2. Character Profile
Due 10pm, Sunday September 27th
For part of this year’s class, I want you to suspend your disbelief and imagine yourself as a new student at The Academy – a venerable school devoted to teaching the whole of knowledge – human or otherwise... You are a new acolyte seeking enlightenment by studying the Medievalist Arts. Once you arrive at the Academy and get oriented, you will develop your academic skills – training in domains of knowledges along with your classmates to solve mysteries, duel with opponents and (hopefully) to uncover the shadowy forces of darkness.
Given the current worldwide pandemic and that most (all?) of you will be distant from campus, I thought a bit of time spent in a school –even if only in your imagination– might be welcome. I think this has the potential to be enjoyable, but I fear it also could just be cringeworthy. It’s up to you to decide how much you want to get into this fiction, or if we should just abandon it at some point.
“The Academy” is a fictional conceit –a narrative structure– to give direction to your learning and your academic work for the class. In the first week of class, students will receive with an initial rulebook which will explain the thinking that underlies “the game” and will offer some background on the imaginary world you will inhabit. Further information, clues and quests will be distributed as the year goes on, which –as you complete them– should allow you to uncover the mystery we have concocted. These quests have a fun but serious purpose – teaching you how Medieval Studies came to be, how to think about how we study the Middle Ages and who at Carleton can help you in your personal search for the Middle Ages.
At the beginning of the term you will 1) write up a character for the game and 2) begin a scavenger hunt to earn points towards leveling up at the Academy.
Please find below fillable pdf character sheets that you might want to use to present your character to your fellow classmates (but you don't need to). Feel free to design your own on paper and post a scan to cuPortfolio, create a cuPortfolio version, or post the filled out template there. You can see mine here (you might need to sign into cuPortfolio first).
Also, I've created an overly-detailed guide on how to create a Medievalist character (posted on Teams). This started off as a joke but then I kept going... In a nod to the fantasy genre, the guide (some of which you've read in the orientation guide) describes Medievalists as if engaging in a battle between good and evil (which perhaps we are...) and outlines potential skills to learn, knowledge domains to specialize in, weapons to wield etc. If you have an affinity for Role-Playing Games it will look familiar-ish to you. You can also throw it out the window if you want and just make up a character from scratch without reading it at all ....
The goal of your character is for you to create an identity (perhaps much like yourself, or perhaps not at all like you), which will allow you to imagine how someone might begin down the path of exploring the discipline of history/ medieval studies. What makes someone study the Middle Ages? What kind of experiences or background would help you to excel?
Your character profile should include a description of:
their name
the character's background (is there something about their background which drives them to study the past? are they good or have an affinity for evil?)
describe your character's appearance – what they look like, how they dress (be as imaginative as you want. Are they human or not?
their chosen field of study and possible future directions (i.e. would they want to study architecture? or medieval manuscripts? Or court records?) What are their academic hopes and dreams?
have a space to list skills to be developed in class in the future. This in essence will be a place where you list skills you have "earned" over the course of the class.
have a space for "weapon proficiencies" (this will be where you list different academic tricks you have been able to use in your writing, arguments and discussions)
have a place for academic reputation (you all start with 10 - the highest until you demonstrate yourself to be unworthy)
any possessions you might have on your person (which could be used in the future)
a space for a journal (i.e. a cuPortfolio journal). In future weeks you will be writing other things for class, and they will form a journal of sorts for the first term.
Questions to ask during your character creation:
Who is your acolyte? Give a name and a brief description of your acolyte’s physical appearance and personality. Is s/he/they tall? Handsome? Charming? Blonde? Brilliant? Kinda dumb?
How is your character able to attend the prestigious Academy? Is s/he/they royalty? A charity case? The son of a rich crime lord? A child prodigy? It’s up to you to decide how your acolyte pays their tuition.
Why were you chosen to be a member of the Academy? What legendary act of intelligence, bravery, chivalry, skill, heart or daring did you perform to be given the title of Acolyte of the Academy?
What is your acolyte’s drive or ultimate goal? Does s/he/they desire ancient and obscure knowledge? Or want to find true love? Become the heir to their family’s empire? Be the first to adventure into the unknown? This will be the thing your acolyte strives for throughout the game.
Lastly, draw/find a picture of your acolyte. This will help both you and your fellow students get a better idea of who your character is and why he was chosen to be a member of the Academy.
After character creation has happened:
Based on what you see of your fellow acolytes: please answer the following for two other acolytes:
What do you propose is their greatest strength?
What might you suspect is their greatest weakness?
Do you have an arch-rival or ardent appreciation of another student?
Roll a six sided die (or visit the google digital one)
§ 1-2 = you have an archrival
§ 3-4 = you find yourself admiring another
§ 5-6 = you’re pretty neutral about the others
If you have an archrival or object of admiration, choose a character (based on what you’ve read) or roll a 1d20 (google digital one). Numbers are randomly preassigned to all members of the class.
let the professor know name/ the number so he can incorporate this into the storyline (and let you know what your number corresponds to).
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