20 Questions for Character Creation

1. Who were the character's parents? Did they raise the character? If not why? If not them who?

My parents.I did not know my mother, since she died a little while after having given birth to me, killed by some wild animal, so I was told, although very few animals were able to kill elves of my tribe. So I was left in the care of my father. Our tribe had a very power-based rule. The strong were there to rule and the weak were there to follow. My father was not one of the higher ranking men of our tribe, so our family was regarded with a level of disgust and very little pity, since pity was a weakness, and the weak perished. I lived a full 50 years there, under the dominance of the higher ranking and stronger children. I preffered not to get involved in any fights, since I could have gotten severely punished by the leader. So I learned how to keep out of sight.

Fear kept me safe, but it also made me angry. Angry at myself for being afraid. But I didn't show any change.until my 50^th year. I was going hunting for the first time and my father had given me his black leather gloves. He was very proud of me. I remained with the main party, while several of our men, including my father, scouted out the area. Suddenly we heard a cry for help. We rushed towards it and found my father lying in a pool of his own blood, dead, being gnawed upon by a brown bear. Through a trance, I heard our leader, Baeroth, say: "Weak.kill it and take his things. We shouldn't waste anything. 20 arrows hit the bear almost at the same time. It fell lifeless to the ground. I rushed to my father's side and cryed and screamed to the heavens. But I was simply pushed aside by the men of my tribe 17517b18r , who started taking my father's gear. And again the fool leader spoke: "You had best prove to be stronger than your father was, lest you want to end up like him. And then my fear turned to rage. And I grabbed my father's dagger and, in one move, thrust it through Baeroth's throat and out the other way. And as he fell, I ran past my father, grabbed his bow and some arrows and ran. The tribe didn't bother to follow. The only thing that I heard was: "Run far away, Sylvath, far away! You are EXILED! Run Exile, run, and never come back!!! That is why I changed my name. I am the Exile and thusly I have named myself Exilthetokhal.

And I ran. And after a couple of weeks surviving in the forest, I managed to get to a city, Bard's Gate. There I sought shelter and found it within the thieve's guild. 70 years I spent learning the tricks of the trade there. I left, as I reached the age of 120, searching for a group with which I could travel and see the world and fulfill my guild's mission.

2. Did the character have any childhood friends? Any siblings? Where are they now? Does the character stay in touch with them or have they become separated? If separated why?

I didn't have many friends as a child, nor siblings. My days were spent finding ways of concealing myself from the others, to avoid direct confrontation. Also in the guild, I never bothered to make friends, since friends could be used against me, and that could be a weakness. But I had enemies. So many enemies. Starting with my tribe and ending with the families of victims I had disposed of for the guild.

3. What was childhood like for the character? Calm and peaceful or turbulent and traumatic?

My childhood was a constant battle: first for survival, and afterwards for advancement in the guild. But this constant battle eventualy made me see that anger was pointless and clear thinking was far better.

4. Does the character have any or did the character have any role models? Describe them?

I had no rolemodels. I never tried to be like someone, but better than that person.

5. What did the character do before he / she entered the story? Who trained the character to do what she / he does now? What is the character's relationship with his teacher(s)?

Before joining up with my companions, I was in the service of the thieves guild. I still am, but I have simply left my current guildhouse to go to another.

As trainers I had many. Acrobats, pickpockets, thieves, assassins, marksmen. I learned all I could from them, and thusly I have become what I am now.

6. What are the character's moral, ethical and religious beliefs? What lengths will the character go to defend those beliefs? Who or what taught those beliefs to the character? Remember that a character's moral and ethical beliefs, not necessarily his behavior, defines his alignment.

I believe that the only order in the world is this: the strong rule and the weak follow or die. But in this law, I have no place, for I am not above, but along side it, not following it, but neither fighting it. Law is important, but only in a certain degree.

As for gods, they can very well keep to themselves, I have no need of them. I've survived this long and I'll do so from now on. I'll manage it somehow.

7. Does the character have any unusual habits or physical traits? What are they? What do they stem from? How do others tend to react to them?

I have no real diferentiating marks. In a sea of elves, I am just another elf, nothing more.

8. What is the general reaction to the character of other characters? Why, in the character's opinion, do they act that way?

People have, over the years, developed a sort of 6^th sense about danger. I think they can feel that in me, so usualy I am treated with respect and humility. Fear is a very good weapon.

9. Can the character kill? When did he decide (or learn) that he could? Why would the character kill? Does he / she have any enemies at all? Would or could the character kill them?

I can certanly kill. I started with Baeroth and continued with many targets of the thieves guild. I kill if I must and nothing more.

10. What kind of relationships does the character currently have? Does he / she have any close friends? Bitter enemies? If so who? What are they like? What is the history of the character and this person's relationship?

I have few friends, that I don't even keep in touch with. They are rather more my parteners in the thieves guild, but we trust each other.anyway, we trust each other more than we trust others.

We do not openly admit to knowing each othe, but we well know that if one of us is in grave danger, the others will come to his aid.

11. Does the character have any mental problems? Phobias? If so what are they? What do they stem from? DM's are encouraged to demand an answer to this question before awarding character points.

I hate being afraid. That's why, over the years, whenever I was supposed to be afraid, I just felt angry. Anger has gotten me out of tight spots, but not many times. Usualy one must be calm and calculated.

12. How does the character generally treat others? Does she / he trust easily? Or not? How does the character relate to people? Is he a shy and withdrawn or a condescending snob?

I never trust. Trust is like giving a beggar all your belongings to look after while you just go to drink a coffee for five minutes. Trust is not one of my strong points. And as far as relating to people, I usualy like to just sit and watch others talk, unless it is something of importance, in which case I must talk as well. Otherwise, I just observe others. Weaknesses can be revealed simply through teyr manner of speech.

13. What does the character look like? Does he / she have any scars or tattoos? If so how did she / he get them? Obviously this includes eye and hair color, but unusual gaits and accents come into play here as well.

I am a tall elf, about 5'8", with long, dark hair, all the way down to the middle of my back, caught in a tail. I have a bit of a paler skin than usual, but not something too out of the ordinary. And I have striking light blue eyes.

14. What is the character's normal daily routine? How does he / she feel when it's interrupted for whatever reason?

My daily routine is never fixed. I just usualy try to gather as much information about the place I'm in and nothing more. But at night, my job is always fixed. If I have a job or an errand, at 1'o clock sharp I wake up by myself and go out to fulfill my buisness agreement.

Next sit down with your DM and consider these questions

15. Was the character present during any key events in the history of the campaign world? How did that event affect the character?
16. Does the character have a notorious or celebrated ancestor? What did he / she do? What do people assume about the character when his / her ancestry is known? Does the character actively try to live up to the reputation, try dispel it or try to ignore it?
17. Where is the character's homeland? What is it's history and what are it's people like? Is the character patriotic, or a social outcast? What is his opinion of home?

Finally consider these questions:

18. What are the character's dreams? Ambitions? Goals?

I simply want to advance as much as possible in the thieves guild, eventually become an assassin and maby take over my current guild.

19. How does she / he seek to obtain them? How does adventuring fit into this dream, or does it at all?

I will use any means necessary of reaching my goals, weather it is through diplomacy, threats or even murder. Adventuring is just a part between cities and jobs. It helps me train up for my job.

20. Does the character ever want to have a family of his / her own someday? If so with who or what type of person?

I should think that eventually I will have a family. But that is something left to be thought about another time.