The first step of character creation for this game is to decide: Are you a Craftsperson, or an old power (most likely a god, but I'm open to other ideas)? Either way, you get two Words of Creation that you can choose freely. The full list from the Deluxe book (including Strifes, Fate, and Shapeshifting) is available, as is Lexicon with the exception of Concept Words (but see below) and Engineering (I know it would fit into the setting, but I prefer Artifice - have had some not-great experiences with Engineering). Homebrew Words, gifts, and Strifes are also totally viable - run them by me first though. You start the game as a level two Godbound and the assumption is that you have a cult (see details under individual headings below) although you may, if you wish, be a free divinity if you explain such. You start with the standard stat array of 16 14 13 13 10 8 to allocate as you like.

If you want to play a Craftsperson, you are playing a more experienced and powerful one - probably someone who has been practicing the Craft for decades, and quite possibly someone who fought in the God Wars. If you're a full on Deathless King, you get the Lich King Word as your third starting Word, representing your undead nature. If you want to play a very skilled Craftsperson who hasn't yet gone full bonehead, you can instead take the Peak Human Word as your third starting Word. If you have a cult, rather than worship their power coming to you as Dominion reflects the web of contracts and debts that bind them to you. They may be a corporation, firm, or other arrangement of people as fits the character concept.

If you instead want to play a god or other inhuman power, you can take either the Artificial Intelligence, Dragon, or Faerie Queen Word as your third starting Word. Faerie Queen most likely is the best to represent most deities, while Dragon would be suited for those who are more bestial in nature. Artificial Intelligence is going to fit best for characters that are advanced creations of Craftwork that have taken on sentience. Cults for most of these characters are going to be just that, cults, which worship them and provide power for them in that way. At your option, some may instead have the same corporate structures that most Deathless Kings will. The difference is mostly a matter of perspective, anyway.