Character creation

Sep 7th, 2024 Saturday Sunny

A few years ago, my husband introduced me to role-playing games.

I was not so thrilled by the idea, but willing to give it a try. My husband, who seemed more fascinated by the fantasy genre, offered to be a dungeon master that ran my solo adventure.

The next step was character creation, he explained. I need to design a hero/heroine that represents me, who fit into the medieval-like universe. Obviously my modern being would be too weak in some aspects (do not expect me to win any fist fight, or shoot an arrow that goes anywhere farther than my foot) and too strong in others (lots of knowledge inaccessible centuries ago has become common sense now, plus I can look up almost everything in a minute thanks to internet).

While I understand the purpose of character creation, its process still puzzles me. Or rather, the details required to describe this hero are overwhelming for someone who usually skims sentences in novels depicting the physical looks and apparels, for the few fictions I have read. Why do I must decide on the height, hair color, body shape, and clothes of my character? It is not that they do not ever change clothes, right? (Well, it turns out laundry probably never happens in that world. Even if my magic robe is stained with goblin blood, slits all over, my only choice would be to continue wearing it for its protection benefit until I can upgrade it)

Nevertheless, I did my best following the instructions of my husband. My heroine was born and underwent various noteworthy battles.

Since then, we have started or joined several campaigns, sometimes just the two of us, and sometimes with friends. I have gotten more used to character creation, though I still would not consider it the most fun part of the gaming experience.

Recently I picked up “Legacy of Dragonholt”, a storytelling-focused D&D-like game. Of course, at the beginning, each of us should build a character. I chose to be a young elf that mingles with other races and pursues a career of teaching and inspiring others with grace.

Once I finished portraying my character “Thalia”, my husband quickly scanned it, immediately pointing out that Thalia sounded so much like me. Her personality and ideals could almost be directly put into my biography.

I find that amusing but not surprising. Generally, I would be way more comfortable playing a character whose values and lifestyles resonate with me, than someone with inclinations that I would naturally frown upon (e.g. a thief, or an orc).

I am not sure whether that is the “right” way of going about these type of games. Many people seem to enjoy imagining themselves to be someone totally different from their actual selves, so they could vicariously explore life from a new angle.

I do notice though, that even the more experienced players tend to be drawn to specific kinds of characters, to the extent that my husband and I can often accurately predict their favorites, just like he can usually predict mine 😛

After all, I am busy enough being myself and trying to cultivate my own life – and imperfect as I am, I would not trade it with anyone else.

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