Character Creation
A World of Darkness
Chronicles of Ashenfall is a gritty dark fantasy game, and your character should reflect that. While we are pretty open about what we will let you play, we do require that every character has an approved backstory before that character can exist in the game world.
Backstory Submissions
Your backstory must be approved before you can register to play an event. Backstories are submitted for approval using the form on our website. After your backstory is received, we'll reach out to refine the concept with you and make sure it fits into the game world.
Have fun with your character backstory and be flexible. We suggest you keep the following in mind as you pull together their story:
1. Comfort
Design a character that you feel comfortable playing or embodying for an entire weekend.
2. Purpose
Give your character a reason to be open to staying in or around Mysthaven.
3. Engagement
Give your character reasons to engage with other characters or plot. If your character has a built-in reason NOT to engage with these elements of the game, you'll only be robbing yourself of fun.
4. Flexbility
This is only the beginning of your character's story–leave room for it to unfold and for your character to grow.
Creation Guidelines
We have a few provisions that should be kept in mind when coming up with your character concept. These are intended to keep the tone of the game consistant and make it feel like your character is truly a denizen of this world.
Concept
- Be original. Original character concepts are best. We will not accept character concepts that are direct copies of characters from popular culture or other intellectual properties/franchises nor will we accept characters brought to Aldwa from another plane of existence.
- Belong. You must fit your character into the world setting. The established lore and setting of the game offers a wide spectrum of themes and concepts for you to springboard off of.
- Believability. Play a character that is at least believably close to you in age or that you can believably portray visually. Many character concepts could believably include “childlike wonder” in a way that is more effectively portrayed than “an actual child”.
- Scarcity. You must receive plot approval to play a soulforged or undying. These species are very limited in number to reflect the in-game setting. If you are interested in creating a character that is either of these species, please discuss with the game leadership team before submitting your backstory.
Tone & Scope
- Shades of gray. The world is fantastical, gritty, and full of nuance. It is a dark fantasy, not a heroic fantasy. You are welcome to play a heroic character, but we encourage folks to embrace some shades of gray.
- Humble beginnings. New characters are only slightly more powerful than your run-of-the-mill merchant, farmer, or town guard. Creatures encountered in the wilderness are incredibly dangerous to most people.
- Equality. Character backstories do not convey any sort of mechanical advantage over other Player Characters. While you are welcome to play a concept such as “the scion of a fallen house” or “a noble in hiding,” you will need to include elements in your backstory to help explain why or how your character is coming into the game world in a similar situation to other Player Characters. (What happened to all of their money? Why are they out of favor or in hiding? Etc.)
- Lost history. Player Characters do not have knowledge of what the world was like pre-Sundering. This knowledge may be developed or discovered in the course of the game.
Naming
- Originality. We highly encourage you to select an original name for your character! Take care to avoid character names from popular culture, such as “Aragorn” or “Geralt,” as they are likely to shift folks' perspectives on your character and may create unintended associations.
- Close to home. Some in-game cultures have predefined naming conventions that you should consider when designing a character. Diverging from these conventions may give you an opportunity to build in a backstory element to explain why your character's name is the way it is!
- Be earnest. Medieval fantasy style names are great, but not strictly required. Meme or meta-joke names are not acceptable (no “Boaty McBoatface”).
Restricted Species
We have strict standards when it comes to costuming for undying and soulforged. To help us get an idea of what your kit will look like, we'd like to see some indication of what you're planning, This could be a shopping list, pictures of costume pieces you already have, or mockups of costume pieces you're planning to make. We want the game to be as immersive as possible and costuming is part of that.
If you are looking to play one of this species, please be sure to:
2. Check the Species
Check out the species page and World Anvil for more information on the costuming requirements and lore.
Learn More3. Join Discord
We have a Discord where we discuss character concepts and will help your workshop ideas for yours.
Join Us4. Submit A Ticket
In the #private-questions thread, submit a ticket to connect with our staff and get your costuming and concept approved.