Character Project: Developing The Major Characters

  I attempted some drawings to flesh out Nian's design. However upon reflection I think I am heading for something too generic, something too mush like my source material. A sit turns out this creature is placed in front of Chinese temples and old places of government because at some point it was tamed and made a guardian of sacred spaces. I received some positive feedback on Twitter over the weekend that was positive for my Sha designs. Although they may not appear in the final character bible as they are extras essentially.

  I also think I've ended up seriously messing up the monster's mane. Justin, our character lecturer, suggested I looked at something wispy and flowing (14) which related to my Sha ideas. I needed something fierce, predatory, monstrous. A mane of black smoke is a start.

  What I was advised about though was to focus on the wanderers that would be the characters used by the player. And it was suggested by Justin that they could be related to elements. While fire, air, earth and water are certainly go-to elements, I went back to mythology to discover the Five Elements, which fortunately had their own properties in Chinese mysticism relating to personalities.

• Wood - Benevolence
• Fire - Power, bravery
• Metal - longevity, foretelling events to come, righteousness
• Water - Talent, wisdom
• Earth - Honesty, status

  I consider these words a good foundation, but I might avoid being too literal with them. The water adventurer for instance could be a sorcerer or a trickster while the earth adventurer could be this big, broad hearty fellow who looks like he enjoys being true as much as he does a nice slab of pork.

  These elements could be reflected in their tools too; perhaps a quarterstaff for the wood adventurer, a sword for the fire adventurer, a hammer for the metal adventurer, a bow for the water adventurer and a spear for the earth adventurer. These are initial thoughts though.

I have four adventurers and five elements. Either I devise a fifth character or I stick with wood, fire, water and earth. It also means more work, the game would cater for a maximum five heroic players rather than four and more drawing.