This page contains the instructions for how to make the character you will play in Tempest. Character submissions should be made by midday on Friday, 21st April, 2017 (Friday of 0th Week)

Please also note that, due to the limited number of player slots, submitting a character does not guarantee you a place in the game.

On a related note, due to the limited number of players, we wish to discourage the planning of extensive links between player characters at character generation. While it is acceptable for your character to have an existing link with one other character, any links beyond this are prohibited. Links with NPC crew or passengers are not limited in the same way.

The limited number of players for the game is also one reason why there are no factions in Tempest.

When making your character, you should follow the following steps:

1. Choose what sort of character you want to play.
2. Choose your character's talents.
3. Choose your character's quirks.
4. Fill in the details, including your character's name and background.
5. Send all of this to the GMs for approval.

Before making your character, you should have some clue as to the kind of person you are going to play. To give some examples, a stowaway urchin is likely to have a very different set of abilities and priorities to a retired soldier.

A character's motivations are not something that are represented mechanically by the game's system, but they are a good thing to keep in mind when choosing your talents and quirks. They can also give you something to work towards if you find yourself at a loss for what to do.

Talents represent what your character is able to do. If your character has a particular talent, you can expect them to be able to succeed at a task requiring that talent. If you don't have a talent, you can still attempt tasks which would require it, but may only partially succeed or incur negative consequences as a result of your success.

Your talent selections will consist of three statements about your character in the following format:

“Even under severe stress, I am still good at [2 talents]”
“Under moderate but not severe levels of stress, I am still good at [2 talents]”
“I am only good at [3 talents] under low levels of stress”

When selecting your talents, you should consider the possibility that your character will spend a significant portion of the game under at least some stress. You may also wish to consider which talents will be useful for gathering and using resources.

Quirks are unique traits your character has. These might represent items they possess, obscure knowledge, personality traits or physical attributes. Most quirks are either positive or negative: positive quirks are helpful, while negative quirks will crop up at the least convenient time to hinder you.

You start with 2 points to spend on positive quirks. You may gain up to 4 additional points by taking an equal number of points in negative quirks.

It should be noted that if you expect an aspect of your character's background to provide some kind of tangible effect in-game, you should represent it with a quirk.

This is where you fill out any additional details about your character. These include:

• Name: Exactly what it says on the tin.
• Background: A biography of your character, saying in broad strokes what your character's life was like before they ended up on the island. You should also consider why they were on the boat in the first place.
• Public Bio: A paragraph or so detailing what the rest of the player base might be expected to know about your character. Be aware that this will be visible to other players.

To finish fleshing out your character, you must then answer the following three questions from their point of view:

“What do you hope people think about you?”
“What are you afraid people might think of you?”
“What is the one thing that no-one can take away from you?”

Submit your character to the GM Team by email at gm@tempest.chaosdeathfish.com

The GM team will get back to you to confirm, and note if there is anything which needs changing.

Make sure your submission has covered all of the following areas:

Name:

Talents:

Quirks:

Background:

Public bio:

Character questions: