Character History Tips and Guidelines

Alliance LARP Denver

There are many advantages to submitting a character history to Alliance LARP Denver. The writing process helps you understand your character better, the submission process allows the Plot team to make sure it’s consistent with the world, and having your history on file allows Plot to provide you with personal, focused story. You also receive 100 goblin stamps just for your character history!

To begin, read pages 13–16 of the Alliance Rule Book (ARB) on writing a character history and getting plot. You can read relevant excerpts on the Alliance Denver page as well.

Important Tips

1. Submit early. While many players will wait until after they’ve played a few games before submitting their character history, we strongly recommend that you at least run your concept by the plot committee and/or the race contact for your character’s race. It would be unfortunate if you started playing one concept, submitted your character history, and received a long list of requested revisions that contradicted what you’ve already said in game. You can wait to submit your full history, but checking with us on your basic concept will prevent some of these problems.
2. Be local. If you want to play one of your characters from another game or system, translate it as best you can to Acarthia. We are limiting character histories from across the mists or from locations not listed in the Player’s Guide. The Alliance Denver Player’s Guide has a ton of information on the setting; there are a lot of places you can be from! If you are having difficulty with translating your character concept to Acarthia or creating a local character, contact the Plot team or your race contact for your race. We’re happy to help!
3. Read the packets and rulebook. Read the rulebook blurb for your race, the national race packet, and the local race packet (which you can get with a request to acarthialogistics@gmail.com or plot@alliancedenver.com). Familiarize yourself with the geography of the world and particularly with the area your character is from. Roleplay within the constraints of the packets: a slave-owning mystic wood elf, a highly civilized wylderkin, or an emotional stone elf will all be rejected.
4. This is the beginning of your adventures. Not the middle or end. Unless you’ve been NPCing for a year, you are a first-level character with the skills to match. You are not a mighty hero yet—that will develop in game over time. Write your history accordingly. Leave loose ends. Don’t write that your character has already encountered and conquered all their foes, overcome dozens of trials, and is super experienced.
5. Resurrection happens. Most sapient species that aren’t constructs resurrects, often multiple times. Keep this in mind when writing your history. Too much permanent death will be rejected. Don’t try to kill off your village, your entire family, or everyone who’s ever been important to your character. It doesn’t make sense in the setting.
6. Name the characters in your story. Provide names for your character’s parents, siblings, friends, teachers, etc. The characters in your history might show up in game, and we want you to be able to recognize them! The exception to this is if there was a monster, frightening figure, or ominous enemy in your history, in which case you might keep it vague so we can use existing enemies in the world. Another exception is if you’re keeping the role open for a friend to PC in the future.
7. On that note, let us know if you’ll cast a character. If a character in your story is going to be played by another player, please let us know! Otherwise we might use that character in personal plot and cast it with an NPC.
8. Be careful of restricted concepts. There are several concepts that require plot approval, and will only rarely receive plot approval. Check with plot@alliancedenver.com about your character concept before even coming into game if your concept falls into one of the following categories:

• From across the mists or a land outside the ones described in the Player’s Guide.
• From a noble house/family, or related to nobility.
• Involves a magical artifact.
• Is an exception to the norm for their race.
• Involves ancient history (pre-Year 0).
• Involves dragons, gryphons, or dragon mages.

Please note that many of the restricted concepts will be much more likely to be approved if you are linked to another existing character. For instance: characters from Valarion who are connected in one way or another to existing Valarion PCs, characters related to existing PCs who are from noble houses, etc. Remember to get permission from the player before you connect your character history to theirs!

Please also note that this only applies to characters starting out in Alliance LARP Denver. If you are transferring in from another chapter where you’ve already played an event or several as that character, obviously the character’s background in that chapter transfers as well.

What to Include

What does a good character history cover?

• Skills and Abilities: A good character history explains how your character acquired their current skills. Look at your character card. Who taught you to read and write? Where did you learn to use a weapon?
• Reason for Adventuring: Why are you an adventurer? If you’re not an adventurer, why are you in the somewhat dangerous border town of New Acarthia at least once a month? What’s your reason for risking yourself?
• Questions and Mysteries: Don’t tie up every loose end in your character history. Have some questions, mysteries, and unresolved events to explore in game. This gives the plot team something to play with. You as the player don’t have to know where your character’s sister disappeared to, or who that shadowy figure was talking outside your family’s door when you were a child. It’s fun to find out about it in game!
• Impact of World Events: Look over the Recent History section in the History of the Kingdom chapter of the Player’s Guide. What was your character doing during the War of a Thousand Skirmishes, for instance? Did any other recent events impact your character?
• Family: Who were your parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, mentors, and other important figures as you were growing up? If your character was orphaned at an early age, who were your guardians or adoptive parents?

Some Do’s and Don’ts

• DO tie your character history into the world history. Read the Player’s Guide for information on recent events.
• DON’T make your character instrumental in world events.
• DO talk to other players to see about connecting your history to their characters.
• DON’T include other people’s characters in your history without permission.
• DO read the Player’s Guide, national packet for your race, and local race packet.
• DON’T make your character the exception to the normal behavior of their race.
• DO have clear, dynamic, driving goals and motivations for your character.
• DON’T give your character an externally-imposed “fate” or “destiny”.
• DO include unsolved mysteries and unanswered questions for your character to discover in game.

Now you’re ready to submit your character history. We look forward to reading it!