Character creation in Colonial Gothic is straightforward, though it may not always seem so.

The steps are simple:

• Step 1: Choose your Abilities
• Step 2: Choose your Background
• Step 3: Choose your Skills
• Step 4: Choose your Story Hooks
• Step 5: Finishing Touches

Each step is explained below.

Step 1: Abilities

There are 5 Abilities: Might, Nimble, Vigor, Reason, and Resolution.

• Might: Physical strength, brute power, physical size.
• Nimble: Agility, dexterity, reaction speed (determines who goes 1st in combat)
• Vigor: Health, energy, endurance.
• Reason: Memory, knowledge, ability to think clearly.
• Resolution: Willpower, emotional and inner strength.

The lowest Ability score possible for a human is 4 (feeble) and the highest is 12 (mighty—the human maximum). The human average is 7. Ability scores are mostly set and unlikely to change over the course of play.

To determine your abilities, divide 45 Ability Points among your character’s five Abilities (Might, Nimble, Vigor, Reason, and Resolution) on a one to one basis.

45 points doesn’t go far. All abilities are important to a character’s survival, so the system doesn’t make min/maxers very effective characters. Players will be better off balancing stats as best they can.

Ability scores can apply a bonus (or malus) to dice checks, according to the list below.


Ability Bonuses

There are also derived Attributes, calculated from combinations of the above Abilities:

• Vitality: {[(Might + Vigor) ÷ 2] × 5} The ability to absorb damage (physical or mental) over time.
• Sanity:  (Resolution x 5) Mental fortitude. The ability to absorb mental and emotional shocks over time.
• Actions: (Nimble ÷  3) The number of times a character may act in a combat round.
• Initiative Rating: [(Nimble + Reason) ÷ 2] Added to initiative rolls to determine who acts first in combat/contests.
• Action Points: All players start with 5. Can be expended during play to influence the dice.

This message was last edited by the GM at 14:59, Sun 15 Aug 2021.

Step 2: Background

In the 18th Century Americas a person’s destiny was largely determined by the circumstances of their birth. Deeply entrenched and dehumanising racism, sexism and classism were very much alive. Slavery was widely practiced in the Americas. Wars could be genocidal—there would be no Geneva Conventions for another 150 years—and atrocities such as massacring captives or burning whole villages happened with depressing regularity.

Additionally, religion, superstition and the supernatural were present and very real for almost everyone; they played a far greater role in everyday life than they do today. The existence of spirits and other unseen forces, and the possibility of divine (or diabolic) intervention was taken as a matter of fact by most people.

Against this violent and star-crossed background, think about the following questions…

• Who are you?
• Where and when were you born?
• Who is the most important person in your life?
• What drives you?
• What do you most desire?
• What is your greatest fear?
• What defines your Faith?
• What do you think about the conflict in North American between the English, French and Native nations?

The majority of of our characters will be either French emigres or native-born Canadians, whether French, indigenous or métis.

Backgrounds are templates that help to define a character’s skills and life experiences up to this point.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:55, Thu 22 Apr 2021.

Step 2: Background (Cont.)

Character  Background Templates
Choose one of these templates. The Background Bonuses are free skills (level 1) that come with the template.

Many of these descriptions are copied in whole or in part from the Colonial Gothic 3e Rulebook, the New France or French and Indian War sourcebooks. Rights of fair use for non-commercial purposes are asserted.

The Colonists

Administrator

A character with this background has been given an office in the kingdom’s colonies and he is expected to serve his king by protecting and promoting the king's assets in the New World.

Some considered an office in New France as an occasion to distinguish themselves, and others as a punishment akin to exile. The former eagerly strove to perform well and the latter enriched themselves while seeking another office elsewhere. Only male characters can be Administrators.

Background Bonus: Study (Law) +1, Bureaucracy +1, Empathy +1, Diplomacy +1 and Language, (French - Fluent)


Catholic Priest or Nun

The priests of New France are either from the Séminaire de Québec or educated in France. Jesuits and Sulpicians were the two most common orders in the colony at this time, though others may be present. Priests either tend to the colonists in matters of faith or attempt to convert natives to Christianity. Characters who wish to be missionaries should take the Diplomacy background bonus instead of Bureaucracy. The Séminaire did enroll indigenous Christians for the priesthood; if playing an indigenous priest, take fluency in an indigenous language and put points towards French.

Although the priesthood is exclusively male, women can belong to one of the several orders of nuns that ran schools and hospitals in New France. These nuns will require Study and Language skills to work in schools, and Medicine skills to work in hospitals.

Background Bonus: Profession (Clergy) +1, Bureaucracy or Diplomacy +1, Empathy +1, Language (of Choice) +1 and Language (French – Fluent)


Coureur des Bois

These individuals go into the back country to trade directly with the natives rather than waiting at trading posts or in cities. Coureurs des bois who have an official license to practise their trade are called Voyageurs, and in some periods it is illegal to trade without a license. Whether licensed or not, their lifestyle could be condemned for their heathen ways and loose morals, and believed that anyone who mixed with indigenous people too much would be corrupted. Be that as it may, no colonists know more about the land or the art of survival than the coureurs des bois.

Background Bonus: Athletics +1, Survival +1, Bargain +1, Language (of Choice) +1 and Language (French - Fluent)


Landowner

The Seigneurs of New France were wealthy and politically powerful, but unlike their counterparts in France they were not often of noble birth. Their main concern was to make sure that their seigneurie ran smoothly, producing crops, trade goods, and taxes. In the event of any trouble, from a crop failure to attacks, the tenant farmers would look to their Seigneur for a solution.

Background Bonus: Bureaucracy +1, Diplomacy +1, Merchant +1, Study (Law or Mathematics) +1, and Language (French – Fluent)


Rural Colonist

Commercial entrepreneurs, former engagés, former soldiers or French citizens could all travel to North America and receive lands in a seigneurie. France needed as many of them as possible to support her claims in the new world.

Background Bonus: Animal handling +1, Craft (any) +1, Trade (any) +1, Study (any) +1, and Language (French - Fluent)


Urban Colonist

Urban Colonists, like most Colonists, trace their family heritage back to France. In some cases, some might have entered into an apprenticeship after their parents paid their passage to the Americas by becoming indentured servants. Careers within urban centers are diverse. Smaller ships sail up and down the coast to dock at cities built along numerous rivers bringing goods to be distributed further into the heartland. From glassmakers to silversmiths, lawyers to ship-makers, many skilled and specialized trades are found in the urban centers, creating a complex economy and a number of opportunities for the savvy Urban Colonist.

Background Bonus: Trade or Profession or Craft (any) +1, Socialize +1, Streetwise +1, Any other skill +1, and Language (French - Fluent)


Slaves, Indentures and Freedmen


Engagé (Indentured Servant) or Former Engagé

 Engagés are people, usually from the lower classes of France, who exchanged a commitment of three years of work in the colonies for their subsistence and some money. Unlike their equivalents in the Thirteen Colonies, the conditions in which they lived were quite decent even if they received a meager few livres per year. After their three years, the engagés officially became citizens and could engage in activities such as the fur trade that were previously restricted to them. They could also return to France.

Initially, most of the men who came to New France were engagés and few chose to stay after their term was up. As the colonies developed and life there became more comfortable, more and more decided to stay.

Background Bonus: Bargain +1, Trade (any) +1, Profession (any) +1, Streetwise +1 and Language (French - Fluent)


Slave or Freed Slave

Though the slave trade was technically illegal for much of New France’s history, it was only the trade (not the ownership) of slaves that was outlawed. Though nowhere near the scale of the plantation economies in colonies to the south, slavery was practiced in New France, and indigenous people made up the majority of enslaved peoples.

Slavery existed in indigenous communities prior to European arrival. However, unlike European chattel slavery, where a slave (and their offspring) was considered property to be bought and sold, indigenous slaves were normally captives of war, taken to fill to social roles of a family member lost during the conflict. Slaves were still abused and marked for life, but over time they would integrate as members of the community. Unlike chattel slavery, children born to slaves would not be considered slaves themselves but full members of the community.

The arrival of the French changed this dynamic and chattel slavery became more the norm, engendering a small slave raiding/trading economy among competing indigenous groups. New France did not have the same needs for agricultural labour as the plantation economies to the south, however, and so the slave trade was not as lucrative. It’s estimated that there were around 2000-4000 slaves, 2/3 of them indigenous, in the colony in the years between 1700-1763. African slaves existed in the colony in smaller numbers—being shipped from French holdings in the Caribbean or arriving as domestics with colonists from France.

Though socially marginalised, freed slaves did live in New France, having been granted their freedom or having escaped from the 13 Colonies.

Background Bonus: Trade (any) +1, Craft (any) +1, Streetwise or Survival +1 and Language (Native - Fluent; French +1)


Military
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_New_France.

Colonial Militia

Militia in the French and Indian War are not necessarily defending their own homes, but rather participating in a campaign season against the English and their local allies. They may be called to travel far from their home, only returning once the weather prevents military action and the army permits them to go home. Still, unlike their Regular counterparts, unless killed, taken prisoner, disciplined, or missing in action, they did return home each season as men freed from their terms of service. This left them six months of the year to take on other professions.

Background Bonuses: Craft or trade (any) +1, Dodge +1, Shoot +1, Survival +1, Language (French—Fluent).


Regular Army

Members of the regular army are, for the most part, newly arrived from France and trained in continental warfare. The French comanders, however, were quicker than the English to adapt their training in conventional, large unit tactics to the realities of conflict in the Canadian wilderness. Vastly outnumbered by the British regulars, they fought “la petite guerre” using small unit hit-and-run tactics that helped even the odds.

Regular Infantry
Background Bonuses: Shoot +1, Dodge +1, Melee +1, Tactics +1 Language (French—Fluent).

Regular Navy
Background Bonuses: Athletics +1, Defend +1, Study (Weather) +1, Trade (Sailor) +1, Language (French—Fluent).

Compagnies franches de la marine (Marines)
Background Bonuses: Athletics +1, Shoot +1, Melee +1, Tactics +1, Language (French—Fluent).


Indigenous Canadians


Hunter/Fisherman

Men in Algonquian and Iroquoian society are primarily hunters and fishermen. They also do any construction and heavy lifting that the community requires. Hunting and fishing are seasonal occupations, and the men also defend the village from enemies.

Background Bonuses: Archery (or Throw) +1, Track +1, Stealth +1, Survival +1 Language (of choice—Fluent).


Farmer/Gatherer

Among the Algonquian and Iroquois peoples of the 18th C. Eastern seaboard, gathering and farming are tasks most often carried out by women. Women have equal status to men, and in many domains, such as agriculture, hold authority. Broadly speaking, while both groups practiced some form of cultivation, the members of the Iroquois Confederacy were more sedentary agriculturalists while Algonquin and Anishinaabe groups further north tended to a more nomadic, seasonal lifestyle. The main crops grown in the Iroquois Confederacy are corn, beans, and squash, which are planted together: the beans climb the corn stalks, and the squash plants shade the ground with their leaves, preventing weeds from growing. All groups gather nuts, berries, and shellfish in season, as well as medicinal plants.

Background Bonuses: Trade (Farming or other as appropriate) +1,  Study (Botany) +1, Stealth +1, Survival +1, Language (Language of Tribe—Fluent).


Warrior

The ferocity and courage of native warriors made a deep impression on the colonists, and the image of the “Indian brave” is an enduring one. Historically, the natives of the Eastern seaboard do not have a distinct warrior caste, however. This template presents an exceptional Algonquian or Iroquoian man who has devoted himself to the arts of the warrior, perhaps one who served alongside European troops as a scout or irregular.

Background Bonuses: Archery or Shoot +1, Stealth +1, Survival +1, Track +1 Language (of choice—Fluent).


Half-King (Diplomat)

Half-kings are Iroquois diplomats. Appointed by the Iroquois chiefs, the half-kings have the power to speak for the Confederacy as well as for the particular tribe they represented, and to accept gifts on behalf of both groups. While all treaties or agreements must be ratified by the Confederacy’s chiefs, the half kings had great power as regional diplomats.

Half-kings were seldom liked by the tribes they represented – first and foremost because they were often not members of the tribe, and secondly because they always placed the Confederacy’s interests above those of the particular tribe they were supposed to be representing.

While the Iroquois are English allies, similar diplomats and negotiators will exist in most native groups.

Background Bonuses: Survival +1, Diplomacy +1, Empathy +1, Language (any) +1, Language (of Tribe—Fluent).


Shaman

Native American shamans are sometimes called “medicine men” by the colonists; indigenous peoples have various titles in their own tongues. They are respected for their wisdom and knowledge as well as for their magical abilities. In addition to their esoteric knowledge, shamans often have a deep connection to the natural world and are able to read things in it that others cannot.

Background Bonuses: Divination (Augury, Belomancy, Catoptromancy, or Scapulomancy) +1, Heal +1, Sense +1, Physick +1, Language (Language of Tribe—Fluent).


Adopted

As noted above, some colonists, especially children and adolescent women, were captured to replace group losses in battle or to disease. They may also have been passed from one group to another, so it is conceivable that Adopted may be from the 13 Colonies or even further afield. A white person adopted from childhood into a group would more than likely be shown the same consideration as any other member of the clan, so long as they adopted expected norms. As a rare exception, white traders who took native wives could choose whether to live in the settler or indigenous manner among their new family.

Background Bonuses: Tracking +1, Survival +1, Language (English or French—Fluent), Language (Language of Tribe—Fluent).
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:46, Fri 23 Apr 2021.

Step 3: Choose Skills

Each Skill is associated with one of the five Abilities. This is important because this determines the Ability Bonus your get to add to your Skill Test.

You have 40 Skill Points to purchase the Skills your character knows.

The base level (level 1) of a skill costs 4 Skill points. Thereafter each additional level in a skill costs 2 points.

Skills can be increased with XP.

Some skills can also be used untrained, at a penalty.

The Skills list in CG is a bit janky. Some skills are redundant. See Note 1, below, if you encounter redundant or confusing skills at this stage.



Note 1: Redundant Skills
Some of the skills appear redundant and may be confusing to new players. For example, there is Craft: Carpentry and Profession: Woodworking: Carpenter. There is a fine distinction between these two and they seem to be intended to be complementary (Craft might be the actual skill of physically working the wood, while Profession would entail all the professional practices around the trade of carpentry—knowledge of how to choose wood, draw blueprints, work within the journeyman system, etc).  For practical purposes, in the game we’ll consider these skills functionally interchangeable. If your character is a Carpenter by trade, choose Profession. If they’re a farmer who does a bit of carpentry around the farm, choose Craft. That’s good enough for most game uses.

The situation is even more confusing when it comes to medical skills. There are skills called Heal, Study: Anatomy; Physick, Profession: Doctor; Profession: Surgeon; Profession: Midwife.

They’re not all well-differentiated in the rule book, so the following  house rule will apply:

The critical core skill is Heal, which covers attempts to address wounds or illness by both folk and scientific medicine.

Physick is the folk skill of diagnosis.

Profession: Doctor is the medical equivalent of Physick and also includes all manner of knowledge around the professional training and practice of scientific medicine.

Profession: Surgeon is used only for surgical procedures, which in this age mostly means dealing with amputations, bullet extraction and other trauma, though by this time cesarian sections and surgical corrections, such as for joints and tendons, were gaining a more scientific footing. Surgeons may or may not be medical doctors; they are just as likely to have been apprenticed as they are to have attended a university (the barber surgeons and ship’s carpenter surgeons are still active in this age, and there will be knowledge of key surgical techniques in indigenous communities).

Profession: Midwife deals with all aspects of childbirth and pre/post natal care. It is almost exclusively a female profession and still without formal schooling, though village apprenticeship is common. Being considered a kind of folk medicine it's often held in distain by the emerging class of professional physicians.

Study: Anatomy at level 1 gives a +1 bonus to other medical rolls. It is open to all characters (simulating academic, folk and indigenous knowledge of anatomy).

Herbalism allows the practitioner mix teas, antidotes and other concoctions from natural ingredients (for example, willow bark extract for fever and pain: the origin of today’s Asprin).
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:49, Thu 12 Aug 2021.

Step 3: Skills (Cont.)

The skills list follows below, split into categories of Untrained (those that can be used at a penalty if not learned), Trained (those that must be learned to level 1 in order to be used) and Restricted (those that can only be learned in consultation with the GM).

Skills (Untrained)

• Archery (Nimble): the ability to aim and shoot a bow and arrow, and care for and handle a bow.
  
• Athletics (Might): performing activities that depend on your physical strength and endurance, such as climbing, jumping, running or swimming.
  
• Bargain (Resolution): convincing others through shrewdness, e.g bluff, bribery, charm, fast talk, and haggling.
  
• Brawl (Might): the skill of fighting without weapons including boxing, brawling, grappling, and wrestling.
  
• Bureaucracy (Reason): the skill of understanding and manipulating organizations and power structures.
  
• Defend (Might): the skill to block, deflect, disarm, or parry a brawling or melee attack.
  
• Diplomacy (Resolution): the skill of convincing others by swaying them to your point of view, e.g. debate, etiquette, leadership, negotiation, persuasion, and seduction.
  
• Dodge (Nimble): the skill of avoiding ranged attacks.
  
• Empathy (Resolution): the skill of reading and understanding other people’s feelings and mental states.
  
• Gaming (Reason): the skill of playing non-physical games of strategy and chance, including gambling.
  
• Intimidation (Resolution): the skill of convincing others through fear, e.g bluster, interrogation, orders, and torture.
  
• Investigation (Reason): the skill of finding clues and uncovering evidence, including clue-finding, interviews and research.
  
• Melee (Might): the skill of fighting with a weapon.
  
• Observe (Reason): the skill of being aware of your surroundings and noticing small details. Observe covers both listening and seeing.
  
• Performance (Resolution): Performance is the skill of entertaining people. Choose one emphasis: Acting, Dancing, Disguise, Oratory, Singing, and Specific Musical Instrument. This skill can be taken multiple times.
  
• Resist (Reason): this skill allows you to resist a magical attack or any other supernatural efforts to influence you.
  
• Ride (Nimble): The ability to ride and care for a mount.
  
• Shoot (Nimble): Any ranged weapon using gunpowder uses this skill.
  
• Socialize (Resolution): the skill of interacting positively with other people in a social situation.
  
• Stealth (Nimble): the skill of hiding oneself and moving without being seen, including camouflage and disguise.
  
• Streetwise (Resolution): the skill of being able to interact with individuals engaged in illegal or semi-legal activities, including finding contacts, contraband and scrounging
  
• Throw (Nimble): the skill for the throwing of ranged weapons.

Skills (Trained)

• Acrobatics (Nimble): performing physical feats at a height or under conditions that affect your sense of balance such as contortion, falling, tumbling or vaulting.
  
• Animal Handling (Reason): caring for and training animals.
  
• Astrology (Reason): allows a character to research a person’s background and birthright by plotting star charts based on some general knowledge about the person. Successful use gives a bonus to social interaction with the person.
  
• Craft (Reason): the skill representing experience and training in a specific trade. Characters with this skill are able to build, repair, or modify items and equipment in their chosen craft. You must specialize in one craft of your choice, but may purchase other Craft skills separately. Emphasis: Carpenter, Smith, Glassblower, Tailor, Weaver, Cooper, etc.
  
• Divination (Might): a skill used to divine the future in some shape or form. There are several different types of Divination that you can use depending upon what you want to know. Characters who want to learn more than one form of Divination will have to buy this skill multiple times. Speak to the GM for more detail.
  
• Heal (Reason): From natural remedies to knowledge of how to administer first aid, your character knows how to heal wounds and treat injuries.
  
• Herbalist (Reason): From knowing the properties and differences between types of plants to the brewing of teas, Herbalist allows your character to know how to use plants for a variety of purposes.
  
• Language (Reason): All characters are fluent in one language. This skill can be taken multiple times for additional languages, as well as further ranks to be more fluent with existing languages (+12 Rank is fluent).
  
• Merchant (Reason): From knowing how to buy and sell goods, to being able to judge the value of items, the Merchant skill allows your character to make money from trade (and gains advantage over Bargain skill).
  
• Physick (Reason): the skill of diagnosing and treating physical ailments.
  
• Profession (Reason): Profession is knowledge of one particular career or vocation. Choose one emphasis (others are possible): Artistry; Brewing; Bookmaker; Clergy; Cooking; Doctor; Entertaining; Midwifery; Navigation; Printer; Sewing; Surgeon; Weapon-making; Woodworking.
  
• Study (Reason): addresses subjects of knowledge your character is passionate about, generally though book learning. This is a broad skill, and has many subcategories covering specific areas of knowledge. This skill can be taken multiple times. Choose one emphasis: Anatomy, Astronomy, Botany, Cartography, Chemistry, History, Law, Mathematics, Native American Cultures, Optics, Theology, Weather.
  
• Subterfuge (Nimble): the skill of using your hands to engage in dubious activities, e.g. escape artist, forgery, pickpocket, and sleight of hand.
  
• Survival (Reason): how to use the natural environment to advantage, including finding food, shelter, avoiding hazards, leaving no trace and predicting the weather.
  
• Tactics (Reason): the skill of organizing and planning military operations.
  
• Track (Reason): knowledge of and ability to read tracks and follow them.
  
• Trade (Might): Like Profession (above), but a labour-intensive trade that depends on physical prowess. Choose one emphasis: Farming; Husbandry; Leather-working; Metalworking (Blacksmith, Goldsmith, etc); Repair (Tinker); Sailor.

Magical Skills (Restricted)

• Alchemy (Reason): the ability to create talismans and other items of magical power.
  
• Magic (Resolution): the ability to cast individual spells.
  
• Lore (Reason): through experience or reading, knowledge about demons, devils and magic.
  
• Sense (Reason): a skill used to track magic’s unique signature or read magic in auras.

Skills Bonus

Starting skill points in CG are pretty sparse, so every skill point counts. Players are unlikely to put skill points into anything that won’t directly further their character’s survivability in a frontier setting.

This is a bit counter-intuitive for a couple of reasons. First,  frontier living required people to be jacks-of-all-trades. Generalists thrived on the frontier. And no matter their specialist profession, most people would know the basics of several essential skills—such as cooking, tailoring or husbandry. Second, while frontier living was hard, and occasionally terrifying, it was also very boring for long stretches. People needed things to amuse themselves with during dark nights and long winters—music and decorative works (beadwork, carving, embroidery) were popular pastimes.

To simulate this, players may take up to three free levels in any musical (Performance) or decorative art (Profession: Artistry) skill (all in one skill or across several). Additionally, they can take one free level in any Trade, Craft, Language, Study or Profession skill unrelated to their primary profession.  For settlers, logical choices include Craft: Carpentry, Profession: Cookery or Profession: Sewing. For aristocrats, Study and Languages. And for indigenous people, wilderness-related Professions like Fishing, Woodcrafting and Tanning.

Language Bonus

To simulate the multi-lingual environment of 18th Century New France, and the fact that even the most sheltered individuals probably were exposed to more than one language or dialect, players may take, for free, up to 6 levels in any language that logically fits with their character concept. These can be indigenous languages, European languages or liturgical/scholarly languages (e.g. Latin, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew). Points can be spent all on one language, or split among several. This bonus is in addition to starting languages that come with your chosen Background Template.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:38, Thu 26 Aug 2021.

Step 4: Choose up to 5 Hooks

Hooks are short sentences or quotes that describe important elements of the character’s personality, background, or relationship to the world. They are shorthand ways of painting a detailed picture of the character, aiding in character portrayal.

Hooks highlight those aspects players think are important about their characters, informing the Gamemaster about the kinds of plots and dramatic elements their players want to see in adventures involving their characters. Hooks are also the best way in which players can spend Action Points to give their characters an edge in the course of an adventure.

A good rule of thumb for hooks would be to include 1-2 hooks from childhood, 1-2 hooks from one’s training/profession, and 1 hook that speaks to one’s faith and/or experience of the supernatural.

Some sample Hooks are:

“Should the King’s navy ever catch me, I’ll hang for desertion.”

“My mother told me I was born for this kind of weather.”

“Great Spirit guide my arrow true.”

“There is wisdom in plants: roots and berries nourish us; the weed in the hedgerow is physic.”

“Care for home and hearth and it cares for thee.”

“I lived, and we carried the day. But I still bear the scars.”

During gameplay a player can declare they are playing a Hook when they feel it is relevant, and, if the GM agrees, can spend an Action Point to gain a Bonus relating to the Hook, namely the re-rolling of any Test result, or granting a +2 Bonus to a Test.

For example, a character with the above navy deserter hook could play that hook whenever they were in proximity to, or in danger of being found out by, navy or military personnel.

The GM can also play a player Hook when she feels it is relevant, and, if the player agrees, they gain a free Action Point that can either be used immediately (if the situation the GM has created warrants it) or saved for later use.

Step 5: Finishing touches

At this point you should have a very good idea of you character and their history. You can list your starting gear (just choose what is logical and reasonable, subject to GM approval), craft your backstory and put the finishing touches on character details. I will be incorporating bits and pieces of your character's backstory into the RP.

Please note that this GM is not a fan of cliches ("my whole family was killed by bandits"), backstories that stretch credulity ("I'm an orphan adopted by forest monks who taught me martial arts and also to be a war surgeon and wilderness tracker") or indeed backstories that run longer than one or two paragraphs. If you do write a 15,000 word biography I will be obliged to read it. However I will also be obliged to include aspects of it in the adventure ahead, so make sure it's a good one.