You don't know Sagt! Or, Giving Life to the Age of Worms

As is clearly evident, my interest in The Age of Worms campaign has piqued again, and I thoroughly enjoyed sitting down to run Sagt on Wednesday. I mentioned before how there had been a disconnect for me with the game, partially because I had lost two characters in rather quick succession, but also because my new character had no connection to the plot, the location, or anything else. This was my fault, but at the time of character creation, I suppose I was just not all that into it.

So, last week when I was getting my books ready to take with me, and I started to feel a sense of dread at having to slog through another night of playing this character, I decided it was my fault I wasn't having much fun and then started mulling over questions that I could use to help define Sagt and perhaps make him more fun to play. I ran through a short list of questions that I sometimes hand to my players to help them define their D&D characters a little more (and give a nice xp boost), and I have to say it helped tremendously.

The following are the actual questions from the worksheet I use, and my answers for Sagt.

1. What do you look like?
Standing at almost 8 feet tall and more robust than even most specimens of his race, Sagt has an almost ape-like athletic build. His horns are more stunted than most varags, but it could just seem that way due to his massive bulk. His body has few scars, most from the training programs he was put through by his birth-clan.

2. Where is your family, if any?
Sagt doesn't have a family, per se, being the product of a hobgoblin eugenics program. His birth-clan, however, is based out of the Empire of Iuz.

3. For whom or what would you make sacrifices for?
Sagt's indoctrination in the eugenics program made him understand one thing, that your clan is the most important thing of all. Since his "adoption" into the adventuring party, he considers them his clan, and thus would sacrifice himself for their success/survival.

4. What is your greatest regret?
Being young and not very experienced, he does not yet have any regrets (and might not understand that concept, anyway, since he was raised to be an ultra-efficient soldier). 

5. What are your greatest dislikes?
The taste of rotten flesh and, as of Wednesday's session, lightning and spellcasters.

6. What topics or activities fascinate you?
Ringing bells, eating, ringing bells while eating.

7. What habits do you possess?
Talking to his food, since nobody can understand him, anyway.

8. What secrets do you harbor?
Everything he knows is a secret because he can't communicate with his party. True secrets, however, he has none.

9. Are you rational or passionate about your feelings?
Sagt is very passionate, partially due to the aggressive, war-like nature of the hobgoblins that raised him, but also because he is young and not very bright and has a huge wellspring or youthful exuberance.

10. Are you superstitious or sophisticated beyond superstition?
Superstition causes fear, and right now his indoctrination holds him fast to practicality, however, should his clan ever really collectively show fear over something, it may begin to color his personality and views.

11. How strong is your faith in your patron deity?
Maglubiyet is strong and will guide his path to victory.

12. How self-confident are you?
If one is not confident, then they may hesitate. Hesitation leads to defeat. Sagt will not be defeated!

13. What drives you to adventure?
Nothing truly drives him to adventure. To bolster their numbers on a raid against some heretics (Ebon Triad members), some worshippers of Erythnul bartered with Sagt's clan for his purchase, giving the clan vast amounts of good steel weapons and armor. Their raid failed, however, when they descended into the Triad's holdings, and they were all captured. The party that Sagt is with now found him in a holding cell, awaiting his turn to be fed to the heretics' pet dire boar.

This worksheet, as you can see, is a great way to get a grounded picture of your character for you to play off, and is one among many that I have handed out in the past to my players as "homework." This worksheet is not a creation of my own, though, and is originally found, though some of the questions are in a slightly different form, on pages 60 and 61 of Sword & Sorcery's Ravenloft Campaign Setting.