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Character concept

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Complexity: Basic Complexity: Standard

If you ever want your character to become more than a set of numbers, you need to start with a character concept, independent of a rule system. Before you can do that, you need to find out from the GM as much as you can about the campaign setting, including at the very least:

  1. What is the genre?
  2. What is the tech level?
  3. Does it use any special modules?
  4. What are general goals of the characters?

Once you have this information, you can begin to think about how your character fits into this setting. You don't need to write a full biography, although some people enjoy doing so. But you should make sure your concept answers the following questions:

  1. What is my race (if non-humans are common)?
  2. What is my gender?
  3. What is my name?
  4. What is my general background?
    • What is my social status?
    • What was my growing up like?
    • What were some of my early adult experiences?
  5. What motivates me?
  6. What are some of my key abilities/features?

Writing a brief story can help with this, or you can just answer the questions for yourself. Don't be afraid to draw on ideas from your favorite books or movies, but ensure you keep the ideas original and whatever you do, don't plagiarize.

[edit] Examples

[edit] Example: Cúthalion

My GM tells me that our campaign is taking place on a fantasy world with roughly the technology of the Viking Age (tech 7). The world is in anarchy, torn apart by wars between races out to establish dominance. Our characters are protecting the remnants of civilization against barbarian marauders of all races.

I decide I'd like to play a ranger, like Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. Only, where Aragorn was always jumping into the middle of the fray, I want to be more like Robin Hood, hiding in the trees and shooting bad guys with my longbow.

Looking through my Tolkien dictionary, I decide that my name is Cúthalion, "Strongbow". I'm a human, though, not an elf, because this is my first character and I want to keep it simple.

My father was a ranger, as was his father before him. I love the forest, and I love helping people, and I love the thrill of outwitting bad guys.

I can write a more detailed background later, but this should be enough to get started.

→ Next step: Character points

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