Nightingale character creation: Every Sory, Lineage, and Inheritance option explained

Character creation in Nightingale is a treasure trove of options providing a little familial context. One intriguing choice you’ll face while creating your personal protagonist is their Ancestry, which encompasses Story, Lineage, and Inheritance choices. But how do they affect your character in the long run?

Well, at least for now, your gameplay won’t be particularly affected regardless of which story you choose. There may, at some point, be unique NPC dialogue options that arise as your story progresses, but I’ve not found any major differences thus far. 

That said, there’s nothing official from Inflexion to say that this feature won’t be implemented at some point during early access, so it’s worth paying attention and picking the best option for you. Your choice will also affect your starting outfit, so if you’re at a loss as to which story suits you best, you could always just go with the best drip.

All 7 Nightingale character Story options

There are, in total, seven different backstories that can be applied to your character. They’re all, of course, very Victorian-inspired and to suit all walks of life from that time with a fantastical spin. At first glance, some of these seem better suited to life in the Fae Realms than others.

Here’s all the options you’ll have to choose from:

• 1. Academic:
  • “A learned scholar, well-versed in the physical sciences and humanity. Your time was spent among the grand libraries and lecture halls of your local university, conducting lengthy research studies in your field.”
• 2. Statesperson:
  • “A regent, born into wealth and a lineage of political power. You wanted for naught, days spend debating the workings of your fine city, followed by nights of lavish parties and extravagant dinners.”
• 3. Tradesperson:
  • “A skilled and practical jack-of-all-trades. You spent most of your days labouring, living a modest but fulfilling life. With tool in hand and food on your table, you needed nothing more.”
• 4. Hermit:
  • “A reclusive eccentric, choosing the lonesome wilderness over the bustling city. You worked the land, foregoing the comforts of modern life, as well as the social decorum, in favour of total self-sufficiency.”
• 5. Officer:
  • “A military officer, accustomed both to rough living in the field and cavorting with the Regency. Having joined the armed forces at a young age, you’re intimately familiar with loss, destruction and humanity’s capacity for horror.”
• 6. Ne’er-do-well:
  • “A petty criminal with few prospects in life, often on the wrong side of the law. You long enjoyed the thrill of mischief, stealing, swindling and eschewing propriety in favour of life’s vices.” 
• 7. Vagrant:
  • “Destitute and relegated to the streets – or worse, the workhouse. Your lot in life has been begging, scrounging and long stints in torturous manual labour under the cruel watch of the guardian.”

How Lineage and Inheritance affect Nightingale characters

In short, neither of these settings are necessary for creating your character or furthering their story, but they are a nice touch and fun to mess around with in order to personalise your character. 

The Lineage option allows you to choose two parents, four grandparents and eight great grandparents who all pass down their appearance traits to your character. It’s an interesting method and one that results in endless possibilities. 

Inheritance is where you can fine tune your inherited physical attributes almost infinitely, based on those that your ancestors had, before moving on to fine tune each element of your character’s face in the subsequent stages of character creation.