Now
that the mechanical part of character creation is over its time to move onto
description and backstory. This is the most creative part of character
creation. Here is when you will decide what he character looks like and a brief
story about how they got to this point in their lives. This is also when you
will give your character a name. Naming a character is the part of character
creation I have the most difficulty with since I spend plenty of time trying to
find a fitting name. My preferred naming resource is babynames.com as it is a
large collection of names with their origins but any book about names is a good
resource for thinking up ideas. It’s good to select a name that fits both the
character and the setting. Giving a modern character an old name will make them
seem out of place as well as doing the reverse. The trick is to have some fun
with the name. I’ve always been partial to adding little jokes to the names of
my characters such as naming a spy Devon Aire (they don’t have to be funny
jokes). Speaking of jokes, be cautious not to select a name that can be easily
made fun of, you’ll never hear the end of it during game play.
Most places have a spot on the
character sheet to describe your characters height, weight, eye and hair color,
and other brief descriptors like that. These help to provide a basic framework
for describing your character but there is more a real description than just
those items. Think about how they walk; do they look down at the ground or
bolding make eye contact with everyone they meet? Think about how they talk; is
their voice pleasing to listen to or do people wish they would just shut up? Do
they have any distinguishing marks? I would stress the importance of this
feature as it will make them seem more real. When an item is worn and has a few
scuffs we say that it has character so it’s good to think of your character in
the same light. I had a mercenary character who was easily recognizable because
of the heavy amounts of scarring he had gathered during his time in high risk
areas and for each one I had written a small note on how it was achieved. This
really helped me to identify this character in a real fashion. Most people also
have some sort of quirk that further defines them as people, what kind of
strange mannerisms does your character have? Do they gesture wildly whenever
they speak or have a saying they constantly repeat? Catch phrases can be a fun
addition to any heroic character as they help the player get a good feel for
the character’s attitude and everyone else gets a good laugh whenever it comes
up. These are the kinds of descriptors that are worth thinking about. This will
allow yourself and others get a more defined mental picture than just brown
hair, blue eyes, skinny.
Now for the most important part of
character creation, backstory. This is when you think about the major events
that happened in your character’s life and ask yourself where, when, why, what,
and how until it all makes sense. It might seem like a lot of extra work for
the player to do but this will help the player and the GM understand the
character better. For the player, this is when the “role” part of roleplaying
comes in. Like any actor, one has to know about the character they are bringing
to life. Luckily, you created this character so most of this isn’t that
difficult. I enjoy this part most of all about character creation. This is also
when my tips in my earlier post about reading the book and talking with the
other players is helpful. If you can add world details into your backstory then
the character will feel like it has a place in the world as all people do
whatever it may be. They had to exist somewhere unless they just magically
appeared one day, which is unlikely the beginning to the story (at least if
it’s going to be any fun). It might also be a good idea to include another one
of the player characters into your backstory if you can. This can allow for
richer character interactions and help change the dynamic of the party depending
on whether they met under favorable circumstances or not. This will help out
the GM because that’ll be one less thing for them to worry about when they are
trying to unite the party which can be tricky depending on the characters. It
is also a good idea to explain any how they acquired any advantages, high
ranking skills, or flaws within this section. These items are telling of a
character’s development. Were they given to the character? Did the character
have to spend a lot of time training or working to acquire what they have? Did
they develop that flaw, born with it, or did something else cause it to occur? By
examining any part of your character that makes them unique and asking
questions about its occurrence I can guarantee you will make a solid character
that you will enjoy for the duration of the campaign.
Now
that the most of the pregame topics have been covered I will begin to get more in
depth about particular aspects of games in later post. These will be more
specific to the campaign itself. Be sure to mention if I’ve missed a detail you
think is important and as always
Let the
good times roll
