How do you get involved in your character ?

BoldItalic · May 27, 2017

Personally, I like writing narrative backgrounds for my characters beforehand because it helps me to "know" them and it helps them to "come alive" in my mind. But I don't expect the backgrounds I create in this way to matter very much once the game actually starts, the other PCs make themselves known and the setting starts to become clear. That requires something different - a justification for the personal relationships between the PCs and a justification for my PC's connection with the setting, that the DM can maybe use as leverage later on. That has to be an iterative process, improvising details when it becomes appropriate to support the ongoing narrative. Sometimes I can re-use details from my original sketch and work them in, but usually I end up just letting it all go and re-inventing the character to suit the game I find myself in.

If I'm DMing, I don't necessarily expect my players to come armed with a detailed background ( [MENTION=97077]iserith[/MENTION] has this idea that backgrounds should be no longer than a single tweet, and I think maybe he's right) but, being a lover of narrative, I do hope that they will allow something fun to emerge as we go along. It depends very much on the players, though, and it's no good forcing it. Some people just want to roll dice, and that's okay too.

Libramarian · May 27, 2017

I like to know the surface details, like what they look and sound and dress like, their mannerisms, etc. I don't usually want to know much about their values and motivations. Even better if they're a bit inscrutable.

Many seem to think that you need PCs with well-developed inner lives to have a "serious" campaign, but that's not true. When you think about it, there's nothing funny about killing things and taking their stuff. In fact the shallowness or inaccessibility of the PCs' inner lives can itself contribute aesthetically to the story, like in a Cormac McCarthy novel. You could say that Blood Meridian is basically a gang of murderhobos wandering the Southwestern US killing "things" and taking their stuff. The Road is basically a father and son wandering the Southeastern US searching for treasure (OK their relationship and their moral code is important but its pretty straightforward). Nevertheless these books are rich with meaning, almost painfully beautiful, and not silly at all.

Granted a D&D game for several reasons is unlikely to produce a story approaching those heights, but the general point stands that it's not necessarily crude or silly to focus on the where/what/how rather than who/why.

Jhaelen · May 29, 2017

I very much like my character's abilities to make narrative 'sense' and this actually takes precendece over (full) optimization.

I often start from a very mechanical viewpoint and pick what interests me and then try to come up with a story that explains how the character ended up that way. If I can't think of a good reason for some ability, I replace it with something that is easier to explain with the background details I've already decided on at that point. So it's a bit of back and forth, but I usually end up with a pretty interesting and unique history.

Sometimes I have everything fully fledged out at the beginning of the game, sometimes I continue to add further details as the campaign goes on.

Often it doesn't take much to get my creative juices flowing. E.g. in our 4e Dark Sun campaign, once I decided I wanted to play a Dragon Magic Sorcerer with the Templar background, I noticed the great synergy with the Dragonborn race and decided I'd be a 'Tyrian Spy' for Dregoth, the Undead Sorcerer King, and the creator of the Dray race (which is what the Dragonborn in Dark Sun represent). Then everything else quickly fell into place.
Imho, the most important aspect of a character is to note a few of his likes and dislikes, open and hidden goals and main character traits. If you have this, you have a good guideline how your character should react in any given situation. It's a lot better than D&D's default alignment system.

I also really enjoy writing session reports from the viewpoint of my character. It's an excellent way to truly get into your character's state of mind.

Legatus Legionis · May 30, 2017

Lwaxy · May 30, 2017

For me it all depends on the campaign. I have chars with as good as no background, and some where the background was always detailed. I get into it easily enough to just go along, providing the concept isn't too outlandish.