Character CreationNote: There are a few basic things every character should include, whether free-form or rules-based. I provide a template, along with the details of my character Isabella ('Bella') Levoreaux. If you need help with any of these details, feel free to let me know!
Base Character Information (System & Freeform)Name: Your characters name;
Isabella ('Bella') Levoreaux.Gender: At this point, only Male or female;
FemaleRace: Should be human unless you talk with me first;
HumanAlignment: Lawful, Neutral, or Chatoic + Good, Neutral, or Evil;
Neutral GoodAge: Can vary wildly; would like to keep the core group of aristocrats between 16 & 27;
19Height & Weight: Self-explanatory;
5' 4" & 120 lbs.Sexual Orientation: Hetero, Homo or Bisexual; Bisexual (will flirt with men, but would only be intimate with a woman)
Sexual Nature: Slut, Prude, or something in between (or how much you'd like to play with characters and NPCs);
Tease. Quite the flirt, Bella nevertheless keeps her purity and innocence intact. Her parents have instilled the importance of keeping her virginity intact; they expect her to marry well in the near future.
Appearance: What does your character look like?
Bella is rather short and thin, but her body is curved in the right places; she would generally considered to be very attractive. Her long hair is a mess of black curls, and she has clever, green eyes. Her voice is especially pretty, and she's known to be an excellent singer and musician.Personality & Motives: How does your character act and present themselves, and what are his/her motivations?
Bella is a curious girl, and tends to get herself and others into trouble. She's playful, entertaining, and incredibly charming. She has very little wealth to support herself, so she's always careful to remain in the good graces of her friends that support her. She's careful about keeping her distance from others, and tries very hard to discourage any romantic intimacy; she's on the hunt for a suitable and prestigious marriage, and she doesn't want anything to get in the way of that. Secretly she longs for a different life, full of adventure and love and freedom, but she's resigned herself to the idea of a good marriage and an active social life.
Background/Concept: What is your character's concept, and where do they come from?
Bella is the only daughter of a minor noble family. Although her parents have a meager home and limited wealth compared to those of her friends, they gave their daughter everything she needed to climb the social ladder and marry well. Bella's worth is in the girl herself: her charm, her attractive body and mannerisms, and her penchant for slipping in and becoming integral to the social circles around her. She's an avid performer and storyteller, and is often the life of the parties her friends throw.
Character Creation, SystemNote: Feel free to use a character generator or an online character sheet to finish up your character.
Bella & Myth-WeaversStats: You start out with the following stats, allocated in any manner you prefer:
18, 16, 14, 14, 10, 10. Alternatively, you can substitute a slightly more flawed/exceptional point spread, choosing the following stats instead:
18, 18, 14, 14, 10, 8;
Bella's stats are: Str 8, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 18.Level: All characters begin at level one.
Bella is level one.Class: All characters start with a core class from the D20/3.5 Player's Handbook; abilities may operate differently in Ravenloft, as per the Sword & Sorcery Ravenloft Campaign Setting book.
Bella is a Bard.HP: Max hp for first level; using hp very loosely here, so don't get too concerned with the number you see.
Bella has 6 hit points, and is in good health; everything is still attached!.Languages: Everyone should know Mordentish, the language of the land. Other common languages are Lamordian, Falkovnian, Halfling; other racial and magical languages are acceptable as well.
Bella knows Mordentish, Lamordian, Falkovnian and Halfling.Skills: You start out with your appropriate number of skill points, allotted as you see fit. If you are playing an aristocratic character, it might be wise to place some points into the various knowledges. *hint, hint*
Bella has [((6+4)*4)+4] 44 skill points, spread out between the skills on her character sheet. Note her many points in knowledges; she's a well-educated character.Feats: Humans start off with two feats, while all other races start with only. Since you're likely a human, pick any two feats from anywhere that go along with your character concept and fit the setting. It would be wise to check the feats in the Ravenloft Campaign Setting; and it helps to mention that characters may choose to be proficient in firearms by using a feat. Avoid power-gaming for the purposes of combat, because we're not going be exclusively handling combat via rolls.
Bella chooses Virtuoso and Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearms) for her two feats.Class Abilities: Feel free to record them. We're not going to make extensive use of any supernatural abilities until we get a it further into the story. Magic is allowed from the start, but it should be treated as simple hedge magic, or spells cast for the sake of entertainment. Familiars and animal companions aren't around until after the first story is complete.
Bella has all the normal, level one bard abilities but she won't actually make use of any of them for anything important until her life, and those of her friends, is in danger; there's simply no motivation to turn her natural abilities towards anything too constructive.
Character Creation, FreeformStats: You start out with six different traits, including: Strength (physical power), Dexterity (agility), Constitution (strength of body), Intelligence, Wisdom (common sense and force of will) and Charisma (attractiveness derived from both physical appearance and character). Simply order them from most exceptional to weakest trait, and I'll handle the rest.
Bella chose: Charisma, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Strength.Class: Pick one of the class concepts above, and then choose a specific class. Barbarians are rough and imposing fighters; Bards are attractive performers and socialites; Clerics are characters with religious themes; Druids are in tune with nature, and revere it; Fighters are experts at martial warfare; Rangers are trackers and hunters; Paladins are your traditional white knights; Rogues are slippery, manipulative and deceptive; Mages are bookish casters; Sorcerers are natural casters; Monks are unavailable. Pick one you like and that fits your characters, and leave it at that.
Bella is a Bard.Feats & Skills: Does your character know how to use firearms? I'll pick any additional feats and allocate your skill points to be in line with your character concept. Act out your concept, and you won't have any problems getting things done.
Bella knows how to use firearms and she is an accomplished performer.Special Abilities: I'll give you a brief list of what your characters can do; feel free to draw from that list of abilities as often or as rarely as you'd like. Your characters can attempt to take any actions within their concepts, and the list is a good starting point for what's within their capabilities.
Bella can use magic through her singing and dancing (and general performance). She can fascinate creatures simply by playing music, and can also try to block attacks made via sound (like a banshee wailing) with her own music. She also knows a little bit of hedge magic, including the following spells: Detect Magic (can sense magic), Mending (can make repairs to simple items), Light (can make items glow like a lantern), Prestidigitation (can perform simple tricks wth magic).
Character Creation, Final (System & Freeform)Money & Items: We're not paying attention to it. Your character concept should spell out what your relative means are, and if you try to do something outside of that, I'll speak up. If you need a specific item for something in story (a candle to explore with or a needle to pick a lock), we're going to just assume that you have those items if it seems reasonable. Any time I want to limit you in some way (running out of food and water, or out of gold), I'll expressly state it and your characters can work around that limitation.
Bella has some money, but is not very well off; she depends on her friends to support her lifestyle.Special Items, Jewelry, Weapons, etc: If there is something unique that you want your character to have, then jot it down here. For the purposes of keeping it brief, each character may pick three special and unique items for their character. This includes weapons! We'll leave the rest to be unnamed and assumed. Consider this additional fluff for your characters.
Bella has three items of importance to her. One is a polished silver mirror, inlaid with jewels, that belonged to her great grandmother. The second is a fine comb, made from carved whale bone and inlaid with pearls; her father gave it to her when she was just a girl. The final item of importance is a beautiful dagger that she often keeps nearby; she's never actually used it for anything, but it excites her to hold the sharpened blade sometimes.
Current Character Concepts Proposed(Foreigner) Elf Wizard; the only really exotic character to the story; more details incoming
(Commoner; Servant) Blacksmith with dreams of more; a Will Turner-esque character in love with a noblewoman
(Commoner; Servant) Butler/Companion, probably to a male nobleman; more details incoming.
(Commoner/Noble?; Slut) A female companion to one of the noble gentleman, no one is quite sure what to make of her. She's definitely attractive, and she seems open to playing and being played with; there are times where she very much seems the aristocrat, and other times she appears to be a commoner in pretty clothes; eye candy.
(Noble; Heiress x2) So far we have two very spoiled young women, and there's room for more. Think of this as a circle of friends, who compete and snipe at one another; deep down, they're a clique and a unit, but there's always tension there. Characters will each be unique personalities.
(Noble, Social Butterfly) A noble girl from an impoverished family. She enjoys an elevated lifestyle through the generosity of her friends. An accomplished performer, she often sings and tells stories to amuse her friends. Adept at maneuvering through various crowds and social circles, she hopes to elevate her family's place in society by making a good marriage...even if she could never give her heart to a man. Flirty, teasy and playful, but never intimate (so far).
(Noble, The Heroine) A noble woman with strong ideals and beliefs. She's very protective over her friends and companions, especially her female friends.
(Noble, The Romantic Dreamer) Sweet, innocent, quite obviously attracted to girls; the young noble woman is quite the dreamer, and is frequently in her own world. Nevertheless, she's a very warm and compassionate person, and a joy to have around
(Noble, The Dashing Gentleman) Dark, mysterious, and often quiet, this male noble is nevertheless quite charming. He has been known to play with both men and women, but his affairs are usually kept private. Well educated and hailing from a very powerful family.
(Noble: The Slut) Fun-loving and playful, this noble girl seems to get around quite a bit. It's difficult to resist her charming nature and very sexual appetites. She's rash, impulsive, and hedonistic
(Noble, The Manipulator) There is a character with this concept already, but I'm not naming names.
Characters Wanted & Plot Hooks AvailableLet me know if you have any roles that you'd like filled for your characters; these can be characters played by me, that support your character's concept..or we can leave it open for other players to fill those roles.
*Seeking a noblewoman (may require a certain personality type) for a secret love affair; she may not know anything about it, but a certain commoner just might have his eye set on a particular lady.
*Looking for a master manipulator to play and toy with his/her friends. Can be male or female, but if female, she should be rather dominant and into girls; a bisexual female character, or a straight male character would be wonderful for this role; must be an extremely (write well, be active and imaginative) capable player for this role, as it's going to be very demanding. Will have some help from me here with working your plans to fruition.
*Would love several male nobles to pop in as well. Dueling, hunting and girl/wench-chasing are popular activities for these sorts, although I would absolutely adore a gay or bisexual male nobleman; just completely fits in with the setting, and would add wonderful flavor to the story. Straight male nobles are also quite important and needed!