Kat’s Simple Guide to: Everway Character Creation
 

        Character creation in Everway is fun and simple. Everway characters begin with a look at some art.  The person creating the character uses the art to spark the imagination into telling a story about the hero the person would like to play.   The Everway box set has enough vision cards to start out with.  If you don't have the box set then you need some kind of art, usually from collectable cards, old Magic cards, will do. You can use the art from post cards, greeting cards, magazines and even CD covers from your favorite music.   There are many decent places online to view art.  Wherever you get your art you going to select 3 - 5 images that appeal to you.  With these images you will be building a character.   I'm going to refer to the images you have chosen as vision cards.

The easiest way to learn is by example, so I'm going to be building an Everway character along with you.  These are my Vision cards.  I gathered the images from public domain resources on the net.


Card #1 "Una Signorina Di Montenero"
- Carl Haag
Card #2 "The Princess Sabra Led To the Dragon"
- Edward Burne-Jones
Card #3 "Twixt Hope and Fear"
 - Edward Robert Hughes

Card #4 "The Babylonian Marriage Market"  - Edwin Long

Card #5 "Briar Rose, The Prince enters the Briar"- Sir Edward Burne-Jones


Look over the cards you have chosen.  What about the card appealed to you?  Are the cards connected in any way by subject matter theme or mood?  Is the card directly representational?  Does it suggest what a character looks like?  Is there a specific item or aspect in the card that can be used?  Does the card may represent a certain mood?  Does the card represent an event of the past, present or future?

Looking at the cards I have chosen,  I start by looking for a way to connect them.  I'm sure just by looking at them that I'm building a female spherewalker.  I'll put what these cards mean to me on this page, incase you would like to practice building a Spherewalker with my Vision cards.

General Guidelines:

So, what kind of character can you create? 
Everway is a fantasy role playing game based on the idea that there are an infinite number of worlds called Spheres connected through a series of mystical Gates that only certain people can walk through, known as Spherewalkers.  You are going to be building a Spherewalker.  "The quests and stories that you create when you play Everway take place among a million parallel worlds, all tied to the timeless world we see in myths and faerie tales (p61. Playing Guide)."  This means that any idea that you have for a fantasy character can be supported by one of those million worlds out there. 

Check with your Game Master about any variants and there are some General Guidelines.

  1. Characters must be Heroes.  You are the good guys.  Flawed heroes are ok, but misanthropic loners who hate everyone and only act out of greed or vice, are not generally in the spirit of the game. 
  2. Characters May Not Be From Modern Or Futuristic Spheres.  Everway has a fantasy setting, so you should be building fantasy character.  If you must play someone from the near or far future, have a good reason to the character into the fantasy worlds of Everway and ask your GM about it.
  3. Characters Must Be Human or Nearly Human.  That means elves are ok, Dragons and Giant Talking Badgers are not. (Again check with your GM because it might be ok)
  4. Characters Must Be Your Own.  If you want to play Heracles or a young Gandolf, then use them as a base to build your character but make your character unique.
That's pretty much it as far as restrictions go.  Check with your GM, because there is lots of room in Everway for variation.

Step #1:Vision Stage - Cards and Questions 


The vision stage is easy.  That's where we were looking through art and selecting 3 -5 images.  Now that you know the restrictions we can get deeper into the vision stage. 

Look again at your vision cards.  What kind of story do they tell?  My vision cards above suggest several things to me.  1)Woman  2)An Ominous procession  3)An Execution  4)Slavery  5)War    I refer again to my character page.


Once you start putting your vision cards in place, start asking these questions:

  1. What sort of Realm and Sphere does this character come from? -  What makes your people unique, what do you miss about them?
  2. What did the character do before becoming a Spherewalker? - Were you a prince? A beggar? A huntress?  Before you walked through that first gate what was your life like?
  3. What made this character a Spherewalker? - Considering that once you leave your home sphere you will always be considered and outsider even when you return, because you have done something that very few people in your whole sphere would dare do what made you this remarkable thing?
  4. How long has this character been a Spherewalker? - Are you still learning how to be a Spherewalker or are you comfortable moving from world to world?
  5. How well does this character fit into new societies? - Are you forever a stranger in a strange land, or do you adapt quickly?
These questions are just guidelines, and don't worry about the order you answer them in, but answering them can help you fit your vision cards together easier.

Here are the answers for
  1. What sort of Realm and Sphere does this character come from? -  She comes from a sphere of courts and peasants. 
  2. What did the character do before becoming a Spherewalker? - She was a Lady-in-waiting, and Now a Mystic
  3. What made this character a Spherewalker? - The rest of the Mystics were sold into slavery among the Spheres, and Crescent wants to track them down
  4. How long has this character been a Spherewalker? - She is rather new to it.  less than a year.
  5. How well does this character fit into new societies? - Having been  a Lady-in-Waiting, she knows how to be friendly and hold her tongue when she doesn't like something.
Step #2:  Identity Phase: Names, Motives, Virtues Faults and Fate


What's In A Name?

"Names in the worlds of Everway generally mean something in everyday speech rather than merely being traditional.  A name may refer to a hero's traits or attributes, the hero's reputation, the attitude of the hero's parents when the hero was born, the hopes for the child, and so on."(p72 Players guide).

This being the case then depending on the idea you have for your character you can base the name on a trait you character has, like Red Beard, or One eye, you name might carry hints of your personality, like  Noble, or Sunshine.  Your name could be tied to an event or something you've done in the past, like Oath Breaker, or Dragon's bane.  

A knight might be called Shame, until he mends his broken honor.  He could be called Axe for his weapon of choice.  He might be Journey if he is on one.  A sailor could be Spirit of the Sea, or Tsunami, he is a trouble maker.  If you can't think of a name right away don't worry about it, the name may come to you after you flesh out the character a little more.
 
I named my character Crescent Moonborn.  The Moonborn are mystic of her sphere, and her name was Crescent because fo a Birthmark on her back that looks like a crescent.

What's My motivation?

Motive is the thing that started you out as a Spherewalker and keeps you from settling down in one of the million spheres.  Are you running to or running from something, or are you just running for the pure enjoyment of it?  Are you seeking something or someone?  Are you hiding from something or someone?  Are you just exploring the spheres?  Is Spherewalking an official duty?  Is it a forbidden act? 

Crescent Moonborn is looking for her Moonborn sisters sold into slavery among the spheres

Virtue Fault and Fate:

Look over the Fortune Card page.  It has a listing of each card.  Chose one card to represent your characters best trait, that is the one quality about yourself that you are most proud of.  This will be your character's Virtue Card.  Chose a second card to represent a lack in your character, that is the one thing you most wish you could change about yourself   That will be your characters Fault Card. The Virtue and your Fault cards can have an impact in play if your GM is running Everway using the fortune deck.   When your Virtue card comes up during an action it means you've done something special good.  When your fault comes up you've done something special not-so-good. 

Then there is the Fate card.  To chose this card, think where your character has been and where your character is going.  Is there something your character is struggling to change either inside himself or in the million worlds? Find a card that best describes that struggle, it should be something important to your character that will change the characters perspective on things once it is resolved.  That will be your characters Fate card.


For Crescent Moonborn  I have chosen

Step #3:  Assign the 20 Points

You have 20 Character Building  points to divide between your Character's  Elements,. Powers and Magic

If You're not familiar with the Elements then you're going to want to look at THIS page, which explains the Elements and what they mean.

The Elements are: AIR, EARTH, FIRE and WATER.
Elements are the forces that influence the character working together to build a whole person.

Element Restrictions:
  1. No Element may be below 2
  2. No Element may be above a 7


POWER vs MAGIC


What is the difference?

Part of difference lies in the concept of the character.  Is your character studying to do magic or is it just natural?  Do you want to create a Wizard, Sorceress, Seer, Shaman, Priestess, Mystic or someone whose life is dedicated to crafting magic?  You may want to use magic then.

Do you want you character to do something magical like be as tough as a mountain, sweat fire or talk to spirits.   While these things are a form of magic they are small enough to be considered powers.


Examples:

A Mermaid may have the ability to shift form from human to fish, breath water, communicate with ocean life, and even create waves.  All of these things seem magical but they are something that the Mermaid just does, it comes natural, she didn't have to study to accomplish them, there are no rituals involved.  This Player would be better off using the Powers system rather than the Magic system.

A Water Witch, may have the ability to turn into a fish, breath water, communicate with ocean life and create waves, but she wasn't born with these gifts she's studied water magic and practices rituals to create the magical effect.   If is the limit to the witches abilities then again she could buy these abilities with the Powers system, but likely this is just an example of many water magic things the player wants the character to do, so this may be better handled with the Magic system.

A Mer-Witch, who is a Mermaid and can shift form, talk to ocean life and breath water, but worships the Sea God and can command the waves with his blessing?  that sounds like this character might be using both systems.


In general if you want to do a limited bit of magic, then use the Powers System

If you want your character to dedicated to magic then use the Magic system

If you want your character to be dedicated and have a few extras use both systems

Just remember, every point spent on Magic and Powers comes out of you 20 Character Building Points, which means your Elements will be that much weaker.


Restrictions:
1) The Mind is Sacred.  Unless it's OK with your GM, Everway advises against any Magic or Power that allows mind reading or mind control

After you figure your powers and magic and add the left over points back in your elements.
Step #4:  Specialties

In each element, there is one thing that your character can do better than anything else influenced by that same Element.  These are the called character specialties. 
Each specialty acts at 1 level higher than that Elements.  If you have an Air of 4 and a Specialty of Singing, you sing at a Level 5 air.  

Examples:

Fire:      Dancing, Swordplay, Scaling walls, Resisting heat
Water:  Danger sense, Swimming, Stealth
Air:       Archery, Singing, Lying
Earth:   Iron Will, Resisting magic, Mining

Specialties can also enhance a power or magic.   If you take the Power Speak with Spirits, you could have Sense Spirits as a Water Specialty.

Step #5:  Play


That's pretty much all there is to making a character.
My Example character is on this page


Main Everway Page  





 

Fortune Deck       Elements      Magic      Powers