Full Version: Bringing Characters to Life
| QUOTE |
| Of course, now that you mention it, it is somewhat curious that there aren't more threads about how to roleplay a type of character. I don't know about the past year, but in the year before that I think I've seen all of two threads asking how to bring across in roleplaying a specific part of the personality. It's almost as though we understand "personality" mostly in the abstract: a distinct separation of what we say about the character personality and how we actually play it. (And yet personality can be categorised enough to have standard types and graduations of types, even for quantifiable psychological purposes. So there could be a common basis for discussion, were we interested.) |
This just seems to beg a spin-off thread, so let's have at it.
What sorts of things do you do to bring characters to life?
Do you find yourself rewriting character descriptions when it becomes apparent that the original concept doesn't match how the character is playing out?
Do the jobs, the shadows, the streets, and the money change the your character over time?
Do your characters always take the most expedient course of action or are their decisions colored by quirks, superstitions, emotions, idiosyncracies, and twisted logic?
Do they develop "calling cards" to enhance their fame or get greedy?
How do you convey all the descriptors in the description, what makes your character "professional" or "angsty" or "Jovial", and how do you bring it out?
I find that once I have specific role in my head the Char just writes them self. Note that I mean role as in what my char brings to the team.
I use the GM questions from various sources to flesh out my chars. They also tend to be fairly fluid dependeing on the game. Although some of my games haven't lasted very long so only a few of my chars are just starting to get really juicy.
In some respects, this is prolly the hardest part of our collective insanity. Figuring out what makes your alter ego "real". Kudos for bringing up the subject.
I use the GM questions from various sources to flesh out my chars. They also tend to be fairly fluid dependeing on the game. Although some of my games haven't lasted very long so only a few of my chars are just starting to get really juicy.
In some respects, this is prolly the hardest part of our collective insanity. Figuring out what makes your alter ego "real". Kudos for bringing up the subject.
From the GM point of view in order to get my players to develop their characters I always dedicate part of a session to their personal lives.
Typically I do it a little at the beginning while everyone is getting settled. This works especially well if someone is late or early, just start doing stuff with their character. I also usually do it a little at the end of the session. This gives me a "pad" at the end so if the mission ends early we're still having fun and if it goes long we don't have to break and continue next week. You also don't have to wait for characters to provide the impetus, give them a secret admirer or something. Maybe a local band wants the troll to play drums for them. Can't play? That's OK just look really cool while you mash them. Or get a couple together in on something. It's fun and develops them a lot.
Also watch the flaws they pick at the beginning of the game. "uncouth" can be bad news, it means they'll tend to minimize that sort of stuff. Instead I like flaws like "curious" or "lecherous" where it makes the characters do stuff that I would find amusing. And generally try to encourage them to have personalities I'll enjoy seeing develop. They have fun and I lay out some bonus karma.
Typically I do it a little at the beginning while everyone is getting settled. This works especially well if someone is late or early, just start doing stuff with their character. I also usually do it a little at the end of the session. This gives me a "pad" at the end so if the mission ends early we're still having fun and if it goes long we don't have to break and continue next week. You also don't have to wait for characters to provide the impetus, give them a secret admirer or something. Maybe a local band wants the troll to play drums for them. Can't play? That's OK just look really cool while you mash them. Or get a couple together in on something. It's fun and develops them a lot.
Also watch the flaws they pick at the beginning of the game. "uncouth" can be bad news, it means they'll tend to minimize that sort of stuff. Instead I like flaws like "curious" or "lecherous" where it makes the characters do stuff that I would find amusing. And generally try to encourage them to have personalities I'll enjoy seeing develop. They have fun and I lay out some bonus karma.
if it's a throwaway NPC, I pick one visible feature, one speech pattern, and one odd behavior and expand on that. that's my insta-flesh-out
I'm finding that one of the hardest personality traits to RP is being "green" or new to the shadows. As a player, I know had deadly, dark and vicious the business can be, but my character shouldn't.
Its hard not to make choices or take actions like an old pro when you know your brand new character's fragile life is on the line.
To be honest, if anyone has pointers on that one I'd love to hear em!
(BTW: great topic steve!)
Its hard not to make choices or take actions like an old pro when you know your brand new character's fragile life is on the line.
To be honest, if anyone has pointers on that one I'd love to hear em!
(BTW: great topic steve!)
| QUOTE (Meriss) |
| I find that once I have specific role in my head the Char just writes them self. Note that I mean role as in what my char brings to the team. |
I tend to come up with a concept, then figure out how to fill a hole on the team. I decided to do essentially the classic outlaw biker. The fact that he's a mediocre mage and hacker doesn't really change the fact that he's really not a very nice guy who enjoys beating the crap out of annoying people, etc.
Once I had the concept I just made the various skills and such to fill a hole in hte team. So he's a hacker, because they needed one. And a mediocre mage because they needed the extra countermagic. But the personality affects how he acts. If he needs to knock someone out he'd prefer to (and he'll be more likely) to cast sound barrier and beat them unconscious than use stunbolt.
| QUOTE (Method) |
| I'm finding that one of the hardest personality traits to RP is being "green" or new to the shadows. As a player, I know had deadly, dark and vicious the business can be, but my character shouldn't. Its hard not to make choices or take actions like an old pro when you know your brand new character's fragile life is on the line. To be honest, if anyone has pointers on that one I'd love to hear em! (BTW: great topic steve!) |
Why "shouldn't" your character act like an old pro? One of the assumptions of char-gen is that the character has been doing this for awhile - these are not first-level characters. That's not to say that you couldn't make a genuine running newbie if you wanted to, but why do it if you have troubles playing it? My advice would be to remember that your character may be new to play, but has actually been doing what he's been doing for awhile.
On character creation, I tend to go with concept, roughed-out stats, then the background, re-working the stats as necessary to jive with the background. I think it is good to keep the purpose of a character in mind while creating it.
This is a character who is going to be played in a cooperative game, with a specific setting, with a group of other people, not the main star of a novel. So the character needs to be useful to a group of futuristic professional criminals. Making a character who is not useful to a group or can't get along with one is a waste of everyone's time.
Similarly, you will be trying to roleplay this character in a group. Intricate backgrounds don't always play out well, if none of it is stuff you can convey to the other players through your acting out of the PC. For a game, I have found that my best characters have several obvious traits and/or distinctive mannerisms. For example, maybe my dwarven mage talks in a boisterous manner and wears suits with power ties and strong cologne, and is generous but spendthrift. From a few obvious hooks like that, you can work in the more subtle stuff later.
| QUOTE |
| On character creation, I tend to go with concept, roughed-out stats, then the background, re-working the stats as necessary to jive with the background. I think it is good to keep the purpose of a character in mind while creating it. |
I tend to take this to heart. Normaly, when creating a character, I figure out what the main role is to be (Hacker, Mage, Combatant...) and then think up a concept to go with it. My most recent Runner, for example, was going to be mainly a hacker, and probably have some charisma skills as we're currently faceless...
So, I hit upon the idea of an expeirenced ex-millitary intellegence specialist. He did a bit of training (as in, he trained others), and thus got some skill in dealing with people.
Now I have to think, how'd he get into ShadowRunning. My Millitray Man probably wouldn't have left willingly...so he was discharged. ShadowRunning was the only place he could use his skills...and he needed money (the Army dosen't pay severace for dishonerable discharges), so he plans on getting money, and then getting out before too long...
This done, I fill in the Active Skills and Attributes, and a few qualities to back up the concept...he'd need at least average body; have some skills in pistols; and as one who cares about his body (not to mention seeing firsthand the effects of combat drugs) he would avoid acohol and narcotics (no Addiction(Mild, Synthanol)) but he might need a bit of help getting away from his past (BTLs-moodchips...). Having got this far, its probably enough to begin setting aside the amount of BP I'm gonna need for stuff (quite a bit, he's used to a lot of cool stuff being an ex-officer), contacts (not many, he's only recently left the army).
When it comes to knowledges...and this is where ShadowRun really shines...I try to think of at least one esoteric or 'odd' intrest that would make this guy stand out.
For my Millitary Hacker, I added that he happened to be an animal lover...specalising in Cats. This done I see if any Active skills should be added, and if so, could I afford them. This probably results in a bit of a reshuffle, but this done, the main skeleton is built.
After this, its largely mechanical. I've got the concept and have the points. He's gonna need some way of getting BTLs..a 'cyber-dealer' contact...He's probably gonna have all the best Cyberware (paid for by Uncle Sam(?)) and a damn good commlink, but his physical surrounding would be quite poor-low lifestyle...I also aim to keep about 500
on hand to fill out the conceptual bits. He's gotta have a real cat (and thefore adding the fact that he hates technology attempting to replace reality), he would have a few BTL chips around, but not many as he thinks he can controll his addiction...and to tie into this escapism trait, a few games, regular and hotsims...And there we have it. His personality would be pretty easy to define from his past. He'll be bitter for the most part, a bit depressed but only have unconditional love for his cat...He will speak in a precise, clipped millitary manner...and his voice carries a tone that means people listen, even if they dont want to (Cha 5). He won't tell anyone about his BTL habits, but they may worsen as he realises how far he's fallen... In combat he'll be cool, calm, with training many of the others won't have...
Just my style. By keeping the aim in mind, you don't loose focus, and with a detailed past, the persona falls into place. I find, with a belivable past, even the most OTT characters can seem realistic, and the Hobbie system allows you to add that one key difference that is unique (A memorable one for me was a Sniper who was an expert on farming, gardening and grew Bonsai Trees).
I think the fact that so many situations are easily covered by rules and dice rolls (including social situations- one of SRs more ingenious features) is why people can sometimes get lazy when role-playing SR. Also, the strategic and tactical aspects of going on a run and the fact that a good shadowrunner leaves his personal issues out of it that can make roleplaying difficult.
A good game, however, gets all that stuff dragged out anyway. Just like any good caper movie or cop drama, the characters make it what it is.
Now personal stuff:
I never thought much about how I bring a character to life. I've always had an easy time coming up with character concepts. In SR it's easier than some games, like the World-of-Darkness games, where you don't get to fit a concept into a game so much as get to pick a concept from a list. SRs rich and varied setting makes nearly any modern, sci-fi or fantasy concept playable with only a little tweaking.
Having said that, I've had to revise my character concept a bit to make integration with the party and the lifestyle of a runner easier. In a perfect game, you can get a lot of drama out of a personal conflict, but in short campaigns, or when you're still struggling to learn the rules, I've made a character's morals a little more ambiguous, or expanded on his gang connections to make the character a little more playable.
I think transitioning from whatever sort of character yours was in a previous life to a full-fledged shadowrunner is the most interesting aspect of the story. A street-hardened gang thug and a former corporate tech support hacker on the same team will find themselves flying quickly toward a common destination, and surviving long enough at it will significantly change how they look at the world.
When making decisions on how to act, I always think first, from the point of the player what the best course of action is. It's just what logically comes to me. Of course, a good roleplayer will weigh this against his character's motivations. I play a smart street shaman who's totem is Bear. Even though he wants to heal people instead of seeing them senselessly slaughtered, but unfortunately has a temper (as is mechanically reflected in his Will roll to avoid going berserk), and I play him trying to stay cool until pushed too far. He doesn't necessarily have to take physical damage to go berserk, in a sense.
I try to play my character's personality, but pay attention the rest of the table for cues on this. Some of my groups have been light role-players, so I try not to be a drama queen about it. We're here to have fun, and annoying people isn't fun.
Dread Polack
A good game, however, gets all that stuff dragged out anyway. Just like any good caper movie or cop drama, the characters make it what it is.
Now personal stuff:
I never thought much about how I bring a character to life. I've always had an easy time coming up with character concepts. In SR it's easier than some games, like the World-of-Darkness games, where you don't get to fit a concept into a game so much as get to pick a concept from a list. SRs rich and varied setting makes nearly any modern, sci-fi or fantasy concept playable with only a little tweaking.
Having said that, I've had to revise my character concept a bit to make integration with the party and the lifestyle of a runner easier. In a perfect game, you can get a lot of drama out of a personal conflict, but in short campaigns, or when you're still struggling to learn the rules, I've made a character's morals a little more ambiguous, or expanded on his gang connections to make the character a little more playable.
I think transitioning from whatever sort of character yours was in a previous life to a full-fledged shadowrunner is the most interesting aspect of the story. A street-hardened gang thug and a former corporate tech support hacker on the same team will find themselves flying quickly toward a common destination, and surviving long enough at it will significantly change how they look at the world.
When making decisions on how to act, I always think first, from the point of the player what the best course of action is. It's just what logically comes to me. Of course, a good roleplayer will weigh this against his character's motivations. I play a smart street shaman who's totem is Bear. Even though he wants to heal people instead of seeing them senselessly slaughtered, but unfortunately has a temper (as is mechanically reflected in his Will roll to avoid going berserk), and I play him trying to stay cool until pushed too far. He doesn't necessarily have to take physical damage to go berserk, in a sense.
I try to play my character's personality, but pay attention the rest of the table for cues on this. Some of my groups have been light role-players, so I try not to be a drama queen about it. We're here to have fun, and annoying people isn't fun.
Dread Polack
Great topic. From the GM point i like my players to write background and describe their personality besides the Advantages and Disadvanteges of the book... people could be much more than just points the character sheet.
Sunnyside hited a great spot when talked about the personal lives of the characters. Is´t something that worked great on Call of Cthulhu, Legends of Five Rings, and works amazingly on Shadowrun.
Legends of Five Rings had a tool that was very cool for "fleshing out" characters and their personal lives... even better for using with new players. I can't find it by now (my L5R GM isn't on MSN right now) but was someking of questionary with questions that defines the personal live/side of the characters. Questions like: "Do you have parents... childrens...? Are you married, for love, honor ou obbliged by your family? What's more importante for your character, honor, duty or glory?"
I guess that something like that for Shadowrun (please, if it's already exists, please point me) would be great. With questions like "Do you have a family? How is your relationship with then? How did you join the Shadow, and why? Did you have any prejudice agains any metatype? Did you have another income, or part time job, besides Shadowrunning? How do you feel about the Corps, have any prejudice agains one in particular? Or likes one? Do your char. have hobbies? Passions? Pratices any sports? Have a girlfriend, or a pet?"
Questions like that would help fleshing out the character while you answer them. And i guess that if it's didn't exist already, maybe we can join to create one.
What do you think?
Sunnyside hited a great spot when talked about the personal lives of the characters. Is´t something that worked great on Call of Cthulhu, Legends of Five Rings, and works amazingly on Shadowrun.
Legends of Five Rings had a tool that was very cool for "fleshing out" characters and their personal lives... even better for using with new players. I can't find it by now (my L5R GM isn't on MSN right now) but was someking of questionary with questions that defines the personal live/side of the characters. Questions like: "Do you have parents... childrens...? Are you married, for love, honor ou obbliged by your family? What's more importante for your character, honor, duty or glory?"
I guess that something like that for Shadowrun (please, if it's already exists, please point me) would be great. With questions like "Do you have a family? How is your relationship with then? How did you join the Shadow, and why? Did you have any prejudice agains any metatype? Did you have another income, or part time job, besides Shadowrunning? How do you feel about the Corps, have any prejudice agains one in particular? Or likes one? Do your char. have hobbies? Passions? Pratices any sports? Have a girlfriend, or a pet?"
Questions like that would help fleshing out the character while you answer them. And i guess that if it's didn't exist already, maybe we can join to create one.
What do you think?
2nd and I believe 3rd edition had this. Too bad they left it out of 4th.
Dread Polack
Dread Polack
...agreed on the topic.
Like Sunnyside, I try to put some "pure roleplay" scenes into a campaign. I already have distinct personalities for the major NPCs developed, but would like the PCs to be more than just a collection of numbers skills and where applicable, spells.
For example...
During one of the sessions in Rhapsody in Shadow the PCs learned of someone known as "the Ice Woman" who had a line on an item the team was searching. So the Face headed off along with the weapons specialist for backup in case things should go south. Once he finally made contact with the NPC, the scene played itself out almost in a film noir style. There was tension, but also a sense of professional cordiality on the part of both sides, and when it came to a crucial point then only only the dice were rolled. However the driving element of the scene (and basis for the NPC's reactions hinged on what the PC said than the raw roll of the dice (in effect the PC's performance modified the result of the roll). In the end he had gained her respect and a meet with her "associates", as well as a bottle of expensive Polish Vodka.
In all, it was a fun, and ended up being a very crucial scene that went far to moving the mission along.
Like Sunnyside, I try to put some "pure roleplay" scenes into a campaign. I already have distinct personalities for the major NPCs developed, but would like the PCs to be more than just a collection of numbers skills and where applicable, spells.
For example...
During one of the sessions in Rhapsody in Shadow the PCs learned of someone known as "the Ice Woman" who had a line on an item the team was searching. So the Face headed off along with the weapons specialist for backup in case things should go south. Once he finally made contact with the NPC, the scene played itself out almost in a film noir style. There was tension, but also a sense of professional cordiality on the part of both sides, and when it came to a crucial point then only only the dice were rolled. However the driving element of the scene (and basis for the NPC's reactions hinged on what the PC said than the raw roll of the dice (in effect the PC's performance modified the result of the roll). In the end he had gained her respect and a meet with her "associates", as well as a bottle of expensive Polish Vodka.
In all, it was a fun, and ended up being a very crucial scene that went far to moving the mission along.
If I'm creating a character to play for myself, I usually come up with a short story that displays the characters main beliefs and attitudes. It's usually no longer than 3 paragraphs (though it sometimes breaks that rule), but gives hints as to his background, and his view on life in general.
I'd post one, but I lost them all when my computer crashed 6 months ago. And I haven't had to create an in-depth character in at least that long.
As a GM, if I'm creating pre-generated characters for other people, then there are a couple things I do. First, I provide a short background. Usually not in story form, usually in a biography sort of form.
Second, I provide a list of the other characters, and this character's relationships with them. This provides insight into how the character views other people in general, as well as the respect or disrespect (s)he has for the other group members.
I find that the combination of these two techniques gives the players a quick overview of how the characters are meant to be played.
I'd post one, but I lost them all when my computer crashed 6 months ago. And I haven't had to create an in-depth character in at least that long.
As a GM, if I'm creating pre-generated characters for other people, then there are a couple things I do. First, I provide a short background. Usually not in story form, usually in a biography sort of form.
Second, I provide a list of the other characters, and this character's relationships with them. This provides insight into how the character views other people in general, as well as the respect or disrespect (s)he has for the other group members.
I find that the combination of these two techniques gives the players a quick overview of how the characters are meant to be played.
I think the GM really needs to be the driver of this though...as even the greatest player created background means nothing unless the GM is incorporating/using it in the game...GM really needs to set up these roleplaying scenes and give the players a chance to really shine, in this regard.
I find that a brief summary, from the player, to start the game, works best. Not too much detail, but enough that the GM can work it into future plots.
As a player, I have done detailed backgrounds and planned to play him one way, but once we started playing, I adjusted his style to better fit the group and the GM...I find that if you get too detailed up front, you end up getting stuck with a "bad concept" for the game. You either contradict your own history or you end up sticking to it and it doesn't work, therefore, not as much fun...
I find that a brief summary, from the player, to start the game, works best. Not too much detail, but enough that the GM can work it into future plots.
As a player, I have done detailed backgrounds and planned to play him one way, but once we started playing, I adjusted his style to better fit the group and the GM...I find that if you get too detailed up front, you end up getting stuck with a "bad concept" for the game. You either contradict your own history or you end up sticking to it and it doesn't work, therefore, not as much fun...
| QUOTE |
| Why "shouldn't" your character act like an old pro? One of the assumptions of char-gen is that the character has been doing this for awhile - these are not first-level characters. - Glyph |
That is one assumption, yes. Another asks why the things the character has been doing for awhile are necessarily (1) shadow and (2) specialised. Your slightly-above-average wageslave -- above, because PCs are assumed to have a spark much of the world lacks, be it innate or thrust upon them -- can easily spend the same number of points into shadow-translatable skills without having that essential familiarity with the shadows that is so much fun to roleplay through.
Besides, if you play your character like an old pro right out of the gates, you never really get to share with your group the excitement and wonder (and sometimes sheer terror) of having survived that first ever in-the-shadows battle. If you let it, it will shape your PC's outlook on things forever.
A useful survival key to playing "green" is that even a complete newbie won't wander into the middle of a no man's land of crisscrossing bullets. The first instinct is to keep your head down, or even to run away. What needs to be learned is how to react in a combat situation -- and this is where a group of staggered experience comes in truly useful, as they go through their own character-building experience in trying to guide the newbie into being useful in a combat situation ... NOW!
If my character isn't alive, then it isn't fun to play.
Sometimes fleshing out a back story can have unforeseen or even negative consequences.
In the old Virtual Seattle series, I had a PC who was an archaeologist in regular life, forced into the shadows after a thief stole an artifact from a dig site, murdered some workers and framed my PC. My guy entered the shadows to find the thief and clear his name. I modeled his nemesis on a character in John Le Carré's novel The Night Manager. He was a wealthy gun-runner, drug dealer, global merchant of misery.
The problem was, how was I ever going to get my PC to actually seek this guy out? I spoke to the powers-that-were for VS, asking them whether an adventure or two could be written with this guy involved. As it turned out, they were looking for an arch-villain, and so The Blind Man was born. I had fleshed him out pretty fully, and gave him to them ready made.
The next problem was, I was involved in writing VS modules at the time, and I knew what was coming! So in the end I didn't get to play any of the modules that used the Blind Man, and VS eventually ended with the big death scene of Claudia, murdered by The Blind Man, and my PC faded into the ether unavenged, unfulfilled and reputation still shot.
Sucked to be me.
I really did have fun making both my PC and The Blind Man, though. I believe it was Samantha who said she sometimes enjoys making PCs more than playing them. I am that way too, though maybe it's because it's hard sometimes to find a game to play.
In the old Virtual Seattle series, I had a PC who was an archaeologist in regular life, forced into the shadows after a thief stole an artifact from a dig site, murdered some workers and framed my PC. My guy entered the shadows to find the thief and clear his name. I modeled his nemesis on a character in John Le Carré's novel The Night Manager. He was a wealthy gun-runner, drug dealer, global merchant of misery.
The problem was, how was I ever going to get my PC to actually seek this guy out? I spoke to the powers-that-were for VS, asking them whether an adventure or two could be written with this guy involved. As it turned out, they were looking for an arch-villain, and so The Blind Man was born. I had fleshed him out pretty fully, and gave him to them ready made.
The next problem was, I was involved in writing VS modules at the time, and I knew what was coming! So in the end I didn't get to play any of the modules that used the Blind Man, and VS eventually ended with the big death scene of Claudia, murdered by The Blind Man, and my PC faded into the ether unavenged, unfulfilled and reputation still shot.
Sucked to be me.
I really did have fun making both my PC and The Blind Man, though. I believe it was Samantha who said she sometimes enjoys making PCs more than playing them. I am that way too, though maybe it's because it's hard sometimes to find a game to play.
| QUOTE (deek) |
| I think the GM really needs to be the driver of this though...as even the greatest player created background means nothing unless the GM is incorporating/using it in the game...GM really needs to set up these roleplaying scenes and give the players a chance to really shine, in this regard. I find that a brief summary, from the player, to start the game, works best. Not too much detail, but enough that the GM can work it into future plots. As a player, I have done detailed backgrounds and planned to play him one way, but once we started playing, I adjusted his style to better fit the group and the GM...I find that if you get too detailed up front, you end up getting stuck with a "bad concept" for the game. You either contradict your own history or you end up sticking to it and it doesn't work, therefore, not as much fun... |
I'd have to say that it's a two-way street. The player has to be willing to provide some background for the world to interact with, and the GM has to incorporate that world into the campaign.
I've gotten character backgrounds from players that just weren't... intriguing. There were no real flaws. No family. No realism. It was really hard to incorporate those into the campaign. If a character is addicted to stealing cars, the obvious interaction is to have the character resist stealing a car whenever he sees it. Which, I suppose, works. But is anybody really addicted to stealing cars? And why is it an addiction.
The crux of a good character background is often times the why, as opposed to the what. Why is your character allergic to sunlight? Why is your character addicted to stealing cars? Why did your character start using BTLs? Why did your character start shadowrunning? Why is he no longer in contact with his family?
If these questions are not answered in the first draft of a character background, then it's the GM's responsibility to ask these questions.
How do I know my character is "alive"? When the other players and GM can predict with fairly good accuracy what response my character will have IC to a new situation. Now the question is how did we get there?
I disagree. Predictability does not necessarily mean realism. A character can evolve over time. Get sick of how he's been doing things. Have a sudden change of heart. Have a gradual change of heart. Be influenced by situations.
Evolution of a character, IMO, adds immensely to a character's realism.
Evolution of a character, IMO, adds immensely to a character's realism.
| QUOTE (pbangarth) |
| Sometimes fleshing out a back story can have unforeseen or even negative consequences. |
Hehe...I agree! We just had this happen last session.
One player wanted to have "better" cyberware, so he put himself as ex-military. I allowed him to have deltaware, but with the inherent flaw that there was an inactive tracking device on each piece as well as nanobombs.
I loved it as a GM, as I had plenty of plot pieces to work with, if I so choosed. I didn't really mess with much for a long time, but eventually, I had a couple, next generation, military assassins track him down to the Denver area. So, he caused there to be extra heat on the rest of the team. Eventually, this high lifestyle PC was using pre-paid comm services and bouncing from coffin motel to coffin motel.
In the last session, during a routine cyberware recalibration at a street doc, they accidentally activated the tracking devices...two members of the team ended up executing the player, as he just caused way too much heat for the team, something no one was very fond of...
So, while I do agree there is a two-way street here for background, I still say to keep it to a summary and just give your GM a nebulous direction of where you came from. Most GMs are pretty creative and will work something that makes sense and is fun into the campaign. You build a little too much or go down a dangerous line, and you end up screwing your own character out of the freedom to act without so much baggage in the future...
| QUOTE (deek) | ||
Hehe...I agree! We just had this happen last session. One player wanted to have "better" cyberware, so he put himself as ex-military. I allowed him to have deltaware, but with the inherent flaw that there was an inactive tracking device on each piece as well as nanobombs. I loved it as a GM, as I had plenty of plot pieces to work with, if I so choosed. I didn't really mess with much for a long time, but eventually, I had a couple, next generation, military assassins track him down to the Denver area. So, he caused there to be extra heat on the rest of the team. Eventually, this high lifestyle PC was using pre-paid comm services and bouncing from coffin motel to coffin motel. In the last session, during a routine cyberware recalibration at a street doc, they accidentally activated the tracking devices...two members of the team ended up executing the player, as he just caused way too much heat for the team, something no one was very fond of... So, while I do agree there is a two-way street here for background, I still say to keep it to a summary and just give your GM a nebulous direction of where you came from. Most GMs are pretty creative and will work something that makes sense and is fun into the campaign. You build a little too much or go down a dangerous line, and you end up screwing your own character out of the freedom to act without so much baggage in the future... |
...this is one of the reasons I am glad that the old Hunted flaw was not included in SR4 (I usually banned it in SR3). As with Criminal SIN this tends to also mess with the rest of the team who do not receive the BP benefit the individual PC gets.
My PnP group has adapted the spiritual attributes system from the game Riddle of Steel and put it into shadowrun. I find that it really helps flesh out character backgrounds and all the players have a much better sense of the motivations of their characters.
It's a bit tough for the GM (in this case, me) to keep track of everyone's spiritual attributes and it tends to spilt the players up as they're each doing they're own kind of thing, but it leads to very personal story-focused roleplaying, which is nice. There are also mechanics built in for the characters to change over time, and such. It's quite fun.
It's a bit tough for the GM (in this case, me) to keep track of everyone's spiritual attributes and it tends to spilt the players up as they're each doing they're own kind of thing, but it leads to very personal story-focused roleplaying, which is nice. There are also mechanics built in for the characters to change over time, and such. It's quite fun.
I like to use interview questionnaires to flesh my characters out.
Like this:
http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationP....php/PageID/106
Like this:
http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationP....php/PageID/106
Actually as a GM I've become less impressed with character backgrounds as time has gone on. First off they're often quite trite. If I have to read one more involving the words "ex-military" and "parents dead" I'm going to go nuts. Actually no I'd probably just make up a shadowrun version of the CP2020 lifepath and feed their butt into it. (to get a rough idea what that results in there is an automatic, but slightly buggy version at http://www.moosh.net/cp2020/lifepath-form.html )
But a bigger issue is that I find players need a little time to feel things out. There was some other thread around here where a GM was asking for advice when a player totally diverged from the personality on paper. I find that happens to degrees a fair bit.
I'd say I've had more luck evolving the players after start time. Maybe having them do something rough to start, give them some personality traits to follow ones that the player does have, and focus on bringing the char to life as time passes and they develop relationships and the like.
At that point I enjoy fitting in background elements. Now that the character has some history and a personality it can be more fun adding in things like family members (who would actually function as NPCs).
On last thing that I think works with this is that many players aren't even marginally as up on the fluff as the GM. A backstory involving been a teenager in Bug City just isn't on the table, and neither is a lot of stuff.
But a bigger issue is that I find players need a little time to feel things out. There was some other thread around here where a GM was asking for advice when a player totally diverged from the personality on paper. I find that happens to degrees a fair bit.
I'd say I've had more luck evolving the players after start time. Maybe having them do something rough to start, give them some personality traits to follow ones that the player does have, and focus on bringing the char to life as time passes and they develop relationships and the like.
At that point I enjoy fitting in background elements. Now that the character has some history and a personality it can be more fun adding in things like family members (who would actually function as NPCs).
On last thing that I think works with this is that many players aren't even marginally as up on the fluff as the GM. A backstory involving been a teenager in Bug City just isn't on the table, and neither is a lot of stuff.
We've all seen the 20 questions, the backstory development suggestions, and the "how to roleplay" sections in various books. Here are a couple of things that I do when making a character that I note a lot of other people do not.
How do you speak, when speaking as your character?
First in this is word choice. The words you choose to use when speaking in-character should be an extension of the persona that your character wears. There are many ways to bring people to life. Consider speaking of an ally being killed and the following characters-
Well-educated mage or tech: "Did you hear that someone got Ernie after his deal with Bert went sour? It had to be someone close to him."
Street-saavy gunman: "Someone put Ernie on ice after shit with Bert went south. It was an inside job, mos' def."
Former company man: "There's been a shakeup down on Sesame Street. Bert and Ernie were butting heads, and Ernie got the black mark. My money is on someone Ernie felt he could trust. Maybe it was The Bird."
The second part of this is the vocal tone that you use. How you speak is every bit as important as what you're saying. If you're playing a calm, cool, collected professional, using a frantic voice isn't your best bet - unless there's supposed to be irony there. Likewise, if you're playing a ganger who's all about his street rep and how many heads he can crack, using a metered and even tone is a bad plan... Unless you're going for a Richard B. Riddick angle.
What does the character do off-screen?
Seriously. What does the runner do when he's not doing legwork, breaking into someplace, or shooting a guy? A person will always have hobbies or things they do to relax. And don't just think of the basics like video games or the shooting range. Do they like restoring old furniture? Painting napoleonic-era wargame figures (See "Lucas Corso" from The Club Dumas, by Arturo Perez-Reverte)? Maybe they have a real fetish for endurance swimming, or rock climbing. Or it could be something silly like cooking and being bad at it. If the character lives only for the job and has no hobbies, that too says something - that they're horribly broken and alienated, and probably unable to relate to the rest of the world. Have your character do things outside of work. Make them fun. This can also extend into how your character stored their nest egg of wealth. Afraid someone will jack your cred? Buy antique swords with it. Those are harder to steal, especially if your security system (re: YOU) knows how to use them. Or spend your money on other hard-to-steal shit. Hell, an antique couch or something. Which brings me to...
How does your character decorate their house?
Be it a squat, a hovel of an apartment, or a prime runner's sweet vacation pad in the Caribbean League, a character will decorate their house in some fashion. It could be pin-up of the week elf girls or troll urban brawl players. It could be Renoir lithograps or M.C. Escher holography. The real question here is "How can I convey information about this character by their surroundings?" Even a carpet covered in ramen noodle bits says something. It says you're a pig of a person with no social skills.
What are your character's fondest memories?
What photos does she look at when she's alone on a rainy night with a bottle of gin? Is it her family, who thinks she's dead? Is it that fiancee she had to leave in order to keep him safe from her work? Is it the vintage 2020 Porche she stole during her teenage years and loved more than life, only to wreck it in a drag racing accident against the Silent Ps? Fundamentally, every living human revisits their past with both a fond and a critical eye in quiet moments. Have your character tell some of the stories about these over a beer, even if it's as short as, "Speaking of piasmas, I found a piasma cub in my back yard when I was a kid. Man, I loved that thing. It loved me, too. Made me cry for a week when we shot it cuz it ate my brother."
How have the events of past runs changed your character?
This is a big one. You're never the same person after 5 years of near-death experiences as you were when you started out. Maybe back in the day you believed in narcoject and stunbolts, but after so much death you can't imagine one more body against the bricks affecting you, so you're slowly edging into more final solutions for the opposition. Maybe you're no longer willing to buy certain products because they trigger bad memories. Shit, maybe you're now looking for a way out. Stay dynamic, and always imagine what those runs would do to the runner.
How do you speak, when speaking as your character?
First in this is word choice. The words you choose to use when speaking in-character should be an extension of the persona that your character wears. There are many ways to bring people to life. Consider speaking of an ally being killed and the following characters-
Well-educated mage or tech: "Did you hear that someone got Ernie after his deal with Bert went sour? It had to be someone close to him."
Street-saavy gunman: "Someone put Ernie on ice after shit with Bert went south. It was an inside job, mos' def."
Former company man: "There's been a shakeup down on Sesame Street. Bert and Ernie were butting heads, and Ernie got the black mark. My money is on someone Ernie felt he could trust. Maybe it was The Bird."
The second part of this is the vocal tone that you use. How you speak is every bit as important as what you're saying. If you're playing a calm, cool, collected professional, using a frantic voice isn't your best bet - unless there's supposed to be irony there. Likewise, if you're playing a ganger who's all about his street rep and how many heads he can crack, using a metered and even tone is a bad plan... Unless you're going for a Richard B. Riddick angle.
What does the character do off-screen?
Seriously. What does the runner do when he's not doing legwork, breaking into someplace, or shooting a guy? A person will always have hobbies or things they do to relax. And don't just think of the basics like video games or the shooting range. Do they like restoring old furniture? Painting napoleonic-era wargame figures (See "Lucas Corso" from The Club Dumas, by Arturo Perez-Reverte)? Maybe they have a real fetish for endurance swimming, or rock climbing. Or it could be something silly like cooking and being bad at it. If the character lives only for the job and has no hobbies, that too says something - that they're horribly broken and alienated, and probably unable to relate to the rest of the world. Have your character do things outside of work. Make them fun. This can also extend into how your character stored their nest egg of wealth. Afraid someone will jack your cred? Buy antique swords with it. Those are harder to steal, especially if your security system (re: YOU) knows how to use them. Or spend your money on other hard-to-steal shit. Hell, an antique couch or something. Which brings me to...
How does your character decorate their house?
Be it a squat, a hovel of an apartment, or a prime runner's sweet vacation pad in the Caribbean League, a character will decorate their house in some fashion. It could be pin-up of the week elf girls or troll urban brawl players. It could be Renoir lithograps or M.C. Escher holography. The real question here is "How can I convey information about this character by their surroundings?" Even a carpet covered in ramen noodle bits says something. It says you're a pig of a person with no social skills.
What are your character's fondest memories?
What photos does she look at when she's alone on a rainy night with a bottle of gin? Is it her family, who thinks she's dead? Is it that fiancee she had to leave in order to keep him safe from her work? Is it the vintage 2020 Porche she stole during her teenage years and loved more than life, only to wreck it in a drag racing accident against the Silent Ps? Fundamentally, every living human revisits their past with both a fond and a critical eye in quiet moments. Have your character tell some of the stories about these over a beer, even if it's as short as, "Speaking of piasmas, I found a piasma cub in my back yard when I was a kid. Man, I loved that thing. It loved me, too. Made me cry for a week when we shot it cuz it ate my brother."
How have the events of past runs changed your character?
This is a big one. You're never the same person after 5 years of near-death experiences as you were when you started out. Maybe back in the day you believed in narcoject and stunbolts, but after so much death you can't imagine one more body against the bricks affecting you, so you're slowly edging into more final solutions for the opposition. Maybe you're no longer willing to buy certain products because they trigger bad memories. Shit, maybe you're now looking for a way out. Stay dynamic, and always imagine what those runs would do to the runner.
One thing Adarael touched on that I really like is the "speaking differently IC". I happen to really like that as a GM and like how it works out. If you can hold to that and use it a lot it's pretty much worth an extra RP karma every single adventure, just for that.
| QUOTE (sunnyside) |
| One thing Adarael touched on that I really like is the "speaking differently IC". I happen to really like that as a GM and like how it works out. If you can hold to that and use it a lot it's pretty much worth an extra RP karma every single adventure, just for that. |
I once talked in only a bad russian accent for a good 4 sessions straight and when we were done each session I actually kind of had trouble switching back to normal.
| QUOTE (sunnyside) |
| One thing Adarael touched on that I really like is the "speaking differently IC". I happen to really like that as a GM and like how it works out. If you can hold to that and use it a lot it's pretty much worth an extra RP karma every single adventure, just for that. |
I'd use that with caution. And I only say that because I've experienced it done badly. I suppose it depends on your group, but I would sprinkle it in a bit, see how it works, and the adjust accordingly.
I am not big into voices, but I do give most of my colorful NPCs a personality...choice vocabulary, but I tend to not go overboard...I have played with GMs that do it ALL THE TIME and it really takes away from the game, IMO.
| QUOTE (Glyph @ Jun 25 2007, 11:15 PM) |
| Why "shouldn't" your character act like an old pro? One of the assumptions of char-gen is that the character has been doing this for awhile - these are not first-level characters. That's not to say that you couldn't make a genuine running newbie if you wanted to, but why do it if you have troubles playing it? My advice would be to remember that your character may be new to play, but has actually been doing what he's been doing for awhile. |
My point was not that I have trouble playing newly generated characters.
My point was that if you have a character that is new to shadowrunning (according to their background story) its difficult not to play them like a pro. I'm talking about letting a character make mistakes a new shadowrunner would make, even tough I, as a player, know how bad the outcome would be.
This doesn't mean they are new to criminal activity or unskilled. The prime example would be a small time car theif who is hired to act as the rigger for a shadowrun team, or a cat burglar who has recently graduated to hitting corporate facilities. They have skills and experience, but are operating on a whole new level.
Besides, sometimes its boreing to play in games where everyone is a pro. I see shadowrunning as the big time. The pros. The business every petty crook wants to break into but not many make it. Obviously not everyone starts at the top of their game.
| QUOTE (raphabonelli) |
| I guess that something like that for Shadowrun (please, if it's already exists, please point me) would be great. |
Here's mine. Maybe a useful starting point. I don't intend to make players write a full autobiography. This is just a stirrer of ideas and to hook them into who they're playing.
It's also the dark version that I use.
http://knasser.me.uk/content/shadowrun/sr_...ions_bkgrnd.pdf
-K.
| QUOTE (knasser) | ||
Here's mine. Maybe a useful starting point. I don't intend to make players write a full autobiography. This is just a stirrer of ideas and to hook them into who they're playing. It's also the dark version that I use. http://knasser.me.uk/content/shadowrun/sr_...ions_bkgrnd.pdf -K. |
Thank you very much.
I will try that one with my players.
| QUOTE (Unarmed) | ||
I once talked in only a bad russian accent for a good 4 sessions straight and when we were done each session I actually kind of had trouble switching back to normal. |
...In my current campaign, I have a player who has a mage from Scotland. Of everyone I have ever GMed for, this fellow is definitely one of the best I have seen at playing in character. In fact, he is so good, after the first couple sessions I still find myself slipping into a Scottish brogue myself that at times is hard to shake. While he plays one of the stronger personalities from an RP aspect, he avoids dominating the sessions which I find very refreshing. A player like this is rare indeed.
In the past, he has played an interesting range of characters including a mild mannered Christian Thurge "Sister" and an Orc Sammy with a distinct passion for good ribs. Many times it is the small touches that really make the character come alive.
My GM's hat is off to him.
I am not sure how many female GMs are out there. I do about 80% of our sessions, so I might have a little bit different perspective on things.
I thrive on creating stories from personal interactions that the characters have with NPCs, family, former team mates, etc. As a result, the characters just started out with rough sketches (2 of our team were new to SR) now are fully fleshed out. They did not start that way, but I encouraged it. As each layer got added, the more comfortable they became with the characters they had chosen. I believe it has added more enjoyable games for them as well.
I think to fully bring characters to life you have to roleplay downtime. Also, I have had them deal with moral issues, making choices that had nothing to do with how much they were paid. We've discussed who lives where and why. At first it was just to see how fast everyone could get together, but as they made more and conditions changed, more detail rose with where and why.
I also try to give pictures of places that they meet (I love half price books for magazines) as well as NPCs and Johnsons. It's one thing to say the lady you're protecting has a charisma of 5, but you should see the guys fight over who will impress the lady more if I pull out a picture of a hot woman. The visual aids have aided in their role play alot.
The run isn't done when the guys are paid. We discuss as characters what we did well, what didn't work, what we will do with the nuyen etc.
And no, we don't deal with a lot of romance or drek like that. I love to run combat as much as any male gm. I do think I tend to put more humor than other gms that I've seen or played with. I know that laughter is a sign that the guys are having a good time, even when they are up to their necks in it.
Don't know if any of this is useful, but I'd thought I'd add my 2 cents.
I thrive on creating stories from personal interactions that the characters have with NPCs, family, former team mates, etc. As a result, the characters just started out with rough sketches (2 of our team were new to SR) now are fully fleshed out. They did not start that way, but I encouraged it. As each layer got added, the more comfortable they became with the characters they had chosen. I believe it has added more enjoyable games for them as well.
I think to fully bring characters to life you have to roleplay downtime. Also, I have had them deal with moral issues, making choices that had nothing to do with how much they were paid. We've discussed who lives where and why. At first it was just to see how fast everyone could get together, but as they made more and conditions changed, more detail rose with where and why.
I also try to give pictures of places that they meet (I love half price books for magazines) as well as NPCs and Johnsons. It's one thing to say the lady you're protecting has a charisma of 5, but you should see the guys fight over who will impress the lady more if I pull out a picture of a hot woman. The visual aids have aided in their role play alot.
The run isn't done when the guys are paid. We discuss as characters what we did well, what didn't work, what we will do with the nuyen etc.
And no, we don't deal with a lot of romance or drek like that. I love to run combat as much as any male gm. I do think I tend to put more humor than other gms that I've seen or played with. I know that laughter is a sign that the guys are having a good time, even when they are up to their necks in it.
Don't know if any of this is useful, but I'd thought I'd add my 2 cents.
Running a game can be fun face to face for me, but otherwise I don't like doing it anymore. Doesn't have the same feel for me.
One of the important facets of bringing characters to life is to give them a world to react against. While we can have elements of background being discussed as part of our character's lives, if they remain ephemeral and never explored they never really get a chance to shine.
There's some good stuff in this thread - some really, really good stuff I've enjoyed reading. It makes me drool with hunger - I want to take some of these ideas and run with them. The character who has a picture of the Porsche she wrecked - how cool would it be to have, as part of an adventure scene, a chase in which the car the PC's find to get away in is a 2020 vintage Porsche, same color as the infamous car o'love?
If a character in your group loves ribs, have a scene in a ribshack. Flesh out the personalities of the grubby place that the pc loves - the ones that aren't clean, but serve some good muther'f'n ribs. Bite into your PC's lives, stretch out the details, give them chances to shine and you'll set up a cycle at the table that allows PCs to become deeper as parts of the personalities are explored.
In the game I'm currently running, the issue of decoration came up. One of the PC's lives with a troll friend named Bones. Bones has a couch - specially for him. Holds his weight and gives him room to relax. During a session, an "interrogation" took place on said couch. Bones the Troll said "you get blood on my couch, you're buying me a new couch." One of the characters, in no mood to haggle, tossed a response of "ok, fine, whatever, blood, I'll buy you a new fucking couch."
Bones, at this point, being slow but smart, slowly looked from the person who said the comment, to the unconcious victim, to the pc, to the victim, then slowly picked up the victim.. and slammed one Troll-sized fist into his face twice, then calmly turned the now-bleeding and unconscious victim over and smoothed his bloody face into the couch. Did I mention Bones was a pit-fighter when he was younger? Bones hits hard.
The result? The next session, starting with a hunt for a new Troll sized couch, bought from a local St. Louis company that specializes in speciality furniture for Trolls and Orcs. They moved the couch into the house, noticed it was heavy, removed the cushions and uttered the now-famous line, "Why is there a dead whore and fifty kilos of coke in my couch?"
Without the background of the characters, we never would have had a chance to have so much fun with such a wacky story. To those of you who find hooks for your characters and those of you who work to help bring them to life, my hat is off to you - you make the games better.
There's some good stuff in this thread - some really, really good stuff I've enjoyed reading. It makes me drool with hunger - I want to take some of these ideas and run with them. The character who has a picture of the Porsche she wrecked - how cool would it be to have, as part of an adventure scene, a chase in which the car the PC's find to get away in is a 2020 vintage Porsche, same color as the infamous car o'love?
If a character in your group loves ribs, have a scene in a ribshack. Flesh out the personalities of the grubby place that the pc loves - the ones that aren't clean, but serve some good muther'f'n ribs. Bite into your PC's lives, stretch out the details, give them chances to shine and you'll set up a cycle at the table that allows PCs to become deeper as parts of the personalities are explored.
In the game I'm currently running, the issue of decoration came up. One of the PC's lives with a troll friend named Bones. Bones has a couch - specially for him. Holds his weight and gives him room to relax. During a session, an "interrogation" took place on said couch. Bones the Troll said "you get blood on my couch, you're buying me a new couch." One of the characters, in no mood to haggle, tossed a response of "ok, fine, whatever, blood, I'll buy you a new fucking couch."
Bones, at this point, being slow but smart, slowly looked from the person who said the comment, to the unconcious victim, to the pc, to the victim, then slowly picked up the victim.. and slammed one Troll-sized fist into his face twice, then calmly turned the now-bleeding and unconscious victim over and smoothed his bloody face into the couch. Did I mention Bones was a pit-fighter when he was younger? Bones hits hard.
The result? The next session, starting with a hunt for a new Troll sized couch, bought from a local St. Louis company that specializes in speciality furniture for Trolls and Orcs. They moved the couch into the house, noticed it was heavy, removed the cushions and uttered the now-famous line, "Why is there a dead whore and fifty kilos of coke in my couch?"
Without the background of the characters, we never would have had a chance to have so much fun with such a wacky story. To those of you who find hooks for your characters and those of you who work to help bring them to life, my hat is off to you - you make the games better.
Humor is big in our games as well, but we try and place it in a timely manner. I do like the idea of visual aids...I have not used too many but I think this is a solid idea that would enhance my game.
I do agree about adding personal interactions and moral choices into the games...for instance, the last "run" was actually rescuing a fixer friend...no nuyen paid, per se, and the group actually gave him an extra motorcycle, comm and sidearm to get out of dodge for a while...
The nice thing was, the group did not question for a second whether they would rescue him or not...and when you have group that can make decisions based on morals like that, I think it adds a ton to bringing a character to life!
I do agree about adding personal interactions and moral choices into the games...for instance, the last "run" was actually rescuing a fixer friend...no nuyen paid, per se, and the group actually gave him an extra motorcycle, comm and sidearm to get out of dodge for a while...
The nice thing was, the group did not question for a second whether they would rescue him or not...and when you have group that can make decisions based on morals like that, I think it adds a ton to bringing a character to life!
| QUOTE (Hypatia) |
| I think to fully bring characters to life you have to roleplay downtime. Also, I have had them deal with moral issues, making choices that had nothing to do with how much they were paid. We've discussed who lives where and why. At first it was just to see how fast everyone could get together, but as they made more and conditions changed, more detail rose with where and why. |
Downtime is essential. Even if downtime is assumed, if every minute of every session is spent doing legwork or doing a run, then the characters won't feel real.
Also, moral issues are some of my favorite issues to throw at players. I was just re-reading "Life on the Edge" in the SR4 book, specifically the medical care section, and wondered whether presenting the choice of magical healthcare to PCs would be interesting. From a metagame stance, there's no reason they wouldn't take it. But from an in-character stance... some of them might not. It depends on how they feel about magic. Even those who have seen a combat mage in action might not want magic worked on their body... and for such a serious purpose.
Presenting these sorts of issues helps bring forward the beliefs of characters. How does the character feel about Christians? Muslims? Wiccans? It's very unlikely he doesn't carry some preconceived notion about some group of people, technology, magic... something, somewhere. Whether that's wageslaves or gangers. Mages or mundanes. SOTA tech vs. old-school B&E techniques. Torture. Killing in general. Ghouls.
| QUOTE |
| I also try to give pictures of places that they meet (I love half price books for magazines) as well as NPCs and Johnsons. It's one thing to say the lady you're protecting has a charisma of 5, but you should see the guys fight over who will impress the lady more if I pull out a picture of a hot woman. The visual aids have aided in their role play alot. |
I'm never prepared enough for any extensive visual aids, though I'd really love to do things to the extent it seems you do. Though Google Maps is kinda fun for grabbing satellite photos.
Speech patterns are a huge part of my game; they bring out a lot of the character, get people to stop thinking of some as the player talking and start thinking of it as the character talking.
One character in the group is Russian (Belarusian, actually), so he speaks with the accent. One guy is a dwarf cowboy. He spits, he says things very bluntly and he says "I reckon" a lot. Another is a rigger from a Midwest corporate territory. She's got the Fargo-almost-Canadian-accent. It's fantastic.
It's even more important with NPCs, I think. You only see these guys for moments at a time. You've got to do things to make them seem real quick. Even if it's something ridiculous or cartoony, it gets people involved, keeps them entertained, makes them care. I have a Scottish technomancer DJ character (I knew that semester in Scotland would come in handy). I had a former Special Forces villain who I just spoke with the most gravelly voice I could manage for. Like I was gargling bits of asphalt. Perhaps my favorite was this disgustingly fat troll ganger and brothel owner. I just let my tongue and jaw go slack when I roleplayed him and talked with a strong lisp, like he was so fat his cheeks actually interfered with his speech.
Stuff like this is good because it goes a way toward developing a character without spending additional game time on it. I'm a big fan of roleplaying down-time, but character development shouldn't be limited just to that, you know?
One character in the group is Russian (Belarusian, actually), so he speaks with the accent. One guy is a dwarf cowboy. He spits, he says things very bluntly and he says "I reckon" a lot. Another is a rigger from a Midwest corporate territory. She's got the Fargo-almost-Canadian-accent. It's fantastic.
It's even more important with NPCs, I think. You only see these guys for moments at a time. You've got to do things to make them seem real quick. Even if it's something ridiculous or cartoony, it gets people involved, keeps them entertained, makes them care. I have a Scottish technomancer DJ character (I knew that semester in Scotland would come in handy). I had a former Special Forces villain who I just spoke with the most gravelly voice I could manage for. Like I was gargling bits of asphalt. Perhaps my favorite was this disgustingly fat troll ganger and brothel owner. I just let my tongue and jaw go slack when I roleplayed him and talked with a strong lisp, like he was so fat his cheeks actually interfered with his speech.
Stuff like this is good because it goes a way toward developing a character without spending additional game time on it. I'm a big fan of roleplaying down-time, but character development shouldn't be limited just to that, you know?
Thanks for all the great ideas!
I've long been a fan of "In Character Voice" as a technique, but have done little or no roleplaying downtime, which sounds like it could be fun. I've been through all 4 editions so I'm familiar with the 20 Questions sections, and I've downloaded some more in depth Q&A sheets for characters too. I've found with my characters and my group that characters tend to evolve a lot in the first 2-3 runs they actually play, and in response I'll usually allow (with group concensus) changes to be made in the character background or on the character build in the early existance of a character too.
I've long been a fan of "In Character Voice" as a technique, but have done little or no roleplaying downtime, which sounds like it could be fun. I've been through all 4 editions so I'm familiar with the 20 Questions sections, and I've downloaded some more in depth Q&A sheets for characters too. I've found with my characters and my group that characters tend to evolve a lot in the first 2-3 runs they actually play, and in response I'll usually allow (with group concensus) changes to be made in the character background or on the character build in the early existance of a character too.
...for the last session of RiS we were down one player. I didn't really want to go to the next segment for his character was fairly important (as all characters should be). So, instead I ran a bit of improvised downtime for the others. One of the PCs actually made a good hitting at the Casinos in Monaco, the Adept went looking for a Group and initiated, and the Weapons specialist finally made it back to his "residence" to pick up a few more toys. It also gave me a good opportunity to introduce a new member to the team as well.
To me, good role-playing is a form of method acting. When I decide to make a character, I usually start with a what-sort-of-character-do-I-want idea. e.g. A street sam who specializes in sniping, etc. I then figure out what sort of person this guys is going to be. From that point, it's all about how would this guy react to situation X or Y. And it's an ongoing situation. Every time the character encounters something, it should be how s/he would react and not necessarily how I would react. (Ok, yes, a number of my characters share similar personality qualities as I do. I won't claim to be an *excellent* actor.) This ongoing process can change the character's personality in game. For instance, and to illustrate a non-runner character...
The character I'm running in the current game started out as an non-runner. He's a kid attending Seattle U. He also happens to be a mage. When I first started him, the GM at the time came up with a new way to get the characters together: We were all looking for a place to live, and we found an ad for a great place. Too good to be true, really. The owner double booked the rooms, so to speak. So we all had to live in a nice place too small for all of us. Everyone else made a runner, and here I am in the middle of this, trying to do my homework. Now, this kid is not only a non-runner, but he's a bit socially inept, being something of a bookworm, into old pop culture, video games, and is a recovering Catholic. He's not a pushover, so when one of the the other characters tries to push him around they find out he's a mage. Having a mage round is good for runners, so they try to recruit him. He ends up going along, not realizing what he's getting himself into. There's a lot of suprise, some fear, and a little outrage. One of the other characters is a hard as nails, stone cold runner. He rubs my guy the wrong way, but it's not a big deal until an interrogation comes up. The other guy uses the old technique of shooting the guy in the knees to get him to talk. No big deal for most runners, but it's unthinkable and immoral to my character. A big verbal fight ensues. Threats are made and ignored, detent settles in. Lots of good roleplaying.
Later on, the same character goes through a bit of personality change. We go on a run that ends with a confrontation with a toxic shaman. We track the guy down, and almost get suprised by the force 9 toxic spirit he's got hiding in astral space. I manage to spot it as it appears and get off a mana bolt, with nearly everything I've got behind it and take it out in one shot. We finish off the shaman shortly thereafter. Sudden ego boost for my character. He gets cocky and a touch full of himself. This would have gotten really interesting after that, but we had a number of players drop out and the GM got a little burned out, so he got kind of left hanging at that point.
Now, all of this happend in a 2nd/3rd. Ed. game. He's been brrn converted to 4th Ed. and brought back into the current game. (If you're really on the ball, you might have guessed that Sterling, here on Dumpshock, is my GM.) I've had to resolve what happened in all that down time. My guy dropped back into the light, went back to Seattle U, graduated, moved on to being a grad student, is well onto his way to being a normal academic mage, when the ghoul uprising dumps him back into a life-and-death situation with some runners. He's older now, not so cocky; but remembers the feeling; He's got a lot more to protect, but at the same time, feels the lure. So, he's cautious and secretive, but his sense of right and wrong leads him to try to help out.
Needless to say, he's a great punching bag for the GM. :>
I suppose I've rambled on, so I won't go into some of my other less-than-standard characters. the idea I was trying to get across is learning to think like the character and not just like a player.
The character I'm running in the current game started out as an non-runner. He's a kid attending Seattle U. He also happens to be a mage. When I first started him, the GM at the time came up with a new way to get the characters together: We were all looking for a place to live, and we found an ad for a great place. Too good to be true, really. The owner double booked the rooms, so to speak. So we all had to live in a nice place too small for all of us. Everyone else made a runner, and here I am in the middle of this, trying to do my homework. Now, this kid is not only a non-runner, but he's a bit socially inept, being something of a bookworm, into old pop culture, video games, and is a recovering Catholic. He's not a pushover, so when one of the the other characters tries to push him around they find out he's a mage. Having a mage round is good for runners, so they try to recruit him. He ends up going along, not realizing what he's getting himself into. There's a lot of suprise, some fear, and a little outrage. One of the other characters is a hard as nails, stone cold runner. He rubs my guy the wrong way, but it's not a big deal until an interrogation comes up. The other guy uses the old technique of shooting the guy in the knees to get him to talk. No big deal for most runners, but it's unthinkable and immoral to my character. A big verbal fight ensues. Threats are made and ignored, detent settles in. Lots of good roleplaying.
Later on, the same character goes through a bit of personality change. We go on a run that ends with a confrontation with a toxic shaman. We track the guy down, and almost get suprised by the force 9 toxic spirit he's got hiding in astral space. I manage to spot it as it appears and get off a mana bolt, with nearly everything I've got behind it and take it out in one shot. We finish off the shaman shortly thereafter. Sudden ego boost for my character. He gets cocky and a touch full of himself. This would have gotten really interesting after that, but we had a number of players drop out and the GM got a little burned out, so he got kind of left hanging at that point.
Now, all of this happend in a 2nd/3rd. Ed. game. He's been brrn converted to 4th Ed. and brought back into the current game. (If you're really on the ball, you might have guessed that Sterling, here on Dumpshock, is my GM.) I've had to resolve what happened in all that down time. My guy dropped back into the light, went back to Seattle U, graduated, moved on to being a grad student, is well onto his way to being a normal academic mage, when the ghoul uprising dumps him back into a life-and-death situation with some runners. He's older now, not so cocky; but remembers the feeling; He's got a lot more to protect, but at the same time, feels the lure. So, he's cautious and secretive, but his sense of right and wrong leads him to try to help out.
Needless to say, he's a great punching bag for the GM. :>
I suppose I've rambled on, so I won't go into some of my other less-than-standard characters. the idea I was trying to get across is learning to think like the character and not just like a player.
Characters like CyberKender's playing are a freaking godsend, because you know they'll act in the moral and ethical way. This makes adventure hooks easy to set, as it were.
J.C. was my character, and he was the typical amoral Shadowrunner, which meant that he and Kevin (Kender's PC) were practically polar opposites. If you have a good relationship with another player, you can even try to make characters with friction potential.. which is just another way to ensure some good roleplaying.
In J.C.'s case, I decided to play the most dedicated Shadowrunner I could. He was all about doing the job with the most success with the most efficiency. For flair I had him use a Hachimoto as his main gun, which added to his 'precision' angle. The realization that he would do anything to succeed, that there was nothing he wouldn't do (considering I've never played a character without some limits) made for a very easy in character mindset to get into. Oddly enough, this character was an elf without the longevity gene or other perks, which meant he was a very early elf poser as well. I pretty much followed the twenty questions, but took it to another level by having his 'personnel' file typed up so the GM could read it and get the answers to the twenty questions in the similar style of the sourcebooks.
The rest of the runners in that game fell between the extremes that Kevin and J.C. presented, which made for some great roleplay. Like the time J.C. took a captured Humanis Policlub woman off to get magically brainwashed so they could find out the relevant information she knew. He left with a woman who wanted him dead and came back with a woman who was enamored with him, which made Kevin practically lose his mind.
Unfortunately, he was built with the intent he could do a little of everything, to pick up any slack in the team. He had a VCR, a program carrier, and a wide variety of skills. This became a problem when, after I had left the gaming group, I was able to return and hang out for a one-shot... and the GM asked me to run versus the current team. So there was one goal, and a team of runners versus a guy with a wide variety of skills and abilities. The odds were in my favor since each of them had higher skills than I did (as they weren't trying to do it all on their own) but also had to coordinate their plans, etc, which gave me a significant advantage.
J.C. was my character, and he was the typical amoral Shadowrunner, which meant that he and Kevin (Kender's PC) were practically polar opposites. If you have a good relationship with another player, you can even try to make characters with friction potential.. which is just another way to ensure some good roleplaying.
In J.C.'s case, I decided to play the most dedicated Shadowrunner I could. He was all about doing the job with the most success with the most efficiency. For flair I had him use a Hachimoto as his main gun, which added to his 'precision' angle. The realization that he would do anything to succeed, that there was nothing he wouldn't do (considering I've never played a character without some limits) made for a very easy in character mindset to get into. Oddly enough, this character was an elf without the longevity gene or other perks, which meant he was a very early elf poser as well. I pretty much followed the twenty questions, but took it to another level by having his 'personnel' file typed up so the GM could read it and get the answers to the twenty questions in the similar style of the sourcebooks.
The rest of the runners in that game fell between the extremes that Kevin and J.C. presented, which made for some great roleplay. Like the time J.C. took a captured Humanis Policlub woman off to get magically brainwashed so they could find out the relevant information she knew. He left with a woman who wanted him dead and came back with a woman who was enamored with him, which made Kevin practically lose his mind.
Unfortunately, he was built with the intent he could do a little of everything, to pick up any slack in the team. He had a VCR, a program carrier, and a wide variety of skills. This became a problem when, after I had left the gaming group, I was able to return and hang out for a one-shot... and the GM asked me to run versus the current team. So there was one goal, and a team of runners versus a guy with a wide variety of skills and abilities. The odds were in my favor since each of them had higher skills than I did (as they weren't trying to do it all on their own) but also had to coordinate their plans, etc, which gave me a significant advantage.
...character background is important, but the backstory ends when the character attends her first meet with the Johnson. I use the character's history as a basic point of reference for what her likes and dislikes are and why she reacts the way she does.
A good example is my namesake, KK.
A good example is my namesake, KK.
[ Spoiler ]
I had reason recently to remember that the average (mode) karma gained by characters was under 50; and that the vast majority of campaigns considered PCs retireable at 200 or less. To me, quite apart from something that goes considerably beyond normal game lethality, this suggests a limited set of skillsets that had been exhausted, and no interest in stepping outside familiar paths.
Bringing PCs to life isn't just about detailed backstory, or quirky character traits, or even speaking in an unfamiliar accent. In real life, hopefully we grow. Our experiences change who we are -- and not all growth and change might be what we immediately recognise as positive. We learn that the great grinding societal mechanisms, from our earliest encounters with education or health care through our wageslave jobs, are designed to process people rather than work with them: but that there are loopholes which can be exploited. We learn that some people can be trusted to the ends of the earth, but only in betrayal by others do we learn just what we have in that trust.
To be real, the characters we create must grow as well -- as CyberKender has described in one re-evaluating instant -- but just look how well we dodge most opportunities to do just that! Somewhere we seem to have developed the assumption that characters should begin experienced not only in the skills, but also in the mindset and attitudes within which they will be active PCs -- even that there is a single, desirable mindset, and once acquired, that it should never change. What growth is possible here?
Backstory/20 questions is the classic way of fleshing out character pregame (and thus in the formative childhood years): but how many backstories describe more than what happened? and maybe a few character quirks? Wrt character personality, what happened is rarely as relevant as the character's own reactions. Two questions I've always asked every player in my campaigns:
Morality makes for a curious set of equations. Consider first that many on Dumpshock seem to consider any form of morality in a team member inappropriate to a professional attitude where it might possibly act as an impediment on preferred actions (henceforth known as "the easy way out"). Let's assume next that it's not the type of morality that always finds a way to the expedient solution; that it does in some way govern and sometimes restrict actions and choices. In and of itself, Shadowrun is an amoral game run in a profit-moral world -- but do we want to play characters as just more interplaceable cogs in that world?
In a group game, finding a way to work with the group -- be it "professional" or on another basis altogether -- is the first in-game morality. Other moralities may exist, may even be powerful: but they must always find a way to fit, however uncomfortably, within the greater concept of character-as-contributing-part-of-team.
An interesting character-growth scenario that may come up in game: in a desperate situation, if it comes down to a clear choice between the character having an individual chance to survive (and frag the team) or the character deliberately sacrificing themself to save the team, which will the PC pick? It doesn't have to be played out to completion to jar sudden re-evaluation of things always taken for granted -- in fact, it can lead to some intense intra-team interaction if everyone does survive afterward. It just has to be completely and utterly believable at the time.
Downtime is also very useful in fleshing out personality -- but without willingness on the side of both player and GM, even playing out downtime will only result in played-out searches for legwork or training or doing the few things that the pre-written character is described as doing.
Yet some of the most intense play session memories out there are of the moments that weren't just biz. Personal is more than just tracking down the guy who threatened a dependent. Personal is -- personal, in the way the characters -- the players -- find an emotional resonance. If the players don't feel it themselves, the character cannot but remain an abstract, and abstracts don't leap off the page and come to life.
Interestingly, that degree of emotional resonance with another GM-created personality almost never happens during runs. Trim down the backstory to "just the facts, ma'am", trim out downtime as the boring catch-up time while people heal and the mage learns his new spell, pare down legwork to a matter of a few rolls and a few NPCs met briefly and strictly over biz -- and where's the opportunity?
Bringing PCs to life isn't just about detailed backstory, or quirky character traits, or even speaking in an unfamiliar accent. In real life, hopefully we grow. Our experiences change who we are -- and not all growth and change might be what we immediately recognise as positive. We learn that the great grinding societal mechanisms, from our earliest encounters with education or health care through our wageslave jobs, are designed to process people rather than work with them: but that there are loopholes which can be exploited. We learn that some people can be trusted to the ends of the earth, but only in betrayal by others do we learn just what we have in that trust.
To be real, the characters we create must grow as well -- as CyberKender has described in one re-evaluating instant -- but just look how well we dodge most opportunities to do just that! Somewhere we seem to have developed the assumption that characters should begin experienced not only in the skills, but also in the mindset and attitudes within which they will be active PCs -- even that there is a single, desirable mindset, and once acquired, that it should never change. What growth is possible here?
Backstory/20 questions is the classic way of fleshing out character pregame (and thus in the formative childhood years): but how many backstories describe more than what happened? and maybe a few character quirks? Wrt character personality, what happened is rarely as relevant as the character's own reactions. Two questions I've always asked every player in my campaigns:
- Did the character ever have a significant other? (Did it end? How? Does the character have someone in their life now? Why or why not? What do they mean to the character?)
- Has the character ever killed? (What happened the very first time to provoke killing? How did the character react to having killed?)
Morality makes for a curious set of equations. Consider first that many on Dumpshock seem to consider any form of morality in a team member inappropriate to a professional attitude where it might possibly act as an impediment on preferred actions (henceforth known as "the easy way out"). Let's assume next that it's not the type of morality that always finds a way to the expedient solution; that it does in some way govern and sometimes restrict actions and choices. In and of itself, Shadowrun is an amoral game run in a profit-moral world -- but do we want to play characters as just more interplaceable cogs in that world?
In a group game, finding a way to work with the group -- be it "professional" or on another basis altogether -- is the first in-game morality. Other moralities may exist, may even be powerful: but they must always find a way to fit, however uncomfortably, within the greater concept of character-as-contributing-part-of-team.
An interesting character-growth scenario that may come up in game: in a desperate situation, if it comes down to a clear choice between the character having an individual chance to survive (and frag the team) or the character deliberately sacrificing themself to save the team, which will the PC pick? It doesn't have to be played out to completion to jar sudden re-evaluation of things always taken for granted -- in fact, it can lead to some intense intra-team interaction if everyone does survive afterward. It just has to be completely and utterly believable at the time.
Downtime is also very useful in fleshing out personality -- but without willingness on the side of both player and GM, even playing out downtime will only result in played-out searches for legwork or training or doing the few things that the pre-written character is described as doing.
Yet some of the most intense play session memories out there are of the moments that weren't just biz. Personal is more than just tracking down the guy who threatened a dependent. Personal is -- personal, in the way the characters -- the players -- find an emotional resonance. If the players don't feel it themselves, the character cannot but remain an abstract, and abstracts don't leap off the page and come to life.
Interestingly, that degree of emotional resonance with another GM-created personality almost never happens during runs. Trim down the backstory to "just the facts, ma'am", trim out downtime as the boring catch-up time while people heal and the mage learns his new spell, pare down legwork to a matter of a few rolls and a few NPCs met briefly and strictly over biz -- and where's the opportunity?
...KK's complete story is a 110 pg novella which takes her from her childhood years through the teens to early adulthood. It involves her growth from living in Salem TT to her time alone in Portland after she was abandoned by her father, to her escape to Seattle and her years at the dojo in Kyoto and her first assignments. Her first killing, her first really hard choice - the decision to break her promise to the only person who ever believed in her. It is all there. But alas, it is but the starting point.
I agree that a character should be able to grow after she begins actively running. Some GMs are really good at this, others could care less and just want to push the action/mission plot along. In a long running Champions campaign, I was in many years ago, I was fortunate enough to have the former. My characters, Vindicateur and Amber, were quite different personalities a year or two down the road from when they started. There were a lot of ups & downs and admittedly some frustrating times to deal with as a player, but the characters that came out of all this became two of my most favourite (I even toyed with turning Amber into an actual comic book character).
I am hoping this can happen with KK, Da Brat, and Violet when I get the chance to play them (currently I am pulling intensive GM duties running my Rhapsody in Shadow campaign and have only had one other member of our gaming group step up so far to trade off GM duties).
I agree that a character should be able to grow after she begins actively running. Some GMs are really good at this, others could care less and just want to push the action/mission plot along. In a long running Champions campaign, I was in many years ago, I was fortunate enough to have the former. My characters, Vindicateur and Amber, were quite different personalities a year or two down the road from when they started. There were a lot of ups & downs and admittedly some frustrating times to deal with as a player, but the characters that came out of all this became two of my most favourite (I even toyed with turning Amber into an actual comic book character).
I am hoping this can happen with KK, Da Brat, and Violet when I get the chance to play them (currently I am pulling intensive GM duties running my Rhapsody in Shadow campaign and have only had one other member of our gaming group step up so far to trade off GM duties).
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