Biography Help!

BIOGRAPHY HELP!

The following questions are meant to be used as a springboard to fill out the character's background as much as possible. Even if there isn't time for a detailed prelude, you should try to answer as many of these questions as possible - write them out if you like, or talk about them with your Storyteller. The more you know about your character, the more real she'll seem when the game begins.

How old are you?

When were you born? How old were you when you were Embraced? How long have you existed as a vampire? How old do you look? Are you more mature than you seem? Less?

What was unique about your childhood?

How did you spend your early years? How were your basic motivations and attitudes forged? Where did you go to school? Who were your immediate family? What is your clearest childhood memory? Did you go to high school? Did you have a hometown, or was your family constantly on the move? Did you go to college? Did you run away from home? Did you play sports? Did any of your childhood friendships last to adulthood?

What kind of person were you?

Were you a decent person, or were you an asshole? Were you popular? Did you have a family? How did you earn a living? Did you have any real friends? What kept you going from day to day? Will anyone miss you?

What was your first brush with the supernatural?

When did you realize you were being stalked? Did you believe in the occult before your Embrace? When did you first meet a vampire? Were you afraid? Disbelieving? Angry? What frightened you most?

How did the Embrace change you? Or, conversely, how was your first Change?

How did your sire catch you? Was the Embrace painful? Did you get a kinky pleasure out of it? Did the Hunger tear at you? Did it frighten you? Did it feel right? Are you grateful to your sire? Do you want to kill him for what he did to you?

Who was your Sire, and how did he treat you? Or, conversely, who is your Mentor how did he treat you?

What do you know of your sire? Was he abusive, arrogant, cryptic or open? Why do you think he chose you? Did you even know your sire at all? How long did you stay with your sire? Did he teach you anything at all? How long was your "apprenticeship"? Where did you stay? Where did you go? Did you meet any other vampires during that time? Do you judge other vampires in general by your opinion of your sire? When did he teach you the Traditions?

Were you presented to the prince? Or, conversely, have you met your Alpha/Sept Leader?

Did the prince welcome you? Was she reluctant to accept you? Did she need to be bribed or threatened? Did your sire have permission to create you? Are you on the run from the prince? What do you think her opinion of you is?

How did you meet the others in your Coterie/Pack?

Were you brought together by chance or design? Are you all of one sect? Are you united in purpose and attitude? How long have you been together in the city? Did you know any of the others before the Embrace? Are your sires in cooperation, or are they rivals? What holds your coterie together when things get their worst?

Where is your haven (if Vampire)?

Where do you hide during the day? Do you have a permanent home at all? Do you stay in the place you inhabited in your mortal life? Do you hide in an abandoned building? The sewers? Do you have anyone to protect you during the day?

Do you retain any connections to your mortal life?

Are you presumed dead? Do you still watch over relatives from afar? Do you pretend to be still alive? Did you abandon your mortal existence entirely?

What are your habitual feeding grounds?

Whom do you feed upon, and where? Do you have a territory that you consider exclusively yours? Is your favorite hunting ground used by others? Do you compete with others? What is your preferred prey? Do you ever kill when you feed? Do you have a specific herd? Do you seduce your prey? Kidnap them? Assault them on the street? Do they come to you7

What motivates you?

Do you seek revenge on any enemies? Do you long to return to your mortal life? Do you have ambitions in Kindred society? If you could achieve anything in the world, what would it be?

A Final Note

A character without motivation might as well not have survived the Embrace or met with his first Change. Knowing what drives your character is central to understanding who she is. A vampire's and Garou's values are often very different from those of a normal human; the death and rebirth of the Embrace can work a great change on an individual's personality. Just as the Change can change how one looks at the world. Think about where your character has been and where you'd like to see her go (or where she would like to go). Consider her Nature and Demeanor - do they suggest an ultimate goal? Once you have an idea of what it is your character wants to achieve, you're one step closer to making her a full-fledged personality of her own.