Just thought I'd pass along a link to a "generate NPC traits" deck on Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...just-add-water
I'm partial to using tarot cards for this, myself, but I think a deck with more specific character traits has its uses, too. The motivation/relationships/appearance/occupation categories seem like a good arrangement to me, and the price is reasonable (about $15 for 67 cards).