CREATING YOUR PERSONAL HISTORY
CREATING YOUR
PERSONAL PERSONAL HISTORY This section will guide you in developing detailed information about your character’s life before becoming an adventurer. Five major aspects comprise your character’s background: • Home • Family • Instruction • Life events • Relationships The following tables are designed to help create a background that is consistent and leads you to the type of character you want to play. Either choose an entry that appeals to you, or let the dice decide. It’s your character, so you’re in charge, not the 10-siders. If you see something you think is interesting on a table not designed for you, you’ll need to imagine a reason that your character had that experience. There’s nothing wrong with doing so, and by creating a unique background detail for your character, your overall story will be just that much more interesting. To begin, start with Table 1. Each table will tell you where to go next until you’re done with the process.
HOME COMMUNITY How big is the community where you were born? Did you lead a sheltered childhood, or did a bustling community surround you? Ordinarily, your home community is where you grew up, and many adventures begin as you leave that community behind. If you like, you may select one community where you were raised and a different community where you currently live. If you do, simply go through the process twice and decide why you moved to the new area. You may want to use Table 1 to select a different environment for each as well. These tables are just a starting point as you explore your character’s background. The town generator in Chapter 4: Adventures of the DMG has more demographic information. You can determine who is in charge in your home community and what NPCs live there. Each race has its own version of Table 2. Choose the table that’s right for your race.
Table 1: Home Climate What is the land like where you were born and raised? Roll twice on this table to find out. The first roll determines the temperature range in your home land, and the second determines the dominant terrain type. This choice may have some bearing on the type of terrain you find comfortable or the range of your Knowledge (geography) and Knowledge (nobility and royalty) skills.
Your character has been through a lot before the adventure even begins.
38
