Characters 1st level but the background is 5th

[Crothian]

I've been getting some character backgrouds for a modern game I'm going to be running and while all the characters are first level, some of the people have a background so rich with flavor that it's pretty impossible to believe that the character is first. Basically, there are a few things in the background that a first level character just could not be able to do.

So, is this is problem others have and is this really a problem?

 

[arwink]

Regularly. It's one of the flaws of asking for background. How much can you come up with and make it interesting and still realistically be a 1st level character.

it's one of the many reasons I use xp for background deals. If a Pc says their character was fighting barbarian hordes int he Uthel Wastelands, their skills and equipment will at least show some sign of it when they start.

 

[Capellan]

Well, it depends what "fighting the barbarians" means. It could mean "months and months of sitting in a drafty borderland fort, being bored out of my mind 99% of the time".

The problem is that sometimes you ask for a background and the players feel like they have to be all heroic in it. When really, of course, they don't. The hero bit is still to come. It can be a bit embarassing if you are a bigger hero before the game starts than after it, after all

I've tried giving XP for backgrounds in the past, but I've not been satisfied with the results. It's better in 3E than it was in 2nd Ed, but the advantage of the work that was done still dissipates too quickly for my tastes.

Hence my plan to try equating background with extra points for purchasing ability scores. We'll see how that goes in my next game. And at least no-one will be able to bitch about the dice, that way!

 

[Mr Fidgit]

(hope you don't mind a slight hijack Crothian)

so what do you do if some or most of the gaming group creates backgrounds that are so rich they could be much higher level, but the rest do what they're supposed to and create a background for a first level character? (i.e. a person without so much life experience)

 

[Rahkan]

I remember in one oriental game I was playing I wanted to call my character the River Scorpion, and my DM insisted on my needing a reason (the real reason that I have zero Oriental name pronunciation skills) so I invented this story that I had been passing a carnival which was being attended by a local lord and I went into the tent and noticed that one of the scorpions had gotten loose from the "zoo" and unwittingly crawled onto the lord's son's collar and was about to strike. So with one swift flash my character swung his naginata and speared the scorpion on its tip.

Now of course the two main problems here are, A. How did I get within striking range of the Lord's son with a naginata (glad my DM never caught onto that) and B. Myself being a first level character, I had a greater chance of cutting off his head than hitting the scorpion. Now, in a very annoying (though somewhat justified) fashion, my DM latched onto this and endlessly pissed me off about it until I began to hate the River Scorpion and finally abandoned all thought of my Lawful Good Naginata-wielding Peasant Warrior. I don't know who was right or wrong (it was probably him) but it killed alot of my enthusiasm for that character and campaign. So in the end I'd say you got to pick your battles.

 

[Crothian]

I'm not sure I see the difference Fidget. One guy has a more herioc background, but he's still a first level character like everyone else.

 

[arwink]

The problem is that sometimes you ask for a background and the players feel like they have to be all heroic in it. When really, of course, they don't. The hero bit is still to come. It can be a bit embarassing if you are a bigger hero before the game starts than after it, after all

One of the good things about offering definite rewards. It lets people look at what level they can end up, and scale their background towards it. IT's essentially a complex way of saying "Explain to me how you've become second level, and I'll give you the xp to get there."

 

[Mr Fidgit]

I'm not sure I see the difference Fidget. One guy has a more herioc background, but he's still a first level character like everyone else.

arwink and Capellan are talking about giving rewards for rich backgrounds (exp and ability scores)

so what happens if, let's say, you're starting a game and most of the party creates characters with rich backgrounds and a few don't (reflecting the type of experiences a first level character should have - very few)? if the characters with rich backgrounds are rewarded, won't that encourage everyone to create 'rich' backgrounds so they don't miss out on those rewards?

 

[Crothian]

We'll find out as that's what I'm doing minus the bonus abilitiy scores. I have rich backgrounds from two out of 7 PCs. I'm not announcing how much XP each person is getting or anything like that, but I will remind people that this is a good way for bonus XP.

 

[Capellan]

so what happens if, let's say, you're starting a game and most of the party creates characters with rich backgrounds and a few don't (reflecting the type of experiences a first level character should have - very few)? if the characters with rich backgrounds are rewarded, won't that encourage everyone to create 'rich' backgrounds so they don't miss out on those rewards?

I give a pretty specific set of questions that I want answered, rather than just saying "give me a background". For each question which I believe has received a properly though out response, I give a small award.

Telling me about your life on the dairy farm in Lower Stoink is worth just as much as telling me about all the barbarians you've killed. Possibly more, if you give me better NPCs and adventure hooks to work with.

The players have been told what level they are starting at. If they write a background that's not appropriate to that, then they haven't written a good background