Ability Scores: Standard point-buy.
Races, Classes, etc: Any official sources, including Essentials.
Starting Level: 1
Starting Gold: 100 gp.
Backgrounds: No.
Themes: No.
Setting: Eberron.

This adventure is likely to be on the easy side, so please don't feel the need to optimize to the hilt. If you're new to the game, or new to play-by-post, I recommend making a relatively simply character. Some people find that forced movement is less worthwhile without a map, so you may prefer not focusing on that as a character ability.

As written, the adventure offers few, if any, opportunities for the use of more "social" skills. The opposition isn't interested in negotiating, and they're pretty clear in their intentions. I say this so that you don't invest heavily in social-type options and then find them not to be very useful. Don't take this adventure as representative of 4th Edition; it was intended as a simple introduction.

There are some magic items to be found in the adventure. If you suggest a Level 3 item and a Level 5 item, I might make one of those items one of the items in the adventure. That is more likely to happen if the item is a) something your character needs or has been seeking or b) is something that a monster would also like to use.