Background Story

[dfryer]

I wouldn\'t expect too many character backstories to be in the library, I think the comment in the poll was referring more to a general \"I like story so much that I\'d write some stuff\"  Character backstory doesn\'t have to be written down, but it should exist for the purposes of guiding your characters decisions and intents.

[Kayden]

This is a roleplaying game, as such we need to distinguish between ourselves in real life and our characters. Few people do that. It\'s more like acting and a creative outlet.

As Karyuu said, our characters can inherit their personality from us...Nilaya\'s personality is close to mine, though more outgoing and playful and less geekish. Still I distinguish between her and me - otherwise, roleplay becomes a total mess, and people get hurt.

Once you get into the mindset of being a person in a world, rather than a person playing a game, a lot becomes clearer. I don\'t run up towers, run around rooftops, and miraculously heal people...Nilaya does. Of course, I am friends with the people who play a lot of Nilaya\'s friends.

Background story is essential to roleplay and defining your character. Your own personality is affected by your life experiences growing up. Same for your character.

You may not remember every part of your history, but you still have some. If nothing else, you found yourself in Hydlaa somehow and have been living since then. That\'s OK too - stories can be as elaborate or as humble as you like. That\'s the beauty of it.

I do hope to include an introduction to basic roleplay in future versons of the Explorers\' New Traveller\'s Guide.

--kg/\"Nilaya\"

[Waylander]

Meh, bad roleplayers being kicked is still a possibility in the future?

[Monketh]

\"Very Important\"

Although it would be extremely easy for me to wiggle with my backstory.  (Sci-fi has it\'s advantages   )


Mine would be in the library possibly, but as my character suposedly isn\'t supposed to reveal himself (Which he\'s bad at), maybe it shouldn\'t...  Hm...

[windwalker]

Meh, bad roleplayers being kicked is still a possibility in the future?

well i dont know about that, a bad roleplayer is better than a non-roleplayer (kick those PLEASE!) .... if you mean someone who roleplays for everyone else...  (maty: Maty sits down and  Kethro gets thrown out of the window by three rats...)  then i hope that they get kicked or warned or something... or we can put them on an ignore list

very important, if someone doesnt want to create a background story, then make something short,

born in 332, now a mage at >>>>> fighting >>>>.

!

[Kuiper7986]

all I can say is, \"Knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be.\"

But i would go with neutral

[FESFES]

I said very important. Just imagine a huge library full of stories about every single person in ps.  It would be very cool.  I already have mine planned out ^^

[Golbez]

Do not get me started.

\"Very important.\"

Firstly, we need a thorough background story for the game world before we demand our characters to have a well thought past.

At the moment, I would say the context of PlaneShift and Yliakum is a bit vague, as we have no clue as to what the culture in the underworld should be like.

For example, is one-on-one dueling enforced, or banned by the authorities? Is there a distrust between Elves and Dwarves? How about the feud between the Enkidukai and the Humans? Is there a sequel or a side effect of that? What about traditional celebrations and holidays in Yliakum? Is there a Day of Laanx and a Day of Talad? How scornful is the society towards begging, romantic affairs, and public innuendo? What behaviours are thought to be \"Politically correct\"? Are sacrifices common-talk for the inhabitants of Yliakum? How are criminals punished? Beheaded? Burned? Hanged?

Many questions remain unanswered and, while the game is being coded and programmed in its more basic stages, I see no better time to solidify the setting. Get those brains at the Settings Department to work.

Once we can say, \"Hey, I think we are pretty much done with the outline of the game world.\" We can start to demand basic backgrounds for the characters.

Why is this? Because I as a player want to know how the average folk of the society shall react to my characters\' actions. Or I may deliberately have a \"Good guy\" possess a singular trait that makes him look like a \"Bad guy\", and RolePlay the complex he possesses within for being regarded as what he is not.

On the other hand, I may want to play a ruthless tyrant that maintains a most courteous and politically correct behaviour in the outside, but in the inside he is corrupt to the core.

A well structured background for the entire game allows the players to design a well structured background for their characters. They will be more aware of what flaws or strenghts their avatars can be given to make them look more realistic, or interesting, or to render them more fun to play!

Try creating a background for \"the game that shall not be named\". Can you? No! Because the world\'s background is non-existant. You do not know what the difference is between the culture of one corner of the game world and the opposite, because there is no culture!

And you know how THAT game ended.

Nonetheless, I would encourage all players to maintain coherence and cohesion in their characters\' actions. As the example given above: If your character has an abversion towards steel weaponry, and a new steel weapon comes out, then tough luck!

If you still want to try that weapon out, create a new character able to do so. It is that simple.

Hypocresy ruins the fun and entertainment to the majority of players. We do not want to see a D&D Thief prancing around in plate mail, or that Cleric hacking and slashing trolls with a claymore.

Stick true to your characters!

THAT is what RolePlaying is all about.

- Golbez

[Syzerian]

I will always remain true to my backstory and character abilities. This reminds me that I still need to write my backstory down Its all sorted out just need to manage to write it out

[Adeli]

If your character has an abversion towards steel weaponry, and a new steel weapon comes out, then tough luck!

Through roleplaying (pen and paper) I discovered that many people are unrealistic in their character creation, for example the Paladin, a paragon of holiness and justice, yet what about weaknesses, is he completely arrogant, ending him in trouble, does he question his faith?

Not many people create a weakness for their characters, I liked the way that the MB selection screen had positive and negative traits, and games like Fallout do too (A pity they mean nothing in MB). No one is perfect, thus no character can be either.

I have long modeled my characters with rather large flaws, whether it is a personality flaw, or something more extreme. An example is my latest D&D character, a powerful master of Evocation, that is too arrogant for his own good, and refuses to heed any advice, making many enemies. Or my first character, a simple Rogue who was a skilled thief, but has no patience and is deeply hurt by the ruthless slaughter of her friends.

My first PS character (Adeli) was merely a vessel for me to familiarise myself with Hydlaa... RP was not a factor in her life, as I just wanted to experience things for myself. My current character (Tyralus) is how I wish to be known in the game, and I spend most of time in-character, and as such he needed a background.

I modeled him after my first ever D&D character, an intelligent, skilled, agile and witty thief... then changed some things, he too lost his friends that were like family... Tyralus\' family was killed by a mage, and he bears a cold hatred for those of the Arcane. To make matters worse, he is unevenly matched against spellcasters due to his deathly fear of magic.

Because of this, Tyralus will probably never use magic, unless he does it to desensitise himself, in order to overcome his fear and get revenge. He is often taken by blind hatred, and will flee from battle when a wizard is involved, he also lacks the ability to trust again.

I agree with Golbez that hipocrisy ruins the RP factor, which I see as very important. Sorry for the essay.

[Entamis]

Very important.
I agree with Golbez. The better and more thorough background is given to the world, the better (and easier) the roleplaying will be. It\'s a bit hard to write a good story when you know little about the world it is put in.
Since I don\'t play Planeshift for scores, I don\'t have a reason for my character to avoid disadvantages. If I wanted to, I just wouldn\'t give him any. :rolleyes:

[ajdaha]

Most of the time a character background is important only if you feel that you cannot achieve everything possible in the game. If you were given the oportunity to choose between being the most, everything in the game or having a character that would not be the most powerfull but would go along by what his \"personallity\"would have him do then most people what choose the previous. Only in a game so incredibly hard to conquor does a person settle for just having a believable RP character. I think many people will agree.

[Karyuu]

Game... hard to conquer? I thought Planeshift is a mmoRPG o_0 How can you \'conquer\' a roleplaying game if not by roleplay..?

>>>If you were given the oportunity to choose between being the most, everything in the game or having a character that would not be the most powerfull but would go along by what his \"personallity\"would have him do then most people what choose the previous.<<<

Yeah, if they want to do nothing but powerlevel... Such will not be welcome in this community.

[Entamis]

Originally posted by ajdaha
If you were given the oportunity to choose between being the most, everything in the game or having a character that would not be the most powerfull but would go along by what his \"personallity\"would have him do then most people what choose the previous.

Good, so I achieved everything that was possible to achieve. What\'s next? Hmm.. Hey, wait, there are other players in this game? Why nobody has told me?

[Golbez]

Originally posted by ajdaha
If you were given the oportunity to choose between being the most, everything in the game or having a character that would not be the most powerfull but would go along by what his \"personallity\"would have him do then most people what choose the previous. Only in a game so incredibly hard to conquor does a person settle for just having a believable RP character. I think many people will agree.

Counter-Quotes
You can become truly powerful, indeed! - Volo

Yet there is always another with greater power than your own. - Elminster

From the Baldur\'s Gate II manual. Volo and Elminster are two fictional characters who in their quotes, express momentous concepts of the game.

So...Knowing than there is always someone else that can get \"the good stuff\", knowing that anyone can be \"the best\" at this way or that one of magic, or has the best skills in mele? combat...What makes a character truly unique?

A personality. Traits. Quirks. Strengths and weaknesses.

Do keep that in mind when you think about \"conquering a game.\"

Some people think that winning a RolePlaying game is being the most powerful character. I disagree, utterly and completely.

I win when I tell a story, and to tell a story I need a dramatic yet believable character. Skills and combat are a tool for that, not my goal. Therefore, I seek not to be the \"cool dude with a big sword\", but to build an entertaining character through which I can hook other players into RolePlaying. Keep them coming back not to hack and slash, but to live a fantasy world.

My two coins.

- Golbez