Before making characters, the group needs to decide on nature of the campaign, and the party. Often the GM will have a strong idea of what type of game he wants to run, but everyone must agree to the basics of the game before creating characters.
Campaign Aspects
The campaign can have aspects, just like a character. These are considered to be always in play, as if every character had that aspect.
Examples:
- Lighthearted tone
- Silly
- Darkly Humorous
- Grim & gritty
- Noble Heroes
- Lovable Scoundrels
- Fantasy Horror
- Sci-Fi Fantasy
- Political Intrigue
- Action Heroes
Tiers of Play
The campaign tier determines how strong the player characters are at character creation, what spells and equipment they have access to, and what antagonists and monsters they are capable of defeating.
Aspiring Heroes
Characters are essentially amateurs with dreams of greatness.
- Money is a big issue. Paying for the bill at the inn can be a plot point.
- Starting equipment is entirely mundane. Rituals are limited and expensive
- Characters mostly travel on foot.
- Skill Range: Poor to Good
Local Heroes
The group has achieved some degree of success. Commoners and minor nobles seek out the PCs for assistance.
- Every character has a magic item.
- Money is only important in large amounts.
- Characters travel on horseback, or buy passage on a ship.
- Skill Range: Poor to Great
Heroes of the Realm
Kings vie for the group's attention. The characters are quite wealthy, and can get a lot of things for free, from nobles and merchants hoping for a favor later on.
- Characters travel by flying carpet, airships, and similar.
- The characters' most important equipment is assumed to be magical.
- Skill Range: Mediocre to Superb
Heroes of Myth
- Characters travel by teleporting.
- Everything the characters own is magical or extraordinary in some way.
- Skill Range: Average to Fantastic
The Adventuring Party
Once you've established the style and power level of the campaign, the next part is to determine where the PC party fits into the world. The party has aspects as well.
