Obsidian Character Template for Writers, Worldbuilding and D&D

An Obsidian character template is one Markdown note per character, with properties for role, status and faction at the top and headings for what you need while writing: wants, flaws, voice, relationships and arc. Save it in a Templates folder, turn on the core Templates plugin, and every new character starts the same way.

This page has three free templates: a story character, a D&D or TTRPG NPC, and a worldbuilding location. They use only core Templates variables, so they work in a fresh vault with no community plugins. The last section shows how AI can fill a character note from your draft chapters.

Checked on November 3, 2026 against Obsidian 1.15.

Download the templates as .md files: Character, NPC and Location.

The character template

Create a note in your Templates folder called Character and paste this in. Name each new character note after the character, so {{title}} becomes their name.

---
tags:
  - character
role: Supporting
status: Alive
age:
pronouns:
faction: "[[]]"
location: "[[]]"
first_appearance: "[[]]"
created: "{{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}"
---

# {{title}}

> One line: who they are and what they want.

## At a glance
- Appearance:
- Occupation:
- Lives in:

## Wants and needs
- Wants (what they chase):
- Needs (what would actually help):
- Fear:
- Flaw:

## Personality
-

## Voice
- How they talk:
- Words they would never use:
- A line only they would say:

## Backstory
-

## Relationships
- [[]]:

## Arc
- Start:
- Turning point:
- End:

## Scenes

```base
filters:
  and:
    - file.hasLink(this.file)
    - '!file.hasTag("character")'
views:
  - type: table
    name: Appears in
    order:
      - file.name
      - file.mtime
    sort:
      - property: file.name
        direction: ASC
```

## Open questions
- [ ]

The base block at the end lists every note that links to this character, such as the chapters or session notes they appear in. It needs the core Bases plugin, Obsidian 1.9 or later. Delete it if you don't use Bases.

Use links in properties, like faction: "[[House Veyra]]", and those notes show the character in their backlinks.

D&D and TTRPG NPC template

A game master needs something different from a novelist: what the NPC knows, what they want from the party, and what happened last time.

---
tags:
  - npc
attitude: Neutral
status: Alive
location: "[[]]"
faction: "[[]]"
first_seen: "[[]]"
---

# {{title}}

> Look, voice and one mannerism, read aloud in a sentence.

## Role in the campaign
-

## Wants from the party
-

## Knows
-

## Secrets
- [ ]

## Stats
- Uses stat block:
- Notes:

## Session log
- {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}:

Tick a secret off when the party learns it. attitude can be Friendly, Neutral or Hostile, so a base can group your NPCs by how they see the party.

Worldbuilding location template

---
tags:
  - location
type: City
region: "[[]]"
ruled_by: "[[]]"
---

# {{title}}

> What a traveller notices first.

## Description
-

## History
-

## People
- [[]]

## Places inside
- [[]]

## Hooks and conflicts
-

## Appears in
-

type can be anything you need: City, Tavern, Planet, Ship. Keep the same spelling everywhere so filters and Bases views find every note.

Add a template with core Templates

Templates is a core plugin, so it ships with Obsidian.

1. Create a folder called Templates in your vault and put the template notes in it, or download them above.
2. Open Settings → Core plugins and turn on Templates.
3. Under Settings → Templates → Template folder location, choose Templates.
4. Create a note named after the character, then select Insert template in the left ribbon or run Templates: Insert template from the command palette, and pick Character.

{{title}} becomes the note's name and {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}} today's date. If the note already has properties, Obsidian merges the template's into them.

To apply the template on its own to every note in a Characters folder, use the free Templater plugin's folder templates. Our Templater examples show how, including a template that asks for the name first.

Keep a cast list

Create a base from Bases: Create new base, open it as text and paste this to get one table of every character, grouped by role:

filters:
  and:
    - file.hasTag("character")
    - '!file.inFolder("Templates")'
views:
  - type: table
    name: Cast
    groupBy:
      property: note.role
      direction: ASC
    order:
      - file.name
      - status
      - faction
      - first_appearance

Our Obsidian Bases guide explains filters, views and Kanban boards in more detail.

Fill a character note with AI

The template is the easy part. Keeping 40 characters up to date with what you actually wrote is the slow part, and it is a good job for AI.

SystemSculpt is a free Obsidian plugin that puts an AI chat in a side pane of your vault. On desktop it can run your own signed-in Claude Code or Codex, with no SystemSculpt account.

1. Install SystemSculpt AI from Obsidian's community plugins and run Open SystemSculpt Chat.
2. Type @ and attach your Character template, then the chapters or session notes the character appears in.
3. Ask for the note. For example:

Create Characters/Mara Voss.md from @Character, filled in only
from what @Chapter 1, @Chapter 2 and @Chapter 3 say about her.
Leave a field blank if the chapters don't say, and list anything
that contradicts itself under Open questions.

The result is a plain Markdown note in your vault with the template's properties filled in, so it shows up in your cast list. Pick Ask mode in the run line (Ask before edits with Claude Code) to approve the file before it is written.

The same works for a continuity check: attach a character note and a new chapter and ask what changed or doesn't match. The notes the AI reads go to the provider of the AI you chose.

Questions

Is there a character template built into Obsidian? No. Obsidian has a core Templates plugin but ships no templates. Copy one from this page into your Templates folder.

How do I make a character sheet in Obsidian? Make one note per character from a template like the one above. Put facts you want to sort or filter by, such as role and status, in properties, and everything else under headings.

Can I use this for D&D? Yes. Use the NPC template for characters the party meets, and the location template for places. Many game masters keep session notes in the same vault and link NPCs from them.

Should each character be its own note? Yes. One note per character lets you link them from chapters and other characters, and see every mention in backlinks.

Do I need Templater or Dataview? No. These templates use only core Templates variables, and the cast list uses the core Bases plugin.

Does it work on mobile? Yes. Core Templates and Bases both work in Obsidian's mobile apps.

Install SystemSculpt free from the Obsidian plugin directory, or compare its plans for hosted AI on your phone. Eligible new accounts can claim 500 one-time starter credits with no card; paid plans are $9 a month or $90 a year.

Sources

Checked November 3, 2026.

• Obsidian: Templates, Properties, Introduction to Bases, Bases syntax
• Obsidian changelog