Providing Ammunition for Your Game MasterCopyright 2002 Heather Grove and Jeffrey HowardWhen people write up backgrounds for their characters, they often
don't stop to think about what their game master (GM) would
particularly like to know. There are certain things that can, in the
space of just a paragraph or two, give your GM plot hooks, ways to
pass information to your character, and the means to turn what would
otherwise be an ordinary plot into something stunning, emotional, and
personally compelling. Here, then, is a list of things you could
include in your character write-up. Some of them could be considered
ammunition for the GM to use against your character - but then, how
better to have a tense and exciting game? There's no need to use all
of these; pick one or two that appeal to you and enjoy!
#1. Daily ScheduleBy providing something of a schedule for your character detailing
where she goes, what she does, and when, your GM will have a better
idea how he can get information to you and have other things happen.
If he knows your character goes to the gym, then someone trying to spy
on her can go through her locker. If he knows she goes to Church every
Sunday, he can have a significant event happen to her on her way to or
from services. If he knows she reads the newspaper every day, then he
can more easily slip news and clues in via that route.
Besides, working up a quick schedule for your character can, oddly,
help you to get a better handle on her personality. Does she always
sleep through her alarm and go to work late? Is she a night-owl? Does
she go out with friends, or stay at home reading? You don't always
have to keep to that schedule during game; just remember to tell the
GM when you deviate from it significantly. You also don't have to give
exact times for everything. "Reads the newspaper every morning" should
be good enough.
Schedule details should fulfill two criteria:
* They're minor enough that it's plausible that they might not put
in an appearance in the game before the moment at which the GM wants
or needs to use them.
* They're familiar enough to the character that they don't come
across as a "deus ex machina" or as overly suspicious.
Creating a schedule for your character acts much like the tricks we
recommend in our old article, "If you don't know what to do, go for a
walk," except that you don't have to specify what you do each time.
You also give the GM the chance to plan things out in advance:
#1b. Media BiasA wonderful related note to hand your GM is a quick break-down of
*which* news sources your character gets her information from. Some
people watch the nightly news. Some people read the daily paper.
Others read the tabloids. A character might have a favorite
conspiracy theorist magazine they like, a subscription to "New
Scientist," or even subscriptions to trade journals. Different
information sources have different editorial biases or spins,
providing a golden opportunity to slip information into the game -
true, suspect, and blatantly false, depending on the bias of the writer.
#1c. Familiar Faces
Familiar faces aren't people you know well enough to call them
contacts, but if the GM wants a new face to exploit for a purpose,
they're easy to pull into the role. This could be a cashier at the
supermarket, the proprietor of your character's favorite small bakery,
or her cat's veterinarian. If the cashier recommended a particular
kind of produce your character would give it a look; if the bakery man
needed a hand hauling a cart-load of stuff out to his car for
delivery, she'd pitch in. If she saw the veterinarian at the store,
she'd probably stop to say hi.
The difference between them and total strangers is that if they give
you a tip, gentle warning, or reminder, you know them just well enough
to not immediately suspect them of having appeared out of nowhere to
set you up. Other examples might be a doorman at an apartment where
the characters live, a friendly fellow guild-member in a guild, or one
of the personal trainers at a health club.
Familiar faces are listed under daily schedule instead of friends and
acquaintances because your character has probably met most of these
people simply by going through her daily routine.
#2. Goals & DrivesKnowing your character's goals and drives is useful to you as well as
your GM. When you write out these things before the game, it helps you
to see whether your character has enough ambition, curiosity,
responsibility, or specific interests to draw her into the game's
events. If you try to write out her goals and drives and find out that
she really doesn't have any, then you know you'll probably have
trouble getting involved in plots! Time to work something your
character cares about into her background.
Writing these things out also provides easy plot hooks for your GM. If
he knows your character has a goal of eliminating all the members of a
certain conspiracy, then all he has to do to get you into a plot is to
hint that the conspiracy might be involved. (It also serves as a nice
reminder to him that he might want to work that conspiracy into his
game in order to play with your personal plots.) He can glance at your
list of drives and goals and know pretty much immediately whether your
character will fit in with the sort of campaign he imagines, giving
him a chance to have you change things, or to alter his campaign's
direction a bit. Comparing drives and goals with other player
characters can help you to determine whether the group will be compatible.
#3. Dreams & FearsIf you can't think of any dreams or fears whatsoever for your
character, that's a possible warning sign. Everyone has things they
want; everyone is afraid of something. Without dreams why would your
character embark upon all of these difficult adventures? Without
fears, how can she possibly be human? (Or a reasonably sentient and
emotional humanoid, depending on your game.) If nothing occurs to you
when you think about these things, then something vital may be missing
from your character.
Keep in mind that dreams and fears don't have to be conscious. Your
character might not even realize that she has a deep-seated fear of
imprisonment until someone arrests her and puts her in jail.
By knowing your character's dreams the GM knows how to pull her into
plots, as well as how to give your character moments and rewards that
will appeal specifically to her. It makes the game more personal. By
knowing your character's fears, the GM can also play on them to draw
your character into a more personal and interesting situation. He can
find ways to make plots difficult without always having to resort to
bigger and better monsters, which can get a little monotonous after a
while.
#4. Favorites & Least FavoritesTake a moment to list a few of your character's favorite and least
favorite things. Try something simple along the lines of:
* Favorites: Sunshine, hot days, excitement, new discoveries
* Least favorites: Having to stand in line, rain, boredom, wasps
This helps the GM to tweak the mood and atmosphere to have certain
emotional effects on your character.
#5. Acquaintances & FriendsAcquaintances, contacts, and friends serve several purposes. First, if
your character has no friends, then this might be a sign that you've
created a loner. Such a character can end up tearing apart a party in
the long run. Making sure that your character is capable of having and
keeping friends is one way to keep yourself from accidentally creating
a loner. For more on this issue, see "The Problem with Loners:"
http://www.burningvoid.com/pipermail/void/2001/000024.htmlAcquaintances and friends are also automatic plot hooks for your GM to
make use of. They're resources for your character, a means for the GM
to interject information and clues into the game, and a way to make
sure that your character is emotionally attached to and involved in
the game world.
#6. FamilyWrite up a brief paragraph or two explaining which of your character's
family members are still alive, where they live, and how much contact
your character has with them. The GM can use family members in any
number of ways to keep things interesting. Remembering that your
character has family is also a quick way to make sure that you think
of your character like a "real person" - creating a character with no
family can be fairly unrealistic.
#7. Hobbies, Interests & CollectionsI ripped the "interests and collections" part of this one bleeding
from the "HackMaster" non-player character (NPC) generation charts.
They have two handy charts, one for NPC interests (politics, religion,
good wines, etc.) and one for NPC collecting interests (coins,
gemstones, medals, etc.). Listing a couple of interests for your
character gives your GM an idea of what an NPC might walk up and talk
to your character about in order to catch her interest. It also gives
him a way to know which news stories and other tidbits might appeal to
her. Hobbies are similar, and may provide handy plot points for the
GM. If he knows your character enjoys oil painting, then he can
provide an NPC who loves good paintings who might be willing to help
such an artist.
If your character collects something, then your GM has a ready-made
way to put items into a plot that your character will want. Instead of
putting some random thing you don't care about at the center of the
dungeon he wants you to explore, he can place something your character
will truly desire. This makes things easier for him, and has the side
effect of making things more personal and interesting to you.
Level of DetailYou can write out the category(s) you choose in just a few words, or
devote a page to them. It can be as simple as:
* Goals: Recover missing memories; find family
* Drives: Intense curiosity; friendliness and wish to help others;
love of learning new things
Or you can write out a paragraph explaining each item. Remember that
you can write up one or two of these things at the beginning of the
game, and now and then write up another during the course of the game.
This keeps you from having to write up too much at once. It keeps the
GM from having to read too much at once. It also gives the character a
chance to "gel" - I don't know about you, but I sometimes find that a
character's personality ends up being a little different than I
predicted once the game starts. And finally, it reminds you to take a
step back now and then and think about where your character is and how
she's doing.
Keep in mind that which category(s) you pick might be at least
partially determined by the game or genre you play. For a horror game,
fears & dreams is a big one; friends or favorites might help as well.
For a modern-day game, daily schedule should be appropriate. For a
hack-and-slash game, something you can write up in a quick sentence or
two might be best: favorites, hobbies and interests, or family.
Changing DetailsRemember that your character's drives, goals, interests, etc. will
tend to change over time in response to things that happen during the
game. She might recover her missing memories and discover that aliens
killed her family. Now her list could become:
* Goals: Prove the existence of aliens; destroy all aliens
* Drives: Revenge; hatred; bigotry
Remember to update her motivations now and then during the game.
Hopefully these tidbits will help you to have a more personal and
exciting game. Hopefully they'll also help your GM to plan game events
that will appeal to you and keep things interesting. Many of these
items are aimed at giving the GM credible ways to slip items, events,
plot hooks, and information into the characters' laps without having
them fall out of the blue. Some of them will help to give the game
world that "lived-in" feel - it'll seem more like a living world that
moves and breathes even when the characters aren't looking.
Don't expect that just because you've written these things up they'll
make frequent appearances in the game; the idea is to provide
opportunities for the GM and allow him to make use of them as he sees
fit - not to force him to shape the game to your every desire.
Hopefully the result will be fun for the entire gaming group!
Comments on this issue's topic? Suggestions? Tips? Special topic
requests? Drop me a line at (heather@burningvoid.com). If I pass any
of your suggestions on (either through the newsletter or the RPG
resources page), I'll attribute them to you. Be sure to tell me if you
don't want me to use your name and/or comments!FREE XPs!500xps: The above article's questions would provide INVALUABLE for me as a GM when working on the flashback stuff. Please work on this and PM it to me and I will give you a 500xp Bonus to start the adventure. I will be pulling HEAVILY from your answers, so you can see why this would be needed!
50xps: Create a handler: Name, Age, Sex, and how you know them, how long you've been working with them.
(I will provide the rest for your flashback sequences) and you will gain a 50xp Bonus as well.
