In this game, you play the part of one of the most terrifying creatures ever devised, a schoolgirl, and one brought up in the renowned and fearsome St Erisian's school for girls. Yes, you should be scared.
St Erisian's is not a particularly normal school, by any standard. The girls are encouraged to learn, but are rarely offered a specific curriculum. Much like wolves in the forest, they are left to their own devices, the older girls usually teaching the younger ones. A few teachers manage to survive long enough at the school to fight some knowledge into the girls. Those who last are more than a little damaged by the experience; if they were soldiers, they'd be sent on a tour of duty in Ireland, Iraq or Afghanistan so they could get a rest in a less stressful environment. The teachers who remain have learnt a very useful lesson themselves: 'teach the girls what they want to learn'. This maxim has formed the basis of the school's educational policy and been very successful in creating a form of order in the chaos.
So what is a St Erisian's girl really made of? In this chapter, you get to find out, as we create one of your very own. So you'd best be careful, very careful.
Character creation is very simple and takes only a few steps. However, before you begin even step one; take a moment to think about the sort of character you want to play. This will make it easier to make the decisions you'll be making in the creation process. However, making random picks and building a concept as you go is just as valid. All the characters in Hellcats and Hockeysticks are among the older pupils at the school, so they are generally aged around 16 to 18. That's old enough to have seen a few things and made a few decisions about who you want to be. Any younger and your character will have less experience and skill, be weaker than the others and unable to use some abilities. Any older and she'll be away to cause havoc in the real world.
Something else to consider is why your character is at St Erisian's. Do her parents believe it's actually a good school? Is it the only private school they can afford? If so, why not send her to the local comprehensive? Did your character choose the school herself? Now she's at St Erisian's, does she like being there? Is she popular or does she keep to herself? Does she crave a more normal education or happily indulge in the more eccentric curriculum of St Erisian's? By the time you finish creating a character, you should also have created a picture (at least a mental one if you can't draw) of what she looks like. Girls at St Erisian's are actually encouraged to show individuality in their dress and style, as long as they wear something at least akin to the official uniform. Most St Erisians' girls don't have a problem with wearing school uniform, as they are proud of the school's reputation. However, they all still want to express their individuality. So how does she wear her hair and make up? What does her uniform look like? How does she embellish and accessorise it? What does she use (badges, chains, necklace of teeth) to accessorise?
Now you have a place to start, we can begin with our first real lesson and create a character. Character creation is done over a few simple steps listed here:
Humans are a tribal species and St Erisian's girls are more tribal than most. All the girls at the school tend to fall into one of the following social groups, although they all recognise a common bond as St Erisian's together. Plenty of girls don't get on with other members of their own clique; others are the centre of the group. So bear in mind that your character is an individual, not a stereotype, and consider how she fits into her own clique.
Each character selects one clique to be a part of, which gives her a special ability that is unique to that clique. As well as this special ability, each clique has a 'Curriculum' of 4 skills. These are the skills that each clique is usually especially familiar with. While you need not follow the crowd, it is hard to be part of the group and not pick something up. Otherwise, why are you hanging around with these people? Each character gets points to specifically improve her Curriculum skills, which can be improved to a higher level than usual. However, you will also get a few points to improve skills outside your Curriculum.
Fixer - Contact merchants and appraisers
Goth/Emo - Mistresses of music and the dark arts
Hockey Girl - Sporty types, very dangerous with a stick
Sweetheart - Innocent, sweet, blameless and devious
Nerd - Computer hackers and stock wizards
Prefect - Inspirational leaders who aren't above torture
Scientist - Dabblers in the black arts of fringe science
Coquette - Seducers and flirts, master manipulators
Exchange Student - Ninjas and Samurai, sent from overseas
For some girls, it is family that matters: in the case of a St Erisian's girl, that family is likely to be the Mafia. You are a gangster and a wheeler-dealer, although you prefer 'entrepreneur'. You know how to get what people want, whatever it is. You are a mistress of the art of the deal, knowing who to talk to and what to offer. Over time, you've built an extensive range of contacts and dealers who can lead you to what you need. Once you know where to get the goods, then you can make a deal. However, you might see if you can get hold of them some other way, such as breaking into the warehouse in the middle of the night. Blackmarket goods, drugs, stolen items; those are easy. Military equipment and experimental technology; well, that might take the weekend.
You know people, and a few of them owe you favours. Contacts have to be nourished, and sometimes punished, but with the network of other dealers, you know anything is possible. You can spend a Will point to remember someone who owes you a favour. Describe who the person is and how they can help you and the Headmistress then takes over that character when you visit them. The character may owe you, but they'll probably still need convincing to help you out. They don't owe you so badly they'll risk their life for you. Well, not without a little more persuasion, anyway. These contacts don't vanish when they've been used, so they can be called on again, although you may well have used up your favour.
You are one of the haunted, the dark creatures of the night. You dine on ashes and understand the misery of despair that few who do not contemplate death can possibly understand, but that doesn't mean you can't have any fun. No one understands you, and that's fine with you. Your version of cool is just plain scary to mainstreamers, and that's fine with you too. If they don't get it, they'd best stay away. You've got better things to do. As they are drawn to the darker side of life, most Goths and Emos have at least a passing acquaintance with the dark arts of magic and witchcraft, although plenty just like to say they do. Goths and Emos may look the same to outsiders, and they have pretty much the same skills and interests, but they differ greatly in attitude and philosophy. Most Goths understand you don't need to be constantly depressed and morbid to be in the scene, or that tragedy (especially in romance) is not a way of life, unless that's the sort of thing you're into. You should decide which your character is, Goth or Emo, but for the sake of ease we'll use the term Goth to describe both from now on as, in game terms, they are the same.
Even the perkiest Goth or Emo can look spooky and scary to most outsiders. After all, what might such a freak be thinking? Those black lined eyes might hide a thousand secrets. So, you have the ability to cause fear in those you choose to intimidate, merely by staring them in the eyes. To do this, you spend a Willpower point and whoever you meet the gaze of at that moment must make a roll to resist Fear (see chapter 4) at a difficulty of 5. The Headmistress may allow the Goth or Emo to use the ability to cut a path in a crowd rather than scare a specific individual. Even those who stand firm will usually get out of your way at the very least.
The sports team is the pride of any school, and St Erisian's has a record of sporting achievement that, well, is hard to believe. The girls who form the 'sporty types' at the school are not just experts with a hockey stick, but have also mastered several forms of weapon beyond blunt instruments. However, combat is not restricted to the hockey field and the more physical girls can find an outlet in all manner of acrobatic and athletic pursuits, such as breaking and entering, outrunning the police and taking out the opposition. If you get into a fight, a Hockey Girl is the person you want at your back.
Hockey Girls like to take charge, and usually there are few people who can stop them doing so. However, they also make good team players, even though they insist everyone is part of the team whether they want to be or not.
You have a natural knack for sports of all kinds. This being St Erisian's, by 'sports' we also mean armed and unarmed combat techniques. As a mistress of all forms of combat, on and off the sports field, you can add one die to your dice pool when attempting acts of violence.
You are just a cutie pie, the sweetest little girl that wouldn't hurt a fly. You have a smile of pure innocence and a girl next door purity to you. Well, that's what you look like anyway, even when you're holding a detonator. There is something about you that makes it hard to believe you'd do 'a thing like that'. You must have been led astray by those other nasty girls. Sweethearts are arch manipulators, experts in putting the blame on others and escaping the claws of justice. People just seem to trust you, which is usually a big mistake. The downside to this is that you need to maintain your image to at least some extent. You dress neatly and nicely, possibly wear a lot of pink and have to smile a lot. This often means that eventually you want to let your hair down and party hard when you can't stand it anymore. Plenty of Sweethearts are found dancing on a table with a bottle in each hand when the teachers come to see what the noise was about. Sadly for everyone else, even in such a situation the sweetheart can just point at someone else and say 'It was them'.
People find it hard to believe you could do anything wrong. Any time you are trying to convince someone of your innocence (for any crime from armed robbery to lying) no matter how obvious your guilt, you get a bonus die to add to your dice pool. The Headmistress might give you a bonus die when trying to put the blame on someone else as well.
You may not have beauty, but you sure have brains. While it isn't hard to be top of the class at St Erisian's (in many cases you just need to turn up) few people have your smarts. Maths, electronics and technology come easily to you. You play the stock market for a hobby, know how to strip down a computer and have probably read an awful lot of science fiction. You may well play a lot of those weird role-playing games as well.
While plenty of people think calling you a Nerd or a Geek is an insult, to you it is a badge of pride. You don't follow the mainstream. You're not a slave to what other people think is cool. In fact, you rather pity the others for not having the intelligence to understand the more complicated and interesting things that you are into.
You may not have too many social skills, but you don't need them to hack into a mainframe or network into a security grid. The things you are into might not be cool, but you can guarantee all the cool kids will start being really nice to you when their computer stops working.
Your brain just works better than other people's brains do. You can add a die to any dice pool where your intellect comes into play, such as working out odds, playing the stock market or hacking a computer network. However, this bonus only applies to single uses of a skill and not to building weird science devices or other magic and technology. As always, the Headmistress is the judge of what counts as a (nerd friendly) brainy task.
Someone has to be in charge, and it's usually you. You are a natural leader, and know how to take command with both inspiration and threatening terrible punishment. However, you are not in a position of power just so you can enforce school rules. Instead, you use your position to get things done; things you think need to get done. This being St Erisian's, you can't expect the other girls to just do as they are told, so you have to show a little backbone and command, much like a World War 1 General sending men out to die in the trenches. Getting St Erisian's girls to act as a cohesive unit is like herding cats, but if anyone can do it, you can.
You have a knack for planning and organising your team according to its strengths. If you come up with a plan and the others follow it, they can each choose one skill they will be using in the plan for which they get to add an additional die to add to their dice pool when they use it (but only to do the plan). If even one person deviates from the plan, everybody loses that bonus. The plan should be at least reasonably involved, and it is up to the Headmistress as to what constitutes a good enough plan to get the bonus.
As a prefect, you also have the ability to manage and control the wild gangs of 1st year girls. When on school grounds, or on a school trip when such a group might be available, you can instantly summon a horde of 1st years who can be sent to attack or just cause chaos. Such a horde is neither subtle nor quiet, but it often gets the job done. For more detail on 1st years and summoning them to do your bidding, take a look at page 121 in Chapter 5.
The frontier of science is not a limit but a challenge to you. Experimentation is the key to understanding the building blocks of the universe, and how to demolish them. However, you are not a bookworm like the Nerds. Raw knowledge can be learnt from books, and that's cool, but true knowledge must be earned. You are all about the practical aspects of intelligence and like to experiment for yourself rather than read about other people's results or play with computers. Your idols are Galileo, Copernicus and Darwin, not just because of the way they advanced science, but because they caused a lot of controversy and pursued the truth against all the odds and the establishment.
For you, the lab is your home. There, you can use the tools of reason to push forward the frontiers of both knowledge and possibly ethics. Competition is fierce as well, after all, do you really want to be the last girl in the dorm to bring life to the dead or build your first atomic weapon?
Dealing with life threatening chemicals in unstable surroundings builds a tolerance for the vagaries of fate. Very little can upset or scare you, especially when you put yourself in worse danger as a hobby. You may subtract 3 from the difficulty rating of all Fear tests (see chapter 4). So, to remain unmoved against a Fear test with a difficulty of 5, you need only roll a 2. However, apart from that, all the normal fear rules still apply and you still have a secret fear.
Some girls can make men go weak at the knees with little more than a glance, some girls, like you. You've been blessed with staggering good looks and killer style and you know how to work them. No matter where you are or what you are doing, you turn heads. Men are always trying to get close to you and women often want to be friends so they can find out your fashion secrets (either that or they are hatefully jealous of you). Whatever you wear or how you style yourself often becomes a fashion for the other girls. As you'd expect, being one of the beautiful people has a few advantages. Men are queuing up to take you to the best events and buy you the most expensive things. But really, your heart belongs to daddy, as soon as you decide who he is...
Ability - Teasing smile
You can distract any straight man (and, on a good day, anyone at all) with a seductive glance. You might blow a kiss or give a teasing wink that, while usually quite subtle, utterly destroys their concentration. You may use this ability only once in a scene and focus it on only one man, but that man will automatically fail whatever task he was attempting at that moment. Anyone else is distracted in the very least. If you already have the attention of several men (maybe because they are chasing you) the Headmistress might let you affect all of them with one smile if she's in a good mood.
St Erisian's has a bit of a reputation, and it's not one that attracts the cream of European society. Luckily, Japan is very far away, and the rich families there have no idea quite how bad the school is. Convinced by the glossy school brochure, they believe they are sending their daughters to an expensive educational facility like Eton or Harrow. So they pack their daughters off to St Erisian's and assume that their lack of correspondence is due to them having a full education and not to their being locked in a basement. Luckily, the daughters in question either run home screaming after the first day, or find they rather like the place and keep quiet. Japanese exchange students usually come in two varieties. The first is the wealthy Samurai families. These families are very wealthy but know little about the school's real reputation. The other type of family know all about the school, although they never tell their daughters the truth. These are the Ninja (Shinobi) families who consider a term at St Erisian's to be the best way to finish their daughter's 'Kunoichi' ninja training. Ability - Family Jutsu
You must choose whether your character is from one of the Samurai or Ninja families. If your character comes from a Samurai family, she gets to add 2 dice to her dice pool when engaged in combat with a Katana (Samurai sword). She can also add 1 die to her dice pool when (socially not physically!) defending herself against any slur against her honour, such as convincing people she is not lying - even if she is. If your girl comes from one of the Shinobi ninja families she gets to add 2 dice to any dice pool involving stealth, sneaking or escaping bonds.
As every girl gets an education at St Erisian's, you also get to pick a few skills to represent what you've learnt. While they may look rather mundane, the actual skills in question all have rather a St Erisian's twist to them. In normal schools, maths lessons involve algebra and quadratic equations; at St Erisian's they involve betting, card counting and playing the stock market.
By hanging out in a clique, you can't help but learn a few skills common to your peers. So, you initially have 5 points to buy levels in the 4 skills listed as your clique's curriculum. These points are spent on a one for one basis.
Next you can branch out into a more general education. You get an additional 15 skill points to use to buy any skills, including those you already know from your curriculum. Again, one skill point buys 1 new level of skill. Don't worry if you don't have ratings in some skills, as we assume you have paid attention in most of your classes, giving you a chance to do many things without training. St Erisian's girls are often taught to just 'have a go' at most tasks from driving to brain surgery. In a pinch, one of the other girls you know might have the experience you need, which is what team work is all about.
Each skill can be bought multiple times to improve the 'level' of skill the character has. Each point you spend to buy a skill increases its level by 1. Most skills can be bought to a maximum of level of 4, but those listed under your curriculum can be increased to as high as level 5. We'll go into more detail about skills, how they work and more detailed descriptions of them in the next chapter. For a quick rundown, check the following page; the table below offers a rough guide to what the numerical skill levels mean.
| Skill level | Ability |
|---|---|
| 1 | Beginner |
| 2 | Trained |
| 3 | Professional |
| 4 | Expert |
| 5 | Master |
Art - Painting, Sculpture, Forgery
Biology - Animals, Plants, First Aid, Medicine
Chemistry - Acids, Chemicals, Explosives, Drug synthesis
Computer Science - Hacking, Web searching, Viruses
Craft, Design and Technology - Driving, Metalwork, Carpentry, Mechanics
Current Affairs - World and local news, High society scandal, Underworld activity
Drama - Imitation, Acting, Disguise
Economics - Buying, Selling, Trade, Haggling, Shopping
Electronics - Electrical repair, Modern locks, Bomb timers, Security systems
English - Poetry, Writing, Persuasion, Oration
Games (Team sports) - Sports, Hockey, Unarmed combat, Armed melee combat
Games (Track and Field) - Athletics, Running, Climbing, Stealth, Sneaking
Games (Marksman) - Thrown weapons, Firearms, Archery, Heavy weapons
Geography - Weather forecasting, Tracking, Field-craft, Trails, Survival
History - Military history, Tactics and strategy, Politics, Legal skills
Home Economics - Cookery, Housekeeping, Potions, Poisons, Herbalism
Languages - Communication, Specific language
Leadership - Inspiration, Team organisation, Torture, Interrogation
Maths - Financing, Stock market dealing, Gambling, Betting
Music - Music trivia, Play instrument
Needlework - Sewing, Fashion, Textiles, Lock picking, Pick pockets, Safecracking
Observation - Perception, Searching
Physics - Natural law, Engineering, Trap construction
Religious Studies - Ritual, Occult, Demonology, Necromancy, Witchcraft
Social Studies - Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Empathy, Seduction, Detecting lies
Veterinary - Animal training, Falconry, Horse riding, Veterinary medicine
Willpower is both the engine that powers your character and her defence against what the world throws at her. It is difficult to regain, and can be lost as a result of injury or spent to help a character achieve a difficult task.
St Erisian's girls are tough, really tough. So they all begin each game with 10 points of Willpower. Most other people have between 4 and 8, although very tough opponents might have up to 15 or so. We'll keep returning to spending and losing Willpower points throughout the rules sections. At the moment, you just need to record your starting Willpower. However, as a rough guide, Willpower can be lost in the following ways:
Angels & Devils
6th form Christmas party. Started as a friendly fancy dress bit of fun at the local football club. Ended in a riot accidentally started by my best friend and myself dressed as a devil and angel. I bloodied her boyfriend's nose with my plastic pitchfork, and I ended up needing surgery on broken fingers. Our school is permanently barred from our footie club.
To help you create something unique with your character, we've added personality traits as an optional rule. They are optional because they can be very helpful in creating a character's personality, but a hindrance if you already have a good idea of your character's personality and can't find a personality trait to fit.
Each player can choose a personality trait from the list below if they like. It doesn't matter if some players do and some don't. We recommend that if you don't pick one from the list you should try to create one that suits the character you have in mind. It will be a helpful way to describe your character to others and remind you of what's important when you play her. Personality traits have no statistical bonus or hindrance; they are a hook to hang your character on, something to give you a running start when you begin to play. As your character develops, you may outgrow the personality trait or even change it for something new. The following are just examples of personality traits; the list isn't exhaustive, so add to it as you like. Some might lend themselves to particular cliques, but try to avoid or even work against stereotypes. Maybe your nerd is a fashion nut, or your goth can't get enough of romantic fiction (probably Twilight), perhaps your coquette is a bit of a space cadet. Angry
You seem to be in a constant state of rage or on the verge of an explosion. You do not suffer fools and they are everywhere. Is there something in particular that sets you off, or are you just looking to vent all the time?
Your tongue is sharper than steel. You like to be the queen bee and know how to take down any rival with a vicious tongue lashing. Many people think you are a nasty piece of work, but most people find your attacks funny and entertaining as long as you are turning them on someone else. Why are you so mean? Do you fear that unless you are at the top you're at the bottom? Maybe you genuinely think you're witty and the girls you reduce to tears will get over it.
You like to read and are never without a book. But what sort of book; gory horror story, romance novel or secrets of chemistry, perhaps?
For you, it is all about 'da bling'. Why have silver when you can have gold? Why wear one accessory when you can wear them all? You might not be rich enough to afford diamonds and designer clothes, but if glass and fake labels look the same, who cares? By the way, you is street, yes, you is and dat is de troof, you know what ah mean, bitch?
You don't take anything at face value. There is always an angle, no selfless good deeds. However, is this because you genuinely believe life is cruel and people are bad, or are you desperately hoping you'll get proved wrong?
It's all about style, it's all about fashion. Your art and hobby is wearing clothes, and following the latest styles. You read fashion and celebrity magazines constantly, so you can keep up with the ever shifting of style. However, that style could be anything; main-stream, goth, Italian catwalk fashion, etc. You might be a genuinely stylish dresser, who looks good all the time and is sought for advice by other girls, but you might be a sucker for every ridiculous new craze, a personal carnival of outlandish clothes.
You come from another country, usually a European one or from some uncivilised American colony, and you make it pretty obvious. Usually, this takes the form of very stereotypical national affectations and styles and very likely an outrageous accent. You are also quite likely to be extremely patriotic to your home country, often insisting that your homeland has a better system or attitude to anything at St Erisian's. If you actually are from the country in question, you should make sure you buy the appropriate language skill.
Greed comes in many forms, but in all of them there is something you can't get enough of. You might be a glutton, unable to resist the lure of cake and chocolate, but you could be just as easily seduced by money, jewels or even fame.
You might do a lot of drugs, but it's more likely you just seem a little slow and spaced out most of the time. But, are you really that slow, or is it an act to hide a keen intellect? Maybe you're just a bit odd and no one really gets you.
Boys, it's all about boys. You have come to realise that those scrumptious treats are interested in you, and you are looking to tuck in. Sex is a constant distraction for you, but is it the sex or the power you can wield getting them to do what you want so easily?
Flower Power
Me and my pals in school used to hang around the local chippy late at night and chat to the local lads. All good clean fun, and nothing out the ordinary for teenagers. Thing was the chippy was directly in front of this old guy's house who hated to see other people enjoy themselves and would constantly call the police on us. So we got banned from going to the chippy by the head and told to stay away. We got our own back though. While he was asleep late one night, we sneaked out of school and cut off all the heads of the flowers in his next door neighbour's garden and then left the shears on his doorstep. Not exactly sure what happened, but the next time we saw him he had a huge black eye and looked very sorry for himself.
Unless your gaming group is several hundred strong, you won't be playing a character for every girl in school. Instead, your player characters are a group of best friends, their own sub-clique within the tribes of the school. Like plenty of friendships, it crosses all borders and tribal rules. You have matured to the point that you can recognise commonality beyond what people look like and find soul mates among the other girls at the school. Together, you have formed a group of friends who will never forget each other, will (eventually) forget and forgive any slight, will fight together against all odds and enemies, and take care of each and every member of the group.
But naturally, being girls, you all also hate each other.
Well, that's a bit strong; you don't actually loathe and despise each other, but you do loathe and despise something about each of the other characters. Jealousy is a bitch.
To represent the changeable and complex nature of schoolgirl politics, you need to pick a best friend, a rival and decide on a selection of secret loathings.
You must pick one 'Best Friend' and one 'Rival' from the other player characters. Most importantly, this choice need not be reciprocal. The girl you think is your best friend might not care about you, or might even think of you as a rival. If there are only two of you in the group you must decide if the other is either a Best Friend or Rival. You can keep this choice secret, or choose to be very open about what you've picked. But it is a lot more fun for the group to discover what you each think of each other through play. Your Best Friend is the character you respect, idolise and/or have the most in common with. You want to spend as much time with her as possible because, without her, something is missing and life just isn't as much fun. However, this doesn't mean you are blind to her faults, although you find them far easier to excuse than anyone else might.
Your Rival is the girl who always seems to be a step ahead, or perhaps even smirking at you behind your back. She isn't evil, but she needs to be put in her place or just taken down a peg or two. She need not be an enemy, but you always feel a need to compete with her. You might not even be able to explain why, but she is just a bitch. As things stand, she is a weak link in the group and if only she'd fall in line everything would be perfect. However, you should remember she is your rival not your enemy. She is still a part of the group, even a valuable asset; it's just unfortunate that she is also a total cow.
When you know who your Best Friend and Rival are, you need to decide on your secret loathings. Simply put, there is something you hate about each of the other characters. It might be because they are (or you think they are) better than you in some way. Maybe she's cooler, prettier or cleverer than you, she always looks stunning or always does better than you in tests. She might have a personality you find irksome in some niggling way, such as never bringing anything to midnight feasts or always talking about people behind their backs or maybe she teases you constantly. It could even be because of some odd personal habit or mannerism. Does she have to look in every mirror she passes? When did she last have a bath? Why does her hair have that stupid curl at the back? Does she know that perfume she always wears makes her smell like a pig?
So, pick something you hate about each of the other player characters and write it secretly on your character sheet. You need not clear your secret loathings with the player in question, as these are purely based on how that character is perceived by another. Loathings can often fly in the face of both logic and cold hard evidence. Your character will be adept at rationalising reasons that support her opinion. For instance, another character may have come out in horrible spots recently, but she is still prettier than you because you are just horrid. You can see all the boys looking at her. Even though she always smiles and says hello to you, you just know she talks about you when you're not there. So her last test scores were low; well, what's her game, is she trying to make you look stupid somehow? Feel free to dump a whole load of crazy on the other characters; the game will be more fun that way! You should also pick a secret loathing for your Rival, which may be more vindictive than usual and explains why you really don't like her. Conversely, you should pick something you particularly like about your Best Friend (there isn't anything about them you especially loathe) this is to explain why you like her.
In general, all rivalries are designed to add conflict to the player character group and give you something to spark entertaining role-playing with. However, they do have a few rules mechanics we'll cover later, such as the terrifying cost of revoking friendship. If you'd like to think well of your friends, as an optional rule you can also pick what you like about each of them. It is an optional rule, as the actions they take during adventures should make their better qualities more noticeable. However, having a friend disappoint your high expectations of their character can often be a marvellous betrayal that will generate story for the whole group.
Finally, everyone has a weakness and you are no exception. There is something that worries you. It need not be a full blown phobia, but in a crisis it may make you freeze or run for cover. There are plenty of things to be frightened of in the world: spiders, heights, lifts, clowns, the Headmistress and the dark, to name but a few. However, your secret fear can also be quite abstract. You might have a fear of failure, drunks might remind you of daddy in one of his rages, you might be terrified that you'll be left alone. You only need to pick one secret fear, and you need not tell anyone but the Headmistress what it is. As you can imagine, you may lose Willpower trying to control it, but the Headmistress might also allow you to gain Willpower for overcoming it. More detail on fear tests can be found on page 77 in Chapter 4.
So, that's your character done. However, you should take a moment before play to think about who she is and what she looks like. Make sure all her abilities and choices make sense now you know who she is a little better. Oh yes, and give her a name before you start! You may also want to consider what she likes to be called (or what others call her) as well as what her given name is.
Some examples are: Abigail, Adele, Alana, Alice, Alison, Alwyn, Amanda, Amber, Amy, Angela, Anne, Arlene, Ashlyn, Belinda, Bianca, Caitlin, Cassandra, Cassidy, Catherine, Chantelle, Chardonnay, Cher, Chelsea, Claire, Colleen, Darci, Danielle, Deborah, Deirdre, Donna, Eileen, Elaine, Elizabeth, Elvira, Emily, Emma, Erin, Eve, Fiona, Genevieve, Gertrude, Giselle, Glenna, Gretchen, Greta, Hazel, Heather, Heidi, Helen, Helga, Hilary, Holly, Ida, Ilene, Imelda, Isabelle, Jacqueline, Jessica, Jillian, Joanne, Josephine, Judith, Julie, Juliet, Kaitlin, Karen, Katherine, Kirsten, Keira, Kelly, Kerry, Kyla, Lana, Laura, Liana, Lindsay, Leona, Lorelei, Louise, Lucy, Lydia, Lynne, Madeline, Maria, Marie, Margaret, Maura, Maureen, Megan, Michelle, Millicent, Miriam, Muriel, Nathalie, Naomi, Nicola, Nicole, Nola, Noreen, Oriana, Peyton, Rachael, Rebecca, Riona, Rose, Ruby, Sally, Samantha, Sarah, Sasha, Savannah, Sinead, Siobhan, Susan, Suzanne, Tanya, Tara, Tracy, Uma, Veronica, Victoria, Wendy, Winona, Yvonne
And for the exchange students: Ai, Akane, Ami, Aoi, Asuka, Aya, Ayaka, Ayano, Chihiro, Chinatsu, Haruka, Hitomi, Hina, Hoshi, Isumi, Kaeda, Kagame, Kana, Kaoru, Kotone, Kyoko, Mai, Manami, Mariko, Mayu, Megumi, Miho, Miki, Misaki Miu, Miyu, Mizuki, Moe, Momoko, Nami, Nana, Nanako, Nanami, Natsuki, Natsumi, Reina, Riko, Rin, Rina, Saika, Saki, Sakura, Shiori, Suzume, Tanaka, Tomoko, Toshiko, Wakumi, Yori, Yui, Yuki, Yuuka