. Takes failure as personal attack on his worth.

Game Character Specific Challenges

Game characters often have the most gaps because gameplay focuses on combat/mechanics rather than personality development.

Combat-Only Characters: Many game characters are only defined through fighting styles, special moves, and brief cutscenes.

Example: Ryu from Street Fighter

• Canon: Disciplined martial artist seeking to become stronger, travels constantly, values honor in combat
• Gaps: Everything about his personality outside fighting contexts

Gap-Filling Strategy:

Ryu approaches all aspects of life with martial arts discipline—he eats simple foods that fuel training, sleeps on minimal comfort because luxury makes you soft, treats every challenge like training for something greater. His social interactions follow dojo etiquette even in casual settings.

His constant travel lifestyle creates fascinating psychological patterns: he's adaptable to new environments but forms no deep local attachments. Never owns more than he can carry in one bag. Reads people and situations quickly because survival depends on rapid assessment. Shows respect through attention and effort rather than emotional expression. Views teaching as highest form of honor, but never stays long enough to see students' full development—a source of hidden regret he doesn't acknowledge.

How does someone who never settles down handle: 
- Loneliness vs. freedom tension
- Money management across different currencies/economies  
- Language barriers and cultural misunderstandings
- Medical care when injured far from home
- Maintaining equipment and clothing on the road
- Forming temporary connections while avoiding deep attachments
- Dealing with homesickness for a home that doesn't exist

This is where creators can really shine: Taking simple canonical facts like “travels constantly” and exploring all the rich psychological and practical implications that the source material never addressed. These gaps become opportunities for deep character development that feels authentic while being entirely original.

Visual Novel/Dating Sim Characters: These characters often have defined romantic routes but undefined general personality.

Example: Any Persona character

• Canon: Specific relationship dynamics, school life, supernatural involvement
• Gaps: How they handle non-school, non-supernatural, non-romantic situations

The Consistency Check Method

After filling gaps, test your extrapolations:

1. Does this contradict anything explicitly shown in canon?
2. Would fans recognize this as the same character?
3. Do the new traits support or clash with existing personality patterns?
4. Can I trace a logical path from canon traits to new behaviors?

Example: Filling Gaps for Hermione Granger

Gap: How does she interact with her parents? What’s her relationship with the muggle world she came from?

Bad Fill: She easily bridges both worlds and maintains perfect relationships with her non-magical parents Why it fails: Ignores the inherent tension of living between two completely different worlds

Good Fill: She loves her parents but struggles to share her most important experiences with them. Becomes slightly condescending about muggle solutions to problems magic can solve instantly. Feels guilty about the growing distance but doesn’t know how to bridge it. Overcompensates by explaining magical concepts in dental terms. Why it works: Reflects her canonical need to educate others, her logical mind trying to solve emotional problems, and the realistic strain of living between two worlds

Every canon character has Character DNA—the fundamental psychological architecture that remains constant regardless of circumstances. Then there’s Character Expression—how that DNA manifests in different situations.

Character DNA: What Never Changes

• Core values and moral framework
• Fundamental fears and desires
• Basic personality structure and decision-making patterns
• Emotional regulation and coping mechanisms
• Relationship patterns and attachment styles

Character Expression: What Adapts to Circumstances

• Specific behaviors and mannerisms
• Current goals and priorities
• Knowledge base and skills
• Social role and responsibilities
• Environmental responses and survival strategies

Example: Hermione Granger’s DNA vs Expression

Character DNA (Always Present):

• Needs to understand systems completely before feeling secure
• Values knowledge as both tool and source of self-worth
• Approaches problems through research and preparation
• Fears being useless or uninformed
• Shows care by solving others’ problems

Character Expression (Changes with Context):

• In Hogwarts: Obsessive studying, rule-following, academic achievement
• In war scenario: Strategic planning, resource management, protective spells
• In post-war career: Professional competence, mentoring, systematic reform
• In survival situation: Knowledge hoarding, group organization, practical problem-solving

The Three-Layer Canon Adaptation Method

Layer 1: Canonical Foundation (What LLMs Already Know)

Start with what the AI already understands about your character. LLMs have deep knowledge of popular characters’ canonical behavior patterns—don’t reinvent the wheel when the AI already knows Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant, arrogant detective with a drug problem.

Leverage Existing Knowledge:

Sherlock Holmes operates with his canonical deductive methodology, social awkwardness, and obsession with interesting cases.

This gives you the foundation without having to re-explain that he’s smart, rude, and gets bored easily. The AI automatically loads: detective skills, cocaine addiction tendencies, Watson codependency, boredom with mundane problems, dramatic flair, and emotional detachment patterns. It’s like getting a character starter pack—assembly required, but all the parts are included.

Layer 2: Contextual Adaptation (How Canon Traits Manifest in New Situations)

Specify how their canonical psychology applies to your scenario.

Modern Day Sherlock:

Holmes applies his deductive obsession to cybercrime, treats digital forensics like Victorian crime scenes, and experiences withdrawal from overstimulation instead of cocaine. His need for Watson becomes dependency on someone who can navigate social media and modern technology he finds tedious but necessary.

Apocalypse Sherlock:

Holmes treats survival scenarios like elaborate puzzles, analyzes human behavioral patterns under stress, and becomes fascinated with the sociology of civilization collapse. His detective skills translate to tracking, resource location, and predicting human group dynamics. Still insufferably smug about being right, just now about which water sources are contaminated.

Layer 3: Character Growth Without DNA Violation (Evolution That Makes Sense)

Show how extreme circumstances might develop their existing traits without fundamentally changing who they are.

Therapy-Experienced Sherlock:

Holmes maintains his deductive obsession but learns to apply it to his own psychological patterns. Still emotionally distant but now consciously chooses when to engage feelings vs. when to detach. Recognizes his own manipulation tactics and either warns people ("I'm about to be insufferable") or deliberately restrains himself. Has developed the world's most analytical approach to emotional intelligence.

Non-Canon Scenario Frameworks

The Alternate Timeline Method

Take a canonical character and explore how different circumstances would shape their expression while maintaining their core psychology.

Example: Darth Vader Who Never Burned

Canonical DNA Preserved:

• Needs control due to deep fear of loss
• Powerful emotions drive both attachment and destruction
• Protective instincts twisted by past trauma
• Brilliant tactical mind focused on eliminating threats
• Struggles with authority while craving approval

Timeline Alteration: Anakin defeats Obi-Wan on Mustafar without suffering physical injury, but still loses Padmé and falls to the dark side.

New Expression:

This Vader maintains physical grace and uses charm as a weapon rather than relying on intimidation through fear. His anger burns cold rather than hot—he's a calculating predator who dismantles enemies systematically rather than exploding in rage. Without constant physical pain, his connection to the Force is stronger but more subtle. He rules through political manipulation and strategic alliances rather than brute force.

Still obsessed with preventing loss, but now focuses on controlling galactic systems rather than individual people. His protective instincts manifest as eliminating entire potential threats before they can develop rather than reactive violence. Basically, he becomes the galaxy's most overprotective control freak with godlike powers.

The Post-Canon Development Method

Explore how canonical characters might grow beyond their original story’s endpoint.

Example: Post-War Hermione Granger (10 Years Later)

Canonical DNA Preserved:

• Knowledge-seeking as security mechanism
• Problem-solving through research and preparation
• Care expressed through fixing others’ situations
• Need to be useful and competent
• Systematic approach to complex challenges

Post-Canon Growth:

Hermione has learned to distinguish between problems she can solve and problems she needs to accept—a revelation that required approximately 847 books and several nervous breakdowns to achieve. Her research obsession now includes studying her own psychological patterns, because if you're going to have anxiety, you might as well have academically rigorous anxiety.

Still approaches relationships by trying to fix people's problems, but now recognizes when she's doing it and asks permission first. Her care language remains "let me research this for you," but she's learned to offer emotional support alongside practical solutions—though she delivers both with footnotes.

Maintains her systematic approach but has developed tolerance for ambiguity and incomplete information. Can now say "I don't know, and that's okay" without experiencing physical pain, though her eye still twitches slightly.

The Crossover Adaptation Method

Place canonical characters in completely different universes while maintaining their psychological authenticity.

Example: Tony Stark in Medieval Fantasy Setting

Canonical DNA Preserved:

• Genius-level intellect focused on technological solutions
• Uses humor and arrogance to mask deep insecurities
• Compulsive need to fix problems, especially those he caused
• Daddy issues manifesting as need to prove worth
• Self-destructive tendencies when feeling powerless

Fantasy Adaptation:

Lord Antonio of House Stark, master artificer and inventor of magical devices. Creates enchanted armor instead of Iron Man suits, treats magic like engineering principles to be understood and optimized. His workshop is filled with failed magical experiments and revolutionary enchanted tools that either work brilliantly or explode spectacularly—sometimes both.

Still uses snark and intellectual superiority to deflect emotional vulnerability. Instead of PTSD from alien invasion, struggles with trauma from demonic incursion he accidentally caused through magical experimentation. Daddy issues now center on living up to his legendary artificer father's reputation while secretly believing he's a fraud with fancy tools.

Approaches magic like technology—dissects spells to understand their mechanics, creates magical equivalents of modern devices, and constantly seeks to improve on traditional enchanting methods. Other mages find him insufferably innovative, like a tech bro who showed up to a medieval guild meeting with a PowerPoint presentation.

Common Canon Character Mistakes

Mistake 1: Wiki Dump Character Building

Wrong Approach:

Hermione Granger: 19 years old, brown hair, brown eyes, born September 19th, parents are dentists, best friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, excellent at magic, good grades, fought in the war against Voldemort...

Right Approach:

Hermione approaches every problem like a research project—she needs to understand the complete system before feeling secure enough to act. This manifests as over-preparation for simple tasks and genuine distress when forced to operate with incomplete information.

Mistake 2: Surface Trait Focus

Wrong Approach:

Sherlock Holmes: Deduces things, plays violin, does drugs, lives with Watson

Right Approach:

Holmes requires constant intellectual stimulation to avoid crushing boredom and self-destructive behavior. He treats human emotion like a foreign language he's learned to translate but not truly speak.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Character DNA in New Scenarios

Wrong Approach:

In modern times, Darth Vader becomes a nice guy who learns to manage his anger through therapy and yoga.

Right Approach:

Modern Vader channels his need for control through corporate manipulation and systematic elimination of business rivals. Still driven by fear of loss, but now focuses on controlling markets and information rather than planets.

Mistake 4: Canonical Scene Repetition

Wrong Approach: Character only knows how to recreate moments from their original story

Right Approach: Character applies their canonical psychology to entirely new situations and relationships

Advanced Non-Canon Techniques

The Psychological Divergence Point Method

Identify the exact moment where your alternate version diverges from canon, then trace how that single change ripples through their psychology.

Example: Light Yagami Who Never Found the Death Note

Divergence Point: Someone else picks up the Death Note first

Psychological Ripple Effects:

Light maintains his god complex but has no outlet for it, leading to obsession with achieving power through legal means. Becomes prosecutor focused on death penalty cases, treating courtroom victories like the judgments he always wanted to make.

His sense of justice becomes even more rigid because he's forced to work within systems he considers flawed. Develops elaborate theories about how society should be restructured, but has no supernatural means to implement them.

Still attracted to the Kira case but now as someone who secretly admires the killer's efficiency while publicly condemning the methods. Internal conflict between his desire to BE Kira and his role in stopping Kira creates fascinating psychological tension.

The Fusion Adaptation Method

Combine canonical character psychology with different universe rules or power systems.

Example: Tyrion Lannister in Superhero Universe

Power Adaptation:

Tyrion gains telepathic abilities that let him read thoughts but not control them. His canonical wit becomes even sharper because he can see the subtext behind everything people say.

His psychological need to outthink larger, stronger opponents becomes literal advantage—he wins through superior information rather than physical prowess. Still drinks heavily, but now partly to quiet the constant mental noise from other people's thoughts.

Uses powers subtly for political manipulation, exactly as he would use any other tool. Never becomes traditional superhero because his worldview remains focused on family loyalty and political survival rather than abstract justice.

The Temporal Displacement Method

Take characters from their canonical time period and explore how their psychology adapts to radically different eras.

Example: Pride and Prejudice Characters in Modern Dating App Era

Elizabeth Bennet:

Elizabeth swipes left on obvious wealth displays and right on wit in bio text. Her canonical judgmental tendencies translate to harsh critique of social media personas versus authentic personality. Still makes snap decisions about people based on limited information, but now based on dating profiles rather than ballroom behavior.

Her sharp tongue becomes brutal texting game—she'll roast matches who send generic opening lines. Values intelligence and humor over status symbols, leading to interesting conflicts with modern materialism.

Mr. Darcy:

Darcy creates minimal social media presence—expensive but understated photos, no captions explaining anything. His canonical pride manifests as refusing to play social media games or chase online validation.

Still struggles with expressing feelings but now through awkward text messages instead of formal letters. His grand romantic gesture becomes perfectly crafted Instagram story rather than mansion tour.

Testing Canon Character Authenticity

The Personality Stress Test

Put your canon character in situations their original story never explored. Their response should feel completely authentic to their canonical psychology while being entirely new.

Test Questions:

• How does this character handle modern technology?
• What’s their response to a moral dilemma their original story never addressed?
• How do they react to someone who’s completely unlike anyone from their canonical relationships?
• What happens when their usual coping mechanisms don’t work?

The Voice Authenticity Check

Can you hear their canonical voice in new dialogue?

Hermione Granger Test:

Original: “Books! And cleverness! There are more important things—friendship and bravery!”

New scenario: “Research and preparation are valuable, but they’re meaningless if you don’t have people worth protecting with that knowledge.”

Both show her canonical tendency to intellectualize emotions while ultimately valuing relationships over achievements.

The Decision Pattern Test

Does your character make choices using their canonical decision-making framework?

Tony Stark Pattern:

1. Identifies problem (usually one he helped create)
2. Applies technological solution while making jokes
3. Refuses help from others while secretly craving approval
4. Creates bigger problems through overconfidence
5. Sacrifices himself to fix what he broke

This pattern should hold true whether he’s building Iron Man suits or magical artifacts.

Non-Canon Relationship Dynamics

Canonical Character + New Relationships

How do their established relationship patterns manifest with entirely new people?

Sherlock Holmes + Modern Tech Support:

Holmes treats IT specialists like he treats Scotland Yard—intellectually inferior but occasionally useful for their specialized knowledge. Becomes obsessed with understanding how they solve technical problems and starts incorporating their logical troubleshooting methods into his deductive process.

Frustrated that technology problems can't be solved through pure observation and reasoning. Develops grudging respect for people who can fix things he can't understand, leading to unusual friendships based on mutual professional competence.

Cross-Canon Character Interactions

How do characters from different universes interact while maintaining their authentic personalities?

Hermione Granger + Tony Stark:

Hermione is simultaneously fascinated and frustrated by Tony's intuitive engineering approach—he creates breakthrough technology through inspiration rather than systematic research, which violates everything she believes about proper methodology.

Tony finds Hermione's thorough preparation both impressive and exhausting. He respects her competence but can't understand why she needs to research everything instead of just building something and seeing if it works.

Both are know-it-alls, but Hermione knows things through study while Tony knows things through experimentation. Their arguments about proper problem-solving approaches become the foundation for reluctant mutual respect.

What’s Next

You now understand how to adapt canonical characters for new scenarios while preserving their essential authenticity. You can create non-canon versions that feel genuine to fans while exploring completely new territory for storytelling and character development.

The key is understanding that canonical characters aren’t static collections of traits—they’re dynamic psychological systems that can be applied to infinite new situations while maintaining their core identity. Master this, and you can bring any beloved character into any scenario while keeping them recognizably themselves.