How long should the PC history be? [Archive] - Wizards Community

How long should the PC history be? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Thudwun
09-26-04, 04:50 PM I'm starting an Eberron campaign as a warforged monk. Our DM asked us to make a brief character history. Well, I wrote it, but it isn't really brief. Should I cut it down? Which part would you take out?

It's posted here: http://chsilv00dm.tripod.com/dmblog/index.blog?entry_id=459423

Thanks for the feedback!
Kane ir'Omik
09-26-04, 04:55 PM Our Eberron DM gives us a bonus feat for a full one page history. The more info we give, make the character "mean" more to us and we tend to play them better. Also, it gives the DM "red herrings" to fall back on for adventure ideas whilst we wait for the new modules to come out.
Saurenda
09-26-04, 05:03 PM Same here with Saves vs Dm's game. A shame our game was canceled tonight because of storms in his area. I was really itching to play.

I'll edit and post my character's history. If you think yours is long, well then...
it's really not.
chalybeous
09-26-04, 05:11 PM Our Eberron DM gives us a bonus feat for a full one page history. The more info we give, make the character "mean" more to us and we tend to play them better. Also, it gives the DM "red herrings" to fall back on for adventure ideas whilst we wait for the new modules to come out.

Hey, thanks for that info! You just gave me an idea... :schemes:
(Reminds me of a rather funny anecdote, actually. I was involved in a Cyberpunk 2020 game once, and the DM made us go through two weeks of intensive blue-booking and 1-on-1 sessions to make sure we had an attachment to our characters, and a fully fleshed-out history and personality. And at the start of the first group session, we'd all come to the same place for different reasons when a firefight broke out. Yep, that's right... the old RPG cliche: "Okay, you're all in a bar...")
Saurenda
09-26-04, 05:24 PM Gram Artificer Character Sheet (http://www.geocities.com/haeser2002/Charactersheet.html?1096237078130)
Thudwun
09-26-04, 05:30 PM Wow Saur, and I thought I spent too much time on it! :-)

Very good writing, that's one neat character!
jedi8187
09-26-04, 05:46 PM I find it easier to hit the high points, include one or two NPC charecters for DM use, and leave it at that, to flesh out more later. One thing I always hated when I did long backstorys was that I'd get stuck with somthing I didn't like after a couple of sessions.
Saurenda
09-26-04, 05:48 PM Thanks. My half orc Artificer is made of delicious DM hook candy :ayyyy!:

I also enjoyed the Iron Orphen story. From the way I looked at warforged I would have never pictured them training as a monk, and restrict themselves.

Alas no game. So sad :weep: Gram will have to wait till friday the earliest or next sunday it seems.

I would love to see some other character sheets posted. Please don't hesitate. All us DMs who cannot play for whatever reason need to feed off the PC's enjoyment of the game to keep us going, seeing as we don't get to play.
Teslacoil1138
09-27-04, 01:25 AM Nope, those aren't considered long at all where I come from ;)

Often my character background information is several (5+) pages long. This includes personality and bits of physical descriptions.

This one's (http://www.roleplayinggames.net/cgi-bin/chars_view.cgi?type=details&game=54&num=160084168) for a different game system altogether, but it's the only one that's still up on the net.
ThanisKartaleon
09-27-04, 04:31 AM Here's my character for Save-vs-DM's game:
Tiernan Surion

Born Therendor 12th, 864 YK as the son of Cevin Surion and Keeper of the Past Maila Elendil of Draleus Tairn, Tiernan turned his back on his mother's tradition when his father was slain in a battle against an evil bronze dragon in the depths of the Jungle of Daggers. The day after the sad event was learned, he was to become a Keeper initiate; instead, he fled the country, seeking to make sense of his torment. He believes that had his father been given the choice, he would gladly have kept on as an Undying. Though his still reveres his patron ancestor, the once mighty eldritch knight Demien, he now also gives reverence to his father and the Undying Court.

Jumping on the first elemental galleon bound for whatever destination was not on Aerenal (incidentally the City of Towers) out of Pylas Talaer, Tiernan soon found himself lost in a strange land full of excitement and unpredictability. The year: 963 YK. Though Sharn lay mostly untouched during the Last War, it still abounded with a sense of haste and vigor that Tiernan was very unaccustomed to. During his stay at Sharn for the last 35 years, he's been through the invention and proliferation of the warforged, the creation of Darguun, and Droaam, the split of House Phiarlan, and more recently the creation of airships, the iron rule of Kaius the 3rd, the Mourning, and the Treaty of Thronehold, ending the war. He waits with baited breath for the next surprising turn life on Khorvaire will take.

He spent many of his first years in Sharn working at odd jobs; as a medic for House Jorasco, as a handler for a small pet store, as a pratfaller in a comedic stage routine. Recently, though, he has decided to refocus his life. He knows now that he wants to go back to Aerenal, but to Shae Mordai, not to the Draleus Tairn. He wishes to join the Deathguard, and serve the Undying Court. In preparation for this, he has taken a job as an officer of the watch with his two tiger hounds, Sacha and Caedmus, in order to strengthen his martial discipline. Off duty, he has taken up wood carving and reading Aerenal holy scripts. It's soothing and reminds him of home, making it easier to go into trance to better hone his mental skills. He recently carved for himself his own holy symbol of the Undying Court. It took like 30 failures, but hey, he's an elf, he's got the time for refining skills. He'll get better.

Physical Appearance: Tanned skin, short black hair, green eyes with flecks of gold. Tiernan believes in regular bathing and good hygiene. A scar runs along his left cheek, an accident from sword practice.

Habits and Clothing: On duty, Tiernan wears the Sharn green and black colors, though he chose to use the more supple straight leather over the standard studded armor. He keeps his face clean, wearing only a simple skull necklace as any indication he is not just an elf from Khorvaire. Off duty he will sometimes paint his face. He does have one set of clothing from home, but he rarely wears it. In general, he’s very introspective; he speaks only when spoken to, and keeps his responses short and to the point.
CzarGarrett
09-27-04, 09:37 AM Our Eberron DM gives us a bonus feat for a full one page history.... Also, it gives the DM "red herrings" to fall back on for adventure ideas whilst we wait for the new modules to come out.

Hell, with that idea, give me a week I could get 10 feats and enough adventures for 2 years of twice-a-week gaming.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Thudwun 09-26-04, 04:50 PM	I'm starting an Eberron campaign as a warforged monk. Our DM asked us to make a brief character history. Well, I wrote it, but it isn't really brief. Should I cut it down? Which part would you take out? It's posted here: http://chsilv00dm.tripod.com/dmblog/index.blog?entry_id=459423 Thanks for the feedback!
Kane ir'Omik 09-26-04, 04:55 PM	Our Eberron DM gives us a bonus feat for a full one page history. The more info we give, make the character "mean" more to us and we tend to play them better. Also, it gives the DM "red herrings" to fall back on for adventure ideas whilst we wait for the new modules to come out.
Saurenda 09-26-04, 05:03 PM	Same here with Saves vs Dm's game. A shame our game was canceled tonight because of storms in his area. I was really itching to play. I'll edit and post my character's history. If you think yours is long, well then... it's really not.
chalybeous 09-26-04, 05:11 PM	Our Eberron DM gives us a bonus feat for a full one page history. The more info we give, make the character "mean" more to us and we tend to play them better. Also, it gives the DM "red herrings" to fall back on for adventure ideas whilst we wait for the new modules to come out. Hey, thanks for that info! You just gave me an idea... :schemes: (Reminds me of a rather funny anecdote, actually. I was involved in a Cyberpunk 2020 game once, and the DM made us go through two weeks of intensive blue-booking and 1-on-1 sessions to make sure we had an attachment to our characters, and a fully fleshed-out history and personality. And at the start of the first group session, we'd all come to the same place for different reasons when a firefight broke out. Yep, that's right... the old RPG cliche: "Okay, you're all in a bar...")
Saurenda 09-26-04, 05:24 PM	Gram Artificer Character Sheet (http://www.geocities.com/haeser2002/Charactersheet.html?1096237078130)
Thudwun 09-26-04, 05:30 PM	Wow Saur, and I thought I spent too much time on it! :-) Very good writing, that's one neat character!
jedi8187 09-26-04, 05:46 PM	I find it easier to hit the high points, include one or two NPC charecters for DM use, and leave it at that, to flesh out more later. One thing I always hated when I did long backstorys was that I'd get stuck with somthing I didn't like after a couple of sessions.
Saurenda 09-26-04, 05:48 PM	Thanks. My half orc Artificer is made of delicious DM hook candy :ayyyy!: I also enjoyed the Iron Orphen story. From the way I looked at warforged I would have never pictured them training as a monk, and restrict themselves. Alas no game. So sad :weep: Gram will have to wait till friday the earliest or next sunday it seems. I would love to see some other character sheets posted. Please don't hesitate. All us DMs who cannot play for whatever reason need to feed off the PC's enjoyment of the game to keep us going, seeing as we don't get to play.
Teslacoil1138 09-27-04, 01:25 AM	Nope, those aren't considered long at all where I come from ;) Often my character background information is several (5+) pages long. This includes personality and bits of physical descriptions. This one's (http://www.roleplayinggames.net/cgi-bin/chars_view.cgi?type=details&game=54&num=160084168) for a different game system altogether, but it's the only one that's still up on the net.
ThanisKartaleon 09-27-04, 04:31 AM	Here's my character for Save-vs-DM's game: Tiernan Surion Born Therendor 12th, 864 YK as the son of Cevin Surion and Keeper of the Past Maila Elendil of Draleus Tairn, Tiernan turned his back on his mother's tradition when his father was slain in a battle against an evil bronze dragon in the depths of the Jungle of Daggers. The day after the sad event was learned, he was to become a Keeper initiate; instead, he fled the country, seeking to make sense of his torment. He believes that had his father been given the choice, he would gladly have kept on as an Undying. Though his still reveres his patron ancestor, the once mighty eldritch knight Demien, he now also gives reverence to his father and the Undying Court. Jumping on the first elemental galleon bound for whatever destination was not on Aerenal (incidentally the City of Towers) out of Pylas Talaer, Tiernan soon found himself lost in a strange land full of excitement and unpredictability. The year: 963 YK. Though Sharn lay mostly untouched during the Last War, it still abounded with a sense of haste and vigor that Tiernan was very unaccustomed to. During his stay at Sharn for the last 35 years, he's been through the invention and proliferation of the warforged, the creation of Darguun, and Droaam, the split of House Phiarlan, and more recently the creation of airships, the iron rule of Kaius the 3rd, the Mourning, and the Treaty of Thronehold, ending the war. He waits with baited breath for the next surprising turn life on Khorvaire will take. He spent many of his first years in Sharn working at odd jobs; as a medic for House Jorasco, as a handler for a small pet store, as a pratfaller in a comedic stage routine. Recently, though, he has decided to refocus his life. He knows now that he wants to go back to Aerenal, but to Shae Mordai, not to the Draleus Tairn. He wishes to join the Deathguard, and serve the Undying Court. In preparation for this, he has taken a job as an officer of the watch with his two tiger hounds, Sacha and Caedmus, in order to strengthen his martial discipline. Off duty, he has taken up wood carving and reading Aerenal holy scripts. It's soothing and reminds him of home, making it easier to go into trance to better hone his mental skills. He recently carved for himself his own holy symbol of the Undying Court. It took like 30 failures, but hey, he's an elf, he's got the time for refining skills. He'll get better. Physical Appearance: Tanned skin, short black hair, green eyes with flecks of gold. Tiernan believes in regular bathing and good hygiene. A scar runs along his left cheek, an accident from sword practice. Habits and Clothing: On duty, Tiernan wears the Sharn green and black colors, though he chose to use the more supple straight leather over the standard studded armor. He keeps his face clean, wearing only a simple skull necklace as any indication he is not just an elf from Khorvaire. Off duty he will sometimes paint his face. He does have one set of clothing from home, but he rarely wears it. In general, he’s very introspective; he speaks only when spoken to, and keeps his responses short and to the point.
CzarGarrett 09-27-04, 09:37 AM	Our Eberron DM gives us a bonus feat for a full one page history.... Also, it gives the DM "red herrings" to fall back on for adventure ideas whilst we wait for the new modules to come out. Hell, with that idea, give me a week I could get 10 feats and enough adventures for 2 years of twice-a-week gaming.