GM's, what info do you want to know about the PCs? Players, what info do you like to determine about your PCs?

[Olaf the Stout]

I'm about to play in a 3.5E D&D game for the first time in over 10 years. For about the last 7 years I've ran a fortnightly game, so it's definitely been a while since I've been a player.

Given that the last PC I had was so long ago (back in my early 20's) it's been quite a challenge thinking about just one character. I'd like to make things as easy as possible on my DM, which got me thinking, what information as DM/GM's do you like your players to give you about their PC's?

Personally as a DM I like my players' PC's to have a weakness and/or a phobia that I can have come into the game every now and then. A secret that can be revealed a little down the track is always good too, as is a long-term goal that their character wants to achieve, or something that motivates them. That gives me something I can weave into the story as well.

A bit of information about their family can be useful too, although you have to be careful not to abuse this, by having their family threatened. That's a great way to make sure that all your PC's in the next campaign are orphans!

So what about in your game? What information do you like your players to give you about their PC's?

From a players perspective, what things do you like to determine about your PC when creating a character?

Do you write down about your family and upbringing. Do you come up with some common phrases, sayings or battle cries for your PC?

Do you like to give your character some traits by which to base your character off of until you get a "feel" for how to play him/her? Alternatively, do you use a character from a book, movie or TV series to use as an inspiration for your character?

 

[Elf Witch]

As a DM I like a brief history. I also like to see some goals that they want to accomplish. I also ask for important people in their lives both friends and enemies. As a player I enjoy a game that is more tailored to my character. Generic games where you can slide any character into it I find boring. As a DM I mine what players give me for hooks and to tailor the game to them.

I put a lot of thought into my characters what they look like, what they are afraid of, their goals, their attitudes that part of the game is my favorite which is why I tend to not enjoy video RPGs as much.

I wish 3E had added in flaws. I think they add to the game it is one of the things I enjoy about Shadowrun. I know some players don't like them because they ate the idea of anything out of their control that is a weakness.

 

[Grogg of the North]

As a DM my general advice to the players is "The more you give me, the more I can use".

As a player, if it's asked for, I try to get a brief history of my character. Where I was born, who raised me, who trained me. Things like that and usually no more than a single page. I try not to make it too "tight" though because if the DM wants to pull something surprising I want it to be a surprise. If ALL the details are filled in then there may not be any wiggle room for the DM.

 

[steenan]

As a DM, I want conflict hooks:
- things the character wants, but they can't easily get
- character beliefs that may put them in trouble
- character beliefs that may be put in doubt
- NPCs that don't like them or that want something from them
- NPCs that the character doesn't like or wants something from
- character weaknesses
- internal inconsistencies in character's beliefs or personality that may push them to change



As a player, I usually start with a rough idea of what I want to do with my character in game. Then, I add some color, always including something that can be seen as typical for this kind of character and something that seems strange. In rules-heavy games that's also when I look for some interesting mechanical tricks and combos.

When I have the general idea of who my character is, I determine a few most important events in his background; at least one of them should be something that isn't closed yet and should be handled in game (even if the character, at the beginning, isn't doing anything about it).

Then, as the last part, I create the character mechanically and think a little about their looks and personality. I don't focus on the last part - I prefer keeping in mind what shaped the character and reacting according to that than creating an abstract model of personality that I probably won't follow anyway.

I don't detail the background other than the key events. This leaves more flexibility to me and to the GM to put there what fits and is interesting during game.

 

[Umbran]

So what about in your game? What information do you like your players to give you about their PC's?

I want them to give me what information I need to give them what they want in play.

If the player likes beer-and-pretzels, kick in the door & kill things play, I really don't need a whole lot from the player.

If the player wants to feel like their character is central to the events of the game, they need to give me some hooks to work with. Those can be character history, foibles, goals, or the like, but I need some handle to make events specifically relevant to them.

From a players perspective, what things do you like to determine about your PC when creating a character?

I have different desires for different games, so I don't have a single answer. For one-shots or very short campaigns, I'm happy to be handed a pre-gen, for example.

 

[Rechan]

Depends on if the DM plans on actually using it. I've had DMs where I give them motivation/goals, hooks, etc and they go "That's great" and then run their adventures that they already scripted and don't incorporate it at all.

So generally I come up with more a thematic feel, how I want the character to think and act. But I rarely get to actually play, or the game disintegrates so quickly, so I take a really pragmatic view of making characters.

As a DM, I want as much as they'll give me - but I don't want to read pages of backstory. I really like goals - things they want, both what the character wants, and what the player wants to achieve/see come into play. Provided that it fits into the game that I'm making - a character with a lot of family intrigue is hard to work into a post-apocalypse game.

But then, I'm getting into systems that actually make character goals/traits/etc important to the mechanics of the game, so that comes already baked in.

 

[Hand of Evil]

enough that I can steal the characters ID.

• Where were your born?
• Who are your parents & what do they do? Still alive? If, not what happened?
• Other family? Still alive? If, not what happened?
• What made you take to the road and adventuring?
• How do you know, what you know?
• How did you meet the other people in your adventuring party?

 

[GMMichael]

GM's, what info do you want to know about the PCs? Players, what info do you like to determine about your PCs?

The first step in making a character for Modos RPG is to write up the character concept. As a General of Modos, I don't care about your class, your ability scores, or your really high-damage sword. I want to know who your character is, how he became that creature, and what you'd like him to become. If this includes family history, past adventures, physical description, or story-relevant inventory, fine. The player tells me this with only one constraint: it has to fit into the campaign theme. My current players have used this system to tell me about their pre-adventuring lives, current occupations, past relationships, and present capabilities.

If I don't get any other backstory out of a PC, I want to know one thing: what reason do you have to stick with the party? The last thing that I need to worry about during the game is how to keep the PCs from abandoning or killing each other.

As a player, I'm most concerned with making my character interesting. Why is he not just another fighter? Why would NPCs want to talk to him, instead of just trying to poke holes in him? I also want him to be interesting to the other PCs; they might offer more assistance for it.

 

[Viking Bastard]

I like a strong character concept/archetype and one of the things I like about D&D in particular is that you have strong concepts out of the box (elven ranger, dwarven fighter) with any extra bits optional.

I can take or leave a back story beforehand. Generally, I like it better that the players add to it during play, rather than come at the game with pre-baked history.

 

[Gorgon Zee]

Three Critical Needs

For me, whereas I like to have as much info as possible, all I really need to know to get a good start are:

1. What short name can I refer to your character as?
2. What is the most significant thing about your character?
3. What is the strongest reason that ties you to this story?

So, for my current numenéra campaign, my notes for one player are:

Felix : Ice Armored Glaive : Wants to get back to the safety of his criminal gang in Qi

And in my FATE game :

Ash : Hunter of Zombies : Keep everyone safe (especially Trixie)

At that point I can ask people questions in character, give their character a chance to be cool, and make sure they interact with everyone else and the story. The rest is filling in details ...