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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 8975288" data-attributes="member: 6785785">I'll compare two games I played in and the two characters I played to kind of show what kind of contrast there is between different types of games.D&D 5E- MalacusRaceEladrinClassWizardBackgroundAnthropologistPersonality TraitsI prefer the company of those who aren’t like me, including people of other races. I would risk life and limb to discover a new culture or unravel the secrets of a dead one.IdealsDiscovery. I want to be the first person to discover my lost culture.BondsI have a trinket that I believe is the key to finding my long-lost society.Finree of the elves of the Gnarley Forest told me about the denizens of the Temple of Elemental Evil and how they had learned how to travel the planes. The area has grown dangerous once again, and she cautioned me to be careful. She also asked me to find two missing elves, Lady Talafi and Sir Juffer, and I swore I would do so if possible. She directed me to Black Jay, an elf-friend in Hommlet who may know more about the missing elves.FlawsMy search for my lost lineage sometimes makes me blind to other things.So the gist for this character is that he's an eladrin, the last of his tribe or community still on Oerth, and his people somehow disappeared long ago. He's studied all kinds of cultures and has now gone out into the world, to the Village of Hommlet to investigate strange happenings there. He believes that his people may have been involved in the Battle of Emridy Meadows, which ended the original threat of the Temple years ago. The bond above in italics was one given to me by the GM.So far in play, I have indeed found and saved both Lady Talafi and Sir Juffer. There has been no mention of my lost people. The GM has looped in some of the bonds of other characters in a more meaningful way. My guess is that such aligned more directly with existing suggestions on how to hook characters into the events of play. Otherwise, my background and BIFT choices have been little more than triggers to get inspiration, and to kind of define how I play the character. Play has been about the situation with the Temple, with the PCs investigating it and then delving into the Temple itself to fight the dangers there.Blades in the Dark- Jesper "Risk" Kellis,Playbook: LurkHeritage: Akorosi, born in DoskvolBackground: Noble- scion of a minor houseFriend: Roslyn Kellis, a noble (his cousin, and the one member of his family that knows his secrets)Rival: Darmot, a Bluecoat; Later- Lilith, a demon of lustVice/Purveyor: Obligation/ family- must attend family functions and meet family obligations in order for no one to ask questions about what he does in his free time; Later: Stupor/ Pux Bolin at the Harping Monkey in NightmarketRisk is a minor noble, who wants to avoid entering the real world, and so has remained a perpetual university student. However, he's recently gotten involved in labor activism and become friends with some criminals. It turns out he's a natural at crime, and is an adrenaline junkie, so he's grouped up with a smuggling operation, Capable Carriages.Throughout the campaign, Risk's family obligations were a constant entanglement for him. The struggle between remaining a criminal and still maintaining appearances with his family was ever-present. Eventually, because of the machincations of his rival, a Bluecoat named Darmot, his family realized what was going on and cast him out, and he had to find a new vice to replace that of his family. He turned to booze, and became a bit of a drunk. Around the same time, he learned that Darmot was possessed by a demon, and it was determined to destroy him. He and the crew took down Darmot, but then Lilith starting possessing others and complicating Risk's life. This left Risk paranoid, and had him questioning his decision. He saw the impact that violence had on others, and it started to take a toll on him. Ultimately, Risk's father was killed, and it turned out that the family had been involved in some shady dealings, and his mother asked him to return and take his place with the family. Risk agreed to do so, with the caveat that he was allowed to do so his way. With his allies, he managed to keep his family safe and fend off their troubles, while also expanding the criminal enterprise of Capable Carriages. When we stopped play, we had manipulated events so that Risk was going to gain a seat on the city council in exchange for resolving some major issues. It seemed a pretty suitable closing for the character given that his initial stance was to avoid any responsibility.********So two different characters in two different games. One, D&D 5e, is very much about the setting and the initial situation established by recent events. I would describe it as a site-based adventure. Very little about my character drives play in any way. The meaningful Bond that I have was given to me by the GM. Blades, on the other hand, was very much about Risk (and the other characters). Events revolved around them and their circle of friends and family, and their goals. Character is always driving play, and the players offer the GM lots of material just via character creation.I wouldn't say that making either character was more difficult than the other. Both are reasonably simple. In both cases, I did about as much work as I did above typing their summaries. The most complex thing about the wizard was selecting spells, but for a first level character that's not really that tough. Neither required pages of backstory, or crazy amounts of effort by me as a player.The idea that participants in an RPG need to do all this effort before hand is not a universal truth. It's a choice we make. Some games will require more than others, but even the most prep-intensive games don't require the amount of effort that's often sited in these discussions.</blockquote>

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