What I Learned From Dungeons and Dragons

In my high school days I used to play D&D (big surprise, huh). The best part of that game for me was creating your character.They had pre-formatted character sheets and you got to assign skill points to different things.  Basically you made up the history of your character.

When writing a story I find it very helpful to create a character sheet for the major characters.  It helps me get to know them better, what their strengths and weaknesses are, etc.  I even use an adapted format from my D&D days.

On an unrelated note, I put the finishing touches on my first picture book, The Sand Ogres of Stig, and I sent it to a carefully hand-picked agent today.  To celebrate I am including below the character sheet for its main character.  Please to enjoy the letters and numbers that are Saradig:

NAME:  Saradig	AGE:  6	CLASS:  Adventurer	RACE:  Ogre
HEIGHT:  3’6”	WEIGHT:  65lbs	GENDER:  Female	AFFILIATIONS:  The Sand Ogres of Stig
STR:  5	BACKGROUND:  Saradig is the twin of Aradig and the oldest of the sand ogres (she beat Aradig by five minutes).  She leads the sand ogres of Stig but sometimes she lets Aradig pretend to be in charge.  It was Saradig’s idea to form the sand ogres of Stig.
CON:  6
DEX:  6
INT:  8
WIS:  8
CHA:  7
APPEARANCE:  Saradig is short and squat with pig-like features and green tinted skin.  She has two tusks that jut up from her lower jaw and long floppy ears with pink bows tied to the end of each one.
MANNERISMS:  Saradig is smart and quick witted with a very competitive side.    She is slow to make decisions because she likes to analyze all her options and weigh the pros and cons of each.  She has an especially hard time when it comes to choosing which flavor of ice cream she wants.  That’s why the sand ogres always make sure they have a quart of neapolitan in the freezer just for her.