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As a ref and a player, I wouldn't go quite that far (but agree with the sentiment :)). I think it is a bonus when the ref uses character background material but for some types of games (the more plotted, story-arc type) or when there are a lot of characters with good backgrounds, it can get hard...

I like the concept. With a world like this, much of what gets relegated to the planes in the standard setting can just be different parts of the world. Plus as a setting it seems you could have the inhabitable part be the "twilight" ring (which has a cool aesthetic itself) and it isn't far from...

Yeah, I had a similar experience. They aren't making books I really want to buy beyond the core and powers books. They tend to tie them too much to the standard setting or their published settings. Came close to buying the book on demons 'cuz I love the aesthetic of them but the write-up/reviews...

Well... 4E actually encourages multiple low stats (9s at least), maybe too much so. But that aside, it probably depends on the game group and the character generation method more than anything else. When my groups and I did random stats, we most often did a best 3 of 4d6 method, assign as you...

As real as what happens in play? Sure, it can be as real. Any background with setting implications (such as the destruction of a town for instance or the existence of an organization) needs to be approved by the ref, I would think, but the fact that it happened pre-game as background doesn’t...

If your quible with backgrounds has more to do with the fact that it is easy to write something into a background that as a player you might not actually use, I suppose that's one thing. But the distinctions you draw below seem overstated to me. So you aren't trained pre-game start as a...

I don't really buy this. No doubt it works for your game but unless all PCs come from generic backgrounds where they knew no one of consequence, were related to no one of consequence, they and/or their family had nothing happen to them of consequence, then this doesn't feel right to me. PCs...

I have that issue with my players- they quarantine the info so tightly they don't let their PCs eventually learn it. Although I think a lot of that is forgetfulness in the sense that at the moment they (the player) learns a fact, it may be unknown to their PC. They therefore don't act on it. The...

For sure, winter matters for us. I also like the 4E endurance checks which give a crunchy, rules element to being in bad weather. My current setting has very severe winters and seasons half as long as Earth's so the players are always navigating around the weather (both seasonal and storms and...

I don't find the rules causing problems but it is easy enough to get into a rut for other reasons. We went to a complicated PC creation method some years ago partly because we just have fun doing it but also to help nudge players out of ruts (it's worked wonders). The refs in my group try hard...

Ooh! Excellent suggestion ;) On the gems front, you can sometimes find budding lapidarist selling their practice gems. I once picked up ~30 faceted smokey quartz for about $0.50 each. Sure they are irregular shapes and sometimes chipped but it is sure fun to toss a bunch of cut gems out on the...

Ptolus is a nice, even if you downplay the provided setting the maps and sketched out content is pretty handy. I have it and although I haven't used it, my co-ref ran his last campaign in it and now his son is using it.

Defer to the players where-ever possible. One must be careful on setting bad rule precedents but give them the benefit of the doubt where you can. When they propose a solution to a problem you didn't think of, when they suggest an aspect to an NPC, when they prefer one place over another, go...

For some years now we have used new character systems that as part of the process give the players elements they need to work into their background. Sometimes, these are a mixed bag (in the current campaign, they can be an outlaw but get some bonuses for that in compensation). These are meant to...

thewok in the Backstory thread got me thinking about having players play a character that might either be tied to the plot or has a secret element to it that might affect the other players. There's a lot of different levels of PC secrets, some pretty benign, some campaign shaking. Certain...

I personally wouldn't minimize backstory to that extent but you do recognize a possible pitfall: some players hogging the spotlight through excessive backgrounds. One common place to see this is a new gaming group where most players come with a typical, thin background, one does an uber...

I'd consider giving that ago. I like situations where one of the players isn't what he seems. It would depend a lot on the player, though. This could be easily abused. THere's the benign version (the PC is a changeling but the fact he/she is a changeling doesn't have any negative consequences...

Very nice- as a gamer that's the type of stories I tell my boys. We've a full range of stories from dad's own creations (mine) to cribbing off of popular fiction. Yoda-pooh and Michael-won are enjoying a long run at present. I don't always feel creative in the evening so we alternate with LOTR...

As I mentioned on another recent thread, it is possible to have too much of a good thing in PC backgrounds- so many good hooks that it is hard to use them all. But that is not typically an issue for me; usually only some of the backgrounds have hooks that ought to be reasonably included in the...

I use both Office Depot and Fedex (although on the latter, be sure you are selecting the standard paper and not their premium "executive" paper which will triple the cost). They take just about anything including pdfs. I've always used pdfs even for my own work because its more likely to get you...