Sociopathic PCs -- an epidemic?

[Herpes Cineplex]

Honestly, many players make backgrounds like this because of sociopathic DMs- any NPC mentioned in a PC background is immediately siezed upon by the DM, kidnapped, decided to be evil, secretly a pit fiend, bent, folded, spindled or mutilated. Players don't like that kind of thing, so they start making characters that don't have those kinds of attachments.

I've seen that before, too. It usually goes hand-in-hand with games where every NPC (down to the cuddliest little cleric) has some kind of dark, malicious, secret agenda aimed against the PCs, and if someone's spent a lot of time playing with a GM who pulls that kind of crap, it can take a lot of work to rehabilitate them.

The other reasons people have advanced are also good ones. I'll add another one to the list: making a character an orphan is faster than giving them a family. D&D is a high-character-mortality game, and if the players are expecting that the GM's not going to pull any punches, they're less likely to want to invest two or three hours into detailing the parents and six siblings of their character, their place in society, the name of their childhood pet, and all that good stuff, and then have that character catch fifteen points of damage to the face when he only had 2 hit points left. Lot of good knowing his half-sister's husband's son's name is going to do anyone when the character's dead and no one can afford to raise him, right?

Also, if a game's starting at 1st level, I can't think of anything more useless than a long and detailed character background; the character hasn't really done anything worth mentioning yet, or he'd have earned some more experience. So I generally just aim for having all the PCs have a place where they came from and a reason to be interested in being a professional sociopath...er...adventurer. Anything else they want to tell me about what their character was like before he decided to go do something really interesting and dangerous is just gravy, and I try to make them understand that everything that happens between 1st level and 10th is most likely going to be a billion times more interesting than what happened before 1st level.

And I try to find positive ways to use character background (relatives who actually help the PC instead of asking favors or being targets for the bad guys, for example) on the off chance that it'll encourage someone to go for a non-orphan beginning. Sometimes that works.

--
unless they've been conditioned by a bad gm to expect a trap, anyway
ryan

 

[Torm]

Kinda makes it hard for his parents to put him into a ship and send him to Earth, don't you think? (i.e., Ky'Rel was an infant when Krypton was destroyed and found by the Kents as a toddler.)

Okay. Kal-L (the Golden Age Superman) and Kal-EL (the Silver Age Superman) both came to Earth as you describe, but Kal-EL (the Modern Age Superman) came to Earth in a ship that was an artificial womb (Modern Age Kryptonians did not give birth in traditional fashion anymore) and was thus born when his ship opened in Kansas. This was verified by Star Labs in a future that ended up not coming to be in which Superman was running for President, because only natural born U.S. citizens can hold that position. I know not of this "Ky'Rel" of which you speak.

As I believe the expression should be paraphrased - My hat of Superman knowledge knows no boundaries. Did you really think TORM would not know of Superman?

 

[Henry]

As I believe the expression should be paraphrased - My hat of Superman knowledge knows no boundaries. Did you really think TORM would not know of Superman?

Actually, that "hat" actually means "hate", so that might not be the context you meant. Better to say, "My knowledge of Superman Lore is like unto a GOD!"

 

[Torm]

Actually, that "hat" actually means "hate", so that might not be the context you meant. Better to say, "My knowledge of Superman Lore is like unto a GOD!"

Ah, crud. And here I thought I was all a part of the "In" crowd, now. I thought it meant hat, like a wizard's hat or something.

But my knowledge of Superman folklore is not "like unto" a god, mortal - it IS that of a god!

 

[Henry]

Ah, crud. And here I thought I was all a part of the "In" crowd, now. I thought it meant hat, like a wizard's hat or something.

Origin of "my hat of d20 know no limit"

But then, I know better than to argue with a god.

 

[frankthedm]

This is slightly off-topic, but I think it fits in here.

Our group has a player (I didn't bring him, another guy introduced him to our LG group) that is an uncooperative jerk in real life. And, he plays his characters exactly the way he is - a dick. He does not really role play at all. He just makes characters that essentially have his abrasive, disruptive personality.

Like the real player, his characters are unhelpful, arrogant, selfish, and impersonal. They are just dicks, like him.

I guess there are some people that do have some real issues that manifest in the game - and other areas of their lives, too.

I have a friend JUST like that who is no longer allowed in the games i run. I don't blame him completly since his mom is a real birtch, but that won't excuse him.

 

[Faraer]

Often, people who feel oppressed and trapped by family and work commitments will create CN-tending PCs who are 'free' from such ties. Not a few people are uncomfortable with feeling or thinking *at all* and distance their characters from emotional or thematic meaning.

If those characters create their own family as an adventuring company, fine. If they remain sociopaths, the character will be unheroic, unfulfilling, and unbelievable. Those players don't even take their 'parents killed' backgrounds seriously, it's just an excuse to be a disembodied videogame avatar; of course heroes tend to have displacement and trauma in their background, but these types want to *avoid* that. Apart from making the players' lives better, you have to somehow show them how much more worthwhile it is to have a character who's more than just coexistent with the campaign world, or (if you want to pander to powergaming instincts) how much more effective characters are who have allies and support networks.

some people are like this. and i guess you can expect in any world of fantasy that some PCs will be like this too.

But you wouldn't want one anywhere near you.

 

[kirinke]

heh. all of my characters had fairly loving families.
my first character, an elven ranger, is the daughter of two magic using nobles, somewhere along the line of grand-dukes. The reason why she went adventuring is because it's something of a tradition among the elves there. IE: kick the kids out, let them learn, so they aren't quite so snobbish and snooty, which can kill you in negotiating with neighboring countries. The ones that live become the rulers, because they actually have the experience to rule. Her family was loving, but slightly dysfunctional.

I mean, can you imagine two magic-users raising a strapping 6ft tall sword-swinger? It's like maaa... I dun want to wield a wand! i want to learn how to track down orcs and goblins with the rest of my buds!

Second character a elvish cleric/fighter whose parents were a ranger and druid respectively. Very loving family. she got a calling to Senihine Moonbow and her parents didn't much have a choice. I mean, when a goddess calls, you listen. Both the ranger/cleric and the cleric/fighter were fairly low level.

Third character this time a Chaotic Good Ranger/cleric asimar possessed by a nearly lawful good pit fiend. Family is like huge, mostly healers of one sort or another. When she was a kid, her family was attacked by a nasty cult whose leader wanted to become a god. Ingredients: 1 pit fiend, 1 innocent being with celestial bloodlines. They didn't succeed. Pit fiend escaped, killed the priest, material body was destroyed and pit-fiend in turn and possessed the girl b4 the family rescued her. (The demon is just for roleplay purposes. no-munchkinism) ^_^.
Yes. I thought this all up and I know my DM just about died with glee. ready-made PLOT HOOKS!
evil aren't i?

 

[Elf Witch]

I do agree that if you play in a game with a high body count and either no or difficult raise dead there really is no point in making a background.

I enjoy the process of making characters and part of that process is deciding their backgrounds why are they the way they are and why are they out adventuring.

One way to encourage this is to reward it. For players who don't tempt then with some kind of tangible reward. My roomate gave any of her players who made a background hewards handy haversacks. A game I played in gave action points for backgrounds.

Also as others have said make having a family be worthwhile for example your dear old dad was a good man and friend to the city guards so they give you a break when you get into trouble because of this.

One of the biggest problems I see with DMs is not utilizing NPCs to get the players to for lack of a better word behave the way you want them to. It is rather simple treat ab NPC well have something good come from it the same if they behave badly to NPCs.

 

[Dogbrain]

Am I alone in this frustration? Anyone feel like they've got some good techniques to promote socialization of PCs?

Last campaign I ran had the following:

A big-hearted warrior who grew up with many brothers and strong father. He has set out to bring glory to his family so that his father can become a chief with many cattle.

A sneaky noble scion who became the warrior's BEST FRIEND because he is SO BRAVE! (Just ask the warrior). He's went out in the world because he's a third son. The heir is groomed for heroism, next brother is a priest, so he's going to see the world and have some fun.

A ranger who got hired to watch over the nobleman. Fairly ordinary family. Dad was a ranger. Mom was a ranger. Grandparents were rangers. It's the family business.

A bard of humble origins who left her home to follow around this pile of trouble--think of all the stories. Her family are peasants of solid stock who really wish she'd get married and settle down. Good people, if kind of limited in their outlook.

A sociopathic sorcerer from the streets. The player was intentionally playing a sociopathic design.

One sociopath in the whole lot.