I saw this exercise and thought ‘what a lovely way to try and get to know my problematic character better’. The questions don’t fit the world so well, but I’m going to give it a go anyhow. I’m just going to give the first initial of my character, I’ll call him ‘N’, so here it is.

1.) If he were to go into a bar, he would order a large mug of dark sweet ale, down it fast, and immediately get another. That mug, he would nurse for a good long while, unless he was with friends or celebrating, in which case, it wouldn’t be long before he needed a new mug. What happens in the bar sort of depends on the type of bar it is. Let’s say it’s a fancy place (in his world, it would be a place for various upper-class types – even lords may venture into such an establishment from time to time.) In this place, he would find a dark corner and sit around uncomfortably until it was time to go. Though were he with his brother (I’ll call him ‘E’), he might loosen up a bit and have a time. Now, if the bar were more of a place for travelers, soldiers and the like, he would be front and center at the bar, telling tales of adventure and debauchery. The thing is, he’s been out of that life for a while, and he’s a lot less connected with that life than he used to be, and so it would have the air of an out-to-pasture soldier telling of events long past.

2.) N is not wantonly destructive to the landscape around him. Like anyone else trying to scrape a life from the land, he respects the world as a dangerous place. He is not a fan of the city, and when in nature notices all of the types of trees, plants and what-not across the landscape. By no means an expert, and not even really an enthusiast, he still appreciates the diversity of the forests. As a former soldier, and short-lived life as a farmer, he also doesn’t hold with waste. As time goes on through the story, this changes, and the character becomes even more in-tune with nature, noticing life and magic under every little rock, becoming almost obsessed with magic and all of it’s mechanics and nuances.

3.) N is not given to lying, as a general rule, preferring to mislead by omission when necessary. He tends to be brashly honest and thoroughly unapologetic in instances where others might use a small lie to attempt to cover their own minor mis-deeds. This sometimes comes off as acting somewhat like a spoiled child. In no case does he allow someone else to take blame for something he’s done, but he will not suffer false accusations on himself, excepting to take responsibility for those he leads.

4.) This is sort of an evolving situation with N. I’d say his back story has him at the pub with friends. The current bit of the story has him out in the forest hanging out with a dryad, then later the forest becomes a place for him to be, much later it will be something altogether different.

5.) At his heart N is a strategist. He would attack the problem of the lost bank by searching the city in a methodical manner, starting with the most likely place for a bank to be, and moving out to less likely places, he would also spend that time looking for anyone who might help.

Well, this was helpful, mostly… Still needs work, I think.