Details

It is often the details of your character that give it the most definition. Quirks, speech patterns, loves and hates are often ideas you have for your character at creation, or shortly thereafter. However, those things can change. Sometimes, even my basic character concepts can be altered within the first handful of games. This isn’t always the case, but it happens. Therefore, when building my character, I also love to give them very specific accessories.

For instance, both Petra and my new character, Star Lily have similar statistics within the Warhammer system. They both have high Agility. Yet, Petra’s weapons are her fists and a vampire stake. This automatically informs how I play my character. She doesn’t have a pistol, she can’t shoot at range. She has to get in close and personal for combat. On the other hand, Star Lily is a Halfling. She has a small repeating crossbow which does not do as much damage as other crossbows, because the bolts are smaller. Still, I have worked hard to insure that she is accurate with her weapon. She only has a dagger for hand to hand combat, so she is staying at range.

Animals can also be a great way to define the play of your character. When creating Star Lily it made no sense to me that she would have a great War Charger or Clydesdale to ride upon. Instead, remembering a special I watched on the crusades, I gave her an Icelandic ambler horse, which are the cutest little beasts ever. They also move only at an amble, which is about half a trot. I included a picture from Wikipedia. Now her horse will not be able to move as fast as the other horses, which means I will not be going on high speed chases or riding swiftly into danger. It does mean that the horse helps to enforce the slower pace of life that most Halflings (including mine) enjoy. It only takes a few extra minutes to set these details into place, but when they’re there, it can help define your character, shape their path, and inform how you play.

For those of you who are gamers, what is the favorite accessory or animal you’ve ever given one of your characters and why?