From Origin Story To Character Voice — Reviewing Jeff Stormer’s ‘The Ultimate Fantasy Character Creator’

Welcome to the table,

In the landscape of table top role playing — or role playing in general — a critical piece of the communal storytelling that happens is done through the perspective of the Player Character. Without the Player Character, the hobby stops being a game that engages the mind and problem solving abilities of multiple people. It becomes a Storyteller just telling a story to a group of people. While that can be fun, it’s not a game.

There are a litany of ways you can craft a character. In my lifetime at the table I have seen everything from “I wrote you 100 pages of backstory on this character and expect you to somehow read all of this in the next 20 minutes so we can start the game with you having a full understanding of my 300 year history,” to something along the lines of “I don’t know, maybe Captain Crunch, but cyberpunk?”

As a Storyteller, I can tell you that players never present something exactly the same way twice . While some players are really adept at building their player characters, others need some guidance and aid as they pull their in-world-avatar together. There is a place for all the different styles of character creation at the table. Everyone should feel welcome to build their player characters whatever way they want… even if I would love more than 20 min of pre-game time to read the sorted history of a high elf who really dislikes every other species and is somehow a prince, demon, and vampire.

All of that being said, there are those who wake up with a million characters in their head and those who may need assistance. For those looking for a helpful handy guide to build characters, The Ultimate Fantasy Character Creator from Simon and Schuster imprint Adams Media may be exactly what you’re looking for.

I’ve seen a multitude of blog posts, zines, and books that use the question prompt method of character creation. Where The Ultimate Fantasy Character Creator rises to the top is how thorough it is in its scope.

Penned by the award-winning podcaster, author, and game designer Jeff Stormer, The Ultimate Fantasy Character Creator is as much a tool box for player character creation as it is an exercise in self exploration. If fully followed, it will teach you quite a bit about the characters in your head (and yourself).

The book starts with brief introduction that conversationally explains that there is character in everything. If you lock in and follow the steps outlined in the guide, by the time you are done you should have a fully realized backstory — complete with motivations and ideals — that drive your character. These characters work equally well for playing in a Live Action Role Play situation or sitting at the table for a typical TTRPG game.

It’s all wonderful information and fairly self explanatory, but when viewed as a whole without its dash of “special sauce,” it’s well done but not exactly a standout offering in the sea of TTRPG material that is out there.

It does indeed have “special sauce,” though … and that changes the entire offering into something that is good but easily lost to something that shines like a moonbeam in the darkness.

The book does the normal dance, taking you through the various steps of identifying your characters hopes, dreams, family, friends, foes, favorite outfits. It even walks you through figuring out the entities they look up to or want to emulate. Where the book deviates, and what I think makes this a truly worthy offering in the table top space, is that peppered within each section there is a small diamond callout that explains the “why?” of the exercise.

It’s a small touch and normally only a paragraph or two long. In truth, the cornerstone that makes this whole book come together is in these “about the exercise” callouts. They really nail home what you, the reader on this journey of self discovery, are doing. As someone who has walked hundreds of players through character creation, that small consideration is going to provide a wealth of insight and guidance to someone using this book for its intended purposes. This really sets this book apart from other media that attempts to guide you through the journey.

In an landscape where there a multitude of social media posts, blogs, and sites dedicated to how to build a character, The Ultimate Fantasy Character Creator stands out. It’s the attention to this small detail of explaining why the exercises are important. For that alone, this is a worthy addition to your TTRPG shelf and something that is a useful read for both novice players and experienced gamers alike.

Until next time, check this book out. It surprised me in a really pleasant way.