Character creation

To play Breaking Worlds, you take on the role of a character within the setting - an adventurer in the town of Fiveways.
The kind of character you play is up to you. You can be a soldier or a pacifist, a priest or a scholar, a revolutionary or a reactionary, and many more things besides. We encourage you to use your imagination and consider what you will have the most fun playing.

It is important to think about how your character fits into the setting of Breaking Worlds, and what abilities you want them to have.
With these in mind we have created a guide here to creating a character for the game. If you are new to LARP, we recommend going through it in order.

Choose an origin

Every journey starts somewhere. Player characters in Breaking Worlds were all at least born human, but they can have any of the following origins:

• Arginese - your character is from the kingdom of Arginet, the main setting of Breaking Worlds. They might be from Fiveways or further afield; have a look at the pages on geography if you want to explore some possibilities.
• Foreign - your character is from another nation in the world of Arginet. You should choose one of the countries linked from the foreign nations page.
• Offworld - your character was born in another world and has come to Arginet through a mysterious rift in the last few months. There are many possibilities for what their homeworld was like.

Choose a nature

Despite their beginnings, not all characters in Breaking Worlds have remained fully human. Your character may be any of the following:

• Human - a living, breathing mortal without any special magical nature.
• Fay - a human who has become suffused with elemental influence, changing their personality and appearance. In Arginet this is traditionally associated with the nobility. Offworlders may not start play as fay.
• Wight - a human or fay who has died and returned to life as their spirit has reanimated their corpse. Wights have only started to appear in the few months since the Breaking began.

If a living character dies in play and their body is safe, the refs may allow them to return as a wight.

Choose an affiliation

People are often drawn to causes or identities bigger than themselves. Breaking Worlds supports, but does not require, characters taking sides in the conflicts of the setting.

If your character is Arginese, they may start as a full member of one of the three main political factions:

• The Noble Houses - the old feudal nobility, internally competitive but united in defending the status quo.
• The Royal Armies - loyal only to the Crown and to each other, determined to strengthen and protect the nation by any means.
• The Reform Coalition - a fractious assortment of reformers and revolutionaries seeking to build a new social order.

All three of these factions are active throughout the country and have substantial resources at their disposal. However, they demand loyalty from their members and will not hesitate punish backsliding.

If your character is Arginese or from a foreign nation, they may start as a member of a minor faction or organisation. This could be a religious order, a guild, a diplomatic mission, or any number of other groups. Feel free to make up your own - although minor factions like these won't be able to provide material support in the same way as the big three, they give your character more freedom and form a part of their identity within the world.

You can also play a character who is completely independent. They could have joined the adventurers for personal gain, excitement, curiosity, or even by accident. If your character is from offworld, they must start as independent.

It is possible to join or leave factions during play, regardless of your character’s origin. Bear in mind, however, that there may be in-character conditions or consequences for doing so...

Choose a class

Everyone has something they’re particularly good at. In Breaking Worlds every character is considered to belong to one of three classes:

• Warrior - a fighter trained with weapons and armour, capable of dealing and taking serious damage.
• Channeller - a magician who can use raw elemental power to fight, heal, and manipulate the world around them.
• Evoker - a mystic who summons and bargains with spirits to gain new powers and create magic items.

Each character gets the starting skill from their class for free, and has a slight bonus applicable to skills from their class. Although you can always buy skills from other classes, it is not possible to change your class in play unless your character dies.