Fleshing Out Your Character

Or, How to Earn "Not Die" Points

I will be awarding Hero Points solely based on selfless social acts in the metagame and authentic character moments and interplays within the game. That's what the relationship tracker is for; I can fill you in more later. Each hero point corresponds to one don't-die-in-one-die-roll-free card. I think you'll need them. I haven't play-tested the monsters, so they will be leaning into the insanely hard region. Save yourself by being an interesting main character. The NPCs are just backdrops. You guys are the heart of the story.

Be Really Interesting in a Not-Annoying Way

Your job in this game is to be as interesting a main character for the story as possible *within constraints*. Ham it up and narrate yourself as much as possible, but not in a selfish way. If you steal the spotlight, say a bunch of stuff about yourself in leu of acting it out, waste a lot of time (you are expected to waste a bit, though) or act in a way which makes no sense in situ, you will be called out. I want to see characters interacting; this will require selflessness, like pitch and catch. Don't try to show off or steal glory; instead set up your classmates for greatness. Ask them questions. Comment on them and their details. Make mistakes that your friends can correct. Be interesting and make openings for your friends to be interesting. These are the factors which distinguish murder munchkins from really interesting characters who murder and are munchkins. Make me say, "Oh, that was so totally (character name)." You have the authority, by the way, to narrate your actions and make assumptions about your surroundings. Tell me a story when you go about your business to get a chance to describe your dude's (or dudette's) nonverbal habits and tendencies at the same time as moving the story forward. It is fine in these cases to gloss over mechanics if the means sound reasonable. Fill in details for me; I'll gently tell you if I had another idea that was plot-important. I'm not allowed to override you just to keep control. This ought to help make the game more interactive and fun.

Write Some Stuff

Here are a few fields which you can fill out to generate material for a more interesting, rounded character.

Tell me some stories from your character's background that might count as formative. I prefer these to be funny so you can throw them out for a quick laugh at an appropriate time.
Who are some people important to your character's history?
What's your most painful memory?
What's your dream, your private goal? It might be impractical or embarrassing, but it's always on your mind in some way.
What are some personal weaknesses you suffer from? This is to distinguish you from the perfect little hero person who never fails or does wrong unless the dice or the player are irreparably in error. The more personal faults here, the better. And gimme good ones which the other players can play off of. None of this "too fearless" or "unbearably attractive" stuff. Maybe you can't handle correction, or you lose it if you feel rejected. Maybe you can't pay attention. Maybe you misinterpret situations (which, by the way, can be hilarious). Maybe you have a pathological trigger which makes you act unreasonably sad or angry. Maybe you comically jump to conclusions based on insufficient data (but make sure it's clear that it's your character being an idiot, just saying). Gimme some good flaws for the other characters to work with and which your little guy might need to address.