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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jul 6, 2015 11:27:43 GMT -5
Here is the list of background prompts I use in the Toldara campaign for anyone that wants to use it. It's basically there for players that want "more detail" for their player characters. I need to give this another look because it has been a while. Yes, it was inspired by other games. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to give them.
1. From- Where are you from?
- What size is the place? (village, city, town, metropolis, etc.)
- Are there any particular mannerisms, customs, dress, traditions, accent, etc.?
- What did you do prior to adventuring?
- What is your motivation? (Personal, professional, religious, revenge, clear family name, treasure, fame, etc.)
- Are you still "welcome" in your home area?
2. Family- Are your parents living? (If not, what happened?)
- Your relationship with your parents?
- Are you an only child or do you have siblings?
- Your relationship,with other siblings?
- What is your position in the family? (Eldest, youngest, rebel, black sheep, etc.)
- Social class of you and family? (Lower, middle, upper class, etc.)
- Have you started your own family? (If so, what are the details of children, spouse, etc.?)
3. Faith- Are you religious?
- Which God(s) do you revere?
- How does your faith influence your actions?
- How often do you participate? (Pray, attend temple services, etc.)
4. Friends- Who are your friends?
- Recent acquaintances or lifelong friends?
- Who is your best friend?
- How loyal are all of these friendships?
- We're any of the other PCs your friend before the game started?
5. Foes- Have you made any enemies in your life?
- What event(s) led to the animosity?
- How persistent are these enemies?
That's it. I developed these because I always have a player or two that wants more than a bare minimum of character history. It's by no means a complete list but a good start. Once again, if you have any suggestions feel free to send them my way.
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Post by merctime on Jul 7, 2015 15:24:03 GMT -5
This is pretty neat stuff, especially if players bring ideas about this sort of thing that actually helps the campaign world grow.
But I also love random approaches.
I've loved, for example, the character background stuff offered in the R Talsorian game Cyberpunk. Lovely random tables that help players as a springboard. Not immediately suited to generic fantasy, but could work with some tweaking. Also, a game called Artesia had a near identical set of background tables that were suited for fantasy, but are heavily skewed to the provided campaign in that game and would also require tweaking.
Again, though, I almost live for when players assist in campaign growth through this sort of thing as well as just ideas in play.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jul 11, 2015 20:51:15 GMT -5
merctime Thanks! It's funny you mentioned the random approach. That was actually my original intent but I am waiting until I get more world details so everything can be tailored to specific areas.
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Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Sept 10, 2021 9:14:39 GMT -5
I've never used something like this, but if I were to do so, this would be my go to.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jun 26, 2023 10:42:27 GMT -5
I'm going to be adding to this. I probably need to come up with a better name; something like "Bringing Your Character to Life" or something similar. It's most likely moving beyond just "F" for the categories. I want to add a question like "Do you have a dark secret?" or something similar. I imagine the other categories will be renamed in a similar fashion like "Where do you come from?" or "Who are your friends?", etc.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jul 3, 2023 10:48:55 GMT -5
I think I'm going to change this to Filling in the Details to give it a better name.1. Home- Where are you from and what is the place like?
- Are there any particular mannerisms, customs, beliefs, etc. associated with this area?
- Are you still welcome in this area?
- Do you still live there, or have you moved on?
- What did you do before adventuring?
- What motivated you to begin adventuring? (Wealth, thrill, revenge, clear family name, fame, etc.)
This is the beginning of the revision. I'm going to try to use more than the letter "F" for each category and maybe add some more categories. Brainstorming for a bit...
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jul 4, 2023 18:29:05 GMT -5
A few more additions and a little bit of reworking...2. Family- Are your parents still living or have they passed on?
- What is/was your relationship with your parents?
- Do you have siblings or are you an only child?
- What is your relationship with your siblings?
- What is your position in the birth order?
- What social class does your family belong to?
- Have you started your own family?
3. Religion
- Do you belong to a faith?
- Is it the faith you were raised in?
- How active are you in this faith?
- Do you keep your faith to yourself, or do you actively try to proselytize others?
- How widespread is your faith?
- Does your faith have a good reputation among non-members?
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jul 5, 2023 8:33:59 GMT -5
4. Friends- Who are your friends?
- How long have these friendships been in place? (Lifelong, recent, or something else?)
- What is the current status of these friendships?
- Do you have a best friend?
- Were you friends with any of the other player characters in the group?
5. Foes
- Have you made any enemies in your life?
- What are the circumstances behind this animosity?
- How persistent are these enemies?
- What form does this opposition tank? (Minor hindrance, bullying, or highly aggressive?)
6. Social- Do you have a reputation that follows you?
- What effect does this reputation have on your daily interactions with others?
- Are you hiding a dark secret from others?
- What effect will others discovering this secret have on your character?
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jul 9, 2023 10:11:01 GMT -5
I'm tempted to go with 2D6 rolls under each category rather than a list. Something similar to the example below but this is for example purposes only.Parents | Roll | Results | | 2 | Unknown: You were raised by strangers and have no information about your parents. | | 3 | Orphaned: Both of your parents are passed on and you were raised by other people. | | 4 | One Unhealthy: Only one of your parents still live but they are not doing well. | | 5 | One Healthy: One of your parents is alive and doing well. | | 6 | Both Unhealthy: Both of your parents still live but they are not doing well. | | 7 | Both Healthy: Both of your parents are still living and doing well. | | 8 | ? | | 9 | ? | | 10 | ? | | 11 | ? | | 12 | ? |
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jul 10, 2023 7:31:00 GMT -5
More brainstorming....
Birth
2-4 Only Child
5-7 Twin
8-10 One of 1D6 children
11-12 ?
I'll try to work several of these tables up with more information. Some will have several results while some will have only a few.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jul 16, 2023 16:31:07 GMT -5
Motivation
2-3 Adventure
4-5 Clearing the family name
6-7 Clearing your own name
8-9 Fame
10-11 Finding your family
12 Wealth
I jotted these down really quick, but it would be easy to add some more.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jul 16, 2023 16:40:12 GMT -5
Motivation2-3 Adventure
4-5 Clearing the family name
06 Clearing your own name
07 Fame
08 Finding your family
09 Knowledge
10 Reclaim your birthright
11 Revenge
12 Wealth
I jotted these down really quick, but it would be easy to add some more.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jul 16, 2023 18:31:58 GMT -5
Motivation02 Adventure
03 Assignment (from religion, dying wish, etc.)
04 Clearing the family name
05 Clearing your own name
06 Fame
07 Finding your family
08 Justice
09 Knowledge
10 Reclaim your birthright
11 Revenge
12 Wealth
I jotted these down really quick, but it would be easy to add some more.
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Post by hengest on Jul 16, 2023 20:53:58 GMT -5
Never saw this before, I think. Good thread.
I'd like to know some of these answers about myself...
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