Which character fluff format do you like more?, from a GM's perspective... Options

[Abbandon]

Which of the two following character fluff pieces do you like more? As a gm which gives you a greater sense of the character??

Format #1:

[ Spoiler ]

>>CONCEPT<<
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Cherry is a card chucking adept. She can take an everyday playing card and either infuse it with magic or chuck it so hard that it can cause 5P damage. I'd like to eventually get custom cards that have some damage value on them already in which case she will be able to cause even more damage. She has knives she can throw but thats like pulling out the big guns for her. I'd like to coat her playing cards in the toxin Gamma-Scopolamine which causes paralysis and disorientation. She is immune to the substance even though it doesnt do anything on contact. G-S would be one of the first things she gets in-game from her first pay day. G-s is also a truth serum but not really sure how or if that will ever come into play.

She is basically just a flashy fighter. The sky is the limit on what her secondary abilities become. I just want to make her into the most bad ass card chucker adept ever. Being an adept I think she would most likely evolve into a good "Face" character or become very "stealthy" in which case she would probably start picking up Breaking and Entering skills.

She constantly has playing cards in her hands, shuffling them, and doing small slide of hand tricks.

>>BACKSTORY<<
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Cherry was born and grew up in a single parent home in Seattle, she had a good mom but her mother was always busy working and never home to raise her daughter. As Cherry grew older she started hanging out with friends and never stayed home. She fell in with other abandoned/orphaned kids and the bad crowd and started hanging out around bars. She fell for the bad boys and the bar scene became her life. She learned to treat combat wounds because her boyfriends were always getting into fights with other guys over her or were just getting into fights period, so she learned to take care of them. When she was in her late teens she awaked into an adept. An old guy at a bar tried to tell her about her gift once but she blew him off as a nut. She was suddely really in tune with her body and things just came naturally to her. She became really good at pool, when led to gambling which lead to poker which led Cherry to become who she is today.

She became addicted to cards and poker. It wasnt until one day while playing darts at the bar that she learned she had the uncanny ability to be extremely accurate with them and to make them sink deep into the dart board even with her lightest throw. She tried this with cards and had the same effect and she has honed this ability into a weapon. None of her relationships have ever panned out so currently she is single but still loves the party lifestyle but now that she is on her own she has to support herself and now its time to try and make some money. She has heard of people who get hired to do things and she figures she is good as the next guy.

Cherry is 20, 5'6", 120 lbs, Long shoulder length black/purple hair, Russian/caucasian. Usually in short tops and tight jeans to show off her goods. Her personality is to just have fun, she hates just about everything corporation both for thier strict rules and behaviors and due to all the resentment for not being able to grow up without a mom.

Example #2:

[ Spoiler ]

DESCRIPTION
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As your eyes scan the bar and its inhabitants your eyes zero in on a human female playing pool for a second as she bends over to take a shot. She is slightly shorter than your average person probably standing 5'6" and looks caucasion. She has long straight black hair with purple highlights that flow down to just below her shoulders. Her eyes are covered by a pair of wrap around shades. Her physique is a naturally slender, her muscles are not defined but you dont see any body fat either, if you had to guess the short belly t-shirt she is wearing is covering up a medium size pair of breasts and the skintight synthleather pants with the bit of panty wasteband hanging out the top was a 30 or less inch waste ending in a pair of black heeled boots. Laying on a stool near the pool tables is a long black synthleather coat. As the she shoots her ball the sound of the balls striking one another snaps you out of your trance and you continue on.......

BACKGROUND
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Cherry grew up in a single parent low income household. She was drawn to the bars and the bad boys early on. She spent alot of time there and even learned of her magical abilities there. Her magical talents that manifested inward into physical abilities allowed her to run cons at the bars and start taking care of herself mostly. Its small time though and she is getting a reputation and she is sick of always having to worry about paying the rent or ending up with some guy who turns out to be like every other jackass she has ever dated. She wants a change. And she figures the shadows are a good way to get it.

PERSONALITY
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Cherry's morals and ethics are to just take care of herself and not worry about others. Growing up as a kid with a mom who was never home because she was to busy working is the reason for this. The friends she had have all left her because of situations with boyfriends and popularity and other catty bullshit. She doesnt wish anybody harm, except a few ex boyfriends, but she just doesnt care about anyone else. She wants to start raking in the money and upgrade her life, she is tired of her low class clothes, her low class apartment, her low class friends.

ROLE
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Cherry is quite unique in that she can chuck just about anything and make it do damage, She is especially fond of doing this with playing cards. She will be an asset to any team who needs another warrior. She also can seduce her way into most people's hearts or pants. She can also patch up a wound or two. The fact that she doesnt carry any firearms or cyber means she hardly ever has to worry about gettng through security. She carries quite a few knives but she can leave those behind as long as she has some playing cards.

Or do they both suck? Whats missing.

[Stahlseele]

they are both good and legit, but i'd probably place the first one just on the character sheet and use the first paragraph of the second one for in game introductions . .

[Ravor]

I have to agree I like them both.

[Glyph]

They are both good - I think I would like the first one a bit more as a GM, and the second one a bit more as a character introduction to other players.

[masterofm]

The one thing I would have a problem with is that Gamma-Scopolamine is a drug that you have to inject into someone for it to take effect. It would be a tough sell to just coat your cards in the drug for it to take effect (at least if I was the GM) when generally you use a fairly large amount of G-S on someone.

[Kagetenshi]

Not really thrilled with either of them. From #1, the two-line summary of appearance/personality is great, but it should be in its own section near the top. Role should probably be near the top and should be more concise. You could add in a concept section after this if you want, though it isn't really necessary and as a GM I'd probably skim it once and then forget it, relying more on your portrayal of the character when the game starts. The background from #1 would probably fit in at the end here.

For this sort of thing, I'd tend to suggest avoiding in-character-style prose (like #2's description), and don't be afraid to use more pronouns or implicit references—for example, instead of, say, "Cherry grew up in a […]", just "Grew up in a […]" is more concise and no less clear—after all, it's not like we're wondering whose backstory this is (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

~J

[Abbandon]

Thanx for the feedback. @Kage what dont you like about in character prose? You just like the cold hard facts and dont need the fluff? Honestly I feel inspired to do the opposite lol. I want to make the description more of like an action scene where I also describe them using some of their skills.

[Ryu]

I like the second option better, but I like my answers in out-of-character bullet points. The first version is more what would be talked about while the character is created, or what the player would tell me about his char. For my GM duties the second version contains very useful information for the first few sessions with the char. Missing is a section with three-liners about the contacts of the PC, those are hard to bring into play out of memory.

[hyzmarca]

The second option is missing enemies, the most important part of any background. Even if its just somebody who your character teased in elementry school, it is a potential GM plothook. You can't go through life without pissing someone off, even if it is just slightly.

[Sir_Psycho]

What about 20 Questions?

[Kagetenshi]

Thanx for the feedback. @Kage what dont you like about in character prose? You just like the cold hard facts and dont need the fluff? Honestly I feel inspired to do the opposite lol. I want to make the description more of like an action scene where I also describe them using some of their skills.

For things like this, I'm big on cold hard facts. There are two reasons for this, one of which is general and the other I believe to be general but may be more the result of my own playstyle.

For the first, a very concise format permits use as a quick-reference. As a GM, I don't always remember the appearances of all characters who cross my table, and I like being able to glance at a description and see anything that's been decided on (hair colour, eye colour, mass, height, etc. etc. etc.); reading through a short "scene", not so much.

The second is that the facts are what you have. Sure, maybe you have a character personality in mind, but at least in my experience it usually undergoes significant modification in the first few sessions—I don't consider my characters to be "finished", concept-wise, until several sessions in, because how I envisioned the character and how they actually play with the stat, team, situation, etc. they end up with may differ. Thus, a lot of fluff early on almost seems like a waste of time, and at least for me as a GM I probably wouldn't read the fluff until after the first session, and would probably stop if it described a character meaningfully different from the one I saw at the table.

~J

[Simon May]

I'd really rather see a background written in first person than in 3rd. There's something about actually putting yourself into the characters shoes to tell their story that really helps get a feel for the character across. It also provides a reason for the nuances of speech that appear.

Really, only a GM should be talking in 3rd person.

[DocTaotsu]

I like both formats but I prefer the second because it gives a GM fast pertinent facts about your character. A lengthy backstory is always nice to have for plot hooks but it's something I send to the GM is an email and not something I'd include with my initial character sheet/concept.

Hyz is right though, no enemies in the second form. That's a major minus for me as a GM, no enemies listed means I have to make up enemies and all that "extra" work makes me ornery.

Ornery GM"s are dangerous GM's... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Cardul]

Well, believe it or not, if I were GMing..I would not approve either version. Face it: she is just a female Gambit..and blatantly so. Seriously, 2 X Cromosomes is nt a siginificant enough departure. I would want to know how she is DIFFERENT from the archetype she is mirroring.

That said, I tend to look at it like this: whatever the player's prefered style, I can live with. I have had players write their backgrounds in poetry, for instance. While strange, I allowed it. I prefer backgrounds where the person is speaking in 1st person, or is limiting themselves to only what their character knows/has experienced. Then again, I also award a couple karma at start for really cool backgrounds (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Ryu]

Fluff can contain much information, but that information is not easily accessible. If I GM, you want me to tell&listen, not to read. The char background info has to be easily accessible and short. I as a GM like to have a short writeup sheet for the whole group - street name(s), speciality, race, faction ratings (per player). Any player that wants to have some special aspects of his/her background used ingame needs to provide me the infos(Duh!). Paper forgets less than my brain.

The 20 questions are a player tool. Much to long for fast reference.

[Glyph]

I agree, which is why I don't agree with Simon May about first person. While it can be a good narrative tool, it also traps you within the POV of the character. An omnicient POV which lays out the facts works much better for a character introduction, and lets you talk about motivations and character flaws that might not be apparent to the actual character.

First person narrative can supplement third person prose - either a description from a third party showing how the character is perceived on the streets, or a few quotes to give a feel for the character. But first person is usually too clunky to clearly and concisely detail a character.

[ElFenrir]

When i do backgrounds, for the GM nowadays i like to assemble 7-10 bulletpoints, and i can usually tell them everything they need to know. I sometimes then if im really into the character do a writeup(i do like the 3rd person way) that's a couple to a few pages long to keep with the character sheets; the GM can read this if he or she wishes.

And i think both of the descriptions are pretty decent; i think i'd use the physical descriptor of her as an intro. True that the character is veery close to Gambit, but at the same time, i try not to shut down characters who were heavily influenced. (In Shadowrun, since it takes place in a sort of Future Earth, i'd be willing to let ''she herself is very inspired by Gambit'' count.)

Ive made characters with alot of influence(had an old detective who i pictured alot like Brisco from the old Law and Order series, for example). And i think it's cool to borrow a few things from characters too; i have a friend who also had a private-eye type borrowed from Sam Spade and had a couple of background points similar to some happenings in the Maltese Falcon.

But honestly, i don't mind this as long as it's not a cut and paste, 95% or more copy of the character, background and personality included. Looks aren't anything, you can have your character look like however you want, from completely original, to a cross between Cloud and Sephiroth as long as they have an original background and personality.

I think the reason why im lean here is that sometimes there seems to be a double standard. A GM might not mind a character borrowed heavily from, say, Travis Bickle of Taxi Driver, but they'd mind if a person borrowed heavily from Naruto.

[Abbandon]

Not really interested in what you think of the character lol..that was another thread. I just picked this character first to try and rework her background section and see what the best way to lay out information was.

[DocTaotsu]

Another layout I've liked it is an interview method. Basically it's 20 questions but answered from the characters POV. Due to the evasive nature of most runners I'd probably hack it down to 5-10 questions.

I'm also a fan of the dossier format in which a player describes their char as if a profile is built up by a corps or government. All the impersonal details laid out in pigeon holded sections like "Known Associates", "Training/Previous Occupation", "Personality Profile", "Likely Motivation".

[Connor]

I'm also a fan of the dossier format in which a player describes their char as if a profile is built up by a corps or government. All the impersonal details laid out in pigeon holded sections like "Known Associates", "Training/Previous Occupation", "Personality Profile", "Likely Motivation".

Dossier files are usually how I lay things out. Either for PCs I'm playing or NPCs I'm keeping track of over the course of a campaign. It works well and let's me add in fluff as needed/desired.

[Fuchs]

I do it like that:

[ Spoiler ]

DD – Hacker

Street Alias: "DD"
Fake SIN Name: Desirée DeMoins
Real Name: Debora Carter
Age: 20
Origin: Louisiana, CAS
Nationality: CAS
Metatype: Human (Caucasian)
Sex: Female
Location: L.A.
Height: 1.75 meters
Weight: 60 kg
Hair: Color changes depending on latest fad
Eyes: Color changes depending on latest fad
Lifestyle: As hip as she can afford

Character:
DD has a need to feel popular and wanted. She's usually projecting a confident front, but not as secure of herself as she would like to be, and unconsciously craves praise. "Style over Substance" is a weakness of hers, she's prone to judge people by appearance. She's not the confrontational type (although can appear so), and easily follows orders as long as she feels appreciated.
While she's not a pacifist, she's not a cold-blooded killer either, but capable to rationalise killing, especially if in self-defense, or as vengeance. She's very keen on paying her debts, both in money and favors, and therefore loyal to people who did not con her (or don't get caught doing it). DD is not naive or innocent, but even after her time in New Orleans she’s not as hardened as other runners.
She’s a bit queasy when it comes to magic, despite magic being „hip“ in the entertainment sector.

Motivation for running the Shadows:
DD is a new arrival to L.A.'s sprawl, wanting to make her big break in L.A.'s showbusiness - and thinks shadowrunning is the fastest way to stardom, or at least to get the contacts and the P2.0 ratings needed in the industry.
DD grew up on trideo, sims, and lately the new live feeds from runs, so while she hasn't been to L.A. yet, she thinks she knows some of its scene, or "beat". She has done some shadow work in New Orleans already, but that was often minor stuff (courier stuff, some „find out what he knows through pillow talk“, hacking a commlink left on the nightstand or an isolated home computer, and similar stuff).

Description:
While originally of average appearance, DD has had extensive cosmetic surgery and now looks striking - if one finds the clichee "human movie starlet" build and face attractive. She changes her hair color often, and plans to use a disguise (goggles) and distinctive haircolor (green) on runs.

History:
DD grew up in Loisiana in a middle class family. Her mother was a creole, her father was a texan. Both parents are still alive, as is her brother, currently serving as a marine in the Navy. Her parents work for a local corporation in middle management/personal ressources.
Of average height and looks, DD failed to make the cheerleader squad in her high school years. She compensated by moving to the local computer/hacker scene, in an attempt to "be the most popular in a niche instead of a wallflower in the mainstream", with so-so success. She did pick up her hacking skills there, aided by an interest in the net since she was little. Once she was out of high school, she was supposed to go to college. Instead she raided her college fund's first year payment, faking her mother's access code, and ran away to buy some cosmetic surgery, implants, a new identity and a ticket to L.A. Of course, she had not enough money to pay for all that, so she got the cosmetic surgery and some implants first, then worked as a callgirl in New Orleans to pay for the rest, and brushing up on her skills, before finally making it to L.A.
She picked the name of her new SIN from a french-canadian SimSense Starlet from the 2050s named “Desirée Desire�.

[bibliophile20]

I like both setups, personally; I would personally prefer #1 for a PC being submitted to me for approval, while I would and will probably use #2 for pregens that I hand out to players at cons, one-shots and the like.

[Kyoto Kid]

...I tend to follow this Format:

[Name (real, street, other aliases, nicknames)]
.
[Characteristics (race, archetype ht, wt, complexion age etc..)]
.
[Lifestyle (residence, origin, activities, etc)]
.
[Outstanding traits (dress, mannerisms, personality quirks, etc...)]
.
[Associates (contacts, friends, enemies, affiliations, etc..)]
.
[Backstory]

[Simon May]

When you're discussing a physical description, it has to be third person, but background alone isn't enough to truly give a feel for a character. If you're going to take the time to write out a character history, I'd rather have it be narrative. Of course, I also include bullet points of the important stuff and a timeline of events for easy reference.

Speaking of enemies or contacts, knowing who they are is one thing, but knowing how the player interacted with them is something completely different. That is what is useful. Far too often, GMs have bullet points, but the knowledge doesn't synergize with the way each side imagines things.

So really, what it comes down to, is what the purpose of the background is. If it's purely a GM tool and completely a GM-centric game, then screw the narrative in any sense; bullet points are fine. But if you're actually creating a character, rather than a flimsy structure you plan to flesh out later, narrative can't be beat. Quite frankly, I still think it's more an exercise for the player than the GM, but that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable or useful for the GM.

[Kyoto Kid]

...this is is why I use both styles. The narrative is generally reserved for the backstory in which I set the background for who the character is and why she does what she does. The "Bullet Points" are supplied more as a quick reference tool. If the GM sees the need, he has the option to refer to the backstory for more detail on a particular facet of the character. This also allows the GM to fill in some details that the character shouldn't necessarily know about.

Some facts are also pretty straightforward and lend themselves better to a outline structure such as physical characteristics, where the character lives, names of friends/contacts etc.