January Behind the Scenes Part 1: Researching Janusz

I need to do some research on Janusz to write his chapter, so I figured I'd share my process with you guys as I work. 

Janusz is from Poland, and one of the first things I like to figure out is what time period these characters came from (they're not all modern). That changes the technology they're familiar with and their outlook on Nyarlea quite a bit.

However, since I had him use fairly modern profanity in Ceres's first side quest chapter, I looked up the etymology of the phrase, and I can't find a year that it first came around. Which means I'm safer off if I keep him more modern.

Now it's time to pick a city!

Sometimes I'll choose a name I like, sometimes I'll have a little familiarity with where I want to pull from, and sometimes I throw a dart and see what sticks.

"Olsztyn" jumped out at me. We'll start there.

I also like to check out tourist websites for information, as they also help paint a picture of the history and culture that shape the character's personality.

Side Note: Paczki Day is a thing, and now I know I need to hit up the Polish Market next week for these babies:

Back to Janusz: Geography info for where they're from is helpful as well, as each of the islands presents different challenges based on what you know when you get there.

Shi Island's pretty flat, but the forests/rivers will come into play.

Next, I put together a few pictures of how I picture the character to look. I mentioned that he has the same blue eye color as Ceres, and I imagined him with darker hair and an awesome beard.

Kind of loving that cape, honestly.

This one is pretty damn close. 

When picking a character's class, I like to look through traditional melee weapons and consider their background (like Emilio's anchor). Polish hussars were before Janusz's time, but their lances and sabers play well into Nyarlea. I like the idea that Ceres picked up her halberd after watching her father fight with a bardiche-type weapon.

And now I feel a lot more prepared to write this side quest :)

For the men's side quest chapters, I do my best to incorporate their backgrounds and outlook in addition to how they react to Nyarlean laws/customs/Parties. It's a lot of information to pile into their first chapters, but I believe it makes them feel more human.

Thanks for reading! Please enjoy more of Janusz!