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<blockquote data-quote="CharlesRyan" data-source="post: 5529985" data-attributes="member: 5265">Speaking as both a gamer and a fiction writer, the short answer is &quot;yes.&quot; Erm, &quot;no.&quot; I mean, yes it's over the top, and no, the OP isn't the only one to think so.Something like this can be a great exercise when you need to hone a concept and really solidify a character who's remaining stubbornly fuzzy in your imagination. But I don't think there's any advantage in specifying all this stuff about a character with a well-defined personality who is coming together nicely.And I totally agree with delericho that trying to establish this much detail at the outset is probably counterproductive. I think it's best to launch a character in a pretty sketchy form, with the broadest elements of character, personality, and background painted in a broad brush. Then layer on the detail as the game progresses, the world establishes itself, and a chemistry begins to develop among the PCs.If I were to ever use something like this, it would probably be after maybe the third adventure in a campaign. When players have become comfortable with their characters, but might benefit from a little prodding to start filling in the details--in particular details that I, as a GM, might be able to riff off of. But the degree to which players fill it in would be optional.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="CharlesRyan, post: 5529985, member: 5265"] Speaking as both a gamer and a fiction writer, the short answer is "yes." Erm, "no." I mean, yes it's over the top, and no, the OP isn't the only one to think so. Something like this can be a great exercise when you need to hone a concept and really solidify a character who's remaining stubbornly fuzzy in your imagination. But I don't think there's any advantage in specifying all this stuff about a character with a well-defined personality who is coming together nicely. And I totally agree with delericho that trying to establish this much detail at the outset is probably counterproductive. I think it's best to launch a character in a pretty sketchy form, with the broadest elements of character, personality, and background painted in a broad brush. Then layer on the detail as the game progresses, the world establishes itself, and a chemistry begins to develop among the PCs. If I were to ever use something like this, it would probably be after maybe the third adventure in a campaign. When players have become comfortable with their characters, but might benefit from a little prodding to start filling in the details--in particular details that I, as a GM, might be able to riff off of. But the degree to which players fill it in would be optional. [/QUOTE]

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