Does a PC Have Amnesia? Try This!

Qualidar said:
Not Old School enough for you?
Written in modern English.
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Beowulf (c. 700 AD) is the one true work of literature. All other versions are a pale imitation of the real thing.
 

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Maldor said:
i guess i'm not as forgiveing as most of you i'd kill all the rest the party during my watch then hand in my typed character backgruond
"how about that i got my mimory back i was a CE assassin who bumped his head while escaping the guard after i killed that king a few months ago what a odd world we live in i think i'll go cook up some orphins now.
Sorry, but I can't let this one lie.

First off, Maldor, this isn't an issue of being 'forgiving'. If I ask my players to come up with some back-story, and one of them uses amnesia as a cop-out, he's essentially telling me that he doesn't CARE what his character's history is. This character didn't just appear out of nowhere, living in a vacuum; he's got family, childhood friends, and all the things he did to acquire the skills and abilities he possesses. If someone's not willing to do ANY work on that — even just a couple paragraphs will do, I'm not asking for a novella — while everyone else at the table put forth such an effort, that player should expect the DM to throw in elements he may not have requested.

Mind you, this can be an interesting exercise when handled properly. The player has to be willing to accept that he may have elements in his background that he might not be comfortable with, and be willing to play them out.

Second, the action you proposed — killing off all the other characters while they're asleep — would have two results in any game I run, and that a competent DM should do in my opinion. You would be asked to leave the premises, with the knowledge that you'll never be invited to another game. The other characters would be subjected to a "reality check", in which your character never undertook that action, and was in fact never a part of the group. No DM should ever be willing to participate with a player who is so willing — if not eager — to ruin everyone else's fun for personal satisfaction.

One last thing.
Maldor said:
remimber if someones being a dick to you you should be a dick to them
Have you never heard the phrase "turn the other cheek" or "forgive and forget"?
 

LonePaladin said:
One last thing.
Have you never heard the phrase "turn the other cheek" or "forgive and forget"?
Careful - I'm sure discussion of religion ("turn the other cheek" vs "an eye for an eye") is against the rules ;)
 

Whether or not this tactic would work, to my mind, is pretty much dependent on the tone of the players and the DM. If it's angry or spiteful, it wouldn't work. If it's playful, it might, if the player's a good sport and loves to improv.

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If a DM does indeed explicitly want a background for the PCs and one player does hand in the amnesia defense, then yes this player probably deserves some kind of humor at his own expense. I couldn't see such mockery going beyond an adventure or two though, so as not to ruffle too many feathers.

However, just this past weekend I created a bard character with amnesia for Paizo's Pathfinder campaign. I dutifully read the campaign primer provided but decided on amnesia just for the comedic aspects. I've honestly never heard of amnesia being used as a cop-out but then maybe by group is unusually conscientious. :lol: In any case, my bard's first memories were from one year ago and I did write out a background from that point on (even to acquiring my "name" Leusten--a combination of "loose tongue" which a tavern-goer warned would get me into trouble one day) so perhaps my POV on this doesn't help the discussion.
 

I have a question about the OP... what's the payoff? If the character has had some unexplained personality change, what is the explanation?
 

LonePaladin said:
If I ask my players to come up with some back-story, and one of them uses amnesia as a cop-out, he's essentially telling me that he doesn't CARE what his character's history is. This character didn't just appear out of nowhere, living in a vacuum; he's got family, childhood friends, and all the things he did to acquire the skills and abilities he possesses. If someone's not willing to do ANY work on that — even just a couple paragraphs will do, I'm not asking for a novella — while everyone else at the table put forth such an effort, that player should expect the DM to throw in elements he may not have requested.

The thing I don't understand about this entire thread is the idea that somehow an "amnesiac" back story is a cop-out (really what I don't understand is that a DM would allow it to be a cop-out). I know as DM I would never allow "My character has amnesia" to be the entire backstory. OK, the character has amnesia...fine. He also had a life before that, certainly there was some sort of traumatic event which caused the amnesia, and possibly he's been doing stuff since he had amnesia. Get to writing.

As was stated earlier...the character has amnesia, not the player.
 

Nieboh said:
The thing I don't understand about this entire thread is the idea that somehow an "amnesiac" back story is a cop-out (really what I don't understand is that a DM would allow it to be a cop-out). I know as DM I would never allow "My character has amnesia" to be the entire backstory. OK, the character has amnesia...fine. He also had a life before that, certainly there was some sort of traumatic event which caused the amnesia, and possibly he's been doing stuff since he had amnesia. Get to writing.

As was stated earlier...the character has amnesia, not the player.

Welcome to the boards!

Amnesia is a cop-out if the player won't describe anything about the character beyond "he's got amnesia". If the player thinks about what he was before or how his amnesia happened or anything else beyond "he's got amnesia", he might actually like the concept. But a player turning in a backstory of one sentence, three words, and doesn't tell the DM anything beyond that, it should raise some red flags.
 
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Napftor said:
However, just this past weekend I created a bard character with amnesia for Paizo's Pathfinder campaign. I dutifully read the campaign primer provided but decided on amnesia just for the comedic aspects.

Do you think that's a good idea?

"Bard, play us a song!"
"I would, but I forgot them all"
"Bard, you guys usually know about old legends and stuff. Why does this city have a ruined 300-foot-bridge that leads out onto the sea."
"Whatever I knew about that went away along with my other memories"
"So, you are a good singer, provided you don't have to sing any actual songs, and know about legends and stuff, provided you heard about them within the last two weeks?"
"Uh...."
"How do you know you're even a bard? Maybe you're just one of nature's bathtub baritones, and your real vocation is warmage?"
"Uhm.... Errr.... Shut up!"

;) :p
 

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