Some Character Creation: A Squire

A Squire. I made a squire for a Fading Suns. The way I make characters is starkly different from many of the other people I know. I emphasize on well roundness, education and psychology.

One particular interest is in personality, specifically: what social skills the character tends to use often. People aren't mostly aware of what skill they use when they are dealing with other people. I've observed some people tend to be pushy, some tend to be diplomatic, others courteous or use flattery Unusually cultural perspective camouflages most of these approaches. You will notice Lazarus has an honest and truthful demeanor but is skilled in acting, this translates to sincerity and the ability to not give off the wrong cues. Even the way information is omited can be detected, Lazarus is honest and cannot be faulted for falseness but he is very discrete.

One particular aspect of the character few may notice is how he uses truth and more precisely Credibility. In leadership, Credibility is gained through example, confidence or a sense of fairness. Lazarus's personality does this through transparency and his integrity, which is plain to any who have a chance to know him. Of course all of this has a cost, because such a personality can be too rigid and torturous. He has an addiction to Antidepressants and Sexual represents.

Now this addiction is an extension of his ambition. He takes knighthood seriously and has sacrificed even his sexuality to achieve a level of control that is to be expected from anyone of such lofty ambitions. The anti-depressants are a natural part of his difficult life, especially since in many circumstances he is alone.

He technically doesn't have anything exceptional about him, as squires goes and he is average given the standard. What makes him special is actually his motivations and his background. On paper, his skills are fair but the disadvantages, internal conflicts, and synergies reveal something else entirely.

Curious, he is open to knowledge and possibly troubled by it, still it is better to have a mind attracted to opportunities than indifferent of it. This is synergistic with his ambitions as he sees opportunities and explores it. An open mind is also very adaptable, and his ambitions allow him to actually face challenges. He doesn't have any extreme personality allowing him to be moderate, discrete and prudent.

Anyway, I have a new appreciation of skills and I realize that skills make up the character more than advantages to some point. Because skills represent how we do things, and what we know limits what we think of doing.

He leads a large Platoon of House Guards in TL7 gear. He wears an antique clunky but rugged Powered Armor, his father won in spoils of battle.