Making your character
Settle down and pick up a drink.
Well hello dear player ! Well done for coming here in the first place! Here you will find the basics on how to adapt your character to the world of Ayer'hess as well as how to develop its personality and presence in said world. If you search in the other sections, you will find maps and info on the environments , infos on your campaign or any other info concerning the world of Ayer'hess.
But for now, let's focus on you and your lovely little gremlin.
Understanding the Past.
The first thing (in my opinion) to flesh out your character is to define where he or she comes from. This will give a lot more depth to any of your actions since you know why your character should (or not) react to this or that element. You don't have to write 10 pages of lore for that, but at least one or two paragraphs would be good.
The main restriction to your backstory, or it's rather a piece of advice, is that you should not have done things that you aren't able to do now. For example, a level one character shouldn't have been able to slaughter a dozen of orcs in one swing to save his village, it's just illogical. Now perhaps you want to play a "fallen from grace" character, which has lost most of its power (due to old age, a wound or whatever else). This is possible, but I highly encourage you to discuss that with your DM (in this case, me !) since it involves quite a lot of work to know exactly what you want and what is possible. I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying it might require a lot of talks to define everything. Or perhaps not, but I can't say in advance.
Now, there are two possibilities: Either you already have an idea of what your character was before becoming an adventurer, or you don't have an idea. If you do, click here to skip to the relevant part.
So you don't have any idea what to write? No problem! Let's begin slowly. You should have already written bits of personality while making your character in the form of "Personnality traits", "Ideals", "Bonds" and "Flaws". Let's start with those.
We will be making small stories that happened to your character in his past, either in adulthood or infancy. No need to write a complete Moby Dick episode 2, just one or two paragraphs per story is fine.
- You will start with your ideals. Imagine a story where your character stood up for its ideals. It could be the first time he or she realised how important this value is. It could be one time when they gathered enough courage or anger to speak up. Or maybe it is just one more occurrence of the daily battle of going against the currents.
- Next, let's imagine something about your flaw(s). Think of a time when your character succumbed to its inner vices. Maybe it cost them much. Or it harmed someone else? But not enough for them to correct this behaviour apparently... Or maybe it was even beneficial to them! Whatever that was, it wasn't the last time it would happen...
- Finally, you'll think about its bonds, and what it signifies to your character. And imagine a time when said bond was threatened, or maybe insulted simply. What was your character's reaction? And its internal monologue?
- Now, the last thing to do is organise those bits of story chronologically. It doesn't need to happen in the same order you imagined it! But it is quite important to know when they happened.
Writing your backstory.
So you have an idea? Very good! Then let's write it. As I've said earlier, no need to write 20 chapters on your character's life. Although I would be very happy to read your 20-page backstory, this can easily tire you, both physically and creatively. So write as much as you want, but not more than you can! On the other end of the spectrum, please do not write less than 3 paragraphs. Your DM (in this case, me!) will try and use it to implicate you into the story he will weave. Without a backstory, it will be hard to make involve your character in the plot and therefore make it fill useless which is a very annoying problem both for you and your DM.
Additional points that should be added are:
- Your approximate birthdate
- Your family (Parents, siblings, maybe children)
- Marital status
- Maybe a few friends
Knowing the Present.
Knowing where you are from is almost like knowing who you are, but it still doesn't tell me about your appearance. Ponder on that, with the following themes as starting points. Please do at least the ones marked in bold. Alternatively, check out Acquisitions Inc's guide to merging your class and your position in the world of franchises.
Note: These themes are copied from the "Character" article template, which I highly recommend filling in.
- EYES
- SKIN/FEATHERS/FUR PIGMENTATION
- HAIR
- HEIGHT
- WEIGHT
- SEX
- GENDER
- PRESENTATION
Origins
- AGE
- PRONOUNS
- SPECIES
- ETHNICITY
- SECONDARY ETHNICITIES/CULTURES
- FAMILY
Current state
- RELIGIOUS BELIEF/DEITY
- CURRENT STATUS
- CURRENT RESIDENCE
- AFFILIATED ORGANIZATION(S)
- ALIGNMENT (ROLEPLAYING)
Mentality
- PERSONAL HISTORY
- GENDER IDENTITY
- SEXUALITY
- EDUCATION
- EMPLOYMENT
- ACCOMPLISHMENTS & ACHIEVEMENTS
- FAILURES & EMBARRASSMENTS
- MENTAL TRAUMA
- INTELLECTUAL CHARACTERISTICS
- MORALITY & PHILOSOPHY
- TABOOS
- KNOWN LANGUAGES
Physical state
- GENERAL PHYSICAL CONDITION (Bold)
- BODY FEATURES
- FACIAL FEATURES
- IDENTIFYING FEATURES
- PHYSICAL QUIRKS
- APPAREL & ACCESSORIES
- SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT
- SPECIAL ABILITIES
Personnality
- MOTIVATION
- FAMOUS QUOTES & CATCHPHRASES
- SAVVIES & INEPTITUDES
- LIKES & DISLIKES
- VIRTUES & PERKS
- VICES & FLAWS
- TICKS & QUIRKS
- HYGIENE
Social
- CONTACTS, RELATIONS & OTHER AFFILIATIONS
- FAMILY TIES
- RELIGIOUS VIEWS
- SOCIAL APTITUDE
- MANNERISMS
- PETS & HOBBIES
- SPEECH(In extra bold)
As stated, a special speaking manner is (and I can't stress this enough) extremely important!
Seriously, you cannot imagine how important giving a voice to your character is if you haven't experienced it first-hand. Just think about a funny character from a previous campaign or a cartoon if you have never played. What comes to your mind? Both its image (either imagined or seen) and its voice! The voice and its quirks are the difference between a simple peasant passing by the players and a jerk. It is the difference between a pirate and Cpt Haddock! Just a few expressions, pinching your nose on the last syllabus of the sentence and speaking one octave below and you have created a new character!
Not only is it a necessary part of your character, but it is also a lifesaver at the table. It will signal to your fellow players and DM that it is Galganesh, the Bringer of Doom and Sprinkles that speaks and not Justin, the 3rd year in accounting. It will also help you get into your character, by helping the dissociation between you and your character.
And if you still don't believe me, remember that, for most of your favourite cartoons, 70% of the characters were often voiced by the same person!
Now, I won't tell you how to develop a voice for your character. I'm not able enough for that; thousands of videos exist on youtube for that end. So go, watch a few, and train in front of a mirror. Set four or five expressions! Steal another half-dozen from a resembling character! Just have fun! And remember that whatever comes out of your mouth will define what is the correct answer! Even if you feel like it's not quite right, other people don't know that and will believe what you're saying is right. So don't sweat it, and just do it.
Imagining the Future.
Now for the last(and shortest) part. If you are tired of it, that's alright. Go and play a few sessions, take some time to resource, and then come back. In this section, we will develop why your character is fighting and collecting all that money. Yes, they need to save the world or at least their farm. Yes, the kingdom is at risk of being overrun by magical ponies who fart fireballs and poop portals to the elemental plane of negativity. Yes, they need money to get armour and weapons. But when they are on vacation in their hometown, what do they work on in their backyard? When they have some remaining money, what project do they fund? This is needed to know the hopes and dreams of your character, and what they will talk about in their sleep or around the campfire late at night.
Next, imagine two or more goals that are for the mid-term. Maybe amassing enough wealth to buy the telescope from the inventor you reaaaaaally wanted. Maybe buying a tavern. Or setting up a guild (or a gang?) in town. Anything that would take a week to one or two months of work. Finally, let's get one or more goals for the long term. You may want to make your school of artistry. Or find a worthy apprentice. Or buying a mansion. Or building the mansion. And also perhaps having a baby? And maybe you need a partner first... This should take from half a year to a full life.
Let's go onward!
You are finished ! Congrats! But that doesn't mean you can't change things! You may want to develop further, or simply add thoughts developed during adventuring. Just tell it to your DM, and have fun! Your bio is supposed to be a mirror of your character's inner self, so you can keep working on it for as long as you want.
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