Character creation
Encyclopedia
Character creation is the process of defining a game character or other character
. Typically, a character's individual strengths and weaknesses are represented by a set of statistic
s. Games with a largely fictional setting may include traits such as race and class
. Games with a more contemporary or narrower setting may limit customization to physical and personality traits.
Character creation is typically the first step taken by the players (as opposed to the gamemaster
) in preparation for a game. The result of character creation is a direct characterization that is recorded on a character sheet
. In its most comprehensive form it includes not only a game-specific representation of the character's physical, mental, psychological and social properties in terms of statistic
s, but also often less formal descriptions of the character’s physical appearance
, personality, personal back-story
(“background”) and possessions
. During play, only a character’s appearance is usually described explicitly while other traits are characterized indirectly, with the exact statistics known to the character’s player and the game master, but not necessarily to other players.
Character advancement refers to the improvement of a character’s statistics later in the game. The player will modify existing stats and add new ones, usually by spending experience point
s or when gaining a new experience level. Character advancement typically uses similar rules as character creation. To avoid unrealistic
sudden changes
in character concept, though, character advancement is usually more restricted than the initial character creation. For example, attributes are almost always harder (if not impossible) to change during character advancement.
The term character development is, in some contexts, used interchangeably with character advancement (in a sense similar to professional development
or Human Development
), whereas elsewhere character development refers instead to the player’s indirect characterization of the character through role-playing
(in a sense similar to film developing
).
scores are usually either generated randomly or determined by distributing character points, and some systems use a combination of both possibilities. Some game systems allow attribute scores to be increased later in the game in a way similar to skills (but much less frequently), usually by some sort of point distribution system.
Characters can also gain a number of skills. What types of skills the characters can learn and how easily they can be learned usually depends on if the character creation system is “class based” or “skill based”.
The process of creating a character for a given game involves a number of decisions: What advantages and disadvantages will the character have? What particular statistic will a certain value be assigned to? What values are there to assign anyway? For most of them, there will be a rule outlining by whom and how it can be made. Most of these rules can be classified into one of the three groups described below. They differ in several aspects, the most prominent being ease of use as well as game balance
and diversity of the generated results.
So, most decisions in character creation are made according to the following principles:
Prescription: The decision is predetermined by the rules (often by a formula
or a table
that map
s one or more already-established statistics to a specific choice for another), or it is made by the game master prior to character creation.
Examples would be the skill bonuses a character gets from his attributes in many games (which are usually determined by a table or a simple formula) or the amount of character point
s a player gets to use for character creation (in GURPS
, for example, this is set by the game master).
This method facilitates fast and easy decisions that are likely to be balanced according to the judgement of the game’s author and the game master, but doesn’t allow for variation if not combined with other options. In an extreme case, characters are completely predesigned by the author of a scenario, but even then, players usually may choose their character from the selection provided. This technique is often used to save time for short games run on gaming convention
s.
Random Choice: Random
choices are usually made by rolling dice
and either using the result directly or looking it up in a table
, depending on the decision that is to be made.
For example, in Dungeons & Dragons
3rd edition the player rolls 4d6
and adds the highest three numbers to generate an ability score (attribute value) from 3 to 18. In the first editions of the Stormbringer
roleplaying game, the character’s race and class both are determined by rolling 1d100
and looking up the result in the appropriate table.
Usually, a random generation system allows the full (or at least a rather large) range of values to be generated for each stat, leading to a great diversity among newly generated characters. Thus, it is possible for a character to start the game with all-maximum scores (or nearly so). On the other hand, players have very little control over the scores, and rolling low scores can be very frustrating for some players.
This method is generally less concerned with game balance
than with ease of use.
Player’s Choice: Another option is to let the player make decisions, normally within clearly defined restrictions. These restrictions often involve allowing players to distribute a number of character point
s among various statistics. In such a point distribution system, higher scores often cost more points per level than lower ones, and costs may vary between statistics even within a category. Usually, there is an upper and lower limit for each score. Additional constraints may apply, depending on the game system. How these points are spent will usually determine if the character will refer to himself as a warrior, a thief, or a scholar. If a player wants to be a fighter/mage/thief/cleric he can — as long as he spends his skill points in the right way.
Examples for systems that almost exclusively use point distribution to determine statistics in roughly chronological order are the Hero System
(including its predecessor Champions
), GURPS
, the World of Darkness
series, and the Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game with its unusual auction system. Dungeons & Dragons
3rd edition also has an optional point buy method for determining ability scores
.
Point distribution gives the players much control over the character creation process and tends to make characters highly customizable. If the system is designed well, characters are usually more balance
d than randomly created ones. On the other hand, this method is almost always more complicated and time consuming than random generation.
Example: In Castle Falkenstein
, abilities are the only type of statistic. Each player gets the same pre-defined set of scores (1a) and can freely choose (1b) which abilities he wants them to assign to (2). In addition, higher scores can be bought by balancing them with a number of low scores (3).
values. Here are some examples:
Another form of adjustment are racial or occupational (“class”) modifiers. In many games, certain statistics are slightly increased or decreased depending on the character’s race and sometimes profession. In Dungeons & Dragons
, for example, non-human races typically increase one ability score by two (on a scale of 3 to 18) while another is lowered by the same amount. In Stormbringer
3rd edition, nearly all nationalities (subraces) cause adjustments of some or all attribute scores by an amount that is usually randomly determined and has a range of up to two third of an attribute’s initial value. In point-distribution systems, these modifiers generally contribute to a race’s “point cost”, while in other systems, it is up to the race’s designer to balance
different races against each other (if this is desired).
-typical archetype
s that are either completely ready-made or at least define the essential stats necessary for a character to be able to work in a given occupation or fill some dramatic role.
For instance, a thief will probably know how to move quietly, pick locks, disarm traps, and climb walls.
The use of character templates enables inexperienced players to easily create suitable characters as they won’t be overwhelmed with having to select skills and abilities, and it still speeds up character creation for even the most experienced players.
In some games, these templates are only an optional character creation aid that has no prescribed effect on the rest of the game: They can be flexibly modified according to the game’s character creation rules or can be ignored altogether. This is generally the case in games that try to give the player as much control over the character creation process as possible. (Examples are Shadowrun
or GURPS
.)
Other games use such a mechanism as a mandatory tool to provide direction and limitations to the character creation process as well as character development. This is the character class
concept introduced by Dungeons & Dragons
that is now used in all d20 System
games and has been adopted by many others, such as Palladium Books
’ Megaversal system
.
With a character class, most skills and abilities are predetermined, or must be chosen from a comparably narrow subset of all available traits, leaving the player to select only a few extra skills. Some people find this too limiting, while others like the fact that each character necessarily has to be specialized to fill a specific role in the group of player characters.
In a class-based system, a fighter is often not allowed any magical abilities, while mages are typically poor fighters. When players are not required do adhere to a specific template, on the other hand, their characters might turn out very similar even if they started from different templates — a fighter with good spell casting abilities is not much different from a spell caster with good fighting abilities. Thus, the freedom of a class-less system requires extra caution on the side of the players to create a diverse group of characters.
There are games that aim to get the best of both worlds by using some kind of hybrid. One approach is to let the templates (called careers in Classic Traveller as well as in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay) still restrict the choices available for character creation or development, but apply them only for a limited timespan:
During character creation in Classic Traveller, each character pursues one of six possible careers (professions) that decides which tables can be used to roll on, thus giving direction to the otherwise largely random process. When the character is ready to be played, he has ended this career, so it doesn’t have a direct influence on character development during play.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay has a much more elaborate career system. Characters advance by entering a series of “Careers” that provide access to a set of new or improved skills, and bonuses to attributes (called “advances”). The menu of careers available to characters reflects the setting of the game world. Basic careers are those that might be filled by any individual with a modest amount of training or instruction. Advanced careers require greater preparation and training, and are often more appropriate for the lifestyle of an active adventurer. The career system gives both an idea of what a character might have been doing before embarking on a career as an adventurer (working as a baker, night watchman, rat catcher, or farmer), and how they changed and developed through their career (becoming a mercenary, explorer, ship’s captain, etc.).
As another approach, some games (such as Cyberpunk 2020) use a hybrid skill-class system, in which each of the primary roles (classes) in the game has one skill that is absolutely unique to it and defines that role, but apart from that, characters are created and advance using a skill point system rather than a class-and-level system.
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
. Typically, a character's individual strengths and weaknesses are represented by a set of statistic
Statistic (role-playing games)
A statistic in role-playing games is a piece of data which represents a particular aspect of a fictional character. That piece of data is usually a integer or, in some cases, a set of dice....
s. Games with a largely fictional setting may include traits such as race and class
Character class
In role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
. Games with a more contemporary or narrower setting may limit customization to physical and personality traits.
Role-playing games
Gamemaster
A gamemaster is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for questions regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer game...
) in preparation for a game. The result of character creation is a direct characterization that is recorded on a character sheet
Character sheet
A character sheet is a record of a player character in a role-playing game, including whatever details, notes, game statistics, and background information a player would need during a play session. Character sheets can be found in use in both traditional and action role-playing games...
. In its most comprehensive form it includes not only a game-specific representation of the character's physical, mental, psychological and social properties in terms of statistic
Statistic (role-playing games)
A statistic in role-playing games is a piece of data which represents a particular aspect of a fictional character. That piece of data is usually a integer or, in some cases, a set of dice....
s, but also often less formal descriptions of the character’s physical appearance
Human physical appearance
Human physical appearance refers to the outward phenotype or look of human beings. There are infinite variations in human phenotypes, though society reduces the variability to distinct categories...
, personality, personal back-story
Back-story
A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...
(“background”) and possessions
Personal property
Personal property, roughly speaking, is private property that is moveable, as opposed to real property or real estate. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any...
. During play, only a character’s appearance is usually described explicitly while other traits are characterized indirectly, with the exact statistics known to the character’s player and the game master, but not necessarily to other players.
Character advancement refers to the improvement of a character’s statistics later in the game. The player will modify existing stats and add new ones, usually by spending experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
s or when gaining a new experience level. Character advancement typically uses similar rules as character creation. To avoid unrealistic
Verisimilitude
Verisimilitude is the quality of realism in something .-Competing ideas:The problem of verisimilitude is the problem of articulating what it takes for one false theory to be closer to the truth than another false theory...
sudden changes
Coherence (linguistics)
Coherence in linguistics is what makes a text semantically meaningful.It is especially dealt with in text linguistics. Coherence is achieved through syntactical features such as the use of deictic, anaphoric and cataphoric elements or a logical tense structure, as well as presuppositions and...
in character concept, though, character advancement is usually more restricted than the initial character creation. For example, attributes are almost always harder (if not impossible) to change during character advancement.
The term character development is, in some contexts, used interchangeably with character advancement (in a sense similar to professional development
Professional development
Professional development refers to skills and knowledge attained for both personal development and career advancement. Professional development encompasses all types of facilitated learning opportunities, ranging from college degrees to formal coursework, conferences and informal learning...
or Human Development
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
), whereas elsewhere character development refers instead to the player’s indirect characterization of the character through role-playing
Role-playing
Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role...
(in a sense similar to film developing
Photographic processing
Photographic processing is the chemical means by which photographic film and paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image...
).
Making decisions
A character’s initial attributeAttribute (role-playing games)
An attribute is a piece of data that describes to what extent a fictional character in a role-playing game possesses a specific natural, in-born characteristic common to all characters in the game. That piece of data is usually an abstract number or, in some cases, a set of dice...
scores are usually either generated randomly or determined by distributing character points, and some systems use a combination of both possibilities. Some game systems allow attribute scores to be increased later in the game in a way similar to skills (but much less frequently), usually by some sort of point distribution system.
Characters can also gain a number of skills. What types of skills the characters can learn and how easily they can be learned usually depends on if the character creation system is “class based” or “skill based”.
The process of creating a character for a given game involves a number of decisions: What advantages and disadvantages will the character have? What particular statistic will a certain value be assigned to? What values are there to assign anyway? For most of them, there will be a rule outlining by whom and how it can be made. Most of these rules can be classified into one of the three groups described below. They differ in several aspects, the most prominent being ease of use as well as game balance
Game balance
Game balance is a concept in game design describing fairness or balance of power in a game between multiple players or strategic options. Each team or person would be equally matched in every aspect.- Overview :...
and diversity of the generated results.
So, most decisions in character creation are made according to the following principles:
Prescription: The decision is predetermined by the rules (often by a formula
Formula
In mathematics, a formula is an entity constructed using the symbols and formation rules of a given logical language....
or a table
Table (information)
A table is a means of arranging data in rows and columns.Production % of goalNorth 4087102%South 4093110% The use of tables is pervasive throughout all communication, research and data analysis. Tables appear in print media, handwritten notes, computer software, architectural...
that map
Map (mathematics)
In most of mathematics and in some related technical fields, the term mapping, usually shortened to map, is either a synonym for function, or denotes a particular kind of function which is important in that branch, or denotes something conceptually similar to a function.In graph theory, a map is a...
s one or more already-established statistics to a specific choice for another), or it is made by the game master prior to character creation.
Examples would be the skill bonuses a character gets from his attributes in many games (which are usually determined by a table or a simple formula) or the amount of character point
Character point
Character points are abstract units used in some role-playing games during character creation and development.Early role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons assigned random values to a player character's attributes, while allowing each character a fixed number of skills...
s a player gets to use for character creation (in GURPS
GURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
, for example, this is set by the game master).
This method facilitates fast and easy decisions that are likely to be balanced according to the judgement of the game’s author and the game master, but doesn’t allow for variation if not combined with other options. In an extreme case, characters are completely predesigned by the author of a scenario, but even then, players usually may choose their character from the selection provided. This technique is often used to save time for short games run on gaming convention
Gaming convention
A gaming convention is a gathering that centered on role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, video games, or other types of games. These conventions are typically two or three days long, and often held at either a university or in a convention center hotel...
s.
Random Choice: Random
Randomness
Randomness has somewhat differing meanings as used in various fields. It also has common meanings which are connected to the notion of predictability of events....
choices are usually made by rolling dice
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
and either using the result directly or looking it up in a table
Table (information)
A table is a means of arranging data in rows and columns.Production % of goalNorth 4087102%South 4093110% The use of tables is pervasive throughout all communication, research and data analysis. Tables appear in print media, handwritten notes, computer software, architectural...
, depending on the decision that is to be made.
For example, in Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
3rd edition the player rolls 4d6
Dice notation
Dice notation is a system to represent different combinations of dice in role-playing games using simple algebra-like notation such as 2d6+12....
and adds the highest three numbers to generate an ability score (attribute value) from 3 to 18. In the first editions of the Stormbringer
Stormbringer (role-playing game)
The Stormbringer fantasy role-playing game published by Chaosium puts the players in the world of the Young Kingdoms, based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock. The game takes its name from Elric’s sword, Stormbringer...
roleplaying game, the character’s race and class both are determined by rolling 1d100
Dice notation
Dice notation is a system to represent different combinations of dice in role-playing games using simple algebra-like notation such as 2d6+12....
and looking up the result in the appropriate table.
Usually, a random generation system allows the full (or at least a rather large) range of values to be generated for each stat, leading to a great diversity among newly generated characters. Thus, it is possible for a character to start the game with all-maximum scores (or nearly so). On the other hand, players have very little control over the scores, and rolling low scores can be very frustrating for some players.
This method is generally less concerned with game balance
Game balance
Game balance is a concept in game design describing fairness or balance of power in a game between multiple players or strategic options. Each team or person would be equally matched in every aspect.- Overview :...
than with ease of use.
Player’s Choice: Another option is to let the player make decisions, normally within clearly defined restrictions. These restrictions often involve allowing players to distribute a number of character point
Character point
Character points are abstract units used in some role-playing games during character creation and development.Early role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons assigned random values to a player character's attributes, while allowing each character a fixed number of skills...
s among various statistics. In such a point distribution system, higher scores often cost more points per level than lower ones, and costs may vary between statistics even within a category. Usually, there is an upper and lower limit for each score. Additional constraints may apply, depending on the game system. How these points are spent will usually determine if the character will refer to himself as a warrior, a thief, or a scholar. If a player wants to be a fighter/mage/thief/cleric he can — as long as he spends his skill points in the right way.
Examples for systems that almost exclusively use point distribution to determine statistics in roughly chronological order are the Hero System
Hero System
The Hero System is a generic role-playing game system that developed from the superhero RPG Champions. It is used as the underlying mechanics of other Hero Games role-playing games such as Dark Champions, Fantasy Hero, Star Hero, and Pulp Hero...
(including its predecessor Champions
Champions (role-playing game)
Champions is a role-playing game published by Hero Games that is designed to simulate and function in a four-color superhero comic book world. It was created by George MacDonald, Steve Peterson, Bruce Harlick, and Ray Greer....
), GURPS
GURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
, the World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
series, and the Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game with its unusual auction system. Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
3rd edition also has an optional point buy method for determining ability scores
Attribute (role-playing games)
An attribute is a piece of data that describes to what extent a fictional character in a role-playing game possesses a specific natural, in-born characteristic common to all characters in the game. That piece of data is usually an abstract number or, in some cases, a set of dice...
.
Point distribution gives the players much control over the character creation process and tends to make characters highly customizable. If the system is designed well, characters are usually more balance
Game balance
Game balance is a concept in game design describing fairness or balance of power in a game between multiple players or strategic options. Each team or person would be equally matched in every aspect.- Overview :...
d than randomly created ones. On the other hand, this method is almost always more complicated and time consuming than random generation.
Determining numerical values
Determining numerical values comprises several steps that are not always distinct:- (a) Obtain a set of values and (b) select the statistics to assign them to
- Assign the values to the statistics
- Possibly adjust statistics scores by “shifting around” (stat) levels.
Example: In Castle Falkenstein
Castle Falkenstein (role-playing game)
Castle Falkenstein is a steampunk-themed fantasy role-playing game designed by Mike Pondsmith and originally published by R. Talsorian Games. A GURPS version and several supplements were later published by Steve Jackson Games. The game is named for a legendary unbuilt castle in the Bavarian Alps...
, abilities are the only type of statistic. Each player gets the same pre-defined set of scores (1a) and can freely choose (1b) which abilities he wants them to assign to (2). In addition, higher scores can be bought by balancing them with a number of low scores (3).
Obtaining and assigning values
Games that don’t use point distribution to determine all statistics values typically use different methods for different types of statistic: In general, there are comparatively few attributes, and each one explicitly is assigned a value. Conversely, there are generally a rather large number of skills, and each character learns only some of them while the others are left at their respective defaultDefault (computer science)
A default, in computer science, refers to a setting or value automatically assigned to a software application, computer program or device, outside of user intervention. Such settings are also called presets, especially for electronic devices...
values. Here are some examples:
- To determine attribute values in Basic Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, Marvel Super HeroesMarvel Super HeroesMarvel Super Heroes may refer to:* Marvel Super-Heroes , several Marvel Comics publications* Marvel Super Heroes , a 1995 arcade videogame* Marvel Super Heroes , a 1984 role-playing game...
, or StormbringerStormbringer (role-playing game)The Stormbringer fantasy role-playing game published by Chaosium puts the players in the world of the Young Kingdoms, based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock. The game takes its name from Elric’s sword, Stormbringer...
3rd edition, for example, the player rolls once (1a) for each attribute (1b) and must use whatever result occurred on the dice for that statistic (2). If for different attributes a different number of dice is used (as is the case for non-humans in Palladium, for instance), this is the most feasible option.
- D&D 3.5Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, on the other hand, allows the player to first randomly generate a number of values (1a) and then assign (2) each attribute one of them (1b).
- For determining skill values, StormbringerStormbringer (role-playing game)The Stormbringer fantasy role-playing game published by Chaosium puts the players in the world of the Young Kingdoms, based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock. The game takes its name from Elric’s sword, Stormbringer...
3rd edition combines two methods: Some of them (1b) are predetermined (1a, 2) by the character’s randomly chosen profession (and race). The player then selects a randomly determined number of additional skills (1b) and rolls dice (1a) to determine starting values for them (2).
Adjusting scores
Some creation systems use a mix of point-distribution and random generation; most common among these are variant rules that allow, for instance, the alteration of the initially random stats by taking a reduction of one trait in order to increase another. Often, such adjustments are made at a penalty, applying a two-for-one cost, for instance.Another form of adjustment are racial or occupational (“class”) modifiers. In many games, certain statistics are slightly increased or decreased depending on the character’s race and sometimes profession. In Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, for example, non-human races typically increase one ability score by two (on a scale of 3 to 18) while another is lowered by the same amount. In Stormbringer
Stormbringer (role-playing game)
The Stormbringer fantasy role-playing game published by Chaosium puts the players in the world of the Young Kingdoms, based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock. The game takes its name from Elric’s sword, Stormbringer...
3rd edition, nearly all nationalities (subraces) cause adjustments of some or all attribute scores by an amount that is usually randomly determined and has a range of up to two third of an attribute’s initial value. In point-distribution systems, these modifiers generally contribute to a race’s “point cost”, while in other systems, it is up to the race’s designer to balance
Game balance
Game balance is a concept in game design describing fairness or balance of power in a game between multiple players or strategic options. Each team or person would be equally matched in every aspect.- Overview :...
different races against each other (if this is desired).
Templates and classes
To speed up and ease the character creation process, many games use character templates of some sort: Sample characters representing genreGenre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
-typical archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
s that are either completely ready-made or at least define the essential stats necessary for a character to be able to work in a given occupation or fill some dramatic role.
For instance, a thief will probably know how to move quietly, pick locks, disarm traps, and climb walls.
The use of character templates enables inexperienced players to easily create suitable characters as they won’t be overwhelmed with having to select skills and abilities, and it still speeds up character creation for even the most experienced players.
In some games, these templates are only an optional character creation aid that has no prescribed effect on the rest of the game: They can be flexibly modified according to the game’s character creation rules or can be ignored altogether. This is generally the case in games that try to give the player as much control over the character creation process as possible. (Examples are Shadowrun
Shadowrun
Shadowrun is a role-playing game set in a near-future fictional universe in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspiracy fiction, horror, and detective fiction.The original game has spawned...
or GURPS
GURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
.)
Other games use such a mechanism as a mandatory tool to provide direction and limitations to the character creation process as well as character development. This is the character class
Character class
In role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
concept introduced by Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
that is now used in all d20 System
D20 System
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
games and has been adopted by many others, such as Palladium Books
Palladium Books
Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
’ Megaversal system
Megaversal system
The Megaversal system, sometimes known as the Palladium system, is a set of mechanics specifically employed in most role-playing games published by Palladium Books, the exception is Recon. It uses dice for roll-under percentile skill checks, roll-high combat checks and saving throws, and...
.
With a character class, most skills and abilities are predetermined, or must be chosen from a comparably narrow subset of all available traits, leaving the player to select only a few extra skills. Some people find this too limiting, while others like the fact that each character necessarily has to be specialized to fill a specific role in the group of player characters.
In a class-based system, a fighter is often not allowed any magical abilities, while mages are typically poor fighters. When players are not required do adhere to a specific template, on the other hand, their characters might turn out very similar even if they started from different templates — a fighter with good spell casting abilities is not much different from a spell caster with good fighting abilities. Thus, the freedom of a class-less system requires extra caution on the side of the players to create a diverse group of characters.
There are games that aim to get the best of both worlds by using some kind of hybrid. One approach is to let the templates (called careers in Classic Traveller as well as in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay) still restrict the choices available for character creation or development, but apply them only for a limited timespan:
During character creation in Classic Traveller, each character pursues one of six possible careers (professions) that decides which tables can be used to roll on, thus giving direction to the otherwise largely random process. When the character is ready to be played, he has ended this career, so it doesn’t have a direct influence on character development during play.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay has a much more elaborate career system. Characters advance by entering a series of “Careers” that provide access to a set of new or improved skills, and bonuses to attributes (called “advances”). The menu of careers available to characters reflects the setting of the game world. Basic careers are those that might be filled by any individual with a modest amount of training or instruction. Advanced careers require greater preparation and training, and are often more appropriate for the lifestyle of an active adventurer. The career system gives both an idea of what a character might have been doing before embarking on a career as an adventurer (working as a baker, night watchman, rat catcher, or farmer), and how they changed and developed through their career (becoming a mercenary, explorer, ship’s captain, etc.).
As another approach, some games (such as Cyberpunk 2020) use a hybrid skill-class system, in which each of the primary roles (classes) in the game has one skill that is absolutely unique to it and defines that role, but apart from that, characters are created and advance using a skill point system rather than a class-and-level system.
Sports games
In sports games, creating players involves choosing features like skin color and vital stats. This may also be extended to creating entire teams of players. Common skills such as running and passing may be customized, as well as skills that are more specific to individual sports.See also
- CharacterisationCharacterisationCharacterization or characterisation is the art of creating characters for a narrative, including the process of conveying information about them. It may be employed in dramatic works of art or everyday conversation...
- Character advancement
- Character pointCharacter pointCharacter points are abstract units used in some role-playing games during character creation and development.Early role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons assigned random values to a player character's attributes, while allowing each character a fixed number of skills...
- Experience pointExperience pointAn experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
External links
- Building Better Characters column on RPGnet