Template:HeroBox

The HeroBox as presented here is a template with a lot of placeholders for the most basic of data on a character. It's grown a good bit since my first experiments with the now-retired Stranglebox template and this has made it necessary to offer some documentation on its use.

How to use the HeroBox/VillainBox
The long and involved process works thusly. If you just want the Box, go directly to the Cheat Sheet.

Trigger the use of the HeroBox/VillainBox on your page if you plan to include it. At the top of your edit window, enter:

{{HeroBox or {{VillainBox

Below that, you'll want to fill out all the parameters that you can fill out or care to fill out. For this, you'll need the name of the parameter that corresponds to the field you'll want to fill; in most cases, the parameter names are the same as the name of the field, but they differ in some. A complete list can be found below. The format for filling in a parameter is as follows:

| parameter = value eg. | name = Herodude

This will replace the {{{name}}} placeholder in the original HeroBox/VillainBox with 'Herodude'. Each parameter should be put in a new line for ease of parsing and debugging in case something goes wrong.

The last four fields of the HeroBox/VillainBox use a smaller font because they're designed for a potentially long list of additions. How you fill the Powers, Abilities and Equipment fields and whether you want to add any footnotes is essentially up to you, but for easiest readability, you'll want to offer single terms that summarize some or all of your character's applicable capabilities there. This could still be a veritable laundry list of things, or it could be as simple as an entry saying 'Pheromone-Based Mind Control' or whatever. Either way, the main body of the page allows sufficient room to expand on things, the HeroBox/VillainBox is mostly meant for an at-a-glance summary of the most important character data.

Close the Template. This is done by appending the following at the end of your list:

|}}

And with this, you're set.

List of Parameters

 * image - Character image. Should not be wider than 300 pixels. If it's too wide (or too small) it will be automatically shrunken (or expanded) to the appropriate size (but clicking on the image will display the actual image rather than the adjusted version). If you have no image, don't include this parameter and it will default to a placeholder image instead.
 * caption - Text that goes right beneath the image, if you think the image requires further commentary. If not, don't include this parameter and there will be no blank space between picture and name.
 * name - Your character's name. This will appear in big bold letters.
 * created by - However you'd like to identify yourself. Ideally, you'll want to make this a link to your user topic (User:Yourname, eg. User:EliteMaster117).


 * origin - Your character's Origin (Magic, Mutant, Natural, Science, Technology). Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.


 * realname - Your character's civilian Identiy. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.
 * aliases - Any other names (civilian or heroic/villainous) your character may be using. Defaults to 'None' if not further specified.
 * species - Your character's species. This is mostly important for aliens, sentient fungi and the like. Defaults to 'Presumed Human' if not further specified.
 * age - Your character's age in human (solar) years. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.
 * status - Your characters status. Is he/she alive? or dead?
 * height - Your character's height in feet and inches (I prefer the metric system myself, but since COH/COV defaults to imperial and for the sake of uniformity, feet and inches are preferable). Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.
 * weight - Your character's weight in pounds (see height). Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.
 * eyes - Your character's eye color. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.
 * hair - Your character's hair color. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.


 * nationality - The country of interstellar empire your character claims citizenship of. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.
 * occupation - What your character does for a living. 'Professional Crimefighter', 'Adventurer', 'Career Criminal' etc. are thoroughly legit occupations. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.
 * birthplace - Where your character was born. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.
 * hometown - Your character's current residence and stomping ground. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.
 * marital - Whether your character is single, engaged, married, widowed or whatever other forms of voluntary slavery there are between two people. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.
 * relatives - What kind of (relevant) relatives your character has or had. Most likely you'll want to limit this to any important characters that appear in stories or RP (such as Ascendant's uncle and manager). Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.


 * powers - A place for a short listing of the powers your character possesses, eg. 'Weather Control'. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.


 * abilities - A place for short notes on your character's non-superhuman abilities, eg. 'Black Belt Karateka'. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.


 * equipment - A place to mention any notable equipment your character carries around, eg. 'Nemesis Staff carried at all times'. Defaults to 'Confidential' if not further specified.


 * footnotes - Room for any notes you want available at a glance that aren't covered by the above categories.

The HeroBox/VillainBox Cheat Sheet
Just copy/paste the below list into your character's Edit box. Just remove either the word HeroBox or VillainBox, whichever is not applicable and fill in any categories that you might care to fill in. Leave all other lines blank or delete them.