10 Questions to Put on Your Character Creation Document by: Neal Litherland
Please answer these ten questions.
#1: What defining moments have you experienced? What makes you different than the average NPC Joe or Jane out there?
#2: What are you afraid of? Don’t think that I am just asking this to look for ammo to use against your character, but it is a real question what in the world can make your character frightened? Through facing experiences like this comes character growth.
#3: Who raised you? Too many players kill off their family to prevent the DM from having a hook to use for roleplaying purposes. In fantasy times people tended to have large families because of the high death rate; from society and monsters, and just the lack of medical care. Remember most citizens can’t afford a simple cure disease spell. Every character had a family, even androids congregate in familiar groups of friends, allies and yes, family. Part of your character’s story is their family and their relations to them. Don’t fail to include that.
#4: How did you learn your skills? In fantasy times primary education, much less secondary education was unknown. Typically, instruction begins in the home and mostly religious groups hold a couple of years of education, but it is not mandatory. Most governments have a hands off policy toward religion in a poly-religious society. Chelax is one of the few exceptions to this rule and even in Chelax there are other religions practiced. Apprenticeship was strongly practiced in fantasy time periods. This personal usually one-on-one instruction was often family based; father passing on their skills, a favorite uncle who has a magical bent, or being sold into apprenticeship because the family can’t support you. This was also how indentured slaves started; families had too many children and couldn’t feed them all so they sold a child to be a personal servant and to learn a trade, often being “owned” by a master who was responsible for instructing them.
#5: What things matter to you? What matters to your character, is important to them, and shapes and molds them. Do you have a fear of heights, or a fear of snakes and so avoid all snakes, medusa, dragons and any tentacled creature? This also gets into the flaw(s) allowed. My recommendation is that you determine at least 1 deep thing that matters, and 2-3 shallower, surface-level ones.
#6: What do you believe in? This goes beyond mere faith, do you believe that nobility has been divinely appointed to rule the citizens, a common belief in many fantasy or medieval societies. Do you believe that magic is limited to a special class of citizens, or that only dragon blooded people can cast spells? Do you believe that your kingdom is better than all the rest, or are they worse than the rest? Don’t be afraid to get into the mindset of your character. Most people believe in a religion, but there are some atheists who just believe that the gods are no more than really powerful ordinary people, which one are you?
#7: How many story hooks does your character have? Is your ancestry mixed or unknown, do you have story goals or things that would interest your character? Story hooks are not meant for the DM to hang your character with but are meant for you to hang your character’s story on. Did you have a favorite uncle or aunt who was a rogue, or great fighter, or maybe a failure. Usually we learn more thru failure than thru success. What makes your character strive to succeed? Also if you accomplish a story goal you can earn extra experience points for doing that.
#8: What is your small legend? Last names started based on your father’s job; Miller, Carpenter, Black or Blacksmith. Then often a person was known by a nickname. Was Don Haymaker the best bar fighter in town, is Sally Green known as the drunkard or the witch? Jesus is one of the most common names in Hispanic culture, while Mohammed is one of the most common names in the Islamic faith. Is Dario Hightower referred to as the Black Bastard of Low Ridge, because his mother was the lord's mistress or what?
#9: Who (or what) has your loyalty? In Chelax it had better be to the government and to the church of Asmodeus, but often that is not the case. Are you loyal to only your family, to only those who share your faith or some other group? It would be nice to develop party loyalty, but these questions need to be answered before you meet the party. Usually, you have more than one loyalty because these groups that you are loyal to will protect and serve you. Are you loyal to a gang, or is it less organized than that, or is it more organized; are you a mercenary?
#10: What would break them? What is your character’s breaking point? Does the man who was burned alive now fear fire, even a fireplace or is he only scared if the building he is in catches fire? Are you a pacifist forced to fight, or a reluctant caster who finds magic use is draining and worries that each spell, they cast, could be their last? Is it one of your fears that break you, or could it be embarrassment, or some other emotion?