Shadowrunner13
Nov 12 2004, 06:59 PM
I wrote up a nice character background for a new character (the main difference with many of my mundane characters is background and details), but I've had a couple people tell me that it is a bit excessive for a character background.
If people here on DSF have some free time to read some fan fiction, could you read my piece, give me an honest impression of the work and point out its faults? That would be greatly appreciated.
My corner of FanFiction.NetThe story is called "Path of the Ronin" (A little cliched, I realise...)
If you're one of the few who read it on the Shadowrun Writer's Forum, then no worries. Thanks for taking the time to read my drivel.
SR13
GaiasWrath8
Nov 12 2004, 08:22 PM
Dood!!! You Rock!!!!
That was a really great peace of work. If I was your GM I would give you extra starting Karma for that.
Toptomcat
Nov 12 2004, 08:30 PM
It's never excessive if it's well-written and amusing, which this is.
Wonderful!
Lindt
Nov 12 2004, 08:39 PM
Not cheesy at all, and 9 out of 10 for correctness and coolness.
Its pretty hard to be excessive anyhow.
Dashifen
Nov 12 2004, 08:56 PM
It's wonderfun
Shadowrunner13
Nov 12 2004, 09:16 PM
| QUOTE (Lindt) |
Not cheesy at all, and 9 out of 10 for correctness and coolness.
Its pretty hard to be excessive anyhow. |
That's what I thought, but I've actually had more than one reader email me and tell me that a story of this size was too much.
"As a GM I wouldn't want to wade through all this to find a good plot hook for a run."
But, that's why I tried to make it an enjoyable read... so it doesn't feel like you're wading through it at all. There should be plenty of material in there for inventive GM's.
I never got a reply when I emailed them back. I inquired as to whether, as their group's GM, they just wanted their background in terms of point form notes, or what...
As my group's primary GM, I prefer my players to get to know their characters before they ever develop their first attribute. Not necessarily writing stuff like "Path of the Ronin" (the other story on FanFiction, "Rebirth of a Soldier" is the background story for another character in our group... he developed a storyboard, I wrote it), but I want them to know who their character is, rather than what they can do.
I guess there are still a few GM's out there who run their games by the mechanics, not by the story beyond it...
C'est la vie, I suppose.
SR13
Conskill
Nov 12 2004, 11:20 PM
To be honest, I'm one of those who'd consider that a little too long.
I love plothooks to toy with my players, but I learned the hard way (over my first campaign) that by indulging in a well written character too much turns it from an ensemble to a main character and some extras. I'd simply never be able to use that many pages of material while keeping the balance between the characters there.
I certainly wouldn't mind the format, however. My favorite characters' backgrounds are usually written monolouges.
Shockwave_IIc
Nov 12 2004, 11:36 PM
A very good read, but as Conskill has said, perhaps a little long.
I wouldn't mind a background like that for one of my Pc's, I just wouldn't want every character you gave me to have that length of back ground.
GaiasWrath8
Nov 12 2004, 11:48 PM
I thought it was great. And I would love for one of ONE of my players to write something like that. If all 5 of them did it...I might kill myself. LOL
Kagetenshi
Nov 13 2004, 06:14 AM
About to read it, but to put it in perspective: the writeup for my first character was a total of 43 pages long, all told.
I doubt this will be "too much" as far as I'm concerned.
~J
Glyph
Nov 13 2004, 06:50 AM
If you enjoyed writing it and your GM enjoyed reading it, it wasn't too long. The only problem with long backgrounds is that in Shadowrun, the character you spent days creating can die in the first ambush during the first gaming session.
Conskill
Nov 13 2004, 07:32 AM
For my comparison, my favorite SR character (a decker named Rat) is six pages of narrative + contact description. That's also my second longest ever.
Second largest SR background (an urban shaman teetering on the edge of going Toxic) is three pages of monolouge + contacts.
Longest ever was for a Mage game that never actually got off the ground. Twelve pages down the drain.
If I'm playing with a GM I know and trust, I tend to go fairly minimalist / only define the broad strokes and then get into detail after a run or two. I don't have a talent for predicting the right mood and tone for a background and personality until I've taken it out for a spin.
Edward
Nov 13 2004, 07:45 AM
If you handed this to me as the first session was about to start I would wince. Far to long unless your going to give me a week to read it.
If you give the GM time to read it (or accept it won’t be considered during the first session) it is great.
Edward
Eddy_Munster
Nov 13 2004, 08:56 AM
Heya SR13
Long time no see.
I took a chance and read it, and I must say I like it a lot.
As for length, I personally think its fine as long as I had a chance to read it ahead of time. Otherwise I would let you know I wouldn't have time at the first session
All in all I agree that this is the kind of background I wish my players would hand in. My last character had 9 pages typed of background including the 20 questions and a short story on him. So I kind of can agree with the way you did this.
Very good job. If you run him, do some in character stories on your runs. Like a journal. You will one day look back at it and marvel at it.
Fortune
Nov 13 2004, 11:49 AM
I'll add my agreement that it is very well done, and not too long if the GM is given the chance to read it beforehand.
Kagetenshi
Nov 13 2004, 03:33 PM
You don't sharpen a katana!!!
Also, the Renraku Arcology shuts down the end of December 2058, so you may want to consider making reference to it. It would probably have a similar magnitude of effect on the Red Samurai to the effect of the NYC World Trade Center destruction had on the US police/military.
~J
Glyph
Nov 13 2004, 09:39 PM
Actually, he did make a reference to the Arcology shutdown near the end of the story.
Kagetenshi
Nov 13 2004, 09:41 PM
He did. IIRC it's still shut down when he makes it, too. Either way, the initial shutdown should be having an effect even back in Japan.
~J
Toptomcat
Nov 13 2004, 09:43 PM
I think you CAN sharpen a katana- it just requires a specialized process, and not just using a grindstone.
If my memory is bad on this, someone let me know.
Kagetenshi
Nov 13 2004, 10:17 PM
You can polish and buff it, which will to a certain degree increase the sharpness of a sword after use. You cannot take a katana that has been forged or has become dull and grind an edge onto it when one does not exist without ruining the sword. A lot of the moderately effective sharpening techniques currently cost about as much as a typical (good) katana.
~J
Shadowrunner13
Nov 14 2004, 05:17 AM
Eddy_Munster - it has been a while, hasn't it? That ghost ship run you helped me develop some time ago (that was you, right?) is still one of my groups favourites that I've run...
Kagetenshi - Good to know. I'm not totally up on my sword knowledge... I'll be sure to make that revision in my final draft. I'll also do some extra homework on the Arcology... this kind of thing happens when you write a character background without any books handy.
The one player in my group that would GM Tenmou has read the character background and has no problems with him, so in that regard I guess whether the story is excessive or not, is null and void. I enjoyed writing it, and if I could get past my blasted writer's block, I might write another one...
SR13
Arethusa
Nov 14 2004, 06:02 AM
You can sharpen a katana. This is 'sharpen' in its broadest usage, in that Kagetenshi is not entirely incorrect: due to the very unique forging process, a katana cannot be sharpened as one can simply sharpen a knife or a sword forged as your average western style weapon/tool is. But it is not correct to simply say that they just cannot be sharpened. If you're really interested in the process, there are sites you can google or sites dedicated to nihonto with people you can email for information.
Ol' Scratch
Nov 14 2004, 06:06 AM
Keep in mind that when most people say "sharpen" they mean "hone." Honing is just a matter of straightening the existing edge which has simply been bent out of alignment through normal wear and tear, whereas sharpening requires chewing away bits of metal and (hopefully) strengthening the entire new edge that was completely eroded. That's why you "ruin" a folded katana... it's sharpness doesn't come from traditional sharping, but the art of folding the metal repeatedly.
If you want to see a demonstration of why that ruins the blade, grab like ten pieces of paper and fold them in half. Assume the fold is the katana's edge. Now take a pair of scissors and cut the edge, representing you sharpining it... and watch what happens to that edge you used to have.
GrinderTheTroll
Nov 14 2004, 06:59 PM
| QUOTE (Shadowrunner13) |
I wrote up a nice character background for a new character (the main difference with many of my mundane characters is background and details), but I've had a couple people tell me that it is a bit excessive for a character background.
If people here on DSF have some free time to read some fan fiction, could you read my piece, give me an honest impression of the work and point out its faults? That would be greatly appreciated.
My corner of FanFiction.Net
The story is called "Path of the Ronin" (A little cliched, I realise...)
If you're one of the few who read it on the Shadowrun Writer's Forum, then no worries. Thanks for taking the time to read my drivel.
SR13 |
In my game, as long as you don't expect to gain some free benefits from history or background (that being things you can't justify at chargen or talking to the GM) then I say go for it.
Nicely done and I'd say worth a few roleplay karma points.
Joe Outside
Nov 14 2004, 08:40 PM
| QUOTE (GaiasWrath8) |
| I thought it was great. And I would love for one of ONE of my players to write something like that. If all 5 of them did it...I might kill myself. LOL |
I would love to have all of my players give
me something like this, personally.
But then again I'm a speed reader.
Ol' Scratch
Nov 14 2004, 08:56 PM
I prefer to see my real life players actually roleplay during the game. Writing isn't roleplaying, it's writing and you're in full control of every aspect of the story and characters therein, so I don't award roleplaying Karma for things like that. In fact, I actually prefer players to write brief, concise backgrounds in two to three paragraphs if possible that touch upon how and why they become runners. All the little stuff can come up during the game or can/should be found in the description for their edges, flaws, and/or contacts.
Kanada Ten
Nov 14 2004, 08:59 PM
| QUOTE (Doctor Funkenstein) |
| In fact, I actually prefer players to write brief, concise backgrounds in two to three paragraphs if possible that touch upon how and why they become runners. All the little stuff can come up during the game or can/should be found in the description for their edges, flaws, and/or contacts. |
Which is the reason I think this background is fine. Even though it took 15 pages to print, the story could be summarized in one paragraph. The rest in entertaining fluff, largely dialogue, and a quick read.
Ol' Scratch
Nov 14 2004, 09:03 PM
I'd be completely fine with that, and I admit the story is cool. I even encourage players to do this sort of thing so that they can become more comfortable and familiar with their own characters. I just don't think it's worthy of a roleplaying reward or anything along those lines -- that's really what I was trying to say in my last post.
Lindt
Nov 15 2004, 06:16 AM
Oh seriously, if I had 5 players had me that kinda work, Id be wondering who shot me and how damm good heaven is.
toturi
Nov 15 2004, 08:31 AM
Many players (sometimes, myself included) fall into the trap of writing about the character too much. Some players use the backstory as a kind of backdoor such that the Flaws that they have are neutralised, some write so as to nail down as much history so that the GM can't get too creative with his hooks without being a Rail-master. As a GM, I try to use the backstory as a gauge to how the PC would react. If he was portayed as a goody guy, but acted like some vicious ganger, I'd dock his karma for the run. I am a firm believer that unless you have the Dossier Flaw or Police Record Flaws, more doesn't necessarily mean better. Sometime too much rope can hang you.
Botch
Nov 15 2004, 04:44 PM
Liked the story and feel happy knowing there are other people who can be bothered to a good, entertaining, back-story to their character. It is a great role-play aid as current behaviour can be compared to the character concept. As a GM it gives you an idea how the players will de-rail the plot (as they always do). I say a small freebie at CharGen for you.
To all those GMs who said that the whole team doing this would be heaven, yes it is, until they hose-up and should be dead after the first session.
GrinderTheTroll
Nov 15 2004, 05:33 PM
My group is busy making a second round of characters and one guy wanted to make his L3 Contact hia cousin, who was someone he worked with in Europe hunting paranormal animals which is what he did prior to running the shadows.
My biggest beef is that he wants a relative as a L3 contact and I don't like the "well family will do it for free" attitude that he'll want the cousin to be. Since then, we've agreed that family members can't be contacts, unless maybe they are far-far removed from the family tree.
Herald of Verjigorm
Nov 15 2004, 05:34 PM
Family will also disown the deadbeat who never returns favors or pays back loans.
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