Henry said:
How many times have people clamored for a reprint or re-creation of the Central Casting supplements by Paul Jacquays? I've lost count by now...
Waaaay too much rolling for my tastes. You could easily spend an hour or two just rolling up your background with no real expectation that it would make any sense.
HackMaster has a pretty decent system for rolling up your background that could easily be dropped into a d20 game. Also, didn't the much criticized Hero Builders Guidebook have tables for backgrounds?
Personally I would just rather that the pc's wrote it without any random elements. Here's the questions I posed to my WFRP players just for this purpose-
3 Questions:
Answer me these questions three and I'll grant your character an xp
bonus. How much? It depends on your answers, but in any case it will
be worth your while. Your answers to these questions are not set in
stone. They are here to help you to roleplay your character. They are
guidelines, not rules.
Ready? Good, you may pick up your pencils and begin. If you need any
help or have any questions, please ask.
1. Who are you?
What happened to you before the campaign began? What was your family
like? Are they still alive? What did they do and where did they live?
Why are you in your present career?
2. What do you want?
What motivates you? Write down 3 - 5 core beliefs of you character and
how it influences him.
Examples-
I trust in Sigmar and will not fear Chaos nor allow their followers to
live.
If I could just get enough gold, I would move to Tilea and get away
from this god forsaken place.
One day I will go to Karak Azgal and find the Axe of Truth.
I will avenge my father's death.
I will not die penniless like my parents did.
Anything will work as long as it provides your character with some
motivation and/or a goal. Don't worry about being as specific as the
examples. I can work with you to detail things. Just think of these
items as what you want the game to be about and what you want your
character to be doing.
3. Who do you know?
Write down 3 - 5 people that your character knows and is a part of his
life for good or for ill. They may or may not be tied to your
motivations above. In some cases, they provide yet more motivations.
They are people that you want to be involved with the story at some
time or another. Again, don't get too hung up in details or names. I
can help you out with that.
Examples-
Baron Heinscheld - the bastard had my father hanged for forgetting to
bow in his presence.
Mom - she lives by herself now and I need to check up on her.
Renfeld - drinking buddy from back home. I hear he's in the army now.