Character Creation

If you want to create a CryptoNet character, here are some choices you'll need to make:

1. Pick a name
2. And then also a forum username. You know, your name away from your name
3. Pick some Pros and Cons for your character
4. Give us at least one reason why your character is on the forum
5. And no more than one primary interest in the strange or supernatural they might have
6. Fill in these and other details such as character background, what they do for work, and so on, as per the character questionnaire below

Speaking of the character questionnaire, it's at the bottom of the page and asks all the questions we'd most like answers to, including what's above and more besides.

For details and more, see below. If you're stuck for how to fill out the questionnaire, there are some sample characters you can check out. Alternatively, the GM team are happy to answer any questions you may have, help bounce ideas, etc. And, even better, we're just an email away.

Once your character has been approved, you may create your forum account. Please do not create your account before the GM team have confirmed you're good to go.

The soft deadline for character submission is June 22nd. We will accept characters submitted after that point but there may be a delay in approval. Worst case scenario if you submit late: you won't be able to start the game on June 29th and may lose a bit of uptime as a result. We will do our best to get things processed but can only go so fast. We're only human¹⁾.

Your character may spend time on CryptoNet but they're more than just an avatar on this weird corner of the internet. On the other side of that CRT monitor there's a person who might occasionally spend time away from the computer. They might have a job, be a housewife with not much else to do during the day, be a tin hat-wearing tech wizard²⁾, or maybe they're past all that and spend their retirement whacking weeds waiting for the pixies to come out. They might have a family; and that family may not be the one they were born into. They might spend every third Sunday staring at the sky because they know on the dark side of the Moon there's always someone watching and this forumer is trying to work out how to say hello. And this forumer might even have a name.

But, while this person may be more than a username, they're a username too. What is it that gets them to assume that same old 'net handle and keeps them coming back to CrytoNet? Do they want to get advice about something very weird going on that Ask Jeeves just can't get to the bottom of? Maybe they're looking to discuss conspiracy theories? Or maybe it's just a casual hobby³⁾?

After you've gotten to know this person a little better, we'd like to know about them too. Name, occupation (or lack thereof), what weird and wonderful theory they're looking to push, other questions as per the questionnaire further down the page, and anything else you'd care to share with us; all good stuff.

But before that, a few things to bear in mind:

• If your character spends any amount of time on the CryptoNet forum there has to be a reason why they can access a computer on a semi-regular to very-frequent basis. Not every household had a computer in 1997, and this 1997 is no different.
• Although your character may pick up some new weird and wonderful theories about or interests in the supernatural as time goes on, please start with just one to focus on.
• Your character cannot start the game as a supernatural entity, someone with psychic powers they can control, etc. Weird happenstances that your character may have a tenuous connection with are a-okay. Just remember that at game start the supernatural is something you may be sure exists, despite any concrete evidence; but seeing weird things out of the corner of your eye sometimes is not the same as being able to summon something from Beyond.
• CryptoNet is a UK-based forum. It's not an internet behemoth like GeoCities, so its focus and popularity in setting will remain UK-based. Likewise, characters looking to use the forum will need some vested interest in the weirdness in the UK specifically.

Now you know some of the basics about this person it's time to dig deeper. As is the case with most people, your character is inevitably going to be good at some stuff; and just as inevitably, they'll probably be bad at some stuff too. On top of their natural talents (or lack thereof), they may have access to useful things such as a nice and reliable car, and less useful things, such as a crappy apartment which may be close to their job and super cheap, but also occasionally oozes something unspeakable from the walls⁴⁾.

That's where Pros and Cons come in.

Pros may include things such as:

• Your ability to run much faster than the average person
• Your general medical skills from being a nurse
• Access to a bit more cash - it's nice to have a disposable income
• A sister who can be bribed into helping you fix your computer when you click one wrong link too many⁵⁾

In short, a Pro can be a useful skill or a resource, and resources may include both objects and people. The more specific your Pro is, the more effective it will be. At the same time, that Pro may be less applicable to a wider range of situations.

And then there are the Cons, such as:

• Your tendency to get unnecessarily violent when the moment gets heated
• The fact that you are notably out of shape
• The clanking that seems to follow you around and stop you sleeping
• A weirdo on the internet who knows your browsing history better than you and you really, really wish they didn't⁶⁾ because they keep asking you for favours

In short, a Con can be a 'skill' which is an active hindrance, a debt you owe, a flaw in your personality, and so on. If a Con seems like it might be supernatural, you will need to keep its source vague. You may have theories about the probable source but you will need to confirm this in play.

When creating your character, you can have one Pro for free. Every additional Pro you take will come at the cost of also taking one Con. The maximum number of Pros you can have at game start is four. You may take more than three Cons but there will be no mechanical benefit.

Unless otherwise stated by Pros or Cons, your character will be humanly average at everything.

As part of Turn 3 and Turn 6 turnsheets, you will gain an additional Pro, and can specify what that is. The Pro you take should relate in some way to what your character has been doing or interacting with. For example:

• You spent so long lurking in the local museum that you're now friends with a bunch of security guards who have very refined taste in art and may be happy to give advice on a bunch of stuff, such as on those ancient artefacts that just don't seem right somehow, or how you could have handled that date a bit better.
• You've been hiding from your problems a lot lately. This isn't a surprise since your problems are big, scary, and have claws that wrecked your sofa, so you've had to get better at hiding.

Additional assets may be gained during play. However, these will likely be one-use resources. In order to cement the usefulness of one such acquisition, you will need to spend a point to gain this as an additional Pro on Turn 3 or Turn 6.

Additional Cons may also be acquired during play for a whole host of reasons⁷⁾. Sensible roleplay and investing time to removing these can help get you out of some tricky situations.

Just because your character is a 'Pro' at something doesn't mean they're inhumanly good. Some things are simply bigger and more powerful than any person could be, so there will be times when your character is outmatched. It's not a given that a character will be able to punch their way out of every situation, stealth their way into every dodgy, nondescript building, negotiate with every lawyer asking why they keep breaking into so many nondescript buildings, etc. A good plan is also going to be a big factor in success (see Turnsheets).

Now you've got the mental gears sparking, it's time to bring it all together. Below we have a questionnaire for just such a purpose. Please fill out some version of the below (e.g. Modify to suit third person instead of first person, add new questions, etc., see the Sample Characters page for an example), replacing the text in (parentheses) with the relevant information, and email to gm@cryptonet.chaosdeathfish.com.