Thursday, April 19, 2012

A to Z Challenge: Q is for Quirks

Quirks are a fun way to spice up your character's personality.  I'm not talking nervous tick or speaks in rhymes, I'm talking about the everyday idiosyncrasies we all possess and those little hidden talents that you may never know what might show up.  Here's a quick list of 50 quirks, feel free to brainstorm some and add your own.

To determine randomly, roll a d6, this determines the tens spot (a roll of 6 is treated as 0).  Then roll a d10 to determine the ones value.  For example a roll of 3 and 7, gives a result of 37.



  1. Has a tenor singing voice
  2. Has a remarkable capacity to eat
  3. Prefers water colors
  4. Plays far too much chess
  5. Can cook an impressive meal with scavenged ingredients
  6. Argues for arguments sake
  7. Does not drink the local water
  8. Has trouble sleeping in a non-confined area
    1. Out in the open or a room with an open door or one lacking a lock
  9. Has an unlimited supply of bravado
    1. "Let's just say the Seafloor and I went head to head and I came out on top!"
  10. Has unusually warm hands
    1. Would make a good baker
  11. Took lessons on the harp as a youngster
  12. Grows facial hair remarkably quickly
  13. Is Hard of Hearing in the Left Ear
  14. Has an extra rib
  15. Eyes are slightly different colors (blue and aqua)
  16. Is allergic to pepper
  17. Has a penchant for the spiciest food on the menu
  18. Collects a glass from every tavern they visit
  19. Collects coins from every type of currency
  20. The humble mule is their favorite animal
  21. Can perform a good turkey call
  22. Was the best at hide and seek in their neighborhood
  23. Their mother is a real battle ax
  24. Whittles pretty good carvings of fauns
  25. Left foot is bigger than the right foot
    1. Makes shoe shopping quite a pain
  26. Childhood dream was to be a comedian
  27. Has nightmares of being torn apart and devoured by lions
  28. It's not a necklace of vampire teeth.
    1. It's actually crocodile teeth.
  29. Each generation of the family has had 5 brothers and 5 sisters
  30. Used to dive for pearls
  31. Can mend a toga in no time flat
  32. Makes a mean stack of flapjacks
  33. Is positive they have a spirit guide
    1. It may also be a stack of flapjacks
  34. Has an aquiline nose but a poor sense of smell
  35. Pronounces J's with an H sound.
  36. Has a long lasting love for costume jewelry
  37. Cannot stand poor sanitation
  38. Prefers to walk barefoot
  39. Only uses public baths
  40. Would rather sleep with flea ridden dogs than bug infested inn beds
  41. Always keeps a few stalks of celery on hand
  42. Played in the sewers as a kid
  43. Makes mosaics out of the most uncommon debris
  44. Prefers silver to gold
  45. Sunburns VERY easily
  46. Is terrified by chickens
  47. Can actually herd cats
  48. Keeps stacks of embarrassing poetry under their pillow
  49. Great uncle was the king's personal barber
  50. Knows the name of the all the stars in the sky

7 comments:

  1. What an awesome post! certainly helpful for characterization. will bookmark this:)
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com
    Happy A-Zing!

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    1. Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it. Most of them are rather silly or whimsical but I suppose that's the whole point of a non-defining quirk.

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  2. This is really funny, I like it! When I made a custom vampire race, I gave them strange restrictions like limiting the number of backward steps they could take in the day or the compulsion to finish a book in one sitting.

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    1. Or the inability to turn left! Compulsions sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Let me know if you post a list or table of some of those.

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  3. Nice list- both for PCs and NPCs! Quick ideas are always useful, I find is very easy to fall into a rut when building unique NPCs.

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    1. Oh I know! My problem is having to come up with an NPC on the fly. I suppose that will be my next table, Curious NPC Quirks and Mannerisms.

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    2. I look forward to that. :D

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