https://armcg.neocities.org - Zalanthas character generator - suggest some!

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So a lot of the time there's a focus on game mechanics and stuff for character generation, but it could be fun to have a button that randomly picks a few traits from a hat and see if they work as a character concept:

armcg.neocities.org (work in progress)

(You could also take it through another step by feeding those keywords / trait descriptions into chatgpt and get another starter thing, but I absolutely would not want to encourage people using that as their whole description, so wary of specifically encouraging that - I think that should be a manual step if people choose to do it, as someone that hopefully has the sense to use it as an inspiration rather than copypaste things that are often not as interesting as something written from scratch)

Some things can give fun stuff to work around in a background or as part of the personality (heavily inspired by Vampire the Masquerade which itself might be where our Storyteller term came from, I know some of the things Sanvean wrote were definitely influenced by it):

MENTAL

Loyalty You're especially devoted to a certain cause, group, creed or person.

Twisted Upbringing Someone taught you all the wrong things. For whatever reason, the mentor who introduced you to your specific faction did a terrible job, and now you reap the results. They may have told you lies about other clans or cities, and filled your head with nonsense about the nature of magick (though in all honesty, pretty much everyone does that)

Revenge Served Cold You are obsessed with taking your revenge on an individual or group, and it is your overriding priority in any situation where you encounter the object of your revenge.

OCPD You feel compelled to follow stringent personal rituals, maintain an obsessive sense of order, work yourself to the point of exhaustion (and beyond), organize every possible element of your life and space, employ compulsive behaviors without realizing that you're doing so, and otherwise lose track of time, things, and people unless they fall into the sphere of your obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. An especially common Flaw among technomancers, Hermetic ritualists, superstitious soldiers, meticulous scientists, elder vampires, megalomaniacal musicians and other folks whose philosophies and pursuits demand continual attention and/or control.

PTSD Combat, torture, accidents, poverty, sexual violation, domestic violence, parental abuse... anything that can destroy a person's sense of safety might cause PTSD. • Your PTSD conjures occasional nightmares and anxieties under certain rare circumstances (confronting ghosts, dealing with demons, entering the wilderness, and so forth). • PTSD 2: The trauma triggers phobias or other strong reactions to more common situations (dealing with Templars, Senior Merchants, elders, facing financial difficulty, etc.). • PTSD 3: Reactions become more extreme – near-panic, powerful aversion, rapid mood swings – and provocations become more common (loud noises, confrontations, raised voices, etc.). • PTSD 4: Your PTSD kicks off major reactions – fight or flight panic, vivid flashbacks, moments of stark terror, incapacitating catatonia – in fairly common situations (sex, arguments, financial transactions, etc.).

Chronic Depression Everything seems overwhelming, pointless, and at best a joke at the known's expense. That feeling pervades each aspect of your existence: your attitude, your physical health, your relationships, and even – especially! – your approach to the supernatural and all its manifestations. This can also reflect the psychic aftermath of magick backfires, Things We Were Not Meant to Know, psionic damage, and other forms of trauma (breakups, violation, disaster, and the like). "Things are never so bad they can't be made worse." -Humphrey Bogart

Nightmares You experience horrendous nightmares every time you sleep, and memories of them haunt you during your waking hours.

Ward(s) companions – lovers, children, partners, parents, close friends, even employers – depend upon you .. Is it love that binds you to your ward? Duty? An oath? Family obligations? A job like bodyguarding, teaching or medicine?

Soft-Hearted You cannot stand to watch others suffer.

Gullible You believe everything people tell you. You fall for cons and pranksters every single time.

Animal kinship You have a natural affinity for animals. This is nothing supernatural, and doesn't mean an animal will necessarily like you, but you can respect one another as peers. Half-Elves are rumoured to have a special rapport with beasts of all kinds, so this may attract suspicion.

Innocent In a world filled with sex magick and power plays, you're the little lamb who's strayed far away from home. Jokes get past you, clues escape you, and references to anything rawer than a Disney flick go straight over your head.

Guilt-Wracked You did something appalling enough to burden you with guilt in every waking hour. Story-wise, this was likely some shameful murder, neglect, or destruction of something dear. You committed what you consider a crime, even if an authority ordered it, and cannot put it right. You know that few - if any - will be sympathetic to your plight, even if you sobbingly confess, so for now, you just need to push it down and suffer. You may find it difficult to retain composure when presented with a situation even vaguely similar to your crime. "You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you were not bothered by things like that, silt and water were the same as wind and air to you. You just slept the big sleep, not caring about the nastiness of how you died or where you fell. Me, I was part of the nastiness now. Far more a part of it than Silty Saul was." -The Big Sleep

Tic You have some sort of repetitive motion that you make in times of stress, and it's a dead giveaway as to your identity. Examples include a nervous cough, constantly wringing your hands, cracking your knuckles, and so on.

Rotten Liar It may be that you're just too honest for your own good, or cursed to speak the truth as you know it, regardless of the cost or your intentions – then again, you might just stammer your way through attempted deceptions, telegraphing your lies through body language and vocal tone. OPPOSITE: Really Rotten Liar You lack the usual "tells" that betray a liar: your eyes don't twitch, and your voice never falters. You often appear to be telling the truth. Common in aides, merchants, and elves.

Phobia You have an overpowering fear of something. Spiders, snakes, crowds, and heights are examples of common phobias. Flip a coin to see if you flee from your phobia.

Sexual obsession Knifes, ropes, elves - things that can potentially pose a risk to the health of your character, lovers, and reputation or career if uncovered. Some people will think rather less of you... Or use it as a weapon in politics. "Lord Templar Balthazar, it takes some time even for Kadius to commission new rubber erdlu outfits, please forgive me."

Aide by Nature You tend to get your fingers in too many pies, and people notice. You have too many allies, or too much influence, which means that a lot of people will have a vested interest in trimming back your operations.

Overconfident Nothing is beyond your reach, and so you almost never back down from a challenge, no matter how absurdly outmatched you appear to be at the time. If things go poorly, of course, you can always blame someone else. After all, it's clearly not your fault!

Curious You simply can't resist a good mystery! A nagging sense of curiosity drags you into all kinds of sticky situations. Given your abilities, you've got a decent chance at finding things out, too... which is not, especially in Zalanthas, an especially healthy thing to do. Once you're on the trail, few things short of a deadly threat will make you stop... and said deadly threat might simply encourage you to dig even deeper.

Amnesia You are unable to remember anything about your past, yourself, or your family, though your past might well come back to haunt you. Your origins and the circumstances behind your amnesia are for the Storyteller to determine, and she is encouraged to make it as interesting as possible.

Dark Triad A charming (and chilling) blend of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sociopathy makes you a smooth-talking rule-breaker. Your own pleasure and convenience are the only vital things in life. A natural trait of cult leaders, and nobles. This can become dangerous when other people notice that individual's behavior, not even a defiler trusts such a person once their tendencies become clear. "Letters are so FORMAL and BORING. Let us meet in person, we shall have an entente cordiale at House Fale, Lord Templar..."

Easily Angered Anger management is not your strong suit. You probably won't use deadly (or vulgar) force too recklessly, as you're not long for the Known if you do. Your infamous temper, however, can have severe long-term effects on your popularity, health, and status among your peers and superiors.

Gossip Aides, soldiers and other servants are often privy to a great deal of sensitive information in the dealings with their masters, and some cannot resist the urge to divulge (or sell) these secrets.

Calling Card Maybe your character has a self-destructive streak or maybe it's just bad luck, but she can't seem to keep from leaving some trace of her presence anywhere she doesn't want to be connected to. This persistent clue of her involvement can be found at crime scenes, abandoned safe houses or any number of compromising places. Dogged investigators can recognize the signs she leaves and soon learn when she's been around.

SOCIAL

Notorious Flip a coin every month. Tails, start a rumour from a NPC about some scandalous or disgraceful act by your character. Whether or not the stories are true, you might experience intense questioning by many curious people of influence.

Sun Runner/Dasari/Fale/Arabet They get EVERYWHERE. A tenuous link to one of these raucous, though influential, families (daughter of an aide, Zeif Akir that met a Sun Runner, etc - not a bastard as that requires a role application) can give you useful knowledge or a talking point in some circumstances, or seen as an enemy.

Bastard See help bastard for more details (this requires a role application request).

Debts You managed to get in over your head recently. Your usurer's tactics could range from round the day Ways (refer to NPCs in your RP) of threats, to losing their home, to a group or individual leaving you beaten.

Double Agent You work both sides of a very spiky fence – one of these days, you're gonna get stuck on it. Eventually, this dangerous game will catch up with you. Make plans, establish contingencies, and try not to get yourself perished!

Sleeping With The Enemy Your close ties to someone on the other side would be regarded as treason by your superiors, and if you are discovered, the penalty will surely be exile, death or imprisonment.

Conspiracy Theorist Through experience, connections, or loose lips, you've somehow uncovered secrets that one of your stature should not usually be privy to. You might think the Highlord is not an all-powerful god who blesses us with every day in His Shadow, or scurrilous blasphemies about the Pyramid, or that the Known was all green before the cities were built - But while citizens mock and shun you, if you attract attention you may be shut up permanently.

Religious Hysteria Your character considers almost everything that transpires some kind of omen or portent. The restless spirits of the Known whisper in your ear constantly, and rulers give you personal advice and praise. Why do others not understand? Even the most fanatical city-dwellers shake their heads as your breathlessly elucidate your latest holy vision.

Manchurian Candidate Some power unknown to you gave you a task, and you can't help but carry it out. When you encounter a code phrase, unusually drawn pattern, or other signal, you'll do whatever your master asked of you. Afterwards, you'll remember up to the point of activation - the rest is a blank. Common demands might include unknowingly spying on your own organization, destroying sensitive documents, assassinating a target, or stealing valuable items. (Get storyteller approval for something like this, as it could make others in a clan feel their plots are steamrolled if there is no way for others to have a chance to find out)

Sympathiser Hey, they're okay once you get to know them! You've expressed some degree of sympathy for an enemy faction, and that sympathy does not make you terribly popular! Warning: This can lead to exile and/or death.

PHYSICAL

Short You are well below average height — four and a half feet (1.5 meters) tall or less. You have difficulty reaching or manipulating objects designed for normal adult size, and your running speed and strength is one-half that of an average human. Dwarves automatically have this trait.

Outlier Whether it's scars, size, unusual body language, or other things that stand out, your character tends to attract some attention at first appearance. You need to make further impression if people are ever to find out if you have a heart of gold... Or if they are right.

Enchanting Presence Blessed with beautiful eyes, mighty biceps, preternatural grace, a dazzling smile, purring voice, or some other standout physical feature, you command more than your fair share of attention and are often the centre of attention at a gathering.

Looks Unnatural Whether it's red or black eyes with scales, fangs, or even tentacles, your character tends to catch the eye of everyone in the room, with responses ranging from fear to anger. You need to make further impression if people are ever to find out if you have a heart of gold... Or if they are right.

Infected You have a serious illness, quite possibly a contagious one. Maybe through your journeys you will find someone that can cure you, one day.

Mute

Deaf Possibly you are able to lip-read or know some simple hand signs, if not a taught language.

Impractical Dresser You tend to dress with an eye toward impressing others rather than personal comfort. Unless you explicitly state that you dress appropriately for physical activity, you wear silk (many nobles take this trait - in Allanaki fashion in particular, the more radical and hindering the style, the more successful its reception), high heels, keep your face and hair uncovered, or other things that hamper physical activity or survival in the wilds.

Hypersensitive Extraordinarily open to physical sensations, you possess a depth of sensitivity most folks cannot conceive of having. A mere sip of wine can reveal its vintage to you, a whiff of smoke betrays the quality (or lack thereof) and origins of its burnt tobacco. A faint touch can... Well... You can easily "fall into" an enjoyable sensation, relishing it to a degree far beyond typical human sensitivity. Particularly painful or traumatic experiences might cause you to be entirely overwhelmed by the intensity of the discomfort. OPPOSITE: Insensate - Nothing hurts until it kills you. Okay, it probably does hurt, but not enough to slow you down.

SUPERNATURAL

Lunacy Your character tends to be apathetic or furtive during a New Moon. Or wild and erratic under a full moon. Due to your closeness to the moons, the Black Moon may occasionally cause callous or out of character behavior, dreams, or visions.

Uncanny Cantrips Magic just tends to happen wherever you go, whether you want it or not. The candles on the bar light up, or go out. Moss grows stalks that turn to follow you as you walk. "The rat was on fire already, Lord Templar, swear."

Cursed Maybe there's a bit of sorcerer in your family? Maybe you were someone notorious in a previous life? For whatever reason: - You stutter uncontrollably when you try to describe what you have seen or heard. - Tools break or malfunction when you try to use them. - You are doomed to make enemies of those whom you most love or admire. - Magic has a strange taint or pattern that makes it instantly recognizable and unique to you. - Normally peaceful animals attack you (emote it and use kill). - Plants wither in your presence. Your shadow moves of its own accord. You don't cast reflections in mirrors or liquid. Cold winds blow even in a still room. Kank-flies or vultures gather. - Whenever you enter a haunted location, activity is sure to increase. - You may want to emote that the learned notice something is very wrong about "@me". Should things start looking up for you, you begin looking up as well to spot the inevitable anvil dropping toward your head.

Good traits are harder because they often need storyteller approval and actions to reflect them, would definitely like to include more if suggestions