Character Creation

Step 1: Concept

Note: This first step is largely for new players. If you have already made a character in the past and know what you’re doing, feel free to skip to Step 2.

House Games, as a system, has a few quirks that must be taken into account during character creation. World of Darkness (and by extension House Games) has a strong emphasis on story telling and character growth. However in House Games, each session is its own self contained story and might not have the same Story Teller. None of the sessions have an interconnecting plot by design. As such, here is a greater responsibility upon the player to take the initiative in driving the story and arc of their character.

Another quirk is that unlike D20 system such as Pathfinders or DnD, there is no class system in House Games. All there is are attributes, skills, and advantages. Truly the Marxist Dream, as you can build your character however the fuck you want.

Because of these two quirks, it is highly advised that you have a character concept in mind whilst making your Highroller. WOD is a storytelling focused game first and foremost. A strong concept is the engine that propels your Highroller’s growth forward, both mechanically and narratively. There are 3 ingredients that make a good Highroller concept.

1. The You you are.

Who are you? House Games, by the design, allow just about any type of character to be created and role played. Are you a heroic do-gooder who wants to change the world for the better? Are you a brutish thug who will take whatever you want? Are you a quick talking, morally grey trickster? Are you a sociopath with a twisted moral code presenting as a loving goofball? Are you a tortured artist looking for your next inspiration? Are you a solider haunted by the horrors of war, drifting your way through life?

Before you start filling in your stat blocks, have an idea in mind for who you are going to be. A well rounded Highroller is also a well developed character. What kind of personality do they have? What kind of upbringing did they have? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What kind of morality system do they have, and how strong is it? If they have regrets or traumas, what are they? What were some of the most pivotal moments of their life?

Try to have some of these answers going into your session 0. Part of your session 0 is a short role playing segment run by an agreed up Storyteller. The two of you will briefly go though the Highroller’s life, leading up to them being hired by the Harbingers. You’ll play through some key moments of the character’s life, in a sort of montage fashion. This will help you ease into playing your character, and could even help flesh out their backstory through collaborative story telling.

It should be noted that characters take time to flesh out. Have a good idea of who you are playing, but you don’t have to have all the answers immediately. A full biography of a characters life isn’t necessary.

This also where you can start filling out the first bits of your character sheet! (If you haven’t already started). This is where you can fill out the slots of Nature and Demeanor. These are both important for the roleplaying process, but they can be a little tricky to wrap your head around at first.

A character’s Nature is important to factor in for gameplay reasons. It is one of the way you can regain Willpower during session. A character’s nature is the dominant (but not only) archetype in their personality. Its a true reflection of their most closely held beliefs and thoughts. The function it serves in gameplay is reward you, the player, for roleplaying as your character by rewarding you willpower (at the discretion of the storyteller of course).

A character’s Demeanor on the other hand is the person they present to the world. The facade we present to outside. The demeanor of your highroller is not as important as their nature. We are constantly changing our presentation on a person on person basis, and this is our Demeanor. No person has a set demeanor, and feel free to change your Highroller’s Demeanor at any time. The Demeaner has no real effect on gameplay. Its just a little bit of flavor text to help you roleplay your character.

Sam’s Sheet

Having nailed down the general concept, I fill these boxes out on Sam’s sheet.

Now that we have these filled those out, you should be able to fill out all the basic bio information about your character (age, sex, name, etc.) Residence is just where in the world your character resides in. You can also fill out the concept, as this is the general idea you have for your character. Don’t worry too much about the region box, this is just the play group your part of.

However one slot you should put much thought into is your characters Ambition.

2. Ambitious and Tenacious

Every Highroller is unique. However they all have one thing in common: their insatiable drive and ambition. Each character should have a goal or set of goals that define them. The games are dangerous, but the rewards are great. Death is lurking in every corner and not everyone comes back from a job.

As fun as they are to play from as a Player, we must remember what it is like for our characters. The games are adrenaline fueled, terrifying ordeals for the characters. Once a month they are going on a job that will traumatize them. They make a Saw movie look like a walk in the park. Highrollers are risking life and limb (or worse) to earn the powerful gifts given to them.

Any complacent person would not partake in more than one game (if they’re even chosen to begin with). As such, the type of person who is likely to partake in a House Game is extremely ambitious. They have big picture, long term plans they wish to achieve. These are bigger plans than wealth, health or fame (all of which can be earned in single game.) This is a driving ambition to reshape the world as they see fit.

Creating a good goal is, without a doubt, the hardest part of Highroller creation. Even veteran players can have trouble with this. But the Goal is an intrinsic part of the concept, as it is the reason why your character continues to play the game.

A common trap is making a character with an Internal goal. Goals such…

• I want to be the best at XYZ
• I want to be the strongest Mofo in the Galaxy
• I want to be the richest person on Earth
• I want to be super famous and loved

…are not good goals to have. Some of these goals can be obtained after only a few games. Others ignore the fact that Highrollers are already extremely competent special snowflakes to begin with. All of these internal goals are not good for long term story telling. To what end would being the richest person on earth result in? What would you do with being the strongest Mofo out there? None of them generate conflict or change the world.

Instead it is better to have a goals that are external. Think about yourself for a moment. If you could have all the power to change the world, how would you change it? This is the kind of question you are answering. What does your character aim to achieve by playing the games? Your goal should lead to external conflict with the world and cause fundamental change to our world. Some examples of good goals are…

• I wish to achieve godhood and rewrite the world in my image
• I want to usher in a new dawn for humanity and colonize the stars
• I aim to wipe humanity from existence and reverse the damage its done to the Earth
• I work to destroy Capitalism itself, the very concept of ownership will be destroyed from the human psyche
• I will conquer the Earth, and see it into a new Golden Age of peace (or war?)
• I wish to alter the human race itself, to be a unisex species with no gender

There are some good examples of ambitions. These would fundamentally change history, humanity and even reality itself. These are all big picture goals that would invite conflict as your Highroller aims to achieve their goals.

Make sure that your goals are grounded enough to change the setting. However its also a good idea to make them too lofty to be easily (and fully) achievable. Highrollers can become ridiculously powerful, so a good character goal will invite conflict (the driving force of narrative) and be scale-able.

Finally its okay if your character goes into the house games not knowing what their end goal is. Your character can slowly realize their ambition over time rather than knowing right at the start. Maybe only once they realize the full power of the House do they start getting some big picture ideas. They can even change their ambition as their story develops. However, you as the player should have a clear idea what it is before their first game. A Highroller’s ambition defines their story trajectory. Fill it out on your character sheet in the Ambition box.

Sam’s Ambition

For Sam, it took me a few minutes to think of a good goal. I’ve decided that she wants to root out injustice from the world. This can give me a lot of directions to take her story in, and like any noble crusader story is prone to lead to conflict.

Finally that takes us to the last main ingredient in concept creation.

3. Snowflakes of Carnage

Only the most strongest most gifted most special snowflakes protagonists are chosen to partake in the House Games. The harbingers only choose a hundred or so people out of thousands, and only a dozen or so people will survive more than a few years in the games. The games are a meatgrinder designed to make the cream of the crop. And you are the cream.

Basically, when your making a character, don’t make just an average joe. The person you are playing as is one of the absolute best in the world at at least one thing, if not more. You are given an absolutely absurd amount of points during character creation. Even if you’re not famous or successful, you are still extremely powerful and competent.

Just because you’re absurdly powerful doesn’t mean you cant be a character with depth and dimensions. An extremely skilled and talented individual a Mary Sue does not make. Think of characters such as Ripley, John Rambo, Ranni the Witch, Tony Stark, Furiosa, Edward Elric, Clarice Starling and Goku. All of them are extremely powerful and competent characters. And yet, all of these characters have depth, intrigue, flaws and growth.

Sam’s Progress

If you’re following along, this is what you should have finished on your character sheet.

Alrighty! That’s the hardest part of character creation done. Making a concept can be a lot of leg work, but its important as its the foundation our entire character sheet is built on. Now that you know who you’re playing narratively, its time to build a stat block for the person your playing to reflect mechanically in the game. Everything else should be easier from here.