Masquerade Character Development Document
COPY the text below this heading into your own document. Then send to your VST once complete.
Beyond the Sunset
Character Development Document
Masquerade Edition
Member Name:
Membership Number:
Membership Class (Used):
E-mail address (if any):
Venue/Domain affiliation:
Venue Coordinators E-mail:
Lead Storytellers E-mail:
Character Name:
This is the new Character Development Document for use with all characters in the sanctioned Beyond the Sunset chronicle. By completing this document, you will earn 4 Experience Points that can only be spent on the Character used in this document.
This document is designed to help the player and the Storytellers flesh out the character, filling in background and relevant character ties. It may be completed only once per character, though players are encouraged to update this document as their character evolves across the chronicle.
In addition to answering the questions below, a full Character Sheet must be attached, along with a brief history summary – not to be in excess of five pages. This summary should be in point form and must cover all the salient events in the Character’s past. Players are encouraged to expand upon this for their own satisfaction, and their Storyteller’s edification, but that is not required for this document. All the following questions are to be applied appropriately to the Genre in question.
GENERAL INFORMATION
This section asks about all the basic information on your Character, and the relevant information on the Character’s Genre and position within that Genre. All sections are first person Character/Player.
1. Name –
a. What is your Character’s name?
b. List any associated pseudonyms.
2. Age –
a. How old are you now?
b. When were you born?
c. How old were you when you were embraced?
3. Appearance –
a. Describe your characters physical appearance (Hair Colour, Build, height, eye colour, any distinguishing features, etc).
4. Dress –
a. How does your character dress?
b. Do they wear different outfits in casual and formal settings?
c. What do they wear on an average night?
5. Sire –
a. Who Embraced you?
6. Childer –
a. Who have you Embraced?
7. Ethnicity –
a. What is your prime nationality?
b. Which languages do you speak?
8. Sect –
a. To which Sect do you belong (Camarilla, Sabbat, Anarchs, etc)?
9. Clan –
a. To which Clan do you belong?
10. Societies –
a. Do you belong to any societies within your Clan or Sect (Coteries, Guilds, Gangs, etc)?
CONCEPT
Define the basic concept for your Character: how your character views him/herself and how he/she fits in to the World of Darkness. For some characters, this view applies to a current understanding; for others, the character concept is related to the character's behaviour and feelings from centuries ago. Either way, the character concept sets the overall theme for how the character is played.
ROLE IN KINDRED SOCIETY
1. Nature vs. Demeanour –
a. Which nature best describes who your character actually is?
b. Which demeanour best describes how you choose to display yourself to others?
c. Explain why you picked them:
2. Conflict –
a. If you have a problem with another vampire, how do you seek to solve it?
b. What tools can give you the upper hand?
3. Mortals –
a. How does your character interact with mortal society?
b. Is this different to how they interact with Kindred society?
c. Describe a specific interaction with mortals that is typical for your character.
YOUR MORTAL WORLD
What were you like before you became what you are now? Do you still cling to your former life as a comfort, or have you turned so far away that you no longer are anything like you were? This section deals with your interaction with life.
1. Childhood –
a. Describe your childhood?
b. What is your clearest childhood memory?
c. What is your worst childhood memory?
d. How did you spend your early years?
2. Family –
a. Who were your mortal family?
b. Did you get on?
c. Did you get married?
d. Have you had children?
3. Education –
a. Did you go to school?
b. Did you go to University?
c. Did you move around growing up or did you have a “home town”?
d. What was school like?
e. Did you play any sports?
f. Did you have any hobbies?
4. Friendship –
a. Who were your childhood friends?
b. Did you maintain any growing up?
c. Will anyone miss you?
5. Attitude –
a. As a mortal, what kind of person were you - Were you a decent person or an asshole?
b. Where you popular?
6. Identity –
a. Do you retain any connections to your mortal life?
b. Are you presumed dead or have a death certificate?
c. Do you still watch over your relatives?
d. Do you pretend to still be alive?
7. Fame –
a. Are you or were you famous in mortal society?
b. If so, why?
c. Will you be recognised now? How will you deal with this?
8. Crime –
a. Do you have a police record?
b. If so, what?
c. Have you ever performed a crime? Detail if you have.
9. Vices –
a. Has your character ever done drugs, drank heavily, or acted overly promiscuous as a mortal?
b. If so, what are your characters thoughts on them now?
10. Employ –
a. What did your character do for a living - What was their occupation?
YOUR SUPERNATURAL WORLD
Since becoming vampire your characters entire existence has changed. As a mortal your character was a particular sort of person, but as Kindred they might be something completely different. In this section try and define what is relevant to your character now that they are an undead creature of the night and what important events have occurred since first becoming a Vampire.
1. Supernatural contact –
a. What was your first brush with the supernatural?
b. When did you realise you were being stalked, if at all?
c. Did you believe in the occult before you were Embraced?
2. Vampires –
a. When you first met a Vampire, what were your feelings?
b. What frightened you most about being a Vampire?
3. Embrace –
a. Describe your characters Embrace?
b. How did it change you?
c. How did your sire catch you?
d. Did it feel wrong or right?
e. Were you thankful, reluctant?
f. Did you hate you sire for what he did?
4. Why –
a. Why did your Sire choose you?
b. Was it personal or business?
5. Sire –
a. Who was your sire and how did they treat you?
b. Were they abusive, arrogant, cryptic?
c. How long did you stay with your sire?
d. Did they teach you anything?
6. Mentor –
a. Have you ever been mentored by someone who wasn’t your sire?
b. Who do you look up to?
c. Who do you respect?
7. Society –
a. How did you fit into Kindred society? Did it suit you?
b. Where did you excel?
c. Where did you fail?
d. What positions of the court, if any suit you best?
8. Crime –
a. Have you ever broken the Traditions?
b. What were the consequences?
9. Sect –
a. How do you fit into your Sect?
b. How did you join?
c. Why did you join?
d. Do you hold any positions?
10. Clan –
a. How do you fit into your clan?
b. Do you get along with them?
11. Debts –
a. Do you owe other Kindred Boons?
b. Are boons owed to you?
c. Do you owe mortals favours?
d. Do mortals owe you?
e. Are there other intangible debts owed, either by or to you?
12. Haven –
a. Where is your Haven?
b. Is it publicly known?
c. What is your Security?
13. Feeding –
a. How do you feed - are you a social stalker, a mugger, break and enter?
b. Do you hunt both men and women?
c. Do you prey on animals?
14. Allies –
a. Who are your current retainers, contacts, allies?
b. How did you obtain them?
15. Influence –
a. What are your influences?
b. Who are the people that you call to enact your influence?
c. How did you gain power over these people?
16. Resources –
a. What is your current occupation?
b. How do you gain money?
c. What other recourses do you own?
17. Humanity –
a. What it your character’s Humanity?
b. Has it ever decreased/increased?
c. What caused this shift?
18. Deranged –
a. Does your character have any derangements?
b. What caused them to crack?
c. Does your character have any negative social or mental traits?
d. Why do they have these?
MOTIVATION
What are the goals and drives that keep your Character going and guide his/her actions? A Character with no motivation reacts rather than acts. Such Characters often bore Players because they spend the majority of game time waiting for something to happen to which they can react. Characters with motivation, on the other hand, are always working toward some objective; such characters often actively drive their own plots and help enrich the game for everyone. Consider this when answering the following section.
Persona Information
The following questions pertain to the motivations and rationales employed by your Character and the internal forces that drive it in the World of Darkness. The answers should provide the Storytellers with insight into the Character’s goals and objectives, and how these came to be.
1. Long term goals –
a. What are your Character’s long-term goals? For example:
i. Do you seek revenge on your enemies?
ii. Do you long to return to your mortal life?
iii. Do you wish to ascend the social ladder of Kindred politics?
iv. If you could achieve anything in the world, what would it be?
2. Short term goals –
a. What are your Character’s short term goals?
b. Is there any part of your long term goals that you could achieve in the short term?
3. Location –
a. Why did you character move to their current domain?
b. Why have they stayed there?
4. Drivers –
a. What are your Character’s greatest joys?
b. What are your Character’s greatest fears?
c. What does your Character love, or hate, that stands out?
d. Which emotions are the primary drives for your Character?
5. Enemies –
a. Does your Character hold a vengeance against something/someone?
b. Who? What? Why?
6. Secrets –
a. What dark secrets does your character have?
b. Who, if anyone, knows any of your darker secrets?
c. Whose secrets do you know?
HISTORY
What has lead to your Character thinking the way it does? What has it seen, heard and felt over the years. This does not only apply to Vampires, but all creatures. What events have transformed your Character? Draw from Real Life™ history, as well as the created World of Darkness and in-Game history to provide pivotal points in your Character’s existence. Answer the following questions, and attach your brief, point form, history.
Background Information
These questions ask you to focus on the events that have shaped your Character, be they mundane or supernatural. Be brief and concise with these answers, as the intent is to highlight the most important moments in your Character’s history and provide Storytellers with clearly defined events.
1. What important events did you participate in as a mortal?
2. What historical events as mortal have you witnessed or partaken in?
3. What historical events have you witnessed or partaken in, as a supernatural?
4. What historical figures or events have you influenced?
5. What important places in the world have you visited and when?
'6. If applicable, when and where have you gone into Torpor?
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