How to create interesting PC
by
, October 1st, 2018 at 18:14 (25570 Views)
There's plenty of guide on how to optimize character for most damage or utility but very few on to write a background story. Playing a rogue wearing dark cloth who is an orphan is boring.
Even orphan had parents who died for a reason, had jobs, relatives, you get adoptives parents,... but let say you do have parents, are they farmers, merchants or minor nobility.
A son of farmers may go an adventure to get coins to help his family, he may wear the chain mail of his grandfather who was in a war, and spent a week cleaning the rust from that armor, the son of a noble may be the third child with no inheritance coming so he turn to adventure, but a brand new armor his family paid for.
Or his parents dies and he suspect his elder brother to have murders them. The farmer son may have a brother who was conscripted in some Lord's war and never seen again, is he dead? captured and sold as slave? turn mercenary and don't care about his family?
A character should have a past, a present and a future goal.
A wizard usually have a teacher or mentor who taught you the basic. A cleric should have a temple local or not where she learned. Even urchin growing up in the street have gang they ran with, contacts like fence. All kind of informations that make you character alive, and open way to role play for you and the DM or more interesting plot hook.
- Your younger sister tell you that the farm where you grow was attack by goblins and your family need help
- A mentor or teacher ask your help, (or is missing) is better then just some random wizard you never hear from before.
- The assassin you beat in battle, offer information on your brother and the dead of your parents if you let him go.
What you should not do, with a level 1 character is tell how you were captain of the King's honor guard, the greatest swordman of the continent or a god who lost his powers, you are level 1 barely a notch over normal peoples.
The world is as wide as your imagination, let it go wild and have fun