Initial Chargen

This is how initial chargen just started off:

... to start the game, you do not need to chargen, just yet. If you have an idea of what kind of character you want to play, that's OK, but for now, all I need is a description of what your character would look like in the "real" world, not a fantasy world. I know you are giving me the "WTH" look, but I am asking for your indulgence. Imagine what an alter ego of yours might look like that you wish to take to Sosaria... but you are not there yet. Rather, you are in a world much like our own, much in the same year. And please do give him/her a "real world" name. :)

There's a reason behind this start and that reason can be found in the dusty tomes of the Ultima 1, 2 and 3 Players Manuals. From the cryptic line in the Ultima 1 manual:

Thou art seen here standing upon a grassy meadow with a castle and towne to the west and a marauding Hood coming toward thee from the east.

 ... to the mysterious note in the Ultima 2 manual:

Were it not for the time doors, you would likely not be here now. Only the ability to move in time enabled any living thing to survive the holocaust, so far as is known.

... to the flat-out "We're transporting you to our world" text of the Ultima 3 manual:

Now that everything has been studied, and whomever of the People thou couldst muster has been assembled, it is time to begin the ritual. First insert the disk marked Program Side into thy machine, and, with all gathered around the machine, activate the power. Shortly, a viewport is opened through the gateway. Kinsman engaged in moral combat with a dark creature can be seen. Suddenly the battle ends. You are too late to help, but never too late to avenge. Follow closely the instructions shown on thy living machine. All adventurers must now gather around the machine. Total concentration among the party is necessary for the gateway of the Siege Perilous to open. A moment of transition is experienced, then...

Although this game does not use elements of Ultima IV and beyond, the intro to Ultima IV made it clear that the player existed in the "real world" before being transported to the lands of Ultima through a gate.

So you might understand now why I haven't started chargen as the initial kickoff to this campaign...

One final note - one of my favorite fantasy series is Guardian of the Flames. And that series started out in a very specific way...