The Simpsons RPG
Character Creation Guide


Upon starting a new game, you are required to create a new character.   You are Springfield's newest citizen, who has arrived in America's Worst City for reasons of their own.  You are presented with a black screen and are prompted to make several choices about your character.  These will have various effects on the game, though none should be hard to live with over the course of actual game play.  They do affect the story a little, however.

But first, a note:  The game uses a class system, but with a bit of a twist.  Classes stack on top of each other, in almost sort of a branching pattern;  Everyone starts with the Citizen class and retains it throughout the game.   The player, party members, and other characters, however, have classes other than that as well, and may obtain more classes throughout the game thanks to story events and side quests.  Some classes stand alone; some are required for another class, and some outright replace a previous class.  With the exception of the latter, though, all earned classes are considered active at all times and the abilities granted by each stack on top of all previous abilities unless noted otherwise.

GENDER:  Male or Female.  This should be fairly obvious.  Aside from affecting the use of pronouns in relation to your character and what you can use as your appearance, this will also affect various parts of the game itself.  For one, it restricts some of the clothing your character can wear (don't worry, my fellow men!  Kilts are always an alternative to skirts.  As for high heels…Well, there are platform shoes and beetle boots! ).  Admittedly males are more slightly more restricted clothing-wise than females, which I can't really do anything about.  Additionally, possible romances are affected (don't worry, there are gay and lesbian and bi characters) as are individual story events.

History
Your "History" details the life of your character prior to coming to Springfield.  Each History may carry certain benefits and drawbacks in combat, as well as offering or closing off certain quests, affecting how certain characters or factions view you initially (on top of the class/day job you select later).  You get to select one (though given the nature of certain histories, pending balance review it might have been possible to select two in the end).

College Grad: The "default" class.  You're just out of college!  You're still young and ready to take on the world's challenges!  But of all the places you could have moved to, was Springfield really the right choice? The College grad provides no major benefits or drawbacks, and most of the factions and townspeople are pretty neutral to you, though some of the less educated might find you untrustworthy.

High School Dropout: Hard mode.   You never could get the hang of school, so you dropped out as soon as you could.  You've wandered aimlessly for several years since then, and you felt it was time to start over anew.  Will you be able to make it in Springfield?  Most of your physical abilities are the same as the College Grad, though you suffer some in the Intelligence department initially (For game play purposes).   Also, most factions and characters will like you less initially; you'll have to work harder to win them over.  There are exceptions.

Ex-Military: A good choice for offensive skills.  You used to be a member of America's military, though those days are over now for one reason or another.  You've got to find something else to do now.  This History provides hand-to-hand attack and defense bonuses, as well as allowing you to wield gun-type weapons and certain types of body armor regardless of class.  Most factions will have more respect for you, though a number of individual characters will dislike you, or at the very least think of you as a fascist whether or not you are deserving of it.  Opens certain extra quests.  You will also obtain the special outfit, "Player's Military Uniform" (includes  hat and boots), an item with good defense bonuses, fairly early into the game.

Ex-Gangster: Also good for offensive skills.  You've spent some time on the inside and done time for a crime you'd rather not talk about.  You felt it was best if you got as far away from your old life as possible…Will you get pulled back into the seedy underworld?  This History provides a large-ish attack bonus and an okay defense bonuses, although because you learned it on the streets your form is a little off if unpredictable, giving you less accuracy.  You are able to wield knives regardless of class, and you can grab "Player's Switchblade" and "Player's Mobster Uniform" (an item with okay defense) early in the game.  Unlocks extra quests.  Police and Teacher's Union factions will dislike you, but Fat Tony's Mob will like you along with Teenagers, as well as any of the seedier people in Springfield.

Theatrical Actor:  You practically grew up in a theater.  You have a way with words and an extensive knowledge of Shakespeare, and are fairly competent with weapons.  However, you find Springfield's Stage Theater lacking.  This History provides attack, accuracy, and intelligence (debatable) bonuses; however you suffer in defense and agility.  You weren't expecting people to move so fast in real life!  Factions don't generally feel strongly about you, thought individuals may think more or less positively of you on an individual basis.  And there are certainly people who have the hots for actors, at least until they find out you don't work in movies.  Others may find you obnoxious and pretentious, but your knowledge of words makes it easier to talk to most people.  You're also able to wield swords and similar theatrical weapons as well as "cosplay" outfits (which, may I point out, can involve actual armor later on).  Opens certain quests.  You are also able to obtain the special item, "Player's Stage Rapier", a weapon with good attack and agility bonuses, early on.
  
Musician:  Arguably a "mage" History.  You are a musician.  You're great at coming up with lyrics (at least you'd like to think so) and your ability to play musical instruments is next to none.    But you needed a job and there were none in your home town, so…This History provides intelligence and agility bonuses to a certain degree; however, as you are slightly malnourished from spending the past few years as a starving artist, your defense and attack aren't great.   Factions won't generally feel strongly about you, but people on an individual basis will be affected; as with the Actor, you'll find it easier to convince people.  You can obtain the "Player's Guitar" weapon (a weapon with decent attack and a defense bonus that, more importantly, makes your Speech special abilities more powerful) early on in the game and can wield anything remotely musical themed regardless of class.  You'll also be able to learn a few "Musical" abilities later in the game; these are affected by intelligence and can deal damage and heal.

In addition, two "special" histories were available:  Single Dad/Mom and Badass Grandpa/Grandma.

Single Dad/Mom:  For one reason or another, you are single but have a child (or teenager, your choice).  Perhaps you got a divorce, perhaps you got pregnant or knocked up someone in high school, perhaps you're the sort of person who has no idea who the father even is.  Regardless, you decided to get settled into Springfield and sent your child to stay with some relatives until you're ready for them to come.  You get to design your child or teenager in much the same way as you get to design your main character, although there are a number of key differences (children can't become party members but have personalities, teenagers have teen-specific histories and classes and such).  Teenagers have different stats from adults, there are specific quests that are unlocked, you can encourage your child/teen to have friendships with other children and teens (which can affect how said kids and their parents view you).  Your child will ONLY be able to join you in Springfield once you've purchased or moved into a house/apartment with an extra bed.

Badass Grandpa/Grandma:  Similar to Single Parent, except it's not your kid but your kids' kid.  The kid comes for an extended visit once you've obtained a new home.  In addition, your age is more advanced than it is in most other Histories.  You're in VERY good shape, however.

More Histories could have been added in the final game, this was simply what I came up with at the time.

Appearance
You select a sprite and a portrait (for party member screens, talking, et cetera).   These vary in hair and skin color and such.  Note that some histories give you access to "older" sprites and portraits.  These will affect your character's age.  Other than that, there's nothing particularly major about this decision.  It's just a customization thing.

Name
You actually enter this in several parts.  You start with your First Name, then you enter your last name separately, and then optionally a middle name/initial.  This is important, as there are many points where you will be called by one part of your name.  In addition, you must also enter a title (like "Mr.," "Miss" "Doctor" et cetera) that will occasionally be used with your last name.  Feel free to go crazy with that.

And with that, you've finished the initial character creation.  If you're happy with your selections, select "okay" when prompted to leave this strange, black world of nothingness and enter Springfield.  Otherwise, you can go back and change your mind as well.

There are, however, a couple of other major decisions that are made shortly into the game that affect your characters; Your Day Job in particular, the selection of which includes your main class, your main way of making money, what faction you belong to (aside from the main faction, which will be covered shortly).  You can also choose a religion at any point, though it has no particularly big benefits or disadvantages worth mentioning here.  It will be covered in a later doc.  For now, we'll finish THIS doc with a brief discussion of the day jobs/factions.

Day Jobs/Joinable Factions

Evergreen Terrace Neighborhood Watch [required]:  The only faction that you *have* to join, it doesn't really count as your job.  In fact, while the other members of said faction are given the class "Neighbor" (which does nothing initially) you don't get one.   It also doesn't directly pay you, as it's a volunteer thing.  However, it can be customized and grow in power as the game goes on, and eventually you can kind of steer it in ways you can't with your "real" job.  And it propels most of the main quests forward.   Its first leader is ostensibly Ned Flanders, although only briefly; it may change multiple times throughout the game.
Springfield Teacher's Union:  The first faction you're made aware of (that you can join anyway), it gives you the Teacher class (more of a support-type class as well).   You'll show up each morning to teach elementary school kids, which is also how you'll get paid.  They'll also be able to give you gifts.  It'll also unlock specific quests.   Your boss is Principle Skinner.

Springfield Police Department:  Gives you the Police Officer class (which has ranks you'll go up in, by the by…Technically they all do, but the Police Department is more "noticeable" than the teachers XP).   This is a very offensive class.  You'll go on patrol with your partner each day.  As with all the others, also unlocks new quests (Mostly related to arresting someone).  Your boss is Police Chief Clancy Wiggum.

Nuclear Power Plant:  You'll start as a lowly Technician (another support-ish class).  You'll show up to work each day; unfortunately you're not Homer, so you'll be required to actually do work.   Has its own quest chain, which starts off with quite a bit of Homer-wrangling.

Professional Nerd:  Now here's a fun one.  Starts you off with the Geek class.  You start off working at Coolsville Comics (rival and original Comic Book Guy will NOT hire you, mind.  He hates you regardless of who you are) under Milo, although it gets weird from there.   You get to use some really off-beat weapons as well, and you get the ability to dress in cosplay outfits.