Are your players risk takers?

[Lanefan]

Most of my players either construct interesting backgrounds with a hookable element or two or generate something very bland and force me to arbitrarily assign background plot elements. No one is built immune to plot hooks in my games. I take a very direct hand if a character's background seems underdeveloped or geared toward an ultimate end that I feel is inappropriate.

By the same token, though, one needs to be careful about building too much plot around any one character, because no matter what you do that'll be the character who dies next.

I'm a big risk taker because a) I rarely get too attached to my characters (a bi-product of my early days of RP in very Gygaxian settings and the fact that I am a GM more often than a player) and b) I get very impatient when my fellow players hem and haw situations to death. To me it always feels like 15 or more minutes of discussing a course of action in all but the most elaborate scenarios is just blowing hot air. As a player I prefer being in the thick of things making direct and decisive actions. I'm usually the first to kick in the door, engage the BBEG, or start the tavern brawl. Sometimes it pays off sometimes it doesn't.

Sounds like you and I would have fun running in the same party, as that's about how I play as well - to a greater or lesser extent depending on the particular character. The way I see it, the more time we spend sitting and planning, the more time the bad guys have to get *their* act together.

Lane-"charge first, ask questions never"-fan

 

[Crothian]

Depends on the game. I think they believe letting me DM them is risk enough

 

[kensanata]

I'd rather make an NPC a friend after the game starts.

I like this attitude. I joined a game to play, not to write an essay before being allowed to play. As a GM, I've asked players to add a "backup" character: Somebody who would come looking for their dead bodies in case of a TPK, somebody to ask for information, a connection to be useful later – not necessarily a connection I can abuse later in order to draw player characters into a new adventure. I'm speaking of genuinly useful people.

 

[jdrakeh]

I have not seen too many risk takers in D&D 3x games, though I suspect that is because the core rules do not explicitly reward risky behavior and, indeed, penalize it where combat is concerned. Action points and other non-core rules alllow more 'devil may care' attitude to come into play in the vein of action movies and cinematic fantasy, though without those alternate rules in place, taking any action that is not carefully gamed to take full advantage of the system's tactical foibles is asking for Character Beat Down, in my experience.

 

[Agamon]

I don't understand wanting a plot-immune PC. How incredibly dull is that? As a DM, I guess I may be biased, but when I play, I sure want my PC to be involved and in the thick of things, plot-wise.

How is needing to save a friend or family member or have a personal villain pop up be a bad thing? I understand something like a blind PC missing his right hand not being popular, but what gives?

 

[Mr. Wilson]

I don't understand wanting a plot-immune PC. How incredibly dull is that? As a DM, I guess I may be biased, but when I play, I sure want my PC to be involved and in the thick of things, plot-wise.

How is needing to save a friend or family member or have a personal villain pop up be a bad thing? I understand something like a blind PC missing his right hand not being popular, but what gives?

I once had a player privately complain that his PC was only really tangentally involved in the plot, basically because he was friends of the other PCs.

I politely pointed out the other players had presented me with backgrounds for the characters, and that the major plot points were at least partly derived from the said backgrounds.

The next week I had a new character background to incorporate in the plot.

I can't help you unless you help me is my GM philosophy when it comes to character plot hooks.

 

[hong]

Another reason not to think up detailed backstories for characters is if your DM uses a lot of modules, or, in particular, adventure paths. If you know that you'll eventually be fighting Demogorgon, Kyuss or whoever to save the world, you don't need a plot hook for your own PC. The plot is already there.

 

[IceFractal]

I think it depends on whether you see the PC as a narrative character or as an avatar to immerse yourself in.

If they're a narrative character, then being tormented by the ghosts of their past, having to make tough decisions with their family/friends in peril, making sacrifices, and generally having bad stuff happen to them (that shines the spotlight on them, incidentally), are what you want to happen - that makes a good story.

But if you're looking at things from the perspective of the character, you see a thrilling tale of adversity and being forged by the hard lesson of life ... and you say "Screw that! I want the story where I achieve my goals, lose nobody important to me, and retire happily!" Stuff like having your family threatened by your archenemies is interesting ... when it happens to other people. But if you're looking to immerse yourself as a character, you don't want one with more problems than you have.

Of course, from the DM's perspective - the PCs are always narrative characters. And that's where you sometimes get tension - between the DMs idea of what would be an interesting story, and the players' concept of how they want their PCs lives to be.



Now personally, I'm somewhat in the middle - I won't hesitate from going into normal danger, such as overwhelming enemy force, deadly traps, and so forth. But I don't really find putting my character into certain kinds of stress fun.

I'm not saying I mind the occasional "evil forces are threatening your home town" plot. But always having to worry about your family/friends being used as leverage against you, or killed in revenge - just not my cup of tea. So I generally write backgrounds where the situation won't arise. And I wouldn't appreciate the DM changing that background to make it more "interesting" - those omissions aren't a mistake, they're a hint saying "I'm not going to enjoy that plot, try a different kind of threat".

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I don't understand wanting a plot-immune PC. How incredibly dull is that? As a DM, I guess I may be biased, but when I play, I sure want my PC to be involved and in the thick of things, plot-wise.

How is needing to save a friend or family member or have a personal villain pop up be a bad thing? I understand something like a blind PC missing his right hand not being popular, but what gives?

Lots of players have had bad experiences that way. Using family members as bait is widely considered bad DMing.

For me, I'm interested in the plot. Personal villain = good, because it advances the plot. Sister kidnapped = bad, because it's a cliche that does not advance the plot. Unfortunately, lots of DMs want me to write about the personal villain and the family members. (No wonder I often have the personal villain already have killed the family members in the backstory. Now I have a plot hook and they can't be kidnapped!)

Another reason not to think up detailed backstories for characters is if your DM uses a lot of modules, or, in particular, adventure paths. If you know that you'll eventually be fighting Demogorgon, Kyuss or whoever to save the world, you don't need a plot hook for your own PC. The plot is already there.

Here here.

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

Sister kidnapped = bad, because it's a cliche that does not advance the plot. Unfortunately, lots of DMs want me to write about the personal villain and the family members. (No wonder I often have the personal villain already have killed the family members in the backstory. Now I have a plot hook and they can't be kidnapped!)

Or the even more trite "the villain is my family member"!

In some cases creating elements of a character like family can be tricky because you might come up with something (such as a family member dying) that you personally have no experience with and don't know how to act. And then if you actually try to play yourself and it really does happen that you have few ties to anyone how does it feel to be told you aren't allowed to play that?