When to Include Other Characters' Background

[Testament]

Hell, I can remember writing this long and involved novels of character backgrounds because that was just…an expected thing in mushing in the early 2000s. And it always the hardest part to get through. I’m very glad that as the years passed more and more games just stopped caring less about that. To which it became more of a situation where “Just write enough to show that you understand the lore/theme and we’ll call it good.”

Nowadays, I have a policy of “Hey, bullet points is perfectly acceptable, but if you want to write more, go nuts. So long as you put some effort in it and not give me three lines of the most vague background ever, you’re gonna be golden.”

[Pavel]

@Testament said in When to Include Other Characters' Background:

Hell, I can remember writing this long and involved novels of character backgrounds because that was just…an expecting thing in mushing in the early 2000s.

Writing long, involved novels that would then be rejected without so much as a by your leave… >_>

[Polk]

@STD I do it whenever I can. I feel like it’s part of the fun: the PCs are part of the world, whether they like it or not.

[STD]

Thanks to everyone who responded!

To clarify, I was thinking about this in terms of PRPs, so not Staff and not tying backgrounds together, but those are definitely two aspects that I think are worthy of being discussed so my vagueness ended up working out.

It seems like the consensus is that everyone rather likes it (which isn’t surprising, but I just couldn’t make the mental connection myself), but to ask for details first. Which is perfectly sane and reasonable. So I shouldn’t be such a spazz about it and just reach out.

Though it’s also good to know that my neurotic worry is shared at least a little by others.

@Jumpscare said in When to Include Other Characters' Background:

I’ve baked it into Silent Heaven that each player automatically gets at least one plot related to their character’s backstory. So that makes it easier for me to ask. Maybe you could give a little blurb in your policies or chargen about how “STs will periodically check your backstory to see if it’s relevant for plot and reach out to you for permission to include it. You don’t need to say yes.”

My advice would be to do it a bunch until it feels normal, maybe even repetitive, but stop if that’s just giving you more anxiety.

Both of these points are excellent advice.

[Roadspike]

@STD Being cognizant of different peoples’ thresholds for consent, when Blu and I were designing Empty Night, we created the idea of Effery, which represents how interested you are in having your character Effed with:

Effery

Magic can do some crazy things, like make you forget that you have a blasting rod, or that you made a deal with a very dangerous person until they complete it. Effery represents how willing you are to allow GMs to mess with your character’s memories, equipment, or history. It can be set to None, Consent, Staff, or Full.

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None: Your character is your character, and within the bounds of ICA=ICC and combat damage, GMs will not alter it.
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Consent: GMs may offer changes to your character’s memories, equipment, or history in plots in exchange for more spotlight time, but you must approve them.
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Staff: Staff GMs may make changes to your character’s memories, equipment, or history in plots in exchange for more spotlight time.
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Full: Staff or Player GMs may make changes to your character’s memories, equipment, or history in plots in exchange for more spotlight time.
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If an advantage is reduced by Effery, the XP will be returned so that the PC may regain the advantage over time.

This is a pretty serious theme in the Dresden Files, so we wanted to recognize it and empower it, while still giving people the agency they want over their characters. Maybe something like that, with people explicitly opting in, might be helpful for those worries?

[STD]

@Roadspike

Something like this is also a good idea. I’ll make a note that should I ever lose my mind completely and actually make a place, I’ll include some kind of ‘levels of background usage’ consent thing.

[insomniac]

Yeah, gonna +1 here on what folks are saying about incorporating player backstories. Most people I know would love to have their PC history come up, it’s a great bit of collaboration and an excuse to get some great melodrama in.

There are only two big things I’d caution about, which amount to either retconning or resolving the PC backstory, which can seem like good ideas but can wind up upsetting players if they’re not handled carefully. (I’ve seen these more often in TT than online, but I think it still holds.)

Retconning is when you drop a big reveal that the PC only thought they knew what happened in their history and there’s some (usually dark) secret going on there. Ranging from your classic “Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father” to full-on, like, “your history was actually a Total Recall implant by the bad guy and your life is a lie.” This can actually be really fun! But it’s a big change to the character going forward, and one that people might not appreciate implementing in RP. It’s not something I’d recommend doing without explicit permission from the player; even if it diminishes the impact of the big reveal, it’s just a huge risk unless you know how they’ll take it.

Resolution, meanwhile, can seem like it’s an unambiguously good thing but can actually wind up making a character unusable. The A-Team was sentenced by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit, so if someone offered them a pardon for a job they’d presumably be over the moon… and then if they got it they wouldn’t be the A-Team anymore, they’d just be Some Guys. If my character wants something they don’t have as a fundamental part of their character concept, getting it can be a great plot point that changes the character in an entertaining way that’s great to work through, but if it feels like it happens too fast or too easy it just winds up a letdown at best and makes the PC unplayable at worst. (“Oh, the banishment that forced my PC to leave their old lives behind and fall in with the game’s setting has been rescinded, and they’re free to leave the game and return to their comfortable happy life? I guess they… do… that, then.”)