Building Your Character
Almost every story is based around one central question: ‘who am I?’ With the added corollary of ‘and who might I become, given a chance?’
- Antiguides of Bard, Upon Writings of Narrative (2017)
The world of Fantasy Alive is rich with adventure, excitement, discovery, and magic – but the thing that brings them to life is you! To build your character, it can help to start out with an idea, and build out from there.
If you make a character and find that they do not suit your preferred play style, don’t worry! You get a free ‘re-mort’ (a rebuild of your character using your starting experience plus any experience from your first event) following your first event. This is to allow you to play a character that best fits the sort of character that you wish to play in game!
If you wish to start out with a pre-built character, or to find more information about the mechanics of starting out as an adventurer, you can find it here.
Choosing a Species
The world of Fantasy Alive is peopled by a great many types of species. While it is encouraged that you try being human for your first event (since it is fairly likely that you are human yourself, and have a general idea of what humans are like), this is a guideline not a rule. In the area in which the games for Fantasy Alive are set, humans are the predominant species, but these areas are growing increasingly metropolitan, and adventurers are by their very nature unusual.
Different species have different cultural and physical advantages, which can affect what your character is capable of, or good at doing in the course of play. As well, different species may have histories or cultural mores that may present opportunities for roleplay that you may find interesting!
For an overview and listing of the different species in play, check out Peoples of the Lakes Region.
Choosing Your Abilities
In your life, you’ve learned how to do a variety of things, based on your experiences, your education, and your work (as applicable). These have informed what you know how to do, and what approach you bring to different challenges. Your character is the same!
Your character may have been a soldier, a mercenary, or a student of martial prowess, and studied weapon skills. Perhaps they have sought schooling as a wizard, or taken holy orders as a priest, or generally received an education in one of the forms of magic that are studied in the world of Ariel. Certainly, many new adventurers have previously plied some trade or another, seeking to earn a living. All of these skills can be useful in the course of play and between games, and you can use your starting build to reflect what your character has studied prior to their entry into the world of swords and sorcery!
Your character likely will not start play as a master of any of these abilities – this is an opportunity to start along a path, find teachers, mentors, and fragments of forgotten lore, and make your name as a rising star.
You can find the current rules of play, which describe the various skills, how they work, and what paths may lay before you here. Depending on the skills that you choose, you may begin with pieces of equipment that reflect the gear that you have accumulated prior to your entry to play – learn more about this here!
Becoming an Adventurer
Most people don’t become adventurers, because it exposes them to peril and hardship, with great risks and uncertain rewards. Although some fall into the role, player characters are those who, finding themselves in a dangerous part of the world find reason to stay. Characters may have come from many walks of life – soldiers, traders, craftspeople, clerics, magical apprenticeships, or more – but an adventurer is born when these people face mystery, exploration, and peril, and come back for more.
An important part of coming up with your character is determining why they might participate in the game! While events may sweep your character along, and our plots are intended to have compelling motivations built in, part of being an adventurer is having a reason to adventure. Take a little time to consider why your character would come to a part of the world known to be more dangerous than others – or at least, why they would remain there.
Writing a Character History
Fantasy Alive is a series of unfolding stories that include your character – and as everyone knows, characters have to come from somewhere! Consider the following, and then follow this link to our character history submission portal!
- Where does your character come from? The lands around the Lakes Region are full of places where budding adventurers might well find the start of their stories, but some come from further away still! Consider if your character comes from nearby or far away, and what an upbringing in such lands might be like.
- How did you come to learn how to do the things they do? Having taken a look at character skills that you might begin with, it’s worth considering – did your character learn to fight in the army, or as a mercenary? Were they an apprentice wizard in the Guild Arcane, or did they attend the Universities of Sashkissed, Hoggsport, or Portnos? Did they serve as an acolyte at a small shrine, or at a great temple? Were they apprenticed to a master craftsperson or trader, or did they teach themselves?
- What does your character aspire for? Having a starting goal is a great way to focus your early adventures. It’s okay if it’s a modest one to start out with – as your character learns and grows, it’s perfectly normal for their goals to shift, but having a goal starting out gives you a great place to plant your feet as you start to find your way in the world.
Get Started!
If you have questions or concerns, you can reach out to new.player.reps@fantasyalivelrp.com, join our Discord, or reach out on our Facebook page. The world of Fantasy Alive is waiting for your story, so come and tell it!
Next Steps
Authored by: Andrew Dunlop
Fantasy Alive Lore Team 2026
Copyright © Endless Adventures Ontario