Character Creation. Making More than a Sheet.

Making a character is perhaps the funnest and most difficult thing you're going to do in order to get started as a player here at Madhatterr Games Presents...

Why it's fun is pretty obvious, you get to creatively design a fictional life that you'll never really get the joy (or horror) of having to live through BUT, you get to play like you have. Researching historical events, places, and things you never have before can be a real blast and if you come to our local games, even designing your own costumes can be a true joy of playing the game.

Why it's hard... well, it does take time and sometimes it can take some reading to make yourself knowledgeable enough not to sound like an idiot (for example, just think how silly you'd look playing a character who lived through the Crusades and you didn't know the first thing about where they were fought, who was involved, how long they lasted, etc etc.)

However, if you keep a few things in mind you'll find that your experience can be stress-free and enjoyably easy. That's the topic of today's blog - Creating a character and not just filling a sheet full of stats.

1. Make a person, not a vampire - When you're considering what sort of character to make - don't start by looking at clans or powers. Think about a personality, time in history, a place in the world that interests you and ask yourself "what would it like to be a person from then/there."

2. Make notes as you're thinking about what sort of person you want to play. Don't disregard anything. While you might not use every little bit, it will help you fill in your character sheet later if you decide that your greek philosopher might also want to have a hobby of basket weaving. It may not sound like an important detail but, the best characters have many details about who they are and what they do on a given night. You can only tell someone you're a bad ass so many times, or play up who utterly angsty you are before your character is dull as hell. Even Wolverine has hobbies other than kicking ass and taking names.

3. Speaking of Wolverine - let characters from tv, movies and books inspire you... but don't make a clone of your favorite character. For example - playing a vampire from Louisiana might be cool but make sure he's not a civil war soldier just like Vampire Bill or a plantation owner who lost his wife in childbirth like Louis. We've seen their stories and the goal in larp isn't to find out what wolverine would do as a vampire or how count dracula would be in the midwest... it's to create something new with with your friends... to tell and share a story that no one has seen or heard yet.

4. Try to avoid cliches - it's easy to fall into the habit of making a vampire with a suitably goth name who longs to see the sun ... and while those things can be okay (in moderation) it's like we said in #3; try something original. Starting with making an interesting person can be a good start to finding something new that breaks the mould.

5. Don't be afraid to play someone who doesn't know much more than yourself! It's a lot of fun to play a bad ass like Chuck Norris or as smart as Albert Einstein... but when the thing your character loves most of all in the world (say physics for Einstein or Karate for Norris) has been mastered in your background - what's left to do in game? Instead of starting the game as a master at karate or a super chef who worked for Hell's Kitchen... why not be a guy who donates his time to the local youth club teaching Karate but has a long way to go yet... or a bus boy who dreams big dreams of one day owning his own restaurant by doesn't yet have the cash or the backers for such a business venture let alone the talent.

Still having troubles? Here are some questions to answer as if you were your own character being interviewed. These might help you in writing your character history. Start by answering these questions and then write a little story from there. A character history can be as clinical or narrative as you like. Many people who are writing one for the first time like to write it as a character writing their memoirs or being interviewed by another kindred.

Try answering the questions with at least three sentences - explain a bit about your answer. The more you can make up as you're answering the questions, the more you will feel that you know your character. Remember, you're only limited by your imagination and the rules.

YOUTH

• How old are you?
• When were you born?
• Do you look older or younger than your years?
• Are you more or less mature than you seem?
• What was unique about your childhood?
• What do you remember about your early years?
• What forged your basic motivations and attitudes?
• What is your most powerful childhood memory?
• Did you have a hometown, or did your family move often?
• Did you run away from home?
• Did you play sports?
• Did any of your childhood friendships last until adulthood?
• What kind of person were you?
• Were you popular or a social outcast?
• Did you like who you were?
• How would the people who knew you best describe you?
• How would someone who disliked you describe you?
• What about a total stranger?
• Did you have an active social life?
  

FAMILY

• Did you have a family?
• Did you get along well with your family or were your relations troubled?
• Who were your immediate family members?
• Do your parents and friends still know you?
• Do you visit them frequently?
• What about talking to them over the phone?

SCHOOL

• Where did you go to school?
• Were you a good student?
• Did you like school, and if so, why?
• Did it challenge you or insult your intelligence?
• Did you go to high school. College?
• Did you fit in the high school pecking order or were you ostracized?
• Or did you create a clique of your own?

FRIENDS

• Do you have any longterm friendships or just acquaintances?
• Are you likable to strangers or do people have to get to know you?
• Are you rude to those who disrespect you or do you turn the other cheek?
• Will anyone miss you?
• Are or were you married?
  

WORK

• What about life after school?
• Was there college or did you go straight into the work force?
• How did you earn a living?
• What kept you going from day to day?

LIFE

• Where do you live?
• Have you ever killed, how did it effect you?
  

GROUP AKA COTERIE (only applicable if you're working with another player to already have connections)

• How did you meet the other characters who your character hangs out with?
• Were you brought together by chance or design?
• When did you first meet your group?
• Did you get along with them at first?
• Are you friends or cautious acquaintances?
• Is there a rival in your group (for power, affection or leadership)?
• How loyal are you to your fellow group members?
• How loyal do you think they are to you?
• Are you united in purpose, working toward the same goal?
• How long have you been together?
• What holds your group together when the situation is at its worst?

OCCULT

• Have you dabbled in the occult at all?
• Do you believe the occult to be synonymous with Satan, or are you more open minded?

MOTIVATIONS

• What motivates you?
• Are you bent on revenge?
• Do you have loved ones to protect, or are you in search of someone who understands?
• Are there wrongs in your past that need to be righted?
• If you could have anything you wanted, what would it be?
• If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?
• If you could have any one thing in the world, what would it be?