Character Creation Guidelines

[Tabula Rasa]

Hooray, you want to create a character!

Before you begin to write him or her up, please make sure that you've read the information in Game Philosophy and Rules. Tempus Fugit is a bit different, and we want to make sure you understand and will enjoy the approach to RP here before you invest time and energy in character creation. We'd also encourage you to read through the rest of the files in the About Tempus Fugit forum.

Quality counts more than quantity. Your character's profile doesn't have to be long, but it does need to express who s/he is and give us a feel for what makes him/her tick.

Please remember that this is a text-based medium. Grammar, clarity and spelling do count. Please check your character profile over for typos and run it through a spell-checker before posting.

You may play as many alts as you like, so long as you actually play them. If you seem to be pumping out great character after great character, but none of them actually show up in any RP, we may ask that you focus on those characters created, rather than making more. If you find a character you made just isn't working anymore, PM Tempus Fugit (admin) and we'll either work with you to regain that spark or (if you'd prefer) move the character into the Archives and out of active play.

We also have no real restrictions on the content of your background, but please be reasonable. Drama is great, but melodrama is not. We don't expect (or even want) all of the characters here to be happy and well-adjusted, but we do want to see balance and thought put into their backgrounds. Show us there's good reasoning behind why your character is the way s/he is, and s/he'll be welcome.

If you have an idea but don't know if it will fly, or if you have an idea but need help fleshing it out, feel free to PM and we'll be glad to work with you.

The Character Template is stickied at the Profiles board. Please fill out all of the pertinent sections, and then post the completed character in the Profiles forum. Works in progress are allowed but should be marked as such in the title (and a PM should be sent to Tempus Fugit (admin) upon completion).

Please be patient while waiting for approval. We do our best to approve characters quickly, but there may still be a short wait (a few hours to a couple days) before we've had a chance to look your character over. Approved characters will be moved to the appropriate forum, and you'll get a PM saying they're clear for RP.

We may ask you to make changes to your character prior to approval. Tempus Fugit is a plot-heavy, character-driven game, and we want to make sure all approved PCs have an opportunity to grab the story with both hands. Changes will be requested if we feel the character, as is, may have a hard time getting involved or if we feel that we still don't really know or understand your character, even after reading his/her profile.

Go forth, have fun and play on!

[Omnia Munda]

In addition to the above, we have come up with a few sort of 'workshop' exercises that you may wish to consider doing if you're feeling 'stuck' on your character's profile. These are just some things that have worked for us in the past and that may help you get a character up and running on Tempus Fugit!

Start with a simple hook.

Basically, come up with a small source of conflict in your character's life and work the character outward from that. Another way to go about this is to think of one fun thing you want to play out and describe the character in those terms. For example:

- I want to play a candidate whose family was cheated out of lots of marks by a shifty Caminar
- I want to play a bronzerider who's been trying to win a leadership flight for turns and is seeing red that a 19-turn-old beat him to it
- I want to play a crafter who had an opportunity to stand five turns ago and is now too old, but is having trouble advancing in the crafts and regrets that choice

Not only does a single detail like this give you some conflict to enrich your character's background with, but it will probably give you at least one idea for RP early on!


Design for the RP you want.

Think about what you as a player want out of RP. Do you love political power-mongering? Interpersonal intriguing? Travel and adventure? Create a character who enjoys (or is trapped in) a situation that lends itself to these things. If you like politicking, a laundress might not be right for you; she might be better at gossip and intrigue. If you like travel and adventure, a posted crafter with local family ties might not be the right choice; he might be better suited to political play.


Make it relevant!

Read up about the setting you're writing the character for and take note of anything that makes the setting 'different'. Try to work those elements into your character's background, or at least consider what your character thinks and feels about them.

If your character would fit in just as well on any other Pern game, you'll probably be bored playing him or her, since you will be missing out on a lot of the stuff that makes the game you've chosen (whether it's Tempus Fugit or anywhere else) unique.


Write a story.

Do you have a hook, some setting-specific details, and know what you want from RP but still don't have a character that you can write a background for because he or she just doesn't sing to you? Try writing a short story from that character's history. Pick a single, simple event and write a 'vignette' including some of the character's thoughts and feelings as well as the actions of your character and other people.

Don't worry too much about making the story unique; some of the most obvious moments in a person's life can be some of the most fundamentally important. For a candidate or dragonrider, you might choose to write the scene of their search or impression. For a crafter, perhaps a difficult exam or the achievement of a rank. Keep it simple so you can focus on the character's experience and expression.


We hope these ideas will help as you work on your character profiles. :)