In order to create a character, you need a Character Conception. This is your initial idea of what the character does, how he reacts to different situations, what his background is, and so forth. You may wish to play a steely-eyed space smuggler, an immensely strong superhero, a confident femme fatale, a mysterious wizard, or any of a vast number of characters appropriate to the particular campaign. But the sharper your mental picture, the easier it will be for you to structure the character.

Character conception is also the most important idea to remember when actually playing the character. The allimportant basis of roleplaying games is that players roleplay. In other words, players put together their characters according to their character conceptions, and in all subsequent adventures react to situations as their characters would.

This means that if you have put together a character who is a reckless, overconfident hero of heroes, the character should act fearless, even if you would rather flee. On the other hand, you may wish to portray a nearsighted coward who would respond to most threats by running away. Both of these are acceptable character conceptions that offer rich opportunities for roleplaying.

In short, you should try to develop a character conception that you will enjoy roleplaying. Ideally, this character will also promote the enjoyment of the other players. In order to design a better character, you should:

(1) Talk to the GM and try to understand the nature and scope of the campaign. Make an effort to create a character that will fit comfortably. It is also important to find out whether the characters should be built for a heroic or superheroic campaign, and any other limitations the GM may have on characters or the rules.

(2) Become familiar with the genre. It is not necessary to read reams of fantasy literature or every comic book that has ever been published, but you should at least understand what the campaign is trying to simulate. This will help you create a character appropriate to the stories you play in.