Your Over the Edge 3e character needs a strong concept, and it will get expressed through a few game mechanics. First, figure out who you are. This is a modern-day campaign, and your character has made the journey to Al Amarja, a Mediterranean island where things get a little weird.

Each PC has what’s known as a Question Mark, which is a thing about your character that might or might not be true. Examples from the rulebook:

• Honourable-? (what might tempt them?)
• Stable-? Sane-? (maybe less than they think)
• Fearless-? (what might get to them?)
• Hard-hearted-? (what might touch them?)
• Trustworthy-? (could be manipulated)
• Altruistic-? (but might take what they think they deserve)

Each PC also has a Main Trait and a Side Trait. These are things you’re good at. Your Main Trait basically defines who you are and what you can do, and you can riff on it a little during the game. For example, if your Main Trait is that you’re a medic then you know how to keep people alive, and how to deal with traumatized people, and how to break bad news to the family, and so forth. If being a medic is your Side Trait then all you’re using it for is keeping people alive.

You also have a Trouble. This is just an opportunity to inject a little chaos into the game, but please don’t choose something that will diminish the fun of the other people at the table. Examples from the rulebook:

• I take risks to help an innocent in danger
• I let curiosity get the best of me
• I listen to my imaginary friend
• I pursue a new experience
• I crank things up to 11
• I pursue exotic tissue samples
• I show off

Finally, each of these four characteristics has a Tell. These don’t have to give anything away, particularly if they concern a secret; they’re just products of what’s going on with you. Examples from the rulebook:

• A Linebacker is…built like a linebacker.
• The Cursed Stuntman has an athletic build and plenty of scars.
• The Ex-Bassist Rockstar has a glam style in hair and dress.
• The Pro Gambler is missing some pieces of their fingers due to certain debts that went unpaid.
• The Martial Arts Master always moves with grace and efficiency.