Character tools

**Grasharm** · 11-08-2008, 05:15 AM

Okay in the now missing forums that used to be on the wizards site then gleemax I had a thread that I started, then saved and referred to quite a bit. I'm hoping for a little help recreating it. The thread listed 4 or 5 questions that helped me flesh out a character's motivations and personality. Then another 7 or 8 situations where there was no "right" answer ,sometimes it was choosing the greater of two nearly equal goods, sometimes the lesser of two nearly equal evils. The answers to these dilemmas also gave a ton of information.

I'm hoping that you guys can provide some thoughts on this. Here is one dilemma I remember to get started with.

You ride into a village on your way to confront the Evil Cleric before she can make a human sacrifice and gain great power. A man is being beaten in the street by a noble screaming about the loss of a scared relic while a teenage girl screams from the opposite side of the street that he is inoccent. What do you do?
Do you continue on to confront the greater evil and come back knowing that any delay could spell disaster?
Do you stop and investigate the incident?
Do you simply beat the noble senseless ride off to confront the evil and come back to find out more afterwards?
None of the above. Explain.

**Mindbomb** · 11-08-2008, 09:29 AM

Hero Builders Guide

**Dimthar** · 11-09-2008, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by Grasharm

You ride into a village on your way to confront the Evil Cleric before she can make a human sacrifice and gain great power. A man is being beaten in the street by a noble screaming about the loss of a scared relic while a teenage girl screams from the opposite side of the street that he is inoccent. What do you do?

Do you continue on to confront the greater evil and come back knowing that any delay could spell disaster?.
Yes, "Greater Evil" is just an opinion. If accussed by a "Better" (Noble), the Peasant (Man) is probably guilty. Anyway, Saving a Life has a higher priority.

Do you simply beat the noble senseless ride off to confront the evil and come back to find out more afterwards?.
No way!. If it wasn't for the Evil Cleric, I'll help the Noble extract the "Truth" from the Thief (I mean the poor Man)

.

**tesral** · 11-10-2008, 12:16 PM

Who am I? It really depends on the character. I can hoesntly say all of the above.

My currently played PC, Rapheal would intervene. That is not the way conflicts are handled. You don't just beat people in the street. "I've worked with the guard before, I'll handle this sir." Take the man down the street out of sight. "Look, I've got bigger fish to fry. If you're not here when the evil temple comes crashing down that's not my problem."

**MortonStromgal** · 11-10-2008, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by Mindbomb

Hero Builders Guide

also The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and Ultima IX (previous Ultima games may have had questions but I can't remember)

**cplmac** · 11-11-2008, 09:14 AM

Stop the noble from beating the man. Ask what the sacred relic is, in case it has something to do with you primary mission. Ask who noble and peasant men are, in case one might be of assistance. Then be on your way.

The whole situation should not take that long of time as to make that much of a difference in time. Besides, if you are passing through a village, it would be wise to replenish any used items ( especially food for yourself and you mount if you have one) while the opportunity presents itself. You could also get a quick meal to keep from using up you trail supplies.

**Total Nerd v2.135 (final)** · 11-11-2008, 03:01 PM

a lot of games have similar questions of ethical posture and moral priority to determine character alignment. to engineer ethical/moral dilemmas and their alignment shifts, the Hero Builder's Guidebook has a whole chapter with sample questions and sample answers which you could surely make variants of.
A 'relationship to community' or 'crime and punishment' alignment challenge would fit the bill.

**Total Nerd v2.135 (final)** · 11-11-2008, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by Grasharm

Then another 7 or 8 situations where there was no "right" answer ,sometimes it was choosing the greater of two nearly equal goods, sometimes the lesser of two nearly equal evils. The answers to these dilemmas also gave a ton of information.

the 'right' answer depends on the kind of character you are trying to create/evolve. the answers will be shifts like (example) E+1, N+1, C+1, L,G,X etc....
you can even create your own, as i said, to be part of a campaign, and determine your own shifting paradigm.

**GoddessGood** · 11-11-2008, 03:18 PM

Hmmm, I might want to take a look at adapting something like that for Exalted. Instead of alignments there are four Virtues which govern a character's behavior. They are Compassion, Conviction, Temperance and Valor. The highest rated of these four can provide benefits and drawbacks for the character. Virtues are rated 1 to 5, so the pluses and minuses would merely serve to get a feeling of which is more important to the character than to actually determine the rating.

Dimthar would get +1 Conviction for keeping to his quest, probably a -1 Compassion for not stopping to help the peasant.

Tesral's Rapheal would get +1 Compassion for getting the noble off the peasant's back, but -1 Conviction for stopping in the middle of his quest.

cplmac's response would get him -1 Conviction (he is stopping his quest to intervene), +1 Compassion (he stopped the peasant's suffering), +1 Temperance (he used the time to prepare wisely for the journey ahead).

**cplmac** · 11-11-2008, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by GoddessGood

...Dimthar would get +1 Conviction for keeping to his quest, probably a -1 Compassion for not stopping to help the peasant.

Tesral's Rapheal would get +1 Compassion for getting the noble off the peasant's back, but -1 Conviction for stopping in the middle of his quest.

cplmac's response would get him -1 Conviction (he is stopping his quest to intervene), +1 Compassion (he stopped the peasant's suffering), +1 Temperance (he used the time to prepare wisely for the journey ahead).

Whoo Hoo! I managed to come out on the plus side as opposed to breaking even. That is assuming that being on the plus side is good and on the negative side, bad.

**Total Nerd v2.135 (final)** · 11-11-2008, 11:21 PM

you could also make a version involving the Four Vitreous Humours

Sanguine (Blood)
Choleric (Yellow Bile)
Melancholic (Black Bile)
Phlegmatic (Leukocytes)

to determine who plague-afflicted your character is

**DungeonMaster** · 01-02-2009, 04:09 PM

I would havfe just came in swinging sword over head and yelling like a banshee and slain the Noble.....and the peasant.

**InvestFDC** · 01-02-2009, 04:31 PM

Kill the teenage girl, screaming teenagers really get under my skin. Seriously, though, I might "accidentally" run over the noble with my horse as I galloped to dispatch the evil cleric. The noble will get over it since, being someone who kills evil clerics for a living, I'm not one to be f*cked with.

**jade von delioch** · 01-02-2009, 05:45 PM

Background: where is the character from, does the character have family, where did the character learn their trade, any ememies, any friends from home, where did the character get his/her gear?
Appearance: what does the character look like, what type of dress, and any physical quirks?
Personality: what is the character's likes and dislikes, what is their moral code, do they have any goals, any personal beliefs, and any personality quirks?
Why does your character do what they do: why are they adventures or what not and what is the character's view point on the subject?

**tesral** · 01-02-2009, 11:58 PM

Originally Posted by InvestFDC

Kill the teenage girl, screaming teenagers really get under my skin. Seriously, though, I might "accidentally" run over the noble with my horse as I galloped to dispatch the evil cleric. The noble will get over it since, being someone who kills evil clerics for a living, I'm not one to be f*cked with.

Hey, teenage girls have other uses.