Character Creation

The windowpane rattles in its frame, as one of Them screeches from the other side of the cabin door. You and your group hunker down further behind the bunk bed, and you flinch as a hollow thunk shakes the wall by your ear. You use the flickering light of your candle to look around at your companions for what could be the final time. The woman next to you is mouthing an urgent prayer, manicured fingernails digging into the wooden bedpost. Jake, the youngest of the group, slumps against the wall, eyes darting across the cabin as They move about outside. The elderly mechanic reaches over your shoulder, mouth set in a grim line. Their calloused hand fixes around your wrist and they guide your arm, and the candle downward, setting the bedsheets alight.

You will be playing as a modern-day citizen, and you have gathered at Peckwood after the sun went out. Perhaps you want to find answers, or are simply looking for a safe place to hide from whatever’s out there. Regardless of your character’s reason for journeying to Peckwood, you, the player, need to know one thing. Your character will not make it out alive.

Please be aware that character creation for 9 candles has collaborative aspects.

During sign up you will be asked to submit a Vice (a negative character quality) and a Virtue (a positive character quality). The submitted Vices and Virtues will be re-distributed by the Ref team, and you will receive a blank character sheet with a Vice and Virtue already filled in from the submitted sign up sheets. You can then use this to build your character.

It’s up to you how much you build your character around your vice and virtue. It’s possible to have your vice be something completely unexpected for your character. We wanted to avoid players from having to start over if they had a vice or virtue that didn't suit their pre-made character.

If you have any concerns about roleplaying with certain vices please let the Ref team know, if possible ahead of allocations.

The Character creation form will ask for:

• Player Name
• Character Name
• Player Pronouns
• Character Pronouns
• Age (you character must be 18+)
• A brief summary of who they are (An academically gifted only child? A stern and emotionally distant matriarch? A very wealthy but lonely white collar worker?) Write as much as you need to give an impression of the kind of person they are and what their day-to-day life looked like before it went dark.
• A Moment: A Moment serves a mechanical function, as do vices and virtues. This is a moment that will restore your character's hope if it occurs during gameplay. You can find examples at the bottom of this page.
• Physical description: if you would like to note anything about your character's appearance.

Once you submit your character form you will receive a completed character form from a different player. You will then assign them a Brink. This is something that your character has seen this character do in secret.

Vices: Selfish, Petty, Vain, Quick to Anger, Desire to be the cleverest in the room, Will cheat to get what they want.

Virtues: Attentive listener, Kind, Selfless, Calm, Hopeful.

Moments: I will find hope when I find something I lost. I will find hope when I make a new friend. I will find hope when there is a moment of peace.

Brinks: I saw you burning precious photographs. I saw you lose your temper at someone that didn’t deserve it. I saw you steal something that you wanted.