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Author Topic: What Is The Minimum You Need To Know About Your Character?  (Read 1607 times)

Azkaliban

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Re: What Is The Minimum You Need To Know About Your Character?
« Reply #15 on: April 22, 2021, 07:57:36 AM »
HP & AC?
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Omega

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Re: What Is The Minimum You Need To Know About Your Character?
« Reply #16 on: April 22, 2021, 11:15:58 AM »
What I can fit on an index card.
Name
Class or equivalent
Stats
equipment
spells/skills/powers/mutations/etc.
Why am I here

Thats the bare minimum I like. Enough to set out and do whatever. From that I can think of a background/backstory as needed.

The "why am I here?" part is important as it sets the stage for a-lot of other things.
Quest application: saw an ad or heard news and came to see if could help.
On the job already: Quests been gained and Im off to complete it.
Travelling with others: whatever the group or leaders overall goal is.
Exploring: personal favourite. Travelling the lands, seeing the sights and often getting into trouble or needing to get rid of trouble as I go.
Personal goal: another one I use alot. Such as gathering parts for some grand creation. Or finding lost information. Or reclaiming ruins, etc.
In trouble already: Pretty much the start of Ghost Tower of Iverness. Go clear this phantom tower. Or Else.
And many others. Everyone has their own ideas for "why am I here." even if its as simple as "for Glory and Wealth!"

It gives a nice little springboard for ideas if needed and is short enough that if not needed its not a waste.

GeekyBugle

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Re: What Is The Minimum You Need To Know About Your Character?
« Reply #17 on: April 22, 2021, 11:33:18 AM »
What I can fit on an index card.
Name
Class or equivalent
Stats
equipment
spells/skills/powers/mutations/etc.
Why am I here

Thats the bare minimum I like. Enough to set out and do whatever. From that I can think of a background/backstory as needed.

The "why am I here?" part is important as it sets the stage for a-lot of other things.
Quest application: saw an ad or heard news and came to see if could help.
On the job already: Quests been gained and Im off to complete it.
Travelling with others: whatever the group or leaders overall goal is.
Exploring: personal favourite. Travelling the lands, seeing the sights and often getting into trouble or needing to get rid of trouble as I go.
Personal goal: another one I use alot. Such as gathering parts for some grand creation. Or finding lost information. Or reclaiming ruins, etc.
In trouble already: Pretty much the start of Ghost Tower of Iverness. Go clear this phantom tower. Or Else.
And many others. Everyone has their own ideas for "why am I here." even if its as simple as "for Glory and Wealth!"

It gives a nice little springboard for ideas if needed and is short enough that if not needed its not a waste.

I can think of a better list and explanation of it.

I agree 100%
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Renegade_Productions

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Re: What Is The Minimum You Need To Know About Your Character?
« Reply #18 on: April 22, 2021, 08:50:52 PM »
What must you know about your game character in order to play a RPG?

Are just the stats enough to get started or do you need a multipage background with established relationships?

Stats, plus at least a vague background to work from.

If you can pick all your stats, then some kind of vague background is a good idea. Otherwise, if you're rolling stats, then making something up to go along with your rolls is a good idea.

Greentongue

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Re: What Is The Minimum You Need To Know About Your Character?
« Reply #19 on: April 23, 2021, 07:00:52 AM »
Stats, plus at least a vague background to work from.

If you can pick all your stats, then some kind of vague background is a good idea. Otherwise, if you're rolling stats, then making something up to go along with your rolls is a good idea.

How often do players come to the table with a preconceived character and does that usually work out?

I've had the issue where it was expected for the game to bend around what they wanted to play and not for them to develop their character through play.

Is this common?

Steven Mitchell

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Re: What Is The Minimum You Need To Know About Your Character?
« Reply #20 on: April 23, 2021, 07:37:24 AM »

How often do players come to the table with a preconceived character and does that usually work out?

I've had the issue where it was expected for the game to bend around what they wanted to play and not for them to develop their character through play.

Is this common?

It's common for players to want to do it that way.  If you can trust the internet, it's almost as common for some GM's to try to give it to them. 

I've been more of a purist the other way--no player-written background is going to change my setting by one iota by virtue of being in the character's background or because the player wants it.  I don't have any trouble getting players.  They all seem to enjoy playing the way I run it.  Of course, I have no way of knowing for sure about the ones who didn't like my games and how much that figured in it. 

Plus, it is not as if I don't get player input.  I love player ideas for generating a campaign or setting.  I'd rather have them direct from the player when we are talking about campaign and setting.  Character background strikes me as a singularly inefficient and ineffective means of making the entire group happy, when we can chat regularly during breaks about what we like in the campaign and what we'd like to do, then later I make a few notes.  Not to mention that sometimes when you do it that way, half the players have no idea what they want until a player makes an off-hand suggestion and they all say, "Yeah, we want to do that!"

I have done it the other way:  We've worked out what kind of setting we are playing.  I'm in the process of developing it.  The players are making characters.  I might ask a particular player or the group in general if anyone wants a particular thing in their background, with the understanding it is relevant to the campaign.  Sometimes they like the idea; sometimes they don't.  Sometimes the player loves having a thing in their background that even that player doesn't fully understand, because ... they get to discover their background during play. :D

As for preconceived characters, I'm fine with a player having a preconceived character that fits the campaign we all agreed to play.  However, I want the players to be able to take any character handed to them and play it.  It's a great skill to have and should be practiced occasionally, as ultimately I think it makes for better games.  When we do one-shots to try something new, we'll sometimes use pre-gens.  But other times we've had players roll up characters randomly, make the choices that weren't random, then throw the characters in a pile on the table and have everyone draw.  It gets players to try something new.  Most players (even mine) would chafe at this if you drag it out too long.  My wife really doesn't want to play a big bruiser knight long-term, for example, if that happens to be the draw.  She is game for a one-shot.

Lunamancer

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Re: What Is The Minimum You Need To Know About Your Character?
« Reply #21 on: April 23, 2021, 09:24:22 AM »
Health, Precision, Speed, Attack, Defense.
That's my two cents anyway. Carry on, crawler.

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Svenhelgrim

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Re: What Is The Minimum You Need To Know About Your Character?
« Reply #22 on: April 23, 2021, 08:23:07 PM »
It depends on the game.  If it’s something like DCC where you die very easily, then I won’t waste time on background. All I need are stats, class, race, AC, and HP. And maybe equipment.

If it’s Traveller, or 5e D&D the background is already included in chargen. 

Basically, the easier it is to die, the less I will worry about background.

Palleon

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Re: What Is The Minimum You Need To Know About Your Character?
« Reply #23 on: April 24, 2021, 09:17:05 AM »
The stats, race, and class.  A personality will arise during the first few sessions of play.