“Any citizen can potentially become a hero.”
You start where you come from
At first your character is neither heroine nor hero but a person from a village, a harbour, a neighbourhood – and you only need to know as much as they do.
Their knowledge and yours grow in step
You don’t need to know the game world. Your character knows their home town: the alleys, the innkeeper, grandmother’s old tales. Everything beyond, you discover together – they in the game, you at the table. That a hero’s life lies ahead, they have no idea.
Only know what you need
You only learn the rules that concern your character, and only when they are needed. If you play a blacksmith, you don’t have to understand magic.
“For the player of a warrior, for example, it is unnecessary to deal with the rules of magic.”
- Warrior
- Mage
- Thief
Not a class, but a person
Many role-playing games make you pick a class first: warrior, mage, thief. Not here. Classes date from a time when role-playing meant entering dungeons and slaying monsters; a character who is only a “warrior” stays flat and soon gets boring.
With us, your character emerges in conversation – from origin, wishes, fears. What they can do follows from what they have lived through.
“Such narrowly defined roles act like a prison that limits the game’s possibilities for action.”
From novice to legend
The path leads from the village to the imperial court: from small favours for the neighbours to deeds that songs are sung about. DRAMATRIX measures skill in nine steps – and half of all people are novices at any given thing. So you start in the best of company. The rules even grant novices more luck with the dice.
Mastery remains rare – and that is exactly why every step up the ladder is felt in the game.
“In this way, novices with low dice rolls are favoured in terms of luck […]”
Three questions are enough to begin
From the north or from the south?
Every world has its opposites: harsh and warm, heartland and border.
From the city or the countryside?
Harbour alleys or farmstead, tower block or mountain village.
Where does their strength lie?
Magic – spells of their own power · Miracles – faith, gods, healing · Craft – hands, tools, knowledge · Arms – combat and protection · Word – trade, cunning, song
Then we dig deeper: Where did they spend their childhood? Who shaped them? What do they leave behind? And above all: why are they setting out right now? This one great task carries a character through every adventure.
“Which place suits the character best? Where might they have spent their childhood and youth? How have their surroundings shaped them?”
Worlds for inspiration
DRAMATRIX works in any era and any genre. This is how the three questions might sound in different worlds.
| World | Style | North · south, for example | Paths, for example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aventuria (The Dark Eye) | classic fantasy | fishing village on the coast of Thorwal · port city of Al’Anfa | witch, priestess of Travia, blacksmith, mercenary, juggler |
| The world of the Witcher (Andrzej Sapkowski) | dark fantasy | village in the swamps of Velen · vineyard in Toussaint | sorceress, priestess of Melitele, alchemist, mercenary, bard |
| Shadowrun | cyberpunk with magic | harbour blocks of Hamburg · mountain village in the Alps | shaman, adept, rigger, street samurai, fixer |
| The Expanse | science fiction without magic | housing level in Baltimore on Earth · docks of Ceres in the Belt | doctor, mechanic, marine, detective, diplomat |
| Star Trek | Federation science fiction | San Francisco · frontier settlement | counselor, engineer, security officer, diplomat |
| Star Wars | space fantasy | lower levels of Coruscant · moisture farm in the Outer Rim | Force-sensitive, mechanic, bounty hunter, smuggler |
| Our world – with magic | contemporary urban fantasy | old town quarter in Hamburg · village in Franconian Switzerland | tarot reader with a real gift, priest, electrician, police officer, journalist |
Historical settings or a real world with its own premises are possible, too. The group chooses the world together.
Your profile
Before the first session we create your character together – I ask, you discover.
Instead of a thick rulebook we have a Socratic conversation: I ask questions, and the character grows from your answers. Then you write their backstory – I read it, summarise it and weave it into the plot. Empty fields are welcome; some things the character only finds out in play.
The five personality questions are the Big Five in everyday language. They connect your character to the rules without you having to know a single number.
“Without the events of a backstory, a hero seems like a collection of values and words, not a living character.”
- The character
- name · appearance · characterisation · motivation · morals
- Personality
- need for stability · extraversion · openness to new things · willingness to adapt in conflicts · conscientiousness at work
- History
- family and origin · places lived and travels · notable acquaintances · decisive experiences · secrets
- Impression
- striking features · effect on strangers · culinary preferences · sense of aesthetics
- Strengths and weaknesses
- mental and physical advantages and drawbacks · special skills
- For the game
- ideas where the story can connect to your character · wish for a leitmotif