4.1 Character Overview

For all of the players except the GM, the character is their tool with which they contribute to the story. As such, PCs need to be well suited to be protagonists, like the main characters of other stories, novels, shows, movies, and so on.

The most interesting protagonists often have several aspects to them. They are at least in some way likeable and ultimately good at heart, even if they are grumpy or sometimes mean (otherwise they end up being antagonists). They care about things, and the characters with the most potential are those who care about one particular thing (person, issue, goal) more than they care about themselves. They try hard and are active instead of hanging back and letting things happen. And they are affected by the events around them, instead of being emotionally cut off from the world.

You can express the personality and issues of your character through your character’s passion, traits, links, and character story seed. But first, you need some basic components around which you can build your protagonist character.

Use a character sheet from the attachments to keep track of your PC as we go through this creation process, starting with name, concept, and mark.

I’m going to create a new character as this chapter goes on. We’re playing in the post-apocalyptic setting that we developed in the previous chapter. My PC needs to fit the mood (gritty, but not gory, and with hope) and the group seed (the attack on the caravan).