Chapter 3. Character Origins

Character Origins

The first step in creating your character for Polyhedral is to come up with a concept, and that concept starts with your identity. Familiarize yourself with the setting of your game and look at the options for your character’s origins. A character’s origin is defined as the intersection between their lineage, their cultural heritage, and their background.

Your character receives certain traits and features from their choices of lineage, culture, and background. These traits may be physical characteristics: lifespan, size, the ability to see more clearly in low-light, etc. or they may be features of your upbringing or experience such as having certain knowledges, skills, or tools.

In some rare cases, a character might not get to choose their cultural heritage or the cultural heritage will look slightly different.

Mixing Lineage and Culture

While most origins present a lineage and one or more related cultures, you typically have the option to mix those lineages and cultures. Before choosing a culture from a different lineage, speak with your storyteller first to understand if there are any restrictions.

Human

Humans are, perhaps, the most diverse of all the people you will encounter in your travels. They have spread to nearly every corner of the settled world, and still they have traveled farther. Every continent, every country, is likely home to at least a few different human cultures. Each culture borrowing from others: language, art, stories, advancements, and other knowledge is shared–or seized in conquest.

Age. Humans are considered adults in their late teens and typically live less than 100 years.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base speed is 30 feet.
Resolute. If you do not have any resolve, when you finish a long rest you regain one point of resolve.
Cultural Heritage. Choose one cultural heritage from the available cultural heritage options.

Human Culture

If you are raised in a human culture, you have the following traits:

Disposition. Human cultures raise individuals of all walks of life. Humans do not tend toward any one disposition.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write the common tongue, and one extra language of your choice.
Cultural Knowledge. You are proficient in one knowledges of your choice.
Skill Versatility. You are proficient in two skills of your choice.
Talent. You gain one talent of your choice.

Half-Elf

Age. Half-elves reach adulthood about the same time as humans, in their late-teens or early twenties. Their lifespan is at least double that of most humans, often living well into their 150’s or longer.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base speed is 30 feet.
Darksight. Your eyes are accustomed to the twilight of the night sky, dimly lit halls, and faint light cast by a torch. You can see in dim light as if it were bright light.
Cultural Heritage. Choose a cultural heritage, typically human or elf.

Elf

Modern depictions of elves, especially in fantasy settings, are often more sensitive to the natural or magical world. It is not uncommon to see elves as protectors of the wilderness or woodlands, such as with druids and rangers. Commonly elves are about the same size as humans; they may be slightly smaller or bigger—depending on the flavor of the setting. Elves are almost always depicted as being leaner than a human of equivalent height.

Age. Elves reach physiucal maturity around the same age as humans, in their late-teens and early twenties, though typical elven cultures may not recognize an elf as an adult for several decades. Elves are much longer lived than humans, depending on the settingh this can be on the order of a few centuries, nearly a millenium, or they may live so long they are considered immortal.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base speed is 30 feet.
Darksight. Your eyes are accustomed to the twilight of the night sky, dimly lit halls, and faint light cast by a torch. You can see in dim light as if it were bright light.
Keen Senses. You have advantage on Mind (Awareness) checks to see and hear.
Cultural Heritage. Choose one cultural heritage from the available cultural heritage options.

Elven Culture

Whether you were raised in the wooded lands and forests, or you spent your life being raised in an metropolitan urban setting, you have the following traits:

Disposition. Those raised in elven cultures are often keenly aware of, and sensitive to, the natural world. Many elves value freedom and will fight for that freedom if it is infringed upon. Elves are ore more often goodly, but this is not always the case.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write the common tongue, as well as the elvish language.
Naturalist. You a proficient in Knowledge (Nature) and Mind (Survival) checks.
Traditional Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the weapons traditionally used by your people: the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow. Woodland Stride. You ignore difficult terrain in forests and other wooded environments.

Dwarf

Dwarves are a stout and stubborn people whose homes are in the hills and mountains. They pride themselves on their craft, particularly with stone and practical tools. Dwarves can be industrious, in some settings they are the inventors of firearms and like weaponry. As a dwarf you have the following traits:

Age. Dwarves mature at about the same rate as humans, but because of their long lifespan they are still considered to be children until around the age of 40. Dwarves typically live between 300 and 350 years.
Size. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your base speed is 30 feet.
Darksight. Your eyes are accustomed to the twilight of the night sky, dimly lit halls, and faint light cast by a torch. You can see in dim light as if it were bright light.
Stout Health. You have advantage on saving throws against disease and poison, as well as resistance to poison damage.
Cultural Heritage. Choose one cultural heritage from the available cultural heritage options.

Dwarven Culture

You were born in a mountain citadel and raised with all of the teachings of canonical dwarven culture. You have the following traits:

Disposition. You were raised in a society with strict laws and codes. This has influenced a structured and ordered lifestyle.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write the common tongue, as well as the dwarven language.
Traditional Combat Training. You have proficiency with the battleaxe, handaxe, hammer, warhammer, and light and medium armor.
Stonecraft. You are considered proficient and have advantage knowledge checks related to stonecraft.
Tool Proficiency. You are proficient with one of the following tools of your choice: smith’s tools, brewer’s supplies, or mason’s tools.

Backgrounds

Your character’s background sheds light on who you were before the game begins. It provides context on where you came from and in some cases who you came to be who you are today. How were you educated? Did you grow up privileged? Were you a trouble maker? Your background might answer questions like this and others. Even if it doesn’t, asking similar questions can provide insight into not only your background, but also your personality, what you value, and even your flaws.

Aspects

Every background presented here provides suggestions for aspects, e.g. personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws. These aspects of your character build on and support your concept. The aspects presented are only suggestions however. You can pick the aspects that suit your character, randomly choose them by rolling dice, or work with your storyteller and the other players to write your own.

Personality traits. A personality trait might be something you like, a particular attitude you have towards something, a previous accomplishment, mannerisms, upbringing. From your story think about your defining event or how your character acted when having to make an important decision.

Ideals. Your ideals are your beliefs. These are the fundamental moral and ethical principles that guide you. Consider why your character acts a certain way. What are your character’s goals and ambitions? What causes them to stand up after having been knocked down?

Bonds. Look at your relationships with other characters in your story. What connects you to a person or a place? A bond might tell you who is important to you, or identify something that you cherish deeply.

Flaws. Your flaws are your vices, or some aspect of your character that complicates matters. It might be a compulsion to act in a certain way, a fear, or a weakness. Look to the rising conflict in your character’s backstory, how did that influence you? What makes your character mad? What terrifies your character more than anything in the world?

Optional Rule: Creating Relationships

After you have decided on your background, work with the storyteller and other players in the game to create relationships between the characters. The relationships that are created are a result of collaboration between two players. Using this optional rule, each character will have a relationship with two different characters at the start of the game.

Characters can be randomly shuffled and distributed among players, if sitting at a table they can be passed to the left and right, or players can decide who they want to make their relationships with. Regardless of how you decide on who the relationships are with, the process for creating a relationship remains the same:

1. Decide on a characteristic as the basis of the relationship. Whether it is the character’s personality trait, ideal, bond, or flaw choose one of these to build the relationship on top of. For example, the player of the warrior-mage Tellus may decide to create a relationship between their character and the thief Garret who has the flaw “I am slow to trust others.”
2. Write one or two sentences describing the relationship. When you write the relationship, think about in the context of a supporting role in someone else’s story. Your relationship might be based on helping the other character or your presence might have been a complication. Do not be concerned with being too detailed. Continuing with the example above, Tellus’ player may write the following relationship “After saving Garret’s life Garret and Tellus became close friends.”
3. Discuss the relationship with the other player and make adjustments. A relationship is not one-sided, afterall. For instance, Garret’s player may suggest a modification to the proposed relationship: “After saving Garret’s life, at risk of his own, Garret and Tellus became close friends.” This acknowledges that it took an extraordinary event—Tellus risking his life to save Garret’s—for them to become friends.

Ambassador

You are, or possibly once were, a diplomatic emissary to a foreign land; appointed by a nation or a governing body to oversee negotiations and practice statecraft. You may have advocated for the protection or interests of the people you represent, or used your status as a cover for clandestine operations. Some ambassadors are responsible for brokering agreements, treaties, and other covenants.

• Skills: Persuasion, Insight
• Knowledges: One of your choice, usually history or religion
• Languages: 2 of your choice
• Equipment: A set of fine clothes, a writing implement and notebook or similar, and official documents.
• Starting Resources: Modest (4)

Feature: Request Audience

While in a peaceful nation where your role as a diplomatic emissary is recognized, you may use your status as an ambassador to request an audience with powerful and influential figures. Your request for an audience is guaranteed to be considered, but there are no assurances that the meeting will occur or that you will meet with the official you requested an audience with.

Suggested Aspects

Ambassadors serve a foreign government, either because they feel that it is a noble calling or because it is a position of power. Many ambassadors are members of the upperclass, owing their position to their natural born privilege. For others though, like those in more egalitarian societies, the opportunity to become a foreign dignitary is open to all, regardless of who their parents were. Ambassadors might find themselves party to many secrets before they become public knowledge, as such it is not uncommon for spies and other intelligence agents to front as aides to an ambassador to as ambassadors themselves.

Personality Trait

Ideal

Bond

Flaw