No response here or on Facebook regarding my continuing with the 31 Day / 31 Characters Challenge so I guess I'm done. Since this series of posts isn't grabbing anyone's attention or interest, I'll just bow out and go one to discuss other things.
Next year I'll get back to posting memorable characters from campaigns [and one-shots] of the past..
In the meantime...
I've been thinking analytically and introspectively about why I don't like Character Creation in most Tabletop Roleplaying Games. In some ways its pretty easy to comprehend, I think...
When I create a character, it's a concept in my head. The character is simply an idea for a component of the adventure, setting, or whathaveyou. It is envisioned as serving a purpose; they are an obstacle, an ally, a love interest, comedy relief, or an example of 'local color' to give the game...well, um...character.
As I tend to GM far more than I play as a Player, my 'Gamemaster Brain' is at the forefront of my approach to characters. When I want or need a character that does X or serves X purpose, I create them. I make them as interesting as I can so that the players in my game get invested in said character and their role in the campaign, whatever that may be. I'm aware that some GMs have been known to roll up their NPCs in systems with random generation and the very idea is baffling to me.
Why? You need a bandit, you stat up a bandit. You need a wise and powerful Jedi Master, you give them more dice where you feel they need it. Do you really want to roll up a handsome and seductive spy just get a really low Charisma/Comeliness score? That's...well...dumb IMHO.
As a player, my outlook is not so different. Say I need to come up with a character for a Star Trek game set during The Next Generation Era. OK. What is everyone else playing? I see...no Doctor or Science Officer yet, huh? I do love playing the Science Officer when I get the chance. As for a Species, ooh, so many options.
In any game where non-Human Player Characters are a possibility, there's a very good chance I will play a non-Human. Hmm, I've never played a Kasheeta, a matriarchal dinosaur-saurian species that first appeared in the Federation Council chambers of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Yeah, that'll be interesting. I love seeing TOS and TOS Movie Era Aliens in later periods. The Kasheeta can seem arrogant, aloof, and off-putting but aren't really. It's a cultural thing I can creatively expand on and add my own twist to. I like it.
The point it, I didn't roll this character up. This is an idea for a character that I came up with and can now extrapolate from and build upon. What I want now is a rules system that allows me to make this character in the game.
Therein lies the key to why I like or dislike a game's Character Creation. I don't want a system that gives me a character and tells me what they can do. I like creating a Character outside of any system and using an RPG's mechanics to make that character to the best of my [and the game's] ability. This is why I like Champions, Smurfs, Star Trek Adventures, Star Wars D6, and why I don't like D&D and 'Playbook' games like Blades in the Dark and Apocalypse World. Don't tell me who my character is and what abilities they are allowed to have. Tell me all the options available and I'll pick the ones that fit my character.
This dynamic is a big reason why I don't like playing most Fantasy RPGs other than Ars Magica, which I love. Most Fantasy games have hard and fast Classes that give you particular skills and abilities and Races that only have or do specific things. Ars Magica says, here are a variety of different kinds of characters that fit the setting. They're all made of points. Here, I'll give you that amount of points so you can make what you like. There isn't a Wizard Class, there are characters who can have any combination of talents and skills including casting spells and we call that person a Wizard (or a Mage in Ars Magica proper).
That's it for now. Onward...
AD
Barking Alien
Adam,
ReplyDeleteas a longtime reader of your blog I‘m sorry to see you end the challenge but if it drags you down then wrapping it up is probably for the best. I liked your approach to the challenge exactly because it was different from just rolling up characters and focused on the aspects of character creation that I also find most rewarding.
Take care and all the best from far-away Germany,
Kai
Wow Kai, thank you.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said before, I really do this blog for myself, just to think 'outloud' as it were but I really do appreciate it when what I write resonates with someone. It means a great deal to me.
I wish I'd gotten this before I'd started this year's challenge. I would've gone with my usual approach from the beginning and maybe I'd still be going at it. Heheh. Oh well, I've learned my lesson and you can expect a return to form next year.
Originally, a "character" (for an RPG player) was simply a vehicle for exploring the game. Somewhere along the line of RPG development, it became a vehicle for exploring...character. That is, for exploring itself.
ReplyDeleteThis, I think, is a fundamental difference between the way you and I approach RPGs. At least, these days. I used to look at characters much the same way: concept first, actual play second. "Point-buy" chargen systems are great for this: Ars Magica, VtM, Over the Edge, etc. This was 'The Way' with RPGs in the 1990s.
Strangely enough, I think it may have been 3rd edition DND that cured me of this fixation. Yeah, you can play D20 in a "point buy" fashion. And you can plan out the entire concept, career, and development of the life of the character from level 1 to...whenever. If you want (not everyone does). And allow me to say certainty has its downside.
Anyway. Exploring characters isn't really what D&D (at least...maybe some other, "old" RPGs) is all about. It's about experiencing a world, exploring THAT...and trying to survive, as best one can. Doing the best you can with the hand you've been dealt.
Kind of like the real world...except with magic and danger and such. Oh...and if you die or get turned into something "unnatural," it's not as bad as if such occurred in the real world.
; )
Exploring the game or exploring the character. Both are fun as far as I am concerned. I do want to know how a particular character concept will work in a situation. The only difference between doing it in 1980 vs 2026 is which character sheet am I using?
DeleteI always find these binary 'either or' approaches odd. It's not Chocolate OR Peanut Butter; it's a goddamn Reese's Cup baby!
DeleteWhy wouldn't you explore your character WHILE exploring the world. And vice versa of course. Do you eat your Burger and French Fries separately? Like, at different meals? Traveling to distant lands, fighting for your life, survivng the elements; you don't think you'll learn something about yourself on that journey?
I agree with JB completely when he says that exploring characters isn't really what D&D, at least traditional 'classic' D&D, is all about. That is why making characters for D&D feels flat and not particularly interesting to me.
Traveller is the exception that proves the rule, so to speak. You roll your PC up randomly but in doing so you learn what job they qualified for, what they learned during their time in the service, whether they got promoted, and famously whether or not they survived the whole deal. By the time you finish generating your character, you know them. You get who they and what they're about.
What happens next? That person explores the galaxy. So yeah, you explore your character while creating them, then they explore alien worlds, and while surviving these planets you explore your PC some more.
Now that sounds like fun to me.
Sorry I wasn't able to respond to your last post - I've been AWFK for several days and am now playing catch-up.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I have never heard of GM's randomly generating important NPCs as you mention. That way lies madness, as you correctly assert. I might use a carefully chosen NPC who happens to have previously been randomly generated and left on the pile of unused characters, but that's different as the character would have been picked for their abilities, personality etc that happens to match the role I'm looking to fill.
Secondly, as we've discussed before, there is no point entering these challenges if they don't feel right for you. You're just wasting your time and energy. Personally, I'd much rather read about things that work well for you, inspire you etc Your imagination and catalogue of games is broad enough that you don't require the rigid structure of an "online challenge" (be it this or RPGaDay) to write informative and inspirational articles about your own gaming experiences and ideas.
I am sorry to see you are not continuing. I rather enjoy your Trek characters. My issue is I got started on my own so late (I was going to do all Star Trek characters, but switched) that I don't have the time to check on what everyone else is doing.
ReplyDeleteI still plan on going through what you have done so far, not the same I know as immediate feedback. For the record I also have not had much in the way of any meaningful feedback for my characters, but I am also not surprised really.
Thanks guys for coming by and supporting my decision, even if its a disappointing one. It's disappointing to me too.
ReplyDeleteWhile Tim Knight is correct in saying there is no point doing these Challenges if they don't excite or interest me, well that's the rub. They do interest me. At least the idea of them interests me.
Sometimes I need that outside motivation to spur me on to blog. I don't post as often as I'd like and its not for lack of things to say. An issue I experience quite often is spending more time in my own head and not enough time getting my thoughts out into the world. Things like the 31/31 Challenge and RPGaDay get me going...when they work that is.
This time it didn't work and that's fine. A bummer but fine. Moving on...
"...well that's the rub. They do interest me. At least the idea of them interests me."
ReplyDeleteIn that case, create your own challenge - entirely separate from the current, established ones. Create one just for yourself, drawing inspiration from what excites you. You never know, perhaps others will join in...
If anyone here creates a new Challenge of some sort I will likely sign up because I love these things.
DeleteOh no...you've gone and done it Tim. You've given me...an idea!
DeleteEverybody hold on to something! Heheh
I wasn't able to see this until now because I was elbows deep in the challenge myself. But I do want to thank you for participating. I've always said that this is for fun, and if you're not having fun then I can see that being a reason to stop. I did enjoy your entries.
ReplyDelete