First, read through the Your Characters thread to get an idea of what sort of character you are playing (link to a message in this game) you probably also want to read through The Setting thread if you are unfamiliar with Rokugan or to figure out how this setting differs from regular Rokugan (link to a message in this game)

Second, as children your Honor, Glory and Status are going to default to 20 and none of your answers during character creation will make it any lower, though you might end up being a little higher. There are very low expectations placed on your behavior but you also don't have much influence either. You might have impressed people by being a stand-out student, but otherwise you likely haven't done much good or bad to make people either respect or despise you.

Next, please answer these questions.

1. What Clan do you belong to?
Check out The Clans thread (link to a message in this game) for details on the 9 Great Clans of this setting. This includes the 7 Great Clans as well as 2 "new" Great Clans. I don't really have any details regarding the Minor Clans, so I really would prefer if people would stick to those 9.

2. What family do you belong to?
The families of each clan are listed in broad categories on The Clans thread (link to a message in this game). The 4-5 that are included in the main book are on that list, the additional families have some details found here (https://drive.google.com/file/...Dqbz9NQS0UHqOfQEn29c) or in the case of some of those Mantis Clan families here (https://drive.google.com/file/...Y281KKYt3mbb-sZKHRYu)

Obviously many of the exact details of the origins of most of these families would have drastically changed, but Fate generally saw to it that they all eventually came about one way or another and have recognizable traits. If a person from this world were to be transported to regular Rokugan, they would probably fit in with their family just fine.

Don't get too hung up on the actual mechanical details. Instead, tell me your interpretation of what the family is like. Those found in the Google Document can be considered more of a blank slate for you to add your own details. In addition-- if none of the 12+ families associated with any of the clans strikes your fancy, there is the option of creating your own family with its own details.

3. What subjects do you accel at?
 Classes in Otosan Uchi include literature, writing, art, history, arithmetic, law and astronomy. In addition there are additional classes that focus on the things your clan/family is known to have a tendency for (and you could well have interest in a subject different from what your family is famous for too). Don't just choose 1 subject, give me at least 3 different areas they do well in and describe why they do well.

4. What kind of person are you?
Are they graceful, charming and empathetic? Are they calm, studious and reliable? Are they innovative, passionate and independent? Are they self-aware, insightful and spiritual? Are they friendly, sociable and natural leaders?

5. Who are your parents and what do they expect from you?
No one really wants to disappoint their parents, and that couldn't possible be more true of samurai. The expectations your parents have are probably going to be the biggest source of internal conflict-- whatever you may want to do, whatever may seem the right thing for you to do, whatever your friends ask you to do-- the duty to your parents and not bringing shame to them should always be foremost in your mind.

6. What are your hopes and dreams?
What does your character hope to accomplish in the future? What is the goal they are working to achieve? Paint a picture of the ideal adult your character hope to grow up to be.

7. What are your parent's role in the clan?
Your character's parents surely are in Otosan Uchi for a reason, particularly if they are now Owl Clan, and even if they are-- they must have some role they are fulfilling within the city. Whatever the character's parents do, it surely has rubbed off on them one way or another.

8. What sort of ideals and religious practices do you have?
There are many kinds of religions on Rokugan (link to a message in this game) and these are no doubt going to dramatically affect the character's point of view. Which religions does the character most engage in and how does this shape how they view the world? In terms of the 7 tenets of Bushido, which of them does your character most and least exemplify?

9. What did you do that made your parents most proud?
The characters are less than 12 years old, so obviously they aren't going to have been part of any big empire-shaping events. Think of a small, but meaningful thing the character has done that made their parents proud. The smaller and more personal, the better in this regard.

10. What is your biggest shortcoming?
Everyone has problems-- even little kids. Maybe your character always wants to eat sweets. Maybe your character has a crush on everyone who is ever nice to them. Maybe your character is an obsessive collector of bugs, stones or bobbles. Maybe your character likes watching the theater and sometimes forgets to get to lessons or go home on time. There is no need to go too dark on this-- its just the thing that likely causes them to do less than their best and would prove a major distraction for them if presented.

11. What makes you feel content?
Again-- keep in mind the age and relative inexperience of your character. But there must surely be something that makes them feel completely peaceful and happy. Its probably something very simple-- perhaps sorting through their rock collection or their mother's lullaby or spending time with their cat.

12. What is your greatest fear?
Everyone is afraid of something, and children can have some of the most irrational of fears. It is likely nothing too terrible traumatic has occurred to you... yet. But maybe there was some point where all hope seemed lost. Maybe the character got lost in the city or maybe climbed onto a wall, fell off and broke an arm or leg or maybe a grandparent dying has left them completely uncomfortable with the idea of death.

13. Who is your favorite teacher?
All of the subjects at school have different teachers, in addition those who live in the neighborhood could be teachers of their own sort. Feel free to use one of the NPCs already listed in the NPC thread or crate your own that will be added to the thread. This should be the person besides your family that your character either takes after or at least admires.

14. What strange quirk do you have?
What makes your character stand out from others in the class. If someone said "This is the child who ______", what would fill in the blank for you.

15. What does your character do when overwhelmed?
Whether it be due to stress or being scolded or encountering something they fear, how does your character act? Of course-- as children-- they really are not expected to mask their emotions nearly as much as adults do (and in this version of Rokugan, everyone does so less so than default) but how would the character react when overwhelmed?

16. What is the thing that your character most treasures and who did they get it from?
This could be just about anything, but it should be something that one would expect a child to have-- so nothing too deadly or illegal. Maybe your character doesn't even realize it is their "treasure". It could be anything from a ribbon to a pet to a toy to a book. Obviously if it is something they can carry around with them, it would be able to come up more narratively than something that they would leave at home. It should also represent the relationship with the person they received it from.

17. How do your siblings see you?
Single child households are fairly unusual, and if you are in that unusual situation then perhaps this could be about their cousins or friends. Come up with a few names and brief descriptions of your characters siblings and describe your characters relationships with them.

18. Who is your character's greatest hero?
This will probably be something long dead who is only spoken about in legend. This ties into who they aspire to become like. Tell about that person and what famous deed they performed. (As far as the random heritage table in the default book, pretty much only results 3 through 7 should be considered-- I would potentially be willing to consider 1 and 2 with a good enough story though.)

19. What is your characters name?
Your character hasn't gone through their ceremony to become an adult, so for now you still have a child name. Check out the thread regarding child names (link to a message in this game) and choose/create one that you think is right for you. Many of them pretty much inherently come with meanings that are pretty obvious on the surface like their birth order or the season or time of day they were born in, but with the later categories maybe there is a greater meaning beyond such simple things.

20. Why did you decide to become part of the Children's Investigators?
Maybe your character hasn't decided to join the team just yet, but presumably they should be up for joining either officially or reluctantly within the first few posts you make. If the character would be opposed to taking up the case or working with others without being dragged by the ear, it is going to be difficult to work them into the story. If they are just going to stay at school obediently and not follow along on the adventure, then likely all you have created is a very detailed background character for the story that won't be doing much. So what is the thing that is going to make you engage?
This message was last updated by the GM at 17:06, Sat 27 Feb 2021.