Ramblings on Character: Tenya June

Character backstories are important. I won’t ever dispute that. But sometimes it’s fun to create a character with holes. I decided to take this approach with Tenya. I know that she comes from the core worlds, but past that it’s a somewhat blank slate. I know her motivations and big picture goals, but the little things like family, and early life I decided to leave intentionally vague. She can be anyone and become anything. 

I want to stress I wouldn’t ever do this for a game I was playing in, but now she exists and is ready to “plug” into whatever game might happen. 

My reasoning is this. Should a GM ever say that they want to run a one-shot (or something longer) I now have her ready to play and can add to her backstory in a way that is conducive to the themes of the game we’re in. Because I left these gaps open, I could create plot hooks and ties with the other PCs as well. Creating characters that have no reason to be together is a big struggle for me; had I defined everything about her, it could have proven harder to integrate her into the party. 

I like characters I play to fully belong to the game in which they are in. This allows me to immerse myself in the experience. Tenya could have been on the run; she could have come from a prominent family; it could have been anything. As she is right now, I can work with the table to make her fully realized. 

I love to game. I  especially love to make characters, as evidenced by this entire program. But I don’t deny that a big part of the fun is building party bonds. 

Here is the sheet for Tenya June. Let me know if you ever use her, id love to know what her story will become!

But also, make sure she gets a lightsaber (I think her blade should be green). Because lightsabers are just cool AF!