...an Example

The following is an example of the 10 minutes background,using my current PC, a cleric from the Dark Heresy [Warhammer 40k] game.

Haruul Garvela – Ecclesiarch Redemptionist: Acolyte of the Inquisition

Concepts -
* Haruul is Schola Progenium, his parents were members of the planetary defense on an uncharted planet that vanished into the warp, leaving him to the boarding schools of the emperor’s faithful.
* Haruul is a puritan to the core, as a redemtionist he boarders on insane, believing anyone can be found guilty of heresy if enough scrutiny is brought to bear.
* Haruul believes fully in the Ecclesiarchy and the vision of the God-Emperor. However he finds himself perpetually frustrated with the Ecclesiarchy’s lax attitude towards flushing out heresy, and its susceptibility to taint from within. Because of this Haruul has found his calling as a roving battle pilgrim: spreading the emperor’s edicts while traveling, and cleansing and purifying the unclean on the way.
* Haruul grew up in great luxury on Scintilla in the care of the Imperium. But once completing his training in the Ministorium his fondness of purging the unclean gained him a posting in the lower hab blocks of Gunmetal City with gangers, workers, and mutants. It was in the belly of Gunmetal City that Haruul joined the Redemption and was recruited by the inquisition.
* Haruul is burnt from the neck down, badly. In his youth there was a terror attack on one of the shrines he was working at that left him in a burn ward for several painful months. This has only fueled the firebug long since burning within Haruul’s soul.

Goals -
* Haruul’s primary goal is to destroy heretics en mass, more specifically however, he believes it was no accident that the planet his parents were on was swallowed by the warp, and he would like to bring to justice the heretical cults of chaos that robbed him of his upbringing.
* Personally I’d like to see Haruul climb the ladder within the Imperium where he can head and fund a school of redemptionist pilgrims within the structure of the ecclisarchy. One that will train young priests to travel the multiverse, record the many different cults of the emperor and purge through holy flame the enemies of man.

Secrets -
* Haruul has several data slates filled with dossiers on everyone he has ever met, worked for, worked with, or done business with. He consistently updates and references the dossiers to make certain no associate of his slips down the slope to heresy.
* Haruul is unaware of the second “secret” concerning him. Recently the warp swallowed planet that took his parents from him returned. Naval security has closed of the sector and kept the news of its return quite until the Holy Ordos can do a complete investigation.

Contacts -
* Aduro Manya is a fellow Schola Progenium that Haruul grew up with, he works in the Ministorium of Scintilla. Haruul keeps as close a relationship as he is capable of with Aduro, and Aduro kindly looks past Haruul’s trust issues.
* Another old associate of Haruul is Vitros Ultion. Vitros is a radical ecclesiarch that Haruul accused of heresy during daily mass. The accusation was never looked in to, but ever since Vitros has made complications for Haruul whenever possible.
* Tealum Pascor is a powerful man in the under city of Gunmetal. He is a well-connected arms dealer who works closely with the Redemption. He is a business man first and foremost and supplies large amounts of weaponry to the Redemptionist and under hive gangs. While he operates below the radar of the local authorities, he maintains a taint and corruption free operation, and regularly reports heretical actions to the Redemption … for a marginal fee.

Memories and Mannerisms -
* Despite his burns, Haruul has an unnatural affinity for flames.
* Haruul remembers the panic when he learned of his parents’ fate, a feeling that has caused many of his trust issues to develop.
* Haruul has a nervous twitch where the fingers on his left hand constantly move as if he were typing.