Do not choose names that are the same as noble titles (Prince, Duke, etc), in-game groups (Jack, Ace, etc), or headers (Hunter, Archer, etc).

What does your character do to support himself?  Characters in the Cottington Woods game are not required to pay a maintenance fee.  However, each character must declare what he does to make a living.  This does not need be the same as your header.  You could be a Warrior whose occupation is Baker, or a Man of Science who is a Brewer, for example.

Your cultural background doesn't tell us everything.  Where were you born, and where did you grow up?  Where were your parents/caretakers from?  What were the influences in your upbringing that shaped who you are?  Where does your character consider home, or at least "this is who I was"?

Who raised you? Who is your family (blood, chosen, or otherwise)?  Who are the people that influenced who you became, whether friends, lovers, mentors, rivals, enemies, etc?  Are they still alive, or dead?  What was their importance to you?  Think of the people and the moments that led your character to be who they are, feel the way they do, have the loves, desires, fears, and ambitions that they have.  Now tell us about them!

What happened to your character to shape who they are now, and led them to where they are?  Did you lose a loved one, or your home?  Did you undertake a quest?  Did you take on a responsibility?  Pursue a dream?  What events, either within your power or outside of it, changed the direction of your life?  It could be as simple as a kind (or harsh) word that led you down a different path, or it can be as life-altering as the death of a loved one, a failure, or a personal quest.  

Your story should be incomplete.  If your own personal tale is done when the game begins, you won’t have room to grow.  These can change as the game goes on, but you should come into game with motivations or goals, as this gives you something to pursue outside of the main storylines and a reason to interact with other players and NPCs.  (As a side note: Characters in Cottington Woods are encouraged to be “good” and ultimately to be "heroic".  They do not have to be “pure”, and a bit of "darkness" can always make things interesting. But we will not reward evil behavior.  Don’t play evil.  If you want to be evil, come NPC for us instead.)

You should devise a reason to come to the Cotting House, even if that is "I come to do business, or I come to gather to hear the stories of travelers."  But also consider the reasons why your character would stay (or return regularly) once they are there.

For example: perhaps your character has a hard time trusting people because of past trauma, and always keeps people at arm's length.  Your character thinks this is the best thing for them, but you, as a Player, want to be able to grow your character and have storylines that teach your character it's okay to love again.  Letting us know this is a goal you want for your character helps us make better storylines for you.

You don't necessarily have to answer this in detail, but do think about these questions.  What matters to you?  Are there lines you would never cross?  What are the ones you would, and for what reason?  What are you curious about?  What does your character secretly (or overtly) strive to be?  What do they hide from the world, and what do they show?  Do you like yourself?  Why or why not?

You do not need to write this out in detail, but Cottington strives to tell the tale of the common people faced with the uncommon.  Consider: how would your character react to the uncommon?  What would you do if you heard a cry for help in the dark woods? What do you think of fairies, and what would you do if faced with one?  What of monsters that once only existed in tales your parents told you as children?

For example, perhaps you put in your history that your character's father died because it was a defining moment in their life.  But you don't want Staff to do anything with that - either you want them to remain dead (so no plotline where they are suddenly alive), or you don't want a storyline that involves dealing with that grief. Or perhaps you put a True Love in your backstory as motivation, but you absolutely do not want us to cast an NPC as that role. Let us know, so we leave it alone.

For example, you as the character only know that your fiancé was murdered and don’t know by whom, but you as the player inform staff in your history that he was actually murdered by your brother because you want that to be a tension point later on if and when it is revealed.

OPTIONAL - if you want to provide a bulleted timeline, you can do so here.

OPTIONAL - If you'd prefer to answer the questions above by writing an out-of-game history/story of your character, you may enter and submit it here.

OPTIONAL - if you'd prefer to answer the questions above by writing an in-game/first-person narrative of some kind, you may enter and submit it here.

Please use this space to tell us anything else you want us to know that we may have forgotten to ask about, or that you might want staff's help with (such as making a tie to another player or NPC or storyline).