Character Trait Tables

[taichara]

Some months back I had the notion to write up some random tables for generating quick character details, basically inspired by the tables in Knave.  And then, of course, everything in the last year kept on happening *vague wave* and I poked around the idea in my head some but didn’t actually get things written down.

But now I have!  *doot doot*

Hilariously, one of the things that I dithered on was how long to make the tables; too long and I felt like things could turn into more like variations (some physical descriptors are/were especially annoying for this), too short and there wouldn’t be enough options.  Eventually I settled on d12 tables as a decent middle-of-the-road.

You don’t have to use the Favour Owed and To Whom tables in tandem, if you’d rather not deal with starting favours/debt/etc.  The To Whom table would probably work nicely on its own as a “starting acquaintance or contact” table.
 

Features	Build	Hair	Attire
01. Soft	01. Burly	01. Curly	01. Immaculate
02. Pinched	02. Willowy	02. Whip-straight	02. Homespun
03. Saturnine	03. Bony	03. Braided	03. Monochromatic
04. Wolfish	04. Curvy	04. Cropped	04. Elegant
05. Lantern-jawed	05. Massive	05. Frizzy	05. Patched
06. Hollow	06. Lithe	06. Furry	06. Many-layered
07. Aquiline	07. Emaciated	07. None	07. Blazoned
08. Uneven	08. Statuesque	08. Ringlets	08. Antiquated
09. Delicate	09. Lean	09. Shaved Patterns	09. Scanty
10. Rounded	10. Ropy	10. Bun(s)	10. Fashionable
11. Angular	11. Plump	11. Dreadlocked	11. Tatterdemalion
12. Sharp-cheeked	12. Toned	12. Mane-like	12. Technicolour

you know your own character’s complexion; I’m not making that random.

Distinguishing Mark	Odd Trait I	Odd Trait II
01. Scarred Face	01. Glyph-shaped Birthmark	01. Pawlike Feet
02. One-eyed	02. Third-eye-stone	02. Webbed Digits
03. Heterochromatic Eyes	03. Nictitating Membranes	03. Bioluminescence
04. Albinism	04. Tailed	04. Odd-coloured Blood
05. Pictorial Tattoo(s)	05. Metallic or Jewel-like Markings	05. Eyeshine
06. Calligraphic Tattoo(s)	06. Clawlike Nails	06. Crystal Teeth
07. Beaded Hair	07. Pointed/Elongated Ears	07. Leafy/Flowery Hair
08. Piercings	08. Fungal Growths	08. Fangs
09. Brand(s)	09. Tusks	09. Metallic Skin
10. Missing Digit(s)	10. Gold-limned Shadow	10. Flesh-pearls
11. Unusual Height	11. Scale or Fur Flourishes	11. Mirrored Eyes
12. Lock of Miscoloured Hair	12. Gill Slits	12. Chitinous Parts

distinguishing marks are mundane things, whether from birth or acquired before adventuring. “odd traits” are … more out there, ha. you don’t *need* to roll on any of these, of course.

Disposition	Virtue	Vice
01. Secretive	01. Generous	01. Vicious
02. Friendly	02. Humble	02. Miserly
03. Bitter	03. Forgiving	03. Deceitful
04. Quiet	04. Honourable	04. Slothful
05. Suspicious	05. Thrifty	05. Slovenly
06. Cross	06. Gentle	06. Greedy
07. Scholarly	07. Patient	07. Traitorous
08. Sanguine	08. Just	08. Wrathful
09. Hasty	09. Accepting	09. Judgemental
10. Trusting	10. Courteous	10. Prejudiced
11. Innocent	11. Sincere	11. Arrogant
12. Phlegmatic	12. Loyal	12. Vainglorious

a few important caveats:
1) these are just notable features, not necessarily your character’s only ones,
2) please don’t feel forced to use a feature that makes you uncomfortable,
3) don’t insist on using one that makes your fellow players uncomfortable either.

Background I	Background II
01. Ghost Hunter	01. Unexpected Conjuring
02. Cloistered Scribe	02. Ancient Sleeper
03. Sheepbird Herder	03. Soldier of Fortune
04. Ruin Mapper	04. Magewar Casualty
05. Maverick Priest	05. Minstrel With A Secret
06. Drifter-saint	06. Backalley Ruffian
07. Wandering Sage	07. Cultist of Some Obscurity
08. Exiled Noble	08. Former Ghoul
09. Snowgourd Farmer	09. Seasonal Fisherfolk
10. Uncursed Wretch	10. Foraging Chef
11. World-lost Foreigner	11. Transformed Beast
12. Artisan Looking For Inspiration	12. Would-be Lordling

some of these are more exotic than others; some are origins, some professions. you could always roll more than once if you wanted to, but more than twice would probably start getting complicated fast.

What Do You Owe?	To Whom?
01. Debt of Coin	01. Antlered hedge-mage who lives outside your home village
02. Life-boon	02. Bone-dragon that spared your precious one’s life
03. Oath of Loyalty	03. Wandering bard that appeared at just the right time with an answer
04. Recovering a Bauble	04. Your extended family has certain Expectations of which this is one
05. Carrying a Message	05. Witchwolf that gave you shelter
06. Delivering a Package	06. Whispering voice that comes on the wind at night; you don’t recall why
07. Season’s Labour	07. Demesne-lord who’s pledge you’ve severed; this is your last tithe
08. Your First Claim To Fame	08. Eternal One whose blood you drank
09. Part of Your Soul	09. Townsfolk who helped you prepare for your travels
10. All of Your Soul	10. Patron of the ancient shrine you stumbled across
11. Treasured Secret	11. Seediest guild in the city’s underbelly
12. Recovered Knowledge	12. Shadowy spellcaster who draws up contracts and breaks curses

the details of each favour are left deliberately vague, because power levels and such vary from game to game