At this stage, your character is almost complete, and needs only a few final elements and adjustments. This serves as a last chance to customize your character before you begin playing, and a chance to make a few decisions to turn the character from a collection of numbers and rules into a distinct person.

Trait

Select one additional trait for your character, reflecting the character’s reputation and how they are regarded by others. These do not necessarily have to be accurate descriptions of who the character is, only how others perceive them; a character may seek to cultivate a reputation distinct from who they actually are.

Example: Claire decides that Kara’s dedication to power needs to be tempered a little and decides that Honorable should be her reputation trait.

Ambition

Each player character has an ambition, which guides their long-term actions. A character who takes steps to achieve their ambitions will become more capable, more influential, and generally more effective.

During character creation, your character’s ambition should be based on their highest-rated drive, and your gamemaster will work with you to define one for your character, helping to create something which can come up in play frequently. This ambition may change over time as a character’s drives shift.

• Duty ambitions are about service to a cause or group, discovering or understanding one’s place in the universe, or freedom from the strictures and responsibilities that constrain you.
• Faith ambitions are zealous crusades, spiritual fulfillment, matters of prophecy or destiny, or attempts to undermine or destroy those things.
• Justice ambitions are driven by a sense of fairness or balance, or a desire to right wrongs and injustices… including personal grudges and vendettas.
• Power ambitions are about gaining influence or status, taking those things from others, manipulating those with influence or status, or changing the ways that people gain influence or status.
• Truth ambitions often include uncovering knowledge or revealing secrets, concealing knowledge or protecting secrets, spreading knowledge (including propaganda or misinformation), or exposing the lies of others.

Example: Kara’s highest drive is Faith, and so Claire decides she believes in destiny. Kara wants to gain power for her House but also wishes to become a premier assassin. Her dream is to appear to be an ordinary noblewoman but create a reputation as a master assassin that no one knows the real identity of.

Personal Details

Coming up with the details that turn a character from a collection of numbers and rules into a person is a vital part of character creation, but a part that obviously should be left to the very end, bringing together those disparate elements into a cohesive whole.

Name

Every character needs a name. This can be anything, though it’s probably best to avoid anything that would break the mood of the game. A character’s name reflects their culture—different worlds may have differing traditions for how people are named—and their upbringing. Characters who belong to the group’s House (rather than being vassals or servants) will likely use the House’s name as their surname, in part or in full. Characters may also have private or personal names, used only by those close to them, or they may assume official or ceremonial names for specific purposes. Many characters may also be known more by informal nicknames rather than their full name. Characters who engage in criminal activity or espionage may have multiple names and aliases which they use instead of their normal name.

Many cultures use a patronymic or matronymic—the father’s or mother’s name, with a prefix or suffix such as ‘-son’—alongside or instead of a family name, or they may keep the family names of both parents. It’s also fairly common for some cultures to place the family name first, with the personal name afterwards.

Many names found in the novels are provided as an example below, providing common masculine and feminine names, as well as a sample of family names. Given the mixture of cultures, almost any name can suit a Dune character.

• Male: Abulurd, Arkie, Aureluis, Bijaz, Cammar, Dmitri, D’murr, Dominic, Duncan, Edric, Elrood, Farad’n, Feyd, Glossu, Gurney, Hasimir, Iakin, Jamis, Korba, Leto, Mattai, Miles, Moneo, Otheym, Pardot, Paul, Piter, Rhombur, Shaddam, Stilgar, Thufir, Tyros, Victor, Vorian, Wellington, Xavier
• Female: Alia, Anirul, Chani, Dhuri, Faroula, Ghanima, Helen, Helena, Irulan, Jessica, Kaliea, Margot, Murbella, Norma, Siona, Wensicia
• Surnames (usually by House for nobility, but also): Bludd, Calimar, Cour, Dinari, Garon, Hawat, Idaho, Noree, Noret, Pilru, Reed, Reffa, Rund, Trig, Tuek, Wu

Personality

Once you’ve got an idea of what your character does, and believes, and you’ve thought about how others perceive them, consider what sort of personality your character has. Are they stoic or grim? Are they disciplined and orderly? Adventurous? Wise? Thoughtful? Tired of routine? Calm and circumspect? Even a few adjectives like this can help in locking down the personality of a character.

Whatever you decide, your character isn’t always like this—like any person, your character is a nuanced, complex individual who is affected by moods and circumstances as much as their drives and personality. Characters can, and will, evolve over time, but it’s a good idea to understand how your character is likely to behave in normal circumstances.

A character’s drives and drive statements are a good basis for this: a character who is devout or dutiful may act in ways that reflect their beliefs. If you’ve had any difficulty coming up with drive statements for a character, now is a good time to think about them in more detail.

If you are stuck, try and find answers to the following questions:

• Are you more of an introvert or extrovert?
• What is the first thing anyone notices about you?
• What part of yourself do you rarely show to others?
• What does it take for you to trust someone?
• What makes you angry?
• When was the last time you cried?

Appearance

What does your character look like? A character’s environment and upbringing will shape this to some degree—such as the distinctive blue-in-blue eyes of those who have lived on Arrakis for years—but the finer points such as build, height, ethnicity, or any distinguishing features will give the other players and the gamemaster something to picture when thinking of their characters. Are they distinctive or average-looking? Do they have any habits, or behavioral quirks? It’s often useful to give characters some sort of visual description.

It may even be useful to think of an actor who you can imagine portraying your character: the appearance, voice, and mannerisms of an actor can serve as a source of inspiration.

If you are stuck, try and find answers to the following questions:

• Do you usually wear some sort of uniform?
• Do you take care of your appearance? If so, how much?
• Do you like to be noticed or dress to hide away?
• Do you like to stay fashionable or do you keep to your own style?
• Are your outfits practical or impractical?
• Have you any distinguishing marks, such as a tattoo or a scar?

Relationships

Life does not occur in isolation. Characters are connected to others and will have formed relationships throughout their life. Consider your character’s family relationships: Where is the rest of their family? Do they have a spouse or partner somewhere? Is the character in contact with the rest of their family regularly, and are they close at hand, or on a distant world somewhere else in the Imperium?

What about the people around the character? How do the main characters get on with one another? How does the character regard other members, agents, and servants of the House, and how are they regarded in turn? Is the character close friends with other characters in the House’s service, relaxing with them? Does the character have any personal enemies or rivals?

These details can make the interaction between characters more interesting and add more depth to your character. Like a character’s personality, a character’s relationships can—and should—evolve over time, and some relationships may become so strong (whether friendly or adversarial) that they become major factors in the character’s life.

If you are stuck, try and find answers to the following questions:

• Do you have a family and how often do you see them?
• Who among the other player characters do you like best?
• Who among the other player characters do you like the least?
• Do you believe in the goals of your House or is it just a job to you?
• How much do you respect the rulers of your House?
• What (if anything) would make you betray those around you?

Example: Kara Molay is an average looking woman in her early twenties. She has a natural grace developed from her exceptional fighting skills. She doesn’t often say very much, preferring to watch those around her first. She dresses well in the fashions of court, but doesn’t try to stand out. She is utterly dedicated to her family but also considers anything that benefits her to benefit the House. While she is dedicated to her friends, she would sacrifice almost anything to advance her House.