Character Creation Guidelines

We encourage everyone to make dynamic, interesting, and larger-than-life characters. Here are some things that we encourage you to think about when creating a character for Dystopia Rising: Michigan:

Motivation. What does your character want the most in life? How far are they willing to go to get it? Do they have any core values that drive their actions and that they won’t betray?

Family. Does your character have family members still living? What were their parents like? Do they have siblings? What were those relationships like growing up?

Friends. Does your character have a best friend or a group of friends? Who are they in their friend group? Do they play the same role with all of their friends, or do they change roles depending on their friendship dynamics?

Hobbies. What does your character like to do when they’re not struggling to survive? How do they try to relax or use their downtime in the wastes?

Secrets. Does your character have a secret that they don’t want many people knowing? Do they have multiple secrets? Who would they tell, if anyone, and under what circumstances?

Fears. Is your character deeply afraid of something? How willing are they to let other characters know this fear?

Personality Traits. How would you describe your character? Are they loud? Shy? Hotheaded? Cautious? Secretive? Naïve? Militaristic? Passivistic? Determined? Apathetic? Pull out those adjectives from English class and make a list!

Other things to think about when designing a character may include their archetype, their core memories, previous jobs, or places lived. If you would like help brainstorming, reach out! We love to help people design their characters!

That said, there are some restrictions that we put into place for the good of the community at large. At Dystopia Rising: Michigan, we avoid creating the following:

Any character physically or mentally under the age of 18. Dystopia Rising: Michigan is a 18+ branch of Dystopia Rising, and child endangerment is one of our off-limits themes. Children are never considered to be subject to the horrors of the post-apocalypse (although they are allowed to exist “offscreen”). Occasionally, we may allow a 16-17 year old to play with parental permission. In this case and this case only, a character may be 16-17 years of age if the player portraying the character is also 16-17 years of age.

Any character that uses symbols of real-world hate groups in their costuming. Symbols relating to real-world hate groups, historical or present, are not permitted in Dystopia Rising: Michigan, and should not be used in any costuming or displayed on site. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of Nazi imagery, terrorist slogans or imagery, etc.

Any character that uses real-world political symbols in their costuming. It is best practice to avoid all sorts of politically-charged slogans and imagery in character costuming. Symbols such as the Confederate Flag, BLM shirts, MAGA hats, or political slogans should not be included in character costuming.

Any character that parodies real-world religions and beliefs. People of all faith backgrounds attend Dystopia Rising. There are in-game faiths that can draw on various concepts similar to those of real-world religions, but any concept or costume that outright caricatures or parodies a real-world belief system is not allowed.

Any character that parodies or stereotypes a real-world culture. Players should not be parodying a real-world culture as a part of their character costuming and should avoid real-world stereotypes. Items such as feather headdresses and makeup such as yellowface or blackface should never be used as a part of character design and/or costuming.

Any character background that includes topics of sexual assault or abuse. Dystopia Rising: Michigan does not include any themes relating to sexual assault or abuse, and players should not include these when creating their character stories.

Any character background that includes topics of slavery. Dystopia Rising: Michigan does not include any themes relating to slavery, and players should not include these when creating their character stories.

If you are unsure about your costuming, makeup, backstory, or design choices in regards to these guidelines, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We will be happy to assist you.