Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
-Mark Twain-

When a new campaign starts, I sometimes get scenarios like this at the table:

DM: So if we would look at your character, what would we see?
Player: Uhm, a Halfling Rogue.
DM: What does this Halfling look like?
Player: You know, short. Has leather armor.
DM: What does the armor look like?
Player: Uhm… Brown.

That’s not very descriptive or interesting, is it? As far as that description goes, this Halfling might as well have a plain leather corset on and is butt-naked when it comes to anything else. Plus, nobody can see that this character is what they call a Rogue, we can only assume what it’s good at depending on what it’s equipped with. When it comes to first impressions, this won’t do. Being aware of how one dresses themselves can open up a ton of improvements and positive possibilities.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not encouraging five-minute-long detailed descriptions such as in the My Immortal fanfiction nor am I going to give you a list of clothing articles and fashion faux-pas. I’m not an expert, I’m just a guy who read The Kinowear Bible among other guides and learned that the details matter while still being free to express yourself with confidence. What matters here is how your character is portrayed and how it expresses what’s on the inside.
The third note is that it’s a fantasy game and not medieval reenactment. I’m not bashing people over the head with facts nor am I saying that it is essential to do this in order to have fun. But will you know if you haven’t tried it? Would you be satisfied with a plain description in the long run? Would people treat your character better if they see that it takes care of itself? There’s only one way to find out and that’s to try it for yourself.

The Difference Between Equipped And Wearing

See, the most important parts are the ones that are unseen. The wings don’t make you fly, and the crown don’t make you king.
-Lupe Fiasco-

The equipment that your character is wearing is only the most broadly defined bare minimum of items that it wears. When you say you’re wearing armor, is it a bunch of shiny metal plates or is it a set of chains? And even if it is chainmail, is it just chains everywhere, is it with a tabard, or is it completely covered with some hints towards it? Clothing is more than what you slap onto your body. Clothing wraps around the body and you are free to add some articles if it doesn’t influence the rules of the game. Armor is mostly about what is on the torso, you’re free to add some headwear or cloth to it. Nowhere in the books will it say that you have to add ‘eye patch’, ‘scarf’, or ‘glasses’ onto your character sheet. And nobody will object to adding such a detail. Your character lived longer than the initial creation, so it’s fine to look a bit further beyond the bare-bones items that it gets.
In order to add more interesting details to items and articles, you need to do some homework. Yes, you’re playing a game, not doing homework, but it’s not really homework homework. If you have an idea or want to expand on something, then history has the answers for you. Most fantasy settings are close to the end of the medieval era. Knights in armor didn’t exist for long and cities stopped building walls when the cannon was invented. But you can bet that if it existed, people found a way to make it work. Many clothing articles have different names and I can’t name them all, so it’s up to you to increase your knowledge and vocabulary to paint a picture in someone else’s mind.

Morphology

I’m more proud of my upper body. Let’s just say I’m a typical female in that way.
-Erika Christensen-

We are born with a body and we’re stuck with it until we die. Every body comes in differing shapes and sizes but it can develop changes in the span of time depending on how it is treated. A lot of people like to think that there is a single line from fat to muscular, this is unfortunately false. You can be muscular and fat at the same time. The bodybuilders you see have largely developed muscles and a low body fat percentage. Exercise alone doesn’t turn fat into muscles. So from that, what is your character’s morphology? Race tends to favor certain body shapes. Halflings are short with curly hair and have a big belly, Elves are lithe and their hair is straight, Dwarves are stout, broad, and tough, and Humans can be anything in between.

Body Types

Body types come in generally three categories: Ectomorphic, Mesomorphic, and Endomorphic. Ectomorphic bodies have a relatively fast metabolism, are skinny, and have little muscle development. This body has trouble developing muscle more than trying to stay skinny. Endomorphic bodies, on the other hand, have a slow metabolism and can easily gain weight but also muscle. They need to watch their calorie intake and do more cardio in order to get in shape. And then we have the Mesomorphic type which is that category in between. A balanced metabolism allows for regular training but also gets none of the benefits. All of these types can get fit, yet need adjusted methods of getting in shape and even then it’s relative how ‘in shape’ will look like.
A woman’s body goes beyond this. Their body language is more dynamic, fluent, and inter-combinational and their bodies accommodate that with general shapes called Hourglass, Rectangle, Apple, Pear, and Triangle. The trick to dealing with this is to put emphasis on visual weight. If you put a scarf on, it will guide the eyes more to the torso and away from the hips. Yet, if you have a large bust and small hips then it will look top-heavy. So take a purse instead to even that out. The same works with bright colors and patterns.

Faces

Faces are very diverse and are used by humans to recognize each other. The most common misconception that I’ve heard is that people with long hair are women and someone can only be a man if they have a stubble. It really goes to much more detail than this as there are masculine men with long hair and hardly a stubble on their chin. Gender can show itself in many ways such as the protrusion of the brow, the size of the nose bridge, the roundness/roughness of the law line, the thickness of the eyebrows, the length of the eyelashes, and possibly the appearance of an adam’s apple. You can recognize a gender at first glance most of the time even when the person’s head is completely shaved.
Even if you’re not so hot on the details or describing faces, you can still pick from the following shapes: round, square, oval, heart, diamond, oblong, and triangle. These faces can exist through the combination of the jawline, cheekbones, and forehead shape. They only work on human-like faces, though. A Dwarf would have a more rugged bone structure and a strong nose bridge, an Elf would have more refined features, and a Gnome would have a remarkably large nose. So next time when describing the face, you can just set for a shape, mention the eyes and hair, and the rest are details.
Hair, though, is seen as four colors: blonde, red, brown, and black. This is also from a human perspective, and it’s heavily generalized. Plenty of people with dark hair are thought to have black hair, but it’s actually very dark brown. Some hair seems light brown but is called dark blonde which falls under a gold-colored category. You don’t need to go into such detail, but mentioning if the character has platinum blonde and dirt blonde hair can add to the picture. The same can be said of hair types. Where is your character’s hair from straight to curly? How is it kept? And what does it do to the overall shape of the face?

Fit, Quality, and Cut

Style = (Knowledge + Fun) ^Originality
-Kinowear Bible-

Ask anyone about the three most essential parts about clothing and they might tell you color, size, and price. It’s understandable where that comes from, but it’s not entirely right. If the clothes are of the right fit, the right quality, and the right cut, then you can debate over the color and the price.

Fit

What I mean by the fit is that it fits the body as exactly as possible. The shoulder seams should be at the corners of the shoulders, the pants should fit with the extra space of two finger widths, a hat is not meant to squeeze the head tight or fall in front of the eyes.
A smaller size can look constricted and easily tears. People with clothes that are too small look like they are about to pop out and constantly feel like they are suffocating. People who wear clothing that is too large look awkward and give off a strong sign that they don’t know what they are doing in the social sense.

Quality

Quality is about the material. Pinch your clothing and rub it between your fingers, now look for a different article of clothing and do the same. Do they feel the same? Look at the label to see what it is made of. Try to see which ones are more expensive and if there is any detail added to the fabric. Chances are that the finer articles have softer fabrics weaved in the threads. You can feel it, see it, and notice it by how strong the color is of the article.
The moment the cotton gin was invented, people could finally wear clothing that wasn’t made from itchy wool but from the more breathable and softer cotton extract. Cotton clothing existed in medieval times but the plants were harder to manage in winter, most people had to work with wool, linen, silk, hemp, fur, and leather. Any of these can be combined and woven in different ways, but the price of the material could still be favored by those who could afford it.

Cut

The cut is often confused with the size. You can have skinny fit, slim fit, regular fit, and baggy fit with all the exact same size but they still feel different or some might not fit at all. You can have short but broad legs so skinny fit won’t be a good choice, and buying a large size and argue that it’ll be baggy anyway is a poor excuse.
It’s important to know what the occasion is for the clothing. Work clothes can get dirty and might tear at the seams so it’s better to keep it short and easy to move in. Ballroom clothes are not for hard labor but for grabbing attention so it’s fine if it hangs loose or tight in places if worn for just one day.

Warrior vs Mage

Let me say whichever superhero first came up with the idea of wearing a cape, he wasn’t really onto anything good. The number of times I’m treading on that damn thing or I throw a punch and it ends up covering my whole head. It’s really not practical.
-Christian Bale-

This is a detail that is often ignored for cinematic reasons but I want to address it. If you are a rough-and-tumble dirty-fingernail kind of warrior, then wearing any loose garb or accessory is an easy hazard to get grabbed or caught on. Imagine having a dangling earring and someone just yanks at it, possibly tearing your ear in half. The same counts for hair, tails, scarfs, and dangling belts. Yes, it looks cool and is done for cinematic reasons such as dynamic movements, but for the sake of congruency, make your warrior have the least amount of dangly bits as possible. Keep hair short or tie it up, keep belts tucked in, tuck pendants underneath the shirt, and leave that armor dress for festive occasions.
What is wrong with this picture? No, it’s not the anatomy. It’s not the magic. It’s not the environment, either. It’s the chest. Any woman who has practiced archery will know what I mean. If she would’ve held that bowstring any further back, she’d whip it against her chest on release, cutting off flesh and risking a misfire. It is said that the women of the amazon would amputate their right breast in order to become an archer. Yet, I recommend a chest guard for such things. There is a certain awe and strength in feminine beauty and wild chaotic combat that demands focus, causes bleeding, and inflicts pain is no place for someone who is dressed in a delicate manner. Plenty of media force feminine power as showing off skin or having an intimidating sex appeal. Yet what is really important when trying to portray physical beauty is the silhouette. You can be dressed for the occasion and still show off the goods. Sure, it’s not as elegant as a ball gown, but that’s not what armor is meant for. (Don’t worry, Samus, you’re a babe no matter what you wear.)
Does that mean that mages get more freedom in what they’re wearing? Well, yes and no. Armor is constricting, can weigh down delicate movements, restricts breathing, and doesn’t even have pockets to boot. In order to wear armor you need to train and get used to how to move in it. Most mages don’t have the time for such training. So you will see mages either in loose robes or perhaps common clothes in order not to look too conspicuous.
Another aspect of how mages dress is because they are associated with ceremonies. What they wear usually symbolizes something such as purity, a connection to the mystical, a dedication to the practice, or the tools necessary to perform the casting of a spell. It’s sometimes worn to drive the mystical feeling of it home.

Color

I had a man come to me and he said, ‘Bob, I could never paint because I’m colorblind.’ So I thought today we’d do a picture in gray, just to show you that anyone can paint.
-Bob Ross, The Joy of Painting S2E4-

Back in medieval times, being able to dye your clothing in a certain color was almost a luxury. Even the ability to dye drab white wool to a true stark white was a symbol of status. The materials needed to create dye ranged from wood bark to onion skins. Truly strong colors that lasted longer took longer to make and with more expensive methods. Strong bright red and green were often considered royal colors that were only allowed by nobility to wear. And then there’s purple, made from the guts of sea snails which were hard to find and would offer a steep price. This is why very few national flags have purple in them. So the common folk did have colors, but they were often drab, faded, and the poorest had common colors such as dull gray, boring beige, wool white, and dirty brown.
Nowadays, the darker you can make your clothing look, the more expensive it looks. Adding a darker tone to color means mixing more dye into it. Expensive clothing has a good dye technique that can set the dye strongly in the fabric. Cheap clothing is often cheaply dyed and looks a bit drab and gray-ish. Whatever you are going for, being completely in black might sound cool but isn’t stylish at all. Even assassins would add something to it.
Combining colors shouldn’t be rocket science. You can always start with the combinations of white, grey, black, blue, and brown in any combination. Combining these colors is safe and hard to mess up, but it will also result in some bland outfits. You can also add any color to the mix (except with brown which might be harder to combine with some colors) and still match without clashing.
Men are aesthetically challenged in this regard as understated colors work better for them while women are free to wear plenty of brighter colors. If you want to know what I mean by understated, it’s any color that’s either a dark or pale version of a color or something most men don’t know the name of. Anything bright needs to be toned down for men. So if you want to go for something yellow, either make it very small/hidden or an understated version such as ochre, gold, or dijon. You still need to counter-balance a bright color with a neutral color to even it out. The brighter it is, the more you need other neutral articles to tone it down.
As a rule of thumb, choose an uneven number of colors, either one, three, or five. If you pick one, make sure that it is in different tones. If you pick five, make sure that two colors match the eyes, hair, or skin. Ensure that bright colors are the smallest part of the overall look, a bit like how red apples look nice on a big green tree but not the other way around. It is possible to combine complementing colors such as red and green so that the red pops out a bit more, but balancing complementing colors needs a refined sense and a good eye. You need to get the right balance in order to get yellow and purple or orange and blue right.
Characters with a naturally dark appearance are in luck. They can wear very bright colors as it won’t clash with their natural body. So if they don’t need to hide in the shadows, they can wear pastels and loud colors and still look fine.

Culture

There are two things in the world I can’t stand: People who are intolerant of other people’s cultures... and the Dutch!
-Nigel Powers, Goldmember-

Take a close look at the culture that your character’s race has. Every part of culture and natural ability can be reflected in their native clothing. Tolkien described the halflings as wearing bright clothing in order to stand out to the larger folk, they have deft fingers that allow for a lot of fine motor skills, and they value a good meal from their pastoral environment. Can that influence someone’s outfit? You tell me. The same can be said of Tolkien’s elves who are adept at weaving and creating delicate ornaments. They think highly of themselves because they outlive many other folks and learn more lessons than any other. Everything about their look is about being slender. Their clothing accentuates all of this. The orcs from the Warcraft franchise are wild and value strength first and foremost. They don’t use a lot of complex plans or strategies as their muscles usually make up for whatever they lack. Lastly, Thrall’s orcs settled on wild plains with beasts. This all brings us to this style choice.
Clothing is made from what is available in the environment, from sheep, cows, plants, silk, metal, or bone. Realize that you are wearing a combination of plant and/or animal materials right now (unless you’re reading this naked). Color and patterns can create some flair or lead the eyes of others to the overall body in a certain way. And details can accentuate an effect or drive home the heritage of a person.
The same can be done with any item. A dwarven ax would look practical, angular, heavy, with an ancestors face on it, and made from deep purified steel. An elven ax would look slender, tapering to a point like their ears, sharp, and perhaps made of thick glass, a well-placed swing would cut something clean off. An orcish ax would be made of rock and bone, be dirty, chipped, and would rend off flesh if used with enough force. Even a human ax might look plain, but can still be described as made of steel with a wooden shaft, has a round edge, and is decorated with a symbol of their kingdom. With this information, you can’t have the excuse of having a non-descriptive weapon.

Re-Skinning

Guard: “You’ll kill us… with a soup cup?”
Riddick: ”Tea, actually.”
Guard: ”What’s that?”
Riddick: ”I’ll kill you with my teacup.”
-The Chronicles of Riddick, 2004-

I said it before and I’ll say it again. Don’t call your Fighter a fighter. If it’s a soldier, let it be a soldier. If it’s a gladiator, let it be a gladiator. If it’s an executioner, let it be an executioner. All their outfits and weapons look differently. All their methods and backgrounds are different. They tell a story just by existing. But there might not be a single difference in how the class works. A class is not to dictate what your character is, but to support what kind of character you want to play. It’s a classification for the sake of clarity. Whatever it’s classified as, look for a theme and draw your inspiration from that.
The same can be done with races. Don’t let the handbooks fool you, whatever is shown in the image is but a speck of the possibilities of how a creature looks. Your Aarakocra can look like a secretary bird, a parrot, or perhaps a bearded vulture. The fact that they are called eagle-people is not that important. What’s important is that they are bird folk, and still act and feel like bird folk when played.
Character re-skinning is the same as a DM’s re-skinning. However, as a player, you can’t break the rules. You can’t simply switch fire damage to force damage just because you want it to. So try to separate the name of whatever it is but keep the mechanics and how they would feel when in use. For example, a club can be a leg bone if wielded by a savage, a rolling pin if wielded by a baker, or a ladle if wielded by a chef. The Grasping Vines spell can be done with literal vines but also with roots or kelp depending where you are.
It’s not about what it is, but about how it feels. And how it feels is supported by the rules (the crunch) and what it is can be done by the description (the fluff). You can change the fluff in a lot of ways, and sometimes you need to ask your DM for it or get some inspiration from the setting. Either way, what is on the character sheet isn’t set in stone and doesn’t need to be cut-and-dried.
The art lies in harmonizing all the elements to create something congruent. A perfect example is from @joennizart, not only for her artistic skill, but her concept as well! It is a Warforged Wizard made of porcelain. A Wizard is usually frail and initially not meant for brute combat, just like a porcelain doll. It is still a humanoid construct made from plates and wires, but it all matches and makes something with a unique and plausible look. So forget the images and wordings, those are more guidelines than rules. Try to find the essential parts as the rest is a matter of cosmetics.

Accessories

Wear an unusual accessory to complete your outfit.
-Chelsea Leyland-

Any added accessories should be about 5%-10% of the overall body. As a rule of thumb, consider anything other than the naked body and what it wears on the chest, legs, and feet as an accessory. This means that any bracelet, chain, pendant, pair of glasses, belt, gloves, cape, or head gear is an accessory. Anything I didn’t mention can be brought down to: If it’s worn on the wrists, on the head, on the fingers, or in a pocket, then it’s an accessory.
Nearly everyone in the medieval times wore a hat to protect themselves from the heat or keep things out of their hair. Plus, it is a way to show status or a certain function. Taking off someone else their hat was seen as a grave offense or even assault. Nowadays, a hat is taken for many reasons but not always worn for function. Some dislike the concept of hats because it hides the face, making others hard to recognize (and thus hard to trust). And in movies you will see the main character not wear a helmet because it will hide facial expressions and muffle the voice. Yet, fighting without a helmet is a one-way street to get a massive concussion if you’re lucky.
I count tattoos, piercings, and scars as accessories as well. Because you can overdo them. Sure, it’s possible to create an ostentatiously dressed character or embrace the sword and sorcery full body jewelry style. But that still depends on the character and the setting. They’re like the cherry on a sorbet, the dot on an ‘i’, or a ticking clock in a room. More of it doesn’t make it better.
When using metal of any kind, make sure that the metal matches overall. Precious metals come in two basic kinds: gold colored and silver colored. These also need to match the overall color scheme so combining gold with yellow might not be a good idea because it clashes in a strange way, but you can combine gold with green or blue. A shiny metal belt buckle would match any silver-colored items, which can restrict your choices if you take it seriously.
Scars and tattoos tell a story, and even if your character doesn’t start off with them, there might be a moment to obtain them down the line. People will one day ask about them, so be ready to think about why/how your character has it. It could’ve been because of an accident, because it symbolizes something, or it will always remind you of people that you have lost. If you’re wondering if I’m talking about tattoos or scars here, the answer is yes. Even if you have a character with skin that doesn’t hold ink, you could find a way to brand or carve it if you want.

Signs

A knight in shining armor is a man who never had his metal truly tested.
-Unknown-

Did you know that the wearing signs of your pants are as telling about you as a fingerprint? The way you use your items are as idiomatic as yourself. The bite marks on a pen, the stains on a computer screen, the shrunken clothing, the ancient pencil case, the socks that are falling apart, the pants that went out of style twenty years ago, the faded red sweater, or the expired condom in a wallet can say something about a person without even saying a word. Your character has lived a few years, so entering the game with a complete set of brand-spanking-new items is somewhat strange. They might seem new to you, but the character has had some of these for quite some time.
Your backstory and items that you get can do this little narrative dance during character creation. Perhaps your character is granted a certain object but then you can think about how it is treated by this character. Otherwise, a character might be complete with an accessory because something might’ve happened in the past. Or you get an item and you don’t know why, but with a little bit of thought and searching you will get the reasoning behind it or give some reasoning to it.
Both ability scores and a backstory can help you out with these details. A clumsy person might have scraped knees or a patch on their eye. A muscular person might have ripped off sleeves because they were too tight. A poor person might have their clothes held together with a rope rather than a belt. Nobody else knows about the reasons behind these details at first glance and they don’t need to. It’s all part of getting through that process of knowing the party better.

Examples

The following examples are given to make clear that it’s not necessary to add each and every tip to your character. It’s okay to leave things out if they aren’t relevant or they don’t stand out. Just know that it should always be more than ‘Halfling Rogue in brown leather armor’. You get one shot to paint a picture, and a class alone doesn’t paint that picture. So each paragraph is a character, read on and I hope that it will give you new insights in how to give some extra flair to your creation.
A chubby looking Human wearing wool robes that are two times too large for him, he has a round face with glasses that magnify his eyes and a floppy pointed hat. He is holding a bunch of bound papers with him.
A young strawberry blonde-haired Half-Elf wearing a pastel turquoise frilly dress and holding a matching parasol. She has a disarming smile on her face but a sharp look in her green eyes. She is dwarfed by two muscular bodyguards she has with her. Both show a blank expression on their faces.
A Minotaur with long ruddy-brown hair like a Scottish Highland cow, he is covered in chainmail armor with shoulder pads that seems to be scratched and dented as if someone scraped him over the cobblestones. His tattered tabard shows a cities’ symbol. His hair is covering his eyes and his horns hang low. The way he walks has this awkward gait to it, as if the upper body is swaying back and forth.
A Human with pale skin, dark straight hair, and brown eyes. She is wearing a sleeping gown covered with a blanket over her shoulders. She is nervously looking around while clutching a religious symbol close to her chest. In her left hand she holds a clean but dented bedpan.
An Eladrin with a faint blue skin and snow-white hair wearing a long gray coat with a high collar at the neck. His face is angular and gaunt with a sorrowful expression. In his hand he is holding a blue slender sword covered in rime and it has a handle made of black tree branches.
A young Kalashtar who looks pale with tired eyes. She has ruffled silver hair and is wearing a plain purple skirt with a black vest. When you approach her she looks at you and you get a faint mental image of a writhing shadow on a stark horizon.
A Halfling wearing a green tunic over chainmail and is sitting on top of a Bernese Mountain dog. In his left hand he’s holding a pot lid and in his right a miner’s pick axe. His face is round with blonde hair and blue eyes. On his head he is wearing a pot like a helmet. Both he and his dog have a badge made of gold in the shape of an apple.
A Human of Asian descent clad in lacquered red leather armor plates. She has a stern and serious look on her face which is painted with make-up to make it look stark white with small red lips. Her black hair is held back tight by a top knot. She is carrying a glaive with her.
A Warforged made out of parts that are of different metals, some slightly larger than the other. Its face is completely asymmetrical with a broad copper jawline contrasting the steel face and different colored eyes, one blue, one green. The way it walks is slightly tilting with each left step. Attached to its right arm is a straight blade.
A Halfling wearing a white suit made of thick cloth with brown leather gloves with a honey comb shaved on the back and big brown boots. HeHis head is covered by a hood with a round windowed mask made of basket weaving with an attached halfling pipe. HeHis presence is met with a constant low buzzing. On hehis back (s)he is carrying a bee house.
A round-faced Goblin dressed in a patched-up brown thespian’s costume wearing a purple cap with a lyre pipe. His right hand is covered with a sock-puppet that has buttons for eyes, one of them is dangling loose.
A Human in a neat black form-fitting dress that has her blonde hair woven perfectly back and has small button earrings in the shape of skulls. She looks prim and proper walking with her back straight and with a calm but alert expression. And for a moment you could swear you saw a faint visage of a waving child behind her.
A big muscular Tortle that resembles an Alligator Snapping turtle with a razored black shell. His neck has two red spots and around it he’s wearing a necklace with a carved wooden symbol of a shell. His arms and legs are covered in small spines. His claws are long and sharp.
A skittish looking Centaur with the small frame and colors of a doe. Her chestnut brown wavy hair hangs loose except for one braided part held with beads and is parted by two nub horns on her forehead. She wears a white robe on her torso with a dark green stola over her shoulders.
A lumbering Loxodon covered in brown fur with massive tusks. His left eye is closed and shows a visible claw mark on it. His right ear has a sharp bone pierced through it. His lower body is covered with a green with yellow kilt that has the skull of a deer on it. He is holding a long maul in his hands with a head made out of solid stone.
A green-and-blue scaled Lizardwoman with a spike ridge on her head and circled scales at the point of her jawline like that of an iguana. Strapped over her torso is a black-scaled harness with a set of tiny fangs and a dried up blow fish. She has a rectangular plate made of bone pierced in her lower lip and wears a leather bracelet covered with symbols on her tail. She is holding a long blowpipe made of bamboo.

Other Treasures

• Character Creation
• Character Writing
• Roleplay
• Strategy & Tactics
• Dungeon Crawling
• Ability Scores: Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, Constitution

With League One not usually mentioned round here (unless it's laughing at sunderland being there), figured that for people who aren't aware of the clubs playing that I'd start a club-by-club analysis over on /leagueone: unfortunately that subreddit's dead as fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
If anyone here is watching and can provide info on their club, I'd greatly appreciate you following this link and submitting a write-up.
Firstly, my favorite club, Sunderland:
Club: Sunderland AFC
Nickname: The Black Cats (Formerly/Minor Nickname: The Roker RoaThe Lads/Coal Cats/The Rokerites)
Stadium: The Stadium of Light (Formerly: Roker Park)
Major Honours:

• 2 Time FA Cup winners, 1937/73 (Seriously, watch the 1973 win, it's fucking beautiful)
• 1 time Community Shield 1937 winner
• 6 time Premier League/First Division winners (1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1901–02, 1912–13, 1935–36)
• 1 Time Sheriff of London Charity Shield winner, predecessor to the Community Shield

17/18 Finishing Position: Fuck/24 (Relegated) (Again, Fuck)
Transfer Market Squad Value: £32.36m
Manager: Jack Ross. Managed Alloa Athletic from 2015 to 2016 (Couldn't prevent their relegation), but the REAL meat of his managing career (which is admittedly a small 3 year one, though he played football for 16 years prior) is at St Mirren. He managed St Mirren, who had been relegated to the Scottish Championship in 2014-15, and got them promoted to the Premiership in 2017-18. He's got intelligence, experience and has turned St Mirren around. He was named the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year the same year St Mirren was promoted.
Best player(s)/talisman: Oh. Oh dear. Yeah, this one is NOT a easy answer, because half the team last year were mercenaries, and hence most of them have been sold or free-transferred. That said, here's the ones to watch:

• Luke O'Nien: 17 goals over his career, playing for Wycombe and Wealdstone, and the man could very well be the next big thing.
• Duncan Watmore: Pacey but somewhat injury prone. Nice guy, clearly cares about the club and while this video does show a lot of his misses you cannae deny he's got good dribbling skills.
• Aiden McGeady: It's Aiden McGeady. Sure, he's towards the tailend of his career, but he'll definitely hold an important role in the dressing room, similar to how John O'Shea acted as a senior figure for the rookies.
• Chris Maguire: Scottish international with 76 goals to his name over 13 years.

Rising Star: Honeyman has just become captain thanks to his excellent attitude. He will be important in the future, but I'm personally REALLY excited for Luke O'Nien. The guy's ridiculous at times. Watch the video I linked for him please!
What happened last season?: We completed our downward spiral, basically. The reason these downward spirals happened was fairly simple: Ellis Short hadn't a clue what football was about. The managers failed to motivate their players because they were mostly mercenaries as Sunderland kept purchasing bad players while those that were good ended up just getting poached by the bigger clubs (Pickford to Everton, Darren Bent, , and when we brought players in, we picked up failures at the PL league and tried to polish turds like Rodwell, Ndong, Djilobodji, Jozy Altidore (SERIOUSLY WHAT EVEN HAPPENED THERE), Kone and Lens. This plus the Manager Revolving Door problem:

1. Arrived and firmed up the team, usually just before we got relegated
2. Prevented relegation
3. New season, new hopes
4. Hopes dashed
5. Manager fired, back to step A lead to an eventual situation where nothing could be done to save us.

Summer Transfer Business: We've cut almost all the mercenary p-league castoffs out of the team and have replaced them with fresh faces or pre-existing young players. I'm going to point you towards the SAFC Transfer Window Megathread for more details, but notable names: Luke O'Nien, Jon McLaughlin, Chris Maguire, Charlie Wyke and a loaned Jerome Sinclair.
Starting XI: Here's my rough idea. (Might be total arsecandle, so don't put much faith in it. I'm not the manager for a reason.)
Best Case: Promotion. Jack Ross says himself that the only thing he considers a success is promotion, so that's one hell of a sign.
Worst Case: Losing in the playoff final. That would hurt more than Darren Bent's relegation securing header did. And I was in attendance for that match.
Prediction: 1st. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR STEWY D'S RED AND WHITE ARMY.
What will happen to your closest rivals?: Newcastle are going to implode because Mike Ashley is a cunt, Middlesborough are going to continue to exist.
Club: Luton Town (By vJamyy)
Nickname: The Hatters (The Town is also acceptable but not very original)
Stadium: Kenilworth Road predates the dinosaurs but one of few remaining classic football league grounds, we have had talk of a new ground since the 1960s and currently have plans submitted for a 17,500 capacity stadium with expansion to 22,500. However we submitted these plans when Sunderland were still in the premier league (Sorry) and still have not got a decision. Plans
Major Honours:

• League Cup Winners 1988
• Plenty of lower league titles and a JPT from 2009

17/18 Finishing Position: 2nd (Promoted) Sky bet League 2.
Transfer Market Squad Value: £3.17M
Manager: Nathan Jones. Regarded as one of the best young managers in the football league at just 45. Is his first job in management and has been with us since January 2016. Was signed to Luton as a player but never got a game, moved onto Spain and still speaks the language before coming back to play for Southend, Brighton and most notably Yeovil which he only left in 2012. Since then he was a highly rated coach at Brighton taking over a handful of first team games in between managers.
Best player(s)/talisman:
Danny Hylton - You'll hate him, we'll love him. Wasn't really known for his goal scoring at Oxford but just being a fabulous player, now he does both. Think he is bang on 50 goals in 100 games for us. Loves a yellow card though so misses our first game of the season.
Alan Sheehan - Club captain and centre back. Was our player of the season last year. Has a wand of a left foot will be on free kick and corners. If there was a league 1 fantasy football he'd be essential.
Jorge Grant - On loan from Notts Forrest and was on loan at Notts County last season where he nearly propelled them to automatic promotion. 4 goals in 3 pre-season games from midfield means i'm very excited to see how his season goes.
Dan Potts - Was worried he would not sign a new deal and we'd lose him for nothing in the summer but confirmed today he has signed a new 3 year deal. The season before last I wouldn't have cared if he was released but what a turn around. One of the top scoring fullbacks in football, He'd out jump most Olympians and from the sounds of it he is not anywhere near his ceiling yet.
Rising Star: Might have to put this as star(s)
James Justin (20) - Right back whose been part of our set up since 2005, he's reportedly attracted a lot of interest over the summer and has done for the last few seasons. Largely frustrated last year by the form of Jack Stacey whose only 22 himself but most fans still consider Justin to be the hotter prospect.
Arthur Read (18) - Had not heard too much about him until this pre-season where he has slotted into midfield as if he were a regular first team player scoring one beautiful goal in the process. He's still young so there's no rush but I'd love to see him get a few minutes this season.
What happened last season?: Goals, Goals, Goals and more Goals.
It all started with an opening day 8-2 win over Yeovil, add to that a 7-0, 7-1 and we were the first football league side to score 7 or more goals 3 times before Christmas add in a couple of 5-0s for good measure and we were laughing. Looked like we would cruise to the title. But in true Luton fashion a couple of stumbles and Accrington winning very game 1-0 for about 4 months meant we were happy enough to take the runners up spot. I would not say we bottled it completely, it was more down to Accrington's unstoppable run of form
Summer Transfer Business: One of our best transfer windows in recent memory, we've been recruiting for League 1 for the last couple of seasons according to Jones and he's stuck to his word. We've only lost one player we wanted to keep so far; Olly Lee who rejected a new contract in order to make the step down to the SPL (easy money i guess?) personally I think he'd only be getting on the bench this season anyway so no big loss - did score from his own half last season though. Plenty of club have been sniffing around our full backs, with rumours of 7 figure bids coming in for all 3 of them. So far we've been strong but West Brom look like coming back in for Jack Stacey.
As for incomings we've made a few brilliant signings:
Andrew Shinnie - a creative midfielder we had on loan last season now made permanent, not too fussed either way as he fell off the wagon a bit when it came to swamp like conditions in the winter
Sonny Bradley - Proper coupe this one, the centre back was a target for almost anyone that could afford him in league 1 and quite a few championship clubs too. Loves a goal from corners but apparently can be slow at the back.
Matty Pearson - Another defender this time from Barnsley, by all accounts not quite good enough for the championship but should be solid enough in league one
Jorge Grant - Already mentioned.
Not sure we are quite done yet, no secret but we were set to sign O'Nein from Wycombe before Sunderland swooped in. So think we will be in the market for another midfielder.
Starting XI: Should be close enough, centre back pairing is the real guesswork as Sheehan and Bradley are both left footers which would usually mean they are competing for one place as Jones likes one right footed and one left. However i just can't see them both not playing. Was talk of us going 5 at the back but we've been working on the diamond for years so we aren't going to ditch it now.
Best Case: A few people tipping us for a back to back promotion challenge, we're 5th favourites too according to the bookies
Worst Case: Straight back down, would feel like a waste of 3 years.
Prediction: 13th - I really aren't in a rush to get promoted i doubt we could sustain ourselves at that level whilst still at Kenilworth Road so as long we aren't fighting relegation i'll be content. We are under no pressure to get promoted for the first time in around 10 years so maybe we'll do well. No chance of automatics in my opinion and if we finish in the playoffs we'll only lose them anyway.
What will happen to your closest rivals?: Watford are going down, its their year. Like every other year.
Edit: Spelling