Post/Author/DateTime	Post
His Majesty 10-06-04, 02:58 PM	A short while ago I started a new campaign with my group, and was reminded of one of the most annoying things in creating new characters with my players. The players insist on killing their parents. At least 75% of the characters they create lost both of their parents, and 90% lost "only" one parent. I thought that this might be a coincidence, but a completely new player (never played an RPG before) did it too. Eventually I manage to convince most of them not to kill their parents, but it still annoys me. Has anyone else noticed this problem? Does anyone have theories about the origins of this trend?
nihility 10-06-04, 03:24 PM	If you have a nice home and a happy family, you're probably not going to leave it for a life of danger; if you do, you must have some good reason for it, and that reason might be hard for the player to think up. If you have no ties at all, you can wander the earth with ease. It's a horrible cliche, but being an orphan is a very easy way to cut your ties, and it also frees you from having to write a backstory for your family. Many a writer has fallen back on this standby. For a variation on the old cliche, what about playing a parent who has lost his spouse and children? Or an adventurer who got kicked out by their spouse for spending too much time at the archery range and not enough with the kids? Or maybe a kid that actually had a nice family, left it in a huff during a "sullen, angsty teenager" phase, and now claims to be an orphan to cover up the fact that they are, or used to be, a complete jerk?
Tyrian 10-06-04, 04:43 PM	My current char (in an evil campaign) is similar but different... Born the only son of a tyrant, his mother was one of dad's concubines so he doesn't even know which of them is his mother. His adventuring career begins when his father kicks him out, after he tormented both his sisters until one ran off into the desert and the other offed herself at the foot of her father's throne. So not an orphan, but he doesn't know his mother, his father wants nothing to do with him, and he is directly responsible for the death/disappearance of both his siblings. Yeah, he's gonna be telling people he has no family...
Persephone Imytholin 10-07-04, 07:21 AM	Has anyone else noticed this problem? Does anyone have theories about the origins of this trend? Yes, I have. I think it's either: a) a matter of players who don't want their characters to have ties to the game world. They kill off family to try to minimise DM control over what they do and what plots they're in. b) they have a genuinely interesting case for wanting to kill off family; this is rare c) they kill off their family to make a character artificially interesting; these ones will be all 'OMG teh Angst!!11!!1!1'
Fiery_Fighter_Drake 10-07-04, 07:45 AM	Well, I don't know if this is in topic, but my character's parents did die while defending their hometown against a band of orcs/trolls/bugbears. However, his cousin and his cousin's wife are alive and well and it was though him that my character got introduced to the party. However, the cousin doesn't want to seem to have anything to do with my character. At least not until I get the Assassin's Guild off my back (long story). Truly, killing off ones closes relationships is easy when you need to go adventuring. Another cliche would be the adopted child questing to find his real parents.
Nurgan_the_drunked 10-08-04, 06:56 AM	Truly, killing off ones closes relationships is easy when you need to go adventuring. Another cliche would be the adopted child questing to find his real parents. It gets rid of the idea of having to keep going back home somewhere. And do you really want your DM playing "mummy" On the second point, I played a character who was orphaned, and was convinced he was heir to a noble family as he'd been found abandoned in the woods and of course, that meant he was an abandoned noble. Building up the fact that there was an abandoned heir to a king near where the player was found, at the same time, and really winding the player up about it, before revealing that it's not him would be fantastic
jnrhayz 10-08-04, 12:41 PM	Normally when I develop a character background I try to find out from the DM the basis for the game. If you are going to be doing a lot of travelling and wandering through the world I normally kill off one or both parents or possibly have a peasant history of wanting to get out of slavedom and go see the world. If the DM says we will probably be starting in a city and at least being there for a short time then my parents will probably be alive and I'll let the story dictate why I leave eventually. The real problem was brought up before. If you have a happy family life then why would you want to leave. There has to be some tension, whether that is abusive father, hated siblings, or loss of parents. Normally there will need to be someone who directed your life towards the alignment you are and you need to have a reason to leave that person. So they go to jail or are killed, leaving you free to adventure. It is simple and doesn't require investment into a deep background. Especially when you could lose your character in the first session.
Persephone Imytholin 10-09-04, 03:55 AM	Maybe that's the difference. Orphans may be fine for H&S, but if you're playing a story based game then investing in a deep background is compulsory - and "parents dead, brother dead, sister dead, friends dead, dog dead, OMG teh Angst, killit!" isn't really a deep background.
GnomFoo 10-09-04, 12:04 PM	There could be a variety of reasons why someone would leave and good home. One could be that you have always wanted to go adventure and get rich, so you leave with say... a nobleman/women who promises to take you on all sorts of adventures(who, could end up being an evil enchantress or necromancer or somethign of the like). But the key to leaving a good home, is wanting to go home, or missing your family and friends. You always SAY you will go home one day, but get caught up in too much to have the time, and everytime something bad happens, you could say... curse the day you left your home with that bloody noble women/man. You could also be elected to go out to get help for your town from say... an orc invasion, but you encounter troubles ahead and realize its too late. You go home to find the villiage destroyed(hmmm... no bodies...) and you think they are all dead, just to find out they escaped, but now you banished from the town or whatever. There could be reasons to leave a good home, but most the time if you do, you would have to play that you want to go home.
Aki Warren 10-10-04, 10:39 PM	Well, I don't mind it. I hate the fact that they may be dead before the kid met them. That's just terrible. Tell me your childhood, tell me how they died, tell me who did it! That's a decent story
Trydan 10-11-04, 05:16 AM	Orphan adventurers are indeed common, in my experience. Trying to reduce ties to the game (and thus avoid character background) is a commonly cited example. The problem is that there is no incentive to have a family. They are pure liability. The DM can use them to: Blackmail the character (Captured by the evil wizard and then tortured unless the character surrenders or hands over loads of gold) Be Imperilled (Orcs are attacking their village - they must be resuced!) Be Impoverished (The character's parents are about to lose the family home due to being unable to pay taxes!) Be Dying (There is pestillence upon the land - you must find a cure/priest/etc.) Be Demanding ("Grivel Bladeswinger! Come home at once and tidy your room!!") Impose duties (Attend weddings, harvests, festivals, funerals, etc.) Arrange marriages ("No, you can't marry the drop-dead-gorgeous princess you've just rescued from the dragon, I've just promised you to the Duke's ugly daughter."). Plus others! (Which seem to escape me at the moment) To get around this problem, it is up to the DM to make family an asset. Here are some examples. Free board (Mother will always be happy to have you and your friends stay. And here, have an extra helping of stew!) NPC help (Your brother is a top-notch fighter - always ready to come and help if you need it) NPC services (You sister studied arcane-achemie - you can get potions from her cheaply) Support (You father commands an army. Need 200 troops? No problem.) Money (Sure, your grandparent passed away, but they left an inheritance of 5000 platinum pieces) Loans (Borrow money from your family - interest free!) Items ("Here son, take my sword... I used it in the Dragon Wars... use it well!") Defence (The family home is a 20 ha castle) Influence (Your uncle has the confidence of the King) Politics (Your cousin runs the local guilds, and your other cousin is the mayoress)
Persephone Imytholin 10-11-04, 07:58 AM	I can't see why the DM has to explicitly tell the player that family members make outstanding contacts, but it's excellent to see some examples of how to help break the cycle of orphanhood.
Belladonna5012 10-12-04, 12:03 AM	Of the three characters I currently play, none is an orphan--in fact, two of them are on at least "OK" terms with their parents; the other fled her home. Then again, it doesn't make much difference--the MUX I play on is set on a prison plane of sorts, and their families are nowhere to be seen. I do have a character concept rolling around in my head that would justify the character being an orphan (not for simplicity, or even merely for angst; but as part of an extremely harsh background that forced her to grow up very quickly), but it's not a standard for me. Personally, I'd rather keep the family around in most cases--not only can they be helpful (for all the reasons stated, and another place where a Wizard can hide a spare spellbook), but they also provide roleplaying and adventure hooks. All those "negatives" can be good things from a story standpoint--they give the DM a way to make adventures relevant to your character as a person. Rescuing your family is an adventure. Finding a cure for a family member's illness is an adventure. Even an arranged marriage can be an adventure; perhaps your character defies them and the character's parents react very poorly, or perhaps the other party has some dark secret (or just lots of baggage), or any number of other things. There's too much meat there to just off them as a matter of course. But as for origins... They're pretty simple, and many of them have already been stated. I'll toss in that just the fact it's a cliche perpetuates it, as it kind of fits in with the stereotypical adventurer mould. ~Belladonna Knight
Persephone Imytholin 10-12-04, 07:08 AM	It's threads like these that make me consider making a crafty PC who sets up an orphanage; maybe a 10% fee on all treasure and rewards from adventuring orphans?
Kylen Ormond 10-12-04, 11:42 AM	People who don't want to create backgrounds always kill their parents, and sometimes their entire family, and home towns. I don't kill my parents, but I make them part of my wierd backgounds :D , here's four of them: Aasimar Paladin-Raised by mother who says "Your father was a brave paladin who died protecting a far off kingdom.". I go on an adventure to be a brave paladin just like my father. I arrive at a kingdom, and find out that this is the kingdom that my father served, and that he was the greatest paladin in the whole kingdom (wow daddy was that great, :mymy: ). Everyone treats me very well, and the king is honored to have the son of a legend marry his daughter (thought I was going to die a traveling maytr, what a turn of events). half-elf duelist-Orphan raised in the church of pelor. An old duelist teaches me how to fight. I find out that my father is the duelist who thought me, and my mother lives in the forest not far from town. They had a tragic love story (you can't marry a human), and were separated. Fire gensai-Mother dies of insanity, because she thinks the child is a demon. Father becomes a sad acoholic, tries to kill me, because he thinks it's all my fault so I kill him in self-defence. I become a wandering bounty hunter, and vow to kill the ifreet who began my forsaken linage. half-human, half-erinyes-Mother (erinyes) died giving birth. Father (cleric of Dissapater, book of vile darkness), his wereabouts are a mystery. Me, raised by the church of pelor, blessed when young to remove my evil instincts. Goal in life, fight against the darkness, and become a creature of good.
Nurgan_the_drunked 10-13-04, 04:32 AM	People who don't want to create backgrounds always kill their parents, and sometimes their entire family, and home towns. I don't kill my parents, but I make them part of my wierd backgounds :D , here's four of them: 3 missing a parent and one orphan? doesn't sound like you're avoiding it very well. To be honest, you do what most people do with parents by the sounds of it: using their deaths as an inspiration for adventuring, whether they're alive or dead. What people are talking about, and not inherently a bad thing. But if you're refering to the "I'm an orphan, so I don't have to worry about people I love from childhood", then yeah, it is a bit trite. All cool backstories, by the way.
His Majesty 10-13-04, 02:22 PM	Well, I wish I had something to add, but I don't. Well written, people. Thanks for an interesting conversation (Even if I didn't participate). Perhaps one day I will compile this into a Regdar article. Once I finish about 10 other projects, of course. :(
Aluroon 10-13-04, 05:37 PM	Well, I dont usually kill of my characters parents, but I do use them often as a catalizing force in causing the character to begin adventuring. Example: My current elf Wizard/Shadow Adept. Short Breakdown Born to a powerful elven family, he was nothing out of the ordenary, until the thornbacks (FR players know who I'm talken about) attacked Evereska. During the battle he became aware of shadow magic, and came to hate mystra (godess of magic). He stuidies shadow magic agianst his familys will and is later banished/disowned when it is discovered he lied and continued. Aluroon
Morka 10-13-04, 08:01 PM	I don't use to kill my characters' parents. One of them was a ranger hired by his father to escort caravans! My last character actually lost both his parents, as well as the dog, horse, and all his tribe. He is a barbarian in a region where the legend says a Mighty Warrior is supposed to reincarnate somewhere, to lead all the barbarian tribes. A rival spread the rumor that the Mighty Warrior will be reincarnated in my character tribe; jealous, all the other tribes united to exterminate my charater's tribe. He is the lone survivor, and now he thinks he is the Mighty Warrior reincarnation! I was inspired by Tyr Anascazi (sp?) from the serie Andromeda