Creating Character Aspects

*More than anything else, aspects are your most explicit way of telling the GM, “This is the stuff I want to see in the game.” If you pick an aspect like **Thorn in the Red Court’s Side**, then you should be able to expect that the GM will put you at odds with vampires of the Red Court pretty regularly. GMs should want players to use their aspects and should design the story of the game such that it is based on and around the aspects the players have chosen for their characters.*

Players should pick the aspects they want to use, and GMs should encourage them to choose **aspects** that will be both interesting and useful. Once you decide on an idea for an aspect, you need to figure out a name that best describes what you intend. There are usually many possible names for a desired aspect, which can make this choice somewhat difficult. However, most of the time an aspect is going to be a phrase, a person, or a prop. These categories of aspects aren’t hard and fast, and there can be some overlap among them—they’re just intended to give you an evocative way to think about aspects and help break mental blocks.

 A phrase can be anything from a simple detail (**Strong**), to a short description (**Troll’s Blood Gives Strength**), or even a literal quote (“**No One Is Stronger Than Throgbal!”**). Phrase aspects come into play based on how often the character’s current situation matches or suggests the phrase. A colorful phrase adds a lot of flavor and innately suggests several different ways to use it. This potentially makes phrase aspects some of the most flexible aspects in the game.

 A person can be anyone important to your character. A friend, an enemy, a family member, a sidekick, a mentor—as long as someone matters to your character, that someone makes an appropriate aspect. A person aspect is most easily used when that person is in the scene with your character, but the aspect can come up in other ways, depending upon the person’s history and relationship with your character (ideally, the relationship should be stated in the wording of the aspect).

For example, a character might take **My Old Teacher Finn** as an aspect. Beyond the obvious applications of having Finn show up, a player might also **invoke this for a bonus** and justify it by talking about “hours spent in Old Finn’s knife throwing classes” or something similar.

Keep in mind that an organization can be used in the same way, representing both the ability to call on that organization’s resources for aid and the obligation to work for that organization’s best interests, even when they conflict with your own. So, **Wizard of the White Council** is technically a “person” aspect in that sense; it gives a character the ability to call on the Council for aid, but also requires that character to deal with whatever problems the association might bring.

 Props are things, places, or even ideas— anything external to your character that isn’t a person. A prop can be useful if it’s something your character has with him or if it’s the crux of a conflict, but it may also imply things about your character or even be significant in its absence (**Ah, if only I had my Trusty Toolbox!)** and thus earn you fate points Again, keep in mind that these categories are allowed to blur if need be—an aspect like **“Time to Call the Mayor!”** has elements of both a phrase and a person, and that’s just fine.

### **"Positive" Vs. "Negative" Aspects**

Strictly speaking, the most beneficial aspects for your character are the ones that are most interesting; in this case, “interesting” specifically means that they are double-edged—useable to both the character’s benefit and detriment in different situations.

You may have noticed that a number of the aspects throughout this book appear to be “bad” aspects—they indicate a downside for a character or a directly negative connotation. Aspects like **Often Drunker Than a Skunk, A Born Sucker, Stubborn as Hell**, and **I Can Never Tell a Lie** all suggest situations where the character will have to act a certain way—making an ass of himself at an important social function, falling for a line of bull, failing to back down when it’s important to do so, or speaking truthfully when truth is the path to greatest harm.

So why put such aspects on your sheet if they’re only going to make trouble for you? Simple: you want that kind of trouble.

On a basic game-rules footing, these are a direct line to getting you more fate points, and fate points are the electricity that powers some of the more potent positive uses of your aspects. Outside of just the rules, a “negative” aspect adds interest and story hooks for a character in a way that purely positive aspects can’t. This sort of interest means time in the limelight. If someone’s trying to take advantage of the fact that your character’s a **Sucker for a Pretty Face**, that’s an important point in the story and the camera is going to focus on it. They also immediately suggest story ideas to your GM, providing her with ways to hook your character in. However, an aspect that has only negative connotations could be limiting to your character in certain ways, because you also need to have an avenue to spend the fate points you’re taking in. Aspects that are more “positive” are the channels for what makes your character special and awesome, allowing him to excel in situations where others might not.

Likewise, you also don’t want an aspect that has only positive connotations. Not only do they prevent your character from **routinely getting fate points** but, dramatically speaking, they’re kind of boring. Stories about characters who are always competent and always succeed are lacking in conflict and surprise. If your character starts to become predictable and boring, he’s probably going to stop being a focus of the story. So, you definitely want to have hints of both.

### **The Rule of Three**

As a rule of thumb when picking an aspect, think of three situations where you can see the aspect in play. If you have one reasonably positive situation and one reasonably negative situation out of that set, you’re golden! If the aspect’s uses are all negative or all positive, you may want to reconsider how you’ve worded your aspect— try to put in a little of what’s missing. Ultimately, though, one aspect that’s “all good” or “all bad” isn’t much of a problem, so long as you have a good mix throughout your whole set. As an example, something like **Genius- Level Intelligence** might seem like it doesn’t provide very much in the way of negative output. So you might change the context of it a little and reword that to **Nerdier Than a College Professor**. You could still justify getting the same advantages as the original aspect, and you could pick up some potential negative uses in the social arena—maybe the character’s attempts at social interaction are plagued by people perceiving him as just too nerdy, or no one ever takes him seriously when he’s trying to intimidate or impress.

 Keep in mind that it is possible to find positive ways to use negative-seeming aspects. omeone who is Stubborn as Hell may be more determined to achieve his goals. Watchful eyes might dismiss the guy who’s **Often Drunker Than a Skunk** as “just a drunk” when he’s using his Stealth skill.

### **Situation Vs. Story**

Aspects also tend to divide into two camps— situation and story—and it’s a good idea to make sure you have aspects of each type. The distinction between these is better illustrated with examples, but here’s a general definition: situation aspects describe circumstances and events that routinely happen to the character, while story aspects describe the reasons why those things tend to happen. Situation aspects are often phrase aspects, descriptors like **Nick of Time**, **Last ManStanding**, and **Always the Butt of a Joke**.They provide a set of expectations for the kind of stuff you’re going to see happening whenever that character is around. A good example from Harry’s list is **The Building Was On Fire, And It Wasn’t My Fault**—there is a pattern of examples in the casefiles where Harry’s presence contributes to or results in massive property damage of one kind or another.

Characters in novels, comic books, and other fictional media often have these kinds of reliable, schtick-like qualities as a way to make them more vividand interesting. Over time, they create a sense of familiarity that helps people become more invested in and sympathetic to the character. By themselves, though, situation aspects only do half the job. Harry doesn’t just willy-nilly decide to go around setting buildings on fire—it happens because he gets drawn into those bad situations somehow. There are things in his life that drive him toward the events where those situation aspects are going to come into play. This is the role of story aspects.

Story aspects are most often people and prop aspects, representing those elements of the game world that your character is tied to. They provide a set of the likeliest candidates to bring trouble to your character’s door and provide a reason for him to go out into the night. A good example from Michael Carpenter’s list is the way his high concept, **Knight of the Cross**, sometimes conflicts with his trouble, **Family Man**.

Michael is wholly devoted to the service of God, his own wife, and his children. As a result, a lot of trouble comes to his door—the Almighty often compels (no pun intended) Michael to leave home for what can only be described as holy quests, and there are a few examples where his family has played a part in Harry’s casefiles, whether as victims, targets, or active participants.

These things serve as an inherent imperative for Michael to do what he does, providing essential context for understanding his actions. For your character, they will also do something else—provide a ready source of material that is guaranteed to get your character into a story. Story aspects help the GM come up with material for the game that will involve your character personally from the get-go, which helps make a more satisfying game for all those involved. The real mojo happens when story aspects and situation aspects work together. Imagine your character has both **Stubborn as a Mule** and **Samantha, My Long-Lost Sister** as aspects. During the game, the GM is definitely going to provide clues as to the whereabouts of your sister, bring in adversaries who try to use the knowledge that she’s missing as leverage over your character, or even just introduce the potential to get more information.

 Because these things are happening, your character is going to have a lot of opportunities to demonstrate that stubbornness in scenes and conflicts, pushing against all odds in the hopes that he can track his sister down. He’ll make enemies, get into trouble because he’s too stubborn for his own good, conquer foes, and generally shake up the world around him. That’s why it’s important to make sure you have aspects like these. And again, keep in mind that these are not hard and fast categories— some aspects might straddle the line a bit. Consider a hitman character with an aspect of **I Hate the Person I’ve Become**—this might be both a story and a situation aspect in some sense, even though it doesn’t imply a connection.

 Personal issues can be a very strong source of motivation for some characters, and it’s easy to imagine this hitman getting drawn into a story in an effort to redeem himself in his own eyes.

Likewise, the aspect also suggests a number of behaviors that might become trademark for him, like having an uncharacteristic merciful streak, or engaging in wild, destructive behavior out of self-loathing.

### **Heating Things Up**

Aspects are one of the major sources for igniting ideas and story hooks for your character. They’re the first thing a GM will look at on your sheet when trying to work out what sorts of stories to throw your way. This is powerful juju, and the best part is that you are in total control of it with the words you choose for your aspect. If one character has the aspect Quick and another has the aspect **Sworn Enemy of the Secret Brotherhood of the Flame**, which one do you think suggests more ideas for the GM? Your aspects give you a “vote” in what sort of game you’re going to be playing in. Don’t let it go to waste. (If nothing else, you have just established that the Secret Brotherhood of the Flame exists in the setting, and the GM will probably turn to you for further details.)

 At first glance, the most powerful aspects would seem to be things that are broadly useful with no real downside—things like **Quick, Lucky,** or **Strong**—and you may be tempted to go with those. Resist that temptation! See, there are three large problems with broad aspects like these: they’re boring, they don’t generate fate points, and they surrender your ability to help shape the story. Boring is pretty obvious. Consider a character who is **Lucky** and one who has **Strange Luck**. Both aspects can be used for many good things, but the latter allows for a much wider range of possibilities—and more compels.

 Remember, every time an aspect makes trouble for you, you’ll receive a fate point. Strange Luck means that the GM can throw bizarre—even unfortunate— coincidences at your character, but you get paid for it. (If this doesn’t seem tempting enough yet, remember that the GM is probably going to do something bizarre to you anyway—shouldn’t you benefit from it and have some say in how it happens?)

 The most powerful aspects are easy to spot: they’re the most interesting ones. An aspect you can use to your advantage, but which can also be a disadvantage, has the most mechanical potency. What’s more, aspects that tie into the setting (connecting your character to a group or a person) help you fill in the cast of characters in a way that is most appealing to you.

 Whenever you’re writing down the name of an aspect, ask yourself, “How hot is this aspect?” If it seems kind of lukewarm, then you might be missing the mark, and it’s time to turn up the heat. You certainly don’t have to do this with every aspect you take, but it’s a great way to stay involved in the overall story. Here are a few “good—better—best” examples:

·         **Tepid:** Wizard.

·         **Toasty:** Wizard Private Eye.

·         **Fuego!:** The Only Listing Under “Wizard” in Chicago’s Yellow Pages.

·         **Tepid:** Strong.

·         **Toasty:** Troll-Blood Strong.

·         **Fuego!:** Strong-Man of the Winter Court.

·         **Tepid:** Dark Past.

·         **Toasty:** Reformed Evil Cultist.

·         **Fuego!:** The Ebon Shroud Cult Wants Me Dead.

In each of these cases, the “tepid” option certainly suggests its uses, but it doesn’t really jump off the page as something that suggests story. The “toasty” option is better since it’s more specific; both GM and player can see some potential story hooks in these, and they serve to differentiate themselves from their lukewarm predecessors. But in terms of rocking the house and suggesting story left and right, “Fuego!” is what you want.

**The Only Listing Under “Wizard” in Chicago’s Yellow Pages** could well be a prime driver for why dark and complicated stories tend to take a full-tilt run at Harry Dresden’s head. **Strong-Man of the Winter Court** not only suggests that the character is very strong and faerie-blooded, but it also states a relationship with the Winter Court itself. That’s three sides to the aspect right there. **The Ebon Shroud Cult Wants Me Dead** both references the character’s dark past and complicates his present circumstances, with there always being a chance that some heavies from his former cult will come knocking and go snicker-snack with his head. So when you pick an aspect, ask yourself: is this tepid, is this toasty, or is this “Fuego!”?

### **Getting on the Same Page**

Aspects are probably the clearest message you can send to the GM about what you want from the game, short of walking right up to her and saying so (which is also a great plan). Furthermore, in all likelihood, the GM is going to have copies of your character sheets when you’re not around, so the aspects you’ve picked are going to represent you in absentia. Once you’ve picked all the aspects for your character, take a step back and look at them. Do they represent your character the way you want them to? If not, change them!

 By themselves, aspects can’t say it all. Short of making each aspect a paragraph or essay, you’re dealing with a few short, catchy phrases and names here. You want them reasonably short, because you want to be able to talk about them casually without running out of breath.

 But the brevity of an aspect’s name means some things are left unspoken. It’s beneficial to take the time with the GM at some point to speak these unspoken things. When you’re picking aspects, one of the best ways to determine that you and the GM are on the same page is to discuss where you feel the aspect would be a help or a hindrance. Both you and the GM should look at an aspect not as the end of an idea, but as the beginning of one. You’re both going to bring your own ideas of what the aspect means to the table and, at least to some extent, you’re both right.

 Usually this works out fine—the combined perspectives make the whole greater than the sum—but sometimes you and your GM might have a radically different idea of what the aspect entails. So be clear with one another and figure out how to iron out any differences of perspective— ideally before the fate points start flying, since taking fifteen minutes to get into an intense discussion about what you meant when you gave yourself the aspect **“Look Out Behind You!”** can be a real momentum-killer for the game.

 After you’ve gotten a couple sessions under your belt, you might feel like you’ve picked one or more aspects that don’t “feel right.” If an aspect doesn’t seem to be working out well for you, you should feel free to change it—just make sure the GM is in tune with what you’re doing and that you keep her in the loop. (She might give you a cool reason to keep the one you have after all.)