Getting Started

Phenomenal Cosmic Power Crammed into a Human Looking Package

Perhaps the very first thing you should consider when making a character is referred to as the concept. A concept can best be thought of as a statement, maybe a sentence, a few words long that describe the character "in a nutshell". Examples would include: bitter street cop with a heart of gold, avenging angel, slick tongued tempter out for themselves, faithful seneschal, devoted servant, the pocket berserker.

Next, you have to decide what kind of character you want to play? This is important not only because it will shape your character's outlook, but also because it is arguably the single most important facet of your character. Angels and Demons may have similar outlooks on the problems facing the world today, but how they think about those problems and what they decide to do about those problems, will be processed through their supernatural perspective.

In Crimson Shadows, there are many different types of supernatural beings that exist that you can choose from.

This is just a brief glimpse at the possibilities, and as the realm ages we plan on introducing new concepts and expanding our shared lore.

Once you've made that decision, then you have to ask yourself a few questions about this character. Some suggestions include:

  • How old is your character?
  • What helps the character get out of bed in the morning? Does the character have family or friends that it relies on?
  • What does your character do for money? Do they have a formal occupation that keeps them busy from 9 to 5? Are the independently wealthy - and if so, how? Do they own and operate a business? Do they refuse to work, perhaps making a living by stealing or running a criminal enterprise? Do they live on the streets?
  • How does the character use their power(s)?
  • What is the character willing to die for, if anything? What is the character willing to kill for, if anything? What is the character willing to fight for, if anything?
  • If your character is a vampire, what were they like when they were still alive? If your character is a demon, it's worth asking who the demon was before it ended up in hell and who the host is.
  • If your character is an angel, what type of angel is it? An instrument of wrath? An instrument of mercy? A scourge or a savior? Who is the angel's vessel, and why did the vessel agree to being possessed?
  • If your character is an angelic devotee, or bound as a demon's plaything, or a vampiric servant - why did they agree to be bound? What is their relationship like?
  • What is the character's history? Do they come from a wealthy, loving home? Or are they the product of abuse, physical or otherwise? Does the character have siblings, alive or dead? What about parents?
  • Especially for long-lived races like vampires, demons, and angels, what have they been doing during the last thousand years or longer?

Answering these questions should help you get a grasp of who the character is, why they do the things they do, why they are the way they are, and help shore up their personality in your mind. Then comes the tricky part.

Selecting Powers & Abilities

Generally speaking, you'll want to select powers and abilities that match the concept you've created for the character. A silver tongued tempter should have powers that enhance his persuasiveness, or which allow him to insinuate himself seamlessly into someone's life. A berserk warrior should have powers and abilities that expand his options for combat, or which allow him to take more punishment while dealing it out.

That being said, sometimes it can be fun to select powers or abilities which run counter to a character's concept. You can find the collection of PDF files for power options on the Power Hub.

Perhaps there is an angel that has grown weary of strife, war, and conflict, and vows to never again give or offer violence. It could be both amusing and entertaining to see that character have a number of combat abilities which it could unleash to devastating effect if provoked enough.

Here in Crimson Shadows you might notice that we tend to be fairly generous with power limits and the amount of power any given character has. This is intentional. We believe that more powers gives the character, and you as a player, more options. We believe that more options are good things to have, and that having a diverse power set makes your character stand out better, as well as potentially confounding any enemies that think they know everything that a vampire/demon/angel/etc can do.

You create a unique character to play in this realm. That uniqueness should extend to its supernatural capabilities as well as personality and quirks.

Finishing Touches

Once you've gotten all of that sorted out, there's only a few things left to do! If you haven't already, now is a good time to select, or finish selecting, a celebrity, model, or artwork that you think suits your new character. This claim on the celebrity is yours and yours alone. Other players cannot use your claim, unless you agree to share it. Shelving a character, or releasing a character removes your personal claim on the selected celebrity. In the case of shelving for any period of time, you are tacitly agreeing to open the celebrity to being shared. By releasing the character and/or celebrity, that celebrity can be taken by someone else.

There are a fair number of powers in Crimson Shadows, that gives the various supernatural beasties the power to change their appearance, physical qualities (hair color, eye color, height, weight, physique, and even gender), or to mimic the appearance of someone else. If a character has the power to do so and opts to borrow the face/facade of an existing character or claimed celebrity, please mail the claim holder and inform them of the borrowing. This is a courtesy that should be extended to everyone.

In case you haven't been doing this as you go along, next comes the character sheet. Character sheets don't typically see a lot of utilization here in SOI, but the number of options Crimson Shadows desires to provide can quickly become confusing and tiresome to memorize all the abilities for all your individual characters, so we ask you to use one of the character sheet templates to help you (and us!) keep track.

Lastly, if you look in our Gallery, the Council is more than happy to provide your character with a listing there if you would like to have a homepage hosted off-site.