Interesting Ryan Dancey comment on "lite" RPGs

[ThirdWizard]

Beginning characters don't have a background.

They certainly do in my campaign! Interesting ones, too. A dwarf paladin I was working on for a campaign lived half his life in an orc prison-camp mining ore and trying to keep his fellow prisoners alive, leaving him middle aged if this campaign ever begins (I'm DMing at the moment). I havn't seen a farmboy who picks up a sword to go find fame and fortune... ever.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Beginning characters don't have a background. Background and story is what you have when you are 10th level looking back on your adventure career.

...since when is background only adventuring experience?

 

[Ashardalon]

I havn't seen a farmboy who picks up a sword to go find fame and fortune... ever.

In my opinion, even that would be a background. A simple one, but still a background.

 

[Gentlegamer]

Beginning characters (1st level) in (A)D&D are peons. Their story is when they are higher level and look back on their exploits.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Roll a percentile for me...

EDIT: Or pick or make your own.

22.

You actually have a percentile table for character backgrounds?

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Beginning characters (1st level) in (A)D&D are peons. Their story is when they are higher level and look back on their exploits.

Yes, but please tell me they still have backgrounds. Things like being born at a previous time, etc. As far as I know, that still counts as background.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Beginning characters (1st level) in (A)D&D are peons. Their story is when they are higher level and look back on their exploits.

No, by definition, 0-level NPCs in (A)D&D are peons.

The 1st-level PC types are special - and there's a reason behind why they're special. Or do 1st-level Wizards spring from the womb in your games?

 

[ThirdWizard]

Beginning characters (1st level) in (A)D&D are peons. Their story is when they are higher level and look back on their exploits.

No parents. No friends. No home town. They jump out of a pod at age 18 as a 1st level character and begin their lives. Oh wait, even that would be a background...

 

[Gentlegamer]

Yes, obviously they don't spontaneously come into existence. They were born at a previous time, as you note. Aside from that, they forge their story during in game adventure.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Yes, obviously they don't spontaneously come into existence. They were born at a previous time, as you note.

And the manner in which they got from their in utero beginnings to the tavern where a mysterious man offers them gold to fetch the Foozle ( ) is what is generally referred to as "background" - at least among those who care about such things as imaginitive characters, which exist beyond a set of numbers on a character sheet detailing how they interact with the rules.