tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099843600141430373.post2632947945750545778..comments2024-02-18T09:32:16.703-06:00Comments on The Semi-Retired Gamer: D is for DetailsCharlie Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07899037807693796298noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099843600141430373.post-90214248594554038722013-04-06T15:51:11.992-05:002013-04-06T15:51:11.992-05:00I don't normally have problems coming up with ...I don't normally have problems coming up with some sort of backstory for my characters, but the list you gave is a great example of asking questions we don't always think through. (I think that sort of list would also be good for fiction writers trying to flesh out their characters.)<br /><br />I've had friends who roll for all their options and play what they get. One of the best was a dwarf paladin (ok, makes sense) whose chosen deity was nature (wait, what?). That led to a great backstory about his relationship with his clan, with the elves in the party who were his long-time companions, and with the overall goals he aimed to achieve. <br /><br />Nice work on this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099843600141430373.post-3673414221205873142013-04-04T12:15:47.954-05:002013-04-04T12:15:47.954-05:00IIRC Cyberpunk 2020 has something similar. It is ...IIRC Cyberpunk 2020 has something similar. It is called a lifepath. You use a d10 to pretty much determine everything. After your clothes and ethnicity, you roll your family. It is flow chart that begins with your type of family, then if you parents are alive. This leads to details about what happened to your parents, other family tragedies, your childhood environment, and siblings. Those then influence another chart on motivations.<br /><br />Then you randomly determine your age. For each year above 16 you roll to see what happened. Then it determines if things were a disaster, or rewarding, if you made friends or enemies, etc. There are charts for that as well including detailing out the friends/enemies/lovers as well as the outcome. <br /><br />It seems like a lot, but it only took a few pages. I have been tempted to do something similar as optional rules. It is surprisingly harder to write and make the flow chart than one might think. Dariushttp://www.perilousjourneys.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099843600141430373.post-58396402801718747822013-04-04T04:29:51.310-05:002013-04-04T04:29:51.310-05:00That book would be a valuable resource!That book would be a valuable resource!Charlie Warrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07899037807693796298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099843600141430373.post-42422428713458054442013-04-04T00:43:51.304-05:002013-04-04T00:43:51.304-05:00Back when we played 3rd edition, I picked up a cha...Back when we played 3rd edition, I picked up a character/world building book to help with the backstory. I was...am...lousy at building RPG character backstory. Which is weird since I claim all the time I'm a writer. But the thing I liked the most about the book was a the whole slew of d100 random generator charts that, once I had a few random rolls, I was able to incorperate a backstory easier. Something about having to figure out why my halfling rogue had three human sisters got my brain going!HeatherLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05408729050734990343noreply@blogger.com