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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Woas" data-source="post: 4842837" data-attributes="member: 16317">And it really doesn't have to be an evil, conniving DM to get these face-less characters. That little RPG meme though I'm sure will last the test of time. But even still, when a RPG is set up in a way that everything that has happened up to this point to a character has no true meaning and is just 'window dressing'. But everything now from this point forward (the point being the creation of the character on paper and introduced into the game) is what is going to define the character then just aren't going to care. Or at least be able with any meaningful ability to use that info as a tool. So you get stuff like, "Yeah, my character was a disenfranchised noble. Pfft I dunno who cares though he's a Level 13 wizard now however that happened. Not like it can help me cast a second meteor swarm this round..."Since players in a D&D or D&D-type game need to look to the future of the character's career which will determine what the character 'can do', there is no incentive for the past.As to suggesting a "lifepath" system. Three games that I play frequently with life paths are Traveller, Barbarians of Lemuria and Dogs in the Vineyard. Now I'm sure there are plenty more... for example I also know Burning Wheel utilizes a LP char gen system and maybe other people more familiar with the games could correct me but I believe Spirits of the Century and Ars Magica have LP char gen. But those three I am very familiar with.As for the Traveller char gen system, as I don't know how much you fooled around with it but after you get the 'rhythm' of the system (and I actually made a quick, hand drawn flow chart for new players that really helped once they saw a visual of it all) the system flies. Faster than whipping up a 1st level human fighter? I guess you got me beat there, but honestly I would stay not by much with a little 'practice'.Also I think you might want to broaden your view of what a Life Path system entails. Or perhaps there are other terms that I am not familiar with that are used to separate the unique systems that sort of do the same mechanical thing...What I'm getting at is, for me a "Life Path" char gen system doesn't necessarily have to be like what you would find in stock Traveller. That is your, "roll to see what your character did for 4 years of his/her life and find out what skills you get." I would say that, for example, Dogs in the Vineyard char gen is nothing like Traveller but could be considered a Life Path system, in that you generate things in your characters past that define them in the present and assign stats to them which then get used in the mechanics of play, benefiting the character and defining what they 'can do'. How a system like this could work with D&D. I'm not sure. The easy answer is it couldn't because D&D is it's own thing... and Life Paths sort of represent a different type of how you play. I can't really think of any games off the top of my head that use Lifepaths and also include strict class-defined skills/abilities/power pre-sets a character runs along as they advance. So I think you would need a different perspective on how the game runs, what to expect from/with it. Not that I don't think it couldn't be done. In fact if I recall there was an article or editorial or something from a WotC person about how they experimented with Traveller-like char gen for 4th Ed. And I've tried myself a half dozen times...</blockquote>

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