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Message no. 1
From: NaCl(aq) jed7466@******.isc.rit.edu
Subject: Character BG (Was: Re: Cybermage? )
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 00:14:21 -0400
Manolis Skoulikas wrote:
<SNIP>

> PS: I could go for the Alpha, even Delta Cyberware, but the player
> should put in some damn good excuse in his background and maybe thow in
> a flaw/edge paragon to top it...

Speaking of character background, how important do you GM's out there make the
charcter background? For example, a fellow player in a game I'm in died, and
wants to be a gunsmith with 4 chem glands. . . .it took a long discussion to make
him realize he didn't have a good reason to be such a character, so he changed
concepts. So, what I'm asking is, if a player comes to you with an outrageous
idea that seems to have no plausable reason to be, how do you react? Deny the
idea? Make them come up with good reasons? Smile and nod? Oh, and while I ask,
what odd concepts have you players gotten away with, and how?

--
NaCl(aq)
-------------
Mmmm. .. .twinkies. . . . . just make sure they're dead first. :)
--it's a long, long story. . . . .

GCS(GAT) d>d-- s-:- a-->a? C++++ S E W+>W++ w PS? PE Y+ R+ tv-@ b+ DI+++ G
e>e+++
h>h+ r--- !y+**
Message no. 2
From: Strago strago@***.com
Subject: Character BG (Was: Re: Cybermage? )
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 03:48:26 -0400
"NaCl(aq)" wrote:

> Speaking of character background, how important do you GM's out there make the
> charcter background? For example, a fellow player in a game I'm in died, and
> wants to be a gunsmith with 4 chem glands. . . .it took a long discussion to make
> him realize he didn't have a good reason to be such a character, so he changed
> concepts. So, what I'm asking is, if a player comes to you with an outrageous
> idea that seems to have no plausable reason to be, how do you react? Deny the
> idea? Make them come up with good reasons? Smile and nod? Oh, and while I ask,
> what odd concepts have you players gotten away with, and how?

As a GM, I've gone both routes with my players. I made my (newbie) players come up
with a reasonable backstory, and I knew they wouldn't do something so twinky because
they don't know the system. I had people making chars with no offensive ability
whatsoever (and in the games I've been involved in, that's no good, combat's an
integral part of the game but I digress) and I basically had to FORCE them to do
something offensive.
The experienced players, I've done something different. I just take the chars and let
'em go. Backstories are, relatively, useless things. Personalities alter during the
game. I want to know concepts, but that's about it. So when I asked two of my more
vocal and interactive players to make something out of their norms (one always plays
a face/mage and the other a dwarf with awesome strength and 44s, and a hell of an
attitude), I accepted this from them: "We're playing two Troll twins who have
multiple personalities, Strengths of 10 and Intelligences of 1. They alternate
personalities between: Swedish, Scotsmen, and Klingons."
As a player (same group, backstories don't matter) I've gotten away with a starting
mage with cloned Muscle Aug 4 (which doesn't take away any essence; house rule),
Wired 1, smartlink, and a major mana spell which is called Mana Swath, is at Force 8,
and does something sick like 8D mana. Killer. High powered games ROCK!
<SNIP>
--
--Strago

All Hail Apathy! Or don't. Whatever. -abortion_engine

SRGC v0.2 !SR1 SR2+ SR3++ h b++ B- UB- IE+ RN+ SRFF W+ sa++ ma++ ad+ m+ (o++ d+) gm+
M P
Message no. 3
From: Dan Grabon djmoose@******.kornet.net
Subject: Character BG (Was: Re: Cybermage? )
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 21:14:41 +0900
On 4/30/00 1:14 PM, NaCl(aq) at jed7466@******.isc.rit.edu wrote:
<snip>
> So, what I'm asking is, if a player comes to you with an outrageous
> idea that seems to have no plausable reason to be, how do you react? Deny the
> idea? Make them come up with good reasons? Smile and nod?

Well, when I first GM'd years ago, I didn't give character background the
attention it deserved, but now that I'm doing it again it's a huge deal for
me. This is partly because I'm doing PBEMs now but mainly because I
realized it makes the game that much better (and makes it much easier to
come up with ideas for runs, hooks, etc.).

I've been lucky-- the rules lawyers and munchies are no longer in my group.
Basically, I make players explain just about everything. I'm not putting
them on trial, I just want them to think about how their character
developed. If somebody wants something that pushes the envelope a bit, I'll
let it fly if they've got a good reason for it-- especially if it's clear
that the story came first, then the stats. I don't mind a powerful
character as long as the focus is on the character, not the power.

-moose

---
Dan "Moose" Grabon - djmoose@******.kornet.net

Life is fun. :)
-- Bill Short
Message no. 4
From: Manolis Skoulikas great_worm@*****.com
Subject: Character BG (Was: Re: Cybermage? )
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 21:28:41 +0300
NaCl(aq) wrote:
>
> Speaking of character background, how important do you GM's out there make the
> charcter background?

It is the starting ground for the character, the moivation for his acts,
the power behind the man/woman. Without it you are an empty husk with
two silverguns in a killing spree. These games usually degenerate into
slaughterfests before too long and you don't get anything out of the
game. Then again some people like to play this way for years.
I personally enjoy slaughterfests but I tend to get bored after a while.
Background is what makes your character alive and integrates him/her
in the living world of SR.

the wiz
Message no. 5
From: Rand Ratinac docwagon101@*****.com
Subject: Character BG (Was: Re: Cybermage? )
Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 01:02:32 -0700 (PDT)
> Speaking of character background, how important do
you GM's out there make the charcter background?

It's all-important to me as an (exclusively atm) PBeM
GM, for reasons I've elaborated before - but I'll
summarise them again. 1. Background gives you a look
at the mindset of the player and lets you know just
how munchkinous they are. 2. It also gives you a look
at writing style, which reflects on posting style.
Those are the big ones.

> For example, a fellow player in a game I'm in died,
and wants to be a gunsmith with 4 chem glands. . . .it
took a long discussion to make him realize he didn't
have a good reason to be such a character, so he
changed concepts. So, what I'm asking is, if a player
comes to you with an outrageous idea that seems to
have no plausable reason to be, how do you react? Deny
the idea? Make them come up with good reasons? Smile
and nod? Oh, and while I ask, what odd concepts have
you players gotten away with, and how?
> NaCl(aq)

Depends how outrageous. It also depends on previous
history. Twinks get little latitude with potentially
abusive wierdness. Guys like the one I mentioned in
another thread, who wanted to play a starting initiate
with an ally spirit, get a lot more latitude - as long
as (option 2) they give me a good background
explaining it.

I haven't really had a lot of odd concept SR PCs. I've
had a bunch of odd PCs, though. I mean, no-one's tried
to foist a four-armed character on me, but there've
been some really weird backgrounds. For instance,
Pierre, the outRAAAAGEOUSLY French mage (and chef) and
Cookie, the amnesiac Ork samurai (and chef) who
fancies himself a pirate on the ship of the Dread
Pirate Roberts (from "The Princess Bride" :) ) and
whose father is a duke who's searching high and low
for him. :) What's even more fun is that the two of
them are in the same game, on the same ship AND
they're roommates. :) Then there's Johnny the <insert
word here> Maniac, who's fashioned himself along the
lines of a comic-book character. And Silent Bob, the
grungy little dwarf who hasn't spoken a word yet, even
though the game's been going for over a month.

I get my weird concept characters in my other game,
one that uses the Alternity mechanics. For instance, a
merchant ship captain who's both addicted to, and
inept at, gambling (can we say "in hock"?), the
felinoid who wanders around looking like Boba Fett on
steroids, the winged semi-human cybered psionicist and
the regular human dude whose whole race has been
infected by a parasitic organism, wiping out 90% of
them and gifting the rest of them with something
resembling regeneration (the body is, more or less, in
stasis - if anything changes (injury etc.), the
organism acts to remove the change - which also means
no physical improvements). The latter one comes from
some SF book, apparently.

====Doc'
(aka Mr. Freaky Big, Super-Dynamic Troll of Tomorrow, aka Doc'-booner)

S.S. f. P.S.C. & D.J.

.sig Sauer

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