Difference between revisions of "Character Background Generator"

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Revision as of 23:43, 24 April 2022

Character-background.jpg

The character background generator is a series of random rolls designed to outline a new player character's basic characteristics and idiosyncracies resulting from cultural heritage, race, age, ability stats and chance events happening during the individual in the time prior to joining the game. The generator concentrates on social relationships and skills that originate with the game world and do not, therefore, come within the player's sphere of control. For example, the player isn't given the choice of deciding whether or not his or her parents are alive, whom he was raised by, what generational skills he or she was taught, into what social class the character was born, what others who have known the character for years think, how much money he or she has with which to start the game and so on.

It's standard in many games to allow the player to invent an entirely fictional "background" that serves their personal needs; this system sets out, instead, to create a completely RANDOM background, over which neither the character nor the DM has control. Players may, after the fact, choose to lie about their background; they may make up a background that suits them; but they cannot change the actual fact of what their background was, a fact that's known to the other players and the DM as a matter of game play.

The generator includes a considerable number of both elaborate and simple tables that strives to offer so many possibilities that the generation of two identical characters would be next to impossible. Normally, these tables are incorporated into an excel file for random generation, but for the wiki I have chosen to include all results as a series of open tables for readers to examine.

Physical Characteristics

Height & Weight

Initially, the character's physical creation requires the character's height and weight. For this, height is measured in feet and inches, while weight is measured in lbs. These represent the character in the peak of condition, unless indicated otherwise elsewhere in the generator. Base height depends upon the character's race and birth sex. Base weight depends on the character's race and birth sex, and also upon results indicating gluttony, agility and lack of balance.

Height Rolls

roll
4d6
FEMALE HEIGHT MALE HEIGHT
dwarf elf gnome half-elf halfling half-orc human dwarf elf gnome half-elf halfling half-orc human
4 3 ft. 3 in. 3 ft. 10 in. 2 ft. 9 in. 4 ft. 5 in. 2 ft. 4 in. 4 ft. 5 in. 4 ft. 9 in. 3 ft. 5 in. 4 ft. 3 in. 3 ft. 4 ft. 9 in. 2 ft. 7 in. 4 ft. 9 in. 5 ft.
5 3 ft. 4 in. 3 ft. 11 in. 2 ft. 10 in. 4 ft. 6 in. 2 ft. 5 in. 4 ft. 6 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 3 ft. 6 in. 4 ft. 4 in. 3 ft. 1 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 2 ft. 7 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 5 ft. 1 in.
6 3 ft. 5 in. 4 ft. 2 ft. 11 in. 4 ft. 7 in. 2 ft. 5 in. 4 ft. 7 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 3 ft. 7 in. 4 ft. 5 in. 3 ft. 1 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 2 ft. 8 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 5 ft. 2 in.
7 3 ft. 5 in. 4 ft. 1 in. 2 ft. 11 in. 4 ft. 8 in. 2 ft. 6 in. 4 ft. 8 in. 4 ft. 11 in. 3 ft. 7 in. 4 ft. 6 in. 3 ft. 2 in. 4 ft. 11 in. 2 ft. 8 in. 4 ft. 11 in. 5 ft. 3 in.
8 3 ft. 6 in. 4 ft. 1 in. 3 ft. 4 ft. 9 in. 2 ft. 6 in. 4 ft. 9 in. 5 ft. 3 ft. 8 in. 4 ft. 7 in. 3 ft. 2 in. 5 ft. 2 ft. 9 in. 5 ft. 5 ft. 4 in.
9 3 ft. 7 in. 4 ft. 2 in. 3 ft. 4 ft. 10 in. 2 ft. 7 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 5 ft. 1 in. 3 ft. 9 in. 4 ft. 8 in. 3 ft. 3 in. 5 ft. 1 in. 2 ft. 9 in. 5 ft. 1 in. 5 ft. 5 in.
10 3 ft. 7 in. 4 ft. 3 in. 3 ft. 1 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 2 ft. 7 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 5 ft. 2 in. 3 ft. 9 in. 4 ft. 9 in. 3 ft. 4 in. 5 ft. 2 in. 2 ft. 10 in. 5 ft. 2 in. 5 ft. 6 in.
11 3 ft. 8 in. 4 ft. 4 in. 3 ft. 1 in. 4 ft. 11 in. 2 ft. 8 in. 4 ft. 11 in. 5 ft. 3 in. 3 ft. 10 in. 4 ft. 9 in. 3 ft. 4 in. 5 ft. 3 in. 2 ft. 10 in. 5 ft. 3 in. 5 ft. 7 in.
12 3 ft. 9 in. 4 ft. 4 in. 3 ft. 2 in. 5 ft. 2 ft. 8 in. 5 ft. 5 ft. 4 in. 3 ft. 11 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 3 ft. 5 in. 5 ft. 4 in. 2 ft. 11 in. 5 ft. 4 in. 5 ft. 8 in.
13 3 ft. 9 in. 4 ft. 5 in. 3 ft. 2 in. 5 ft. 1 in. 2 ft. 9 in. 5 ft. 1 in. 5 ft. 5 in. 3 ft. 11 in. 4 ft. 11 in. 3 ft. 5 in. 5 ft. 5 in. 2 ft. 11 in. 5 ft. 5 in. 5 ft. 9 in.
14 3 ft. 10 in. 4 ft. 6 in. 3 ft. 3 in. 5 ft. 2 in. 2 ft. 9 in. 5 ft. 2 in. 5 ft. 6 in. 4 ft. 5 ft. 3 ft. 6 in. 5 ft. 6 in. 3 ft. 5 ft. 6 in. 5 ft. 10 in.
15 3 ft. 11 in. 4 ft. 7 in. 3 ft. 4 in. 5 ft. 3 in. 2 ft. 9 in. 5 ft. 3 in. 5 ft. 7 in. 4 ft. 1 in. 5 ft. 1 in. 3 ft. 7 in. 5 ft. 7 in. 3 ft. 1 in. 5 ft. 7 in. 5 ft. 11 in.
16 3 ft. 11 in. 4 ft. 8 in. 3 ft. 4 in. 5 ft. 4 in. 2 ft. 10 in. 5 ft. 4 in. 5 ft. 8 in. 4 ft. 1 in. 5 ft. 2 in. 3 ft. 7 in. 5 ft. 8 in. 3 ft. 1 in. 5 ft. 8 in. 6 ft.
17 4 ft. 4 ft. 8 in. 3 ft. 5 in. 5 ft. 5 in. 2 ft. 10 in. 5 ft. 5 in. 5 ft. 9 in. 4 ft. 2 in. 5 ft. 3 in. 3 ft. 8 in. 5 ft. 9 in. 3 ft. 2 in. 5 ft. 9 in. 6 ft. 1 in.
18 4 ft. 1 in. 4 ft. 9 in. 3 ft. 5 in. 5 ft. 6 in. 2 ft. 11 in. 5 ft. 6 in. 5 ft. 10 in. 4 ft. 3 in. 5 ft. 3 in. 3 ft. 8 in. 5 ft. 10 in. 3 ft. 2 in. 5 ft. 10 in. 6 ft. 2 in.
19 4 ft. 1 in. 4 ft. 10 in. 3 ft. 6 in. 5 ft. 6 in. 2 ft. 11 in. 5 ft. 6 in. 5 ft. 11 in. 4 ft. 3 in. 5 ft. 4 in. 3 ft. 9 in. 5 ft. 11 in. 3 ft. 3 in. 5 ft. 11 in. 6 ft. 3 in.
20 4 ft. 2 in. 4 ft. 11 in. 3 ft. 6 in. 5 ft. 7 in. 3 ft. 5 ft. 7 in. 6 ft. 4 ft. 4 in. 5 ft. 5 in. 3 ft. 10 in. 6 ft. 3 ft. 3 in. 6 ft. 6 ft. 4 in.
21 4 ft. 3 in. 4 ft. 11 in. 3 ft. 7 in. 5 ft. 8 in. 3 ft. 5 ft. 8 in. 6 ft. 1 in. 4 ft. 5 in. 5 ft. 6 in. 3 ft. 10 in. 6 ft. 1 in. 3 ft. 4 in. 6 ft. 1 in. 6 ft. 5 in.
22 4 ft. 3 in. 5 ft. 3 ft. 7 in. 5 ft. 9 in. 3 ft. 1 in. 5 ft. 9 in. 6 ft. 2 in. 4 ft. 5 in. 5 ft. 7 in. 3 ft. 11 in. 6 ft. 2 in. 3 ft. 4 in. 6 ft. 2 in. 6 ft. 6 in.
23 4 ft. 4 in. 5 ft. 1 in. 3 ft. 8 in. 5 ft. 10 in. 3 ft. 1 in. 5 ft. 10 in. 6 ft. 2 in. 4 ft. 6 in. 5 ft. 8 in. 3 ft. 11 in. 6 ft. 2 in. 3 ft. 5 in. 6 ft. 3 in. 6 ft. 7 in.
24 4 ft. 5 in. 5 ft. 2 in. 3 ft. 9 in. 5 ft. 11 in. 3 ft. 2 in. 5 ft. 11 in. 6 ft. 3 in. 4 ft. 7 in. 5 ft. 9 in. 4 ft. 6 ft. 3 in. 3 ft. 5 in. 6 ft. 3 in. 6 ft. 8 in.

































Weight Rolls

roll
4d6
FEMALE WEIGHT MALE WEIGHT
dwarf elf gnome half-elf halfling half-orc human dwarf elf gnome half-elf halfling half-orc human
4 99 66 62 83 41 107 116 124 83 66 107 50 124 144
5 102 68 64 85 42 110 119 127 85 68 110 51 127 148
6 105 70 65 87 44 113 122 131 87 70 113 52 131 153
7 107 72 67 90 45 116 125 134 90 72 116 54 134 157
8 110 74 69 92 46 120 129 138 92 74 120 55 138 161
9 113 75 71 94 47 123 132 142 94 75 123 57 142 165
10 116 77 73 97 48 126 136 145 97 77 126 58 145 169
11 119 79 74 99 50 129 139 149 99 79 129 60 149 174
12 122 81 76 102 51 132 143 153 102 81 132 61 153 178
13 125 84 78 104 52 136 146 157 104 84 136 63 157 183
14 128 86 80 107 53 139 150 160 107 86 139 64 160 187
15 133 89 83 111 55 144 155 166 111 89 144 66 166 194
16 137 92 86 114 57 149 160 172 114 92 149 69 172 200
17 142 95 89 118 59 154 166 177 118 95 154 71 177 207
18 147 98 92 122 61 159 171 183 122 98 159 73 183 214
19 151 101 95 126 63 164 177 189 126 101 164 76 189 221
20 156 104 98 130 65 169 182 195 130 104 169 78 195 228
21 161 107 101 134 67 174 188 201 134 107 174 80 201 235
22 166 111 104 138 69 180 194 207 138 111 180 83 207 242
23 171 114 107 142 71 185 199 214 142 114 185 85 214 249
24 176 117 110 147 73 191 205 220 147 117 191 88 220 257

































Age

Class Dwarf Elf Gnome Half-elf Halfling Half-orc Human
Starting Age for Character Classes by Race
Assassin 27+1d4 14+2d4 20+1d4 16+2d4 na 37+1d6 20+1d4
Bard na na na 33+1d4 na na 25+1d4
Cleric 57+2d4 38+1d8 48+1d10 28+1d6 na 30+1d6 20+1d4
Druid na na na 30+1d6 36+1d8 na 22+1d4
Fighter 16+1d4 15+1d4 15+1d4 18+1d4 17+1d4 25+1d6 14+1d4
Illusionist na na 21+2d6 na na na 29+2d8
Mage na 22+2d4 na 23+2d6 na na 24+2d8
Monk na na na na na na 23+1d4
Paladin na na na na na na 19+1d4
Ranger na 18+1d4 na 21+1d4 na na 17+1d4
Thief 25+1d4 12+2d4 18+1d4 14+2d4 29+1d6 35+1d6 18+1d4

Next comes the calculation of age according to class and race. My game doesn't recognize the extended lifespans given to non-human characters in AD&D, so my character races are adjusted to fit the traditional human lifespan. This translates to some characters being unusually old (dwarf and gnome clerics) or atypically young (elven assassins and thieves). My feeling is the disparity reflects some races resistance against training individuals until they've reached a certain age — or that youth indicates how much faster some races master a character class compared to others.

Multi-classed characters begin with the highest base number of all classes possessed; the total modifiers for all classes is added. For example, a half-elven fighter/mage would have a base age of "23," adding "2d6 + 1d4" to that base. This makes the multi-classed half-elven's age an average of 32-33.

Further Age Details

The character's age as determined at this point describes the time needed to complete his or her training; however, there are other things that can happen to the character that arise from other tables in the generator. For example, the character might have spent time in jail, or might have lost time due to a family tragedy or due to laziness. So this is only tentatively the character's final age.

Counting backwards, we determine the character's year of birth. If the year is 1650 and the character is 32 years old, then he or she was born in 1618. We determine the exact date of the year by rolling randomly against every day of the calendar, taking note whether the birth year was a leap year.

Skin Tone

Character Skin Tone.png

Though the player may wish otherwise, the character is not permitted to decide the colour of their skin, hair, eyes, or even the vitality of these things. Because a strong sentiment for individuality is preferable, the tables for skin-tone, hair and eye colour are extensive. I've adopted a premise that demi-human races possess a greater homogeneity that human races — if only because we possess much more knowledge of individual humans living in different parts of the world than we have for dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings or half-orcs.

The image shown was found years ago on a cosmetic website for the purpose of explaining which foundation was best to wear with which colours. I don't know the source any more, but there are many similar images that can be found for this purpose, such as this one.

For some, skin tone is a touchy subject. It's fair to say that most would rather let the players choose their skin tone rather than assign it randomly. However, in keeping with the argument that the colour of one's skin is NOT something we get to choose about our coming into being, I don't believe it's appropriate for characters to have this as an option.

Moreover, I believe that by embracing every kind of skin tone in our characters is mature and appropriate. I would immediately boot any player who raised a conflict about their elf's colouring, or that their fighter or thief happened to originate in North Africa or the Middle East, and therefore had a sienna or sepia skin tone. My game world respects and appreciates persons of all races — though some villains in the game world do not — and as a DM I don't carry on vendettas against persons of any background or appearance.

It could be argued that my choices for non-human races deserve evaluation — but it should be understood that the choice, or belief in the "right" possibilities, is a personal matter. Any DM could easily adjust the table to their liking. A player might suggest my adding a choice prior to their generating a character. But there cannot be a definite right or wrong list with regards to a fictional ideal: not even one that is strictly respectful towards Tolkein's work. I don't run a version of Middle Earth. I run my own world, with its own rules, substantively influenced by details I can find in the real world.

I have many tables for the distribution of skin tone — one for each demi-human race and one for different ethnic parts of the world. The number of options means to reflect the stability of the culture and the variability of tribal movements dating back tens of thousands of years.

Roll Demi-humans
Dwarf Elf Gnome Half-elf Halfling Half-orc
1 bronze ivory bronze alabaster bronze bronze
2 olive nordic olive cream honey dark honey
3 sepia tan soft beige greenish walnut

Demi-humans

Elves in my game world live in the north, so most half-elves to as well, though there is more mixing of races with human stock. Dwarves, gnomes and halflings dwell in mid-to-high temperate climates; some dwarves and gnomes spend most of their lives underground; halflings do not. Half-orcs come from the Asian steppelands. My world's history explains that all these races originated in ways very different from humans, primarily from off-world and arriving through planar gates tens of thousands of years ago. For much of their history they occupied lands devoid of human culture until only 7,000 years ago ... so that their genetic heritage is abnormally stable compared to humans. That is why so few choices for skin tone are given.

"Dark honey" and "greenish walnut" are not shown on the foundation chart, and reflect my conception for what colours a half-orc would possess, coming as they do from a humanoid race not of the earth and related to ogres and haruchai.

To determine the character's skin tone, we choose the column and roll against it. For example, an elven character rolls 1-2 to determine tone; a "1" indicates the character has ivory skin; a "2" indicates nordic.

Roll African humans Asian humans Proto-asian humans
Sub-saharan
Africa
East &
South Africa
North Africa East Asia Himalayan India Sub-
continent
Southeast
Asia
Turkestan Polynesian Amerindian
1 chocolate almond almond caucasian almond almond honey beige earth beige
2 earth bronze bronze honey bronze beige olive bronze ebony honey
3 ebony caramel caramel olive sepia caramel sienna honey molasses olive
4 mocha chocolate honey sienna chocolate olive sepia
5 molasses cocoa olive soft beige cocoa sepia
6 sepia earth sepia sienna
7 ebony tan
8 mahogany
9 mocha
10 molasses
11 sepia

African & Asian Humans

Sub-sahara includes regions south of the Sahara Desert, the Gambia, Ghana and Sudan, reaching from the Atlantic to the Nile — lands of savanna and jungle. East and South Africa includes the Congo jungles and the savanna vegetations reaching from Somalia to the Cape of Good Hope, including the Kalahari, Madagascar and islands in the Indian Ocean. North Africa includes lands between the south coast of the Mediterranean well into the Sahara oases, Berbers, Libyans and Egyptians.

East Asia describes Japan and China, including those parts to the north and west touched by the Han Dynasty. Himalayan lands include Tibet, the Takla Makan and the sweeping ranges from the Tian Shan to Bhutan. The India Subcontinent counts the lowlands lands from Assam and the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta reaching west to the Indus, and south to the tip of India. Southeast asia includes the East Indies and the Philippines, but not the Pacific or Australian continent. Turkestan includes the high country west of the Himalayas and north of Persia, between the Tien Shan and the Caspian/Aral seas and south of the Siberian forest.

Polynesian peoples occupy the islands of the Pacific and include Australia. Amerindians include all the humans who came to the Americas some fifteen thousand years ago.

The plethora of possibilities in East and South Asia reflects the origin of the human race, for research into skin tone indicates that at the source there are the greatest number of unique and individual persons ... all of them with pigmentation that reflects an Equatorial environment. In comparison, the Himalayas represent the least interactive genetic pool on the list, so naturally it produces the most homogeneous colours.

The Middle and Near East regions appear on the next table, with European humans.

Roll European humans Middle East humans
West
Europe
Scandinavia Germanic Slavic
Lands
Mediterranean Turkic Persian
1 alabaster alabaster caucasian alabaster almond beige beige
2 cream fair cream cream beige bronze caucasian
3 nordic ivory fair fair fair honey fair
4 soft beige nordic nordic ivory honey olive honey
5 soft beige sienna nordic olive sienna
6 soft beige soft beige tan tan
7 tan

Europe & the Middle East

West Europe include Britain and France, whose genetics are influenced by many tribes, including the Franks, Saxons, Danes, Vandals and Visigoths. Scandinavia include Denmark and the lands above the North and Baltic seas. Germanic includes the greatly mixed peoples north of the Alps. Slavic Lands are a mixture of westward moving tribes and the Rus peoples from the north, from the Carpathians to the Urals. Mediterranean humans include those on the north side of the Mediterranean Sea, from Greece to Spain.

The Middle East represents a complex heritage; both "Turkic" and "Persian" peoples represent groups created by the mixture of Semetic peoples from the south mixed with incoming tribes from Turkestan. Thus, although people of the Arabian Peninsula are distinctly not Turkic, their genetic heritage includes much Turkish-and-north-Asian heritage. The same can be said for the peoples of Afghanistan and Iran with respect to the Persians. Both headings aren't meant to describe the many, many social groups within the lands between the Aegean and the Himalayas, but rather to describe genetic traits related to those areas.

Hair

Determining the colour and vitality of a character's hair is much more complex than skin tone, as besides regional factors there are real matters of the character's physical beauty and charisma to consider. Certain hair colours and characteristics are recognised as more attractive than others ... and so the generator must take this into account. In keeping with the uncertainty of all things, not every charismatic character has "great hair" — rather, we want a system that favours it, rather than dictates.

Additionally, the generator defines a difference of even 1 point of charisma with regards to the likelihood of a vivacious, luscious head of hair. And so the character's specific charisma, whether it's 8, 9 or 10, matters! Finally, with regards to hair, some randomness is also a factor. Together, these conditions offer a considerable variation of appearance based on the character's real ability stats.

The method requires two d20 rolls. The first roll subtracts charisma to produce a number between 17 and -17, determining the character's hair "colour." The second roll subtracts charisma to determine the hair's "condition." These numbers are called "adjusted charisma."

For example, if a character's charisma were 3 and the die roll produced a "20", the result would be 17 (20-17=3) — the maximum possible result and therefore the worst result. This same character might get a result anywhere from 17 to -2 ... but could not get a better result than -2.
At the same time, a different character with a charisma of 17 would, rolling a natural "20," get a result of 3, whereas if they rolled a "1," the result would be -17. There are many cases throughout the generator where the character's ability stats are calculated in this way.

This may seem like a lot of effort to make just to determine a character's hair, but I feel these details provide depth and feel to the overall character generation.

To determine the kind of hair a character has, both the color and the hair's condition must be calculated by first rolling two d20 and minusing the character's charisma from each, then comparing the first to the Hair Colour table and the second to the Hair Condition table.

Adj.
Charisma
Demi-humans
Dwarf Elf Gnome Half-elf Halfling Half-orc
+17 to +14 ash grey sooty black ash grey ginger salt &
pepper grey
sooty black
+13 to -5 ash brown russet brown tawny russet brown ash brown sooty black
tawny
-6 to -12 copper red wheaten ginger jet black ginger jet black
ginger jet black wheaten
-13 to -17 bronze flat white bronze flat white flaming red bluish black
flaming red platinum blonde flaming red platinum blonde
silver grey

Ethnic regions conform to those described under skin tone.

Hair Colour

The lower colours at the bottom, where the adjusted charisma is in the negatives, are considered most attractive to members of that race. When determining the individual character's colour where more than one option exists, the options are wholly determined randomly.

For example, Lillith has a charisma of 16 and rolls a "2" on a d20, giving her an adjusted charisma of -14. This puts her result between "-13 to -17," where it gives three possible colours: flat white, platinum blonde and silver grey. Lillith simply rolls a d3 to determine which.

Overall, the emphasis for aesthetic is to suggest rich colours are more attractive than drab, so that less charismatic characters tend towards early greying while beautiful people are blessed with unusual hues like "flaming red" or "bluish black." With some peoples, such as half-orcs, the overall distribution is very narrow, even when the adjusted charisma roll improves.

Adj.
Charisma
African humans Asian humans Proto-asian humans
Sub-saharan
Africa
East &
South Africa
North Africa East Asia Himalayan India Sub-
continent
Southeast
Asia
Turkestan Polynesian Amerindian
+17 to +14 iron grey iron grey iron grey iron grey ash grey iron grey iron grey steel grey iron grey iron grey
+13 to -5 flat black flat black ash brown flat black flat black flat black flat black russet brown flat black sooty black
russet brown salt &
pepper grey
salt &
pepper grey
salt &
pepper grey
salt &
pepper grey
sandy brown salt &
pepper grey
silver grey sandy brown
sooty black sooty black sooty black
-6 to -12 jet black jet black chestnut brown jet black jet black jet black jet black chestnut brown jet black jet black
honey blonde
tawny tawny jet black jet black
tawny
-6 to -12 raven black raven black raven black raven black golden blonde raven black raven black bronze raven black raven black
raven black raven black

With many human races, hair colour is nearly always uniformly black — although the lustre improves attractiveness.

What follows is a description of each type for aiding characters in understanding what the words mean:

  • ash blonde: blonde with dark roots and a hint of grey
  • ash brown: brunette hair blended with cool grey tones; sometimes called "mushroom brown"
Adj.
Charisma
European humans Middle East humans
West
Europe
Scandinavia Germanic Slavic
Lands
Mediterranean Turkic Persian
+17 to +14 ash grey ash grey steel grey steel grey steel grey iron grey iron grey
iron grey sooty grey iron grey
steel grey steel grey
+13 to -5 ash brown ash brown ash brown ash brown ash brown russet brown russet brown
russet brown russet brown russet brown russet brown russet brown
salt &
pepper grey
sandy brown salt &
pepper grey
salt &
pepper grey
sandy brown
sandy brown wheaten sandy brown sandy brown sooty black sooty black sooty black
strawberry blonde sooty black sooty black
strawberry blonde
-6 to -12 ash blonde ash blonde ash blonde auburn auburn chestnut brown chestnut brown
auburn auburn auburn chestnut brown chestnut brown jet black honey blonde
chestnut brown chestnut brown chestnut brown jet black honey blonde
jet black ginger jet black tawny tawny
tawny
-13 to -17 flaming red bronze flaxen raven black flaxen raven black raven black
flaxen copper red
platinum blonde flaming red
raven black flaxen platinum blonde raven black
platinum blonde
raven black
  • ash grey: the darker end of the grey spectrum, with a smoky hue
  • auburn: reddish-brown, ranging from medium red to burgundy
  • bluish black: thick black hair with blue highlights, called "balayage"
  • bronze: brunette hair with notes of gold that look vibrant
  • chestnut brown: deep brown with reddish hues
  • copper red: dark, rich ginger hair blended with brunette
  • flaming red: shocking bright red with crimson and orange highlights
  • flat black: black hair without gloss or sheen, dull
  • flat white: eerily matte appearance with a velvety lustre
  • flaxen: pale yellow-grey, the colour of straw
  • ginger: burnt orange blended with pale reddish-brown
  • golden blonde: warm, rich yellowy colour
  • honey blonde: blend of blonde hair with a sheen of light brown
  • honey brown: warm brown colour with honey highlights
  • iron grey: dark, dull grey colour
  • jet black: intense black with a dramatic blue and purple undertone
  • platinum blonde: whitish blonde hair with an luscious metallic gloss
  • raven black: lustrous shimmering black with a softened tone
  • russet brown: hard reddish-brown blended with grey undertones
  • salt & pepper grey: mixture of black & grey with traces of white
  • sandy brown: soft light brown hair lacking shine
  • silver grey: shiny grey hair mingled with white strands
  • sooty black: dusky, dull-coloured black with hints of depth
  • sooty grey: uniform, flat grey colour lacking sheen
  • steel grey: distinctive bluish grey with a hard lustre
  • strawberry blonde: reddish blonde hair with an orange hue
  • tawny: pale brown with tan highlights and varying sheen
  • wheaten: soft brown-blonde hair with light brown highlights

On the whole, players tend to forget or ignore their assigned hair colour, inserting a "latent image" that corresponds to an impression of what they think their character ought to look like. And usually it won't matter, because such players tend not to identify visually with their characters at all. However, for players who are interested in exploring a unique appearance, who may even draw an image of the character for themselves, the random generation provides a baseline from which to design.

Hair Type

Roll Demi-humans African humans Asian humans
Dwarf Elf Gnome Half-elf Halfling Half-orc Sub-saharan,
East & South
Africa
North Africa East &
Southeast
Asia
Himalayan India Sub-
continent
Turkestan
1 spiral curls stick-straight s-waves stick-straight spiral curls kinked kinked kinked stick-straight straight w/
slight wave
stick-straight stick-straight
2 s-waves straight w/
slight wave
straight w/
slight wave
s-waves tightly coiled tightly coiled spiral curls straight w/
slight wave
straight w/
slight wave
3 straight w/
body wave
tight
corkscrews
tight
corkscrews
s-waves s-waves
4 tightly coiled
Roll Proto-asian humans European humans Middle East humans
Polynesian Amerindian West
Europe
Scandinavia Germanic Slavic
Lands
Mediterranean Turkic Persian
1 tight
corkscrews
stick-straight spiral curls stick-straight ringlets ringlets spiral curls spiral curls spiral curls
2 straight w/
slight wave
straight w/
slight wave
straight w/
slight wave
spiral curls spiral curls spiral curls straight w/
body wave
stick-straight
3 s-waves straight w/
body wave
stick-straight straight w/
slight wave
s-waves s-waves straight w/
body wave
4 straight w/
body wave
s-waves tightly coiled tightly coiled s-waves
5 s-waves tightly coiled

Hair exists in a variety of textures, which exhibit themselves as curl pattern, volume and consistency. Like colour, hair type is distinctive in different parts of the world, so this too becomes something that's added to the character's physical description. In many parts of the world, hair tends towards a singular type — Asian hair, for example, is nearly always straight, growing perpendicularly from the scalp. It also tends to grow faster than other types of hair.

The management of hair is part of the character's experience — for though a character cannot choose the type of hair they have, they can decide how it's worn. Persons living in temperate climates, with wavy or curly hair, often choose to grow their hair out long as protection against the elements. To manage this volume, hair is bound with cords or threads, or braided elaborately for comfort and convenience. Further north, extensive beards are worn as well, as a beard helps keep the face warm in sub-polar weather.

Characters that are male may wish to experiment with the facial appearance of beards, creating a goatee or mustache. These details can add verve to the character, and creates the need to carry a mirror so the appearance can be maintained. In warmer climates, characters may wish to shave their heads. In the case of African hair, which is characterised by tight curls and kinks, shaving the head or clipping hair close to the skull is often preferable — though growing out a single long braid, either large or small, occurs as a sign of manhood and breeding in many cultures.

How a character fixes or manipulates their hair is as important as the colour and type of hair itself. However, a player may not have the opportunity to enjoy long, flowing tresses, as charisma also dictates the health and vitality of hair — and for characters who prefer to use charisma as a dump stat, they may find their hair is not all they hoped.

Adj.
Charisma
Hair's vitality & health Adj.
Charisma
Hair's vitality & health
+17 to +16 thin, shedding hair with a scalp chronically
infected by a persistent fungus
0 somewhat dry, can be let alone
+15 thin, shedding hair with patches of baldness
throughout
-1 to -2 healthy but coarse to the touch
+14 to +13 thin, showing mid-to-high frontal baldness -3 to -4 healthy with a light natural bouyancy
+13 mid-to-high frontal baldness -5 produces a natural rumpled, pleasant appearance
+12 substantial bald spot above the forehead -6 to -7 thick and full
+11 some receding, with a recognisable bald patch at
the back
-8 to -9 full and downy to the touch
+10 fairly sparse hair all over, with a slight bald
patch at the back
-10 visibly silken in appearance, with sheen
+9 hair wispy and thin, but healthy -11 to -12 glossy in light and lush
+8 thin with a tendency towards being chronic
greasiness that never quite washes away
-13 to -14 sumptuous and positively glowing
+7 to +6 chronically greasy, requiring frequent
washing
-15 to -16 excessively luxuriant and exciting to
the touch
+5 to +3 frequently oily, though easily washed out -17 superabundant in volume and exciting to touch
+2 to +1 chronically dry, needing treatment

Hair Condition & Health

It may seem an absurdity of grittiness to have a player's character be concerned with the relative bounce and fullness of their hair — and to be completely honest, players tend to ignore the information anyway, because they don't wish to acknowledge that their 7 charisma character is prematurely balding or has hair that's stringy and infected. Nonetheless, experience demonstrates that rolling for this detail, and others, causes the player to think about his or her character in ways they would never have imagined. This promotes a tactile, informative depth to the character creation process — so that even if the player fails to recognise the importance of "this" detail, the greater impact of so many details, of such variety and of more or less significance, builds a climate of concern and interest in the character's identity.

To calculate the health of the character's hair, we use the 2nd charisma adjustment roll asked for above. Once again, we roll a d20 and subtract the character's charisma, producing a number between 17 and -17. The result is then checked on a single table that affects all peoples and all races in the same manner. With higher numbers, the individual's hair is scraggly and thin, suggestive of poor health, something that would be evident to anyone being met.

Lower numbers describe fullness and buoyancy, the sort of hair that attracts attention immediately. A good player can make use of either of these characteristics to establish a greater feel for the persona being played.

Eye Colour

Like hair, certain eye colours possess an unparalleled attractiveness, and so the character's charisma affects a luminosity and richness of colour in the character's eyes. Also, the presence of non-human races gives the opportunity for eye colours that don't exist in humans ... providing interesting opportunities in determining this physical characteristic. In general, fantastic colours are considered more appealing than brown eyes — though it can be recognised that there are many shades of brown, some of which are considered more attractive than others.

There are other matters having to do with a character's eyes and hair that have yet to be addressed, namely the possibility of a character being an albino, or possessing heterochromia. These things are dealt with below.

Adj.
Charisma
Demi-humans
Dwarf Elf Gnome Half-elf Halfling Half-orc
+17 to +14 moss green china blue seaweed green faded blue umber brown turquoise
+13 to +1 coal black china blue hazel cornflower blue chocolate
brown
hazel
cornflower blue moss green faded blue
graphite sky blue pine green sky blue walnut brown
walnut brown
0 pewter china blue fern green china blue gingerbread
brown
hazel
-1 to -8 cloud grey sea green forest green fern green chestnut
brown
pink w/
green flecks
ebony black steel blue steel blue cinnamon brown
slate grey
-9 to -13 emerald green crystal blue cat's eye green baby blue chartreuse pink w/
grey flecks
jet black electric blue forest green emerald green
obsidian emerald green russet brown ice blue honey brown
topaz brown ice blue tawny brown sapphire blue
sapphire blue
-14 to -17 amber amethyst bottle green aquamarine champagne brown pale pink
charcoal grey aquamarine grass green indigo golden brown
golden brown indigo midnight black violet silver grey
silver grey ultramarine ultramarine
violet ultraviolet
Adj.
Charisma
African humans Asian humans Proto-asian humans
Sub-saharan
Africa
East &
South Africa
North Africa East Asia Himalayan India Sub-
continent
Southeast
Asia
Turkestan Polynesian Amerindian
+17 to +14 chocolate
brown
walnut brown chocolate
brown
walnut brown walnut brown walnut brown walnut brown walnut brown chocolate
brown
walnut brown
+13 to +1 chocolate
brown
chocolate
brown
china blue chocolate
brown
walnut brown chocolate
brown
chocolate
brown
walnut brown chocolate
brown
walnut brown
chocolate
brown
jade green
walnut brown walnut brown faded blue walnut brown walnut brown walnut brown walnut brown
graphite
walnut brown
0 chocolate
brown
chocolate
brown
chocolate
brown
walnut brown walnut brown walnut brown walnut brown walnut brown chocolate
brown
walnut brown
-1 to -8 chestnut
brown
chestnut
brown
chestnut
brown
chestnut
brown
whiskey
brown
chestnut
brown
chestnut
brown
whiskey
brown
chestnut
brown
whiskey
brown
cloud grey
whiskey
brown
whiskey
brown
slate grey whiskey
brown
whiskey
brown
whiskey
brown
whiskey
brown
whiskey
brown
-9 to -13 russet brown russet brown baby blue russet brown crystal blue honey brown russet brown topaz brown russet brown topaz brown
crystal blue honey brown russet brown
russet brown topaz brown ice blue ice blue topaz brown
tawny brown topaz brown
topaz brown topaz brown

Once again, the character needs to roll a d20 and subtract his or her charisma. This is then compared against the varying races and regions that have been used thus far for skin tone and hair colour. In addition, to give an impression of different eye colours, a description of each is included to aid characters in understanding what the words mean:

  • Amber: clear, luminous warm gold colour, warm and seductive
  • Amethyst: very pale, clear, true-violet colour with no hint of blue
  • Amethyst blue: like amethyst, but with sky-blue striations
  • Aquamarine: clear, piercing blue-green with a yellow hue
  • Baby blue: very light to very pale greenish or purplish blue
  • Bottle green: deep vivid green, luminous, with grey flecks or rays
  • Cat's eye green: pale green with yellow undertones surrounding the iris
  • Champagne brown: pale orange-yellow to greyish yellow, sparkling and light-catching
  • Charcoal grey: very dark grey, almost black
  • Chartreuse: a brilliant greenish yellow, backlit with a deep yellowish hue
  • Chestnut brown: greyish brown with a soft medium reddish hue and orangish rays
  • China blue: strikingly pure dark indigo with a luminous quality
  • Chocolate brown: medium true-brown, with elements of red and grey; sexy and decadent
  • Cinnamon brown: distinctive reddish eyes with warm brown undertone
  • Cloud grey: softly luminous pale grey with whitish tones and striations
  • Coal black: pure black eyes with a vague shininess or gleam
  • Cornflower blue: muted medium-blue with flecks of light blue and white
  • Crystal blue: extremely pale with white rays, clear and luminous
  • Ebony black: flat black eyes with a soft and subdued beauty
  • Electric blue: pale to medium bright blue; bright, energetic and striking
  • Emerald green: very dark, clear green with a gleaming radiance
  • Faded blue: dull pale blue with a homespun quality
  • Fern green: cool, flat green colour lacking in other colours
  • Forest green: soft, medium green with few flecks of brown, without a brown hue
  • Gingerbread brown: medium brown with a strong yellow hue and rays
  • Golden brown: medium warm brown with golden rays and gold circling around the iris
  • Graphite: medium true-grey, flat and dull but distinctively unusual
  • Grass green: medium true-green with equal ratio of blue and yellow rays
  • Hazel: strong greenish-brown with glints of many colours, with blue or yellow rays
  • Honey brown: pale brown with soft, light golden colour with a warm character
  • Ice blue: extremely pale blue eyes, nearly white, hard and unsettling
  • Indigo: warm, exotic dark blue that absorb light rather than reflect it
  • Jade green: pale greenish-white with soapy luminosity, occasionally with exotic black flecks
  • Jet black: a luxurious glossy black colour notorious for reflecting images
  • Midnight black: blue-black with an indigo underlay and flecks of white
  • Moss green: cool mid-tone greyish green with grey-blue undertones
  • Obsidian: hard, flinty black with elements of unsettling transparency
  • Pale pink: whitish-pink with yellow-grey flecks

pewter pine green pink w/green flecks pink w/grey flecks

  • Russet brown: coarse reddish-brown like rough, homespun cloth
  • Sapphire blue: deep, luminous medium-blue with a rich, luminous colour
  • Sea green: clear blue-green colour with darker outer blue rim

seaweed green

  • Silver grey: Bright and shining glossy grey with metallic rays, very luminous
  • Sky blue: clear, light blue lacking highlights or balancing hues
  • Slate grey: medium grey with hints of blue with stony coolness and a matte appearance
  • Steel blue: hard iron grey-blue with light grey highlights, somewhat flat in colour

steel green

  • Tawny brown: light brown to brownish orange, with yellow gold striations
  • Topaz brown: pale, clear gold colour that reflects and appears glowing or luminous

turquoise

  • Ultramarine: vivid strong blue mixed with dense, dark violet; very luminous and beautiful

umber brown

  • Violet: light purplish colour, somewhat dull, with white and yellow flecks
  • Walnut brown: medium dull dark-brown, with lighter brown ring around the iris
  • Whiskey brown: watery, warm brown with a light orange hue and a reflective quality