The Essence of Character Development [Archive] - Wizards Community

The Essence of Character Development [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Reprisal
11-16-03, 09:46 PM Looking at these and other boards, it seems as though some believe that the essence of character development starts and ends with the character's history and background. This is somewhat inaccurate. Providing intricate character detail, expressed mainly through long dossiers of a character's history as a child, adolescent and what-not, does not necessarily mean that this character will develop during the campaign. The essence of character development is that it occurs during the game, not before it even begins.

When one sits down to create a character, focus not only providing an adequate level of background detail for purposes of verismilitude, but also provide unanswered questions, moral dilemmas and plothooks that will help drive your characters during play. Not providing these "kickers" in the background means that you probably have a fairly static character and it might mean that there is little difference between a character with volumes of history and one with one or two lines. In the end, the effect is the same and the only difference is that one character will have a very detailed, yet static, background and the other will have no background. What's similar is the lack of conflict within a character, the lack of a sense of purpose -- if only as a search for the truth, whatever that may be.

In short, if you're serious about creating a character that will easily developed over time, you must include loose ends, plot hooks and unfinished business in your character's background story. Without it, the effect of having a background is somewhat lessened to the point of being moot. Motivation to achieve goals, further agendas or support values are the essence of conflict, thus the essence of story, and the essence of character development.

So get out there, and start creating dynamic characters out of blank character sheets! :cool:

- Rep.
Vexxan
11-17-03, 07:26 AM While very valid at it's core, your post seems to intentionally devalue a background without the 'hook' elements.
By providing history a player can begin to feel a connection to their character's beliefs, ideals, motivations and goals. It is indeed a starting point. It allows a player to get into the head of their character and imagine the events that shaped who they are today. Without this firm foundation, character development during gameplay can suffer from lack of focus and whimsy, resulting in an inconsistant personality.
During a game it is a DM's job to initiate hooks and provide players with various forms of conflict, which they can then act on as they see fit. Personally, I find it advantageous that players leave all hook and motivations up to myself as the DM. Therefore I can choose which, if any, part of a character's background to incorporate into my story. Through my hand I will guide players based on their reactions during play. If they don't have a purpose delineated in their background I will give them one through gameplay.
Purpose does not rely on a complete psychological profile included within background documents. Above all is conflict created by a need for personal survival. A character does not need a background story to explain reactions to this type of survival.
I feel it is very important for players to have a connection to their character through knowledge of their history and behavior. I also feel it is my job to provide them with the proper motivations required to advance the story, regardless of background if necessary.
For some players it may only take a few verbose lines to give them a sense of character. For others it may take more, with or without hooks. The essence of development is the ability to identify with your character and relate to them on some level. Motivations, goals and ideals stem from that and are formed during gameplay where they are crucial.
I wholeheartedly agree that open leads within a background are great sources for development both as a character and as a DM. However, I disagree with your dismissal of backgrounds lacking in these areas as 'moot'.
Reprisal
11-17-03, 11:27 AM The intention of my post wasn't so much as to attack one form, but rather, it seems to me that the majority of the character backgrounds that I've read for online games, in addition to my own gaming experiences offline, are fairly static in nature. While yes, they do provide a good grounding for the essence of character, I don't think they give enough incentive for development over time.

During a game it is a DM's job to initiate hooks and provide players with various forms of conflict, which they can then act on as they see fit. Personally, I find it advantageous that players leave all hook and motivations up to myself as the DM. Therefore I can choose which, if any, part of a character's background to incorporate into my story. Through my hand I will guide players based on their reactions during play. If they don't have a purpose delineated in their background I will give them one through gameplay.

This is certainly a workable way of approaching a campaign as a DM, and in fact it tends to solve many of the problems that creep up in many games. The trouble I see with it is that it precludes any actual player involvement at the time of creation. Usually, in my games, players tend to have their own in-character and out-of-character desires for their characters and their experiences. Many players I know seem to have an aversion to asking for something to happen to their characters in the game in an OOC fashion.

For myself, it seems that allowing for that sort of expression of desire for their characters' future in the background, through inclusion of plot hooks and loose ends, tends to allow for a more natural development of character. DM initiated change is indeed the main task of any serious DM, but focusing too much on that side of the issue will create a sense of artificial development.

For some players it may only take a few verbose lines to give them a sense of character. For others it may take more, with or without hooks. The essence of development is the ability to identify with your character and relate to them on some level. Motivations, goals and ideals stem from that and are formed during gameplay where they are crucial.

I think this is where we disconnect in a lot of ways... while one can certainly start at the beginning and work their way up in terms of character creation, there are other avenues in which a well-rounded character can be created.

The standard approach, it seems, would be one in which the players starts with the character's childhood and goes from there... it's a linear progression of chronologically ordered events in a character's life which leads to another and again and again and again. The player then stops when s/he believes that the character is ready for play in the campaign. If a character is to be compatible with the premise and theme(s) of the campaign, the player will need a very hefty amount of setting and campaign information provided by the DM.

My approach seems to favour a more equally distributed amount of background work for the players and the DM. Rather than starting at the beginning, players chronologically start at the point in time when the campaign will start, a point in time in which we'll call zero. At this point, the player should have a set of characteristics and personality traits in mind. Now, the only thing necessary for him or her to do is go back in time and create reasons for that character's various traits. For instance, if today was 0, at -4 years, I was just starting university; -8 years ago, just beginning secondary school; and so on and so forth...

As people, we rarely remember much about the day-to-day events in our lives after puberty -- give or take a few years, allowing for traumatic or extraordinary experiences. In fact, we usually need the aid of another to successfully identify ourselves as children under a certain age. As a result, we tend to approach our pasts in terms of events stemming from the present... as events get further away in terms of time, the less we remember about them and the less effect they seem to have on us.

*shrug*

Does that make sense at all?

- Rep.
Trydan
11-17-03, 11:41 AM By providing history a player can begin to feel a connection to their character's beliefs, ideals, motivations and goals. This is certainly the "traditional" way to do things. I guess, this is because it is most effective. However, different players will react in different ways. And we must make ourselves aware of what the character background is trying to achieve. Is it a sense of history, a sense of realism, or simply a description that makes the character engaging, and hence makes roleplaying come more naturally. In the latter case, this would hopefully lead to a more enjoyable game, which is why we play in the first place.

Such an "engaging description" could be the character's history. It could be a "day-in-the-life" description, it could be a list of aspirations and ideals, it could be the answers to a personality-questionnaire, it could be a simple drawing of the character.

The essence of character development is to make the character come alive. However this is done is a matter of personal taste for both the creator and the recipient. The variety in method will be matched only by the variety in the characters that exist in our collective imaginations.
Sephraem
11-19-03, 07:40 AM Originally posted by Trydan
The essence of character development is to make the character come alive. However this is done is a matter of personal taste for both the creator and the recipient. The variety in method will be matched only by the variety in the characters that exist in our collective imaginations. Hear hear!

I've played in games where the backgrounds of the characters have been essential, just as I've played in games where the backgrounds were all but irrelevant. Campaign dependent, I may not even bother with a background at all, but wait until I get the character into the game and wing it from there. I know of one game system which in fact works on that very principle - the more you develop your character's background in play, the better chance he has of surviving.

The process, in my experience, does depend on both the DM and the player; the DM because he must decide how much information he requires about the character in order to draw the character in and sustain that character's interest in events; the player because he must provide that information, if required, and develop the character to the point at which he can identify with the PC.
Araciel
11-20-03, 06:40 PM I think that the issue , as you all seem to have addressed, is preference. Though when playing in a game where *others* have seemingly used a computer program to randomly generate their characters, I get annoyed, but remember the spirit of the game.

To myself, the spirit of the game is to come together with friends and create a fantastic story of heroes and battles. This vision often gets lost with many unfortunate players who wish to "win", which CAN include simply haveing the best story.

To get back to the matter, it seems a tragedy, sometimes, when the DM dictates (I'm using a personal example, as I have no experience with your playing styles) what role character history has in his or her game. One of the most enriching campaigns that I have been a part of was one in which the characters' backstories meshed together and created the motivations of the entire campaign.

Through making interesting, but not altogether monumental stories for our characters, (monumental being "My character has been chosen by the gods to destroy all evil.") we found that the campiagn was indeed very entertaining. Though this method could go tragically down another road, wherein characters seemingly have no motivations or leads to go on.

If we could all find a way to incorporate the best elements of history creation, maybe it would enrich our playing experience. Although there will always be players who find this step in character creation as boring, or detracting from the fun of seeing his or her character jump over a building or steal a dragon's hoard, or cut up some goblins.

Maybe we just aren't playing in the right groups.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Reprisal 11-16-03, 09:46 PM	Looking at these and other boards, it seems as though some believe that the essence of character development starts and ends with the character's history and background. This is somewhat inaccurate. Providing intricate character detail, expressed mainly through long dossiers of a character's history as a child, adolescent and what-not, does not necessarily mean that this character will develop during the campaign. The essence of character development is that it occurs during the game, not before it even begins. When one sits down to create a character, focus not only providing an adequate level of background detail for purposes of verismilitude, but also provide unanswered questions, moral dilemmas and plothooks that will help drive your characters during play. Not providing these "kickers" in the background means that you probably have a fairly static character and it might mean that there is little difference between a character with volumes of history and one with one or two lines. In the end, the effect is the same and the only difference is that one character will have a very detailed, yet static, background and the other will have no background. What's similar is the lack of conflict within a character, the lack of a sense of purpose -- if only as a search for the truth, whatever that may be. In short, if you're serious about creating a character that will easily developed over time, you must include loose ends, plot hooks and unfinished business in your character's background story. Without it, the effect of having a background is somewhat lessened to the point of being moot. Motivation to achieve goals, further agendas or support values are the essence of conflict, thus the essence of story, and the essence of character development. So get out there, and start creating dynamic characters out of blank character sheets! :cool: - Rep.
Vexxan 11-17-03, 07:26 AM	While very valid at it's core, your post seems to intentionally devalue a background without the 'hook' elements. By providing history a player can begin to feel a connection to their character's beliefs, ideals, motivations and goals. It is indeed a starting point. It allows a player to get into the head of their character and imagine the events that shaped who they are today. Without this firm foundation, character development during gameplay can suffer from lack of focus and whimsy, resulting in an inconsistant personality. During a game it is a DM's job to initiate hooks and provide players with various forms of conflict, which they can then act on as they see fit. Personally, I find it advantageous that players leave all hook and motivations up to myself as the DM. Therefore I can choose which, if any, part of a character's background to incorporate into my story. Through my hand I will guide players based on their reactions during play. If they don't have a purpose delineated in their background I will give them one through gameplay. Purpose does not rely on a complete psychological profile included within background documents. Above all is conflict created by a need for personal survival. A character does not need a background story to explain reactions to this type of survival. I feel it is very important for players to have a connection to their character through knowledge of their history and behavior. I also feel it is my job to provide them with the proper motivations required to advance the story, regardless of background if necessary. For some players it may only take a few verbose lines to give them a sense of character. For others it may take more, with or without hooks. The essence of development is the ability to identify with your character and relate to them on some level. Motivations, goals and ideals stem from that and are formed during gameplay where they are crucial. I wholeheartedly agree that open leads within a background are great sources for development both as a character and as a DM. However, I disagree with your dismissal of backgrounds lacking in these areas as 'moot'.
Reprisal 11-17-03, 11:27 AM	The intention of my post wasn't so much as to attack one form, but rather, it seems to me that the majority of the character backgrounds that I've read for online games, in addition to my own gaming experiences offline, are fairly static in nature. While yes, they do provide a good grounding for the essence of character, I don't think they give enough incentive for development over time. During a game it is a DM's job to initiate hooks and provide players with various forms of conflict, which they can then act on as they see fit. Personally, I find it advantageous that players leave all hook and motivations up to myself as the DM. Therefore I can choose which, if any, part of a character's background to incorporate into my story. Through my hand I will guide players based on their reactions during play. If they don't have a purpose delineated in their background I will give them one through gameplay. This is certainly a workable way of approaching a campaign as a DM, and in fact it tends to solve many of the problems that creep up in many games. The trouble I see with it is that it precludes any actual player involvement at the time of creation. Usually, in my games, players tend to have their own in-character and out-of-character desires for their characters and their experiences. Many players I know seem to have an aversion to asking for something to happen to their characters in the game in an OOC fashion. For myself, it seems that allowing for that sort of expression of desire for their characters' future in the background, through inclusion of plot hooks and loose ends, tends to allow for a more natural development of character. DM initiated change is indeed the main task of any serious DM, but focusing too much on that side of the issue will create a sense of artificial development. For some players it may only take a few verbose lines to give them a sense of character. For others it may take more, with or without hooks. The essence of development is the ability to identify with your character and relate to them on some level. Motivations, goals and ideals stem from that and are formed during gameplay where they are crucial. I think this is where we disconnect in a lot of ways... while one can certainly start at the beginning and work their way up in terms of character creation, there are other avenues in which a well-rounded character can be created. The standard approach, it seems, would be one in which the players starts with the character's childhood and goes from there... it's a linear progression of chronologically ordered events in a character's life which leads to another and again and again and again. The player then stops when s/he believes that the character is ready for play in the campaign. If a character is to be compatible with the premise and theme(s) of the campaign, the player will need a very hefty amount of setting and campaign information provided by the DM. My approach seems to favour a more equally distributed amount of background work for the players and the DM. Rather than starting at the beginning, players chronologically start at the point in time when the campaign will start, a point in time in which we'll call zero. At this point, the player should have a set of characteristics and personality traits in mind. Now, the only thing necessary for him or her to do is go back in time and create reasons for that character's various traits. For instance, if today was 0, at -4 years, I was just starting university; -8 years ago, just beginning secondary school; and so on and so forth... As people, we rarely remember much about the day-to-day events in our lives after puberty -- give or take a few years, allowing for traumatic or extraordinary experiences. In fact, we usually need the aid of another to successfully identify ourselves as children under a certain age. As a result, we tend to approach our pasts in terms of events stemming from the present... as events get further away in terms of time, the less we remember about them and the less effect they seem to have on us. shrug Does that make sense at all? - Rep.
Trydan 11-17-03, 11:41 AM	By providing history a player can begin to feel a connection to their character's beliefs, ideals, motivations and goals. This is certainly the "traditional" way to do things. I guess, this is because it is most effective. However, different players will react in different ways. And we must make ourselves aware of what the character background is trying to achieve. Is it a sense of history, a sense of realism, or simply a description that makes the character engaging, and hence makes roleplaying come more naturally. In the latter case, this would hopefully lead to a more enjoyable game, which is why we play in the first place. Such an "engaging description" could be the character's history. It could be a "day-in-the-life" description, it could be a list of aspirations and ideals, it could be the answers to a personality-questionnaire, it could be a simple drawing of the character. The essence of character development is to make the character come alive. However this is done is a matter of personal taste for both the creator and the recipient. The variety in method will be matched only by the variety in the characters that exist in our collective imaginations.
Sephraem 11-19-03, 07:40 AM	Originally posted by Trydan The essence of character development is to make the character come alive. However this is done is a matter of personal taste for both the creator and the recipient. The variety in method will be matched only by the variety in the characters that exist in our collective imaginations. Hear hear! I've played in games where the backgrounds of the characters have been essential, just as I've played in games where the backgrounds were all but irrelevant. Campaign dependent, I may not even bother with a background at all, but wait until I get the character into the game and wing it from there. I know of one game system which in fact works on that very principle - the more you develop your character's background in play, the better chance he has of surviving. The process, in my experience, does depend on both the DM and the player; the DM because he must decide how much information he requires about the character in order to draw the character in and sustain that character's interest in events; the player because he must provide that information, if required, and develop the character to the point at which he can identify with the PC.
Araciel 11-20-03, 06:40 PM	I think that the issue , as you all seem to have addressed, is preference. Though when playing in a game where others have seemingly used a computer program to randomly generate their characters, I get annoyed, but remember the spirit of the game. To myself, the spirit of the game is to come together with friends and create a fantastic story of heroes and battles. This vision often gets lost with many unfortunate players who wish to "win", which CAN include simply haveing the best story. To get back to the matter, it seems a tragedy, sometimes, when the DM dictates (I'm using a personal example, as I have no experience with your playing styles) what role character history has in his or her game. One of the most enriching campaigns that I have been a part of was one in which the characters' backstories meshed together and created the motivations of the entire campaign. Through making interesting, but not altogether monumental stories for our characters, (monumental being "My character has been chosen by the gods to destroy all evil.") we found that the campiagn was indeed very entertaining. Though this method could go tragically down another road, wherein characters seemingly have no motivations or leads to go on. If we could all find a way to incorporate the best elements of history creation, maybe it would enrich our playing experience. Although there will always be players who find this step in character creation as boring, or detracting from the fun of seeing his or her character jump over a building or steal a dragon's hoard, or cut up some goblins. Maybe we just aren't playing in the right groups.