Editing LeviathanTempest:ChapterTwo (section)

== Example of Character Creation == 

Paul intends to make a character for Allison's upcoming game of '''Leviathan'''. He's been told that it will focus on the Cohort traveling across the face of North America, exploring rumors of potential archaeological finds and coming into conflict with the Cults of rival Leviathans and Typhons. With that in mind, Paul plans to make a character who isn't too tied down to one location – one not bounded to a Cult or some other major obligation. He decides to run with this transience and make a character who's at home in unfamiliar situations – the sort of guy that can befriend a stranger and crash on couches, and does odd work to get by. 

Discussing it with the rest of the players, he finds that this is a good niche – and that he needn't worry about certain threats. Two of the other players are taking the role of cousins, both Tananim, who they have termed “The Winchester Brothers of Innsmouth Mass.” The other player is planning to be a wealthy Dagonite business mogul. There's enough space in there that everyone feels like they have room to be the go-to person for their area of focus, so Paul moves on to the next stages.

=== Step One – Concept ===
The Cohort's members cover a good region of investigative and combat-based skills, so Paul feels comfortable making his character's likeability and social acumen the backbone of his design. He decides to be a real people person – manipulative, and apparently a good listener, and one whose requests are backed up by the force of the Wake. He's already looking forward to the troubling intersection of earning someone's trust and compelling it by supernatural means, and informs the Storyteller that he's fine with dealing with fallout from being unnaturally persuasive. 

He refines this into a brief concept - “Wandering Trickster.” He likes this, and decides to use the element of the trickster to a greater extent – his character believes that he has a right to subtly wreak “justice” on those he finds problematic. He settles on a name, too – Louis “Lou” Gabriel Beauchamp. Lou's a bigger guy – broad shoulders, handsome in a sort of scruffy way, and surprisingly blue eyes. Paul's mental image adds a layer to the character – he's also in pretty good shape, as well as being sociable, which will be important when assigning Attributes.

=== Step Two – Attributes ===
So it becomes immediately relevant. Without hesitation, Paul decides that Lou is going to be primarily Social, with Physical Attributes as his secondary, and Mental bringing up the rear. He decides that Lou's not-quite dim, but certainly not the brains of his Cohort. 

Paul figures that Lou is charming and quite persuasive – he puts two dots each in Presence and Manipulation, and one in Composure, for final scores of 3, 3, and 2. If he had his druthers, Manipulation would be higher – it's something he marks to pursue with experience down the line.

Lou's strong and well-built, but not a world-beater physically – he's primarily concerned with muscle, not actual comprehensive fitness. Paul assigns two dots to Strength and one each to the other two Physical Attributes.

Finally, Paul comes to his final category. Thinking about it a bit, he decides to put two dots in Wits and one in Resolve – Lou probably isn't going to be coming up with any brilliant mathematical proofs in the near future, but Paul figures that his other skills will help him get by.

The whole picture of Lou places him as someone who's comfortable in social situations but not at all an academic. His resistance attributes are low, which Paul knows might become a problem, but Lou's all about getting into – and out of - trouble. 

=== Step Three – Skills ===
Paul takes a look at the categories of skills and, shrugging, assigns Lou's priorities in the same fashion as his Attributes – he's good at what he's good at. The next step is to figure out the “must-haves,” those skills most vital to the overall concept of Lou.

In the Social set, Paul places checkmarks next to Socialize, Streetwise, and Persuasion. There are other skills that are important, but these are big deals for Lou to do what he does. Lou's stealthy, Paul decides, and has been in enough bar-room fights to be good at Brawl. Finally, Lou's at least moderately good at Investigation – if only to get a bead on a target for “punishment.”

When assigning final numbers, Paul ensures that Lou has three dots in Socialize and two in Streetwise, Subterfuge, and Persuasion. One dot each goes to Empathy and Intimidation. Lou gets two dots each in Brawl, Larceny, and Stealth, and one in Athletics. Finally, he gets two dots in Investigation, one in Medicine (Lou, he decides, knows a bit about drug culture and other risks of a bar-based lifestyle), and one in Occult (Lou's family is superstitious, a trait that's only become amplified when the supernatural became a day-to-day thing for Lou).

=== Step Four – Skill Specialties ===
Lou's Specialties are a way for him to be better at those things that Paul is aiming to use as problem-solvers, as well as flesh out his character. The first goes to bulk up a low Skill – Empathy. Paul decides that Lou's best at getting a feel for people's tendencies, so he takes a Specialty of “Personalities.” The next one's a no-brainer – a  Persuasion Specialty in “Asking for Favors.” Paul thinks about taking another Specialty for his Social Skills, but decides to diversify and pick a Specialty that's telling about Lou's less-than-gentlemanly nature – a Brawl specialty of “Sucker Punch.” 

=== Step Five – The Leviathan Template ===
At this point, Paul needs to work on determining the supernatural elements of his character – how does Lou function in the world of the Tribe? 

The first decision he needs to make is a selection of Strain. The most natural choice for a socially-minded character is one of the Strains that favors the relevant Vestiges, but Paul's not certain – he's interested in the idea of Lou as a dangerous, judgment-passing Oceanid, but he's also willing to play against type in another Strain. He finally settles on Oceanid, deciding that he can work from an aspect of empty grace – Lou looks like a good, solid, reliable person, but he's got a hidden edge and is deeply manipulative. He chooses to favor the Vestige of Might, and naturally favors the Vestige of Sanctity.

Paul's also got a couple choices for School – but the idea of Lou as symbiotically living with the aid of humanity leads him to select the School of Clay, Lou's focus being more on “getting by in a human world” than “analyzing humanity.” He decides that his bonus Specialty is going to be assigned to Socialize - “Getting Established.” Lou's great at including himself in a social scene like he's been there for years. 

Lou can master three branches of his Vestiges. He opts for “Insidious Creature,” an Ancestor channel of Sanctity that boosts his Manipulation, and then further focuses on it by taking the Descending channel of “Call of the Depths,” which lets him call others even against their will. His last choice goes to an Ancestor channel of the Vestige of Awareness, “Lambent Eyes of Judgement,” which lets him read people with Empathy. Because of these choices, Lou also gets the Birthrights of Awareness and Sanctity.

Lou's Sheol begins at one dot, which gives him a beginning Ichor maximum of ten. He'll start with half of that number.

=== Step Six – Merits === 
By now, Lou's pretty well-defined – but, as a social character, Merits can prove very important. Paul consciously decides that Lou doesn't have a Cult – he might have had a small, independent group, but it  doesn't jibe with Paul's idea of Lou.

Paul immediately runs to the Social Merits, and grabs Barfly without hesitation. Reflecting on Lou's image, he also purchases the two-dot version of Striking Looks and a dot of Contacts, representing his various friends in bars across the country. This leaves him with three dots, one of which goes to Lou's meager Resources. After some consideration, he grabs “Serpent's Tongue,”  a two-dot Adaptation of “Insidious Creature” - He can easily talk anyone into indulging their vice in the most immoral ways.

=== Step Seven – Advantages ===
At this point, Paul records the derived values of Lou's Advantages. His Composure + Resolve is four, so that becomes his Willpower. His Tranquility begins at 7, and while Paul considers lowering it – Lou's not a great guy – he decides to hold back – an Affliction would really cramp Lou's style! 

Lou's Virtue, Paul decides, is Justice. He shares this with one of his Cohorts, and he expects that their shared interests might give them something to collaborate on. Lou's sense of Justice is pretty skewed, but he still wants to punish those that take advantage of others (and aren't him.) His Vice is Sloth – Lou gets by with the least concerted effort possible, stretching his welcome at the homes of hastily-made friends and evading responsibility when at all possible. 

Lou's Stamina is two and his Size is five, giving him seven boxes of Health. His Initiative is a similarly-average four, while his Defense is two (the lower of his Dexterity and Wits.) Lou's Strength + Dexterity + 5 is 10, giving him that as his Speed. 

=== Step Eight – Finishing Touches ===
By now, Paul's mostly done. He notes those places where he'll want to improve Lou's abilities over the course of the chronicle – he can always get more persuasive – and makes note of the benefits of his Vestiges, so that they'll be close at hand when he needs them during play. 

Beyond the mechanics, Paul also makes note of elements of Lou's past and his nature as he transforms. Lou's family is an expansive clan originating in the South, and his primary inspiration for Lou's transformed appearance is a humble crayfish, whose shell ripples with intoxicating arrays of color and whose antenna register the vibrations in the world around him.

Paul informs his Storyteller that he wants to explore two things with Lou – the ramifications of his manipulative personality, and the potential problems of his avoiding coming to terms with his changed nature – Lou's not subject to must introspection, and that'll hurt him in the long run. 



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