Character creation can be one of the most fulfilling parts of role-playing. There’s plenty of room for creativity between the narrative and numeric aspects of forging a character. A player can choose to begin
by either rolling up their stats and building a character’s concept around the numbers, or by developing a concept and then applying numbers to the character afterwards.
Statistics describe a character’s capabilities in each of four categories: strength, dexterity, intelligence, and empathy. Higher numbers in these categories give the player bonuses on related dice rolls. Under each statistic are sets of skills, abilities, and specialties a character could gain proficiency in based on their character’s race and profession. These skills can all be upgraded with experience points up to three times each. Skills with proficiency are cheaper to upgrade, as it’s assumed that a character’s daily activities involve practicing those abilities. Non-proficient skills may also be learned in-game, however, they cost double the experience of proficiencies and must be justified and advanced through role-play.
The other half of a character is its concept. This is the “who” of who is being played. A good character is dynamic, and we guide you through the process of making a dynamic character by coming up with motivations, dreams, relationships, and a little bit of intrigue. A multi-page backstory isn’t necessary, but a player should have enough to ground the character in the game’s world, influence the character’s actions and choices, and keep the other players interested in the character’s development.
Character creation is also where the character’s social class and starting equipment are decided. Each player begins with enough money to maintain a middle-class lifestyle for a short while, or to get gear necessary for their adventures. They may spend some of that money to begin as middle-class or rich characters, but each social strata has a cost to maintain. Your character may also choose to begin with a debt in order to gain more starting money. There are 5 types of debt that can be taken on for various amounts of money, each with their own sets of consequences. Some forms may make your character easy to find, while others will have you hunted by powerful groups, considered armed and dangerous, or put you in the pocket of a powerful suzerain with their own interests in mind.
Regardless of the choices made in character creation, the end result should be a fully-fledged person in the game’s world. One with strengths, weaknesses, hopes, fears, and lots of room to build a story with. Happy creating!
Comments