You have no idea what just happened.
You weren't doing anything particularly important or notable when it happened, but suddenly, out of nowhere, you were swallowed up by a black void and, several terrifying seconds later, you were spat back out here. Wherever here is.
You're in a tiny room. There's barely enough space for the rock-hard bed that you landed on or the slightly decrepit-looking desk at the end of the room, opposite the door. It takes you a few moments to realize it, it seems so impossible that your brain refuses to recognize it, but there is no wall past the writing desk. Where a wall should be, there is nothing, only void. Your pulse races looking out into the vast nothingness, some ancient, animal, part of your brain telling you that there's no trick to it, that for the first time in your life you are truly looking at nothing. In a panic, you throw yourself off the bed and toss open the door opposite the void, and find yourself in a crowded hallway full of what looks like hundreds of other teenagers.
You can tell from a glance that they're different from you.
There's little rhyme or reason to the way your fellow teens are dressed, some are wearing T-shirts, others in full formal wear, you even see a few kids dressed in religious garb. What all of them do have in common is that they seem to be prepared; each of them is carrying some sort of bag or suitcase, coming in a variety of shapes but all around the same size and quite a few of them are wearing accessories that just scream "power" at you for some reason. Another thing they all have in common is that, while you have no idea what's going on and are mostly too confused to be scared, it's very apparent that everyone around you knows where they are and are absolutely terrified by it.
Most of the kids surrounding you don't pay you any particular attention. Those who do immediately notice that you're different from the rest of the crowd and they stare at you with pity in their eyes. Somehow, that's the most terrifying thing about this situation.
When they look at you, what do they see?
CHARACTER CREATION: You have three points to spend on your background and perks. In addition, you may take up to three flaws to obtain one additional point each.
Name: [WRITE IN]
[] Male
[] Female
[] Other
Appearance: [WRITE IN]
Personality: [WRITE IN]
Background: You had a life before coming here and, while it may not have taught you the skills expected of a Scholomance student, it will influence how well you fare here. Each background costs one point unless otherwise marked.
[] Average Family: Your parent(s) weren't anything special in the grand scheme of things, but they did their best to mold you into a respectable young person and, by most accounts, succeeded (Costs zero points.)
[] Teen Runaway: Maybe it was an impulsive bit of teenage rebellion or maybe your home life truly was bad enough that being homeless at age fourteen was a step up, either way, you've developed a level of self-sufficiency far beyond most people your age.
[] Military Brat: You've spent most of your childhood moving from base to base alongside your parents. While you're obviously not prepared for anything about your current situation, you have developed a level of discipline and tolerance for upheaval beyond that of your classmates.
[] Artist Commune: You were homeschooled alongside the children of a bunch of other artists on the commune your parents were a part of. While the curriculum was sufficient to allow you to pass the required standardized tests, it has left you unprepared for the kind of learning environment the Scholomance will provide you with.
[] Honor Roll: Your parents were both college professors and brought a certain expectation that you perform well in school to their parenting, often at the expense of other interests you may have had.
[] Part of the Team: One of your parents was a sports star when he was in high school and, while they didn't really amount to anything, that didn't stop them from pushing their failed dreams onto you. Whether or not you have any actual talent at the sport, your training has given you a degree of athleticism beyond your peers, even if it comes at the expense of developing hobbies of your own.
[] Child Star: Whether your parents were part of the industry or trying to live vicariously through you, they threw you into the show business world at an early age. Your career has demanded that you develop a certain level of charm but, while you haven't reached the meltdown point yet, your time in the industry has started leaving cracks.
Packing: Unlike the rest of your fellow freshmen, you didn't have time to pack in preparation for your arrival. Select what you happened to have on you when you were taken.
[] +2 The clothes on your back and absolutely nothing else. Add two points to your trait selection.
[] 0 What you happened to be carrying at the time. Select one item.
[] -1 A backpack, handbag, or purse you were lucky enough to be carrying at the time. Select two items.
[] -2 A full suitcase, you were, by sheer coincidence, preparing for a trip when you were taken. Select three items.
Containing:
[] Food. While it would be an objectively bad trade, you'd be surprised what a senior is willing to give for a Twinkie after four years on military rations and lightly expired milk.
[] A musical instrument. There are quite a few spells that include musical components, and even a mundane instrument can be used to cast them. A hobby to keep you from going crazy while you're trapped here doesn't hurt either.
[] Sets of clothing. If you don't bring your own changes of clothes, then your only options are to either make your own, trade something that's probably a lot more valuable for them, or just start stinking after a few days.
[] A knife. While it won't necessarily last you long, it is a way to defend yourself from maleficaria, a tool you can use for shop class, and maybe even a trade good; all without having to brave the supply closets.
[] Textbooks. While obviously not being strictly applicable to your current circumstances, a mundane chemistry textbook can still give you a grasp on the basics of how alchemy works before you're thrown in the deep end.
[] Smartphone. While you can't access the internet in the void that the Scholomance is located in, a combination flashlight, calendar, alarm clock, and calculator is still quite useful. Provided you can keep it charged.
[] Write-in. Please limit any write-in options to stuff a fourteen-year-old would reasonably have access to while alone.
Perks: Each perk costs one point to take.
[] Bilingual: In addition to English, you speak one more language. (Chinese, Hindi, and Spanish will allow you to better communicate with your fellow students, while less common languages will provide you with spells worth more in trade.)
-[] Write in language here.
[] Team Captain: Be it in football, chess, or dance, you have experience in managing large groups and keeping people on task.
[] Believer: You've always believed in the supernatural, from ghosts, to cryptids, to wizards. While the Scholomance may not be exactly what you pictured, you're still far more mentally prepared to accept the supernatural than others would be in your place. (Mutually Exclusive with Skeptic).
[] Easily Bored: No matter how much you do them, chores and the general annoyances of life never get easier and you never really get used to them. Of course, in a world where you build up energy through effort, this can be an advantage. (Mutually Exclusive with Diligent Worker).
[] Survival Camp: It's just a hobby, but have an interest in wilderness survival and, while most of the skills don't translate well here, you have learned how to make a little food go a long way, as well as gotten used to stomaching food that, while unappetizing, is not actually dangerous.
[] Patient: You possess a near superhuman tolerance for boredom and can put that to good use when it comes to stuff like waiting for a lengthy alchemy mixture or a piece of ritual magic to conclude.
[] Calm Under Pressure: You've historically shown a talent for keeping your wits about you in a crisis. Considering how common crises are in the Scholomance, the ability to not break down in a panic at the sight of a maiming proves shockingly useful. (Mutually exclusive with Anxious).
[] Scrapper: Maybe it's a hobby, maybe people just don't like your face, either way, you've been in enough fights to take a bit more of a beating than the average fourteen year old and you can keep fighting or running after taking a hit that would put someone else down.
[] Pretty: While it means less in an environment where everyone around you has had it beaten into their heads that romantic relationships are a terrible idea, you're still quite pleasant to look at and that makes people more likely to pay attention to you than they would someone else they've already dismissed as doomed.
Flaws: Each flaw grants one point up to a maximum of three.
[] Old Injury: An event that occurred prior to your admittance to the Scholomance left one of your legs partially paralyzed. While magic can potentially fix this, you won't have the skill for quite a while and it would take a lot to convince an upperclassman to spend the mana to do it for you.
[] Comfortable Life: Your parents were quite wealthy and, even if your upbringing was somewhat unusual, you never lacked for creature comforts. The Scholomance provides roughly the opposite of this lifestyle. (Mutually Exclusive with Teen Runaway origin).
[] Skeptic: You've always thought that tales of the supernatural were obviously fake and impossible. While you're not so set in your ways as to keep that belief in the face of your current situation, it's still an inconvenient mental hurdle when your magic is dependent on belief to function. (Mutually Exclusive with Believer).
[] Medical Condition: You have a medical condition requiring you to periodically take medication or otherwise suffer rather unpleasant symptoms. While the Scholomance will provide you with said medication, it won't do so for free.
[] Anxious: You've always felt that the world is out to get you and that any little failure could be the end of you. The fact that failing here means your class project might hunt you down for revenge certainly doesn't help matters. (Mutually exclusive with Calm Under Pressure).
[] Diligent Worker: You've always had an easy time when it comes to chores or any other type of hard work. What would be an asset anywhere else becomes a problem when mana is built up by how much effort a task takes. (Mutually exclusive with Easily Bored).
[] Dyslexic: While you've learned to cope with your dyslexia over time when it comes to day-to-day reading, it's still not completely effortless and it takes things to a whole new level when you're also working with an unfamiliar language.
[] Trusting: You always like to think the best of people and assume that their intentions are pure. An admirable quality in the outside world, significantly less so when everyone around you is looking for any edge that keeps them from meeting a gruesome end.
[] Abrasive: Maybe it's your personality, maybe it's your looks, or maybe there's an unpleasant vibe to you, either way, there's just something about you that rubs people the wrong way. A rather nasty liability when your survival can depend on a fellow student warning you about the monster in the supply cabinet instead of taking the opportunity to loot it while the monster's occupied.
