Kicking off the 2025 Character Creation Challenge is a Lurk known as Trixie, for Blades in the Dark.

Ka’Mea Jiro was born in the Dagger Isles to a fishing family. It was a harsh life, especially for one born small. Rather than put up with the abuse regularly directed towards her, Ka’Mea hid herself on a visiting merchant ship, not caring where it went, as long as it was away.

Arriving in Doskvol, she gravitated towards dock work, having nimble fingers and an eye for good rope work. She gradually became aware of the various dealings going on, particularly the smuggling operations taking place in The Docks.

She developed a reputation for creating diversions, entering areas deemed off-limits, and escaping with items of distinction. This earned her the nickname Trixie and let her leave her birth name in the past.

Having lived in the Isles and traveled the Void Sea, she knows that ancient gods dwell in the Deeps and that some day they will rise up to swallow all the lands. She regularly performs rituals to appease these gods of the Deep to delay that day. This includes sacrificing a portion of her gains after a successful score.

Blades in the Dark

Some thoughts on character creation in BitD:

First, it’s super easy. You don’t have stats like Strength and Wisdom, just Actions, which are similar to skills is other game systems. Once you’re familiar with the Actions, selecting the right ones for your character is pretty simple.

Blades being a fiction-forward system, your character really comes out during play and the choices you make, rather than front-loading your character at initial build.

Also, the equipment lists (Loadout in Blades lingo) are made during play. For a particular character type (playbook), you choose how much of a load you’re taking on a Score and then, when the fiction calls for something, you decide on the details, which really keeps the rules light and focuses on the story.