Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Murrdox 09-22-05, 02:41 PM	We are only 2 playing sessions into our game (starting at level 1) and I have yet to really flesh out the background and goals for my character. Here's what I have so far: We are playing an anime-styled game... somewhere between Record of Lodoss War and Slayers. Serious - but not complete comedy and mayhem, and definitely not absolutely crazy powerful like Naruto or Dragon Ball Z. The game world is of the DM's making. There aren't too many details there that are required. My character is a level 1 spiked-chain weilding Fighter. (I know, I know, spiked chain, blah blah blah, well, I'm always the DM, I've NEVER had a character under me play with a spiked chain, and I've never even played a FIGHTER before period! so no munchkin calling!) Anyways, my background so far is that I'm from a small town on the outskirts of the major kingdom in the area. We're not really under the jusistiction of the kingdom or anything. My character is a fairly serious - get straight to business type. So far he believes in protecting the weak, and he's got very defined ideas about good and evil... he has no qualms against attacking weaker foes, if they are indeed evil. Probably not so far as he'd execute a helpless evil creature. The only "plot" I have for him is that his father was a Lt. in the town's militia, which frequently fought off Gnoll raids. He's also familiar with the nearby grove of druids, and has occasional contact with them. He's decided for "reason X" to leave his town, and seek his fortune, and that's where I'm stuck. I was thinking of something along the lines of a childhood friend who vanished several years ago, and part of leaving the town is that I am now strong enough on my own to find out what happened to him... but that is a bit too archetypal. I also think I'm playing him almost TOO seriously, and I need to give him some personality to flesh him out, in addition to a good background story. Any inspiring ideas?
Divine Wrath 09-22-05, 03:08 PM	Well, since you indicated that his town has fought off gnoll raids in the past, your character could have almost been a victim himself. He could of almost been captured himself once, but he managed to improvise a weapon with some chain and found it an effective weapon. Because of that, he went so far as to master chains as a weapon and even switch to spiked chains as a more of a professional weapon. As for your friend, one of the druids could really be evil. Your character could be in a druid legend or prophecy that indicates that he will be a great hero. The evil druid knowing this, decided to put your character on a "quest to find his friend" so he can work in privacy from any heroes. I hope this helps.
Berzerker_prime 09-22-05, 10:24 PM	LOL! You want to have your game have more of an Anime flavor? Try having the group meet after most of them have just finished their weekly meetings at an Anime club! I have some experience with this. To make matters worse, right now we're watching Slayers and Louie the Rune Soldier. Seriously, though, I'm not sure what qualities make a game "anime-like." Anime is not a genre or style, but a medium that has many genres and styles. Your game simply takes on whatever flavor you and the other players want it to. But if you want to try and make it more "anime-like," try making some artwork of your characters in a style like your favorite anime artist. You'd be amazed at what that can do for atmosphere. In the meantime, here's a few fantasy anime suggestions. Record of Lodoss War - if I remember my anime history right, these characters actually started out life as D&D characters. Slayers - a wonderful set of character archetypes for both comedy and drama settings, in both the D&D class sense and the commedia del'arte sense. I mean, has anyone else noticed how Pulcinello-like Zelgadis is? Louie the Rune Soldier - Louie's the Wizard, Mellissa is the Cleric, Meril is the Rogue, and Jeannie is the Fighter. More often than not, I can tell you what feats the characters have and where to find stats on what magic spells they're casting. It's very, very D&D like. Legend of Himiko - a bit more of an eastern twist to things, but a very nice fantasy story. Includes "girl gets sucked into alternate world" scenario. Ruin Explorers - a short 4-episode OAV with lots of great gags and a fun story too boot. Great for ideas! Soul Hunter (AKA Senkaiden Houshin Engi) - based on a Chinese legend about the founding of the first Sinitic monarchy, but with a comedic twist... and cute mascots who turn into things... Ganbatte yo! Berz.
Murrdox 09-26-05, 02:15 PM	How we play in "anime" style basically involves a little bit of suspension of the rules to allow for some extra-human anime-like abilities... essentially some small degree of Cartoon Physica... such as leaping easily across rooftops, characters getting thrown large distances without taking damage, etc... In addition to that, our players and NPCs all play with a slightly anime style of humor, and we play up some anime-like character stereotypes, such as oddly colored hair, the "overly serious" character and the "completely wacky" character, etc. I'm still looking for potential plot hooks I can make my character more interesting with though...
Bard-of-all-trades 09-26-05, 11:35 PM	He's decided for "reason X" to leave his town, and seek his fortune, and that's where I'm stuck. Reason X = If you want to make your fortune (or make a fortune), you HAVE to leave home to do it. You said he comes from a little berg on the outskirts of civilization. How much can one person make there? His home was attacked by gnolls. How big of a fortune can you make for yourself when you're dead? Seems pretty cut and dried to me. Cool stuff.