Life path system in-game

[Koloth]

So my basic problem with elaborate character backstory creation, which is why I tend to not enjoy lifepath systems and heavy-handed character creation prompts, is that at the outset I really don't know this character I haven't played yet, and whatever is created at the outset rarely really jives with who the character ends up being. I don't know how they will behave in the campaign, how they will gel with the other characters, or what their story in our shared narrative is going to be. Sure I don't mind starting with some character prompts to get the roleplaying going, but, when games allow, I now tend to fill most of the backstory in after I've played a few sessions and have a clearer idea of who the character actually is in the campaign.

Which is all to say for me to get behind a lifepath system like this the "fill in the lifepath and act out flashbacks" session would be after the third level-up or something, and then the flashbacks could be events that tie into who the character actually is, rather than who the player thinks they want them to be before they've played them.

So, kind of like real life. How many high school varsity sports players quickly discover that despite being good in HS, they are at best, walk on quality for the college team? Same for the cheer squad. And that HS valedictorian is a middling academic in college. Plus there is the ever present, "I found something I like doing better then X."

Backstory is just that, the past. What the character does next is determined by how the player plays it. But the backstory can provide some useful info for how to start playing the character. That HS softball star that can't make the college team may still make use of softball skills once hired on with a company that engages in softball games with other companies. Or that character that did a lot of sailing in childhood may find those skills useful if the cargo ship providing passages sinks and the character is left with others in a lifeboat.

Backstory avoids the problem of "What did your character do before being here?" being an unknown. It doesn't define what the character does next.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

So, kind of like real life. How many high school varsity sports players quickly discover that despite being good in HS, they are at best, walk on quality for the college team? Same for the cheer squad. And that HS valedictorian is a middling academic in college. Plus there is the ever present, "I found something I like doing better then X."

Backstory is just that, the past. What the character does next is determined by how the player plays it. But the backstory can provide some useful info for how to start playing the character. That HS softball star that can't make the college team may still make use of softball skills once hired on with a company that engages in softball games with other companies. Or that character that did a lot of sailing in childhood may find those skills useful if the cargo ship providing passages sinks and the character is left with others in a lifeboat.

Backstory avoids the problem of "What did your character do before being here?" being an unknown. It doesn't define what the character does next.

I guess the fundamental problem is that I view characters as characters, I only care about their backstory as relevant to their role in the shared narrative, and I often find character backstory, whether written by a player, randomly generated, created through some sort of lifepath minigame, or whatever, to be rather incongruous with the character (or sometimes the worldbuilding) we actually get in the campaign. Alternatively the player may feel overly constrained by their backstory, or the GM may feel overly obligated to incorporate it somehow. At this point I just prefer a mostly quantum backstory that fills in as the player figures out how they actually want to play their character in the campaign, and that its a character they actually want to stick with long enough to make a detailed backstory worthwhile.

 

[pemerton]

I kind thought, what if the players played through several 'scenes', one from each stage in their backstory--one as a child, one as a young adult, one in their first career, etc.

<snip>

Anyway. Just random musings of what's been on my mind this week! Any thoughts? How would you approach this problem?

Dogs in the Vineyard does something like this, although - at least by default - without intertwining the various characters.

 

[GMMichael]

I often find character backstory, whether written by a player, randomly generated, created through some sort of lifepath minigame, or whatever, to be rather incongruous with the character (or sometimes the worldbuilding) we actually get in the campaign. Alternatively the player may feel overly constrained by their backstory, or the GM may feel overly obligated to incorporate it somehow

I think these are problems that a life path system is designed to overcome. I don't think a detailed backstory is required in all cases, either. It could be as simple as, "bully, valedictorian, burger-flipper." It's hard to be constrained by that.

I kind thought, what if the players played through several 'scenes', one from each stage in their backstory--one as a child, one as a young adult, one in their first career, etc. But for all the players to be involved, all the characters would have to know each other from childhood and have geographically similar lives. Each secene then increases stats etc. like most life-path systems do.

The GM might have to do some fishing to keep background scenes short - very much like highlights of one's past. I like to integrate new characters with some questions about their histories and possible connections with other characters. I try not to force anything.

I could go all-in though, find the connections worth pursuing, and then have PCs play out their histories in short scenes. Players running NPCs is an option, but I'd prefer to just have players wait until their scenes come up. They could easily play their characters in early levels in these scenes to simulate inexperience. It might be helpful for players uncertain of what character elements to choose . . . But I'd rather get to the meat of the campaign.

 

[Parmandur]

One of the softcover models for the Stormlight Archives RPG, The First Step, does something like this. Provides a series of scenes with multiple choice questions to create a guided life path that all the players go through together.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/530025/cosmere-rpg-the-first-step

 

[Bagpuss]

Cybergeneration - The Cyberpunk spin-off where the kids were fighting against the corporation had what it called the Plotpath.

Cyberpunk had a Lifepath during character creation but since you were playing kids you didn't have a life yet. Unlike the Lifepath in Cyberpunk the Plotpath wasn't random you just picked a complication you thought would be interesting like adding a romance, nemesis, friend or other event.

Pendragon has the Winter Phase where all sorts of stuff can happen to your character or their family.

 

[BookTenTiger]

It would be interesting to have a Life Path system that also incorporates a collaborative World Building System. So you're playing out scenarios of your characters' intertwined lives while also establishing truths about the world.

 

[Morrus]

To clarify, folks, I wasn't looking for recommendations of new games to buy. Sorry if I wasn't clear!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If I were to create a lifepath system mechanism for use in an RPG, idle probability give most or even every character building option some kind of bonus to selecting subsequent options. IOW, they wouldn’t have a direct effect on combat or skill rolls in and of themselves; they would ONLY have an effect when you’re “between sessions”, deciding on the PC’s next evolutionary moment.

So, if someone were to select a “Linguist” background, they’d have bonuses to learn additional languages. A PC who was “Athletic” would get bonuses to learning things like gymnastics or a weapon skill.

How granular the system would be could vary depending on the system you want to put it in. Instead of “Linguist” or “Athletic”, perhaps you’d have “Diplomat” or “Amateur Athlete (Sport)”

 

[Kobold Stew]

There are a number of FATE games that do this. Not with full combat played out, but you can set the terms for your own character development, save the world if you want, all before adventuring starts.

In Spirit of the Century, you work through 5 phases, and get 2 aspects from each of them. Phase 1 is up to age 14; phase 2 is during WW1, phase 3 is you starring in your first big adventure, and phases 4 and 5 are you guest-starring in others'. It ties you to the other characters and it lets you define your own strengths and weaknesses.

A similar thing happens in Diaspora, which was aimed to replicate the experience of Traveller.