HOW TO WRITE A CHARACTER HISTORY back
A character history is
expected by the third event, and can earn an additional 12 background points
(and plot opportunities!) if turned in on time and sent via email (still
partial points of not).
Refer to the Character
page (back) for creating the basics of a character including Race, Class,
Skills, deities, etc.
A good character history
contains thorough details on all aspects. This means having detailed sections
(names, sigils or colors, other recognizable symbols, races, occupations, etc.)
on Biographical facts (name, age, family (parents, siblings, others), home,
occupation) and Personality (why you act the way you do, fears, goals,
motivations, etc.). If you forget to give obvious names and sigils to the other
people in your history they can’t ever be sent out (you wouldn’t even recognize
them). Of course, also remember to give some back story and information on
everyone and every thing (parent’s jobs, why you fear the dark, what caused
this or that).
One of the best ways to
work your history if you aren’t sure of the setting itself is to stick to
mundane and obviously Norse issues, because it’s always better to be accurate and
leave out uncertain details than to write in things that don’t exist or things
from another setting. An excellent character history can be made without the
use of vast evils and other things, just be focusing on the ideals of Norse
life and events (and a Norse
name is encouraged too). And remember, things wont always turn out the way
you expect, be prepared and you will enjoy it more.
Avoid clichés, plagiarism
from existing works, silly names (like Deathbringer Bloodblade Darkshadow) for real
names (it’s one thing to have a silly nickname but to think that your parents named
you Deathbringer is ludicrous), heroic endeavors (it’s
hard to slay hordes of evil at level 3), great artifacts or treasure hordes (of
course smaller ones are allowed, but you wont ever find that 10k gold stash and
+20 magic weapon those death elementals stole from your family…), making a dark
mysterious cold anti-social loner, et cetera.
Ask yourself the
following questions when making a character:
What is your
real birth name? What name do you use (demifae and
others often keep their true name a secret)? Any nicknames,
titles, etc.? When were you born and where? Where else have you lived
(including now)? Who were your family (names!) and what were they like, what
were their jobs, etc? How did you get along with your parents and siblings;
friends? How are these people now, if you know? What was your first memory or
important happening? Who taught you or influenced you? Did you have any
particular friends growing up, PC or NPC? What are your best and worst memories?
Did you study any arts, work for your family, train to fight, or what? Can you
read and/or write? Do or did you have any pets? Do you have a job, what, how do
you feel about it (if not, where do you get money from?)? What were your greatest
tragedies and triumphs in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, how did they
shape your character? What
one act in your past are you most ashamed of? What one act in your past are you
most proud of? Has anyone close to you died, how and how did this affect you? Why have you come to the game area? If you are
older, why have you just begun adventuring? How could you benefit an
adventuring group? Would you? Why might you join them? Do you have a few
friends or acquaintances from along the way (with details) in case you ever
need someone’s help? What is your most prized possession? Who is your worst enemy (rivals or monsters) and why? Have you created a
timeline of your character's life (this can be helpful in orienting facts)? What do you want out of life? Why do you act the way you do, what
events led to this? Is there some goal or quest (and is it realistic?) you wish
to achieve (long or short term), and how important is it to you? Is there any
land or family possession to be reclaimed (who took them or killed your family?)?
Are you an adventurer and why? What are your favorite food and drink? In what
ways are you heroic/social, or are you at all? Are you a follower or a leader? What
habits, hobbies, fears, superstitions, and other beliefs do you have (including
religion)? What tempts your character? What do you hate and what do you admire? What do or don’t you like about yourself? What's the worst thing
that can be done to another person? Why? What do you feel most strongly about? What
is your opinion on: fighting, killing,
magic, mages, necromancy, necromancers, undead, elementals, mercenaries,
stealing, good and evil, law, authority, kings, the other two major races, and anything
else of note? What one word describes you best? What are your
future plans? Have you
explained where you starting gear and skills came from? Did you create a
history that you find entertaining and engaging, and one that you can roleplay?
An example of a lousy
character history:
“my name is Bob the Berserk. I like muney and to
kil stuff. all my friends
are invincible demon ninjas. I will kill j00.”
This character history
utterly lacks any insight into the psyche of the character, has no biographical
history, quite outlandish claims (IF there were any demons or ninjas in our
setting, would a starting character really have any as friends?) and barely
anything at all, in addition to frightful grammar and spelling, not to mention
the inexcusable use of l33t. An easy was to ensure good English (and
legibility) in histories is to use Word or another program with a spell check.
This will also ensure you can send it via email to receive the full bonuses and
not make me dig up and decipher a written copy.
More to come
Some tips taken from:
http://skitten.best.vwh.net/100questions.html