Character Creation

This page won't go into all the ins and outs of character creation, because there's already plenty of material on that topic. Rather, this details the specific things you'll need to consider when making a character from the world of Andara.

## Restrictions and Guidelines

Some content, concepts, or other miscellany are prohibited in this campaign, and are as follows:

### Class

* You may only play any of the standard classes, and subclasses from official source material (apart from that which is listed in the banned content section of the house rules page) or one of the homebrew subclasses I have made for this campaign.
* If you wish to multiclass, you may only do so once (meaning that your character can have no more than two classes). Multiclassing must make sense within the context of your specific character. For example, if your character is a grizzled war veteran, then a war cleric with some levels in fighter would make sense, and would provide extra depth to the character. If your character is a wandering minstrel, then making them a bard and randomly taking a level in barbarian would not make sense.
* Multiple players playing the same class is fine (within reason), but subclass duplicates are not. Having two bards in the party who both study the college of lore would be boring, and one would inevitably overshadow the other.

### Race

* There are a select few races which are not permitted to be played, for one reason or another. You can find the list of these on the house rules page.
* I have created a handful of races specific to this setting (critterfolk, duskling, half-dwarf, mundanite, tarblood) which you are also allowed to play.
* Homebrew races are not allowed. Custom lineage exists, please use it if you need to.
* Even though most of the customisation of your custom lineage character will be entirely flavour text, there is still a limit. You can't be an 8-foot-tall fish-man with pink scales and seventeen eyes, that would be stupid and I would remind you that "complexity ≠ creativity".

### Traits

* Your character must, in some reasonable capacity, want to be a part of they group and the adventures they go on. Lone wolves are not fun company at the table.
* While you will of course reflect some of your own traits and quirks onto your characters, try to avoid making their personality a carbon-copy of yours.
* Please try to be original. It is totally fine to draw inspiration from existing fictional characters, and I would even encourage this, but don't come to the table with a character who is very obviously just a copy of someone else's character.
* It is preferred that most aspects of your character have some reasonable justification or purpose. If you want to play a character with a traumatic past, that is fine as long as it serves as a plot device for their story. If you want to write trauma for trauma's sake, or have a pissing contest over who has the most tragic backstory, perhaps you'd be better suited to roleplaying in the comment sections of Sonic OC posts on DeviantArt.

### Miscellaneous

* It can take a while to figure out how you want to play your character. You might decided later on that you want to give them an accent, or have them behave in a different way. You can only really tell what you like and dislike about a character after you've actually played them for a while. Don't be afraid to tweak and change things if you're not enjoying them as much as you could be.
* If you'd like to play a different character for a bit, or retire your current one entirely, that is fine. If you're coming to the table with a different character every week however, that is not.

## Fleshing Out Your Character

Now for the fun bit. These bits are by no means essential, and I do not mean to imply that you are incapable of fleshing out a character on your own, I just find them useful when making characters of my own.

## The Sixteen Questions

This little questionnaire covers four broad areas, asking four questions on each topic to prompt you to think about various aspects of your character. It may help to answer them in character, to really put yourself in their shoes, but that is merely a suggestion.

### History

* **Where did you grow up?**

* **What was your childhood like?**

* **Describe an experience that changed you.**

* **What is your worst memory?**

### Relationships

* **Who are you currently closest to?**

* **What is your relationship with your family like?**

* **Do you have any rivals or enemies? If so, who?**

* **What are you like around new people?**

### Ambition

* **What are your short term goals?**

* **What are your long term goals?**

* **What kind of person do you strive to be?**

* **What change would you like to see in the world?**

### Identity

* **Describe a hobby you have or a community you belong to.**

* **Describe something unique about the way you act, think or look?**

* **What are you particularly fond of, and what do you particularly hate?**

* **How do you speak? Do you have an accent?**

## The Four Paintings

This part is a little abstract, but can be a useful way to see through their eyes, to step into their shoes and understand how they think. Look at each one of the four paintings in turn, and say how your character would react to seeing them for the first time, how they would make your character feel.

Deimos by Dragan BibinThe Questioner of the Sphinx by Elihu VedderThe Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba by Claude LorrainAnguish by August Friedrich Schenck
## Minor Drawbacks

Flaws are a great way to give your character depth and make them feel more real. It can present fun challenges to give yourself certain drawbacks and restrictions. If you need some inspiration for what this might be, roll a d20 and choose the corresponding drawback from the table below. These are not going to drastically impact your character's ability to perform, rather present you with an obstacle or challenge that you need to think of creative ways to work around. You can opt to choose a specific drawback from the list, but it can sometimes be fun to leave it up to chance.