Beneath the Golden Moon

Character Creation

While I want to provide as much freedom as possible for players of Beneath the Golden Moon, there are a number of restrictions on the possible characters that can be played.

Characters must:

Since the game revolves around characters at the castle, I strongly advise against creating villagers who do not work at the keep.

Obviously, given the nature of Menekod, the most common type of people there are soldiers of some description - either meken (common soldiers) or melana (noble-born knights). There are also numerous servants, the Laranian chaplain, the seneschal, reblena (knight commanders) and so forth. Any of these would make a good character.

Before creating a character, please mail me and let me know what sort of character you would like. Indeed, the entire character creation process is one of consultation between the player and myself. I don't like to see creative energy go to waste, so don't write pages and pages of material without getting some sort of go-ahead from me.

The following list gives some idea of the basic information needed for a character in this game; again, much of this will be developed in consultation with me.

While all of the above are important (in particular the personal history and personality), I cannot stress enough the importance of character goals. This game depends on the characters going out and trying to achieve their goals - this is a large part of what makes things happen in the game.

A large element of this game is intrigue. In order to give this any chance of really working, the characters really have to be involved and know about some of what is going on. The only way I can do that is to give information to the characters. That's fine, except that it also means given a certain amount of background to the character as well. If you want to be actively involved in intrigue, of whatever kind, please tell me (and any ideas you have for what form this might take). If I can use your ideas, I will; if not, I will simply make a decision about what that character knows/does.

For example, I might arbitrarily decide that a character (whose player has said that she wants to be involved in intrigue) is a member of the highly secret and heretical Order of the Blank Shield, and give the player the appropriate information. For obvious reasons, I can't run this by the player before hand - once you've agreed to be involved, that's it, you'll have to live with what I come up with. This sounds a bit harsh, and I really wish I'd thought of this before the game started. However, I'm making the best of what I've got, and that's the deal. But trust me, it should make for a better game.

Character creation is a long process, simply because each character has to be co-ordinated to some extent with every other character. Before the game starts, I want to ensure that each character has some solid links with other characters; to fake this sort of thing takes time and effort. To help achieve this, I want each player to come up with a description of their character that I can put on this web page, so that everyone knows something about who everyone is. Note: This should only be done after most of the character creation is done.

The information provided in this description should be:

Name and position
For example, "Zernil of Alern, Menoran of the Order of Hyvrik"

Physical description
For example, "Zernil is a short man, with brown hair that has grown long at the back. He generally wears his priestly robes, but has also a sword at his side. He is middle-aged, but keeps in good trim."

Personal history
This should be only that information which is common knowledge among those at Menekod. For example, "Zernil is an occasional visitor to Menekod, appearing perhaps once a year. He was once a soldier who served under the late Queen, before giving up that life for the priesthood."

Duties
What the character "officially" does at the keep. For example, "Generally Zernil visits Menekod as part of his routine liasing with the Order. He ensures that everything is running smoothly and according to the precepts of the Order of Hyvrik."

Friends and associates
Who the character spends time with, both as part of his or her duties, and outside them. For example, "As befits his position as Menoran, Zernil spends much of his time at Menekod with the Chabla and deputy Chabla, and also the chaplain. He has also been known to spend his off-duty hours with some of the Reblena."

Personality
A rough guide to the character's outlook and generaly disposition. This should include how the character treats others (either individuals or groups) at the keep or elsewhere. For example, "Zernil is a brisk, no-nonsense man. He comes across as a highly organised individual. He is well-known as something of an aristocrat, and he rarely if ever has anything to do with commoners."

Recent history
Any public activities or events in the recent past which the character has been involved in. For example, "Zernil recently arrived in Menekod, earlier than usual. This is almost certainly relates to the conflict between the Order of the Checkered Shield and the Laranian church. He is known to have pressed Sir Symak to take a firm stance with the Bishop."

Gossip
Any gossip that is in general circulation about the character. This need not be current, merely generally known about the keep. For example, "It is rumoured that Zernil turned to the priesthood because of an incident during his soldiering days, in which he fled the battlefield during an engagement."

Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate the character are also most welcome.

jamie@kauri.vuw.ac.nz