One of the things that brings characters to life is a realistic culture that they're embedded in. There are many ways to create vibrant cultures; if you are playing in a pre-existing setting, many of the cultures will be defined in the rulebook or supplements. Unfortunately, players often don't know that much about the cultures of the world- some don't own the book or have the specific references, ...

Asking questions is a great way to get to the bottom of things. It is one reason that three year-olds master "why?"-- keep asking and you'll slowly unravel deeper and deeper explanations for events. Or you'll drive your parents crazy-- really it's win/win for the tykes. Answering questions is a great technique for deepening characterization. PCs and major villains benefit the most from these techniques, but asking yourself a ...

Tarot readings are an inspirational technique for developing characters. Inspirational techniques are great when an NPC needs more personality, but you don't have enough of a handle on the character to know what the right answer to a question would be. They are also good when you are in a hurry. Beyond adding detail to a character, tarot readings can also give you new ideas for PCs and ...