Character backgrounds: What really needs to happen
In my last article I spoke about GMs knowing and adjusting to their players: today I explore the oft ignored subject of players assisting their GMs in return!
I once had a friend tell me that “PCs belong to players, but the story is the GM’s.” This quote is an excellent example of the wrong kind of mentality to have when forming a character, designing a game, or playing through a campaign. The story belongs to the characters, and the characters belong to the story, and thus everybody owns everything collectively; because a game is only a game with collaborative members, players and referees alike. GMs and players share the burden of storytelling in an RPG.
So, now that we have the concept down that everything is everybody’s, let’s talk about making your character. One of the easiest places to begin forging your GM/Player alliance is in developing character backgrounds which satisfy the needs of both parties.
Whether you start with the numbers and math fiddly-bits or you drum up a personality and past first, you gotta have something for your character. Hell, you can even start with the background if that helps you form the character in your head. This is normally (and best, in my ever so humble opinion) done during character creation and before the first play session.
Master storytellers have been known to request players write a short background for their characters. To the chagrin of such high caliber GMs, many players (newbies and veterans alike) either fail to write one altogether, write something they think their GM wants, or bombard their GM with a titanic list of facts concerning a character’s past life. All of these are errors!
To cut down on these incidences, some GMs like to ask their players questions during character creation. Some games are even built around that idea. There are only three questions you really need to ask as a player to get your GM/Player relationship off to a good start when the dice start rolling:
What kind of story or stories do I want to hear?
What motivates my character?
and (maybe)
How does my character know the other characters?
The reason you only “maybe” want to ask how characters know one another is because some games have that element built into them. Apocalypse World (and all of its hacks) have characters knowing one another right from the get go. Seriously, playing through a character introduction game and letting the party form “organically” sounds great, but isn’t always as good as you might expect. Remember Billy and Kimberly? (If not reread my blog “Knowing Your Players” for context.) Put them both in a bar and see how long it takes Kimberly to start a fight, keeping in mind just how interesting Billy is gonna find that (Hint: Not at all). Different players will gravitate towards different things, and introducing your players through gaming is exceedingly difficult to pull off when you have all of those interests to juggle.
Cool – let’s get back to the two questions you definitely want to answer!
The most important question to ask oneself while making their character is “What kind of story do I want to hear?” Think about it: this is your chance to influence the GM in a big, BIG fucking way. Do you like stories about drama, romance, and strong family bonds? Do you like revenge stories, with lots of action and minimal plot? Do you like operatic, classical stories, with tragic heroes and bittersweet endings? Now is your chance to let the GM know what you’re interested in seeing by writing some of those elements into your character’s background!
While incorporating those elements into your character background, don’t forget about the second question which not only plays into the character’s past, but also her personality: “What motivates my character?” Glory, gold, honor, revenge, safety, shelter, love, power, piety; all of these are acceptable goals for any character. Yes, some are terribly broad, but meant to be so. One should have two or three goals per character, and have at least one broad and one specific goal for that character at any point in time. It will help refine their personality while playing them and also allow the GM to give your character sticky situations for RP scenarios. Does your wily Rogue choose Friendship of the party over Greed of Gold, or does your battle-hardened fighter choose Newfound Love over Self-destructive Revenge?
Lastly, while coming up with these things about your character, remember to ask/work in conjunction with your GM. Oftentimes your Game Master is constructing part of (if not the whole) plot around all the character’s backgrounds and pasts. Your street samurai might want to eradicate the colonel who ordered his father murdered, but that’s the hacker’s distant dad, and the combat mage’s ex-love interest! Next thing you know, there’s a four star with a bleeding gunshot wound and a three way stand-off ala The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly over the fate of one NPC. A scenario that intense wouldn’t have happened without the GM stealing a name from one player and tagging it onto another player’s NPC. Good stuff, huh?
Here’s the part where this article really ties back into the last two I wrote. For GMs, knowing your players will help you write the stories they ask for, and for PCs, playing up your strengths will ensure that you stay in character and get more out of your gaming experience. At the end of the day, remember to talk with the GM about your character concepts and ideas, but remember to be true to yourself!
