Looking at the importance of character and an introduction to who you'll be playing in Badgerstone Briar and the other books.
Gamebook Characters
In a gamebook you're playing a character, a role. It might be defined by the setting & situation, your abilities, the type of game or simply the decisions you make.
Some characters are general, such as the warriors of Fighting Fantasy or the adventurer from over the sea in Fabled Lands. There's lots unknown about the character which you can fill out if desired. Their background often doesn't figure much into the adventure.
But sometimes it's more specific. The last of the Kai in Lone Wolf, a Greek hero in VulcanVerse, or the Steam Highwayman from same-named series. Here you have a strong character identity that is integral to the setting and the options that are available to you.
Some RPG Elements
I'm from a background of roleplaying games, run and played since the age of 12. For my first gamebook I'd like the player to have some control over the abilities and definition of their character. I'm not sure on the final details but there were details in the Badgerstone Briar Rules from a previous Gamebook Diary.
Your character could be a skilled warrior, an artisan, a scoundrel, priest or herbalist. Defined by a combination of skills and talents. I wanted it to be the story of your character, interacting with the world around them in a gamebook.
However there needs to be something that grounds the characters and defines them within the world. Something common to all of the characters.
Communities of Badgerstone Briar
In Fabled Lands I was a little annoyed at the openness of your character. They had nothing fixing them anywhere. No support or people they knew. No allies or rivals. It gives the series a particular open-ness that some love and others hate.
As a gamebook writer I wanted to have characters that came ready-set with some kind of story or background. For this I settled on a Community where you could rest, store equipment and interact with friends and family. And maybe a unique option depending on that community.
It would also give you a starting quest. Some direction for what you could be doing if you chose to follow it.
Badgerstone Briar is in conflict with this a little, as the premise of this one is that you're lost in the woods and part of the adventure is to find your way out. The default setup has you with a community, it's just not in the first book of the Briar.
A character with a community is possible. But it's an option that can be unlocked by playing the game. It's not the default option.
A Complicated Life, Things Happen to You
Another part is your character's relationship with the world.
You're someone that things happen to. Normal people don't have to worry about a trip to the market to buy some food. But for you it would never be that simple. You'd encounter into a friend with a broken cart, a dog would run off with your basket, someone would start an argument with you at the market, some of the foods you want would have run out or you'd be shadowed by a flock of crows.
You're someone who receives message in dreams, sees or ignores omens all around them .
You dream of a boring day where not much happens.
Part of this story is your character trying to impose some kind of control in their life. Starting with something that has brought them out of their community.
Mechanically this would be reinforced by Luck to reroll Tests. And Fate Points to avoid deadly results, although these can always be ignored.
Finishing Up
Here's hoping for a quiet week the character I'm writing for would dream of!
