Character Creation Checklist

or "Things Every Character Needs"

Here's a list of items you should make sure your character has as you are creating him. There are doubtless more items that belong on this list.

• History - Write up a paragraph of your character's back story. It will help you immensely in coming up with disadvantages, quirks, skills, goals, etc.
• A Voice - The most important part of good roleplaying is coming up with a silly voice you can use for your character. Not only does it put you into the role, but it distinguishes between the voice of the player and the voice of the character. Put some thought into this. Find an accent / voice that you can speak in for extended periods of time.
• Humor - An essential part of any character; you should make one that is entertaining and fun to play. This topic is covered in our Quintessence of Quirks page.
• Motivation - Some reason why the character would want to go adventuring. This is covered in Jared's Motivation page.
• Goals - While this is optional, it is still a good idea to give your character some goals that they want to accomplish. Reflect on your history for some ideas.
• Hooks - Things the GM can use to get you involved in adventures. A number of hooks might already come as a function of our Motivations and Goals, but you might have some additional hooks besides.
• Team Spirit - Your character should have some friendly / loyal traits that makes them want to associate with their teammates and look after them. Covered in our Being a Team Player page.
• A Finished Character - Nobody likes to sit around and wait while you buy your equipment, finish calculating your skills, or look for that "one last disadvantage". It's okay to leave some things a little fuzzy, like, say, an unfinished quirk, but please try to get the big pieces taken care of. Forward-thinking (read: realistic) game maststers might want to call a "pre-play" session the night before where everyone can finish off their characters, get questions answered, etc.