The Complete Character Development Guide

Want to make a character with a story-first approach?

Everything you Need

This guide covers backstory, personality traits, useful themes, goals, party roles, internal struggles, allies, nemeses, and even an inspiring character introduction. At the end you’ll find a custom character sheet that captures all your choices, so by the time you finish this guide, you’ll be ready to go.

Easy, Incredible Characters

With this PDF we’ve taken everything we’ve made about character building and put it in one place, with prompts that take you through a thorough yet streamlined process that gives you more than enough to play your greatest character, but never so much that it bogs things down. Never again toss a character concept because “something’s missing”.

Years in the Making

Since 2019 we’ve been creating story-first systems for TTRPGs by borrowing wisdom and knowledge from storytelling experts like playwrights, scriptwriters, and novelists across the ages and distilling it down to what works at your table. The current delivery method is our podcast, but listening to all that would take a bit. Like, literal weeks. So use this handy guide instead!

Features:

• An updated version of our customized character sheet, only found here.

• Hyperlinked sections to relevant episodes so you can learn more about key concepts.

• 39 pages of full colour PDF goodness

If you have found particular value in this guide, consider donating funds to it’s improvement. Any and all money donated will go directly to improvements to this document (hiring artists and creation of advanced PDF features, possibly an eventual web app) as well as the production of a DM version for planning a Session Zero and story-focused campaign.

Complete Session Zero Structure

There may not be any better advice for any GM than “run a session zero”. A tabletop gaming session, running 2-6 hours for everyone at the table, is a big investment of time. A campaign can span a handful of these sessions, or turn into years of weekly sessions. Every time we’ve started a campaign without a session zero, we’ve regretted it. Nothing creates deeper wounds for a GM than losing a player or friend 4 months into a game because of misaligned expectations or having a campaign simply dissolve from a lack of cohesion. All the prep, effort, and story potential forever sits unrealized.

If you’re new to the concept; a session zero is an important step in tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) where the players and game master (GM) collaborate to establish expectations for the game. What expectations do you establish? Well, there is about a million different way to run a session zero, so no two will be alike. Like being handed a handful of lego parts and four wheels, the concept will be roughly the same, but you’ll have a different version from everyone who tries.

Having a plan and changing it based on your specific game is what this hobby is all about. That’s why we built this guide in a way that it can be customized and adapted to your evolving style. We’ve included everything we think is crucial to a great session zero to get you started. The topics are broken down into organized categories, and give you an idea of how long they will take to cover at the table. This is our way, now make it yours.

*The notion guide does require you create a Notion account.

*You will need to copy the survey for your own use after following the link above.

Simple Story Structure Template

Structuring a story for tabletop gaming as a GM can be incredibly challenging. In your head, it’s a brilliant linear path. The addition of your player’s choice is where it all goes off the rails. Game masters must account for the player's choices and actions while keeping the narrative coherent and engaging. This is where a tool like our form-fillable Simple Story Structure template comes in.

Plan a story with a narrative through-line while allowing players to drive the story. Sounds impossible? With the story structure, each phase of your story has a feeling as an objective, not strict plot points. Your story can flex and bend to player choice without breaking.

The Story Structure has seven stages: Current, Hook, Kick-Off, Challenge, Choice, Suffer, and Climax, which are followed by the Aftermath. Players may choose a very different direction but we as GM know what the SUFFER stage is all about, so we flex away. HAHAHA!

The Story Circle is adaptable and can be applied at different levels, from individual sessions to entire campaigns. The framework provides a sense of progress to players and allows for the incorporation of emotional losses and character growth. By following this structure, your games can be dynamic and reward journeys that with player agency and provide a satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Guide to Ticking Clock Creation

Create the motivation needed to move your players through your story effortlessly.

We use this system to get a handle on pacing, add or relieve pressure, and establish ticking clocks when we need them. You can use it when you have an idea for the story you want to run, and reference it during your games. You'll be able to strike the balance of keeping things on track while still allowing the player characters to drive. Slow down or speed up the story based on how much pressure you apply. Allow for diversions, but focus direction when you know it's needed.

This is a fully form-fillable PDF, so you can print it or use it’s digital features to keep track of your… less than pleasant ways of motivating your group.

Sand Giants

Of the giants that roam the world, the ones not often heard from are the incredibly reclusive Sand Giants, as they stay hidden amongst the dunes they wander. These giants mostly rejected the ordning, and since have rejected anything to do with giant-kind. In their harsh environs, they let the most clever and brave among them lead, which not only helps them survive but gets them closer to their life goal of facing every challenge to overcome it. They even built a special weapon to help them survive it!

We made a new giant type using our culture creation guide. This desert-dwelling semi-nomadic giant type roams the wastes proudly and happily.

You can listen to the episode about them specifically or create your own from the overall giant culture discussion we had in this episode.

The Flesh Wall

The wonderful contributors on the Hook&Chance Discord server have created something truly horrible, we present to you The Flesh Wall!

Body horror is a subgenre of horror that is often underestimated. It’s not just gross, gory stuff! It’s really about the manipulation of the natural state of our bodies, which makes us uncomfortable because we don’t have control over the changes, and it’s a part of our identity that is changing. Body horror starts with the threat of changes that WILL take place unless avoided. Its best moments are defined by the fact that they aren’t acts of immediate violence, but more the after-effects of something that is changing a body; this is similar to a werewolves transformation, or a chestburster from the Alien franchise.

Well here for you is a truly diabolical CR 8 monster that seems innocuous enough until you are being consumed by it.

Along with the monster stat block is a moderately fleshed out adventure and story hook to use the monster in about a sleepy little town beset by thieves and raiders who comply with the unthinkable to solve their problem. It’s a tale full of gross body horror sure to make your players squirm.

Character and Traits Planner

The core idea to this planner is to guide you through the creation of a fantastic character that it a blast to play. It gives you a great foundation for dynamic roleplaying and character development.

Perhaps more importantly, it restricts so much history that the character becomes a challenge to remain flexible and develop over time. Great characters are story driven. If supplied to your Dungeon Master, this page could also provide them with the tools to weave your character into the story you collectively tell at the table. If you are a DM, for NPCs that will play pivotal roles in your story, using this guide to flesh them out can help them feel far more nuanced and interesting.

We feel so strongly that building a character from a background and traits is a far superior approach to creating story-first characters we guarantee it, or your money back!

If you want to listen to the episode where this system was discussed you can find it here: Amazing Characters from Compelling Backstories

One Page Story System

Finally, a form-fillable (or printable), easy to use D&D session planner.

Sure, you can summon your award-winning ‘Citizen Kane’ of a D&D session that breaks boundaries and is a true masterpiece but perhaps runs the risk of being too high concept for most to really enjoy. Much easier than that though, is planning a game that perhaps repeats the same formula but is reliable, enjoyable, fun and gives most people a great time, the ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ or the ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ of the D&D world. It’s hard to get tired of a reliably good time.

Building a structure around a game allows for better pacing, more creativity and frees the Dungeon Master up mentally for many other important tasks, like pulling their players deeper into their experience.

How To Use This System

The core idea to this sheet is filling out the details so that you as a new Dungeon Master have the majority of the story and structure figured out. With the core points mapped out, you can spend most of your mental energy improving other skills that are harder to systemize, like your off-the-cuff creativity.

Culture Creation Guide

If you need to create a new culture, or even fill in the details of one you’ve already created, this should help. This system was created to provide a simple foundation for a culture that can easily be referenced. If you follow this guide, you will have a cohesive culture built in a logical way, with all the details growing from its core values.

Features:

• Values and beliefs that work together to create a believable culture.

• Backstory prompts to help you determine how the culture came to be.

• Details from major challenges to gestures that will make every citizen feel real.

Benefits:

• Having the important details of your culture on a one page reference sheet.

• Being able to inform NPC behavior quickly and easily, making them feel like they belong.

• Being able to create additional cultures in your world that meaningfully interact with this one.

• Being able to create a culture for your PC to belong to.

Half-Orc Shared Lineage Physical Trait Generator

Are you more than half orc/human? What might the shared lineage of Orc and Dwarf look like? What about an Orc and Elf? Need some ideas? Well look no further, here are some tables to help you generate a unique look to your Orc. After all, you don’t get to choose the colour of your eyes.

Character Intro Writing Guide

Like fiction? Want to write some about the character you love? Do you find writing a bit of a challenge?

You can take most of the troubles out of it using this guide, which will assist in writing the punchiest, most exciting and captivating character introduction ever!

Once completed, this can help your roleplaying in a number of ways.

1. Read this quietly to yourself before a game. A brief reminder that your character isn’t simply a collection of stats and class features, but a person with a point of view and mannerisms, treasured items and a way of settling conflict.

2. This format can be a lot more entertaining a read for other people at the table with questions about who your character is. A short and sweet story that conveys everything they need to understand how their character would treat yours.

3. Answering the prompts will force deeper thought about things like truly distinguishing features and traits, rather than superficial ones that are unlikely to ever make an appearance in your game.

Download the guide and send us the result. We’d love to hear them!

Hook and Chance Custom Character Sheet

Need a character sheet that incorporates thoughtful design?

Try ours!

Features include:

• character building and role-playing tips are build right into the sheet including the character planner and character traits rather than bonds and flaws.

• Stat calculations - forget what was contributing to your unreal sneak bonus? Keep track of the math with extra spots.

• Right handed design - stop wearing down or smearing the rest of the sheet, most often used areas are all on the right side.

• Keep track of your Armor Class with spots to highlight additive bonuses. Dropped your shield? Fret not, it’s easy to calculate.

Horror Roleplaying Writing Guide

Starting with a good story to build up tension is great. Building on that, Ash Law wrote an amazing document that will take you to the next level of horror and how to write a good story for your Dungeons and Dragons game called “The Trajectory of Fear”. We wanted to borrw some concepts from Ash and work them into a matrix that we could follow in game to stay flexible to what players chose but would allow us to work in the planned scares we had worked so hard on..

You can listen to the series on horror in Dungeons & Dragons to get more details and examples of how we use this guide or just simply download it below, we think it does pretty good standing on it’s own.

1. First Episode: What do we need to craft a good horror story

2. Second Episode: What do we need to add terror to our monsters

3. Third Episode: How fears can be applied to good roleplay