DMs: What are your character pet peeves?

[Barastrondo]

Yeah, I've seen that one come up quite a few times over the years and it feels a bit disheartening to know the work you put in on coming up with a setting or setting mashup or system mashup is irrelevant to the player's character concept or efforts.

I worry about it less in terms of the work I've done and more in terms of the game to come. If three players are raring to explore the setting and have made thematic characters, and the fourth is embedding his pet character concept with no thought to theme, it's not just about my work. It's about the other three players, too. Having a square peg in the group means that the other players either have to work harder to try sanding his corners off and getting him to engage, or they have to largely ignore the aspects of his character that don't fit. Neither approach is likely to be much fun for all involved.

 

[Mark CMG]

I worry about it less in terms of the work I've done and more in terms of the game to come. If three players are raring to explore the setting and have made thematic characters, and the fourth is embedding his pet character concept with no thought to theme, it's not just about my work. It's about the other three players, too. Having a square peg in the group means that the other players either have to work harder to try sanding his corners off and getting him to engage, or they have to largely ignore the aspects of his character that don't fit. Neither approach is likely to be much fun for all involved.

Oh, indeed. but at the point of being proffered the character concept, the only sure thing is that the one player has lost out on the idea that they have a new setting to explore with some sense of sympatico if they immerse themselves. As to what you can do going forward, it can be a struggle but at least you have some idea of what that struggle will entail (and might find ways to counter the limited views of the one player).

 

[Elf Witch]

For those of you who are pointing to the variations of "my background is really an excuse for not having a background" ... I tried a group a few months ago in which one character's background was that they couldn't remember their background because they had amnesia.

I wasn't even the DM and I wanted to call "BS" on that.

I think it depends on how it is handled I have seen it done well. In our old Shadowrun game one of the characters had murdered his mother and in a fit of rage pulled some of his cyberware out of his brain leaving him with amnesia. The amnesiac had shaman powers and was this really sweet guy as his memories starting coming back he became more ruthless.

In the game I run right now my roommate is playing a character with amnesia this was partly because she wanted to play an elf and I was not ready to reveal the secrets behind the elves so we worked together and gave her amnesia as she slowly gets her memory back I am revealing more and more of the secret.

 

[Mark CMG]

I think it depends on how it is handled I have seen it done well. In our old Shadowrun game one of the characters had murdered his mother and in a fit of rage pulled some of his cyberware out of his brain leaving him with amnesia. The amnesiac had shaman powers and was this really sweet guy as his memories starting coming back he became more ruthless.

In the game I run right now my roommate is playing a character with amnesia this was partly because she wanted to play an elf and I was not ready to reveal the secrets behind the elves so we worked together and gave her amnesia as she slowly gets her memory back I am revealing more and more of the secret.

Those are very clever sidesteps, if you will.


("You have given out too much XP in the last 24 hours . . ." )

 

[S'mon]

Yeah, I've seen that one come up quite a few times over the years and it feels a bit disheartening to know the work you put in on coming up with a setting or setting mashup or system mashup is irrelevant to the player's character concept or efforts.

I've started going more with a 'character pitch' approach where the player proposes a concept to me, and I decide if it fits into the game. However as an alternative I'll provide a pregen with a rough background that fits in, then later the player can alter the pregen and develop the background. I've needed to do that a lot with my Wilderlands game as few players know the setting. For my Forgotten Realms game most people seem to know it.

 

[Votan]

For those of you who are pointing to the variations of "my background is really an excuse for not having a background" ... I tried a group a few months ago in which one character's background was that they couldn't remember their background because they had amnesia.

I wasn't even the DM and I wanted to call "BS" on that.

See, that is so easy to handle "in game". Amnesia means that a) the DM gets to set the background as a "fun" surprise and b) they have a whole host of obligations they don't remember. Maybe they owe debts that they are inadvertently defaulting on? Or perhaps they are a wanted being in some jurisdiction? Or maybe their old personality had a very different alignment (think Samantha Who as a TV series).

If you see this as a cop-out, then these surprises can be more "interesting" than normal.

Either the result will be a ton of fun (in which case everything worked out for the best) or the player will be determined to do their own background time (really?? I am wanted for treason in how many kingdoms???).

 

[JacktheRabbit]

This is a bad post and you should feel bad. Do you also get mad at the 8 strength bard who lets the party barbarian bust all the doors down? Of course not, because even stupid people are capable of realizing that they have weaknesses their fellow adventurers can cover. Players work as a team, get used to it or stop dm'ing.

Not at all because I telligence and strength are different. A weak person can be smart enough to know their limitations and accept them. A moron is a moron and and unwise moron is even worse because they are not wise enough to know they are better off letting others help them. Finally add in the low charisma and now you have an unwise moron who doesn't realize how dumb he is and whose general psonality is so abrasive that people as a rule don't want to help them. Save their life? Maybe, it is a party trying to work together for a common goal. But doing all the shopping for the prick of a half Orc barbarian who isn't going to say thank you or appreciate it (in character at least) just so the Orc saves a few gold is very poor gaming and a pet peeve. It also allows a poorly designed min maxed completely ignore the massive hole in their character design.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

I have no problem with the amnesia character background. Sure its a cop out but as a DM can be so mean and fun with it.

Just because a character has amnesia as a background doesn't mean he is a lost prince or hero. He could just as easily be a thief who was beaten by the town guard into amnesia. He could be a former assassin. Heck he could be the son of poor first farmers who got kicked in the head by the farmers ass.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Players that make ineffective characters. I get that you're a special snowflake who wants to have some random assortment of roleplaying menagerie stuck together by sheer force of will, but the simple fact of the matter is that such a character is a detriment to the rest of the group. Work WITHIN the system, not AGAINST it.

Or ask questions and find out how to make it work.

Mostly, I'd like people to be able to contribute at any point. Not necessarily all be the best at everything, of course, but at least be able to sort of contribute/back up.

In Shadowrun, they should be able to do *something* in a fight, and investigate, and do some talky bits. They should also know how to do their character build. Like, a hacker should know what all their programs do and how to accomplish a task in the Matrix, and a gun bunny should know how many dice they should roll to blow someone's head off.

Brad

 

[Verdande]

I have no problem with the amnesia character background. Sure its a cop out but as a DM can be so mean and fun with it.

Just because a character has amnesia as a background doesn't mean he is a lost prince or hero. He could just as easily be a thief who was beaten by the town guard into amnesia. He could be a former assassin. Heck he could be the son of poor first farmers who got kicked in the head by the farmers ass.

I really like this.

Yeah, amnesia is a cop-out, but it's a very graceful one. Instead of saying, "My character is boring and has no interesting background", at least they're saying "My character might have an interesting background- later, when I think of one!"

It's a bit like being late versus never showing up. Sure, they're both annoying, but when the late guy brings you some nice swag to make up for his tardiness, you can forgive him.