Character Creation Guide

Useful things to know about a character:
- How long has your character been on this island?
- What do they do for a living?
- How traditional are they?
- What assumptions might be made about them, both accurate and inaccurate?
- What is the one thing they are always chasing?

Overview of the community

This community lives a gentle life, for the most part: slow-paced, and strongly connected to the land. They are at the mercy of the elements. Being set apart from the mainland and the rest of the world means change is slow and can be sluggish, but they are a tight-knit and hardy bunch who take care of each other. They love a celebration, and will take any excuse to sing and feast. Gatherings often involve storytelling, and often about The Ancients. Some of them believe in magic. Not the sparkly kind, but the old kind. Magic that comes from the land, and is always returned to the land in the end. Click the options below to expand for more information.

How long has your character been on this island?

You're welcome to play someone who is new, and make discoveries along the way. We can also help you embed characters into the existing community.

They're here temporarily for work

This might be seasonal:

harvesting or picking crops
catching certain fish on a trawler
support during busy seasonal tourism

They might also be an artist who is here on retreat, or an academic who is here to study something on, or about the island. Perhaps they are here visiting a connected colleague from their industry. Industries include agriculture, livestock (particularly sheep), fishing, innkeeping, and of course, the traditional manufacture of broadcloth. They might be a visiting healthcare professional, and/or be here to provide for the specific caretaking needs of a particular resident.

They're here on vacation

There is no hotel, but the Skylark Inn has some accommodation. You can also imagine a guest house or B&B if you'd like. You might even create the character who runs it, if you want to engage with others who might play guests.

They're visiting friends or family

Those who move away from the island can find themselves drawn back. Distant family and friends might be cut into the cloth of residents, which makes them part of the community and always welcome.

They live here

Has their family been here for generations, or did they move more recently? How many members of their immediate family also live on the island? Do they travel much, or have they mostly just known this place?

What do they do for a living?

There are limited ways to make a living on Skylark Island. Some stay in their family trade, some move away from that to another path. Here are the main areas of employment on the island.

Broadcloth

The process of making their traditional cloth includes shepherds providing fleece from their flocks of sheep, and those who dye, card, and spin the fleece for weaving, as well as those who weave. The same family might do all of these things, but individuals could simply be shepherds, or makers of yarn from fleece, or weavers. There are also those who bring the textile to market on the mainland. Again, this might be an individual in the same family.

Farming

In addition to sheep and other livestock, crops are grown on the island.

Fishing

Trawler fishing at sea is an important part of island life for the purposes of feeding the islanders as much as for taking to market on the mainland.

Merchants

There are a few stores on the island where some general goods are sold. Farmers also sell produce and some also manufacture hand tools. Those who make broadcloth have some storefronts, sometimes as part of their homes, where they sell the cloth and other woollen items including fleeces, yarns, blankets, and so on. Much of this is for tourists.

Innkeeping

Skylark Inn has a residence for those who run it, and some accommodation for visitors. It's the only inn on the island, and they serve food as well as drink, so there's a lot of call for bartending, cooking, cleaning, and waiting staff.

Arts and crafts

There can easily be artists and craftspeople resident on the island, or visiting the island for a retreat.

Additional community support

Since there are so few people in this community, those who can often help out in other areas to support the community. This might include giving visitors a ride to and from the ferry, checking in on more isolated neighbours, basic first aid, teaching young people, sitting on the council, and so on. Does your character do any community-oriented things?

How traditional are they?

See the section on Skylark Island, and read about their coming of age tradition and the way they choose a new Chief for more information about the island's beliefs.

They have traditional beliefs

Religion aside, some people fully believe in things like The Ancients, and the island's rituals and festivities have a spiritual significance for them. Those with such beliefs tend to also believe the accompanying lore and superstitions.

They're open-minded, or don't share those traditional beliefs

Regardless of belief, the island's rituals and festivities can still be participated in and enjoyed. As in any community, there will be those who don't participate for their own reasons, and also those who are scornful of believing in such things.

What are they like as a person?

Here are some questions it can be useful to ask about a character.

What assumptions might someone make about your character at first sight? On this island? What about elsewhere? On other islands? On the mainland?
In what way are those assumptions reasonably accurate? In what way are they very inaccurate? What is the most surprising thing one might discover about your character? Do they have a secret?
What does their family look like? To whom are they most close?
What takes up most of their focus outside of their work? What is their heart-work?
What's the one thing they are constantly chasing? What is their Bluebird?