Majoru Oakheart
Adventurer
All that means is that you've written up an absolutely generic character as it has no ties to the campaign world. Don't get me wrong, I believe you, I think I could say the same thing about MY characters. Still, 5% of the character uses things the DM made up. Also, once the character enters the game, his history then gets modified by the DM every second he is playing as his present becomes his past.Falkus said:On 95% of my characters I make, I could change twenty words, and have them fit in 95% of the campaigns out there.
Plus, it's about expectations. The other players in the group are as much "viewers" of the game as well as participants. They expect the game to continue on the way it always has and for events to make sense. So, if a player leaves, there is no reason why their character should act anyway different than he did before. It annoys other players just as it annoys viewers of a television show if someone just ceases to exist. And, it's always possible that the DM gets the personality wrong or decides that his plot would be better served if they did something different. No big deal.
I can give an example of when I did a similar thing. One of my players was possessed by an evil spirit that controlled his body while he was asleep. He found this out and decided rather than getting it fixed, he'd just roll up a new character. His character was a paladin and had a plot device with him at the time (he was the last party member left after a TPK). So, I told him that his old character showed up to give the new party the plot device before he headed out on a quest to absolve his sins and become a paladin again. The evil acts done with his body had tainted his soul. I didn't consult the player about what he'd do, the player chose to stop playing the character, that made him under my control. Same thing if someone doesn't show up for a session. Who knows, they may run into that paladin again sometime.
In a way, it does. When a company sits down and says "Ok, we need an idea for a new game that will sell well, give me some ideas" if an employee suggests something that would likely get too high a rating, it may be shot down. Then, during the actual process of making the game, graphics may be changed to stay withing a certain rating.Falkus said:Ridiculous. He's just defined some limits, nothing more. It's like saying that the ESRB collaberates with computer game companies by providing the definitions for what content is suitable for what age.