We’ve all seen the TV ads ” nice-looking woman in her fifties, sitting on a nice sofa in a nice living room, rubbing her hands, in obvious pain. Of course, she is not Lady Macbeth, trying to rub off the imagined blood of her murdered husband. She’s a woman with arthritis.

According to the Center for Disease Control, arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States.1 Approximately 47 million people have doctor-diagnosed arthritis and 17 million have arthritis which is attributable to activity limitations.

Osteoarthritis, the most common form, is a degenerative condition affecting the joints and the soft tissues around the joints ” the associated cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. The most commonly affected areas are the spine, the hands, and the shoulders, hips, and knees. The pain of arthritis, the reduced mobility, and the lifestyle accommodations needed for pain avoidance are discouraging and may even lead to depression.

Many anti-inflammatory drugs are available for the treatment of arthritis. In recent years many of these have been found to cause severe side effects. Vioxx is the most notorious of these ” cardiovascular complications caused a worldwide recall of the drug. Celebrex, another well-known arthritis medication, was also found to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke at high doses.

The good news is there are several wellness-based treatment alternatives to long-term medication. These include exercise, diet, and in many cases, chiropractic treatment.

Exercise is critical in restoring mobility and, over time, in reducing pain.2,3 Persons with osteoarthritis often experience a vicious cycle of deteriorating symptoms. Pain causes reduced mobility (pain avoidance), which (paradoxically) actually causes more pain, which causes further reductions of mobility . . . . Activities of daily living ” getting out of a chair, opening a jar, bending and lifting can become a real challenge as the person struggles to avoid further pain.

So, restoring mobility is key. Exercise done very gently at first ” is the answer. Range-of-motion activities to get the joints moving again are very beneficial, including Arm circles Wrist circles Shoulder shrugs Side-to-side bending for the lower back Gentle knee bends Ankle circles Flexing and pointing the feet

Walking is a perfect exercise for treatment of arthritis. Begin by walking one block, then two, then around the block. Walk five minutes daily for a week, then increase by a minute or two each day. Get up to 15 minutes of gentle walking, then begin to gradually increase your pace. This increased mobility will not only reduce pain, but also provide a cardiovascular benefit and improve one’s ability to perform activities of daily living.

Chiropractic treatment, in combination with an exercise program, may assist in restoring joint mobility and reducing pain. Gentle chiropractic manipulative therapy is designed to improve mobility of spinal joints. As spinal joint motion improves, pain lessens. A positive cycle of return-to-function begins.

“Prevalence of Doctor-Diagnosed Arthritis and Arthritis-Attributable Activity Limitation.” CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 55(40);1089-1092, 2006. 2Huang MH, et al: A comparison of various therapeutic exercises on the functional status of patients with knee osteoarthritis. Semin Arthritis Rheum 32(6):398-406, 2003. 3Suomi R, Collier, D: Effects of arthritis exercise programs on functional fitness and perceived activities of daily living measures in older adults with arthritis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 84(11):1589-94, 2003.

For more information on health please contact Dr. Fowler Dr. Jason Fowlerat www.lakestlouisdc.comwww.lakestlouisdc.com

The world is in a state of chaos right now. People have lost their jobs, friends, and even their lives. This continues to go on as depressions and wars begin to become a daily part of society. People are wondering where the human race is heading. We could be heading towards our demise or to our sanity. We fight and kill but we want it all to stop. We won’t though, for it is human nature. Are we heading towards doomsday at a rampant speed? Many have begun to hold onto the belief that the world is going to end on the year 2012. Is “2012 doomsday or a new beginning” for the world? Are we going to all die or will we drop our old beliefs and embrace one another and live out our lives as a race for an eternity?

Are we all going to die on the year 2012? What is truly going to happen on this year? What is the evidence that this is going to happen? What does everyone believe?

The 2012 debate is not a young one at all. People have been speculating what is going to happen since the bronze age. The Maya were the ones to originally come up with a belief of what is going to happen. Not too long after did Nostradamus come up with a similar theory. These people got their assumptions from a variety of things including the stars and from using forms of divination. Do these really hold any water, you ask? Not particular would be your answer.

The main belief is that we are all going to die. We are all going to turn it dust or vanish into thin air. We are going to launch all of our nuclear warheads and cause the annihilation of our species. The belief is that we are doomed. There will be no life left to speak of and it is unavoidable on this year.

There is another belief that human beings will begins to think a different way on this year. They will drop their old beliefs and embrace a new line of thought and thus the world as we know it will die. Although the world dies, we will live on the be stronger and better than we ever were. The Mayan calendar does end but it begins a new cycle right after!

The more plausible belief is that absolutely nothing is going to happen and everyone is getting worked up over nothing. No bombs will be dropped anywhere and so new way of thought will emerge. People have speculated the end for centuries and it is yet to occur. What makes this way any different then the pipe smoke blown from all the other countless peoples of the Earth?

Yes, 2012 has caused a lot of hype. Movies have been produced and hundreds of books have been made. All of them revolve around 2012. It is amazing to try and sift through the large array of texts and try and find anything with any factual information. Simply because there hardly is any. Here is very little evidence that anything will happen on 2012 that will end the human race. There is an actual scientific fact proof a few things possibly happening though. One of these things include a large solar flare that could knock out all of the Earth’s satellites that will occur on that year. The Maya believed that a meteor would strike the Earth and they spent their whole life as a civilization looking at the stars. Nothing is ever certain though.

That is the main information to know about that upcoming year. Is 2012 doomsday or a new beginning for everyone on Earth? Nothing is for certain.

Learn more about 2012 Click Here!

categories: 2012,2012 Prophesy,Earth Changes,Polar Shift,Mayan Calendar,Disaster,Public Emergency

If your adrenaline level rises every time you watch a scary movie and you love that to happen, then Disaster is definitely a movie of your taste. Moreover, if you have the habit of laughing when you watch such scary movies, you will definitely laugh a lot, watching the Disaster movie, but few weird moments will surely wipe that odd smile off your face. Well, not prepared to spend money on the movie that you have not known much of? You can download the movie over the internet on the fly and watch it for free.

The plot isnt out of ordinary for sure, as Cloverfield (as Will) is busy trying to get his ex-girlfriend Amy (Vanessa Minnillo) back, but in the meantime, the place where they reside gets bombed by asteroids and a so-called monster. Wills friend Calvin (G. Thang) joins him in his quest, along with girlfriend Lisa (Kimberly Kardashian) as well as the Juno imitator (Crista Flanagan). It is very much shot on similar lines of Iron Man, The Hulk, Batman, Hellboy, Beowulf, and the Superbad guys, combining all their uniqueness, and presenting it in a funny form.

One of the easiest and the simplest ways to enjoy this movie is to make an internet download of this movie and you can watch the movie for free for any number of times. Wondering whether movies of good quality are really available over the internet? Well, sure thing, the answer is a big yes, and you can simply access the link in resource box provided at end of the review.

Apart from the storyline, you will also find few other funny moments such as the one when High School Musical group narrate Will and Amys breakup. And even otherwise the movie in itself is unusually weird and yet pretty funny.

More importantly, in addition to renting out DVDs online movies allows you your choice of titles. All the movies are just a click away from your system. You also get a satisfaction that you make use of your internet connection to the fullest extent.

The below-mentioned movie download service has a host of other advantages as well including the fact that all the movies have excellent picture clarity, theyre totally safe and secure. You can download any number of movies, and even make parallel downloads, take to your iPods or if not, just watch them online. The download speed of the movies is really noteworthy.

Remember, there are several sites that provide such services and so it becomes extremely important to choose the right site that offers you movies of good quality. Please do not get carried away by the flowery words that the sites put in. Many of them provide movies in a very low clarity that you may sometimes feel, you could have better skipped the movie than watching it in such low clarity. So, get started with this unlimited movie experience and let Disaster be the first one to make that happen for you. For more information regarding this and to know the kinds of services they offer, subscribe to this site given below that gives you high quality download.

Go ahead and Watch Disaster Movie over at Free New Movies and enjoy wonderful movies and more.

categories: movies,entertainment,shows,Disaster Movie,movie,trailers,reviews,media,theater,books,Watch Disaster Movie,free movies

If you have heard all the hype around people making their home wind turbine and solar power at home for little under $250, you would have noticed that there are dozens of diy energy guides on the market. One them, Earth4Energy, claims it can help you save up to 80% on your power bill. But what is the truth behind the guide? We got ourselves a copy, and this is what we found.

What we liked about it:

1 – Affordable and full of content:

Although similarly priced to its competitors, the Earth4Energy ebook is not only the longest guide (currently 73 pages), but also the most complete. And if the guide could not answer any questions we had, the great customer support helped fill in the blanks, which brings us to our next point…

2 – Great after-sale service

Our support questions were replied to very quickly, very helpful advice. Also, after we requested that they add video instruction to help us see the systems being built in real-time, they did. Now it is the only diy energy guide that offers video instruction for both the home solar power and home wind turbine!

3 – Great solar power instructions

The solar power plans were full of advice and with the step-by-step videos, they were the easiest to follow. Micheal Harvey was accurate in saying it would cost us under $150 for all the materials and parts, since we ended up only spending $139.37. How crazy is that? If you think to get a professional system with similar power output would have cost well into the thousands of dollars!

What was also helpful with Earth4Energy’s solar plans, is that it shows you how to make the system portable, which is ideal if you own an RV.

Dislikes:

1 – You need to scale up to start saving:

This is one of those problems we found with all the diy energy guides. Yes, it is very possible to save up to 80% on power by following these plans, but it will take you more than one system to get there. So, depending on how much power you want to make, and where you live, you will have to scale up your systems, and obvious spend more than the claimed $250 or so to see the desired results.

The Final Decision:

If you are really serious about making your own home wind turbine and solar power system to start saving money, then Earth4Energy is your best option. It has the most comprehensive instructions, practical diagrams, step-by-step videos, and top quality customer service with regular, value-added, free updates. And it is no wonder it has outperformed it closet competitors – Homemade Energy and Efficient Planet – by over 500% (based on number of happy customers).

And what’s even better is that you can now get a FREE sneak peek of Earth4Energy, before deciding to make your own Home Solar Power and save thousands on your electricity costs.

The impact of human activity on the environment has resulted in such conditions as increased toxins and pollutants in the atmosphere, water, and soil, deforestation, global warming, and a reduction in our natural resources. The negative impact has sounded alarm bells across the country and the rest of the world. There are now many measures and laws being implemented in an effort to better take care of the planet and its species. One such measure is making the practice of recycling the law. It is important for everyone learn how to manage your waste wisely. The key to managing one’s waste is to implement the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Reduce: One can reduce the amount of energy and resources they use by purchasing items that are made using energy conservation practices and made of environmentally sustainable ingredients. For instance, buying wood products made from bamboo is an eco-friendly choice because bamboo grows back quickly. One can also reduce energy consumption by walking, biking, carpooling, taking public transport, etc. As well, one can use energy efficient light bulbs in the home. Reducing will decrease energy use and waste ending up in the landfills. There will also be less greenhouses gases being released into the atmosphere.

Reuse: Reusing products instead of throwing them away is a great way to help the environment. Reusing can include: donating old items to a charity and fixing damaged items instead of throwing them away. Ways that you can reduce include: using cloth grocery bags instead of plastic bags, give old electronics back to the manufacturer to be refurbished and then resold, don’t use plastic plates and utensils, etc. If you have a lot of items to get rid of, hire a junk removal service that practices the 3Rs so that all of your items will be disposed in an environmentally conscious way.

Recycling: The purpose of recycling actually results in reducing. Recycling consists of separating items to be made into other products. This means less garbage is going into the landfills and less energy is being used to produce new items. The result is conserving natural resources and decreasing the amount of toxins going into the air, land, and water. Some products that are made from recycled items include building materials, metals, containers, bags, furniture, paper bags, newspapers, milk cartons, etc. Composting is another way of recycling. Taking kitchen waste such as food and other biodegradable products such as tissue, paper towel and much more, and composting it allows for natural compost to be produced.

Most towns and cities have mandatory recycling programs. There are even companies that will come to your home or business and remove your excess junk for a reasonable fee. These companies practice recycling so that you know your junk is being disposed in an environmentally conscious manner. When hiring these companies, make sure you ask if they have a recycle program.

Reducing, reusing, and recycling helps protect the environment and reduces pollutants from entering all areas of the environment. It is not only the law to recycle, but is also a great way to help build a sustainable future.

As the environmental trend continues to grow, Markham recycle and recycling York Region is growing in importance. Waste management Markham separates compost from recycle, allowing wasteland to be minimized.

When disposing of our waste, we all want to dispose of it in a way that has the least negative impact on the environment. One such way is known as Compaction. Compaction is a method of handling solid waste by rolling and tamping. As it sounds, compaction makes the bulk smaller by making it more compact. One of the prime reasons that compaction of bulk waste is beneficial for the environment is simply that compacted waste is more efficient, that is, it takes less room. Up to half the space in a waste container could be air; compacting bulk waste means that more can be stored in any bin, reducing the costs of storage and pick-up, especially in commercial and manufacturing settings. Compaction can reduce the volume of bulk waste at a ratio of 5:1. The costs of disposal are lower, as less energy is needed to haul it away.

Compaction is also more hygienic when disposing of hazardous, food or pharmaceutical products. A compacter will enclose the waste in a sealed container, discouraging vermin, birds and leakage of fluids. Municipalities usually deal with solid waste in one of two ways; incineration or landfill. Incineration leaves not only ash, which contains toxins and poses disposal challenges, but the process itself, releases many undesirable gasses into the air. There are fixed costs associated with incineration such as the high costs of building the facility itself and the energy costs fueling a fire hot enough to break down the waste.

Compaction is not only an efficient solution for the storage of bulk waste, but it is also more efficient in landfill sites, for the same reasons. Compacted waste takes less space, is more hygienic, and prevents leakage of waste liquids into the groundwater. Landfill sites ideally should maximize the space available; to reduce costs of land, handling and the equipment needed to manage the site. When a site is full, another site must be built. Compaction lengthens the life of a landfill by eliminating air space. Available space for landfill is shrinking; large cities often ship their trash hundreds of kilometers away, as all available land nearby is built. The fuel and labor involved compounds the costs of handling waste.

Home trash compacters are available as well. It is an appliance that fits under the counter, and uses a motor to crush and compact the trash put into it. It is recommended not to put solvents, paints or hazardous materials into the compacter, or broken glass as any of these could damage the motor. The home compacter can dramatically reduce the bulk of household trash, making the pick-up and disposal by municipal services more efficient.

The benefits of compaction, whether in the home, business, industry, or ultimately in the landfill, are the most efficient use of space, reduction in energy and labor costs to transport and handle the waste, containment of effluent that attracts vermin and contaminates groundwater, and longer life for landfill sites. These all add up to important environmental benefits such as a smaller carbon footprint and less hazard to the surrounding ecosystem. Compaction solution is the best solution for the environment.

Equipment compaction is a wise investment for businesses. As the compactor offers various different compaction equipment, a business can choose one that is tailored to their needs.

When it rains, it pours. When there is smoke, there is fire. When there is thunder, there is lightning. These phrases are familiar and the implications are real. When the downpour of the rain is heavy, a flash flood would likely to occur. When this happens it would only take a few minutes to wash away everything inside your home. Fires are pretty much the same. They can burn everything on their way. Fires don’t think when they work so they burn without consideration. Other calamities are similar. They may not be a welcomed guest but they do a lot of gate crashing. No notice, no warnings.

When such disasters occur, the government will always be there to help. The problem however is sometimes these disasters are so great and overwhelming that they cannot give aid right away to everyone affected. If this happens, the whole family will be in deep trouble.

This is why having 72 hour kits for emergencies like this is very important. You’ll never know when disaster will strike and it can be a life saver in difficult situations where you can’t depend on anyone else’s help for survival.

72 Hour Kits must be placed in a safe place which will be easy to pick if there is a need to run. It must include at least one gallon of water per person, some clothes and bedding items, personal hygiene items, a battery operated radios, first aid kit, flashlights with new batteries, and of course, an ample supply of ready to eat foods. Take note that it must be good for 72 hours.

A person can live a few days without food but much less without water. Water is probably the most important item to survive calamities, and it can even help clean wounds. It is wise to choose dried foods to store. Pick those which are fortified with vitamins, it will help even just a little. Also included in 72 Hour Kits tools which will help you like a knife, flashlights, and lighters.

Think about it, 72 hours is three days. Make sure that water and food can last for three days for the whole family. The wisdom behind this s because rescue and aid usually takes as much as three days to arrive. This is the key to survival and being able to stand on your own feet for a while during disasters.

There may be times that you will get sick during such situations. Medicines are essential. Include prescribed and not prescribed medicines in 72 Hour Kits. Place all the contents of the kit in a single container for easy picking. It is also wise not to make it heavy.

72 hour kits can either be assembled personally or be bought from stores. There are stores who specialize in making 72 Hour Kits. They provide it complete to save you from the hassle of buying all the stuffs needed for the kit. Make sure that your family is secure all the time. Make sure you store you own 72 hour kit.

Kevin is a consultant for businesses and colleges who need advisement when it comes to emergency preparedness. He always perscribes that his clients have 72 hour kits and other disaster kits on hand. To find out more please go to survivalsolutions.com.

People have used mushrooms as spiritual tools for at least 7,000 years. Thats the age of the oldest preserved records, cave paintings left by the historic San Peoples in Tassili of southeast Algeria. Images depict what has been interpreted as masked, dancing medicine men holding mushrooms in their hand; presumably of the awareness altering variety.

Tassili is today part of the Saharan desert, mountainous and uninhabited. But in the days of the San Peoples, the environment was savannah-like and inhabited by cattle, lions and even crocodiles. There’s archeological evidence of contact between the San Peoples of Tassili and other tribes across the Sahara, from Chad to Egypt, perhaps even Greece.

Jumping forward 3,400 years in time to Greece, 1,600 B.C., we find the Eleusinian Mysteries. Continuous for an astounding two millennia, the Eleusinian Mystery initiation was the most important spiritual ceremony of ancient Europe. Scholars believe the Mysteries involved use of consciousness-altering mushrooms. With well-known participants like Plato and Aristotle, its influence on western civilization cannot be denied.

Further north and a thousand years later, the Vikings used Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) to overcome fear before going into battle. In pre-battle spiritual ceremonies, they ate mushrooms and danced through the woods with wild abandon.

Of course many of us may not think highly of the Viking warrior spirituality but it was an undeniable part of their religious practices whether or not we approve. At the same time, across the Baltic Sea, Siberian shamans also used Fly agaric to achieve spiritual communion with their gods.

Fly agaric is even put forth as the source of “soma,” a juice described in ancient Vedic texts as bestowing divine qualities on the consumer, including immortality. Convincing arguments linking Fly agaric to Soma are presented by R. Gordon Wasser in his book Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality. His theory, although not proven, hasnt been disproven either.

(Note: Make no mistake, Fly agaric – Amanita muscaria – is poisonous and can also be confused with other deadly species. Consumption for any reason is completely discouraged.)

Meanwhile in the New World, spiritual ceremonies using mind-expanding mushrooms were likewise performed. The earliest written record stems from between the 13th and 15th centuries, a text known as the Mixtec Codex. The Mixtec Gods were often engraved wielding mushrooms.

Although Mixtecs themselves told white anthropologists they used spiritual mushrooms in their religious rituals, western scientists still doubted them in characteristic condescending manner.

William Safford, an American botanist, believed the supposed mushrooms were actually nothing but peyote buttons. Other western scholars, meanwhile, insisted that the “spiritual mushrooms” of the Mixtec people really were mind-altering mushrooms.

The debate raged on until the early 1930s, when amateur anthropologist Robert Weitlaner got invited to witness an original spiritual ceremony that included the use of consciousness-altering mushrooms.

Two decades later, R. Gordon Wasser and his wife Valentina Povlovna were the first white people to participate in a Velada (mushroom ceremony). This religious ceremony lead by shaman Don Aurelio was described by Wasson in a 1957 Life Magazine article, which became the spring-board for public awareness of mind-altering mushrooms.

Out of 60 Psilocybe species, 25 are known to contain the mind-altering compounds psilocin (unstable) and psilocybin (stable). The two species Psilocybin caerulescens and Psilocybin mexicana are believed to be the ones used by the Mixtec. Although Psilocybin cubensis is now more common even in America, it is believed to have arrived with the Europeans.

Spiritual mushrooms have been illegal in most of the world since the 1970′s because of their potential misuse as recreational drugs. Only in The Netherlands were fresh Psilocybe allowed to be sold until less than a year ago.

That all changed after a French 17-year-old girl jumped off a bridge when eating Psilocybe mushrooms. The Dutch parliament responded with a ban on the sale of so called “magic mushrooms,” which took effect December 1, 2008. From Tassili to Amsterdam, the use of spiritual mushrooms is now officially history.

Dr. Rafael has worked in the natural health field since 1996, now specializing in medicinal fungi. He does not support the use of mind-altering mushrooms. The article on this page is for entertainment only. Click cordyceps to visit site for more free mushroom articles, or reishi cordyceps for mycomedicinal products. Note: Absolutely no magic mushroom products, please do not inquire.

categories: history,philosophy,psychology,self improvement,recreation,culture,society,sociology,humanities,herbal,herbs,biology,nature,self help

Apart from using traditional promotional techniques such as newspaper, television, and online advertising, you can choose to improve your company’s exposure by printing posters and flyers to publicize your company.

This strategy is quite effective because it turns out to be more impactful and direct in approaching prospective customers. Following are some of the advantages of advertising your company using flyers and posters.

High visibility – While print advertisements may be viewed by a large audience, this may not convert into actual visits to your shop. In contrast, distributing flyers and putting up posters in your area would directly lead to a rise in your business owing to focused publicity of your store.

Instant outcomes – Unlike print ads and other traditional means of marketing, flyers and posters can be designed and printed in a few days’ time, and the results from the same are quick and can be easily tracked. You can almost instantly notice the difference in the number of customers walking into your store after being given a flyer advertising it or after noticing an intriguing poster.

Lesser expenses – It is less expensive to print poster and flyers and their designing is quite easy too. It is usually more than enough if the end product is striking and has all the essential information for potential buyers. In addition, any good printing company will accommodate your thoughts in poster and flyer printing, and you would not have to spend money on getting them designed from experts. Further, it is cheaper to abandon a low-performing flyer or poster campaign than it is from various other marketing campaigns.

Flexibility – Promotional campaigns using flyers and posters can be tailored to meet your needs. For example, if guerrilla promotion strategies are what you have in mind, you can pick surprising sites to put up large posters that make a strong influence on consumers. Likewise, temporary discounts can be publicized without difficulty by giving away flyers that could also serve as rebate coupons. Besides, you have the choice of making different flyers and posters for use in the same campaign, which is hard in conventional mediums.

Thus, gains from poster and flyer printing is more than enough. For the most part, they include higher degree business identity, competitive edge, enhanced business tractability, fast advertisement, cost-efficient marketing campaign, absolutely affordable advertisement, and revenue generation. All you have to do is seize those benefits of posters and flyer printing.

Hence, by choosing poster and flyer printing, it is possible to achieve fast growth in the business without incurring too much expenditure. Availing these services is simple as well, and any professional printing company in your area will be able to offer a vast range of services and design choices.

Learn more about Print Poster tips from a dynamic Printing Company.

If you’re looking to get better roleplaying skills as a player, one way in D&D is to create a better D&D character background. Building a better D&D background allows your Dungeon Master more material to work with in creating the story. It also will give the player and other players more character hooks and opportunities to grab on to. We’re going to list five tips on how to create a better D&D character background to improve your roleplaying experience. These tips will provide quick and easy to use plot hooks and personality traits.

Decide on one thing that your character would lay down his life for. It may be something noble, or it may be more self-serving. But pick something that your character would, under any circumstances, fight to the death over. It could be that anytime someone steals something from him, he will go to the ends of the earth to track them down and make them pay at any cost. Or, it could be that whenever his homeland is disrespected in conversation, he just cannot let it go. Whatever it is, choose this one carefully as it will turn out to be an extremely important part of your character.

Decide on three things that your D&D character will always fight over. Maybe he has an unrelenting hatred for trolls and whenever he is near them he must find them and attack them. Or, maybe whenever he encounters citizens from a small, secluded town he feels compelled to fight them over past wrong-doings. Choose three possible situations or trigger mechanisms that your character will fight for.

Pick one thing that your character absolutely fears. This fear can alter an adventure if a character runs into one of the fearsome obstacles that he feels he must avoid. This could be an extremely large fear of something that you don’t common run into. Or, it could be a small fear of something that is a lot more common. The player will have to choose what they think is correct for the character.

Decide on one characteristic, or trait, that defines how other people see your character. Maybe your character is always calm no matter what the situation is. Or perhaps your character is the comedian. He is always cracking jokes, even while in the court of a king or the lair of a dragon. You can take this character trait and write it at the top of your character sheet, so you will always be subtly reminded to play your character in that way.

Pick one additional character that is important to your character. This character could be another person in the party, or it could be an NPC. Then you need to define the relationship between your character and the other character. This could be a good connection, someone who has always been there to help you in your time of need. Or, it could be someone that always has a negative influence in your life. Maybe when you’re at your worst, this person seems to always show up and makes things even more miserable.

With these seven different characteristics, then one thing that you would die for under any circumstances, picking three reasons you will always fight for, and one thing that you are deathly afraid of, and one characteristic that defines your character personality to other players and NPCs, and designed one character that is important to you, you’ve instantly created a good start for a D&D character background. It includes your personality and helps with your character’s play style. Answering these questions increases the chance for fun and dramatic roleplaying opportunities, without spending hours and hours writing a huge D&D character background.

Espen writes articles about Role-Playing and DnD Character information.