1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Do you create backgrounds\biographies for your PCs?

Discussion in 'Playground' started by diagnull, Jan 9, 2008.

  1. diagnull Gems: 5/31
    Latest gem: Andar


    Joined:
    May 31, 2007
    Messages:
    122
    Likes Received:
    0
    This question goes for any RPG I suppose, but what brought me to this point was playing NWN.

    I'll admit, I never thought to much about my PCs beyond class and alignment until recently. In fact, many RPGs are crafted in such a way that it's not easy to create your own biography without interfering with the game's internal logic, so I didn't really think of it.

    When I started playing NWN and especially when I started playing community MODs, I felt like something was lacking, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was the same kind of feeling that I felt while playing Icewind Dale, but I didn't know what it was.

    Then I decide to try some NWN PW's, specifically Layonara and A Land far Away. Both of those PW require you to submit a biography and history for the character you intend to play, and they take it seriously.

    For example, I've created 3 PCs in Layonara and each one required a few edits to the PC history before they were approved to play.

    They asked questions like "What makes this PC this alignment?", "How did they discover their link to nature (as a druid.)", "How did this wannabe mercenary feel the first time she killed someone, or has she yet?"

    Going through this process led to my Layonara PCs being more "alive" than my other NWN PCs. Suddenly, I had characters that had a past, they had parents, they had issues, motives, fears, etc.

    but why stop there I thought? So, I went back and started writing Bios for my Single Player PCs, and you know what...now they seem more alive too.

    Even more than that, my campaigns seem more alive now.

    For example, using the OHS Henchmen system, I create a party of 3 adventurers to run through the conversion of the Secrets of Saltmarsh modules U1-U3). At first, they were just kind of generic Paladin, Cleric, and Rogue characters.

    But now, I've gone back and create a history for each of them leadind up to when they met and why they went to Saltmarsh. Suddenly, their fates are now intertwined and they each have a life of their own, and a specific goal. My "generic" cleric is now a Priest of Tempus, who is multiclassing as a bard so he can sing the praises of Tempus and enlighten the unbelievers.

    So, my question for you is...do you create a history for your PC's? Am I the only one who wasn't doing it? Or am I the only weirdo doing it?

    :)

    -D
     
  2. Gnarfflinger

    Gnarfflinger Wiseguy in Training

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2004
    Messages:
    5,423
    Likes Received:
    30
    Sometimes. Sometimes a campaign calls for it. Other times I just need a character quickly, and can go from there.

    If I ever get a Ravenloft group together, I will require a background for each character to properly convey the horror that the setting relies on.
     
  3. Aldazar Gems: 24/31
    Latest gem: Water Opal


    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2003
    Messages:
    1,895
    Likes Received:
    3
    Well, generally for me, I very often tend to have a history of some sort floating around my head for ANY character I create in ANY game I play where it's possible to create your own character, even with my SDvRAW created wrestlers. It just makes me feel more attached to the character in question. It kind of adds to my motivation to achieve whatever I'm setting out to achieve if you get what I mean...and particularly now with my WoW avatar, I still find myself pondering his full history at the oddest times :nuts: perhaps?
     
  4. kmonster Gems: 24/31
    Latest gem: Water Opal


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2005
    Messages:
    1,917
    Likes Received:
    27
    Never. They become heroes during the game, what they did before doesn't matter and I even don't want to know it.
     
  5. Nakia

    Nakia The night is mine Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2003
    Messages:
    5,575
    Media:
    102
    Likes Received:
    136
    Gender:
    Female
    Depends on the game but if possible I do try to create a history for my character. Just makes the RP game seem more real to me.
     
  6. T2Bruno

    T2Bruno The only source of knowledge is experience Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2004
    Messages:
    9,765
    Media:
    15
    Likes Received:
    440
    Gender:
    Male
    Never. Alignment and class are good enough for me to roleplay. I'll choose different feats and skills to make the character unique and give it personality.
     
  7. cmorgan Gems: 6/31
    Latest gem: Jasper


    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2006
    Messages:
    192
    Likes Received:
    3
    Always. With any game that it can remotely be done with. Even in Civ III, Rome:Total War, or Railroad Tycoon.
     
  8. Felinoid

    Felinoid Who did the what now? ★ SPS Account Holder

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2005
    Messages:
    7,470
    Likes Received:
    6
    Gender:
    Male
    I typically go with some very basic stuff, and then let the character develop further on his/her own. Sometimes even in ways that require some sort of breaking point for a change. It's fun to go along for the ride. ^_^
     
  9. Aikanaro Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone


    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2001
    Messages:
    5,521
    Likes Received:
    20
    Regarding cPRGs: never. If it's the right sort of game, I might come up with a basic personality and ethical stance - but only if the game is going to support that. On first playthrough I'd just use my own, anyway.

    If it was supported in the game I would, and would consider it awesome. I don't see much point in doing it if it's just going to be completely ignored.
     
  10. Lord Domino Gems: 2/31
    Latest gem: Fire Agate


    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2005
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Our PnP group has always tried to have backgrounds for its characters. These tend to start off fairly simple (origins, immediate family, reason for adventuring, appearance and personality, etc.) and get gradually more detailed as the campaign progresses (to include perhaps origins of equipment, influential people in his life, and so on).

    I suppose we've just always been big on the role-playing thing; we've never been all that fond of "2D" characters which are only in it for the class and race. We did end up "recommending" a member to leave when they said that they weren't interested in writing a background or role-playing, because they just didn't really fit in with our style of play.

    That's PnP, anyway. In other things, I can't really say as I haven't had as much experience of them, but I reckon it would still be the case that either would work well, but provide for different styles of play. Either way I don't think you're the only one, so just pick whichever one you prefer!
     
  11. mata5 Gems: 3/31
    Latest gem: Lynx Eye


    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2007
    Messages:
    61
    Likes Received:
    0
    I only have this image of a chaotic neutral half-elf bard and a lawful good priest of ilmater in my mind, but that's just it... I can't seem to develop it further :D
     
  12. Elfen Lied

    Elfen Lied The Bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2006
    Messages:
    582
    Likes Received:
    5
    Yeh, I like to think about that stuff, Makes the character more 3 dimension or whatever. Plus it's fun for me to doing that stuff. I often do it for funzies, no matter the game, even Diablo.

    I even give the multiplayer characters I make on BGII backgrounds and histories. I don't really like that single generic paragraph it makes for your extra MP characters.
     
  13. 8people

    8people 8 is just another way of looking at infinite ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2002
    Messages:
    7,141
    Media:
    74
    Likes Received:
    133
    Gender:
    Female
    [​IMG] Every character I create has their own histories, their own personality, I never view them as "CG elf ranger" or whatever I always view them as "Amanusal" or whatever their name is. Whatever game I play, on computer or round a table. I will know everything from their favourite colour to their homelands and relatives, even favourite foods or combinations of spells/attacks will develop differently for each character, even if they are not optimally effective it is what they like to do.

    I've been told I go into abnormal amounts of detail whenever I create something though, so I guess it's not normal. :(
     
  14. Elfen Lied

    Elfen Lied The Bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2006
    Messages:
    582
    Likes Received:
    5
    Sounds normal to me.

    In BG all the NPCs have backgrounds, so why shouldn't the extra characters you make also have their own backstories. They may have been through a lot of stuff with charname, but how did they come to join him or her?

    Did a thief try to pick pocket them and instead of dobbing them in, did charname think of prehaps a better or worse punishment, them serving as charname's scout?

    If charname is a Paladin, and based on a banter between Valygar and Keldorn, it seems some Paladins dislike mages, how did a custom made mage join in charname's adventures.

    This is stuff I like to read, even if I have to make it up myself. I love how BGII give you the oppurtunity to do this, expand on characters, so they aren't quite so bland.

    It's so much to make your characters more three dimensional.
     
  15. Cap'n CJ

    Cap'n CJ Arrr! Veteran

    Joined:
    May 29, 2004
    Messages:
    1,389
    Media:
    4
    Likes Received:
    35
    Gender:
    Male
    I'll do it for PnP, but not CRPGs.
     
  16. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2002
    Messages:
    16,815
    Media:
    11
    Likes Received:
    58
    Gender:
    Male
    For a Persistent World I would. For characters I just create but never play (I had a pack once, but didn't submit it), I do. For characters in my singleplayer party games (e.g. IWD1-2), I don't normally. It's in my head if at all.
     
  17. Elfen Lied

    Elfen Lied The Bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2006
    Messages:
    582
    Likes Received:
    5
    Still you cannot deny it's funness, even if it's all in your head. I like doing it so I will continue to do so.
     
  18. iLLusioN' Gems: 16/31
    Latest gem: Shandon


    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2003
    Messages:
    817
    Likes Received:
    3
    I do, but mostly in my head. If nothing else it just gives me a different approach to all the dialog options.
     
  19. Dice

    Dice ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2002
    Messages:
    5,124
    Media:
    24
    Likes Received:
    149
    Gender:
    Female
    I don't usually do much with my characters beyond the general physical adjustments and attributes. But I mostly stick to the single player games so it doesn't matter. I think that if I do start playing with a party I will enjoy making a past for my character.
     
  20. The Shaman Gems: 28/31
    Latest gem: Star Sapphire


    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2004
    Messages:
    2,831
    Likes Received:
    54
    I often don't bother; my main exception was my IWD II party. However, I do try to have the character with a quirk or two, just in case. In a proper pen&paper game, of course, it's very different - there I try to make actual characters, even if some aspects of their personality don't see much light.
     
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.