Character Creation

To begin with, each character has four themes. (if you have the preview, and wish to use the themebooks, confine yourself to the origin themes for now. There will be plenty of opportunity to develop.)A THEME is a tag that describes a major aspect of your hero such as their temperament, backstory, or abilities, such as always attentive, goat herder of Milkrest, or gifted archer.Each theme can have additional TAGS attached to it, representing its minor, related, or secondary aspects. Usually, a newly-created themehas two more power tags (positive) and one weakness tag (negative).Each theme also includes a QUEST, a goal or personal journey of your Hero that is related to this theme.Tags are short descriptors (usually 1-3 words) that define important details about your Hero. They can describe almost anything including abilities, background, items, beings, resources, mental faculties, relationships, style, and more, as well as weaknesses, limitations, and flaws.Your power tags should be useful. Ask yourself: "What kind of actions would this tag support?"
Your weakness tags should be limiting. Ask yourself: "What kind of actions would this tag hinder?" or "How or when would it cause problems for my Hero?"
Tags like clever or wizard or rich are broad, meaning they can be used in a wide variety of situations and actions. Because of this, they usually require an extra action to use. Specific tags like whirlwind slash or sleeping spell can be used directly, but only in appropriate situations, so they are more focused and reliable. Try to have a balance of broad, specific, and somewhere-in-between tags.

Your Quests should be clear. Most Quests fall into one or more of these categories:
• Your Wish: Something you long for or aspire to
• Your Truth: A statement you believe in and want to uphold
• Your Home: Something you endeavor regularly to preserve
• Your Question: Something you yearn to know above all
Ask yourself: "What could be a Milestone for this Quest?" and "What kind of actions would be considered Abandoning this Quest?"

You and the Narrator must have an understanding about your tags and Quests. What they represent and when and how they can be used. Agree in advance on what each means. Talk about which tags are directly helpful to an action and which are only relevant in an indirect or roundabout way. This will be important during play.

Recruitment Thread

Okay, so I am thinking that the Far Isle is a stretch of islands in a coast/river delta that is inhabited by common folk living there for generations. I am thinking that ruler of the land like the King has not come to conquer this region and left it to its own because of past failed expeditions thinking it to be cursed. However, if asked it falls under his purview which he has given to his least capable subject, Lord Tagrie Molsner. Lord Molsner is a drunkard and hates the side of land that was given to him and spends most of his time in revelry. His wife has been unable to produce a male heir; however, he has three daughters. There is a rumor that he is impotent and his daughters are actually not conceived by him, but Molsner doesn't care and has taken several concubines instead. His house is in disarray, and much of the order in his lands is maintained by the Saturine church of the martyr goddess Llana. The church sends out friars and clerics who tend to the folk and spread the religious virtues and recruit crusaders, nuns, and caregivers. The church has gathered much of the support from the local people, but philosophers and critics think that Molsner is losing ground, and pretty soon the church will snatch ownership of this region by convincing the King.

Whatever influence the Saturine church has, it has not reached the Far Isles. Clerics and friars had often visited the area but had failed to convert any person to the religion. Goddess Llana is a martyr and benevolent goddess for whom the church never openly maintained any offensive presence, instead giving quest to questing knights, promising them the blessing of Goddess Llana and the guidance of more than 100 saints who have martyred themselves for the church. A loose organization of crusaders and templars exists for the church, but it is never spoken of openly. The warriors and knights perform their own duty until they are summoned for a 'holy quest'.

Okay, so this is what I have come up with the background lore. @Anirtak please check and modify as you like. I was planning to make my character as a questing knight who has been given a purpose to explore Far Isles and spread the benevolence of goddess Llana.

My image of the Far Isles was that they were far enough from any other land to be almost a self-contained ecosystem.

So, what if a ship of the King's navy have come and explored a bit, but left, thinking the land cursed. Maybe they spent the night on the isle of the dead. Either way, they did very little by way of conquest, but they did claim the land in the king's name - never mind that most of the people have never heard of him and would laugh at the idea of someone from over the water ruling them. Lord Tagrie Molsner has proved himself such an embarrassment that he has been appointed Lord of the Far Isles - largely in hopes of keeping him as far from court as possible. He dispatches ships periodically to attempt conquest, but the men he sends are little better than brigands, so the people of the Far Isles dread their coming. The Saturine Church has sent a few priests with these missions, to try to spread their faith and heal the damage caused by the Lord's men.

Your character's role is exactly as you described, except the voyage to reach the Far Isles is quite a bit longer.

I like this a lot! The voyage and far-away land seem much better than something poking on the horizon and disturbing the established setting of rustic fantasy of Far Isles. I love it. My character will choose to remain here until the next voyage arrives, questing in the name of Saturine Church and spreading benevolence and trying to influence people into the new religion. But, during his stay, he will quickly understand that there is something greater here in the Far Isles that will test his belief and understanding.

Awesome!

So, your next move is your four themes. Looking at what we've got, I'm seeing Saturine Knight or Templar of Llana, or something along those lines. Holy Orders for another. Stoic or Benevolent or some combo could be a third. Something to reflect his status as a foreigner could be a good 4th.

ALL of these are suggestions. Think about what defines your character, personality-wise as much as capability-wise.

okay, here's my guy.
My character will have the theme: FAITHFUL

His Quest is to serve the Gods of the seasons and the Earth and the Water and the spirits of his ancestors and the animals.

This gives him the Power of Knowledge he knows a lot about the land and the spirits around him from the stories passed down from the Gods to his ancestors and then on to him.
It also gives him a Power a gift from the Gods: Whether this be some sort of protection, or an ability, I’m not sure how magical we want to get with this so, I’ll come back to this after some input from you guys
His flaw attached to this will be that he can be Narrow-minded/Stubborn
As a second Theme: he’ll be a RANCHER
His Quest is to maintain the ranch and the herd. I imagine him as maybe a goat rancher, or something, but again it could be some kind of fantasy livestock like small dinosaurs or something? 

His Powers will be:Animal Handling - he has two dogs that he works with, he works the herd, he rides a horse. 

and Tools - He’s good at digging, fixing fences, building, chopping - Ranch work maybe with wood carving as a hobby
The Flaw is that he can be very isolated even from his closest neighbors, and is wary of outsiders, he can be very abrupt or socially awkward. He limits time going into town and will try to do all of his trading/shopping during his trips taking livestock to market. 

Third Theme: PROTECTOR
He is a father, his two sons, and two daughters all live on the ranch with him. One of his sons has a wife and a small baby. They all work together on the ranch, but as the Father he is responsible for the well-being of all of the people and animals on the ranch

Power: Good in a fight. Weapon of choice: Hammer or Axe
Power: Traps. Best way to fight a predator is to never have to fight them.
Flaw: Over Protector - He may not trust those in his protection to fend for themselves.

And Finally fourth Theme: PROVIDER
As the head of the ranch this is his primary role and his Quest attached to this is to always be looking for either a good trade, a good deal, or a Golden Opportunity. Although he is reluctant to leave the ranch under most circumstances, he can be easily persuaded if he feels like the overall benefit is it worth it. A new structure, new animals, more money, there is always a need for more of something at the ranch.

Power: Negotiator He’s good at getting a good deal
Power: First Aid: with animals or people his nurturing nature makes him competent at basic first aid.
Flaw: He might not be totally above being a little bit of a cheat or a thief if he thinks no major harm will follow if it’s to the benefit of the ranch or his family. 


Okay, so that’s what I’ve got for my Far Isles rancher, I’m hoping you guys can help me fill in some of the details. As far as the Faithful power, I’m totally cool with that being some form of witchcraft, or he could be out there leading a cult or his own little church or something, I dunno.
…. and if I am like totally way off with any of this stuff, just let me know what I should change.

Yeah, so I was thinking that the religion of Goddess Llana is partly monotheistic, because even though there is only one goddess at the head, the blessings are spread by praying to 100 different saints and maybe more angels devoted to her cause. So, I am guessing instead of directly going for the Goddess Llana or Saturine church, there will be a hierarchy that my character has to navigate through the order. How about Questing Knight of Saint Katherine? If this is the theme tag, we can go for the power tags as Thrice Blessed Platemail and Claymore of House Tenli. I am thinking my character's name will be Vormier Tenli. As for Saint Katherine, she was a beautiful woman who sacrificed her life by treating many plague-stricken patients and attained sainthood. For the negative tag, how about Stranger in a Strange Land?

I like!

Though for his weakness tag, maybe something more connected to the church "Oaths to Uphold" "Llana's Law" etc

Stranger in a strange land is great, but I think there's a lot of missed potential with his oath. And Stranger could be a whole other theme... there are a lot of pros. Anyway, it's all up to you, I'm just throwing ideas like a monkey throws

For my second theme tag, how about Benevolent, Idealistic but Stoic Warrior. For the power tags, Miracles of Saint Katherine and Defender of the Weak. The negative tag can be Unproven Valor and Conflicting Ideology.

The third theme tag Knights of Prowling Panther Training with the power tags, Stalking Stance and Disrupting Footworks with the other one being A Panther Surrounded is a Dangerous Foe!. As for the negative tag, Needs Time to Learn Prey.

I think Llana's Law seems really nice and dramatic. I will go with that.

All of this looks good. As far as the magic goes, I'm trying to avoid the D&D style godWizard and keep things with a rustic feel. Gift from the Gods (or spirits?) should be fine. As it's a fairly broad tag, I imagine it would be something you mainly use indirectly. Unless there is a specific thing it is or does, in which case the tag should reflect that?

Okay, let's keep it, gift from the spirits and maybe I'll have reflect some sort of uncanny luck or something

For my fourth theme I am going, Uncle Jude taught me Forging, with power tags, Fire and Water forge Tempered Steel and My Own forged Iron Broadsword. As for the negative tag, how about I only wanted your acceptance!

As for the quests, I have come up with this ones, 1st Quest (wish): I hope to see Saint Katherine bless me. 2nd Quest (truth): Everyone deserves a second chance for redemption. 3rd Quest (wish): I wish to bring honor to House Tenli. 4th Quest (question): Is Far Isles really a cursed place?

Looking a little closer at these: Unproven Valor and Conflicting Ideology feels like two separate things. You may want to choose one and add the other later - adding a weakness may seem line a bad call, but weaknesses are how you improve your themes, so you like them. Also, they make for more interesting stories.

Likewise, Stalking Stance and Disrupting Footwork feel like two distinct things. Again, you could choose one and add the other as an improvement.

Last, idealist, benevolent, stoic, warrior flles line you're packing a lot into one tag. What about Stoic Idealist or Benevolent Stoic? This tightens it up and makes it focused on his philosophy and personality. You have a pile of tags that serve you in battle. Putting a little focus on who he is when he's not fighting will round him out.

As always, my suggestions are suggestions.

This is a request, though: "A Panther Surrounded is a Dangerous Foe" is an awesome tag. It's easy to see its use, it's specific and it's evocative as anything. I have a picture in my head right now... probably different from what you picture, but probably not THAT different. Do you mind if I use it as an example?

This is all good stuff, but you have a broadsword here and a claymore in your other theme that seems to be different weapons? No reason not to have two swords, and now reason not to have two tags for one sword, but can we clarify? Either make the tags obviously reference the same sword, or obviously not.

You are right; stringing two tags for one won't be a good move. I think Benevolent Stoic is good for a theme tag. I will go with Disrupting Footwork because some defensive tags would be needed. I chose the "A Panther Surrounded" tag because it's like the fighting style is derived to combat many opponents quickly, and it's especially deadly if he's ganged up on. Plus, it can be used as a good, flavorful tag, maybe even outside combat. I will take out the "Needs time to learn prey" and replace it with Conflicting Ideologies tag. Ofcourse, you can use it as an example. The other negative tag is Unproven Valor.

So, do you want me to change the panther tag?

So that is a different sword, yes. It's a testament to his forging skill. Vormier himself crafted the sword, and it is probably not a mastercrafted sword like his house's claymore. I am thinking that the claymore is something of a unique weapon/heirloom that signifies his house as well as the symbol of his knighthood. Also, since the claymore is a really, really long sword, Vormier uses it when the enemy is dangerous and needs to be kept at bay. The broadsword is shorter and sees much more rough use. Also, it's made of iron (like, I don't know if there is fey involved in this setting, but they are said to be weak against iron?) instead of steel. As the story progresses, I am guessing that he might reforge his sword into something else if there is significant change in him. For example, something happens that changes him, and he realizes the need for defense, so he melts the sword, adds more metals, and crafts a shield; or maybe he melts it and crafts a hammer. The broadsword is a kind of symbolic representation of him.

No! Keep the panther tag. I just want your permission to cite it in future as an example of a really good tag.

OK, the swords make sense. One thing I have been kicking around is how magic works on this setting. Not anything we have to decide now, but as you forged your broadsword yourself, AND have a tag that touches on miracles, it could be imbued with some of Llana's power. As is, it is not a Magic Sword, but the groundwork has been laid.

Food for thought.