Alea Iacta Est

I don't necessarily need the answers to all these questions, but they're the sort of things you should know in order to get the most out of your characters.

Starting easy:

Which sex are you? What gender?

How old?

Unless you're already supernatural bear in mind that people age quickly in Eastern medieval Europe.

What nationality?

Please speak to me before you set your heart on being from a far-off land. Local characters are Transylvanian; some might think of themselves as Hungarian. Nearby nations include Hungary proper, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, the Pecheneg Khanates and Russia (particularly the Kievan Rus). A little farther afield lies the Holy Roman Empire, and of course further than that are England, France, Iberia, Scandinavia, the Holy Land and various other places.

What is your social class?

Fairly typical medieval rules: the vast majority of people are serfs, little more than slaves with no rights to speak of. Some are instead 'free', with the right to cross feudal boundaries, generally on Church business or to ply a specialist trade. The lucky few are landowners, whether or not noble in title.

Foreigners are essentially a class unto themselves: unless known to be noble they'll often be treated as free, but they'll always be viewed with suspicion. If you haven't yet taken the hint, being foreign may be trouble and whatever you have in mind may not be suitable at all.

So what do you do?

Are you a nobleman, expecting to inherit a fief (or already running one)? Or perhaps a noblewoman: Eastern Europe doesn't have much space for shrinking violets and after you've secured a husband you may find yourself tending his lands as he goes off to war.

Or a holy person? Priest or layperson, monk or nun; devout, disgraced or anywhere in between. Some kind of craftsperson or tradesperson? Entertainer or artist? Or something shadier: a thief, a prostitute, a beggar or darker.

You could be some kind of scholar: a physician, a scribe, a philosopher or a theologian. Perhaps a soldier or knight (although high chivalry won't be upon us for centuries, if at all).

If you're a foreigner, people may not much care what you do although you should still have some idea.

One of the rulebooks has a nice list of token concepts that you can take or leave.

Are you special at all?

The World of Darkness has plenty of unusual people in it. Although still a tiny minority, witches, hedge magicians, holy miracle-workers and even true mages are just as real as vampires.

Don't feel you need to tack supernatural ability onto an already-strong concept (you're only going to have the powers repalced with vampiric ones when you die anyway), but the game would certainly benefit from an occultist or two if you want to talk to me about your options.

A little harder:

What ethnicity are you?

'Local' Transylvanians are typically Vlachs - Romani, as they are sometimes called in Latin (not those Rromani) - allegedly descended directly from the people of the kingdom and Roman province of Dacia. The Magyars rule Hungary (and indirectly Transylvania), although they were originally a Turkish tribe from the east. The Szeklers are also a Hungarian import of similar stock; they form a class of feudal overseers for the Magyars and are instrumental in the kingdom's defence. The other immigrants are Saxon settlers from Germany.

Players of foreigners should warn me early, so that I can do some research.

OK, so, a religion?

Vlachs are likely to be Eastern Orthodox or else maintain the traditional pagan beliefs of the area. The western immigrants are almost certainly Catholic. Again, foreigners are likely to require a little more research.

Also have a think about how much your religion means to you. Atheists and agnostics aren't common in the dark ages, but that isn't to say everyone is a true believer. Are you living a righteous life, or just hoping not to go to hell? (Or perhaps you're already resigned to hell...)

What are/were your family like?

Are you still in touch with them?

I love to have NPCs to kidnap.

Kidding.

Honest.

What do you want?

What are you prepared to do to get it?