Sometimes you have the stats and you just need a bit of background to help fill out a character
This halfling character has the following skeletal background :
Location :
Original Community Size: County
(Halflings refer to two or more towns withing a day’s walk as a county; the most populous ones have close to 5000 inhabitants.)
Climate and Terrain of Area: Temperate
(Cold winters, but warm summers.)
Plains
(Mostly flat and often cultivated by nearby settlements.)
Familial Information : (These are about those that you consider family, not neccessarily blood relatives)
Economic Status: Moderate
(Your family owns at least a small dwelling or can make rent payments without significant concern. The family’s income slightly exceeds its needs.)
Social Standing: Skilled Trade or Merchant Family
(You could be the child of someone as simple as the village cobbler, or as complex as the weaponsmith for the king.)
Defensive Readiness: Rudimentary
(Most family members are versed in basics of using clubs, spears and knives in self-defense and defense of the family home.)
Private Ethics: Neutral
(Your family has neutral ethics or no consistent family ethical direction.)
Public Ethics: Beyond Reproach/Beneath Contempt
(Regardless of your family’s actual ethics, public opinion is so ingrained about your family that it’s essentially unchangeable. You decide whether public opinion is accurate or not.)
Religious Commitment: Hidden Heretics
(Your family believes in a religious movement considered heretical or dangerous by the community at large. However, your family hides this commitment from the public.)
Reputation: Bad
(Others treat your family with contempt, and every member is assumed to be disreputable.)
Political Views: Enfranchised
(Your family is a part of the system and supports it.)
Power Structure: Domination
(A violent or dangerous family member rules your family through fear.)
Ancestors of Note: Master Artisan
(Your family has an ancestor who was an artisan of unmatched skill who left a legacy of excellence that is still used as a standard gauge of quality.)
Education : (All character learn some basic skills as children. This may or may not provide direction for their later years.)
Early Childhood Instruction: Book Learning
(You learned how to read and write.)
Formal Education: Advanced Math
(You mastered more complex mathematics.)
Learning A Trade: Craft
(You’ve learned a craft (any of the categories possible for the Craft skill.)
Life Events (Thus Far) : (Childhood triumphs and tragedies)
Early Childhood Events: Survived Childhood Danger
(Perhaps you were menaced by a dangerous creature or kidnapped by raiders.)
Youth Events: Politics
(Perhaps you spoke on behalf of a political movement or candidate, or stood up to an abuse of authority.)
Pivotal Events: Religious Awakening
(A new faith is created, a schism tears an existing faith apart, or a prophecy is announced, for example.)
Relationships : (This is the basic information about your true family.)
Parents: Parents Lost or Unknown
(You may learn about them in a future adventure, of course.)
Siblings: Oldest
(You have 4 younger siblings.)
Grandparents: One Grandparent On Each Side
(You choose which ones.)
Extended Family (Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Nephews, etc.): Many Living Relatives
(You have 8 living relatives.)
Friends: Few
(You don’t make friends easily, but you’re a good freind to them. You have a few close friends.)
Enemies: Villain
(One or more local villains have chosen to direct their hatred towards you, perhaps because of some minor adventure you completed.)
Instructors: Other Race
(Your favorite instructor of note is of a different race than you.)
Related articles
- Prey for Smiley Bob (wizards.com)
- Why Do Halflings Get the Short Stick in Many RPGs? (tenkarstavern.com)
- DCC RPG: The Halfling (irontavern.com)
