GM Umineko's Carrion Crown

Game Master Umineko

Nitpick/minor: You have a [/I] in there with no proceeding [i]... might want to see about correcting that.

Substantive: Two real questions I have based on reading your background (keeping in mind, please, that they are only questions, not criticism):

1) Why would effectively destitute halflings fleeing their debts be able to leave their kid with someone powerful enough to ensure adoption by ANY family, let alone a wealthy one? As a supplement to this, it doesn't really seem that your adoptive parent's wealth has much to do with where you are taking your character, beyond being something to pseudo flee from. Couldn't this be as effective (and to me more believable) that he was indentured into a wealthy family to be a servant, and is trying to escape the debts that he effectively inherited from his birth parents?

2) The owing to the professor kind of seems weak to me. Yeah he helping to give him purpose, but it seems more that he is hiring him for a job... in line with On the Payroll. Finding purpose is admirable, but I would think that the kind of debt owed described in the trait would be more... serious. If you end up changing anything for 1) it should be an easier sell I would think... if not, I would consider what types of things a rich adopted kid could fall afoul of that would warrant the Professor to intervene... and would seriously incur this type of "you owe me" debt.

Just my thoughts, hope they help.

Here are the reasons why I had Lemor grow up in a wealthy household:

1) He's not used to being short on money

2) They were able to hire teachers and provide a good education

3) It provides a reason why he didn't invite the other children back to his own house

All of these are key aspects of my character, which I might perhaps highlight more.

If it's not particularly believable, is it more believable that his parents would have left him with their wealthy and affluent friends? But then there's the question of how they got the affluent friends once again. Perhaps Lemor is simply born into a wealthy family of halflings? That seems somewhat out of place for Riddleport, but perhaps it's better than a mysterious friendship between his ill fated parents and people with lots of power and money.

I do like that he's part of an adopted family, since I want Lemor to feel alone, and he'll feel more alone if he's more separated from his family. On the other hand, I don't think he'd care very much that they aren't his real parents or siblings, so that's not really worth much. I think the best solution is simply that he's born to a wealthy family, and wealthy halflings in Riddleport isn't a big deal, and that's probably what I'm going to go with, let me know if you think there's something better or more creative you can think of and I'll see if I can adopt it.

There's one other thing in that first comment that sticks out to me. You mention that Lemor's parent's wealth is something you think he's fleeing from. I didn't want to create that impression with my writing and if I have I can do better, could you point me to the passages which indicated this to you? I don't feel that Lemor was fleeing anything, just that he hoped there would be better things for him elsewhere. There wasn't a whole lot for him in Riddleport and he was too young to try to make his own way in life, so he decided that he would go somewhere new. And once he got there, he found himself free from his old habits and routines which allowed him to pursue what he was genuinely interested in, until that turned sour for its own reasons.

On to the second comment you made. About that section: was the jump from detached narration to present tense speaking was too abrupt? I can set it up more if it is.

I certainly don't want anything about the part to seem weak, and I'm going to have to revisit that at least once more. We know that Lemor grew up with money, and that he had private tutors much of the time, so he would 1) be used to repaying debts and 2) be used to respecting authority. I don't know how I can emphasize those things more, but they play a big part in Lemor's sense of duty to the professor. Dutifulness is a characteristic which I want to convey overall as well, so if it wasn't there I'll need to try to put it in more.

Originally I conceived of the scene as Lemor talking to himself in front of a mirror, just like an actor rehearsing for a monologue. Only I wanted to also convey the sense that Lemor was used to talking to the mirror, by the conversational tone and his own recognition of what he was doing, which would highlight much more how depressed and lonely Lemor was at that time. This in turn would give greater importance to the purpose that the professor gave him.

I chose not to set the scene as Lemor speaking to the mirror for two reasons. The first is that it's simply hard to set a scene effectively and include a full monologue in a single paragraph, and the second is that I felt that I had already emphasized how alone Lemor felt. The way I see it there are two options, option one is to rewrite the scene as Lemor talking to a mirror, highlighting strongly his despair, the second is to change it entirely. If you think that it's possible I could sell it without changing it entirely, let me know, otherwise I'll have to be creative.

Your thoughts are very appreciated, thank you.

I'll be happy to look over your character if you'd like, although not tonight as it's already past 1AM, and anyway I'd like to have some specific questions from you to look for. I hope this post wasn't too long and rambling, you can rest assured that I've taken your feedback to heart and even if it seems like I'm trying to defend what I've already written I will be making substantial changes based on your suggestions.

Thanks again.

1) The fact that he felt more comfortable with other people's parents and families than his own.

2) The fact that he won't invite friends over, lest his family's wealth affect them somehow.

3) The fact that despite having all of this schooling, comfort, and education, he leaves the city to "seek his fortune".

All put together, to me it paints the picture of a young man... er, halfling... whatever... that is feeling trapped by the wealth of his parents and wants to escape it. He might not be adverse to wealth in general, but he wants that wealth to be something he earned, not just something he has. Like I said, could be just my imagination, but it is the impression I had.

The jump was kind of abrupt... we don't get a sense of his life in Magnimar apart from the theater, and I think that there might be some additional groundwork for why he would owe the Professor. Respect of authority and repaying debts as a drive is all well and good (and necessary for him to have this trait, I would argue) but the debt itself needs to be bigger than he can immediately repay. Unlocking his sense of purpose and career path, so to speak, are certainly large debts... but if he also, say, helped a now starving artist out of a bad situation... that would be an even greater debt.

As an example: Perhaps Lemor moved to Mag without the aid of his parents. Not necessarily because they cut him off, but he doesn't want to reach back to them for help. The theater pays some, but rent is higher than he anticipated. Debts start piling up. His creditors like him well enough that they are willing to let him slide and pay as best as he can, but the numbers in the negative are growing with the passage of time, their patience is shortening, and all of this is weighing on the psyche of a young man that was raised to pay his debts and respect authority. Enter the professor. He sees the potential of the young man and offers to pay his debts in their entirety, as well as wages for a job in Riddleport. Obviously the debt part would be a loan, but one the professor is confident the young man will be able to repay one day.

Anyway, hope that helps. I think that having the parents be rich and just be his actual parents makes more sense then adoption into a wealthy home. As another possible scenario, perhaps he was a servant who's point was to be a playmate of the wealthy family's birth child? It would be believable that if they took a shining to him that they might include him in the same classes as his playmate, especially if he had an aptitude for them.

If you want you can look over my character:

Marius Restovian

It isn't my strongest writing and I am looking to polish it a bit more later. No specific items of focus if you do, just questions you have or things that don't make sense.

I like that suggestion about the debts piling up, everything about that makes sense, and I'm probably going to be incorporating it with very few changes. Do you think that if I included more details about Lemor living in Magnimar before the jump into first person it would work, or should I just stay third person narrator? I like the structure of things as they are now with the most important part of the backstory being emphasized by being different in style, and I'm interested in having Lemor talk, but if you don't think it works then I'll consider cutting it.

Probably going to end up with him just being born wealthy and that's that, since it's simple. Simple is good, Lemor's got complexity elsewhere.

Thanks again, this has been helpful so far.

Now on to Marius. I've got a number of smaller things first, so I'll just list them out.

You've listed him as wearing studded leather armor. There's no real problem here, aside from the fact that the leather portions of most historical sets of armor which included leather were boiled and functioned like a hard, inflexible plastic. And also that putting studs on soft leather won't actually make it any better at protecting you, but will make you better at impersonating a biker if that ever comes up. I feel obligated to point this out.

One thing I notice right away is that Marius is 14 at the funeral and it's "about that time" that he is first employed by Lorimer. Not impossible, but that does seem a little young.

Why would the coward bother poisoning his sword if the poison was slow acting? It didn't kill Marius's father for two weeks, so presumably it would have no effect on the results of their fight. And why would a coward challenge a swordmaster in the first place, particularly over just "some perceived slight"?

You say that the professor rewarded him with "gold and insight into the world and the way it works". What is this insight? Does it have big effects on Marius?

Finally, I have two big observations.

First, I'm not quite sure how much time Marius is spending on these expeditions, but if he started when he was 14 and he's 22 now, that's 8 years to fill. What's he been up to for most of that time? Has he been working as a blacksmith crafting weapons, trying to make his fortunes? Has he been spending the gold Lorimer's given him? There's a lot you can do here, but I'd be interested to know what else has been going on in Marius's life.

Second, I'm going to copy paste from the GM for a second:

Tell me why I should be invested in the character's past, and you can show me how he looks later. As far as having a beginning, middle, and end, the beginning and middle is definitely necessary, but the end may be yet to come, especially if you want some part of it to be incorporated into the campaign. The biggest factor in getting considered is if I can find something in the background to sink my teeth into and work into a story later on. It's my intent to make every character feel involved in the plot and in the party.

I'm not super invested in Marius's past. I know that he worked hard for a long time, and that he was well under the thumb of both his father and Lorimer, but I don't get a sense of action from him. What does he want? See if you can write a simple sentence which sums up what your character wants and then ask yourself what obstacles exist that prevent them from getting what they want. This is what making an interesting and dramatic character is all about.

For example, Lemor wants people to accept him for who he is without alienating them. He has a hard time getting this because he doesn't really know who he is, and has no idea how people will react to him.

I hope that's not to vague, and that I can be as helpful to you as you have been to me.

For the studded leather, I agree but mechanically it is an extra AC point for the cost of nothing effectively (a little lower max Dex bonus, but nothing that would hinder me at lower levels). I chalk it up to the same amounts of fantasy that allow your bardic magic to suddenly make me more likely to hit an opponent. ;)

14 is a tad young, but keep in mind that "adulthood" for humans per the rules is 15... so he would only be a year away from that. I kind of view it in the same vein as a 17 year old enlisting in the military. It's a bit young, but it's possible if you get the right forms filled out first.

The duel bit is more from the backstory of Restov and Brevoy in general. From the Inner Sea Guide:

"The people of the Rostland [southern Brevoy where Restov is] are mainly farmers, craftsmen, and tradesmen. Most are outgoing, happy and welcoming of strangers - as long as the strangers are willing to conform to the local customs, of which there are many. This apparent welcome is somewhat misleading, however, as the people of Rostland are obsessed with honor and personal standing, and take offense at the slightest provocation. One wrong word is likely to find the offender in front of the local magistrate or facing a prospective duel."

So my thought was that this coward was a visitor from outside the Rostland. Perhaps from the southern River Kingdoms, perhaps from elsewhere. He ends up inadvertently insulting Marius' father, who challenges the offender to a duel when sufficient apology is not rendered. The outsider learns after the fact of the father's (Mavius) prowess with the blade, but it is too late to back out of the duel. So the man coats his blade with a poison, hoping that he can at least take his foe with him. And being spiteful, he picks one that effectively rots away the flesh as it spreads, so that even if he lived it would have been the end of his dueling days. Of course, it does ending up killing him... but not before taking his arm inch by inch.

I originally was thinking that the insight would impact his knowledge on dungeoneering and engineering, but I guess that does need to be spelled out a bit more.

Finally on your observations:

1) I was thinking that he would probably be practicing his swordsmanship in the off time, including care and maintenance (hence the knowledge of crafting) of his precious sword. He might offer to protect any who were willing to hire him, but I don't think that it would be as often as he would want. He would probably save as much of the gold as he could from his contracts with the professor (hence having 70 gold of the 150 from the trait at the start).

2) I would say that his goal is to finally prove that he is every bit the fighter that his father was, if not better. He would want to be able to enroll in the Aldori Academy and prove to the Swordlords that he is worth of joining their ranks. While his father was not dishonored by his death, he also was not there to officially vouch for him as an official applicant either. Marius is striving to impress those there by his deeds and prowess. In a way, this trip to pay respects to the late professor is both side mission and main mission with that respect. The professor was one of the few since his father passed who really recognized his talent with the dueling blade... it would be wrong not to mark his passage. Still, it is all the way in Ustalav, and time spent on the way there and there prevents him from impressing the swordlords back home. Not sure if that makes sense.

Any thoughts on any of this?

That makes sense and I'll do that. Do you think I can combine the fifth and sixth paragraphs?

Seems reasonable. If he's spending a lot of time practicing then he's probably skilled enough even at a young age. I would acknowledge it though, perhaps with a line about he was always the young lad trying to impress his elders or something like that.

That's an interesting note. Historically it was really important to always pretend to be ready to defend your honor with a duel, but it was actually very rare to fight someone with the intention of one of you dying, since that tends to carry a high risk of one of you dying. Mostly in real life what would happen is that someone would threaten to duel but back out for some reason, or their friends would hold them back so they wouldn't look bad. When firearms were common, the standard practice in a duel was for both people to fire into the sky, since neither of them wanted to die, and that was considered suitable to satisfy honor.

But enough about real life, that situation you described seems plausible enough to me. Just make sure that it's in your backstory.

What would he do with the rest of his day? If he's practicing for four hours a day, which is a lot, and he spends another hour on his sword, which I think is moderately superfluous, there are still a lot of hours left in the day. Does he go drinking a lot? Romance? Have many or few friends? Any other hobbies? Just a few questions that come to mind.

It's sensible enough, but I still have some questions.

First, about what he wants. Does he want to get people to recognize that he's fulfilled their expectations, that is, he's as good as his father, or does he simply want people to recognize that he's a gifted individual? There are subtle differences. And does he want the Swordlords to accept him as one of their own or does he want to prove to them that he's better than they are? Again, there are differences. Perhaps he wants different things from different groups?

Second, about the obstacles. What does it take to get into the academy, and why hasn't he already been accepted? Is it because he's afraid of rejection or because they simply don't think he's good enough? Or does the academy work only on an invitational basis, and he's first got to prove himself? Whatever your answers, make sure they end up in the backstory.

This has been a good exchange so far.

I would keep the 4th paragraph separate. The fifth and sixth paragraphs might be more compatible with being combined upon refinement.

I would see him spending time in the courts of the nobles, keeping appraised on who is who in the world of the powerful (knowledge: nobility is one of the requisite skills for the academy that can be tested, after all) or in the taverns (not looking to drink, but to possibly be hired). He doesn't strike me as the kind to drink, carouse, or really make merry.

From people in general he would want to be recognized as being skillful in his own right. By the swordlords, he would want to be recognized as an equal, perhaps even attaining minor nobility.

Academy entrances is 150 GP for the test (which tests Sense Motive and Bluff) and has as a major test to defeat a non-academy non-swordlord (non known companion) in a duel to prove both your mastery of the style and its superiority over other styles. The way I am taking it is he can't afford the test on his own. His father might have been able to get the fee reduced, but he is dead. I had been considering having the master of the academy defeat him in a duel to show him how much he had yet to learn prior to his getting hired by the professor, but not quite sure how to write that up.

Not knowing what to do with him, but not willing to risk the wrath of the fey should they abandon him, The Ravenholdts took Cyrus in believing his people would come looking for him. After months passed, Lord Earron himself led and expedition to seek out any Elven settlements but to no avail, no elves were found.

Meanwhile, Cyrus had become known affectionately as "The little fey prince", "The Forest Child" or The Lord and Lady's Cherub of the Wood". Cyrus remained about the size of a 2 year old for over 5 years seemingly aging at the rate of 1/5 or 1/6th that of a human child. His large eyes, gentle manner and curious innocence won over the formerly skeptical populace.

After a few years had passed with no sign of Cyrus's people and apparently unable to have children of their own, Earron and Effie publicly adopted Cyrus, whom had long ago accepted them as his parents.

Bringing Cyrus into their home and hearts apparently brought Earron and Effie good fortune for they went on to have three biological children of their own. Cyrus was raised as a sibling with the now deceased generation, but he remained like a small child throughout their growth into adulthood.

These included:
Kildare Ravenholt- firstborn biological son who ruled before his eldest Aeneas, assumed his titles.

Sanborne Ravenholt - second born biological son

Kinsey Ravenholt - daughter whom played and looked after Cyrus long after his adopted brothers had outgrown playing children's games. She was married to a nobleman from the east. Cyrus missed her intensely.

Cyrus was too young to even be considered to inherit his father's lands and titles when Earron passed on. The throne was passed to Kildare.

Kildare married and had his own children. Cyrus remained with Effie and grew up with along with Kildare's children though Cyrus remained like a teenager even as they reached adulthood.

Two of these nephews include:
Lord Aeneas Ravenholdt - who later married Lady Ismene Ravenholdt and passed rule to his eldest surviving son Hierome.

Authorius Ravenholdt

The current lord and lady began to have their own children. Cyrus had known five generations of the Ravenholdts. He had seen his adopted parents and grandparents wither and die. His first set of siblings were all gone, his nieces and nephews were drawing close to their own end of life. Cyrus looked like he was 20, but had over 110 years of human life experience and loss.

He stayed long enough to make sure Heirome's children would know him, then left for the Great Wood.

3/4 BAB
[url=http://paizo.com/people/LyrenaMiraki]Lyrena Miraki (Female Azata-Blooded Aasimar Dervish of Dawn Bard; BeastMasterFTW)
Silas Gavram (Male Human Inquisitor; Master Elodin)
Arthorius Ravenholdt (Male Vetala-Born Dhampir Beastmorph Alchemist; adsapiens)
Toad Tongue (Male Goblin Occultist; Reckless Apprentice)
Cassandra Blackmoore (Female Changeling Oracle of Life; Vanulf Wulfson)
Zhu Jin (Male Human Invested Regent/Perfect Scholar Monk; ignuspyre)
Inessa of Kavapesta (Female UC Aasimar Spirit Summoner of Life; KatGrey)
Petyr, the Wandering Friar (Male Human Cleric; Kyle Smith 700)
Siani Rhisiart (Female Jiang-Shi-Born Dhampir Haunt Collector Occultist; Rennaivx)
Delia Pilachet (Female Human UC Master Summoner; Troy Malovich)
Lemor (Male Halfling Bard; Gaurwraith)
Vladamir Dragoslav (Male Human Alchemist; AGamer70)

Half BAB
Viare Wekald (Female Changeling Witch; FreakyFlyingElf21)
Milo Winterchill (Male Human Herb Witch; The Wanderer123)

I've been trying to move very heavy things, talk to extended family members, and wander around in the woods a lot this weekend. It seems, however, that if I just wait until after midnight, none of those things are too distracting any longer. My intelligence might be a bit lower than normal, so uh...keep that in mind.

My backstory has been revised somewhat, and I'd be glad if you gave it a look.

As for what you've done, some thoughts that are not well organized.

That last line is a nice closing and I don't think you should change it.

I'd like to know why Marius feels consoled by the fact that his father won the duel. I can figure it out pretty easily, but I'd like it if you told me. Someone else might disagree.

You should probably break up those paragraphs a bit more.

I wasn't really expecting you to say that the old man seemed larger than life. Maybe it'd be better if you showed Marius's impression of the professor when you talk about the jobs they did together or the knowledge they shared, instead of later.

The sentence "Had his father lived to old age, Marius might have been able to enter the academy himself." feels like it's missing something. I think that might be intentional since it's a transition.

Four minutes is a long time, even if the master's being real cautious because his opponent's using a sharp sword, four minutes is still a really long time.

Why does Marius learn the specific information that he does from the professor? Why does he care about how to tell what's valuable and what's junk?

You should probably feel free to ignore some portion of this post. Thanks for your help and good luck getting chosen.

Love the way you describe his debts growing in Mag. The only complaint I have is the line about the professor at the end is a bit jarring, but it is a transition statement so perhaps that is fine.

The only other question I would have is at the end... why leave the troupe instead of convincing them to all go to Ustalav? I mean, he can be upfront about why he is needing to go, but why wouldn't he try to bring them to perform along the way in Nirmathas or Lastwall? They might say no, which might be why he has to go solo, but I just don't understand why the offer wasn't made.

As for my stuff:

Glad you liked the last line there.

I could expound a bit on the feeling, but it mostly has to do with his pride in his father. If his dad had died the way he did lost the duel, it would have effectively been him dying twice. And the fact that his opponent is dead, not just defeated, ensures that all possible demands of honor have been met already.

When you say break up do you mean extra enter marks to give white space between, or actually making extra paragraphs out of existing longer paragraphs?

Its part of the transition, and I am saving the explanation for the paragraph dealing with the aftermath of his father's death (feels like it flows better there than to spell it out then circle back to the circumstances of said death).

The time is deliberately long. Marius doesn't talk about the duel, so only three people know why it lasted that long (Marius, the master of the academy, and the secret observer that only the master knows was there). As such, the only commonly known facts about the duel are its length and its ending, and while there are rumors and theories to explain both neither the Master nor Marius ever talk about it, even when asked directly.

Its not so much that he cares to learn those topics, it is just that he has enough natural aptitude to pick them up from being the professor's guard. The professor noticed this, and would give him pointers / ask his opinion from time to time in an effort to encourage his growth as a person. And knowing the value of items is a useful skill when you are insistent on getting that extra 10% split of goods received from loot... makes it so that folks can't just say "All this was relatively worthless" and try to keep a larger portion for themselves.

Good luck to you as well, and appreciate the help in getting Marius a bit more competitive at least.

If I were you I'd try to write the bit about pride in his father into the backstory. The part about the duel as well, and maybe the part about the knowledge. That way things aren't open ended and your character is nice and clearly defined in the eyes of someone who just reads the backstory.

I meant put some extra white space in there, your paragraphs are not too big.

I'm going to put up a physical description in a bit, I'm sure it could use a once over.

From her more than pale skin, to her shorter than average height, to her complete heterochromia iridum, uh, her different coloured eyes.

From a child, she loved dark, musky buildings, with low levels of light. Libraries were her first love, followed by basements, and then laboratories.

Being socially awkward, she would unfortunately isolate herself from others her age with her incessant lectures on the books she had read, what she had learnt, or she was withdrawn, rocking back and forth, or bouncing in a corner with her eyes shut.

It’s too bright in here.

Everyone is being too loud

The more she read, the harder it got for people to understand her. She favoured using the scientific terms for things, such as her complete heterochromia iridum. The complete was important, as there are varying kinds.

Once she discovered alchemy, her status as a recluse was almost definite. She emerged from her basement laboratory, an elderly apothecary had lent it to her, only to search for material or new books.

Though her need to have everything in a certain place had led to her virtually handing it over to the young eccentric, Doctor Marlene was an understanding old woman, and knew how hard it was for this very peculiar, orphan girl to feel at ease anywhere else.

When the whispering started, things only got worse, at least in regards to how society treated her. She became more and more obsessed with ghosts, the soul, and the plethora of incorporeal beings that were said to possibly exist in this world and the next.

For Henrietta only knew how to be two ways about something: indifferent or obsessed.

Despite this she continued to excel at school and learning environments (for the most part, she was thrown out on her fair share of occasions for being ‘argumentative’), her biggest influence came from one particular lecture she attended at which Professor Pertos Lorrimor spoke on the arcane and its infusion with alchemy.

Needless to say, when he sought her out afterwards was probably one of the best days of her life. She saw her eccentric obsessions and her odd way of speaking for what they were; her talents and her intellect.

For several months she would visit him at his office at the Caliphas university, or he would come to her basement laboratory, and they would discuss in-depth the reaches and potential of alchemy, and the possibilities and applications of arcane magic to that field. He never lectured her to stop fidgeting, to speak slower, to take off ’those ridiculous goggles!’. It was all science, all information, all the time! Campaign trait: Teacher’s Pet | source: Player’s Guide Carrion Crown

He never made fun of her theories on ghosts and the incorporeal! He opened the world to her, new ideas and theories and experiments!

His visit gave her more drive and commitment to not only continue her pursuits in the field of Alchemy, but also the distraction and focus to ignore the whispering that had been pulling her further and further away from the city each time she ventured out for materials and other supplies. It also gave her another insight, to what it must be like to have a friend, someone who really got you and could be happy for you without picking or judging.

The news of his death was deeply saddening and, to be honest, she didn’t want to go to the funeral. She didn’t like strange people, and consciously avoided emotional situations. This was the ultimate of both.

He wanted her there, though, and wills are something most people respect, or so she’s read. He spoke a little bit about his daughter to her, not much to make her comfortable though.

Henrietta packs as much as is reasonable for such a journey; her basic portable lab, her formula book, clothing, food, and other necessities. She has exhausted the range of ingredients in the surrounding area anyway, and isn’t allowed access to most of the higher knowledge books and reagents.

Maybe he left her something important? Maybe his daughter is just like him! Maybe he was a ghost! Whatever it is, she has been itching to get out of Caliphas for months now.

It is mostly for the new things she’ll be able to apply to her experiments, but the small voice inside whispers for her to leave, and she’d be lying if it wasn’t playing a role in her departure.

As for your description, I think it works. Definitely conveys a good sense for what a person running into Lemor would see.

Good luck!

Besides, use of spoilers makes it so that we aren't cluttering the thread. Well, beyond the extra posts, which if anything keep it toward the top. Which isn't a bad thing while the recruitment is still ongoing.

Also, I will not be considering any further Aasimar characters. I apologize for any inconvenience for this.

Stats will be rolled for using six 4d6 rolls, dropping the lowest on each roll. If no dice roll higher than 2 on any given roll, roll again. The numbers may be put into any stat desired. If the rolls are poor, you may optionally take a 20 pt buy.

Characters may have two traits, one of which must be a campaign trait found in the Player's Guide. Up to one drawback may be picked to get another non-campaign trait.

Backgrounds are required, with the campaign trait picked from the Player's Guide worked in. These must be, at minimum, one paragraph, and at maximum, six paragraphs. Writing is a big factor in how I'll pick my players, so effort is a must if you want to be picked.

Characters start with average gold for their class for level 1. HP is max at first level, then average each subsequent level (1/2 HD + 1 + CON modifier).

Additionally, you may show the desired progression of your character, such as the desired role in the party or possible prestige classes. You will not be held to this if you change your mind in the future, but I enjoy seeing applicants that have clear goals in mind.