This Topic Includes: Character Creation, At The Table (or Online), You and Your GM.
Hey all!
Having a break from my Character Creation pages to write about character... creation...
Oh...
Well, I guess it's only partly true!
For these next few posts I want to air my thoughts and opinions (note these are MY opinions, you do not have to agree, but hear [what?] me out) on the topic of being a good player. By this I mean things to consider for creating your characters, your attitudes at the Table/Online and your relationship with your GM.
I'll start from the beginning and hopefully at some point it will all make sense...
Okay, so you want to make a character for a game you are joining or already a member of (replacing a dead character for instance). It would be safe to assume (at least for this example) that you know what the campaign theme is and the sort of game you will be playing (Combat focused, Role Play focused etc). This could mean you're in a large city, where you'll be mostly focusing your time, with the occasional visit out of town. Or it could mean you're in a desert wasteland, exploring old ruins and tombs for treasure and discovering the unknown. Or you could even be in a war zone facing against demons and daemons alike.
Thinking of the last example of the War Against Demons, what are your first thoughts?
- Do you think: "I'll be facing demons which I know have resistances to X,Y, Z, Immunities to G, H, I and I know they are weak against A, B, C, so I need to build my character around those"
- Do you think: "Well I know they are Evil, so Good/Holy stuff usually works really well against them (I do Read/Watch TV/Films after all) so a Holy/Good based Demon Hunter would be cool. Maybe with a bow? I'll look into that, maybe something there that can help build the concept"
- Or do you think: "No idea about Demons/Daemon immunities blah blah blah, but I REALLY love the idea of being a character that does K, L, M. No idea if he'll good against them but I use an Axe, it's sharp and it hurts. Must be good, right?"
Now then, something I see bandied around a lot is the argument about what defines a "Power Gamer" and all the argumentative shizzle that goes around that topic.
For me, Thought 1 above is a "Power Gamer" thought. It gives the impression of caring more about what mechanically works for the game you're playing, rather than for your character concept. They will purposefully ignore anything that could be 'useless' (because of immunities etc) and build up everything so that they can bypass DR/SR and exploit the weaknesses.
This is no Joe Bloggs. This is a full on "I know what I'm doing , I have no weaknesses and will always obliterate my foes".
Yawn.
Where's the fun in that? No weaknesses? No or little chance of failure? Does everything have to be 110% or else they're rubbish, leave now and make a new character?
Preferably not.
I appreciate there are people out there that know a game system inside and out, either because they are GMs dipping into the Player role, or because they are players that just tend to learn everything there is to know and that's that. What these people need to consider is to try to turn off these thoughts and stay simple. Just because they know everything doesn't mean their character does. Or has to! As in the case of Thought 2, having some general knowledge/ideas is great. Demon Bad; Me Good; Means Demon Dead.
Creating a characters should be fun and in my opinion not overly focused that it makes them a one trick pony. Be great at what you do, that's fine but try to limit that. Have weaknesses. Make mistakes. It's part of life and it should be part of any game too.
Min/Max the shit out of your character and the moment you roll that 1, you're just like everyone else; a failure.
Something REALLY bad will happen, so embrace it! Your character has a flaw and makes mistakes sometimes. Nothing wrong with that! Not all characters are skill monkeys (cough, Rogues, cough) or knowledge experts (looking at you, Bards!) so don't try to be something you're not.
Be focused on a concept but remember, this is a ROLE-PLAYING game.
Make something funky to role play, screw the mechanical shizzle! Your guy throws an acid vial at a demon in panic, oh look it did very little. Well you panicked, it's what your character would do and that's the important thing. When you play the character, it is not you out there. It's them. Enjoy it :)
Thought 3 is okay... But could be tricky and needs work. It's not bad and by all means they should play something they enjoy and get a kick out of, but at the same time it might need 'something' so that it can 'fit' into the campaign and more importantly the group better. I mean, if they're a complete A-Hole in a group of Good characters then they'll likely to not get along and not feel good as part of the group/game.
If they're not an A-Hole and play well with others, then it's great! If they have a reason in their back story as to why they're doing what they do, then why not have Joe Bloggs effectively becoming a Demon Hunter? He wasn't born into this, he was thrown in, worked with the slicing and dicing the demons down thing, job done, next!. So this one, with the right considerations to further develop the concept, is great.
Thought 2 is a good one, clear idea of a concept, with considerations for what will be faced. It's a happy medium between Thoughts 1 and 3 but also gives a bit more knowledge about what they'd be doing and how they'd approach the game. Again, try not to go over the top with the whole "holy power" thing, accept that maybe the character only knows so much about Demons, or that could have the high knowledge to represent the fact they know loads. As with previous comments, finding something you enjoy with an idea you have in mind is great. Having the archery interest whilst still being a holy powered person could be interesting.
Creating characters should be about the role play aspect of the game, first and foremost. I have gone looking at traits before now (Pathfinder) and had a nosey for inspiration. Something quirky or funky that makes me go "ooh!" and helps me work out someone to play is fun if I'm a little stuck for ideas.
For my current main character, I found a trait that gave her a 3rd eye on her forehead. Certainly different... It provided a bonus to her Sense Motive, but penalties to Diplomacy and Bluff should others see it (only fair). Suddenly I was flooded with ideas. I immediately felt the Oracle class worked well and this cool idea just built up into my head. I also found the Tattooed Mystic trait. Oracle with a 3rd eye and cool mystical tattoos as well. Just brought to mind something awesome!
Every choice that is made about a character upon creation and advancement should have a reason for it. Not "because you liked it" or because it "gives me all the bonuses I need to be awesome" but for a back story reason. You gained a +1 from that feat for your weapon? Why was that? Did you train in the yard with your father for months on end and developed that skill while you were a teenager? These thoughts don't have to become some huge elaborate back story, they can just be in your head. Things to keep in mind and they might influence how you play your character. Even if it does turn into some huge elaborate back story, that's cool! Your GM will love you for all these back story ideas they can bring into the campaign!
Anything that can give your GM ideas as well as excite you in play is a sure fire way to enjoy your game. Leave the "Power Gamer" to their overly mechanical bullshit character that's dull as dishwater. You have a cool character with all sorts of funky shizzle, good at what they do, or a jack-of-all trades, and fun to play. Enjoy it!
Until next time!
Lady RPP x