CHARACTER CREATION
General Creation
All player characters must adhere to source content requirements, limitations, or restrictions as defined by their game's listing on StartPlaying. By clicking "Join Campaign" on StartPlaying, you've agreed to the information as laid out in the listing for your adventure and the contents of your onboarding materials. Requests for homebrew, alterations to rulesets, or other game modifications will not be considered.
All player characters must be considered adults by humanoid standards (18+). Avoid characters who are unnaturally old or who lived through historical eras now shrouded in myth or legend.
Characters should align with the campaign's genre, fit realistically within the setting, and have a clear reason to cooperate with the rest of the party.
Avoid creating lone wolves, joke or meme characters, evil characters focused on causing harm, reluctant heroes, or otherwise "normal" characters who lack interest in adventuring or combat.
Player characters may come from rich or noble backgrounds, they should not be related to, or associated with, powerful or influential figures like kings, queens, or other high-ranking officials with lofty titles that grant access to special resources. Any recognition by major political or powerful figures within the game setting will be earned through in-game achievements and story progression, rather than assumed at the start of the campaign, unless otherwise intended by the game's scope.
Backstory Guidelines
Backstories are optional! You don’t need one to play a character well or have fun.
Backstories work best when they establish a sentimental connection between a player and their character. Writing a backstory is something you do for yourself because you're inspired or it helps you understand the character. The game master will not write backstories for players.
Align your backstory with the campaign. Your backstory should match the tone, theme, and the focus of your game’s current setting. Do not write a backstory that begins outside the scope of your campaign.
The primary goal of a backstory should be to provide a clear and understandable reason why your character is going to opt into the game master's adventure. Explain why your character became a hero. What pushed your character to leave their old life behind?
Keep any backstory open-ended. Good backstories explain the past, but don't dictate the future. Allow room for the game to surprise you, and avoid writing a backstory tied to a specific future goal that could derail the campaign. Instead, create a past that allows your character to engage with whatever story unfolds or quest is presented.
Writing a backstory is something you do for yourself because you're inspired or it helps you understand the character. Do not submit a written backstory to the game master; you can express relevant parts of your backstory through roleplay at the table by adhereing to our 🔗open-roleplay environment.
If you want your character’s personal history to impact the campaign world, you can submit a list of 🔗7 Knives. These should be clear, concise bullet points that are relevant to the setting.
⚠️ By submitting a Knife, you are giving the game master explicit permission to use it against you, and you acknowledge not all Knives may be used or featured.
Changes to Established Characters
Players may proactively request character changes to refine or correct their characters, as long as the update maintains narrative grounding, i.e. no changes to established canon.
Typically, this means no changes to foundational pieces of your character once declared, such as your character's name, species, background, class, subclass, etc. However, elements of your character that have never featured in the story may be subject to change, such as swapping out a spell your character has never cast for a more thematically accurate one.
Major revisions are easiest early in a campaign; later changes should be minor to avoid disrupting established game arcs.
If a player is no longer enjoying their current character, they may work with the game master to find an appropriate upcoming session that is suitable to phase out the old character while simultaneously introducing a new character.