Names can surprisingly be one of the hardest choices to make regarding a biography. Your name can be influenced by many things. The only thing we ask is that you keep it in the mind set of the game. The prime religion of the land is the Druid beliefs. The other upcoming religion in the land is the One God, which is our form of Christanity.

. Typically you would want to stay within Welsh, Medieval English, Celtic, or Ancient Scottish and Irish cultures. There are many name sites on teh web.

AGE:
Young is better. People of the ancient day didn't live as long or as old as we do to today. They married young and died young.

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:
Please try to be realistic. (The GM asks to stay under 6'5) You can also use the Height Weight charts in the Academy resources to get an idea if you don't know. If you are a man, especially important for knights, squires or farmers, remember that you are physically fit so that your weight should be more.

HISTORY:
You'll need to provide some history on your character. Basically any events from this character's past are fine here, ranging from a list of extracurricular activites in your past, romances, and yes, even parents.

Your history also preferably should not be just one line describing:

The church isn't a good idea, because there aren't too many churches, most are what typically were refered to as Shrines. (In the faith of the One God - Druids celebrate nature and they worship their deities primarily out of doors) Its okay to be abandoned somewhere and found, but you must have a fully developed idea. Backgrounds should have a minimum of four paragraphs.

The GM simply won't accept these "open-ended histories" because they need to know exactly who they are signing up into the sim. The GM for the most part has a plan of where they'd like the sim to go, and having a character suddenly pop up and say "Hey, look at me, I can adjust the flow of time", or "Wow, look, I can snap my fingers and do anything" can SEVERELY interrupt not just the plot, but the sim itself.

PERSONALITY PROFILE:
This is also a very important section. It describes how you act, how you make judgements, how you live. Be as detailed as you can in writing this section.

PHYSICAL PROFILE:
This is what you look like.You must be detailed to let others know how to describe you in their posts. Include physical build, eye color, hair color, skin tone, any special remarks like scars or whatnot.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
In my opinion, this is the most important besides the Background. It provides a tether for lack of better words. This helps limit superhero tendencies- you don't have a bard beating a robber in most cases for example or an non-healer performing surgery. Its works as a guide to your character.

Please Remember, this should NOT include Magic or any supernatural powers.

SPECIAL NOTES:
This is anything that is not covered by the material above. It can be like having a cat, to what ever. There are many things that can be put in here.

Food for Thought

Roleplaying Tips Weekly #126: Building & Playing A More Unique & Memorable Character: Part 1
Copyright 2002 - Dave N. 'Brittanman'

In order to ensure a player is going to have a good time, the most important issue on his/her mind during character creation is "What kind of character should I play?" or "What type of character would I enjoy playing?"

By answering the right questions and with a bit of planning and forethought, you can put together a PC who will move through the game believably and almost instinctively. Here's a bit of an outline on how to build from the bottom up, stepping into the shoes and following the footsteps of a PC character you'll enjoy playing either long or short term.

I've used some improv techniques, and some theatre, writing, and storytelling tools to construct this outline. There is no specific order in which these should be used, but I have assembled them to make as much orderly sense as possible. Please feel free to pick and choose what you find usable...

Choices
Before getting started, it's important to mention that character construction is made up of choices and that these choices should be wielded with imagination in order to create a unique and interesting character.

Standard cliches or stereotypes can produce a tired, less interesting, and more predictable concept. So, make a few different or unusual choices.

On the other hand, making many choices that are off-beat or unusual can make the character too busy or give it a contrived feeling (i.e. doing something for a game reason or effect instead of it just being part of the PC's personal history).

Also, a character who is too different will tend to alienate NPCs or other PCs due to the difficulty in relating with them. Just a few uncommon selections should be enough for flavoring.

1. Build A Wish List
Define the qualities in a character that would currently interest you. These may include a brief physical description, personality, activities performed, skills, or capabilities.

Always try to avoid gamer or genre jargon. Words like magic,thief, bard, spell caster all will point you in a directionthat may aim a bit too directly towards playing a specific character class.

Check out some of these examples:

* I dabble in some mystical art or arts. I can be intimidating but use my attractive appearance and social skills to solve problems and overcome difficulties. I prefer to use intellect instead of muscle.

* I am mechanically inclined but like to flex my muscles every once in a while. My plain appearance is used to an advantage. I can fade into the woodwork or even a crowd. I can be youthful and brash, sometimes causing me to make impulsive mistakes.

* I take short cuts and look to gain advantage before committing openly to action. I am an extrovert and am more effective in achieving what I want with my mental and people skills due to my smallish size.

It is important to be as general with your description as possible to avoid pigeon-holing yourself into a specific class. The definition should be in first person (I, me) so that your PC becomes more personalized.

The examples above would fit just about any known RPG system. That's the idea. Generalize. A good test for a wish list is to see if the PC type would make an effective multi-class character. It doesn't have to be, but it will help keep your options open.

2. General Appearance
You should include some, but not necessarily all, of the following:

* Height
* Build (light, medium, large, bulky, lanky)
* Race or skin color
* Hair (color, style length)
* Eyes (shape or color)

Don't include just character weight and height when describing build. In fact, try to avoid it. Use the body type or build instead, as it will tend to be at least, if not more, descriptive than numerical statistics.

Try some of these instead:

* Tall-Light Athletic
* Short and Heavy-Set
* Small-Frail or Petite
* Waif or Waif-ish.

These are all examples of PC physical build descriptors. They tell you more about the character's physical appearance than plain height and weight statistics do.
3. Armor & Weapons Make the (Wo)Man
The way a PC carries him/herself and the type of armor and weapons they choose will tell a little about the character (misdirecting is also effective). Not all fighter types wear chain or heavy metal armor (even if they aren't rangers or barbarians). Not all spell casters use a staff.

Try some of the following ideas:

* Use understated weapons and armor (it will be less offensive/defensive but give you more options).

* Avoid making the long sword/short sword choices or weapons "straight off the rack".

* Have a punching bell attached to the hilt of your blade (or weapon).

* Choose a quick-draw feat, skill, or ability.

* Add carvings, ribbons and medallions to weaponry and armor. Personalize.

* Choose an interesting range weapon.

* Wear weapons that are never/seldom used, to misinform.

By choosing less armor you will most certainly lower your defensive capabilities, but movement and stealth will become more effective. Or maybe you'd rather go the other way and play stealth but accept the penalties for bulking up.

By selecting 'off the rack' weapons and armor you are showing that you are just like everyone else. Dressing up weapons so they are unique may get potential opponents to reconsider or re-evaluate if or how they approach you.

Maybe you are left-handed or a two-handed fighter with weapons stowed not so visibly? A "quick draw" feat comes in handy here because you don't need to have a weapon ready or in your hand.

Using ribbons, medallions, or "favors" on your armor or weapons shows that others (ladies, nobles, and political figures) hold you in regard. They might also serve well as a warning that your harm may cause some retribution.

Carvings or 'runes' can be added for decoration or design, though it could lead others to believe differently (possibly a powerful enchantment).

If all characters have ranged weapons, heavy hitters not able to reach the melee can still contribute. Those not normally waging direct combat can still be helpful if they're out of spells to cast or for other reasons.

4. Dress Purposefully Ask yourself how you want others to visually perceive (or not perceive) your PC.

* Are you dressed in worn old clothes but well groomed?

* Do you wear bright and shiny expensive armor?

* Are you dressed like a rogue but are actually a wizard?

How you dress reveals potentially valuable information to the public or to potential enemies that you'd rather keep secret. So, make use of your clothing to distract, confuse, and mislead.

* If you are wealthy, try dressing down.

* If you are poor, try dressing up.

* Dress like you are an amiable commoner rather than a killing machine.

* Add accessories to enhance your image (jewelry, hats, decorative daggers, buckles, scarves, etc).

Also, once you decide on your class, don't necessarily dress to the text book description or stereotype.

5. Personal History Does your PC's family, customs and society influence him/her to a small or large degree?

A personal history will give a basis for the PC's existence.

* Is the family poor, rich or middle of the road?

* Does this affect the PC in anyway?

* Is the family large or small? How does this affect the PC?

* Injuries, training, relationships, a developed code of conduct?

The more detail the better. Constantly build on your character's history, both past and present. This is where the character becomes spontaneous and instinctive. The better you know him, the quicker his/her responses to situations will come to you.

* Poverty: embarrassed about humble family life.

* Wealthy: could be miserly or a big spender to show-off.

* Working Class: learned self-discipline and pride in craftsmanship.

* Only child: spoiled with too much attention or suffered from not enough.

* Small family: well balanced and close knit.

* Large family: self-sufficient from helping bring up siblings, or resentful.

* Large family: worried about inheritance.

* The PC is physically challenged.