i will have more to say on this matter in the morning but i will start the conversation early

im still not sure i used that , right in the topic

I agree.

While I do appreciate a good backstory, none of my players have presented me one that would be more than few sentences. Well, one time I got a full page of text, but almost none of it got into play, aside from the fact that the character had a brother.

I'd like think that how the character is portrayed aside from personality traits, also quirks and mannerisms matter, but those often develop through play. For example next week I'll start playing HackMaster  for the first time in my life, I rolled on some table that my ranger character has a very poor short term memory, requiring Int rolls to remember anything that has happened within last 4 hours or so. That (physical?) disability does bring personality to that character.

On Sunday I made a character for classic Deadlands, but that personality is still work in progress. Basically he is an english snob who's a member of a Hellfire Club which has decided to get their kicks from monster-hunting. He barely has any skills, but he has access to wealth and contacts, so I'll probably play him as your basic condescending twat.

Well, I like backstory, whether set up front or discovered in play, but personality is essential for me.

-clash

Backstory should inform and support personality.

Quote from: Gabriel2;832488Backstory should inform and support personality.

This.

YOUR personality didn't just form out of the ether.  Your life experiences decided what you like, how you treat others and what makes you tick.  Those are your backstory.

Why are Characters different?

I would say that, most times, they don't even need a personality. They just need to ACT (and not in the theatrical sense). Personality can be filled in at the table, even if it's just 'This is what Joe Bob would do if he worshiped Ilmater for reals'. Especially in class based games; which give you short hand ideas for what your character is like while you work on what they're really like. You're either an exemplar or an exception to your class. Fighter's fight (or just want to be left alone to brood on their farm). Thieves do sneaky shit and are greedy (but might have a Heart of Gold or are in it for the challenge). Clerics pray (or he could be a man of action!). Wizards are all mystical and learned (Well, I guess you could be more Indiana Jones than Gandalf. But wizards pretty much wizard). These are all perfect hooks that can sub for an undeveloped or underdeveloped character personality. At least for a while.

As for Backstory: I don't want to know what your character DID, I want to know what they're DOING NOW.

I also see a difference between background (The barebones. I'm from X, I have X living parents/siblings, and maybe at the outside I apprenticed to X) and backstory (These are my awesome adventures I've already done before the game started! Aren't I awesomely awesome!)

My gut reaction was to attack you. I'll refrain.

You're right.

However!

Some players, anecdotally, I've found this more commonplace when I've acquired players from the 3e/4e era that consideration of the characters personality just never entered the equation of playing an RPG. Most of these players were just playing themselves.

I often use backstory to help these guys/gals to get to considering where their characters might be different in perspective from their own personalities.

I confess, even in an Eberron game if a player comes at me with more than two sentences of backstory I tune it out. It's usually second-rate special snowflake drama cliches that they'll forget about soon enough. Once in a while a single backstory detail will actually end up mattering a great deal in play, and that's only because the player pushed it as an issue, making it "real" enough for me to care.

What was that Gygax quote again?
"Backstory? The first three levels are your backstory."

Quote from: Gabriel2;832488Backstory should inform and support personality.

Bingo. An intrinsic part of coming up with a distinct personality for a character, for me, is working out where they came from, and how those experiences shaped them.

Every good character needs a MOP. Good for both NPCs and PCs.
 
Motivation: Why is the character here willing to help or at least tolerate the group to achieve their mutual goals?

Objective: What is the character's overall arching goal?

Personality: What does the character act like?

Backstory and History help to define the character and can help answer these questions. As already said in this thread, the backstory can help shape a character's personality as well. Motivation/objective are crucial elements though. They define the character's desire to be here essentially.

Classes can help shape a character's personality arc as well, as stated in the thread already. So can a character's race at times.

I like Savage Worlds because of the Hindrance system, giving the character three flaws to roleplay in order to gain Bennies, which also helps guide the character's personality.

When I build a character I make about a paragraph of backstory to help me define the character's past. But usually the character's overall personality is grown over time in actual play from this base.  NPCs though need one now at creation because they may or may not be a longterm part of the game. If they are interesting to the players at first contact, they might be a recurring character as well.

This though is great advice, 11 ways to be a better roleplayer. #2 is especially relevant to this topic:
 http://lookrobot.co.uk/11-ways-better-roleplayer-safe-work-version/

The story is that when Dustin Hoffman was involved with the movie Marathon Man, his character was depicted as looking like he had stayed awake for three nights. Dustin, being a method actor, decided to stay up for three nights in real life in order for it to look more realistic. When he came to the set, Laurence Olivier (An actor some consider one of the greatest in the world) asked him why he looked so tired and Dustin told him. Then Olivier pauses for a moment, then makes the famous statement, "Try acting, dear boy...it's much easier."

Quote from: Christopher Brady;832489This.

YOUR personality didn't just form out of the ether.  Your life experiences decided what you like, how you treat others and what makes you tick.  Those are your backstory.

Why are Characters different?

I disagree, and I disagree with ... several others, it seems:

Your backstory affects your opinions, but not your personality to the same degree, and personality may also affect your backstory a bit, including opinions.

I think background stories are good, but not necessary, and while personality is necessary, the player always brings that to the table, bland or not.
Something that often seem to get overlooked though, is Opinions.
What the character feels and thinks of not just characters, but also about different classes, professions, races, riches and poverty, and so on.

Quote from: tuypo1;832474i will have more to say on this matter in the morning but i will start the conversation early

im still not sure i used that , right in the topic

I got an idea from Metal Wars. The NPC writeups included a decriptive word in their name, like "Heroic Transbot Warrior" or "Cowardly Warbot Spy". I thought, if I ever did  a Transformers RPG again, I'd have every player pick one word to describe their character, and make name standees for them. So Bob would have a name standup in front of him with "Clutch: Obesssive Autobot Mechanic" on it.

Quote from: tuypo1;832474i will have more to say on this matter in the morning but i will start the conversation early

im still not sure i used that , right in the topic

Mad Max has just enough backstory and personality for his character. If a player can role-play just that much, that's golden for my group. If he's just a bingo card player, staring at his character sheet to see how he can win the game for each move, there are other tables he can join.

I think that having an objective, a drive, is the most important thing.  Followed closely by values.

Personality is good, but personality can quickly become overdone and obnoxious.

Backstory is useful in that it often creates the previous items.