To begin our time together, we must create the characters that we will be using on our journeys in Covenantia.

Prior to the Journey

• Familiarize yourself with “About This Curriculum,” “Get to Know Us,” “Rolling the Dice,” and “Journeying” sections of the Facilitators Guide.
• Prepare needed supplies:
  • Print out character sheets (found in “Supplies You’ll Need” section of the Facilitator’s Guide). Print at least one copy of the “big” sheet to display and enough character sheets for more than the expected attendance. The large (page-size) versionns (PDF) of character sheets are great for accessibility and allow more room for writing. The version with four pages on a sheet (PDF) is useful to limit paper usage. There is also a half page version with a participant reference guide included (PDF). If you’d like to type details into the formatted sheets, you can use this Canva template. It’s a good idea to offer the option of digital sheets or a shared online document so participants can type instead of writing if they wish. Allow oral character creation where the facilitator or a peer scribes answers. For using this curriculum online, we’d recommend making digital copies of this Google Doc Character sheet. You may want to make a Google folder for your group’s character sheets and any other supporting materials, and you can share the files from there.
  • Optional but recommended: Print some or all of the pre-generated character sheets (PDF). They are great to have available for inspiration as participants create various features of their characters.
  • Optional but recommended: Print a few copies of the special item and accessibility item suggestion sheets (PDF) for participant reference.
  • Pencils, pens, colored pencils
  • Folder to keep participant character sheets as they will be needed for all subsequent sessions. It’s a good idea to keep a supply of blank character sheets available as well as some pre-generated characters.

Check In

(Suggested time: 5-7 minutes) 

A brief time for Joys and Concerns or any other regular practices of your community for sharing from the participants about their lives. Make sure to remind the participants about the X-Card.

Remember that check in can be flexible. Check-ins are important for grounding, but they don’t need to be rigid. If someone overshares or shares for too long, gently redirect. If the group’s energy is low, shorten check in. The goal is connection and community, not completion of a script. There is a list of example check in questions in the Facilitators Guide. Remember that sometimes check in may need to run longer, for instance if a participant is facing particular challenges at the moment or if there has been a challenging event locally or on a wider scale. Use your discretion, and do what your group needs.

Chalice Lighting

We set out not knowing what journeys may come,
With dice in hand and wonder near.
We craft our way ourselves and explore who we are.

We name our promises and choose how to return.
We share ourselves, offering and receiving vulnerability.
We may drift when purpose fades,
but we grow through the journeys we face.

We are witnessed with gratitude,
and we widen our circle with care.
We practice loving ourselves whole,
as our truths are revealed.

Welcome, journeyers,
to the Beloved Community we’re building,
room for laughter, change, and connection.
Whatever you carry, bring it here.
Whatever you fear, name it here.
We go forward,
toward the deeper joy we create together.

(For a shorter chalice lighting, you can start at “Welcome journeyers.”)

Character Creation Introduction

(Suggested time: 10-15 minutes) 

• Ask: Have you ever played a roleplaying game?
• Explain: They are games where you take on the role of a character in another world. Things like Dungeons and Dragons as well as video games where you create your own character are all roleplaying games. Journeys of Deeper Joy is a Unitarian Universalist roleplaying game!
• Share the blank character profile printouts and, if you are including them, the pre-generated character profile printouts.
• Explain: This is where information about your character is kept. We are going to use character creation as a creative way to build connection and familiarize you with this new resource.
• Group Ask: Character creation can be done alone, in pairs, or as a group. You decide what feels right. Some people like to keep their character private at first while others love to build together. Some like to keep some aspects of their character private at the start but readily share about others. What would our group prefer? (A mix is also an option.)
• Share: Characters don’t need to be perfect. The most important thing is that they feel fun and alive to you. Over time, they will grow, change, and surprise you just like real people. And an additional reminder: Characters can be like you or completely different. But first we need to explain a dynamic that will guide our characters in their journeys.
• Share: In our Deeper Joy roleplaying game journeys, our actions, personalities, and decisions are evaluated on a spectrum. We use numbers from 1 to 6 to simplify this process.

At one end is Grounded (the number 6): thinking, rational planning, contemplation, science, calm actions, precise movement.

At the other end is Flow (the number 1): intuition, charisma, unexpected actions, impulsiveness, guessing, passion.

The number you choose for your character represents which way they tend to be as they are interacting and doing things. It’s a spectrum, from 1 which might always trust their gut to 6 which might always plan before acting. Most of us are in-between those ends. The middle often feels the most balanced with space to flex either way and be a bit of both of those energies.

• Ask one or two people to share: Where would you place yourself (not your character) on the grounded and flow spectrum? Why?
  Do you have an idea of how you might like your character to be?

Share: 
Flow and grounded will be used to determine how the dice rolling part of our roleplaying game will work.

For a grounded action, you will aim to roll at or below your number. For a flow action you want to roll at or above your number. If your number is in between 1 and 6, you will have a better chance of succeeding with both flow and grounded actions.

At the choice of the Lorekeeper, journeyers can roll two dice if the Lorekeeper thinks they are uniquely qualified. Other journeyers can help out with actions too, but you have to explain how you are helping! You are allowed up to 3 dice to roll for any given action.

What happens once the roll happens? If there is no dice that successfully rolls, things actively become more challenging. For example: You meant to say something nice, but it comes across as really mean. However, we learn by failing so perhaps new opportunities will present themselves.

If there is one dice succeeding, the action works, but occasionally it barely happens correctly. As an example: Misty (number 1, very flow) wants to interpret an abstract painting for the group. That is a Flow action. She rolls a 4 (above her number) so she succeeds! (Lorekeepers, you can decide on varying degrees of success depending on how close/far the number is to the goal as well.)

If two dice succeed, things go even better than you expected. As an example, Rockenroll (number 6, very grounded) and another very grounded journeyer work to figure out a logic puzzle on a door with a treasure chest inside.

If three dice succeed, the Lorekeeper grants you a special bonus positive effect of your action! As an example, in the previous Rockenroll scenario, perhaps all of the locked doors in the building are now open.

BONUS: If you roll your exact number, it is a success, and something extra special happens or you get to ask the Lorekeeper a question for special information about what is going on. Perhaps you ask about someone’s feelings or who is behind a certain activity. Be creative with your question. It’s a chance to discover more about what is going on in the story!

• Check in: Do participants understand the grounded/flow dynamic and dice rolling? If so, it’s time to invite them into character creation.

Character Creation Activity

(Suggested time: 10-15 minutes) 

Modify as needed for if the participants prefer to create in pairs or groups. The instructions that follow are designed for creating as individuals in a group setting. In pair/group settings, it may make more sense to offer them information about the various categories then let them create. The Facilitators Guide offers even more information about the character creation process and can be used as an alternative script for this process. If you have printed the pre-generated characters for participant reference and inspiration, you can invite participants to look at these for examples of what each of these might be. Encourage participant creativity, and remind them that Covenantia is a fantastical place and their only limit to their characters is their imagination.

Optional Dialogue for Discussing Cultural Appropriation

Not sure how to discuss cultural appropriation with your participants? Feel free to use this during the character creation process.

Before we dive into character creation, I want to share something important. In this game, we get to create characters who can be very different from ourselves. That’s part of the fun. You might play someone who is brave when you usually feel shy, or someone with athletic abilities you’ve never had.

But what’s not okay is borrowing from real-world cultures or identities in ways that might feel harmful, especially if those cultures are not your own. For example, if you are white, it wouldn’t be respectful to make your character’s story about being from a real life indigenous tribe or to dress them in sacred clothing from a culture you don’t belong to. Those traditions are real, living, and not costumes.

Instead, this game gives us freedom to imagine new cultures, creatures, and traditions together. You can create a character who is wise, magical, or adventurous without needing to copy real-world identities. Think of it this way: We get to make up something brand new, while respecting real communities in the world around us.

You are welcome to consider different experiences of gender identity and sexual orientation, as this can be a safe space for identity exploration, and that’s often something participants do in tabletop roleplaying games. We should also remember that characters are a creation for this experience and do our best to not make assumptions about other participants based on their characters.

Name

Share: Who exactly will your character be? While you are welcome to create a fantasy clone of yourself, I invite you today to let your creativity flow and ponder: Who do you want to be?

Ask one or two participants to share: What are the names you’ve chosen for your characters? Towards the end of the exercise we will have the opportunity for everyone to share their completed character profile.

The Grounded–Flow Dynamic

Share: Extremes (1 or 6) can be fun and dramatic, and we have characters we will journey alongside that demonstrate the extremes, but most characters land somewhere in between. A 1 might always trust their gut while a 6 might always plan before acting. Most of us are in-between. The middle often feels the most human with space to flex either way.

Write down a number for your character.

Group Role

Share: The group role is the role your character inhabits in the group that is going on a journey. It could be a job or simply the way you understand yourself.

Some examples: engineer, inventor, the new kid, collector, chaotic one, storyteller, healer, athlete, actor, nature lover, leader, shy one, supporter, caregiver, entertainer, extrovert, planner, philosopher, protector, optimist, pessimist, realist.

Take a moment to fill out your character’s role.

Take a few minutes to consider your group roles together, and how they may interact.

Style

Share: Style is your character’s first impression. These are things like personality, appearance, or fashion sense that people will likely notice first.

Some examples: Unique, fashionable, casual, friendly, energetic, talkative, quiet, intelligent, relaxed, active, charming, confident, nervous, stubborn, bossy, sensitive, chic, glam, minimalist, maximalist, sporty, artsy, warm, eclectic, bold.

Be realistic and have fun! Style can be both helpful and challenging! Take a moment to fill out your character’s style.

Ask one or more participants to share their character’s style.

Motivation

Share: Motivation is the thing that makes your character wake up in the morning or their main goal.

Some examples: Becoming the best, completing a quest, training, traveling, searching for a relic, teaching, finding destiny, making friends, fame, independence, fighting injustice, inventing, reputation, duty, exploring identity.
Write down your character’s motivation.

Ask one or more participants to share their character’s motivation.

Special Item

Share: Each character starts with a universal translator and one special non-weapon item. You are allowed to pick an additional special item. (Share the special item inspiration sheets.)

Some examples: An umbrella, a backpack, a watch, a water bottle, a guitar or any instrument, a potted plant, a sports item, a candle, a block of sticky notes, a paintbrush, a magnifying glass, a rubber band ball, a yoga mat, magnets, marbles, a photo album. You could also use a set of items (e.g. first aid kit, a juggling set).
If your character has an item for accessibility (cane, wheelchair, glasses, support animal, etc…), those items do not count as your special item so you can have your accessibility item as well as a special item. Note that examples of these are also listed on the special item inspiration sheets.

Go ahead and choose your character’s special item.

Ask one or more participants to share their character’s special item.

Description

Share: Now that you’ve thought a lot about your character and what they do, it’s time to think about a description for your character. What does your character look like? What are some of their physical features? Go ahead and write about that in the description section. You can include their preferred pronouns in this section, too.

Character Creation Share-Out and Reflection

(Use the remaining time.)

Invite everyone to share either their completed characters with the group or the parts they wish to make public to the group at this time. They can also take time to draw their character on the back of the sheet or to find an image online for their character. Once completed, gather up the character sheets to keep someplace safe from week to week.

Reflection Questions: You can use remaining time for reflection on some optional questions: 

• What part of your character still feels like a mystery?
• In what ways is this character like or unlike you in real life?
• What part of your character feels most exciting right now?
• What surprises came up in other participant’s characters?
• Did you learn something about your group?

Debrief

• Explain: At the end of each session, there will be an opportunity for discussion of any particular issues or moments in the session that anyone needs some time and space to process. Also, whenever we can, Lorekeepers will be available after the session if anyone needs to talk further.
• Ask: Does anyone need to debrief anything in particular that happened in today’s session?
• If you’re available, tell participants that you will be around afterwards if anyone needs to talk further about anything from the session.

Chalice Extinguishing

We played. We pondered.
We noticed. We named.
Stories spun,
We held a sacred, shifting space,
not perfect, but real.
Now we depart, no longer the same as when we arrived.
We carry stories and names, hopes and dreams.

Theirs. Ours. Yours.
A tale to relay
that joy is deeper
When we create it together.

(For a shorter chalice extinguishing, begin at “Theirs. Ours. Yours.”)

Lorekeeper Journal

Use your Lorekeeper Journal to note important happenings and reflections from today’s journey for reference later and so other Lorekeepers can be informed of key storytelling points. If you haven’t already set up access to one, either in printed form ordigital, it is a great time to do so and, if you have a team of Lorekeepers, establish plans for communicating between sessions about the sessions.