Persona Guidelines
This is where the "Role-Play" aspect of DragonWynde comes in. If you are familiar with LARPs (Live Action
Role-Play games) or RPGS like Dungeons & Dragons, you should understand what this means. For those of
you not familiar with either, as a Citizen of DragonWynde, you take on the task of playing a part, like in a play
or movie. The difference is, there's no "script". We make things up as we go along. We do, however, try to help
set up a background for your character. Maybe you're a mighty Dwarven Warrior, who's been cast out of
his mountain hall. Or an Elf Mystic, journeying the world in search of Arcane knowledge. We are pretty
open to almost anything, as long as there is some rationale for the character, and how well you pull it off.

The Persona Creation Process
"What can I be?"
The first step in persona creation is deciding what you want to be, or in gaming /
LARP terms, what race you want to be. Some examples of acceptable races are:

Humans Elves Dwarves
Gnomes Halflings Angels
Demons Amazons Orcs
Half-orcs Gargoyles Giants

You should choose a race that you can "pull off" and be recognized  as. For example - Elves
have pointy ears (easy to find), and are usually tall and thin. Dwarves tend to be of a stocky build and
while not necessarily shorter than anyone else, if you're almost 6 feet tall, you wouldn't exactly be a
"convincing" Dwarf. A Vampire, should make sure to have fangs, AND a reason for how you can
be out and about in the daylight.
A Centaur would be MOST difficult, but if you feel you can make a
convincing Horse body that you can SAFELY maneuver in, it would be MOST impressive.

Humans are - naturally - the easiest to do. You might also choose to merely have a human form,
but at SOME point, there should be SOME evidence of your other form.
For example, the King is a DRAGON. The background for the character is that he thought he WAS
human, until a few years ago, when he discovered he was a Dragon. In the past (in another group),
He occasionally would don a Dragon mask, clawed latex Dragon gloves, and even  Dragon wings.
These are examples of what would be an appropriate "aesthetic" (an item needed to pull off the
look) for such a character.

If you can think of anything else in that vein, it will probably be acceptable too.
For some races, you may have to check with the Kingdom leader of that race.

You should also keep in mind, that if you play a certain part, you ARE that character for the duration of your
stay as a Citizen of the Kingdom.  This is not like an rpg where you change your character any time you wish.
If you DO wish to change your persona, be prepared in knowing that there are consequences: mostly that any
and ALL titles given to that persona will NOT be transferred to your new persona.
You will have to START FROM SCRATCH.

"What can't I be?"
 Anything that would not be known of (whether in real life or legend) past the year 1500 -
This includes:
any type of science-fiction related personas
(e.g. aliens, space travelers or a person from the future).
You may also not portray a deity (god) of any type.

"What occupation or social standing will I have?"
This is where you decide what type of person you want to be.
Some examples of what you can be are:

fighter mage cleric
artist crafter servant
blacksmith scholar bard
merchant scribe leatherworker

Be careful to choose things that you either have skill in or want to learn. Don't decide to be a leatherworker
if you have no interest in it. You may want to be more than one of these things (for example, King Ronan
is a nobleman, Mage, scribe, artist, fighter, aspiring leatherworker, and musician). This choice will directly
affect the next choices you will make, so choose carefully!
Another aspect of considering what your character "does", is that some of these "classes" of characters
have to be approved by certain Citizens of rank in DragonWynde.
For example, if you wish to be a Mage, and earn a "true" Mage title in the Kingdom, that is officially recognized,
you'd need to speak to a member of The Order of Oron, which oversees Mages in the Realm, for character
and aesthetic requirements. You also cannot automatically be recognized as a Knight when you enter the
Kingdom. You can aspire to this title, and should seek out a member of the Chivalry.

"Where do I come from?"
Now you have decided what you are, it's time to start deciding who you are.
The first thing to decide is where you come from. There are several regions,
or Realms, in the Kingdom, each of which is similar to the cultures of Medieval Europe and fantasy tales.
You can check the Realms section of the site for the more detailed descriptions.

"What is my history?"
Things you may want to ask yourself:
Where was I born?
Who were my parents (don't forget to consider your race here)?
Do I or did I have any family (spouse, children, brothers, sisters)?
Was I born someplace different than I lived for most of my life?
Did I stay in one place or was I a traveler?
Did I used to do something else for an occupation?
Do I have a shady past?

"What do I look like?"
This is the second to last step in the process. Drawing from all the things you have determined about your
persona so far, decide what you want to look like, what garb you want to wear and aesthetics
(accessories) you want to have. For example, if you want to be an angel or Fairy, plan on investing in a pair of wings.
If you are a fighter, you may want to wear gauntlets. If you are a Mage, robes and a crystal ball might be
best for you. Take into consideration your race, national origin, religion, and occupation / social standing.

"What is my name?"
This step is best left for last. Take your whole persona into consideration, and name yourself. You
may want to do some research for this. If you are an Elf, you may want to  look up Elven names.
You may also desire a name that has a specific meaning, i.e. "Bright One" or "Shield-bearer" in a specific
language. Or you can do the reverse. You can find a name in the language of choice, look up its meaning,
and adjust your history slightly to account for it. For example, the name Myfanwy (which she thought was very
pretty) means "white snow" in Welsh, so she added to her history that she was born during the first snowfall of Winter.

"I'm done. Now what?"
Run your persona by the Council.
If they say OK, you can start using your persona.

"I'm having trouble. I need help!!!"
If you're really stuck, speak to any DragonWynde Citizen (Full Member) about
persona creation. Some are better at it than others. If they can't help you, they'll know who can.
Have fun, and we look forward to meeting your persona soon!