Character creation

Every character starts with an idea. Where you go from there is unique to you, the player.

How do YOU create a new character from scratch? Do you have any rituals, a step-by-step guide?

Tell us about your character creation process, from vague idea to ready-to-write.

For the characters that I have in play in public forums, there is generally a small kernel of an idea that catches my imagination and sparks the questions 'why does/would...' and 'what if...' It is easy to go from there.

Gwynne is a new character for me. She is from a five page story in a game resource book about Britain in the Dark Ages. There are a handful of facts about her:

1. She can summon and speak with the Fae
2. She has a self-appointed apprentice that barely knows anything about her magic
3. She is currently in Winchester and has some dealing with magii of diverse magical heritages
4. She has willingly let the forces of the Inquisition take her into custody

The question that hooked my interest was why she would let herself be taken. What reasons are behind it and how will she get out of the situation?

Granted, I am still creating her, but the four pillars of her character core are the ones mentioned above. These cannot change or the character will change in ways that I may not wish to see happen. With those fixed points firmly in mind, I am creating the story of how she came to be in Winchester. Starting with her name, I gave her a Welsh [Brythonic] background as opposed to a Saxon or Norman one. With this in mind, I am working on developing the core story to pillar one of her foundation; which will lead to pillar two [and Gwynne has told me that she meets young Jerome on the road to Winchester] and then to pillar three, etc.