In this game, your character is more than a collection of stats and gear.  That is the two-dimensional version of your character.  For my games I prefer three-dimensional characters.  The following are some questions you can answer for your character if you want to immerse them deeper into the game world.

Let me say this is optional and is intended as a way to give you a chance to make your character more real.  Answer all, some or none of the questions as you see fit.

Physical and Personality Traits


  1. What do they look like? Are they happy with the way they look?
  2. How do they dress? In or out of fashion?
  3. What gender do they identify with?  Is that their birth gender?
  4. Do they have any personality quirks?
    --- (give small list)
  5. Do they have any phobias?
  6. Do they have any vices?
    --- (give small list}
  7. How do they feel about: members of the opposite sex, members of different races or social classes, magic/psionic creatures, martial characters, religion?
  8. Do they live by a code or creed?


Relation to the World


  1. Do they know their parents?  Are they living?
  2. Do they have siblings? Do they know them? What kind of relationship do they have with them, if any? How are they related (half-, step-, etc.)?
  3. Any friends?  How’d they meet?  What makes them friends? What influence do their friends have on your character, if any?
  4. Are they involved in any religion? If so, how active are they in it?
  5. How do they interact when meeting someone for the first time?
  6. How do they treat strangers?
  7. How do they view the aspects of alignment (law, chaos, etc)?
  8. How is your character connected to the world?  Do they have prominent family, member of organization or religion, famous, infamous, or with another PC?
  9. Were they trained by a mentor?  Who was that person, where are they now? Are they self-trained?
  10. When did they leave home? Under what circumstances did they leave it?
  11. Where do they live? What kind of building? (house, communal house; what city?)


Goals


  1. Why do they adventure? (money, fun, “fight the good fight”, religion, order/organization)?
  2. *Are they anti-heroes?
  3. How much money do they have? What do they do to get it when not adventuring?  What are their monetary/wealth goals?
  4. Education: Do they seek more knowledge?  How can they get it?
  5. Do they seek power? How do they get it?
  6. Do they have religious goals?
    --- Setup a temple, spread the word, defeat enemy of the church
  7. What organization would they like to join/thwart?
  8. What do they consider wants/needs? Do they want to build guild, towns, business or kingdom?
  9. Where would they like to live?


* A word on “anti-heroes”.  I am not against them, but anti-heroes are reluctant to be heroes.  While that makes for interesting characters in a novel or movie, in a cooperative group setting two or more make things slow down, the party do-gooders always having to try and convince the anti-heroes to participate.  The whole party should have a desire to accomplish something beneficial (at least to them) and should not need constant prodding to move the story along.  Consider this when making an anti-hero.