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<blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 5476876" data-attributes="member: 18280">This.And this.But I would add a few things to these:*&nbsp; Background is always what your character believes to be true.&nbsp; And, if the background meshes with the campaign setting, it usually is.&nbsp; Tell me your character comes from a Utopian tribe or orcs, or is closely related to the King of the World, and you are inviting me to make you wrong.*&nbsp; The GM gets one chance (preferably before the first session) to add things that the PC would know the background.&nbsp; I.e., letters of introduction, mentors, old masters, family names, etc.&nbsp; The player should have a chance to discuss these additions with the GM before they are &quot;locked in&quot;.*&nbsp; Players are allowed to add details that make sense in media res; the GM then has the opportunity to use those details.&nbsp; If those details make no sense, the GM has the opportunity to nix them.BUTPatryn is absolutely right.&nbsp; The above doesn't mean messing willy-nilly with the PCs.&nbsp; That background should be used mostly to ground the PCs in the campaign milieu, and to give them sources of aid and advice.&nbsp; Yes, family can add complications, but those complications should usually be decision points.&nbsp; I.e., Aunt Mildred can help us get in to see the Wizard, but we'll have to endure one of her boring dinner parties and her endless, pointless stories before she'll do it.&nbsp; Is it worth it?Absolutely, contacts can be used to throw hooks.&nbsp; But you need to be careful.Good:&nbsp; The PCs know a merchant who has often been of service to them, offering them the best merchandise for a good price, and supplying them with the scuttlebut he has heard.&nbsp; When he has a little problem, the players like him enough to want to help him.&nbsp; They actually refuse pay.&nbsp; AND SOMETIMES THE PROBLEM IS SO TRIVIAL IT CAN BE SOLVED WITH A MINUTE OR TWO OF GAME PLAY/NARRATION!Bad:&nbsp; A town is in the way of a rampaging army of gnolls.&nbsp; Your mother, who has never actually come into play before now, lives in that town.I would also like to point out/agree that PCs should be made with some form of motivation from the word Go, or be provided one by the GM.&nbsp; Even if the PC only wants to get rich, there should be something that makes the character move under his own volition.&nbsp; Apathetic loner PCs can be left in the bar while the rest of us play!&nbsp; <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing&nbsp; &nbsp; :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" />RC</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Raven Crowking, post: 5476876, member: 18280"] This. And this. But I would add a few things to these: * Background is always what your character believes to be true. And, if the background meshes with the campaign setting, it usually is. Tell me your character comes from a Utopian tribe or orcs, or is closely related to the King of the World, and you are inviting me to make you wrong. * The GM gets one chance (preferably before the first session) to add things that the PC would know the background. I.e., letters of introduction, mentors, old masters, family names, etc. The player should have a chance to discuss these additions with the GM before they are "locked in". * Players are allowed to add details that make sense [I]in media res[/I]; the GM then has the opportunity to use those details. If those details make no sense, the GM has the opportunity to nix them. BUT Patryn is absolutely right. The above doesn't mean messing willy-nilly with the PCs. That background should be used mostly to ground the PCs in the campaign milieu, and to give them sources of aid and advice. Yes, family can add complications, but those complications should usually be decision points. I.e., Aunt Mildred can help us get in to see the Wizard, but we'll have to endure one of her boring dinner parties and her endless, pointless stories before she'll do it. Is it worth it? Absolutely, contacts can be used to throw hooks. But you need to be careful. Good: The PCs know a merchant who has often been of service to them, offering them the best merchandise for a good price, and supplying them with the scuttlebut he has heard. When he has a little problem, the players like him enough to [B][I]want[/I][/B] to help him. They actually refuse pay. [B][I]AND SOMETIMES THE PROBLEM IS SO TRIVIAL IT CAN BE SOLVED WITH A MINUTE OR TWO OF GAME PLAY/NARRATION![/I] [/B]Bad: A town is in the way of a rampaging army of gnolls. Your mother, who has never actually come into play before now, lives in that town. I would also like to point out/agree that PCs should be made with some form of motivation from the word Go, or be provided one by the GM. Even if the PC only wants to get rich, there should be something that makes the character move under his own volition. Apathetic loner PCs can be left in the bar while the rest of us play! :lol: RC [/QUOTE]

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